Vulture’s Peak

One of the sixteen regions of ancient India was Magadha, and it’s first capital was the town of Rajgir (Rajagaha) in present day Bihar. Magadha is heavily mentioned in the Hindu epics Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas, as well as Buddhist and Jain scriptures. Two of India’s greatest empires, the Maurya and Gupta Empires originated in Magahda, empires that saw some of the greatest advances in Indian science, mathematics, religion and philosophy.

Buddhist Prayer Flags on Vulture's Peak

Rajgir, meaning “house of the king”, was the capital until the 5th century BCE. It was here, at the hill known as Vulture’s Peak, that Gautama, the historical Buddha, spent several months meditating and giving Dharma teachings, including the Sukarakhata Sutta. As well, one of the Buddha’s chief disciples, Sariputta, attained enlightenment at Vulture’s Peak, and the First Buddhist Council was held here three months after the Buddha passed away.

Tibetan pilgrim on Vulture's Peak, Rajgir, India.

Today, Rajgir is an important pilgrimage site for Buddhists along with the nearby ruins of Nalanda university, one of the ancient worlds greatest universities. Located only 80km away from Bodhgaya, the holiest site in Buddhism, Vulture’s Peak attracts a steady flow of travelers. Next to Vulture’s Peak is Ratnagiri Hill, where the 40m high whitewashed Vishwashanti stupa built by the Japanese sits. Golden Buddha statues sit in the recesses of the stupa depicting the four stages of his life, namely birth, enlightenment, preaching and death. There’s also a Japanese monastery and 26 Jain shrines nearby. To get to the stupa, it’s possible to either walk up or take a single person chairlift to the top.

Chairlift to Ratnagiri Hill

Golden Buddha in the Vishwashanti Stupa

Gijjhakuta or Vultures Peak is today festooned with colorful Buddhist prayer flags around it’s rocky peak. Caves and shrines dot the hillside, including one where Buddha delivered sermons and another where Sariputta attained enlightenment. As well, the ruins of a small stupa may be seen, where Chinese monk Faxian made offerings around the year 400CE. It’s also believed that during the 13th century, tigers inhabited the caves on the rocky hillside.

Tibetan pilgrims in Rajgir

Prayer flags

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 06:00. It is filed under Travel and tagged with India. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.