Super Stupas

News from Nalanda

Holy Coolness! New stupas on the Bihari block!
This time it's near the famed former Nalanda University in a place called Ghorakatora.

Imposing Buddhist stupa discovered in Bihar
New Kerala Mon, 09 Feb 2009 06:09 AM PST
Patna, Feb 9 : A huge Buddhist stupa has been discovered in Bihar's Nalanda district and archaeologists Monday said it could be the second largest such structure in the world.

Two winters ago (2007) after the Kagyu Monlam, I took a wild ride through the Bihar countryside to see the ongoing excavation of Kesaria stupa (one of my photos shown below).

Kesaria is huge - about 10 storeys. Some sources say it's the largest stupa in the world (and just think - there is not one tourist facility there and it's not even completely excavated).

Within 11 of the star-shaped niches are 11 seated Buddha statues. Every one of them has had its head lopped off. If I were in India, I would be too politically afraid to say "Muslim invaders did it." But I am in Nepal, so I can say it. It's true.

Amazingly, there is another almost identical to it in Bihar and even lesser known, called Nanda Laharia. I would imagine this "new" (old) stupa is very similar to both Nanda Laharia and Kesaria.

Since my visit to Bihar I have raved that the entire state is a treasure-trove of barely discovered Buddhist ruins. I think this is still just the tip of the iceberg.

Nalanda was at one time a world-renowned university for Buddhist studies, as well as a monastery. It would be politically incorrect to say what happened to it. In fact, you can visit the site yourself, see the destruction, and not see one single sign indicating what happened. Some mean nasty people tore it down and beheaded hundreds of monks. But we can't say who they were or where they came from. Then we might not get certain votes in the next election.

Nalanda was not the only one of its kind. Taxila (now in Pakistan), Odantapuri and Vikramashila were all major centres of religious education.

Even if it's for primarily commercial purposes, I am glad to see Indians rediscovering their Buddhist history and heritage. Vikramashila (in what is now Bengal) is once again in the news:

Vikramsila (Bhagalpur), Feb. 8: Another festival to celebrate the glory of the ancient university has come to an end today, but without any sign of reviving the seat of Buddhist learning. Governor R.L. Bhatia attended the inaugural ceremony of the three-day Vikramsila Mahotsav at Antichak near Kahalgaon on February 6, raising hope among local people for possible inclusion of the ruined university in the Buddhist tourism circuit.
...Excavated remains represent the ruins of Vikramsila Mahavihar, the celebrated university founded by Pala king Dharmapala in the late 8th or early 9th century. Vikramsila, one of the largest Buddhist universities spread across the bank of the Ganga, was six times bigger than Nalanda.

The story goes on to say how locals are eager for the Mahavihar (Great Monastery) to be restored and linked to what is called, in India, the "Buddhist Circuit" (historical and living pilgrimage route; read: Spiritual Tourism).

As an opportunity for India to increase tourist dollars without opening itself further, as some complain, to the sex, drugs and rock'n'roll decadence of the "evil west," Spiritual Tourism would seem to be ideal.

And back here in Nepal, Buddhist ruins from the 12th century are still being discovered. Here's a story about the site of Kakrebihar.
.... Kakrebihar, a site in remote Surkhet district in mid-western Nepal that during excavation by the country's archaeological department yielded a treasure trove of sculptures and stone carvings.
... the findings established the area as an important centre of Buddhist art.

The Kakrebihar mound is probably the biggest instance of rock architecture in Nepal. The ruins suggest a temple built in layers and decorated with images that illustrate the life of the Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and his teachings.

Time shift

Let's do the time warp again
Kathmandu

Last week, my Charya Nritya (Chacha Pyakhan if you speak Newari) teacher, Raju Sakya, and I were pushing our way through the sidewalk near Sundhara.

Pushing, not because Nepal is soooo heavily populated or because people are so rude (neither is the case) but because 2/3 of the walk space is taken up by sidewalk vendors. One of the first things the new Home Minister announced was a crackdown on "footpath" vendors. I guess what we're tripping over now are the vendors who can pay the new, requisite bribes.

Anyway, as we were negotiating our way toward the Ratna Park Tempo-Micro (mini-bus and share taxi) stand, we passed a lone Buddhist chaitya (aka stupa, chorten - Buddhist monument) in the middle of the sidewalk chaos.

