Bijak Ki Pahari - Ruins of Buddhist Monasteries Dating Back to the Golden Days of History.

 

Bijak Ki Pahari is a hill where tourists can see the remnants of a couple of Buddhist monasteries dating back to the golden days of history. It is located in the city of Viratnagar in Rajasthan. Bijak ki Pahari means literally hill of inscriptions. Eight such monasteries were believed to be in existence, during Hiuen Tsang's visit to Virat nagar in 634 A.D., around 900 years after Emperor Ashoka's first visit to the place.

 

Bijak ki Pahari, located in Bairat, houses the ruins of a Buddhist chaitya (chapel) dating back to the 3rd century BC. These are the oldest free-standing Buddhist structures in India. It is a freestanding Buddhist temple which was built during Emperor Ashoka's reign in the 3rd century BCE. Notably, a Minor Rock Edict of Ashoka was found near the temple. Hailed as the earliest circular Buddhist shrine, the Bairat temple has been a hallmark of Indian architecture. In this article, we will learn more about this famous historical place.

 

The central portion of the lower platform has a circular chamber, which appears like the interior of a temple, this is supposedly the oldest temple structure. Outside walls of the temple have Buddhist inscriptions, written in Brahmi script of the Ashokan period. The upper platform is 30 ft higher than the lower one. Tourists can see here the second rock edict of the King Ashoka on a huge granite boulder.

 

 

The Bairat Temple is a rare circular stand-alone temple but due to the ravages of time, only the foundation of the temple stands today. A rectangular enclosure wall surrounded the circular temple and there was a small stupa at the centre surrounded by an internal circle of 26 wooden octagonal columns. There were two pradaksina circular paths for devotional deambulation.

 

Rajasthan appears to have remained untouched by this wave of Buddhism. The Sangharama of Bairat and the circular stupas on the Bijak hills were certainly majestic. They are evidence that Buddhism existed here in a developed state.