________________ THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSONALITY OF VAISALI Dr. SITA RAM ROY, M. A., Ph. D. Even today if one moves around the vicinity of Vaisali (250 58' 20" North Latitude and 850 11' 30" East Longitude), North Bihar, one is amazed to find a number of existing remains of the hoary antiquity at the site. The ancient site of Vaisali, at present, falling under the jurisdiction of two districts of north Bibar, viz., Vaishali and Muzaffarpur, covers a vast area represented by modern villages of Basukund, Kamman Chhapra, Basarh, Baudhatola, Lalpura, Konsa, Dharahara, Chakramdas, Bania, Ufraul, Kolbua, Bakbra etc. Antiquarian Remains The important antiquarian remaias at the site include the following : (a) The birthplace of Mahavira, the twentyfourth Jaioa Tirthankara, located in village Basukund. (b) A four-headed Sivalinga on black basalt with an inscription in the Gupta Brahmi script at Kamman Chhapra. (c) Remains of the defence wall of the ancient city of Vaisali still traceable from the village of Konsa to Dharabara, about two kilometres south of Raja Visala ka Garh. (d) Raja Vissala Ka Garh :-A fairly high land covering a large area located at Basarh is called Raja Visala Ka Garb. This site has already yielded numerous antiquities as a result of archaeological operations by different scholars. (0) A black-basalt statue of Karttikeya, belonging to the Pala period, enshrined in a temple called Harikatora at Basarh. (f) A dargah on the remains of a stupa, located to the south-west of Raja Visala Ka Garh, locally known as Miran Ki Dargah but it is, in fact, the Dargah of Sheikh Qazin. (8) An old temple on the north bank of a pond, locally called Bauna Pokbar, enshrining several black-basalt images of Gupta and Pala periods. (h) An ancient statue of a Jaina Tirthankara, previously in the old temple of Bauna Pokbar, now epshrined in a newly-built temple nearby to the west of the old one. 4.
