Visit our most beautiful historical place Phaharpur. Paharpur Buddhist Vihara is one of the historical tourist spot of Bangladesh. It is located at Paharpur, Badalgachhi Upazila, Naogaon District, Bangladesh. It is said to be the second largest single Buddhist monastery south of the Himalayas. It is among the best known Buddhist Viharas in the Indian Subcontinent and is one of the most important archeological sites in the country. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a tribute to the Pala dynasty in 1985. Another name of the Paharpur archeological spot is Somapura Mahavihara. Some people said this one was the oldest university of Bangladesh. Paharpur Buddhist Monastery is eminently renowned for its unique architectural design. The monastery is built as a quadrangle, measuring 281 meter on each side. There are 45 monastic cells on the north and 44 in each of the other three sides with a total number of 177 cells surrounding the main temple. In the center of the vast open courtyard of the monastery stands the shrine. Its remains are still 21 meter high and have three gradually diminishing terraces. The walls were built of burnt bricks. There were also bands of terracotta plaques in rows all around the terraces. The exclusive terracotta plaques of the then musicians, snake charmers, animals are main objects to view. The outer walls of the temple are inscribed with the lifestyle plaques of common people of hundreds of years. According to the history, the second Pala king Dharam paul of the Paul dynasty built this edifice in the eighty century. Hundreds of Buddha monks used to gather here for taking lesson on different disciplines apart from Buddhism religion. The monks from different parts of the world including China, India, Japan and other Asian countries used to gather here and exchanged their study on culture, art, politics and other faculties. Atisha Dipankar Srijnan stayed here for many years and translated the Madhyamaka Ratnapradipa into Tibetan. Over time Atish's spiritual preceptor, Ratnakara Shanti served as a sthavira of the vihara, Mahapanditacharya Bodhibhadra served as a resident monk, and several other scholars spent some part of their lives at this monastery including Kalamahapada, Viryendra and Karunashrimitra. Many Tibetan monks visited the Somapura between 9th and 12th centuries. As per historians, during the rule of the Sena dynasty, known as Karnatadeshatagata Brahmaksatriya, in the second half of the 12th century the vihara started to decline for the last time. It was finally abandoned during the 13th century, when the area came under Muslim occupation. You are most welcome to this wonderful place otherwise you will miss so many things of our lovely country âĻâĻ
