| Gaya Bihar • India |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Area • Elevation |
? km² (Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?" sq mi) • ? m (Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?" ft) |
| District(s) | Gaya |
| Population • Density |
350,000 (2001) • ?/km² (Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"/sq mi) |
| Member of Parliament | Shri Rajesh Kumar Manjhi |
| Codes • Pincode • Telephone • Vehicle |
• 823001 (for GPO) • +0631 • Not Available |
| Website: gaya.bih.nic.in | |
Coordinates: Gaya is a city in Bihar, India, and it is also the headquarters of Gaya District. Gaya is 100 kilometers south of Patna, the capital city of Bihar. Situated on the banks of Falgu River (Niranjana, as mentioned in Ramayana), it is a place sanctified by both the Hindu and the Buddhist religions. It is surrounded by small rocky hills (Mangala-Gauri, Shringa-Sthan, Ram-Shila and Brahmayoni) by three sides and the river flowing on the fourth (western) side. The city has a mix of natural surroundings, age old buildings and narrow bylanes. Gaya was a part of the ancient state Magadha.
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Importance to Hindu Mythology
Gaya derives its name from the mythological demon Gayasur (which literally means Gaya the holy demon), demon (asur, a Sanskrit word) and Gaya. Over its history dating millennia, the word asur got deleted and the name Gaya remained in currency. Lord Vishnu killed Gayasur, the holy demon by using the pressure of his foot over him. This incident transformed Gayasur into the series of rocky hills that make up the landscape of the Gaya city. Gaya was so holy that he had the power to absolve the sins of those who touched him or looked at him; after his death many people have flocked to Gaya to perform shraddha sacrifices on his body to absolve the sins of their ancestors. Gods and goddesses had promised to live on Gayasur's body after he died, and the hilltop protuberances of Gaya are surmounted by temples to various gods and goddesses. These hilltop temples at Rama Shila, Mangla Gauri, Shringa Sthan and Brahmayoni are part of the pilgrimage circuit, and grand staircases have been built up to most of them.
Holy Sites in Gaya
Sacred places in Gaya correspond to physical features, most of which occur naturally. Ghats and temples line the banks of the sacred Falgu River. Trees such as pipal trees and Akshayavat, the undying banyan, are especially sacred. The Mangla Gauri shrine is marked by two rounded stones that symbolize the breasts of the mythological Sati, the first wife of Lord Shiva. The most popular temple today is Vishnupad Temple, a place along the Falgu River, marked by a footprint of Vishnu incised into a block of basalt, that marks the act of Lord Vishnu subduing Gayasur by placing his foot on Gayasur's chest. The present day temple was rebuilt by Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar, the ruler of Indore, in the 18th century. Buddhist tradition regards the footstep in the Vishnupad Temple as a footstep of Buddha (who is regarded as an avatar of Vishnu by Hindus). Gaya is significant to Hindus from the point of view of salvation to the souls of ancestors (a ritual called pindadanam). According to Ramayana, when Lord Rama came to Gaya along with Sita for pitrupaksha (or to perform pindadanam), Sita cursed the Falgu River following some disobedience on the part of the river. The mythology states that on account of this curse, Falgu River lost its water, and the river is simply a vast stretch of sand dunes.
| Pilgrimage to Buddha's Holy Sites |
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| The Four Main Sites |
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| Lumbini · Bodh Gaya Sarnath · Kushinagar |
| Four Additional Sites |
| Sravasti · Rajgir Sankissa · Vaishali |
| Other Sites |
| Patna · Gaya Kosambi · Mathura Kapilavastu · Devadaha Kesariya · Pava Nalanda · Varanasi |
| Later Sites |
| Sanchi · Ratnagiri Ellora · Ajanta Bharhut |
For Buddhists, Gaya is an important pilgrimage place because it was at Brahmayoni hill that Buddha preached the Fire Sermon (Adittapariyaya Sutta) to one thousand former fire-worshipping ascetics, who all became enlightened while listening to this discourse. At that time, the hill was called Gayasisa.
