Vaisali is an ancient place. It finds mention in the Ramayana. The legend is that the Ikshvaku queen Alambusha had a son Visala, who had founded the city named Visalapuri. Sumati, who had played host to Sri Ramchandra, was one of the descendants of Visala. The Puranas also mention King Visala. Sri Ramchandra is supposed to have passed one night here while going to Janakpur.
During the time of Vardhamana Mahavira, the 24th of the Jain Tirthankaras and a contemporary of Lord Buddha, Vaisali was a prosperous place. Mahavira Vardhamana had visited it. A large section ofSwetambar Jains takes Vaisali to be the birth-place of Mahavira. But this is not accepted by all the Swetambar Jains. Nor do a large section of Digambar Jains accept Vaisali as the birthplace of Mahavira. In recent years, however, the bulk of the Jains of Bihar and some other places have started treating Vaisali to be the birth-place of Mahavira and Mahavira Jayanti-the birth-day of Lord Mahavira-is now celebrated with great pomp at Vaisali
According to others, however,Kundaligram in Monghyr district is the birth-place of Mahavira Vardhamana. The third theory is that Mahavira was born at Kundalpur, near Nalanda, in Patna district. Whichever be the place of birth of Lord Mahavira, there is no doubt that Vaisali was the chief seat of Government of the Vrju Lichchavis in Mahavira's time and Vanijagrama,adjoining Vaisali, was the centre of trade and commerce.
While describing the historicity of this glorious place, Dr. Radha Kumud Mookerji in his article "Vaisali in Indian History and Culture" mentions: "Vaisali was then at the height of its prosperity with its three districts containing, according to the Tibetan tradition, houses numbering 7000, 14000 and 21000 respectively, and, according to a Jataka, was encompassed by three wallswith their separate gates and watch-towers. According to the Mahavastu, the citizens of Vaisali were distinguished as Adhantara Vaisalikas, the cockneys of the city, and Babira Vaisalikas, the citizens of Greater Vaisali outside the Metropolis and their total number was "twice 84000" i.e. 1,68,000.
The early Buddhist work Mahavagga describes Vaisali as 'an opulent, prosperous and populous town, with 7707 storeyed-buildings, 7707 Aramas and 7707 lotus-ponds,' with its Rajas or chiefs also numbering 7707. It will not be quite fair to assume that this description of the city contained in canonical Buddhist texts is imaginary oz, fictitious. Each of these chiefs decorated the capital with a variety of structures, houses and places, chaityas and viharas. The Buddhist texts single out eight of its famous, chaityas which were (i) Udena to the east of Vaisali, (ii) Gotamaka, to the south, (iii) Saptamraka (Sattamba) to the west, (iv) Bahuputra on the north, (v) Chapala, (vi) Kapinahya, (vii) Sarandada and (viii) Markatahrada. The Lichchavis of Vaisali made a gift of all those shrines to the Buddha
The early Buddhist work Mahavagga describes Vaisali as 'an opulent, prosperous and populous town, with 7707 storeyed-buildings, 7707 Aramas and 7707 lotus-ponds,' with its Rajas or chiefs also numbering 7707. It will not be quite fair to assume that this description of the city contained in canonical Buddhist texts is imaginary oz, fictitious. Each of these chiefs decorated the capital with a variety of structures, houses and places, chaityas and viharas. The Buddhist texts single out eight of its famous, chaityas which were (i) Udena to the east of Vaisali, (ii) Gotamaka, to the south, (iii) Saptamraka (Sattamba) to the west, (iv) Bahuputra on the north, (v) Chapala, (vi) Kapinahya, (vii) Sarandada and (viii) Markatahrada. The Lichchavis of Vaisali made a gift of all those shrines to the Buddha
The early Buddhist work Mahavagga describes Vaisali as 'an opulent, prosperous and populous town, with 7707 storeyed-buildings, 7707 Aramas and 7707 lotus-ponds,' with its Rajas or chiefs also numbering 7707. It will not be quite fair to assume that this description of the city contained in canonical Buddhist texts is imaginary oz, fictitious. Each of these chiefs decorated the capital with a variety of structures, houses and places, chaityas and viharas. The Buddhist texts single out eight of its famous, chaityas which were (i) Udena to the east of Vaisali, (ii) Gotamaka, to the south, (iii) Saptamraka (Sattamba) to the west, (iv) Bahuputra on the north, (v) Chapala, (vi) Kapinahya, (vii) Sarandada and (viii) Markatahrada. The Lichchavis of Vaisali made a gift of all those shrines to the Buddha
The temple is artistically erected and has started attracting pilgrims. On Mahavira Jayanti day thousands of pilgrims offer puja here. Vaisali was selected as the site for rearing an institution for the study of Jainology. An ancient Jain image found in the recent excavations has been preserved. A small museum has been sponsored at Vaisali itself and a large number of finds are kept there. On the occasion of Mahavira Jayanti a big mela is held which is attended by thousands of people. Cultural meetings are a usual feature of the Mahavira Jayanti celebrations.Vaisali is also important for the Buddhists. Buddha visited the place thrice. It was at Vaisali that the second great Buddhist Council was held. While sojourning at Vaisali, Buddha permitted the nuns to enter the Sangh, against his personal wishes, at the request of Ananda, his favourite disciple, and his foster mother, Maha Prajapati, became the first Buddhist nun at Vaisali.
