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.

Mahabalipuram - Photo Tour Of Coastal Town With Rich Legacy

Mahabalipuram, fondly called as 'Mahabs' by locals rides with rich history, legacy and was mostly developed by the Pallava rulers. This town is mentioned in the Vaishnava Hymns written between the 6th and 8th Century. However, evidence such as Roman coins and pottery found here states that the town dates back to early Historic times. This ancient historic coastal town  buzzed with activity as this was a busy seaport and it was from here that Indian traders sailed to South-East Asian Countries. The mariners also called it "Seven Pagodas" as there were Seven Pagodas standing tall on the shore, of which, only one survived- the Shore Temple.

The Pallavas were renowned for promoting unique styles of art and architecture and this town stands as a fine example with its stunning rock cut or monolithic group of monuments and shore temples. 

The Magnificent Lighthouse with its beautiful tales of a bustling trade hub and a seaport.

Climbing the Light House to see the entire town, the roads, the sea and the breathtaking view of the Shore temple leaves you in awe.

There is a museum adjacent to the Light House which is worth visiting to know more about the port History. Deep Sea buoys are laid to mark shipping channels in the Bays and to prevent mishaps from rocks and wrecks. This Buoy was in use at Gulf Of Kutch.

The temples portrayed scenes from the epic Mahabharata depicting the Descent of the Holy Ganges and Arjuna's Penance. The story mentions Arjuna, one of the Pandava Brothers, performed severe austerities in order to obtain Shiva's weapon.

The following panel of Mahishamardani Cave depicts the battle where Goddess Durga killed the demon Mahishasura, who was considered unconquerable. The scene portrays Goddess Durga riding a lion in pursuit of Mahishasura with a bow and arrow.

The other panel of Mahishamardani Cave depicts Lord Vishnu in Tranquility State on a seven hooded serpent.

One of the many Cave temples in Mahabalipuram.

A village scene from the Krishna Mandapa Cave depicting their daily lives.

Varaha Cave Temples

The following panel depicts Four armed Goddess Durga standing on a lotus under an umbrella. This panel stands for victory over ignorance.

Trivikarma Panel depicting Lord Vishnu  overcoming the Demon king Bali.

The most prominent sculpture of the Varaha Cave is Lord Vishnu in his incarnated form of Varaha lifting Bhu Devi, Mother Earth, from the sea.

The Gajalakshmi Panel representing Lakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity. She is portrayed with her hands holding a Lotus flower surrounded by attendants and elephants.

Lord Krishna lifting the mythical Govardhan hill to provide shelter to villagers from torrential rains showered by Lord Indra.

The Massive Natural rock boulder,  popularly known as Krishna's Butter Ball, atop a hilly slope is no less than a wonder. It does a perfect balancing act defying all rules of Gravity.

Trimurti Cave temple- This is believed to be dedicated to the three Lords- Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

The view of Bay of Bengal from the Shore temple.

The Shore Temple, is the only temple of a series of seven temples and the remaining now submerged in the sea.

The Pancha Rathas, perfect examples of Dravidian style architecture are monolithic rock cut temples.

Monolithic Five Rathas or Chariots dedicated to the Five Pandava Princes.

5 km from Mahabalipuram towards Chennai is the Tiger Caves.

Apart from the stellar monuments, there has been proof of many other monuments that have been submerged under the mighty Bay Of Bengal.

Impregnable Devagiri Fort! Never Defeated In Battle

One of the most formidable Forts in India, the Devagiri fort, has only one accessible approach which was fiercely and ruthlessly guarded during the medieval Deccan era. This invincible fort with the most complex and intricate defense system remained undefeated in battle. Legend has it that during the Devagiri period the Royal family challenged people to try and gain access to the fort and claim rewards. However, the reward was never claimed by anyone. Numerous attempts by Mughal invaders to conquer this fort resulted in failure and finally they had to resort to treachery to rule over this fort.

It is believed that Lord Shiva resided in the surrounding hills and hence the name Devagiri 'Hill of Gods.' This fort was built by King Bhillama V of the Yadava Dynasty. After its conquest by Allaudin Khilji in 1926 AD, it remained under the Mughal rule and in 1328 AD, Mohammed Bin Tughlak changed the name from Devagiri to Daulatabad 'Abode of Wealth.' He was also responsible for shifting the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad forcing the entire population to relocate but due to lack of water and other resources, he was forced to move the capital back to Delhi. Just imagine the plight of a common man enduring such hardships, even the sick and old were not spared.

At a height of 200 mt on a conical hill, 16 km from Aurangabad, this 11th century fort, a blend of land and hill fort has three encircling fortification walls. These walls were built in a way that the entire town was divided into sectors- Amberkot for common people, Mahakot served as the residential area of the higher class of the society, the Kalakot was the Royal residential area with double line of fortifications and Balakot was the pinnacle portion where the pride of honor the flag fluttered. At every interval there were strong chambers that served both as guardrooms and storage place for grains and ammunition. The outer wall is 5 km in circumference with an average height of 6-9 mt and a thickness of 2-3 mt.

With flawless military engineering, this architectural marvel was defended well with its complex arrangement of bastions at regular intervals, maze like passages, lofty gates with iron spikes and strategic position of gun turrets.The rock around the fort was chiseled skillfully making the climb impossible. The fort was defended by moat around the hill at its foot and the only way to enter was via a mechanical drawbridge. In case of an attack, crocodiles in the moat hindered their entry, flaring torches were unleashed on the enemy forces, hot oil poured in their path, the iron spikes on the lofty gates to attack enemy's elephants and numerous confusing passages lured the enemy to their death.

Such exemplary defense system left us wondering if these pains were taken to protect something that valuable or was it more of a matter of pride and honor of being indomitable.

Once you enter the fort, you are greeted with a number of canons that are displayed in the courtyard near the entrance gate while others remain in their original places such as bastions on fort walls and circular towers. This huge collection of canons is a show of strength.

After crossing the passage post the entrance gate, we reached an open area from where the Hathi Tank and Bharat Mata Temple were on our left and a couple of hundred meters ahead of us were a fleet of steps leading to the pinnacle of the fort. Midway the Chand Minar standing tall was quiet a sight.

Hathi Tank or Elephant Tank- It is known as the Hathi tank because of its gigantic size. This fort is known for its unique water management system with a network of terracotta pipelines and drains that provided water to the entire city. The capacity is estimated to be at 10000 cubic m.

The site at which stands the Bharat Mata/Mother India temple was earlier a Hindu temple that was ransacked by the Mughal Invaders and converted to a mosque. Now, it has been restored to a temple dedicated to Bharat Mata. The present monument comprises of 106 pillars which were ransacked from Hindu and Jain temples. The ransacked pillars lying in the premises paint a picture of arrogance and a trial of destruction.

The Chand Minar stands tall at 63 feet and reminds you of the Qutub Minar in Delhi. It was erected in 1445 by Ala-ud-din Bahmani to commemorate his capture of the fort. This used to be covered in Persian glazed tiles all over but now only the structure remains with most of the prized decorations lost over time.

The Chini Mahal or China Palace, was a palace of great beauty then and it was here that Abdul Hasan Tana Shah, the last of the Qutub Shahi kings of Golconda, was imprisoned by Aurangazeb in 1687.

This fort is indeed mysterious, intriguing and very much unlike any other fort. No wonder, it remained undefeated in battle. One of the best constructed forts in the world, despite the ruthless history behind it, it seems to have survived unaltered.

The fort rich in history and the pride of many dynasties boasting an unachievable feat of being undefeated makes you want to venture out to this place, hardly visited by tourists, to appreciate it.