History
Ancient history
Documented history of Gaya dates back to the birth of Gautam Buddha. About 15 km from Gaya town is Bodh Gaya, the place where Gautam Buddha got enlightenment. Since then the places around Gaya (Rajgir, Nalanda, Vaishali, Patliputra) had been the citadel of knowledge for the ancient world. These centers of knowledge further flourished under the rule of dynasties like the Mauryans who ruled from Patliputra (modern Patna) and covered the area beyond the boundaries of the Indian subcontinent. During this period, Gaya was a part of the Magadh region.
Modern History
Gaya has also immensely contributed in the Indian Independence Movement.It has also been a place of great Gandhian and one of the founders of modern [Bihar] Bihar Bibhuti[1]Dr.Anugrah Narayan Sinha ,whose dauntless spirit towards the service of the nation inspired people from the region to actively participate in the independence movement.During the independence movement,the All india session of the Congress was also held which was attended by great illimanaries and prominent leaders of the Indian Independence Movement, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Rajendra Prasad,[2]Anugrah Narayan Sinha , Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Nehru and Sri Krishna Sinha.
Geography
Gaya is located at [3]. It has an average elevation of 111 metres (364 feet).
Demographics
As of 2001 India census[4], Gaya(district) had a population of 3,473,428. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Gaya has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 74%, and female literacy is 60%. In Gaya, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Transportation
Gaya is well connected to the rest of India and the world by roadways, railways and airways.
Roadways
The Grand Trunk Road (NH-2, which is undergoing a revival under The Golden Quadrilateral project) is about 30 km. from Gaya city. Thus, Gaya is well connected to Kolkata, Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Delhi, Amritsar, and to the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Peshawar. The highway connecting Gaya to Patna is now in a good condition,also the railway services between the two stations is up to the mark.
Railways
Gaya is the second most important station in Bihar after Patna. It is a junction and is connected to the three of the four metropolis New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai through Important Broad Gauge Routes (direct trains), including the Grand Chord line. There is a direct non-stop train, the Mahabodhi Express from New Delhi to Gaya daily. It takes around 16 hours to reach Gaya from New Delhi through train. There are direct trains from Gaya to other important stations in India like Ranchi, Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Agra, Mathura, Jabalpur, Bhopal, Indore, Nagpur, Puri, etc. There are also two smaller train lines from Gaya, one to Patna and the other to Kiul.
Airways
Gaya has the only international airport in Bihar and Jharkhand taken together. It is an international airport connected to Colombo, Sri Lanka through two airline operators; Bangkok, Thailand; Singapore, and Paro, Bhutan. It is said to be being developed as a stand-by to the Calcutta airport. Gaya Airport is served by Indian Airlines for domestic flights and Sri Lankan Airlines, Mihin Lanka, Druk Air and Indian Airlines for international flights. Thai Airways is planning a non stop flight to Gaya from Bangkok. The distance of gaya airport to National Heritage sites "Bodh-Gaya" about 5 Kilometers.
Cuisine
The staple food of Gaya is common to the rest of Bihar and Jharkhand. The other special preparations found in Gaya are typically traditional Bihari. The most popular of them include sattu, litti, pittha, pua, marua-ka-roti, bari-dal, sattu-ka-roti, baigan-bharta, sukhaota, etc.
Sweets
Gaya has been the origin of several sweet delicacies popular in the whole of Bihar, Jharkhand and the rest of India. Tilkut, Kesaria Peda, Lai, Anarsa are the most popular sweets that bear the trademark of Gaya. Tilkut being the most popular of them is prepared using til or sesame seeds (Sesamum Indicum) and jaggery or sugar. It is a seasonal (winter) sweet and only the karigars (workers) from Gaya are believed to impart the real taste of Tilkut. One can find Tilkuts carrying the label "Ramna, Gaya" even in far flung places like Kolkata and Delhi. Ramna and Tekari Road are the areas in the city where every other house is a Tilkut factory. Kesaria peda is yet another delicious sweet prepared from khoya (solid milk cream) and kesar (saffron). The Chowk area of the city specializes in Kesaria Peda production. There are several varieties of Lai available in Bihar, including Lai from Gaya. The main component of this Lai is posta dana or the poppy seeds. These posta danas are processed and mixed with koya and sugar to give rise to a disk shaped sweet. Anarsa is also based on khoya, but is deep fried and processed with sugar. Anarsa comes in two shapes 'thin disk' and 'spherical'. The sweet is finally embedded with til(sesame) toppings. These sweets are dry and hence easily packagable, preserved, and transported, unlike the bengali sweets which are soaked in sugar syrups. There is a tradition among the residents to gift the visitors with these sweets when they depart, as a token of love. Beside this in Gaya one should must try roadside eateries like Aloo ka Chaloo & Chaat. Aloo ka Chaloo is made up of boiled potatoes sprinkled with red chilly powder and jeera powder, salt and tamarind water. One can easily found such joints outside schools and colleges as it is favourite of kids and teenagers.
