Kesaria
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Kesariya
केसरिया Kasariya | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Nickname: Kesaputta | |
  Kesariya Location in Bihar, India  Kesariya Kesariya (Bihar) | |
| Coordinates: 26°20′03″N 84°51′17″E / 26.334192°N 84.854820°E | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Bihar |
| District | East Champaran |
| Government | |
| • Type | State Government |
| • Body | Bihar |
| Elevation | 45 m (148 ft) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | languageHindi, Urdu, Bhojpuri |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 845424 |
Kesariya is a town in Bihar, India in the district of East Champaran, near Rampur Khajuria (NH28). It is the site of a stupa built by the Mauryan king Ashoka.
Buddhist legends
Ancient Kesariya (formally known as Kesaputta) was a republic ruled by Kalamas, and then later annexed by its monarchical neighbour Kosala. Alara Kalama, Buddha's teacher before enlightenment, is said to have been from Kesaputta. Buddha is also said to have had a direct connection with Kesaputta. According to Jataka stories, Buddha ruled this place as a Chakravartin Raja in his previous birth. Additionally, it was during one of Buddha's visits to Kesaputta that he gave one of his most important discourses, the celebrated Kessaputtiya Sutta, popularly known as Kalama Sutta. Kesariya stupa is believed to have been built to honour the place where Buddha had spent the last days of his journey before attaining Nirvana. It is said that on his last journey to Pawa, Buddha handed over his begging bowl to the following Lichhivis, the people of Vaishali, and beseeched them to go back to Vaishali. To venerate the end of the Buddha's life, the Lichhivis are said to have built this stupa. Initially constructed as a mud stupa, it gained its present structure in the Maurya, Sunga and Kushana period. Huien Tsang mentions having seen the grand Stupa in Kia-shi-po-lo (Kesariya) but it was deserted and it had been overgrown by vegetation.
In the 1998 excavation, the area surrounding the stupa was found to contain significant items, like Islamic coins, arrowheads, copper and terracotta items, earthen lamps, decorated bricks, etc. A number of images of Buddha, in ‘Bhoomi Sparsh Mudra’ and other sitting postures, were also found.[citation needed]
Nearest Biggest Villages are Noori Mohalla Trilokwa & Trilokwa (3.5 km), Phultakiya (3 km), Baisakhawa (2 km), Ramgadhwa (4 km), Tajpur (6 km), Bairiya (6 km), Bathana (5 km), Nyagaw (4 km), Etc.
Kesariya Stupa
| Pilgrimage to |
| Buddha's Holy Sites |
|---|
 |
The Kesariya stupa was discovered in 1958 during an excavation led by Archaeologist KK Muhammed of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The stupa dates between 200 AD and 750 AD and may have been associated with the 4th century ruler, Raja Chakravarti.[1] The local people call this Stupa Devala, meaning "the house of god". Before the excavation of this, they believed that inside it there is a temple of Shiva which was built by King Bhema .
Height
Kesariya Stupa is 104 feet high.
Viraat Ramayan Mandir
Viraat Ramayan Mandir is an upcoming Hindu temple complex that began its construction[1] in Kesaria, Bihar, India, in 2012 with an estimated budget of INR 500 crore.[2] When completed, it will be the largest religious monument in the world, even larger than Angkor Wat, Cambodia.[3] The Virat Ramayan Mandir will be almost double the height of Angkor Wat, which is 215 feet high. The temple will have a hall with a seating capacity of 20,000 people.[4]
Transportation and hotels
The Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation [2] provides travel and accommodation from the state capital, Patna, for visit to the Bodh circuit (Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Vaishali, Kesaria, Lumbini, Kushinagar, Sarnath), Jain Circuit (Rajgir, Pawapuri), and Sikh Circuit in Bihar. The corporation owns hotels and circuit homes at these tourist destinations.