Rajgir
The 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 including the Haryanka dynasty and the Mauryan Empire. King Bimbisara ruled from 558 to 491 BC while his son Ajatashatru governed from 492 to 460 BC. The town finds mention in India's epic Mahabharata through its king Jarasandha. Archaeologists have found ceramics dating to about 1000 BC within the city limits. Udayin moved the capital to Pataliputra around 460 BC after ruling for twenty years. Shishunaga founded a new dynasty in 413 BC with Rajgir as its initial seat before shifting power again. The ancient site lies within a valley surrounded by low-lying hills known today as Rajgir Hills.
Gautama Buddha spent several months meditating at Gridhra-kuta, also called Hill of the Vultures. He delivered famous sermons here and initiated King Bimbisara into Buddhism. The Saptaparni Cave hosted the First Buddhist Council under the leadership of Maha Kassapa. Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, spent fourteen years living at Rajgir and Nalanda. He stayed four months during each rainy season retreat at a single place called Rajgruhi. The Son Bhandar Caves are thirty-four feet long and seventeen feet wide on the foothills. An inscription indicates these caves were built for Jain ascetics by Acharya Vairadevasuri in the fourth century CE. Sculptures of tirthankaras Padmaprabha and Parshvanatha appear on the cave walls. A black-coloured stone idol of Munisuvrata stands inside the Naulakha Jaina Temple installed in 1447 CE by Jinadasa.
An almost fifty kilometer-long cyclopean wall followed the tops of surrounding hills around old Rajgir. Sixteen towers stood along the walls at irregular intervals to strengthen defenses against attackers. The Pippala stone house remains identified on the eastern slope of Vaibhara hill. Originally built to house guards, it later became known as a place where Buddha often stayed. Eleven small cells within the Pippala house likely served as individual meditation rooms for Buddhist monks after defensive use ended. Archaeologists date the cyclopean walls of old Rajgir to about the sixth century BCE. New Rajgir was probably fortified around the first century BCE with another larger embankment outside the northern entrance. These structures served dual purposes as both defense against invaders and protection from potential flooding caused by monsoon rainwater flowing down from the hills.
The Vishwa Shanti Stupa was inaugurated on the 25th of October 1969 atop Ratnagiri hills by Japanese monk Nichidatsu Fujii. It is one of eighty peace pagodas in the world and the oldest peace pagoda in India. A rope-way leading to the stupa was gifted by Fuji Guruji in the 1960s. Brahmakunda hot springs merge waters from seven different springs called Saptarshi and hold healing effects for visitors. The Rajgir Film City spans twenty acres and serves as the second largest integrated film city in Bihar since construction began in 2017. Rajgir Wildlife Safari opened to the public on the 16th of February 2022 near the town center. The modern town lies just north of the Rajgir Hills which rise sharply up from flat surrounding plains. Revenue collected by tourism ranks top in Bihar among all districts.
Rajgir has a monsoon climate with annual rainfall of about 113 centimeters peaking in July and August. Summer temperatures reach maximums of 44 degrees Celsius while winter minimums drop to 6 degrees Celsius. The landscape features uneven terrain enclosed by five hills including Ratnagiri, Vipulgiri, Vaibhagiri, Songiri and Udaygiri. The Rajgir Wildlife Sanctuary covers an area of 35.84 square kilometers under Nalanda district administration. It was notified in 1978 as a remnant patch of forests nestled within the south Gangetic Plain. Blue bulls and spotted deer roam the sanctuary alongside painted spurfowl and Bengal monitors. The Panchane River flows to the east of Rajgir carrying water from multiple sources. Rainfall totals 1,860 millimeters between mid-June and mid-September each year.
The 2011 Indian Census reported a total population of 41,587 for Rajgir town. Males numbered 21,869 while females counted 19,718 people living there. Six thousand nine hundred twenty-two residents fell into the age group of zero to six years. Total literates reached 24,121 constituting 58 percent of the population with male literacy at 65.4 percent. Female literacy stood at 49.8 percent according to official records. Effective literacy rate for those aged seven plus reached 69.6 percent across all groups. Scheduled Castes comprised 11,724 individuals while Scheduled Tribes totaled only 42 people. Seven thousand thirty households existed within the town limits during that census count. Jainism and Buddhism remain notable religious traditions alongside Hindu practices in the region.
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Common questions
What was the ancient name of Rajgir and which dynasties ruled it?
The ancient identity of Rajgir was Rājagrhā, meaning house of the king. This city served as the capital for multiple dynasties including the Haryanka dynasty and the Mauryan Empire.
When did King Bimbisara rule from Rajgir and who succeeded him?
King Bimbisara ruled from 558 to 491 BC while his son Ajatashatru governed from 492 to 460 BC. Udayin moved the capital to Pataliputra around 460 BC after ruling for twenty years.
Where did Gautama Buddha meditate at Rajgir and what council took place there?
Gautama Buddha spent several months meditating at Gridhra-kuta, also called Hill of the Vultures. The Saptaparni Cave hosted the First Buddhist Council under the leadership of Maha Kassapa.
Who built the Son Bhandar Caves and when were they constructed?
An inscription indicates these caves were built for Jain ascetics by Acharya Vairadevasuri in the fourth century CE. Sculptures of tirthankaras Padmaprabha and Parshvanatha appear on the cave walls.
What is the purpose of the cyclopean wall surrounding old Rajgir and when was it dated?
Archaeologists date the cyclopean walls of old Rajgir to about the sixth century BCE. These structures served dual purposes as both defense against invaders and protection from potential flooding caused by monsoon rainwater flowing down from the hills.
When was the Vishwa Shanti Stupa inaugurated and who gifted the rope-way to the stupa?
The Vishwa Shanti Stupa was inaugurated on the 25th of October 1969 atop Ratnagiri hills by Japanese monk Nichidatsu Fujii. A rope-way leading to the stupa was gifted by Fuji Guruji in the 1960s.