Basarh
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Basarh
Village in the Hajipur subdivision of Muzaffarpur District, Bengal, situated in 25° 59' N. and 85° 8' E. Population (1901), 3,527, Basarh is identified with the capital of the ancient kingdom of Vaisali. In the sixth century B.C. a confederacy of the Lichchavis was pre- dominant here, and was able to prevent the kingdom of Magadha from expanding on the north bank of the Ganges, Vaisali was a great stronghold of Buddhism, and Gautama visited it three times during his life. Here was held the second Buddhist council which had so great an effect in splitting up the Buddhists into the Northern and Southern sects. The town was visited by Fa Hian and Hiuen Tsiang ; the latter found it in ruins. The principal antiquarian feature of the place is a large brick-covered mound, measuring 1,580 feet by 750 and repre- senting the remains of a vast fort or palace. In the neighbourhood is a huge stone pillar surmounted with the figure of a lion. This monolith, though locally known as Bhim Singh's lath, appears clearly to be one of the pillars erected by Asoka to mark the stages of the journey to Nepal which he undertook in order to visit some of the holy sites of Buddhism. It bears no inscription, but can be identified with one of the Asoka pillars mentioned by Hiuen Tsiang at the site of ancient Vaisali.
[Archaeological Survey Reports, vol. xvi, pp. 89-93 5; and Reports of the Archaeological Surveyor, Bengal Circle, for 1901-2 and 1903-4,]
