Bikrampur Vihara
Bikrampur Vihara is an ancient Buddhist ‘Vihara' (monastery) at Raghurampur village in Bikrampur region of Munshiganj District.[1]
Location
The monastery is located at Raghurampur village under Rampal Upazila of Munshiganj District.
History
The discovery was declared at 23 March 2013 after four years of excavation conducted jointly by Agrasar Bikrampur Foundation, a local sociocultural organisation, and Archaeology Department of Jahangirnagar University. The excavation was financed by Bangladesh's Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
On 23 March 2013, Director of the Archaeological Excavation and Research in Bikrampur region, declared the discovery of this 1000 years old Buddhist Vihara. Over 100 precious idols and sculptures have been found till March, 2013.
The Vihara is one of the 30 monasteries built by Emperor Dharmapala during his regime around 820 A.D., second king of Pala dynasty and related to Atish Dipankar Srigyan, a child prodigy like Gautama Buddha.
It is said that, during the period and Atish, this region was the center of Buddhist education and some 8,000 students and professors came to the Buddhism education centre in Bikrampur from as far as China, Tibet, Nepal and Thailand.[2][3]
Central temple
Five rooms of the monks sized 3.5 by 3.5 metres (11 ft × 11 ft) have been excavated so far. The exact size of the monastery however could not be assumed yet.
See also
- Somapura Mahavihara
- Kantajew Temple
- Shona Mosque
- Bagha Mosque
- Shahbaz Khan Mosque
- Khan Mohammad Mridha Mosque
- Sixty Dome Mosque
- Saat Masjid
- Lalbagh Fort