Kesaria

 One of the famous Buddhists sites, Kesaria in the East Champaran district of Bihar is home to one of the most striking architectural remains of ancient India. Discovered in 1958 during an excavation led by Archaeologist KK Muhammed of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The stupa dates to between 200 AD and 750 AD.

The colossal Buddhist Stupa, excavated here in 1958 and 1998 by The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), is hailed as the largest in the world.

With a height of 104 feet and circumference of almost 1400 feet, this imposing structure is larger than the Borobudur sputa in Indonesia. Located in a serene ambience, the Kesaria stupa is a testimony to the greatness of the ancient Buddhist architecture and stands out as a worthy emblem of a great religion. – See more at: http://www.incredibleindia.org

BUDDHA SMRITI PARK

Buddha Smriti Park is located in the heart of the city near the Patna railway junction. The Buddha Smriti Park is very magnificent and impressive landmark dedicated to Lord Buddha.

This state-of-the-art Buddhist religious structure includes a 200-foot-high central Stupa -’Patliputra Karuna’, Meditation Centre, Museum, and a distinctive Buddhist theme park – Park of Memories. The Park built by Bihar government to commemorate the 2550th anniversary of ‘mahanirvana’ (salvation) of Lord Buddha was inaugurated on 27th May 2010 by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on the occasion of Buddha Purnima.

GOLGHAR: ‘THE MONUMENTAL GRANARY’

Golghar (Round House) is located to the west of  famous Gandhi maidan in the city near river Ganga .This massive beehive shaped structure is in fact a huge granary built by Captain John Garstin in 1786.

After the catastrophic famine of 1770 in Bengal Province which killed approximately 15 million people in modern West Bengal, Bihar, parts of Jharkhand, Orissa and Bangla Desh.

Warren Hastings, the then Governor General of India ordered to build this massive round Granary to cater the need of British Army with a storage capacity of 14000 tones.Captain John Garstin of East India Company was the Architect of the GolGhar.

Looking like a huge Stupa-a type of Buddhist architecture, this massive concrete structure is 29 meter high on a platform of 125 meter and the walls are 3.6 meter thick at the base tapering towards the top without any pillar.

A pair of spiral- staircases, each having 145 steps meet at the top, from where one can have a spectacular bird’s eye view of the city and the river Ganga flowing nearby.

Golghar has also earned the name of “Garstin’s Folly” because of a design fault. The doors were designed to open inside, making it impossible to open, once the granary was full.

Primarily built as a granary, this massive structure is now one of the most significant landmarks of the city.

MARTYRS’ MEMORIAL : ‘THE SAGA OF SEVEN’

Shaheed Smarak

The Martyrs’ Memorial or Shaheed Smarak is located near the eastern gate of the Legislative Assembly of Bihar. This memorial is a life-size statue commemorating seven young freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the country.

The Quit India Movement was the culmination of the Indian freedom struggle that marked a new high in terms of the participation of the masses.
During this movement on 11 August 1942 seven brave young freedom fighters sacrifice their lives while attempting to hoist the national flag on the eastern gate of the Patna secretariat.
The Martyrs’ memorial or Shaheed Smark is a humble tribute to those seven brave young men who got martyrdom during freedom struggle.
The Martyrs’ memorial is also noted for its splendid sculptural work. Noted sculptor Devi Prasad Roychoudhry sculpted this bronze statue which was cast in Italy.
List engraved names on Martyrs’ Memorial
Umakant Prasad Sinha – Ram Mohan Roy Seminary, class IX
Ramanand Singh – Ram Mohan Roy Seminary, class IX
Satish Prasad Jha– Patna Collegiate School, class X
Jagatpati Kumar – Bihar National College, 2nd year
Devipada Choudhry – Miller High English School, class IX
Rajendra Singh – Patna High English School, matric class
Ramgovind Singh – Punpun High English School, matric class IX 

INDIRA GANDHI PLANETARIUM :’THE MESMERIZING CELESTIAL WORLD’

Looking for a unique and memorable experience? Visit Indira Gandhi planetarium in the city. Since its inception in the year 1993 Indira Gandhi Planetarium or simply Patna planetarium has been one of the most enthralling destinations for the visitors in the city.

Equipped with the ‘state-of-the-art’ technology, Indira Gandhi Planetarium is one of the largest planetariums in the Asian continent attracting a large number of visitors. The annual number of its visitors makes up approximately 1 million people.
The planetarium has a dome of 16 meters with a capacity of 270 seats.

The projection of sky teeming with stars, exploring celestial mysteries, taking a tour of the universe – all these gives a spectacular mesmerizing experience to the audience.

