Kesariya or Kesaria is a town in the district of

East Champaran East Champaran is an administrative district in the state of Bihar in India.The district headquarters are located at Motihari. Prior to 1st Dec 1977, there was a single district called "Champaran". On 1st Dec 1977, the district was divided into 2 ...

, in the Indian state of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

. It is the site of a

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

built by the

Mauryan The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until ...

king

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

Geography

It is near Rampur Khajuria. The nearest villages are Noori Mohalla Trilokwa &

Trilokwa Trilokwa is a village located in East Champaran district in the state of Bihar, India. Trilokwa is considered as India's Biggest village. The village is located at about 100 km from the state capital, Patna. This Village is Located At 8 Km From ...

(3.5 km),Kushar Saikh Toli (4 km), Phultakiya (3 km), Baisakhawa (2 km), Ramgadhwa (4 km), Tajpur (6 km), Bairiya (6 km), Bathana (5 km), Nyagaw (4 km).There are also two mosques in the town and nearest railway Station is Chakia about 21 km.

History

Modern Kesaria presently stands on the spot of ancient Kesaputta, which was the capital of the

Kālāma Kālāma (Pāli: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Kālāmas were organised into a (an aristocratic oligarchic republic), presently referred to as the Kālāma ...

s, an ancient tribe organised as a republic that was later annexed by its monarchical neighbour

Kosala The Kingdom of Kosala (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian kingdom with a rich culture, corresponding to the area within the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh to Western Odisha. It emerged as a janapada, small state during the late Ve ...

. The Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the

Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...

contains references to Kesaputta or Bhoganagara. Bhoganagara was situated on the border between the Lichhavis and the Mallas.

Legend

Alara Kalama, Buddha's teacher before enlightenment, is said to have been from Kesaputta. According to

Jataka tales The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...

, the Buddha ruled this place as a Chakravartin Raja in a previous life. During one of the Buddha's visits to Kesaputta, he gave an essential discourse, the celebrated

Kesamutti Sutta The Kesamutti Sutta, popularly known in the West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology T ...

, also known as the Kalama Sutta. The local people call this Stupa Devala, meaning "the house of God." Before the excavation of this, they believed that inside it there is a temple of Shiva which was built by King Bhema containing a lot of treasures.

Kesariya Stupa

Initially constructed as a mud stupa, it gained its present structure in the Maurya, Sunga and Kushana period. The stupa dates between 200 AD and 750 AD and may have been associated with the 4th-century ruler, Raja Chakravarti. Kesariya Stupa is 104 feet high. Huien Tsang mentions having seen the grand Stupa in Kia-shi-po-lo (Kesariya) but it was deserted and overgrown. The

Kesariya stupa Kesariya stupa is a Buddhist stupa in Kesariya, located at a distance of from Patna, in the Champaran (east) district of Bihar, India. The first construction of the Stupa is dated to the 3rd century BCE.Le Huu Phuoc, Buddhist Architecture, Gr ...

was discovered in 1958 during an excavation led by Archaeologist

KK Muhammed Karingamannu Kuzhiyil Muhammed (born 1 July 1952) is an Indian archaeologist. He was the Regional Director (North) of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). He was honored with India's fourth highest civilian honor Padma Shri in 2019 by Pr ...

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

(ASI). A 1998 excavation of the area surrounding the stupa uncovered significant items, such as Islamic coins, arrowheads, copper and terracotta items, earthen lamps, decorated bricks, etc. Some images of Buddha, in ‘Bhoomi Sparsh Mudra’ and other sitting postures, were found.

Transport

Transport and accommodation are available from the state capital,

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

, for visit to the Bodh circuit (

Bodhgaya Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( pi, ...

Rajgir Rajgir, meaning "The City of Kings," is a historic town in the district of Nalanda in Bihar, India. As the ancient seat and capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty and the Mauryan Empire, as well as the d ...

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Vaishali, Kesaria,

Mehsi Mehsi is a High Deployment City and Urban Headquarter Kasba Mehsi located in the Mehsi It is a part of the Tirhut Division. in the Indian state of Bihar. Mehsi is an entry point of East Champaran when traveling from Patna, Darbhanga to Delhi ...

Lumbini Lumbinī ( ne, लुम्बिनी, IPA=ˈlumbini , "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. It is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, Queen Mahamayadevi gave birth ...

Kushinagar Kushinagar ( Hindustani: or ; Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is a town in the Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is an important and popular Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha attained ''parinirvana''. Etym ...

Sarnath Sarnath (Hindustani pronunciation: aːɾnaːtʰ also referred to as Sarangnath, Isipatana, Rishipattana, Migadaya, or Mrigadava) is a place located northeast of Varanasi, near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pr ...

), Jain Circuit (

Pawapuri Pawapuri or Pavapuri (also called Apapapuri, meaning "the sinless town") is a holy site for Jains located in the Nalanda district of Bihar state in Eastern India. It is located about 19 kilometers from Rajgir and 101 kilometers from Patna, th ...

), and Sikh Circuit in Bihar.

Climate

References

{{Reflist

External links

Bharat Online.com
Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India Archaeological sites in Bihar Tourism in Bihar