Lesser Known Caves Of India- Aurangabad Caves

More often than not these stunning monuments are forgotten and only its sisters Ajanta and Ellora are widely visited by travellers. Carved between Sinhyachal and Satara range of hills, these caves and carvings are on par if not better than Ellora Caves. These monuments still have their virgin beauty intact. The series of 10 caves are split into two groups- eastern and western, a kilometer apart from one another. These caves were carved between the 2nd and 6th Century.

Climbing a fleet of steps and you reach the ticket counter, a short hike from the ticket counter leads you to these magnanimous series of caves. The panoramic views of the caves en-route are breathtaking and so is the view of Bibi Ka Maqbara with the city in the backdrop.

Cave 1 and 3 are the oldest of all the caves, Cave 1 is an unfinished monastery with pillars that stand completed and the ceiling of its verandah has collapsed. The weak nature of rock formation hindered large scale excavations.

Cave 3 is the grandest of the caves here, portraying a line of devotees kneeling down with folded hands worshiping Buddha, who is seated in preaching position.

The cave series of 6 to 10 are a kilometer away and you can spot some partially carved stupas. Feel free to walk into the cave and see the raw beauty of it and compare the scratch work of this cave with the elaborately carved and sculpted ones.

Cave 7 is the best cave among all the caves. The square sanctum at the center contains a sculpture of Lord Buddha seated on a lion throne in preaching mudra.

The most surprising aspect was a sculpture of Lord Ganesh, it was beautifully sculpted and highlights the fact that religions could co-exist in harmony. It's the attitude and not the religion that creates barriers or differences.

Most of the visitors end up seeing only Caves 1-5 so do ensure that you follow the trek path that leads to Caves 6-10 as they are equally astonishing. A good pair of trekking shoes and a day pack is a must.

We highly recommend that you don't miss these phenomenal monuments. You will be lost in time and still not feel exhausted as these caves are hardly crowded. We were here on a Saturday and were shocked to see only 8 other visitors. We really hope that they receive their share of due credit.

Photo Tribute To Nalanda University

Nalanda- An acclaimed University of Ancient times

World's most prestigious and thriving university of Ancient India. It was a childhood dream come true to visit this magnificent first International Residential University that flourished for centuries. A center of learning and way to means for people who were in search of wisdom. People from across the globe flocked to this university in India to graduate in Astronomy, Math, Grammar, Logic, Theology, Meta Physics and Medicine. It is said that the library of Nalanda continuously burnt for three months and that the smoke was seen from far away distances. Despite the savage destruction left behind by the Mughal invaders they failed to wipe away the memory and learning that this place offered. This proves "Pen is mightier than the sword."

An archway of massive thick green trees welcome you to this esteemed site. The ruins of Nalanda comprises of several monasteries, residential quarters, temples and shrines. The entire complex is mesmerizing that beyond any doubt in its heydays, Nalanda university would have given the best of education to people from across the globe. It is sad to see such a glorious historic monument now in ruins. We stood there baffled thinking about millions of Indians who stand for several hours in long queues outside embassies of foreign countries in the hope of getting admission in colleges overseas. There was a time when we gave the World good quality education and now for several years India has been facing a brain drain crisis.

Almost all of the many monuments, temple and monasteries are breathtaking. As we entered the ruins, to our left was monastery 3, the post card of Nalanda University- the most imposing of all and was constructed in seven phases. There were four towers erected on the corners of which only two remain now. You can walk around this monument and on the other side are several pagodas and small stupa like structures. Parallel to this is another monument in ruins that showcases state of the art water harvesting system.

Backtrack the same route and the pathway leads to the remaining temples and monasteries. Almost every monastery has residential cells, raised platforms for the teachers to preach while some of them are equipped with wells and traditional ovens used for cooking.The drainage system and the well thought of ventilation shafts for sunlight are commendable.

Monastery 1 apart from providing the maximum number of artifacts during excavation  is one monastery that went through nine phases of construction. It has bed platforms and shelves for keeping books and other valuables. The destruction of the University by fire is visible in the cells of this monastery.

There is one monastery with vast number of stone pillars still standing in their original position serving more the purpose of a grand hall. Stay on the walkway and you will be led to the huge smelting furnace. Also, watch out for the small narrow passage that leads you to the temple and with this the tour of Nalanda pretty much comes to an end.

However, when you are existing the complex do not walk back the same route but take the trek path from the last temple shrine that leads you to the backside of all the monasteries. The highlight of this path is the elevated platform that offers breathtaking panoramic views of the ruins and also leads you to the most incredible ruin i.e. Temple no.2. Take a stroll around this temple to witness some of the most stunning and crisp stone carvings, portraying sculptures of gods and goddesses, Jataka stories, geometric patterns and even mermaids. Either our ancestors were big fans of fantasy or actually saw this for real. There are several pillars lying around this temple and each paints a unique story.

Sarai Mound concludes your visit to the ruins of Nalanda. This multi-storeyed Buddhist temple with large number of stupas and shrines was protected by a massive wall enclosure. The ruins in the sanctum suggest that the Buddha statue was around eighty feet high. Don't be too surprised if you find a monitor lizard giving you company while taking a stroll around.

ASI has done a wonderful job of maintaining the ruins well. An early morning visit to the ruins would be ideal, the monument is open to visitors from 9 am. Clean drinking water is made available and restroom facilities too are available. A day pack is an absolute must as it takes a minimum of two hours to see the entire ruins. There are hardly any options to stay or dine in Nalanda. If you are planning to stay over, Rajgir which is 12 km away would be the best place to halt and there are plenty of buses that ply from Nalanda to Rajgir.

