Somapura Mahavihara

Somapura Mahavira is one of the well known Buddhist monasteries, located in Paharpur, Naogaon, Bangladesh. The monastery is also one of the most significant archaeological sites in the country and it was defined by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1985.

It is known that several monasteries were established during the Pāla period in ancient Bengal and Magadha.

Tibetan sources indicate there were five of them which were the Somapura Mahavihara, Vicramashila, Nalanda, Ordantapurā and Jaggadala.

They were all formed as a network which helps to coordinate easily with each other.

Seals were found in excavation at Paharpur with inscriptions to indicate that the Somapura Mahavihara was built by the secong Pala king Dharmapala of Pāla Dynasty.

According to the Tibetan sources, Taranatha’s history and Pag-Sa-Jon-Zang, the monastery was built by the Dharmapala’s successor Devapala after his conquest of Varendra.

During the reign of Mahipala, the Somapura Mahavihara was entirely reconstructed and renovated.

In the 11th century the monastery was destroyed by fire but about a century later was again repaired. The recovery process was carried out by Vipulashrimitra who moreover added the temple of Tara.

By the time Mahapanditacharya Bodhibhadra was serving as a monk, the monastery became a home for Atisha Dipankar Srijnan. He spent many years in the monastery, translating the Madhyamaka Ratnapradipa into Tibetan.

There were several other scholars, among whom Kalamahapada, Viryendra and Karunashrimitra, who also lived in the monastery for really long periods.

Somewhere between the 9th and 12th centuries, the Somapura Mahavihara became a place visited by many Tibetan monks.

In the 13th century, during the Muslim occupation, the monastery was completely abandoned.

The architectural style of the Somapura Mahavihara is really quite interesting and unique.

The monastery is within an area of 85,000 m², including 177 cells, viharas, temples, numbers of stupas as well as several other buildings.

The walls of the monastery are all terracotta plaques, representing in some way the influence of the Buddhist religion, the Jain religion and the Hindus religion. These three religions known as Dharmic Traditions had enormous intellectual importance of the Somapura Mahavihara .

Address:
Somapura Mahavihara
Paharpur
Naogaon
Bangladesh

Tel: +880 2812 6817

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