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LUMBINI Office : Nepal “Nuwakott Ghar” Sanepa Chowk, Lalitpur - 2 PO Box: 105, Kathmandu / nepal Tel: (01) 5539 900 • Fax: (01) 5526 575 E-mail: Pilgrims@BuddhistCircuits.com |
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Bodhgaya-the highlight of the tour, is the place where
Siddhartha reached the state of Enlightenment commonly referred to
as Buddhahood. Bodhgaya, situated on the bank of the river Niranjana,
is the spiritual home of Buddhists from the world over and attracts
tens of thousands of believers. Siddhartha attained enlightenment
meditating under the Bodhi Tree, which still stands today in its
original place. It was here that Buddha spent 7 weeks meditating in
and around seven different spiritual spots. Bodhgaya houses
different Buddhists monasteries erected by people belonging to
different sects of Buddhism such as the Therabada, Mahayana and
Vajrayana. The magnificent Maha Bodhi temple in Bodhgaya is an
architectural amalgamation of many cultures. Carvings of Buddha in
different postures and scenes adorn the walls, and a colossal Buddha
are seen touching the ground in the sanctum sanctorum, which have
mythological significance in the Buddhist lore. Inscriptions of
pilgrims from Sri Lanka, China and Myanmar in the 7th and 10th
Centuries AD including Hieun Tsang, the famed 7th century Chinese
scholar, can be seen in the temple. A visit to Bodhgaya
Archaeological Museum takes you back to history. With sculptures
dating back to as early as the 1st century AD, it provides a
religious art lover a glimpse of the art forms prevalent during
those times. There are several other places of tourist interest such
as the Surya Temple at Deo, the Sun God Temple at Umya, the
Konchishwar Maha Deva temple at Konch; Barabar Caves, the Buddhist
Rock-Cut Caves of 3rd Century. 
Rajgir (70 Kms, 3 Hours), a site of great sanctity and one of the
most important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists. There are also many
sites of historical and archeological importance here. The
Gridhakuta Hill, in Rajgir, was the seat from where Buddha delivered
many of his sermons. It was on this hill that the teachings of
Buddha were recorded in writing for the first time and also where
the Mauryan King Bimbisara, one of his greatest devotees, converted
to Buddhist. 
We continue to
Nalanda (17 Kms, 30 minutes drive) in the
afternoon. "Nalan" means Lotus, which is signifies supreme wisdom
and "Da" means to give. Nalanda is a place, which provides supreme
wisdom. It was a center for Buddhist learning during the 5th to 11th
centuries. Buddha passed many times through Nalanda on the way to
Vaishali to Bodhgaya. Nalanda University had 22 thousand students
and 17 hundred professors. It was a center of great learning, which
reached its zenith between 5th and 12th Century AD. Both Lord Buddha
and Lord Mahavira visited this place. The famous Chinese Scholar of
7th century Yuan Chwang (Huang Tsang) studied 6 years in this
University. 
After visiting Nalanda, we continue our drive to
Vaishali.
Vaishali holds special significance for Buddhist devotees. Vaishali
was the center of the IInd Buddhist Council congregation, held after
100 years of Buddha's demise. Vaishali is famous for Amrapali, the
beautiful dancer and courtesan of Vaishali, who offered Buddha a
mango orchard and impressed by his teachings became a nun in turn.
The excavations carried out in Vaishali have brought to light Buddha
Stupa I (4th Century BC) and II, built in brick with a casket
containing part of the ashes of Buddha. Other sites of historical
importance in Vaishali include Chaumukhi Mahadeva, a lingam carved
with four faces of Lord Shiva; the Bhawan Pakhar Temple, where a
large number of Hindu deities are enshrined at one place and are
worshipped together; Coronation Tank where the Lichhavi Kings were
anointed before being crowned and; the Vaishali Museum which has a
small collection of regional handicrafts. Vaishali the capital of
ancient Lichhavis is supposed to be the first republic of the world,
having an elected body of representatives and an efficient
administration as early as 6th century BC. Vaishali is also the
birthplace of Lord Mahavira and is sacred to the Jains.
After long full day tour, finally we head towards
Patna for
overnight halt. Patna is the capital of Bihar state bearing a
fascinating past. Turning over the pages of early Indian history one
comes across the name of the pre-eminent city of Pataliputra. Its
period of glory spanned a thousand years, from 6th century B.C. to
5th century A.D. Ajastshatru, second in the line of Magadh Kings,
built a fort at Pataligram on the bank of river Ganga. This later
became famous Muryan metropolis of Pataliputra and was ruled by
Chandragupta Maurya (a contemporary of Alexander) and his grandson
Ashok, acclaimed for the spread of Buddhism. Other emperors who
ruled from Pataliputra were the Gupta and Pala Kings, Shershah Suri
(16th Century) and Azimush-Shan (18th Century) grandson of Mughal
emperor Aurangzeb, who renamed it Azeemabad. Vestiges of this
ancient city can be seen at Kumhrar, Bhikhnapahari, Agamkuan,
Bulandi Bag. 
Sarnath, mere 10 kms from Varanasi, holds an important place in
Buddhism as it was here that Buddha delivered his first sermon,
after attaining Nirvana termed as Dharmachakra Parivartan. This set
in motion the great Buddhist tradition of the Sangha, for
popularising the teachings of the great ascetic, worldwide. Gautam
Buddha with his five disciples formed the first Sangha. Some of the
remains here date back to the Mauryan period. The Lion Capital, the
national emblem of India, and the Dharmarajika Stupa built by Ashoka
are very important historical sites. The Dhamekh stupa is a
cylindrical tower, which dates back to the Gupta period. The Chinese
traveler Hsuen Tsang who visited India in the 7th century speaks of
the glory of Sarnath and of the structures that existed then. A
modern temple to Buddha has been built here that houses several of
the Buddhist relics excavated here. On Buddha Purnima, the birthday
of Buddha, relics of the Buddha are taken out in procession. The
beginning of the celebrated Mantra, 'Buddham Sharanam Gachhami',
owes its origin to Sarnath. The three Jewels - "I go for refuge to
the Buddha, I go for refuge to the Wheel of Law, I go for refuge to
the Sangha" - first laid here, have remained unchanged ever since.
Hence rightly, every Buddhist pilgrim after Bodhgaya endeavors to be
blessed with a visit to Sarnath in his lifetime. 
Those who has time and interested in visiting Lumbini, can fly
Varanasi to Kathmandu.
After breakfast transfer to Domestic Airport for the flight to
Bhairahawa (30 Minutes) to continue to Lumbini. Check in to Hotel
and full day sightseeing tour of Lumbini.