Rajgir
town and historical city in Bihar, India, important place in Buddhism
Rajgir (old name Rajagriha, meaning "The City of Kings") is an ancient city and university town in the Nalanda district of Bihar, India. It is also considered a cultural capital of Magadh. It was the capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty, the Maurya Empire, and it was the retreat center for the Buddha and his sangha. Other historical figures such as Mahavira and king Bimbisara lived there, and due to its religious significance, the city holds a place of prominence in Buddhist, Jain and Hindu scriptures.
Rajgir was the first capital of the ancient kingdom of Magadha, a state that would eventually evolve into the Maurya Empire. It finds mention in India's renowned literary epic, the Mahabharata, through its king Jarasandha. The town's date of origin is unknown, although ceramics dating to about 1000 BCE have been found in the city. The 2,500-year-old cyclopean wall is also located in the region.
The ancient Nalanda university was located in the vicinity of Rajgir, and the contemporary Nalanda University named after it was founded in 2010 nearby. The town is also famed for its natural springs and towering hills that dominate the landscape.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Rajgir” as town and historical city in Bihar, India, important place in Buddhism. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as town and historical city in Bihar, India, important place in Buddhism. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q863683. VIAF identifies the subject as 123186688. The Library of Congress control number is n82246449. Authority coordinates are 25.030, 85.420. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1000 and 2010.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Rajgir” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.