| Temples & Legends Of Bihar |
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| Temples & Legends Of India |
VAISALI |
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| In 1945 a
Vaisali Sangh was organized to revive the ancient glory of Vaisali. The Sangh has taken
great interest in cleaning up the large tank, know as the Bawan Pokhar, in the village.
Several statues have been dug out of this tank. Local tradition has it that there were 52
tanks, and that Basarh was the residence of the Puranic Bali Raja. Vishnu appeared here in the fourth incarnation in the shape of a dwarf, and asked Bali Raja for as much ground as he could cover with his three feet. Two of his feet covered heaven and earth, and the third he placed on the head of Bali Raja and sent him hurtling into hell as punishment for his great pride. The villagers believe in the legend that the Bawan Pokhar was the scene of this occurrence. It may also be mentioned that within three miles of Vaisali there is an Asoka pillar, without any inscription, at Kaluha village. The pillar is a monolith supporting a square pedestal on which a lion is carved in stone. The shaft in the single block of polished stone stands 22 feet high above the ground and the remainder is below the ground. A finely executed lion with a snarling mouth sits facing north at the top of the pillar. There is some Buddhist a statue nearby, of which one is a large image of a seated Buddha with a crown and necklace. There are also some mounds in the neighborhood.All these appear to prove that Kaluha was a part of Vaisali. The modern temple erected near the tank Bawan Pokhar is expected to revive the ancient glory of Vaisali. |
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| About Vaisali | ||||||||||||||||||
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