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Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India

  • KushinagarThe region now known as Kushinagar was once defined by the abundance of kusha grass. Alexander Cunningham noted that this specific vegetation gave the place…
  • VikramashilaKing Dharmapala ruled the Pala Empire from 783 to 820 CE. He established Vikramashila between the late eighth and early ninth century.
  • Ajanta CavesThe Ajanta Caves are thirty rock-cut Buddhist monuments carved into a horseshoe-shaped cliff of Deccan basalt in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra…
  • BharhutA village in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh holds a Buddhist stupa that has puzzled historians for over a century.
  • Bodh GayaGautama Buddha sat beneath a tree by the Lilājan River in 534 BCE. He had spent six years practicing self-mortification at Uruvela, as the place was then…
  • RajgirThe name Rajgir means royal mountain, yet its ancient identity was Rājagrhā, or house of the king. This city served as the capital for multiple dynasties…
  • JetavanaAnathapindika, the chief male patron of Gautama Buddha, sought a peaceful place to build a monastery for his teacher and monks.
  • SarnathThe name Sarnath derives from the Sanskrit word Saranganath, which translates to 'Lord of the Deer' in English. This title refers to an ancient Buddhist…