A lama on his way to Jethian in Rajgir. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Here’s a chance to walk on the actual path taken by the Buddha in the sixth century BC at the Jethian-Rajgir valley in Nalanda district.

The International Tipitaka Chanting Council (ITCC), in association with Nav Nalanda Mahavihar, Nalanda, BTMC, International Buddhist Confederation and Sarvodaya group would organise a 13-km walk on the “Buddha Path” from Jethian in Gaya to Venu Van in Rajgir in Nalanda district on December 13. Hundreds of Buddhist devotees and followers from across the globe are expected to take part in the spiritual walk to be held around 100km southeast of Patna.

The walk would be led by venerable monks and nuns from different countries and traditions under the banner of ITCC. An important highlight of the event would be plantation of 700 bamboo saplings of different varieties by Mahasangha of ITCC at Venu Van – the bamboo grove, the concluding point of the walk. Berkeley-based Light of Buddhadharma Foundation International (LBDFI) is also taking measures to promote the event in different countries and generate awareness about the Buddhist sites.

“ITCC organises Tipitaka Chanting in Bodhgaya every year from December 1 to 12 and it has agreed to send its 700 member monks and nuns for the walk this year. The walk is an initiative to revive the walking pilgrimage as a new tool for awakening of the Buddhist heritage in Bihar. We are getting good response for the walk from as many as 11 countries across the globe,” said R. Panth, director, Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda.

The Buddha Walk in Jethian-Rajgir valley has been frequented by former chief minister Nitish Kumar as well. Deepak Anand, Heritage Consultant at Nav Nalanda Mahavihara, said Nitish walked on this path regularly from 2009 till last year (2013).

Following the way

The Buddha-Path has been conceptualised on the basis of travelogues of Chinese monk-scholar Xuanzang in the 7th century AD. The Buddha Path, through the valley connecting Rajgir with Jethian, was once an important pilgrimage path connecting erstwhile Indrasailaguha (present day Parwati), Yasthivana (present day Jethian), Tapovana and Sambodhi (Bodhgaya).

The path is now ready for the devout Buddhists, who would like to take the spiritual journey and earn merit by following in the footsteps of the Buddha.

Buddha Path story

Before leaving Rajgir in search of the truth, Siddhartha promised King Bimbisara to share his experience once he attained enlightenment. Keeping his promise, the Buddha, along with the Sangha, left Gayasisa (Brhmayoni) for Rajgir. Walking 25 miles northeast along the hills, they reached Jethian, a beautiful bamboo forest.

After getting the news about Buddha’s presence, King Bimbisara, his retinue of ministers and a myriad followers from Rajgir came to greet Buddha at Jethian, about seven miles west, along the hills at Rajgir. The Buddha and the Sangha, escorted by King Bimbisara and myriads of people from Rajagriha then took this route through Jethian-Rajgir Valley to reach Rajgir town, where the King offered them his favourite pleasure garden, Veluvana.

Jethian-Rajgir valley

The dense valley spans around 18km and falls under the jurisdiction of Nalanda as well as Gaya district. Split half way through the middle, a 9-km stretch comes under Gaya district, and the remaining 9km is in Nalanda. As far as Jethian is concerned, it is associated with many events in the lifespan of Buddha. Xuanzang spent almost two years here with an eminent monk Jayadeva and wrote extensively about the many spots associated with Buddha. British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham identified this site in 1871 and then Auriel Stein carried the work forward by identifying various spots mentioned by Xuanzang in his travelogue. Jethian has many sacred places in its vicinity where tourists can make day trips while maintaining their base there.