 Nalanda
Site of the great monastic university
The capital of Bihar, an immensely fertile, arched stretch of land along the southern bank of the Ganges. The history and cultural heritage of modern day Patna, go back well over two millennia. Like Delhi, Patna too had been the regal seat of governance for successive kingdoms, since ancient times. Early in the 5th century BC, Ajatasahtru shifted his capital of the Magadha Empire from Rajgir to Patna, then called Pataliputra. Fulfilling Buddha's prophecy that a great city would arise here. For almost a 1000 years it was one of the most important cities of the subcontinent and the capital of a huge empire spanning most of ancient India under the rule of Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka.
The city regained its political importance in the mid 16th century AD when Sher Shah made it his capital and renamed it Azimabad after defeating the Mughal emperor Humayun. Subsequently it passed to the British in 1764 after the Battle of Buxar.
Today Patna is an important business centre of eastern India. More significantly, it is a gateway to the Buddhist and Jain pilgrim centres of Vaishali, Rajgir, Nalanda, Bodhgaya etc.
Places to see
Kumrahar Excavations - located in the south of the city, the archaeological findings in this area establish Patna's claim to over a thousand years of political glory - 491 BC to 600 AD. Very little of this grandeur remains though, except for a few pillars from the assembly hall dating back to the Mauryan period and the foundations of the brick Buddhist monastery known as Anand Bihar.
Har Mandir - located at the eastern end of the city, in the Chowk area of old Patna, is one of the holiest of the Sikh shrines. It was built by Ranjit Singh and marks the place where Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th and the last of the Sikh Gurus was born in 1660.
Golghar - is a huge beehive shaped building. It was constructed as a granary by Captain John Garstin in 1786 for the British army. The massive structure is about 25m high and the winding stairway around it offers fine views over the city and the Ganges.
Patna Museum - has an excellent collection of stone sculptures dating back to the Maurya and Gupta period, terracotta figures and archaeological findings from sites in Bihar like Nalanda. It also houses the world's longest fossilized tree - 16m and 200 million years old. There is also a fine collection of Chinese paintings and tangkas (Tibetan cloth paintings).
Khuda Baksh Oriental Library - founded in 1900, this library has a renowned collection of very rare Arabic and Persian manuscripts, Mughal and Rajput paintings and oddities like the Koran inscribed in a book only 25mm wide. The library also contains the only books to survive the sacking of the Moorish University of Cordoba in Spain.
Qila House - also known as Jalan Museum, is built on the foundations of Sher Shah's fort. It contains an impressive private collection of antiques including a dinner service that once belonged to George III, Marie Antoinette's Serves porcelain, Napoleon's four poster bed, Chinese jade and Mughal silver filigree. Please note prior permission is required for a visit.
|