In Kathamdu, it's hard to walk without tripping over such works of religious art - they are literally everywhere. But there was something distinctive about this chaitya.

The lines were more fluid, more flowery...I did not get a snap of it. But Raju, who is getting a Master's degree in Nepali art from Tribhuvan University, said "This is a Licchavi period chaitya."

The Licchavi period. Wow. That means it's at minimum 1,400 years old.

"Yes," said Raju, "from 6th or 7th century."

For just a second all the horns, shouting, spitting and pushing stopped. The Licchavi dynasty came from what's now Bihar state in India (I think; don't beat me up if I am wrong). Though they were Hindu, there was still plenty of Buddhist art flourishing during their reign.

This piece of ancient artwork is enclosed by just a cast iron railing; otherwise it's in the open air. It appears undamaged and has probably not changed for the 1500 or so years of its life.

Just the kind of stuff you can see any old day walking down the sidewalk in Kathmandu - if you can make enough space on the sidewalk. We pushed, darted, and maneuvered our way over to the micro-bus and headed for Patan (former Buddhist kingdom, now home to INGOs and expats).

Let It Bihar

The long and potholed road
Patna, Bihar

Two days of driving/bus riding through rural Bihar villages (Vaishali, Lalganj, Chakiya, Deoria, Keshariya and lots of nameless ones) was alternately enthralling in its simplicity, and scary.

The villages themselves are quiet, clean, and immaculate with their neatly swept mud houses. No horns, no traffic (at least no cars - only bicycles, pedestrians and ox carts), no pollution, no sewer smells, and if you are looking for the one place in India not yet invaded by Coke and Pepsi - this is it! No corporate logo signboards for hours at a time, nor any bottled water for 12 hours! I ate lots of oranges and drank lots of tea instead.

But, every couple hours, a gang of youths at a crossroads would blockade the car (cars are a definite occasion in those parts - a real novelty), even forcing it to stop with a bamboo pole and loudly, forcefully demanding god knows what from the terrified driver (who spoke not a work of English, and my Hindi is restricted to about 3 dozen words). Maybe they just wanted a lift, maybe baksheesh, but I really did not want to find out.

We managed to push through gangs like this three times - and that's just daytime travel. Shiva knows what night travel would be in rural Bihar!

The good news is that there are Buddhist ruins and sites still being excavated - significant ones. In 5-10 years Vaishali and Keshariya will be crowded with pilgrims.

Keshariya in particular is home to what appears to be the world's 2nd tallest, or possibly even tallest, stupa - originally 10 storeys high in mandala shape! At one time this was a truly awesome work, like a pyramid. It was originally built by Emperor Ashoka about 2000 years ago to commemorate the spot where the dying Buddha. surrounded by weeping disciples, gave away his only possession - his begging bowl.

It was a very loooooooonngggg drive there on potholed roads. Excavation appears to be moving at the proverbial snail's pace. The day I was there, not one archaeologist or worker was in evidence. Only1/3 of the structure has been revealed - the rest is still covered in about 2000 years of dust, mud and fully grown trees, which gives it a sort of romantic Jungle Book-Lost City appeal (while the tree roots are probably destroying it).

Photos to come, but Tawanda (my beloved Compaq Presario) is not recharging. Let's hope and pray that it's just a battery problem. I guess that means Delhi is the next stop, to get Tawanda revved up again.

State of the state
Bihar state is synonymous with kidnappings, banditry, poverty and corruption. Every week, the paper has an account of a prominent person's child, or even just successful middle-class person's, kidnapped and held for ransom. The headlines of the "Bihar Digest" section sometimes defy belief ("Child's fingers chopped off for stealing spinach"; "Son hacks mother to death").

The local government seems too busy with esoterica to do much about such things. When the most recent Chief Minister left office, he conducted a puja to exorcise spirits, and nailed all his ghosts to a tree in the front yard of the official residence. (This is not an allegation - these are his own words.) Last week the paper carried allegations, made by a rival, that a local politician was performing black magic ceremonies at the town's most prominent Hindu temple.

You can't make this stuff up. But it's after 9pm, which is late here. Maybe before I leave town, I can go peek at the Ghost Tree (in the yard of #1, Anne Marg).