Somapura Mahavihara
Naogaon, Tourism In Bangladesh
Paharpur Buddha Vihara or Sompur Vihara: Somapura Mahavihara or Paharpur Buddhist Vihara is the most glorious place in Badalgachhi Upazila of Naogaon district. Paharpur Buddha Vihara is located in Paharpur village under the present Paharpur Union Parishad. The name Paharpur is modern and the ancient name is Sompur. The Buddhist Pala dynasty was established in Bangladesh in the 7th century (70-810 AD). In the 8th and 9th centuries AD, Dharmapala, the 2nd and 3rd kings of the Pala dynasty, and his son Devpala established vast empires as far as Bengal, Bihar and Kannauj. This Paharpur monastery and temple was built in Bangladesh under their patronage during the heyday of Buddhism. But the monastery was reduced to rubble for historical and geographical reasons, it still stands proudly as the greatest Buddhist monastery in Asia.
The Paharpur Buddhist Vihara had 16 rooms for Buddhist monks. Paharpur Buddhist Vihara is located on a total land of 70.31 acres. At present, the Bangladesh Archaeological Department has built a museum, a restroom, and several administrative buildings here. As a result of excavations up to 1934 AD, the Archaeological Department discovered rooms and complete ruins around the temple on the east side of Satyapir's Vita and the Vihara. In and around the center of the main Vihara are 196 sitting rooms, spacious entrances, numerous recreational stupas, small temples and ponds. The temple is 358 feet tall from north to south and 314 feet wide from east to west. The main Vihara is located in the middle of it. The evening was here the king's daughter. Due to its huge size and historical significance, Paharpur Buddhist Vihara is today recognized as one of the oldest cultural heritage in the world. It has recently been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
63 statues can be noticed in the stone pebbles of Paharpur. Statues of many animals are further found in the temple. The top of the vihar from the mainland is about 72 feet. Paharpur can be identified as a smaller version of the old Nalanda University. Every year many domestic and external tourists and common people gather here.
Paharpur is of great importance archeological site in Bangladesh, located in a village called Paharpur (Pahadpur) inside Badalgachhi Upazila of Naogaon district. The village is attached to the nearest railway station Jamalganj, district town Naogaon, and Joypurhat town by a metal road. It is situated in the middle of the alluvial plain of northern Bangladesh. In contrast to the humdrum level of the plains, high (about 24 m above the surrounding level) stand the ruins of the old temple which was covered with forest, locally named hill or hill from which the palace got its name Paharpur.
Buchanan Hamilton first noticed the site during a survey of eastern India between 1807 and 1812. Westmacott later visited it. Sir Alexander Cunningham visited the site in 1879.
Cunningham momentous to do an extensive excavation on the mound. But the zamindar of Balihar, the prince of the land, stopped him. So he had to be content with a small part of the monk and a limited excavation at the top of the central mound. In the next area he ‘discovered the ruins of a square tower on a 6.70m (22 ft) side with a projection in the middle of each side’. The site was declared safe by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1919 under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904.
The bihar is a quadrangular courtyard with high perimeter walls throughout the installation, with a thickness of about 5 m and a top of 3.6 m to 4.5 m. But the walls are not reserved at very above altitudes, their thickness and size suggest that the structure was consistent with the elevated central temple.
The plan consists of rows of rooms, each approximately 4.26 x 4.11 m in area, all connected by a wide veranda (approximately 2.43 to 2.74 m wide), running uninterrupted, and approaching the inner courtyard with steps provided. In the middle of each of the four sides.
Each side contains all 177 cells excluding the cells of the central block; 45 houses in the north and 44 in each of the other three directions. The central block to the east, west, and south is marked by a projection on the outer wall and has three rooms and a passage around them, while to the north is a spacious hall. Three floors have been discovered in the monk's room number 96. Here the last layer (upper) is within 30 cm from the ground level, the second 1 m, where the third (lowest) is about 1.5 m from the surface.
How do I get there:
Historic Paharpur Somapura Mahavihara can be reached by direct bus from Naogaon Baludanga bus terminal. Average distance approx. 32 km bus fare - 30-40 tk.