Right opposite the ruins of Nalanda is the Nalanda ASI museum. It houses relics that were excavated from the ruins of Nalanda and other neighboring regions. The museum houses age old relics in absolute pristine condition. The sculptures of Buddha in various mudras, the striking calm sculpture of Shiva and Parvati and the sculpture of a fierce looking Goddess with seven hands wearing human skulls as ornaments around her neck are enthralling. A display of the simple tools used by the sculptors made us appreciate the immense talent that they had to convert rock into such amazing sculptures giving them so much life. There are two massive storage earthen pots at the entrance. The terracotta gallery exhibits elephant stamps that come with a lid, this was used to save time and make multiple copies or impressions. Other interesting displays that should not be missed are combs made of ivory and dices made of bones.

Rajgir - The Crown of Magadha Kingdom

Rajgir, the first capital of Magadha Kindom that later on became the Mauryan Empire, has a lot of tales to tell every inquisitive visitor with a keen interest in history. This city is not just mentioned in the epic "Mahabharata" but also finds a place in Jainism and Buddhism scriptures and has a cluster of attractions spread across 3 lanes- defining Incredible India. This tiny town in the remote part of India has more than enough to give treasure hunters sleepless nights.

Sone bhandar Caves is the ultimate mysterious challenge and more like an Indiana Jones moment in Rajgir. This simple looking cave could very well be your elite luxurious retirement bonanza. If only you could decipher the inscription on the caves. Legend has it that incredible amount of gold and precious stones are hidden here and cracking this code would be the key to this treasure. When Britishers failed the intelligence test of our forefathers they resorted to brute force by firing canon balls in the hope of getting their hands on the booty. Needless to say their choice was not a smart one.

En-route to sone bhandar is Maniyar Matt dedicated to serpent Goddess. This structure resembles a well and has some interesting images such as Ganesh with snakes wrapped around, a six armed dancing Shiva and a four armed Vishnu. Sadly though most of these images have been ruined.

Bimbisar Jail or barely the remains of it today. If not for the board by Bihar Tourism, this place left us perplexed as to what should we see. It just looks like any other barren land. However, we were told that there was an underground prison where King Bimbisar was imprisoned by his son Ajatashatru. The site for the prison was chosen by the King himself, over looking the Griddhakuta hill. This hill is believed to have been used by Buddha to preach and the King being a disciple of Buddha wanted this privilege.

Another striking and almost unbelievable yet a pretty convincing place that makes you question your own reasoning ability is Lord Krishna's Chariot marks left on a very hard rocky surface. There are two tracks that run parallel to each other for several meters. It is very firmly believed that these are the wheel tracks of Krishna's Chariot. We believe Hindu Mythology is completely factual or one hell of a grand illusion.

Head to Brahma Kund to experience one of the many hot water springs in India. This is one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimage sites. People strongly believe that the water here has great healing powers. The many temples around the hot water spring offer a very charming and serene ambience. We sat there immersed in thoughts losing track of time. The only downside to this place appears to be self declared pseudo priests and guides who offer unwanted advice and charge a fee. You will find many of them who may ruin your time there. It would be a better idea to stay away and not encourage such people as you never know how much they might end up charging you.

Vishwa Shanti Stupa is a breathtaking beautiful pagoda built on top of a hill and can be accessed via rope way or a tedious trek. The stupa is home to 4 statues of Buddha made of gold depicting birth, enlightenment, teaching and passing away of Lord Buddha. There is also a monastery and the views of the valley from here are amazing.The tickets for the rope way are issued from 8 am to 4.30 pm and keep in mind there is a one hour lunch break.  A round trip ticket for the rope way is priced at Rs 60.

On the way to Shanti Stupa stand the ruins of  Jeevak Aamravan, a residence cum hospital that was run by Jeevak Kaumarbhritya. Jeevak was a renowned physician in the royal court of  Bimbisar and Ajatashatru. He even treated Lord Buddha and there are accounts of his medical practice mentioned in literatures in Pali language.

There are beautiful tongas in Rajgir that slowly ferry people around. These colorful tongas were our best friends. They offer a package deal for most of the tourist attractions at a government set price of Rs 450 per tonga. However, if you want to visit attractions that are not mentioned in the package you will have to shell out a little more.

Rajgir is a very tiny town so most people prefer a day trip and hence this place offers very few basic stay options. Most of them are very old homes converted to hotels. Rajgir offers 3 very good stay options- Hotel Nalanda Regency near bus stand, Siddharta Hotel near Brahma Kund and Gargee Gautam Vihar Resort on the same road as Nalanda Regency. There is not a single 5 star property in Nalanda. Annapurna Restaurant in Nalanda Regency is the best deal to dine in the whole of Nalanda and Rajgir. They have a wide range of cuisines to choose from and serve awesome food. They offer excellent service and have a reasonably priced menu.

We stayed at Hotel Ratnagiri near bus stand, this budgeted place is one of the best stay options in Rajgir. This relatively new building which quite honestly is a rare sight in Rajgir offers compact rooms with clean sheets and soft pillows. Do keep in mind that there are frequent power cuts in Rajgir, this property has 24 hour power backup. Another plus is that it is walking distance from the railway station and tongas are readily available.

Another thing to keep in mind while travelling is though Indian Railways is a boon to a traveler, at the same time it can ruin your travel plans all together. Our train from Patna to Rajgir was late by over two hours, so do set aside buffer time to accommodate any such delays.