Raja Visala's garh is still to be seen as a huge mound and the excavations have yielded great results as alreadymentioned. It was General Cuningham who, after visiting Vaisali, gave the first authoritative description. The excavations in 1904 discovered remains of masonry buildings at every -place explored.It was considered that the ruined buildings go back to at least 300 A.D. or still older times. There were ashes and fragments of burnt wood and it was assumed that this place was also sacked and plundered. It is remarkable that about 700 seals were discovered in one single room. One of the seals bears the mark of a Linga with a Trisul on each side. Tirabhukti, the ancient name of Tirhut, is inscribed on two of the seals. The finds discovered by Dr. Spooner,Superintendent of Archaeological Survey in the Eastern Circle, arepreserved in the Patna Museum.
In 1945 a Vaisali Sangh was organized to revive the ancient glory of Vaisali. The Sangh has taken great interest in cleaning up the large tank, know as the Bawan Pokhar, in the village. Several statues have been dug out of this tank. Local tradition has it that there were 52 tanks, and that Basarh was the residence of the Puranic Bali Raja. Vishnu appeared here in the fourth incarnation in the shape of a dwarf, and asked Bali Raja for as much ground as he could cover with his three feet. Two of his feet covered heaven and earth, and the third he placed on the head of Bali Raja and sent him hurtling into hell as punishment for his great pride. The villagers believe in the legend that the Bawan Pokhar was the scene of this occurrence.It may also be mentioned that within three miles of Vaisali there is an Asoka pillar, without any inscription, at Kaluha village. The pillar is a monolith supporting a square pedestal on which a lion is carved in stone. The shaft in the single block of polished stone stands 22 feet high above the ground and the remainder is below the ground.A finely executed lion with a snarling mouth sits facing north at the top of the pillar. There is some Buddhist a statue nearby, of which one is a large image of a seated Buddha with a crown and necklace. There are also some mounds in the neighborhood.All these appear to prove that Kaluha was a part of Vaisali. The modern temple erected near the tank Bawan Pokhar is expected to revive the ancient glory of Vaisali.
Vaisali is connected by road with the headquarters of a sub-division of Hajipur, Muzaffarpur district, as well as with Muzaffarpur, the district headquarters town. It is 22 miles from Hajipur and 30 miles from Muzaffarpur by road. The nearest railway station is Hajipur. Passenger buses run from both Muzaffar pur and Hajipur to Vaisali.
During the time of Vardhamana Mahavira, the 24th of the Jain Tirthankaras and a contemporary of Lord Buddha, Vaisali was a prosperous place. Mahavira Vardhamana had visited it. A large section ofSwetambar Jains takes Vaisali to be the birth-place of Mahavira. But this is not accepted by all the Swetambar Jains. Nor do a large section of Digambar Jains accept Vaisali as the birthplace of Mahavira. In recent years, however, the bulk of the Jains of Bihar and some other places have started treating Vaisali to be the birth-place of Mahavira and Mahavira Jayanti-the birth-day of Lord Mahavira-is now celebrated with great pomp at Vaisali
According to others, however,Kundaligram in Monghyr district is the birth-place of Mahavira Vardhamana. The third theory is that Mahavira was born at Kundalpur, near Nalanda, in Patna district. Whichever be the place of birth of Lord Mahavira, there is no doubt that Vaisali was the chief seat of Government of the Vrju Lichchavis in Mahavira's time and Vanijagrama,adjoining Vaisali, was the centre of trade and commerce.
While describing the historicity of this glorious place, Dr. Radha Kumud Mookerji in his article "Vaisali in Indian History and Culture" mentions: "Vaisali was then at the height of its prosperity with its three districts containing, according to the Tibetan tradition, houses numbering 7000, 14000 and 21000 respectively, and, according to a Jataka, was encompassed by three wallswith their separate gates and watch-towers. According to the Mahavastu, the citizens of Vaisali were distinguished as Adhantara Vaisalikas, the cockneys of the city, and Babira Vaisalikas, the citizens of Greater Vaisali outside the Metropolis and their total number was "twice 84000" i.e. 1,68,000.