The planetarium runs regular shows on various subjects of astronomy which are constantly updated with the latest events in astronomy and space science. Overall a very entertaining and educational experience. Indira Gandhi planetarium is located in the Indira Gandhi science complex on Bailey road near Income tax roundabout in the heart of Patna.
It was Shree Satyandra Narayan Sinha the former chief minister of Bihar who first conceived the idea of Indira Gandhi planetarium in the city in 1989. It took a concrete form in 1993 when Sri Laloo Prasad Yadav the then chief minister of Bihar inaugurated it on March 21, 1993.

KUMHRAR: ‘THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURE’

Located in the eastern part of the city on the Kankarbagh road, Kumhrar is the site where archaeological remains of ancient Patliputra were excavated.
The archaeological findings ascribed to 600B.C. – 600A.D. belonging to four continuous periods.

The most important archaeological find is the remains of a hypostyle 80-pillared hall of Mauryan period. This 80-pillared hall at Kumhrar was discovered during excavations conducted by Archaeological Survey of India in the years 1912-15 under D. B. Spooner with the funds donated by Sir Ratan Tata. In this excavation traces of 72 pillars were found. Eight more pillars of the hall and four additional one belonging to the entrance or porch were exposed during further excavation in 1951-55 by K. P. Jayaswal research institute, Patna. Since then it is popularly referred as the ‘assembly hall of 80-pillars’. All the pillars were made of black spotted buff sandstone monoliths with a lustrous shine typical of the Mauryan period.

Regarding the nature of the hall, it has been variously assigned as the palace of King Asoka, audience hall, a pleasure hall or the conference hall for the third Buddhist council held at Patliputra in 250 B.C. during the reign of Mauryan emperor Asoka.

Arogya Vihara:
Besides 80-pillared assembly hall, the discovery of a monastery-cum-sanitarium or Arogya Vihara identified by a terracotta seal with the legend reading ‘Sri-Arogya-Vihare Bhikshusanghasya’ is an important find.

MANER SHARIF: ‘A HOME TO SUFISM’

About 32 kms west of Patna, Maner Sharif in Patna district is the most important and oldest center of Sufism in Bihar. Bihar has been one of the earliest places in the Indian sub-continent where mystic Sufis had settled.

The most important of all the Sufi order of Bihar, however, was the Firdausia Silsila- a subsection of Suharwardia order of Sufism. One of its most celebrated saints was Hazrat Sharfuddin Ahmad who was born in Maner in 1262 A.D. and died in Bihar Sharif in 1377 A.D. Tombs of several well known Sufis saints are located in Maner Sharif. Hazrat Makhdoom Yahya Maneri was a famous Indian Sufi saint of 13th century. His tomb lies in courtyard of a mosque here. The sacred shrine is locally known as ‘Bari Dargah’. Like several other shrines of Sufi saints, shrine of Hazrat Makhdoom Yahya Maneri is revered both by Muslims as well as Hindus. This shrine has remained as a place of pilgrimage for a long time. Mausoleum of Makhdoom Shah Daulat, a disciple of Hazrat Makhdoom Yahya Maneri, is known as ‘Choti Dargah’. Makhdoom Shah Daulat, a contemporary of Mughal emperor Akbar died in 1608. His mausoleum was built by Ibrahim Khan Kankar, Governor of Bihar in 1616. This mausoleum is a magnificent example of Mughal architecture. Mughal emperor Babar and Sikandar Lodi were among the notable visitors to Maner. Maner is also famous for ‘Laddoos’ a popular sweet delicacy in every household of India.

Nalanda

Nalanda (Nālandā; pronunciation: /nɑː.lən.ðɑː/; ) was an acclaimed Mahāvihāra, a large Buddhistmonastery in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India. The site is located about 95 kilometres southeast of Patna, and was a centre of learning from the fifth century CE to c. 1200 CE.Historians often characterize Nalanda as a university.

Nalanda flourished under the patronage of the Gupta Empire as well as emperors like Harsha and later, the rulers of the Pala Empire. At its peak, the school attracted scholars and students from as far away as Tibet, China, Korea, and Central Asia. It was very likely ransacked and destroyed by an army of the Muslim Mamluk Dynasty under Bakhtiyar Khilji in c. 1200 CE

Bodh Gaya

Gaya (/ɡʌjɑː/) (Hindi: गया) is a city of ancient historical and mythological significance. It is one of the major tourist attractions of Bihar. The city is the second largest city of Bihar[2] and also the headquarters of Gaya District.
Gaya is 100 kilometers south of Patna, the capital city of Bihar and 230 km from Bhagalpur. Situated on the banks of the Phalgu River (or Niranjana, as mentioned in Ramayana), it is a place sanctified by the Jain, Hindu and Buddhist religions. It is surrounded by small rocky hills (Mangla-Gauri, Shringa-Sthan,Ram-Shila and Brahmayoni) by three sides and the river flowing on the fourth (eastern) side. The city has a mix of natural surroundings, age old buildings and narrow bylanes.