Museum - Vikramshila
Archaeological Museum, Vikramshila
(District Bhagalpur, Bihar)
The museum is located at Antichak in district Bhalgalpur. It was established in 2004 to display the antiquities recovered in course of excavation at the site. The museum building forms a cruciform on plan. The antiquities belong to Pala period have been displayed in the ground floor and first floor of the museum building. A scaled model of the excavated site of Vikramshila is on display at the first floor of the building.
The ground floor of the museum exhibits stone sculptures of Buddhist pantheon such as Buddha, Bodhisattva, Avalokitesvara, Loknath, Jambhala, Marichi, Tara, Aparajita. The images of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesh, Kartikeya, Chamuna, Mahisasurmardini, Krishna and Sudama, Surya, Vishnu are among important objects of Brahmanical order. Besides this terracotta moulds and figurines as well as iron objects are other important objects on display.
The first floor contains the antiquities like beads of various shapes, pendants, locket, finger rings, terracotta animal and bird figurines, perforated pot Bronze images of Buddhist and Brahmaical deity and shell objects and stone sculptures of Buddhist pantheon such as Buddha, Manjushri Vajrapani, Avalokitesvara.
Opening Hours : 10.00 am to 5.00 pm
Closed on – Friday
Accommodation
Private hotels, Dharamshalas available at Motihari on moderate charges and at Hotel Likshwi Vihara in Muzaffarpur.
How to Reach
The nearest airport from Vikramshila is Patna, 291 km away and the nearest railway station is Khalgaon. Vikramshila is well connected by road network with Gaya, Patna, Motihari, Muzaffarpur, Biharsharif and Bodhgaya.
Brief History of Vikramshila
Vikramaśīla University was one of the two most important centers of Buddhist learning in India, along with Nālandā University during the Pala dynasty. Vikramaśīla was established by King Dharmapala (783 to 820) in response to a supposed decline in the quality of scholarship at Nālandā. Atisha, the renowned pandita, is sometimes listed as a notable abbot.
A fortified Vikramaśīla was destroyed by Muslim invaders fighting the Sena dynasty along with the other major centers of Buddhism in India around 1200. The remains of the ancient university have been partially excavated at village Antichak in the Bhagalpur district, Bihar state, India, and the process is still underway.
The Vikramshila University was founded in the 8th century AD, which grew to become the intellectual center for Tantric Buddhism. In the beginning of the 11th century AD, during the reign of King Ramapala, there were 160 teachers and 1000 students in the monastery.
Vikramshila is not directly associated with Buddha but became a great center of Buddhist learning later. The Vikramshila Monastic University was founded in the 8th century AD and developed into the intellectual center for Tantric Buddhism. The university lies on top of the hill on the banks of the River Ganga. There was a temple at the center of university enshrining the life-size copy of the Mahabodhi tree. 53 small temples were in the vicinity for the study of the Guhyasamaja Tantra. Another 54 ordinary temples were also there. The main temples had statues of Nagarjuna and Atisa at the entrance. Santipa, Jetari, Ratnavajra, Jnanasrimitra, Naropa and Atisa were great scholars at Vikramshila University at that period of time.
A fortified Vikramaśīla was destroyed by Muslim invaders fighting the Sena dynasty along with the other major centers of Buddhism in India around 1200. The remains of the ancient university have been partially excavated at village Antichak in the Bhagalpur district, Bihar state, India, and the process is still underway.
The Vikramshila University was founded in the 8th century AD, which grew to become the intellectual center for Tantric Buddhism. In the beginning of the 11th century AD, during the reign of King Ramapala, there were 160 teachers and 1000 students in the monastery.
Vikramshila is not directly associated with Buddha but became a great center of Buddhist learning later. The Vikramshila Monastic University was founded in the 8th century AD and developed into the intellectual center for Tantric Buddhism. The university lies on top of the hill on the banks of the River Ganga. There was a temple at the center of university enshrining the life-size copy of the Mahabodhi tree. 53 small temples were in the vicinity for the study of the Guhyasamaja Tantra. Another 54 ordinary temples were also there. The main temples had statues of Nagarjuna and Atisa at the entrance. Santipa, Jetari, Ratnavajra, Jnanasrimitra, Naropa and Atisa were great scholars at Vikramshila University at that period of time.
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