Patna
: Seat of mighty empires.Beneath the din and bustle of Patna, the capital
of Bihar state, has a fascinating past. And in each chapter of its history,
it has been crowned by a new name- Kusumpur, Pushpapur, Pataliputra and Azeemabad.
Turning over the pages of early Indian history one comes across the name of
the pre-eminent city of Pataliputra. Located at the site where Patna is today,
this city saw the rise and fall of India's first major kingdoms.
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Nalanda : Nalanda, where
ruins of the great ancient university have been excavated, is situated at a
distance of 90 km. south east of Patna by road. It falls on way to Rajgir. It
is also linked by rail with Patna, Rajgir and Bakhtiyarpur. Hieun Tsang, the
renowned Chinese traveller of the seventh century, says that according to tradition
the place owed its name to a Naga of the same name which resided in a local
tank. But he thinks it more probable that Lord Buddha, in one of his previous
births as Bodhisatwa, became a king with his capital at this place.
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Rajgir : Rajgir, known earlier
as 'Rajagriha' or Girivaraja, nestles in the rocky hills, that witnessed the
teachings of both Buddha and Mahavira.Rajgir is 10km south of Nalanda and sacred
to the memory of the founder of both Buddhism and Jainism. Lord Buddha spent
many months of retreat during the rainy season here, and used to meditate and
preach on Griddhkuta, the 'Hill of the Vultures'.
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Vaishali : It is held that
the town derives its name from King Vishal, whose heroic deeds are narrated
in the Hindu epic Ramayana. However, history records that around the time Pataliputra
was the centre of political activity in the Gangetic plains, Vaishali came into
existence as centre of the Ganga, it was the seat of the Republic of Vajji.
Vaishali is credited with being the World's First Republic to have a duly elected
assembly of representatives and efficient administration.
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