Visiting the Ashokan Pillar in Vaishali

My hometown is in a village called Agarpur, in Lalganj, in Vaishali district, in Bihar. Despite this, this was the first time I visited some places other than my home in Vaishali. I think that happens with places we call homes.

Vaishali was an ancient metropolis, with importance in both Jain and Buddhist religions. Vaishali has one of the most well preserved Ashokan pillars, with a lion on top.

The site is well-maintained, with lush green lawns surrounding the central stupa and the remains from ancient Vaishali. Up close, on the pillar are inscriptions from the Gupta period.

There is a brick stupa surrounded by ruins. The stupa was originally erected to commemorate the event of offering honey to Buddha by the king.

Among the remains are the Kutagarshala (where Buddha used to stay) and the swastika shaped monastery.

A nice exercise I did, or tried to do was imagine how people living in the ancient times would have seen this place, or used it. There is a museum nearby, where they have a picture which does that. Imagines how it would have looked amongst straw hats. If you're in Vaishali, you should visit the museum as well.

It feels sad at times, to see Bihar, which used to be the centre of ancient India, reduced to the state it is in, through centuries of incessant looting. Modern day politicians have played their part as well in this.

Visiting the monument was a positive experience though. Most of my memories of Bihar are from my childhood, and they are not great memories. There was no electricity, or roads or anything. Things are on the upswing now though. They can be better. Perhaps they will.