Kesaria

Kesaria Kasariya
—  protected resources  —
Kesaria Location of Kesaria in Bihar and India
Coordinates	26°21′54″N 84°52′23″E
Country	India
State	Bihar
District(s)	East Champaran district
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)

Kesariya is a small city in Bihar, India. It is renowned as the site of the King Ashoka-built stupa, which is possibly the largest stupa in all of India. Kesariya was previously referred to as Kesaputta during the time of the Buddha. It was a township of the Kosalans and the residence of the Kalamas. The Buddha once stayed there, on which occasion he preached the Kesaputtiya Suttas (a group of sutras preached to the Kalamas of Kesaputta - A.i.188), which include the famous Kalama Sutta.

Kesaria Stupa

Kesaria is located in the district of East Champaran, 40 km from Motihari and 10 km from Rampur Khajuria (NH28). It is reported to have the tallest and the largest Buddhist Stupa in the world; the stupa was discovered in 1998 through excavation by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). At a height of 104 feet, which is less than its reported original height, it is still one foot taller than the famous Borobodur Stupa in Java. The Stupa is located near the town of Kasaria, 120 km from Patna, capital of Bihar. According to the National Informatics Centre of East Champaran (Motihari) publication, the Kesaria Stupa was 123 feet tall before the 1934 earthquake in Bihar. According to a report by the A.S.I., the Kesaria Stupa was originally reported to have been 150 feet tall, 12 feet taller than the 138-foot Borobodur stupa.At present, the Kesaria Stupa is 104 feet and the Borobodur Stupa is 103 feet. The height of ‘Sanchi Stupa ‘ a world heritage site is only 77.50 feet. Legend states that Buddha, on his last Journey, is reported to have spent a memorable night at Kesaria. It is the largest and tallest Stupa, while second largest discovered at Ghorakatora in Nalanda district. According to some archaeologists, this monument dates back to 200 AD to 750 AD, and is associated to some Raja Chakravarti.

Transportation and hotels

Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (Bihar Tourism) provides travel accommodations from the state capital Patna to visit the Bodh circuit (Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Vaishali, Kesaria, Lumbini, Kushinagar, Sarnath), Jain Circuit (Rajgir, Pawapuri), and Sikh Circuit in Bihar. The corporation also owns hotels and circuit homes at the respective tourist destinations.

Gallery

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  The Kesariya Stupa

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  The Kesariya Stupa

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  The Kesariya Stupa - maps.google

Pilgrimage to Buddha's Holy Sites
The Four Main Sites
Lumbini · Bodh Gaya Sarnath · Kushinagar
Four Additional Sites
Sravasti · Rajgir Sankissa · Vaishali
Other Sites
Patna · Gaya · Kosambi Kapilavastu · Devadaha Kesariya · Pava Nalanda · Varanasi
Later Sites
Sanchi · Mathura Ellora · Ajanta · Vikramshila Ratnagiri · Udayagiri · Lalitgiri Bharhut · Barabar Caves