In pre-historic days the plateau region of the district has been the abode of aboriginals whose chief representatives now are the Bhars, the Cheers and the Oraons.
According to some legends the Kherwars were the original settlers in the hilly tracts near Rohtas. The Oraons also claim that they ruled over the area between Rohtas and Patna.
The local legend also connects king Sahasrabahu with Sasaram, the headquarter of Rohtas district. It is believed that Sahasrabahu had terrible fight with Saint Parsuram, the legendary Brahmin Protector, as a result of which Sahasrabahu was killed. The term Sahasram is supposed to have been derived from Sahasrabahu and Parsuram.
Another legend connects the ROHTAS hill to Rohitashwa, son of Raja Harishchandra, a famous king who was known for his piety and truthfulness.
Sher Shah Suri Tomb
The Tomb of Sher Shah Suri is in Sasaram in Rohtas district of Bihar. The construction work of this tomb was started by Sher Shah himself and completed by his son and successor Islam Shah some 3 months after the death of Sher Shah in 1545 A.D.
The chief architect of this structure was Alawal Khan. This beautiful mediaeval structure is made of fine sandstone.
Within the tomb chamber there are 25 graves, including that of Hasan Khan Suri.
The grave of Sher Shah is surrounded by 24 of his compatriots. Half-a-kilometer from Sher Shah’s tomb lays the tomb of his son Aslam Shah. It is grand but incomplete. Nearby this location also lies Alawal Khan’s tomb, the superintendent of these constructions on the outskirts of the town.
Maa Tara Chandi Temple
Maa Tara Chandi temple is one of the shakti peeth of the 51 Shakti peeths. The temple is situated in a cave which is at a distance of 4 kilometres from Sasaram. It is said that the right eye of Maa Tarachandi fallen here in this place hence called Tara and the goddess had slaughtered Chand and hence she is called as Chandi, so this place is known as Maa Tarachandi temple. The idol of the goddess TaraChandi in this temple is in the form of a girl child which is most attractive part of the temple.
The Tarachandi temple is a symbol of harmony as the temple is near to a mosque in a same complex this kind of view can be only seen here. The Tarachandi dham shows the idol of Maa Tarachandi inside a small cave. There a temple built above the cave, the temple shows the slaughtering area, the coconut offering area and the main garbagriha.
Rohtas Garh Fort
The historic fort of Rohtasgarh is situated in Rohtas district. The ancient and glorious fort is located at the top of Kaimur hills.
In Bihar it is said that the historic fort derived its name from the son of King Harischandra, Rohitashwa.
Historians states that the king stayed in the fort for several years followed by the threat on his life by enemy kingdoms.
The fort is constructed at the top of hill at 1500 feet above the sea level. To reach the top of the hill, there are 2000 limestone cut steps.
SITAMARHI
Sitamarhi is a town and the district headquarters of the Sitamarhi district in the Mithila region of northern Bihar, India and is a part of the Tirhut Division.
In 1875, the Sitamarhi sub-division was created within the Muzaffarpur district and further in 1972, it was carved out from Muzaffarpur district to form a separate district.
Sitamarhi is a birthplace of Sita, the main character of the epic Ramayana; there are three temples of visitors’ importance located here – Sita Temple, Janki Temple, and Haleshwar Sthan.
Rama Navami, a spring festival in Dumra, is widely celebrated with a large fair held to mark the occasion.
Sama Chakeva is a prominent winter festival dedicated to celebrate brother-sister relationships.
Janki Temple, Punaura
Punaura Dham is about 5 km west of Sitamarhi. Saint Pundrik’s Ashram was situated here. Sita-Kund place is the honour of being the birthplace of Hindu Goddess, Sita.
NALANDA
Probably the oldest university in India, Nalanda is an important site to visit in Bihar.
A perfect reminisce to the time of flourishing Gupta and Pala period, Nalanda is an acclaimed tourist attraction in Bihar.
It is believed that the last and most famous Jain Tirthankara, Mahavira spent 14 monsoon seasons here.
Even, Buddha is said to have delivered lectures near the mango grove in Nalanda.
The fame of this education centre was to an extent that Hieun Tsang, the famous Chinese traveller visited here and stayed for atleast two years here. Even, I-tsing another famous Chinese voyager stayed at Nalanda for about 10 years.
RAJGIR(Girivraj)
Rajgir is a city and a noted area in Nalanda district in the Indian state of Bihar.
The city of Rajgir (ancient Rājagṛha; Pali: Rājagaha) was the first capital of the kingdom of Magadha, a state that would eventually evolve into the Mauryan Empire.
Its date of origin is unknown, although ceramics dating to about 1000 BC have been found in the city. This area is also notable in Jainism and Buddhism as one of the favorite places for Lord Mahavira and Gautama Buddha and the well known “Atanatiya” conference was held at Vulture’s Peak mountain.
The name Rajgir came from Rājagaha ‘house of the king’ or “royal house”, or the word rajgir might have its origin in its plain literal meaning, “royal mountain”.
