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Rajgir valley, near Patna, was the capital of the powerful Magadha empire before it was shifted to Patliputra
We felt it as soon as we entered the valley: this was a very special place. Bihar’s legendary Rajgir valley was dotted across a green bowl, cupped by wooded hills. Searching for its epic past, we wove our way through clip-clopping tongas and the busy lanes of the bazaar, till we came to the scrubby, sub-montane lands spreading to the foot of the encircling hills. Just off the road, a seemingly insignificant circular structure covered by a conical corrugated iron roof, rose atop a plinth. We climbed up steps and looked into what appeared to be a well. Then as we probed and questioned, shredding history from myth, questing deeper and deeper into its fabled antiquity, one informant told us that his father had said that a Shiv idol had once depicted the Lord wreathed in serpents. “Where is it now?” we asked. The farmer shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe the government took it. Maybe it has been hidden. But there is something else.” “Yes?” we prompted. “Everyone says that this was first a very ancient snake temple: a place where the powerful Naga gods were worshipped even before the Vedas.” The Naga deities offered protection to their devotees and rain when they needed it to irrigate their fields. Protection and productivity, and the strategic value of the encircling hills — these were three good reasons for making this valley the capital of the powerful Magadh empire before it was shifted to ancient Patliputra, the present day Patna. We were told that Rajgir is a shortened form of Rajagriha: the Home of the Raja. The other developments then fell into place. Great capitals with their good order and prosperity attract the learned, savants, priests, philosophers and seers. When the bare necessities of life have been acquired, aspirations burgeon; people begin to ask “What lies beyond?” Geological phenomena, because they are a continuing source of wonder, capture their imagination. They are often credited with unusual therapeutic powers. Quick facts... Getting there – By air to Patna airport and then 100 km by road. By train to Rajgir Local transport: Taxis; tongas are also good. Accommodation: -There are no 5 star hotels. But there are other options. Some of them: the Indo Hokke Hotel (3-star);Tel:6112-32029; email: centaur15@sify.com; The Rajgir Residency (3 star); Tel.6112-255404; email: therajgirresidency@gmail.com Siddhaarth Hotel; Tel:6112-255216; email:siddharthrajgir@gmail.com Tathagat Hotel; Tel: 6112-255176;email:tathagat
rajgir@rediffmail.com In the Brahma Kund, bathers disported in hot springs gushing from the deep fires of the earth. There were shrines to Vishnu and Lakshmi and the beautiful Santoshi Devi. There was also one of the wrathful Kali. Interestingly, this complex of Hindu shrines is separated from a mosque by a low wall. We were fascinated. But when we hesitated at the Hindus only sign at the entrance to the hot springs, a group of local folk asked us what religion we followed. We said “We’re Christians” They smiled and replied “Please go on: that is not for you!” We were still talking about that when we drove out to an escarpment in the rising hills, stopped and trudged up the Sonbhandar Caves. An unidentified Jain hermit had, apparently, laboured over the years to scoop these shrines out of the friable rock of a cliff. He had carved figures of the Jain tirthankars: the spiritual guides who shepherd mankind. While researching a book on Madhya Pradesh, we had been told by the followers of this faith that their religion pre-dates the one brought in by the Vedic Aryans. They believe that the great tirthankar Mahavira was the last of their 24 tirthankars: not the first. Because of his association with this historic town, it is still a great centre of pilgrimage for the Jains and their temples dot every one of the five encircling hills. Our attention, however, was captured by a Jain ashram with a very unusual gallery. We walked round the Virayanta, enthralled. Let into the walls, protected by glass, were the most exquisite dioramas we have ever seen. They portrayed great events in the life of the tirthankars like the daughters of the first tirthankar instructing prehistoric man, Bharat and Bahubali’s great fight, Mahavira coming to Rajgir. They had all been miniaturised in such perfect scale that we seemed to be hovering high above, gazing down at them.
In our tour we were moving forward from the distant past to the present. Historians believe that Mahavira and Gautama Buddha were contemporaries. In fact, the lay-person often finds it difficult to distinguish between the images of the tirthankars and those of the Buddha, and their non-violent philosophies have much in common. The fact that both these great seers delivered many of their teachings in Rajgir is significant. At the base of Ratnagiri hill, we hopped onto the chair-lift and were transported, over scrub-covered slopes, to the peak. Here, Japanese Buddhists had erected the beautiful Vishwa Shanti stupa holding four golden Buddhas. During a long stay in Rajgir, the Buddha had meditated in a cave on a peak linked to this one. The towering white stupa breathes peace and gives a horizon-stretching view of the verdant valley of Rajgir. Local vendors sell dried herbs which, they say, grow on this revered hill. They also assert that one of their offerings is the famed Sanjeevani, claiming that it fell from Hanuman’s grasp as he was flying overhead. The sun was fairly low on the horizon when we left Ratnagiri and drove to the oddly named Ghora Katora lake. Legend has it that it was once the site of royal stables. Today this quiet spread of water, in the midst of rocky hills, is being greened as a tourist facility with swan boats and a recreational park. For its serenity this, too, is a very special place.
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