Rajgir Mahotsav

Rajgir Mahotsav (festival), formerly Rajgir Nritaya (Dance) Mahotsav is a festival of dance and music. It was started in 1986, is an annual three-day event at Rajgir in Bihar, India. It is organized by Nalanda district administration with the help of Government of Bihar’s Department of Culture and Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation.

Also called the Rajgir Mahotsav, Rajgir Dance festival is a celebration of classical dance and music that takes every year with great enthusiasm at Rajgir in the state of Bihar. Rajgir, once the capital of the Magadhan Empire plays host to this amazing event in the last week of October (generally from October 24th to 26th) for three days. The event is organized by the Department of Tourism, Bihar for the promotion of the rich cultural classical and folk dances of India. Popular celebrities and dance lovers from all around the country visit this event.

History of Rajgir

Rajgir (originally known as Girivraj) is a city and a notified 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 Rājagṛiha '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.

Lord Buddha

Buddhism is a religion based on the divine teachings of Lord Buddha or King Siddhartha. His father was the ruler of Kapilavastu, so, he lived a life of comfort and luxury in the palace. At the age of 29, he, for the first time, saw the miseries that humankind faced. Deeply disturbed he gave up all his comforts.

Located amidst a scenic cragged backdrop, Rajgir, a city in Nalanda district of Bihar in India, is a famous tourist destination, as well as a holy destination for many religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The city, surrounded by seven hills, is home to many pagodas, monasteries and temples. It is mentioned in the epics that Rajgir was known as Rajgriha as well as Pali and was the capital of the kingdom.

A Buddhist stupa in Rajgir, the Vishwa Shanti Stupa is a famous attraction in the city, atop the Ratnagiri Hills, at an elevation of 100 feet. Historically, it has been told that Lord Buddha delivered many of teachings in this place.

Ajatshatru Fort

Ajatshatru Fort was built by the Magadha King, Ajatshatru during 6th century i.e. during Gautama Buddha’s time. The fort has a stupa which is also known as the Ajatshatru stupa spreading across 6.5 sq. meters. The fort is an architectural beauty. Especially the high walls and the stone tower attracts tourists by its gigantic size. It is said that Lord Buddha resided here during its construction.

Ajatshatru Fort located in rajgir was built by the king Ajatshatru during his rule over the magadh empire around 2500 years ago in 6th century BC. He was contemporary to Lord Buddha. It was built in a rectangular shaped with four corners and each corner is covered with stone tower & walls is about 60 Meter long & 2 Meter broad square. Ajatshatru fort is regarded as one of the most ancient forts in india.
According to popular legend, Ajatshatru had imprisoned his father in a jail built inside this fort after succeeding his throne known as bimbisar jail today. Bimbisar was a great admirer of buddha and he chose the place for imprisonment so that he could see Lord Buddha ascending the gridhakuta peak to deliver his sermons every morning.

Ghora Katora Lake

Ghora-Katora, a fresh water lake located near Rajgir of Nalanda district in Bihar is now a well known tourist place having beautiful natural habitat with well protected fauna and flora. It has now been developed as a bird sanctuary. About 37 species of birds including 8 migratory have been observed in the area during different seasons of the year.

About half of the bird species found in the world reside in India. India is a very big part of biological wealth. There are 1300 species in the Indian subcontinent. While many of these birds travel, the horse kathora comes in the direction of the lake regularly and according to the weather and after some time they migrate to the other geographical area. This type of traffic is spent all year in this area (lake).