It was the ancient capital city of the Magadha kings until the 5th century BC when Udayin(460-440 BC), son of Ajatshatru, moved the capital to Pataliputra. In those days, it was called Rajgrih, which translates as ‘the home of Royalty’.
Shishunaga founded Shishunaga dynasty in 413 BCE with Rajgir as its initial capital before it was moved to Pataliputra.
It is sacred to the memory of the founders of both the religions: Jainism and Buddhism and associated with both the historical Mahavira and Buddha.
Lord Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara spent fourteen years of his life at Rajgir and Nalanda, spending Chaturmas at a single place in Rajgir (Rajgruhi) and the rest in the places in the vicinity. It was the capital of one of his Shravaks(follower) King Shrenik. Thus Rajgir is a very important religious place for Jains.
The twentieth Jain tirthankara, Munisuvrata is supposed to have been born here. An ancient temple(about 1200 years old) dedicated to Munisuvrat bhagwan is also present here along with many other jain temples. This temple is also a place for four Kalyanakas of Bhagwan Munisuvratnath.
Vishwa Shanti Stupa
Vishwa Shanti Stupa (World Peace Pagoda) is a popular Buddhist pilgrim site.
It is situated on the Ratnagiri hill.
It is a white beauty, showing the four phases of Buddha’s life through four golden statues of Lord Buddha.
The Peace Pagoda is said to be built by a Japanese Buddhist monk, Nipponzan Myohoji in 1969.
This stupa is world’s tallest Peace Pagoda and considered as the symbol of peace and harmony.
Saptaparni Cave
Saptparni Cave, also referred to as Saptaparni Cave or Sattapani Cave, is a Buddhist cave site about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) southwest from Rajgir, Bihar, India.
It is embedded in a hill.
The Saptaparni Cave is important in the Buddhist tradition, because many believe it to be the site in which Buddha spent some time before his death, and where the first Buddhist council was held after Buddha died (paranirvana).
It is here that a council of few hundred monks decided to appoint Ananda (Buddha’s cousin) and Upali, believed to have a good memory and who had accompanied the Buddha when he gave sermons in north India, to compose Buddha’s teachings for the future generations.
The Buddha never wrote down his teachings. After the Saptaparni Caves meeting, Ananda created an oral tradition of Buddha’s teaching from his memory, prefacing it with “Thus have I heard on one occasion”. Upali is credited with reciting the Nikaya discipline or “rules for the Bhikshus”.
Jarasandh Ka Akhara
Magadh’s great majestic king Jarasandha’s capital was Grivarj which is known today by the name of Rajgir.
According to the Mahabharta, this is where Bhima fought Jarasandha and Bhima rips apart Jarasandha’s body into two and threw in two opposite directions to prevent it from re-joining and hence successfully killing Jarasandha in the process.
Son Bhandar Caves
The Son Bhandar caves, also Sonebhandar, are two artificial caves belong to Jainism (to Ajivikas earlier) are located in Rajgir in the state of Bihar in India.
The caves are generally dated to the 3rd or 4th century CE, based on the dedicatory inscription found in the largest cave which uses Gupta script of the 4th century CE, although some authors have suggested the caves could actually go back to the period of the Maurya empire from 319 to 180 BCE.
The main cave is rectangular with a pointed ceiling, and the entrance is trapezoidal, reminiscent of the structure of the Barabar Caves (the first artificial caves of India, dated the 3rd century BCE).
The quality of the “Mauryan polish” and the finish are nevertheless much inferior. The stone of Son Bhandar is also much less hard than the granite of the Barabar caves, and therefore did not require the same degree of effort and technique.
Tomb of Mallick Ibrahim Baya
Peer Pahari (At Bari Pahari). A beautiful ancient tomb constructed on top of the rocky hill. Nearby are the ruins, which are believed to be ruins of Jarasandh Jail.
The beautiful natural view from the top of the hill is very attractive.
International Convention Centre at Rajgir
International Convention Centre is one of the first public buildings in Bihar to facilitate convention activities. The form of the Convention centre is inspired by form of the ‘Stupa’. The dome of the Convention hall is one of the largest domes in recent years with the clear span of 43.26 m. The casting of the dome on site was one of the most challenging and interesting feature of the project. Detailed stage drawings for cast in-situ of the dome were designed and prepared for the execution.
Ghorakatora Lake at Rajgir
This is a lake surrounded by beautiful hills. This is near WORLD PEACE PAGODA. As this area too is connected to the lord Buddha, govt. of Bihar has decided to mark this by largest statue of Buddha in India and among top 5 in the world.
It’s height will be 200 feet and it will take 3-4 yrs to get completed.
Pandu Pokhar (Rajgir)
From beautiful gardens to an open air theatre, to a pond overlooking 37 feet tall bronze statue of King Pandu to a herbal maze – This is a place to enjoy and admire nature.
