Rajgir: Echoes of Empires and the Quiet Wisdom of the Hills
We left for Rajgir at
7 a.m. The roads were wide and well developed, flanked by fertile fields,
making the journey smooth and pleasant. Small clusters of houses appeared here
and there along the way. Since it was a holiday, the villages were waking up slowly.
People brushed their teeth with neem sticks or similar twigs, sat together,
shared stories, and laughed. Children hopped about like lambs. It was clear
that many families still had children born almost exactly a year apart. The
population growth in Bihar was visible everywhere.
The idea of having
fewer children for better education, nutrition, and health has not yet taken
root in these villages. Children are seen as gifts from God—so God, they
believe, will also provide the food. It also appears that the authorities are
not taking significant steps to control population growth. Even the Finance
Commission’s formula of allocating more funds to highly populated states reinforce
this trend. Kids grow up alongside pets, a scene once common throughout India
but now changed in the South and Northeast. Hardly anyone was looking at mobile
phones. Mobile literacy is still low here, perhaps one reason why their
happiness index seems so high. In any case, expecting Indian
villages—especially those in Bihar and Bengal—to align fully with the idea of a
“Developed India 2047” may be unrealistic at the moment.
A Glimpse of Gaya
There was a huge crowd
in Gaya. Devotees had come in large numbers to perform Pinda Tharpanam
at the Vishnupada Temple. On special days, groups of pilgrims could be seen on
every road. People bathed and performed daily rituals on the roadside. Almost
everyone brushed their teeth with neem sticks; toothbrushes and toothpaste
seemed uncommon. Perhaps this is why their teeth and gums remain healthy.
Tradition requires
performing Pitru Tharpanam in the Phalgu River and praying at the feet
of Vishnu. The roads near the temple were extremely narrow, and vehicles were
parked everywhere. If authorities set up proper crowd management—restricting
vehicles and allowing only pedestrians near the temple—the situation could be
handled much better. But we did not see a single policeman attempting such
regulation. We avoided the temple area to escape the congestion and continued
our journey toward Rajgir.
Through Villages and Fields
In many parts of
Bihar, mud houses have now been replaced by brick houses, though most remain
unplastered on the outside. It is unclear whether the interiors are plastered.
Rapid conversion of farmlands into building sites is common since development
always begins by swallowing the fields.
We passed through
places like Kadautia, Mansa, Uptu, Sarbandha, and Chabilapur before reaching
Rajgir. In ancient times, this city was known as Rajgriha, or “The House of the
King.” It served as the capital of the Magadha Empire for five hundred years, until
the capital shifted to Pataliputra (modern-day Patna) in the 5th century BCE.
The Mahabharata mentions Rajgriha as well. It is believed to be the ancient
city of Girivraja, the capital of King Jarasandha, and the site of his
legendary battle with Bhima.
Rajgir: Where History Breathes
The Bihar Police
Academy is located in Rajgir. We stopped at a tea shop in front of it, run by
Ashok Gupta. One wonders whether he might be connected to the lineage of the
old Gupta Empire—perhaps a distant descendant who moved away from power as
centuries passed.
Nearby, an
international-standard stadium is nearing completion. The Hero Asia Cup hockey
championship was held here in 2025. The Nalanda International College,
operating under the Ministry of External Affairs, is also located in Rajgir.
We continued our
journey and reached the spot where the Vishwa Shanti Stupa stands. Tourists
here travel by horse-drawn carriages and e-autos, and many locals earn their
livelihood from tourism. We chose the horse carriage driven by Jagmohan, a kind
gentleman. His horse, a lively three-year-old named Rani Rajkumari, carried us
gracefully. Two of us sat in front and two behind, while Jagmohan held the
reins and guided Rani along the path.
Bimbisara’s Prison and a King’s Last Wish
Our first stop was
Bimbisara Jail. There is little to see now, but this is believed to be the
place where King Bimbisara was imprisoned by his son Ajatashatru. History says
that Buddha meditated on the hill behind the prison, and Bimbisara had
requested that the cell be built so that he could see that hill every day. The
story reminded me of Emperor Shah Jahan’s house arrest in Agra Fort under
Aurangzeb, where he insisted on a room from which he could gaze at the Taj
Mahal. Power struggles, it seems, repeat themselves endlessly through time.
The Peace Pagoda on Ratnagiri Hill
From there, we
ascended the Vishwa Shanti Stupa on Ratnagiri Hill—an elegant, pearly white
pagoda built by a Japanese Buddhist organisation. The foundation stone was laid
by President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan on March 6, 1965, and the structure was
completed in 1969. The Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhists, followers of the Lotus
Sutra, have built such Peace Pagodas worldwide. After the atomic bombings of
Japan, it was Fuji Guruji who championed these stupas as symbols of global
peace.
A large Buddha statue
and memorial stand here, along with a nearby Buddhist temple. The area is
spacious and attracts many foreign tourists from Asian countries. We used the
regular ropeway since India’s oldest single-seater ropeway here is under
repair. The ride to the hilltop offers a spectacular aerial view of the valley.
Where the Buddha and the Tirthankaras Walked
Rajgir is one of the
most sacred landscapes in Buddhism. Gautama Buddha lived here for many years,
meditating and teaching. It was on the Gridhrakuta (Eagle’s Peak) that he first
delivered the Lotus Sutra. King Bimbisara built Buddha’s first monastery here,
known as Venuvanam, the Bamboo Grove.
After Buddha’s passing
in 400 BCE, the First Buddhist Council was convened here, in the Saptaparni
Cave, to compile his teachings.
Rajgir is also
important to Jainism. Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, spent fourteen years
here, and the 20th Tirthankara, Munisuvrata, was also born in this region.
The Golden Treasury of Bimbisara
We next visited the
site known as the Golden Treasury of Bimbisara, which consists of two chambers.
Their doors are gone now. It is said that Jain ascetics once lived here. Some
sculptures carved on the walls have been vandalised. Unfortunately, there is
little effort to preserve what remains. The ruins of an ancient stone
wall—forty kilometres long—still surround parts of the old city, an impressive
example of pre-Mauryan engineering.
Though Rajgir also has
a forest safari and hot springs, we did not stop to visit them. After having
lunch at a small hotel in Rajgir, we left for Nalanda, the legendary land of
wisdom and knowledge.
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