Rajgir Tourism

Rajgir is located near Nalanda and is just 15 km away from it. Rajgir is among the few top most visited destinations of India. The place is surrounded by lush green environment and is the most beautiful places of India. The place is famous for its close affiliations to Lord Buddha, who walked on this place and taught the basic tenets to attain enlightenment. Travelers can reach by air, as it is 101 km from Patna Airport. One can also reach the destination by road, as there are ample of transport facilities available from all the other major cities of Bihar.

Rajgir, meaning the abode of Gods, is a town in Nalanda district about 93 km southeast of Patna. It finds mention in the Mahabharata as the kingdom of Jarasandha, the arch nemesis of Krishna and his Yadava clan. While the exact date of Rajgir’s foundation is not known, the city is believed to be about 3000 years old. Rajgir is divided into two parts: one which is fortified and surrounded by seven hills and the other, which is believed to have been founded by King Bimbisara’s son, Ajatshatru. There are two local beliefs about the name of the town. One belief is that the town gets its name from the Hindi word rajgriha which means royal house and the other states that the name comes from the rajgir (also a Hindi word), which means royal mountain.

Rajgir remained the capital of Magadha Empire till the 5th century BC when Ajatshatru made Pataliputra the capital of his kingdom. King Jarasandha was slain by Bhima in an epic wrestling match. An arena known as Jarasandha’s Akhada stands at the place where it is believed the wrestling match took place. Besides the Mahabharata, the town has also been mentioned in ancient scriptures of the Jains and Buddhists as well as in diaries of Buddhist travelers who visited the region during the Mauryan era.