The early Buddhist work Mahavagga describes Vaisali as 'an opulent, prosperous and populous town, with 7707 storeyed-buildings, 7707 Aramas and 7707 lotus-ponds,' with its Rajas or chiefs also numbering 7707. It will not be quite fair to assume that this description of the city contained in canonical Buddhist texts is imaginary oz, fictitious. Each of these chiefs decorated the capital with a variety of structures, houses and places, chaityas and viharas. The Buddhist texts single out eight of its famous, chaityas which were (i) Udena to the east of Vaisali, (ii) Gotamaka, to the south, (iii) Saptamraka (Sattamba) to the west, (iv) Bahuputra on the north, (v) Chapala, (vi) Kapinahya, (vii) Sarandada and (viii) Markatahrada. The Lichchavis of Vaisali made a gift of all those shrines to the Buddha
The early Buddhist work Mahavagga describes Vaisali as 'an opulent, prosperous and populous town, with 7707 storeyed-buildings, 7707 Aramas and 7707 lotus-ponds,' with its Rajas or chiefs also numbering 7707. It will not be quite fair to assume that this description of the city contained in canonical Buddhist texts is imaginary oz, fictitious. Each of these chiefs decorated the capital with a variety of structures, houses and places, chaityas and viharas. The Buddhist texts single out eight of its famous, chaityas which were (i) Udena to the east of Vaisali, (ii) Gotamaka, to the south, (iii) Saptamraka (Sattamba) to the west, (iv) Bahuputra on the north, (v) Chapala, (vi) Kapinahya, (vii) Sarandada and (viii) Markatahrada. The Lichchavis of Vaisali made a gift of all those shrines to the Buddha
The early Buddhist work Mahavagga describes Vaisali as 'an opulent, prosperous and populous town, with 7707 storeyed-buildings, 7707 Aramas and 7707 lotus-ponds,' with its Rajas or chiefs also numbering 7707. It will not be quite fair to assume that this description of the city contained in canonical Buddhist texts is imaginary oz, fictitious. Each of these chiefs decorated the capital with a variety of structures, houses and places, chaityas and viharas. The Buddhist texts single out eight of its famous, chaityas which were (i) Udena to the east of Vaisali, (ii) Gotamaka, to the south, (iii) Saptamraka (Sattamba) to the west, (iv) Bahuputra on the north, (v) Chapala, (vi) Kapinahya, (vii) Sarandada and (viii) Markatahrada. The Lichchavis of Vaisali made a gift of all those shrines to the Buddha
The temple is artistically erected and has started attracting pilgrims. On Mahavira Jayanti day thousands of pilgrims offer puja here. Vaisali was selected as the site for rearing an institution for the study of Jainology. An ancient Jain image found in the recent excavations has been preserved. A small museum has been sponsored at Vaisali itself and a large number of finds are kept there. On the occasion of Mahavira Jayanti a big mela is held which is attended by thousands of people. Cultural meetings are a usual feature of the Mahavira Jayanti celebrations.Vaisali is also important for the Buddhists. Buddha visited the place thrice. It was at Vaisali that the second great Buddhist Council was held. While sojourning at Vaisali, Buddha permitted the nuns to enter the Sangh, against his personal wishes, at the request of Ananda, his favourite disciple, and his foster mother, Maha Prajapati, became the first Buddhist nun at Vaisali.
Raja Visala's garh is still to be seen as a huge mound and the excavations have yielded great results as alreadymentioned. It was General Cuningham who, after visiting Vaisali, gave the first authoritative description. The excavations in 1904 discovered remains of masonry buildings at every -place explored.It was considered that the ruined buildings go back to at least 300 A.D. or still older times. There were ashes and fragments of burnt wood and it was assumed that this place was also sacked and plundered. It is remarkable that about 700 seals were discovered in one single room. One of the seals bears the mark of a Linga with a Trisul on each side. Tirabhukti, the ancient name of Tirhut, is inscribed on two of the seals. The finds discovered by Dr. Spooner,Superintendent of Archaeological Survey in the Eastern Circle, arepreserved in the Patna Museum.
In 1945 a Vaisali Sangh was organized to revive the ancient glory of Vaisali. The Sangh has taken great interest in cleaning up the large tank, know as the Bawan Pokhar, in the village. Several statues have been dug out of this tank. Local tradition has it that there were 52 tanks, and that Basarh was the residence of the Puranic Bali Raja. Vishnu appeared here in the fourth incarnation in the shape of a dwarf, and asked Bali Raja for as much ground as he could cover with his three feet. Two of his feet covered heaven and earth, and the third he placed on the head of Bali Raja and sent him hurtling into hell as punishment for his great pride. The villagers believe in the legend that the Bawan Pokhar was the scene of this occurrence.It may also be mentioned that within three miles of Vaisali there is an Asoka pillar, without any inscription, at Kaluha village. The pillar is a monolith supporting a square pedestal on which a lion is carved in stone. The shaft in the single block of polished stone stands 22 feet high above the ground and the remainder is below the ground.A finely executed lion with a snarling mouth sits facing north at the top of the pillar. There is some Buddhist a statue nearby, of which one is a large image of a seated Buddha with a crown and necklace. There are also some mounds in the neighborhood.All these appear to prove that Kaluha was a part of Vaisali. The modern temple erected near the tank Bawan Pokhar is expected to revive the ancient glory of Vaisali.
Vaisali is connected by road with the headquarters of a sub-division of Hajipur, Muzaffarpur district, as well as with Muzaffarpur, the district headquarters town. It is 22 miles from Hajipur and 30 miles from Muzaffarpur by road. The nearest railway station is Hajipur. Passenger buses run from both Muzaffar pur and Hajipur to Vaisali.
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