Paharpur Buddha Bihar can be called the world's largest Buddhist temple. It was the Buddhist's most famous religious center for 300 years. Buddhists from other countries like China, Tibet, Myanmar (earlier Burma), Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. used to come here to achieve the study of religion.

Location of Paharpur: Somapura Mahavihara was situated in the middle of the capital of Pundravardhana, Pundranagar (present-day Mahasthan) and the other city, Kotiborsho (now Bangarh). Its ruins are located at Paharpur village of Badalgachi Upazila of Naogaon district, under the greater Rajshahi.

On the other hand, it is only 5 kilometers west of Jamalganj railway station in Joypurhat district. This landmark plot of the archaeological site is the quadrilateral shape. It is situated around 0.10 square kilometers (10 hectares) in the village, and it remains as a hill-like structure located about 30.30m above the surrounding plain land. Local people called it 'the hill of Gopal Chitra.' Since then it has been named Paharpur, although its name is Sompur Bihar.

History and Discoveries: In the seventh century (770-810 AD) Buddhist religious, a royal dynasty was established in Bangladesh. In the eighth and ninth century AD, Dharmapala, the second and third King of the Pala dynasty and his son Deva Pala established a vast empire in Bengal, Bihar, and Kanauj.The Paharpur Bihar and temples were developed in Bangladesh under the patronage of Buddhist religion's high excellence.





In addition to various places in the Indian subcontinent, Buddhists of China, Tibet, Myanmar (earlier Burma), Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. used to come here to acquire religious knowledge. Hence, monks of Sompur Bihar donated money and treasure in different Buddhist shrines such as Nalanda, Bodhgaya, etc. have been mentioned. Mahapanditacharya Bodhivadra lived in Sompur Bihar.

Acharya (great scholar) Atish Dipankar lived for some time in Paharpur Buddhist monastery. His teacher Ratnakar Shamitya was the Mahasthabi (chief Pandit) of the Bihar. Ancient Carpenter Kanyapa and-and his guru, Jalandharan-pa, or Hari-Pa used to live here. After the end of the power of the Palas, this monastery became a ruin due to historical and geographical reasons, but today, this beautiful temple stands proudly as Asia's greatest Buddhist monastery.



After the end of the power of the Pala dynasty, this monastery became a ruin due to historical and geographical reasons, but today, this beautiful temple stands proudly as Asia's greatest Buddhist monastery.



During the survey work in eastern India, Buchanan Hamilton visited the site first from 1807 to 1812. Later Westmact came to Paharpur. Then in 1879 Sir Alexander Cunningham, director of the Department of Archaeology, had himself carried excavation operations.But he went back after a small excavation due to tremendous opposition from the zamindar of Balihar.



However, in the latter part, he discovered an erected 22-feet square building on the four sides and understood that the significance of this ancient temple. In 1904, Paharpur was brought under the protection of the Archaeological Preservation Act by his sincere efforts.

In 1923, the joint venture excavation began again from the University of Kolkata, Barendra (Barind) Research Council and Archaeological Survey of India, with the financial contribution of Sharat Kumar Roy, a member of the Zamindar family of Dighapatiya.

This year the excavation of the southwestern part of the site, led by the historian D.R Bhandarkar, a large number of rooms and patrols in the north-south were found. About two years later, another famous archaeologist of Bengal Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay started excavation work. He excavated in 1925-26, discovered the main stairs, terracotta plaques decorated with walls and circular paths north of the central corridor, Mandap or Hall house on the north.



As a result, for the first time, they made the ground plans. In 1933-34, under the supervision of Kashinath Dikshit, the Indian Archaeological Survey Department re-excavated. In it, the ruins of the Bihar and the remains of the temple with some stacks in the rest of the monastery were found.

This excavation work has continued for long eleven years. It was then discovered that the remains of Paharpur were re-excavated in 1987-89. Removal of stacked mud of unnecessary wastewater from the vihara area and disciplined system of disinfection should be ensured so that existing waterlogging and salinity was reduced.

Architectural detail: Paharpur Bihar is the largest Bihar of in Asia. Brick surrounded the whole Bihar. The main wall of Bihar was found to be 20 feet wide. There are many smaller temples available in the enclosure. The monastery is 922 feet in the north and 919 feet in the west. There are 177 rooms around the main temple. It is estimated that monks lived here. Each of these rooms is 14 feet long and 13 feet in width. About 80 odd monks were vestiges of this monastery. There are small doors for each room to enter. The long verandah has gone through the chambers. The only part we get after discovering is the bottom part.





Now it's height is 70 feet. The above-ground walls and ceilings have long been disintegrated. The area that was found intact was 280 meters in length and 278 meters wide. Two halls on two sides of the courtyard and several guardrooms on both sides were found.





A small lane on the east aspect of the north corner and the middle of the eastern extremity provides one more hidden path route. The wall surrounds the entire temple. Its entrance and the central staircase to the main building was on the north side. There was a pond in front of the north entrance gate until1984.









According to the data obtained in the year 1984-85, the pond was dug after the first construction period, and erosion of the stairs was destroyed. Later the lake was filled up. During the excavation, 125 silver coins of the reign of Kharif Harun al-Rashid were found in clay pots, and they were stored in the adjacent museum at Paharpur. Besides, many statues, coins, inscriptions, etc., rescued from Paharpur Bihar, are preserved in Paharpur Museum.