Vaishali
Situated on the left bank of the Gandak river, Vaishali enjoys the distinction of being the world’s first Republic state under the Lichchavi dynasty, even before the formation of the Republic of Greece. It is the birthplace of Lord Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, and the city where Buddha lived for five years and delivered his last sermon. There are two stupas in Vaishali, which, according to Buddhist literature, enshrined Lord Buddha’s ashes.
How to get there Vaishali is well connected to Patna, Hajipur, Muzaffarpur and other important cities in Bihar by road. The nearest railhead Hajipur, is only 35 km away from Vaishali. Hajipur is well connected with major cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Varanasi and Chennai. Patna is the nearest Airport from Vaishali, which is linked by regular flights to cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi and Lucknow.
Places of interest Ashoka Pillar: The Lion Pillar at Kolhua, locally known as LAT (or sometimes Bhimsen ki Lathi) is a 11 meter high monolithic polished sandstone column topped by a seated lion. It is made of a highly polished single piece of red sandstone, topped by a bell shaped capital, 18.3 meters high. A life- size figure of a lion is placed on top of the pillar. It is probably one of the earliest pillars of Ashoka, which does not bear the usual edict. But, a few letters in shell character of
Gupta period are engraved on it.
Buddha Stupas: Though its exteriors are dilapidated, this historical remains is worth a visit. Its significance is that one-eighth of the
sacred ashes of Lord Buddha were enshrined here in a stone casket. Excavation at this site in 1958 led to the discovery of another casket containing the ashes of Lord Buddha. Kundalpur: It is believed that the Jain Tirthankar, Lord Mahavira was born here, about 2550 years ago. Lord Mahavira is said to have spent thefirst 22 years of his life here