Ancient Buddhist Monastery

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has unearthed a Buddhist monastery, believed to be at least 900 years old, buried under a mound in a village situated in a hilly area of Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand.

• The finding comes after discovery of an ancient Buddhist shrine recently, buried under a similar mound, barely 100 metres away.

Importance of Excavation

• The findings were significant since the monastery is on the old route to Varanasi, 10 km from Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon.
• Archaeologists found four statues of the deity ‘Tara’ in ‘Varad Mudra’ and six statues of the Buddha in ....