Kanwariyas visit Mahabodhi Mahavihara in Bodhgaya on Sunday. Picture by Suman

Devotees of Lord Shiv observing the holy month of Shravan seem to be showing no less devotion for Lord Buddha in Rajgir.

Chants of “bol bum” rent the air in Rajgir, the streets of which are filled with thousands of pilgrims returning from Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar, Jharkhand. On their itinerary are tourist spots such as Vishwa Shanti Stupa, hot spring and Virayatan, which are primarily known to be Buddhist destinations.

Many such pilgrims seem to be oblivious to the significance of the Buddhist holy sites but that does not lessen their devotion. Despite having walked hundreds of kilometres to Deoghar, pilgrims of all ages could be seen climbing hundreds of steps of Ratnagiri Hills at Rajgir to reach Vishwa Shanti Stupa on the top.

With folded hands, they bowed down to the Buddha statues at the stupa. “I have prayed to Lord Buddha at the Buddhist temple (Vishwa Shanti Stupa) with the same devotion with which I worshipped Mahadev at Baidyanath Dham. I do not know much about the significance of this temple but I have heard that it is quite significant in Buddhism,” said Mukhtar Chaudhary, a resident of Siwan.

Many pilgrims would also attend the daily evening prayer ceremony at the Japanese temple near Vishwa Shanti Stupa. Local traders sitting on the steps of Ratnagiri hills would tell them: “Danka bajane wali aarti 4.30 se 5.30 baje tak hoti hai (The Japanese prayer ceremony done with beating of Japanese drums, odaiko, is done between 4.30pm and 5.30pm).”

Parsuram Singh, an 80-something pilgrim sitting on the steps of Vishwa Shanti Stupa, said he had been coming to Rajgir over the past 10 years. “I have been going to Baidyanath Dham with my family over the past 10 years and Rajgir has been a stopover on our way back home,” said Singh, a farmer from Buxar.

Chhattisgarh resident Chandrashekhar Gupta said: “I had gone to Deoghar with my friends and we thought of visiting Rajgir, while returning. After reaching Tapovan, we walked another 35km to reach Rajgir. We all first took bath at the hot spring and then came to Vishwa Shanti Stupa. We would now go to Gaya from where we would take a bus for going further.”

This time of the year is normally observed as off- season at Rajgir. However, a huge rush of pilgrims returning from Deoghar is allowing local people to carry out good business.

Around 50 local youths could be seen around Vishwa Shanti Stupa holding cameras. “This time of the year is normally observed as off-season in Rajgir but we are able to do good business owing to heavy rush of pilgrims from Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar. Since most pilgrims hail from rural areas, they don’t carry cameras. We charge Rs 10 per photograph to take their photographs in front of Vishwa Shanti Stupa and other locations,” said Sonu Saini, one of the photographers, who is pursuing graduation at Rajgir.

The chairlift ropeway at Ratnagiri hills is also a major attraction. “I had heard a lot about the ropeway but never got a chance to ride it. Thus, I told my husband to return via Rajgir this time so that I could enjoy the ropeway ride,” said Shila Devi, a resident of Aurangabad.