The Sabhyata Dwar or Civilization Gate is a

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

located on the banks on

River Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

in the city of

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. ...

in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

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 ...

. The Sabhyata Dwar is built with a Mauryan-style architecture with a purpose to show the ancient glory of

Pataliputra Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the ...

and traditions and culture of the state of Bihar. The monument was first envisioned by the former

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Srinivas Kumar Sinha Lieutenant General Srinivas Kumar Sinha, PVSM, ADC (January 7, 1926 – November 17, 2016) was an Indian Army General who served as the Vice Chief of Army Staff. After his retirement, he served as Governor of the states of Jammu and Kashmir, ...

. The high structure is taller than

Gateway of India The Gateway of India is an arch-monument built in the early 20th century in the city of Mumbai (Bombay), India. It was erected to commemorate the landing of King-Emperor George V, the first British monarch to visit India, in December 1911 at ...

by and was built at a cost of ₹ 5

crore A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...

(50 million). The monument is spread over an area of one acre within the campus of

Samrat Ashok International Convention Centre The Samrat Ashok Convention Centre is a convention centre on North Gandhi Maidan Marg, Patna, Bihar with an estimated budget of 490 crore. The foundation stone of the centre was laid by Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar on 8 February 20 ...

. The arches of the Dwar contain inscriptions attributed to

Megasthenes Megasthenes ( ; grc, Μεγασθένης, c. 350 BCE– c. 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book '' Indica'', which is now lost, but has ...

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, ...

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

and

Mahavira Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...

. Bihar Chief Minister

Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unite ...

inaugurated the monument on 21 May 2018.

History

The idea for constructing a Gateway of India like structure was pitched by the former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Retired Lieutenant General Srinivas Kumar Sinha (SK Sinha) in 2010. SK Sinha suggested the idea to build a Sabhyata Dwar (Civilisation Gate) near the residence of City

Superintendent of Police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

on the banks of River Ganga to show how the river port of Pataliputra attracted people from across the world.

Construction

On 8 February 2014, foundation stone of Samrat Ashok International Convention Centre was laid by the then Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar of which the Sabhyata Dwar was a part of. The plan of the building was drawn by a

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

based firm. Construction of the monument was done by the building and construction department of the

Bihar government The Government of Bihar, known locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Bihar and its 9 divisions which consist of 38 districts . It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Bihar, a jud ...

. On 21 May 2018, Sabhyata Dwar was inaugurated by the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The cost of construction of the project is 5 crore (50 million).

Structure and appearance

The Sabhyata Dwar is built on an area of one acre within the campus of Samrat Ashok International Convention Centre, north of

Gandhi Maidan Gandhi Maidan is a historic ground in Patna, near the banks of the Ganges River, in Bihar, India. The Golghar falls to its west. During the period of 1824–1833, under British rule, it was used as a golf course and horse racing track and was c ...

. At high the structure is taller than Gateway of India () and

Golghar The Golghar or Gol Ghar (गोलघर), ("Round House") is a large granary located to the west of the Gandhi Maidan in Patna, capital of Bihar state, India. History According to a contemporary inscription at its base, the Golghar in Patna ...

(). The Dwar faces Ganga on its northern side. It consists of two arches built with Mauryan architecture with a smaller arch on either side. The structure is constructed from red and white sandstones. Atop the arch monument is a small

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 ...

upon which rests Ashoka's four-sided lion capital made from alloyed metal. The northern and southern faces of the arches contain inscriptions attributed to Megasthenes, Ashoka, Buddha and Mahavira.

References

{{Patna Monuments and memorials in Bihar Tourist attractions in Patna Buildings and structures in Patna Triumphal arches Memorials to Ashoka 2018 establishments in Bihar

History

Construction

Structure and appearance

See also

References