Buddhist Circuit

The Buddha was born in Lumbini and died at Kushinagar, but the forty-five years between were mostly spent in what is now Bihar: enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, the rains retreats at Rajgir, the Lotus Sutra on Vulture Peak, the last sermon and the announcement of his death at Vaishali, the first council at Rajgir and the universities of Nalanda and Vikramshila that carried the teaching to Tibet. This is the circuit the state's tourism board signposts and the one most foreign pilgrims follow; our pages add the sights the signboards leave out.