Snacks
The people of Gaya are fond of spicy-soury traditional snacks. There are certain snacks that are found only in Gaya. The most popular among them are Alu-Kachalu and Sabudana-Badam Bhoonja. Alu-Kachalu is a wet and sour snack prepared from aloo (potato) and imli (tamarind) mixed with black salt, chilly powder, jeera (cumin seeds), etc. This snack is popular among the students returning from schools in the day time. One can find herds of thelas (vendor's vehicle) standing outside the schools during the closing hours. Sabudana-Badam Bhoonja is a dry snack that is unique to the Gaya city. It is a mixture of fried sabudana (sago) and fried badam (groundnut or moongfali is called badam in Bihar) along with salt (both white and black), chilly powder and jeera (cumin seeds) powder. The mobile bhoonja vendors shouting humorous slogans can be found in every bylane of the Gaya city during the twilight hours.
Education
Most of the government-run schools in Gaya (notably Zila School, Haridas Seminary - also known as Town School, Theosophical Model School, Gaya High School,Anugrah Kanya Vidayalaya, Mahaveer School, and Hadi Hashmi School, Government Girls High School) are affiliated to Bihar School Examination Board. There are two Central Schools (Kendriya Vidyalaya) affiliated with the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, New Delhi. Most of the private schools are affiliated to ICSE and CBSE boards. The major ones being Creane Memorial High School, Nazareth Academy,D.A.V Public School Medical Road, Gyan Bharti Public school, D.A.V Public School Cantonment Area, Greenfield Public School and many more. Nazareth Academy is one of the oldest schools, which is managed by a US based congregation called 'Sisters of Charity of Nazareth'. The government-run public schools lack many facilities, but are the only options for the poor who cannot afford the fees in private schools. The only university at Gaya is Magadh University established by great bhumihar leaders of Gaya in 1962,located near Bodhgaya.Gaya has several colleges with graduate and post-graduate courses offered in sciences, arts, commerce, and management. The well known ones include Gaya College, Anugrah Memorial College, Jagjivan College, Mirza Ghalib College. Gautam Buddha Mahila College (GBM College) is exclusively meant for women. Anugraha Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital (ANMMCH) is a key medical college of Bihar. There are also some private engineering colleges. Gaya has an Industrial Training Institute for vocational education located on Bodhgaya Road. The area of patwatoli in Manpur located on the outskirts of Gaya city has shot to fame due to the success of the students belonging to the area in IIT JEE,believed to be one of the toughest exams in the world.More than around 50 students of patwatoli have cracked IIT JEE and many more are studying in other engineering colleges all over India.With only one or two exceptions all these meritorious engineers are males and have been victims of child marriage. This fact is a sore point which they always try to hide from print and electronic media, although there is nothing to be ashamed of, as they are transtioning from medieval ages to modernity.
External links
- Gaya Info & Photo Gallery
- Chronology-1945 Mahatama Gandhi Had Discussion With Anugrah Narayan Sinha
- Biography: Anugrah Narayan Sinha
- Freedom Fighters of India
- SATYAGRAHA LABORATORIES OF MAHATMA GANDHI
- Members of Constituent Assembly from Bihar
- My Autobiography, Or The Story Of My Experiments With Truth (1929) by M.K. Gandhi
- Entry on Gaya in the Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names
- Suttas spoken by Gautama Buddha concerning Gaya: (more)
Manpur Patwa Toli
References
- ^ Kamat. [www.kamat.com/kalranga/freedom/congress/c127.htm Great freedom Fighters]. Kamat's archive. Retrieved on 2006-02-25.
- ^ Kamat. [www.kamat.com/kalranga/freedom/congress/c127.htm Great freedom Fighters]. Kamat's archive. Retrieved on 2006-02-25.
- ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Gaya
- ^ Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns. (Provisional). Census Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
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