Stupa

विराट नगर – पांडव अज्ञातवास का साक्षी, बौद्ध साक्षात्कार का बीजक और एक झांकता मुग़ल कालीन झरोखा

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जयपुर से विराट नगर के लिए सुबह सात बजे वाली बस मैं बैठकर 9 बजे पहुँच गया। विराट नगर जाने का मेरा केवल एक ही उद्देश्य था और वो था बीजक की पहाड़ी पर बना हुआ करीब 2500 हज़ार साल पुराना बोद्ध स्तूप। यह एतिहासिक स्मारक विराट नगर बस स्टैंड से करीब ३ कि .मी की दूरी पर एक ऊंची पहाड़ी के ऊपर बने एक समतल धरातल पर स्थित है। इस पहाड़ी पर तीन समतल धरातल है। सबसे पहले वाले पर एक विशाल शिला प्राकृतिक रूप से विद्यमान है जिसका स्वरूप एक डायनासोर की तरह प्रतीत होता है।

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Sankaram and Kotturu

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Andhra was a bastion of Buddhism for at least a thousand years. It was a centre of learning and Buddhism spread out to Sri Lanka and South East Asia through its ports. The stupas and monasteries provided the architectural models for the more famous Buddhist shrines in the rest of the world like the famous Borobodur in Indonesia. The Buddhist phase lasted for nearly a thousand years till the rise of Shaivism in the 7th century CE obliterated Buddhism from this region. It is sad that while these places attract visitors from all over the Buddhist world, Indians are not aware of the existence of these places.In this series, I am retracing the footsteps of those distant ancestors of mine.

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A Tale of Two Temples

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The Bala Balaji temple is a standing testimony to the devotion and perseverance of a humble coconut vendor called Ramaswami. Every year, he used to visit Tirupati and place a share of his annual income at the feet of Lord Venkateswara as his offering. In 1966, the priests there refused to place the offerings at the feet of the idol and understandably, Ramaswamy was upset thinking that the rejection was by the Lord himself.

That night, Lord Balaji appeared in Ramaswamy’s dream and told him to build a shrine in his hometown itself. Ramaswamy installed framed photographs of Lord Venkateswara and his consort Padmavati in his shop. He would feed the people who visited his shrine without charging any money. In course of time, the temple attracted hundreds of devotees and Ramaswamy had sufficient funds to build a temple. The construction was completed in 1991 and the idols were installed an consecrated by Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji, a famous Vaishnavite saint.

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Timeless in Sanchi

Timeless in Sanchi

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Before the stupa, let’s dwell a little on the township itself (we are after all travelling, not just visiting a place on the tourist map). It’s a small, small place, and if you are here to stay, practically everyone will know that you have arrived before the day is out. At least that’s how it feels. If you have a white skin, you can be sure of it. And yet, unlike many other Indian places, there is no one to hassle you, with postcards to sell or hotel rooms to show. The place itself is almost Buddhist in its quietness.

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