Author, traveller and researcher Sunita Dwivedi recounts in this book the captivating tales of her travels to the Buddhist heritage sites of India.
Taking on this arduous yet spiritually gratifying journey, she leaves no stone unturned in bringing us closer to the antiquities and mysteries of the ancient Buddhist sites including the archaeological history of those built under the patronage of Asoka the Great, traversed by the devoted and fearless Chinese pilgrims and ambassadors, forgotten over time and rediscovered after centuries by colonial explorations and excavations.
A delight for travellers and sightseers venturing into isolated Buddhist cultural geography, her wanderings account the length and breadth of the country from the better known in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to the more interior ones in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and even across the border into Lumbini and Tilaurakot in Nepal; from West Bengal and Odisha in the east to Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west; and through Madhya Pradesh finally to the south of India.
Offering an unforgettable kaleidoscope of awe-inspiring stupas, monasteries, paintings and sculptures, Buddhist Heritage Sites of India is a collation of complex and curious trajectories of a heritage that not only belongs to India but also to the world at large.
Buddhist Heritage Sites of India, Sunita Dwivedi,Rupa & Co, Paperback, 210 Pages, $24.00
Sunita Dwivedi hails from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, where the Great Buddha attained mahaparinirvana. She began her career as a journalist, working for several dailies, including The Times of India and Hindustan Times. In 1997, she left her full-time job to pursue her passion for travelling and photography on the Silk Road through Asia and Europe. She has authored three historiographical travelogues Buddhist Heritage Sites of India 2006, covering the ancient monastic settlements associated with the life of the Buddha; In Quest of the Buddha: A Journey on the Silk Road 2009, based on her journeys in China; and Buddha in Central Asia: A Travelogue 2014, narrating her many sojourns in Afghanistan and Central Asian republics.
Foreword ix
Ackknowledgements x
Introduction xii
Section One
1. Lumbini 3
2. Kapilvastu 15
3. Bothgaya 23
4. Sarnath 35
5. Kushinagar 43
Section Two
6. Raigir 51
7. Nalanda 59
8. Vaishali 69
9. Sravasti 77
10. Kaushambi 85
Section Three
11. Sanchi 95
12. Nagarjunakonda-Amravati 105
13. Golden Circuit of Orissa 113
14. The Ajanta-Ellora Caves 125
Section Four
15. Ladakhi 143
16. Tabo 159
17. Dharamsala 167
18. Rumtek Monastery- Sikkim 177
19. Tawang 185
My Dhammayatra 193
End Notes 199
Select Bibliography 205
Index 209
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