Rajagaha (Rajgir) - Historical Background

Rajgir lost its political status after Ajatasattu’s son, Udayibhadda, slew his father and transferred the capital to Pataliputta. But the fact that Asoka erected a stupa and a stone pillar with an elephant capital during his pilgrimage to Rajgir, shows that the place remained as an important Buddhist centre for centuries. When Fa Hsien came during the fifth century he found the old city desolate, but outside the hills at Veluvana he found a band of monks living in the monastery. When Hsüan Tsang visited Rajgir in 637-638 AD, it was practically deserted. Of the ancient monasteries and stupas he found only foundation walls and ruins standing. He saw the Asoka stupa which was 18.3 m high and by the side of it, the Asokan pillar, about 15.2 m high with an elephant capital, the Pippala stone house said to be the cave of Mahakassapa and the Sattapanni caves. He also visited Gijjhakuta and saw a brick vihara at the western end of the hill and several stupas in the vicinity.Although there is no record of Rajgir after Hsüan Tsang’s visit, the antiquities recovered from Rajgir during archeological excav-ations in 1905-06 showed that it continued to be a popular Buddhist shrine up to the 12th century AD. According to Fa Hsien, Ajatasattu built a new citadel outside the circle of five hills, namely: Vebhara, Pandava, Vepulla, Gijjhakuta and Isigili; that encircled the old Rajagaha city. The modern village of Rajgir encloses a part of this “New Rajagaha” which was protected by a massive wall of earth resembling an irregular pentagon in shape, with a circuit of 5 km. On the south, towards the hills, one can still see the stone fortifications that once protected the old city. The wall is 4.6 m to 5.5 m thick and rises to a height of 3.4 m at some places.