Viratnagar Stupa

Around 66 km north of Jaipur, at Viratnagar in Rajasthan, are the remains of an ancient Indian Buddhist monastery complex. What makes these ruins so significant is that they are the earliest known remains of a freestanding Buddhist chaityagriha or prayer hall found in India. Located high above a rocky hill known as Bijak-ki-Pahadi, these ruins are quite striking.

Archeological excavations reveal that Viratnagar was once a thriving town between the 3rd century BCE and 1st century CE. Around 36 coins, a number of them belonging to Indo-Greek kings, have been found here. An equally significant discovery was that of an edict of Mauryan emperor Ashoka, which has since been moved to a local museum of the Archeological Survey of India. In this edict, Ashoka emphasised that he believed in the three gems of Buddhism – Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

Interestingly, it is not known why the site was abandoned. There are no antiquities found here, that date after 1st century CE, which perhaps gives us some indication of when it was abandoned. It was only in late 15th century that the Viratnagar area was settled again.  It was British archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham who excavated the site and brought it to national attention in 1864-65. Today, this magnificent site receives few visitors and is largely forgotten.