In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred place or to a shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of every major religion participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim. There are number of historical Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India.
Places associated with the life of Buddha
Primary sites
offers four major sites of pilgrimage: the Buddha's birthplace at Lumbini, the site where he attained Enlightenment Bodh Gaya, where he first preached at Benaras, and where he achieved Parinirvana at Kusinagara. These are three of the four holiest sites in Buddhism. The fourth, Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, is now in southern Nepal:
Bihar: The name of Bihar is derived from vihara, meaning monastery, such was the association of the area with Buddhism. In addition to these sites which were visited by the Buddha, other sites in India have become notable:
* Rajgir, Bihar — Formerly known as Rajagaha, it was the capital of Magadha, ruled by King Bimbisara, one of the most prominent monarchs and supporters during the lifetime of the Buddha
* Nalanda, Bihar — Site of an ancient Buddhist university, destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khalji during Islamic attacks
* Sravasti, Uttar Pradesh — Formerly known as Savatthi, it was the capital of Kosala, ruled by King Pasenadi, one of the most prominent monarchs and supporters during the lifetime of the Buddha
* Vaishali, Bihar — Seat of a republican state of the Lichchavis, prominent supporters of the Buddha. Site of the Second Buddhist Council
Haryana: Sacred places in the order of travel by Lord Buddha, where he gave several important discourses documented in the Pali texts. After visiting Mathura, he travelled along Grand Trunk Road in Haryana.
* From Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Buddha travelled along Grand Trunk Road in Haryana.
* Topra between Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar, now has a large open air museum park housing several replica of Ashoka's edicts including largest Ashoka Chakra in the world
All are the historic ancient cites of learning, and the list includes very few relatively new sites which have been specifically highlighted accordingly. Most of these sites have association with Ashoka and other Buddhist kings.
is a Buddhist monastery in Pemayangtse, near Pelling in the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim, located west of Gangtok.
Ralang Monastery
is a Buddhist monastery of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism in southern Sikkim, northeastern India. It is located six kilometres from Ravangla.
Rumtek Monastery
also called the "Dharmachakra Centre", is a gompa located in the Indian state of Sikkim near the capital Gangtok. It is a focal point for the sectarian tensions within the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism that characterize the Karmapa controversy.
Tashiding Monastery
is a Buddhist monastery of the Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism in Western Sikkim, northeastern India. It is located on top of the hill rising between the Rathong chu and the Rangeet River.
Tawang Monastery
in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is the largest monastery in India and second largest in the world after the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.
