Vaishali

Vaishali (ancient Vesali/Vaiśālī) in present-day Bihar is one of India’s most celebrated early historic cities. From about the 6th century BCE it served as the capital of the Vajji (Vajjika) confederacy, led by the Licchavis, and is often described as an early example of a republican “gana-sangha” polity. It is also a major pilgrimage landscape for Buddhism and Jainism. Buddhist tradition remembers Vaishali as the place where Gautama Buddha delivered his last sermon before his mahaparinirvana, and it preserves stupas linked to his relics. Jain tradition associates the region with Mahavira’s birth at Kundagrama, identified as a suburb of ancient Vaishali. In 383 BCE the Second Buddhist Council was convened here, and nearby Kolhua preserves a well-known Ashokan pillar from the 3rd century BCE, topped by a single lion. Centuries later, Chinese pilgrims Faxian (4th c. CE) and Xuanzang (7th c. CE) described the site, helping modern identification; in 1861 Alexander Cunningham linked Vaishali’s ruins with Basarh. Since 2010, key remains such as the relic stupa and Asokan pillar have been on India’s UNESCO tentative list. In modern administration, Vaishali district was created in 1972 with headquarters at Hajipur, keeping the ancient name alive. It remains a symbol of Bihar.