Deeksha-bhoomi (Nagpur)

India / Maharashtra / Nagpur / East High Court Road
 monument, place with historical importance, buddhist temple
Deekshabhoomi is a sacred monument of Buddhism at the place where Babasaheb Ambedkar converted to Buddhism along with his about 380,000 followers on October 14, 1956. Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism is still a guidance for the masses in India.

Deekshabhoomi is situated in Nagpur, Maharashtra, a location regarded as a pilgrimage center of Buddhism in India. Thousands of pilgrims visit Deekshabhoomi every year, especially on Ashok Vijaya Dashmi and the 14th of October (the day when Dr. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism here). A great stupa is built at that place.

Deeksha literally means acceptance of religion.[citation needed] Deeksha is to Buddhism as Baptism is to Christianity.[citation needed] Bhoomi means land. So, literally Deekshabhoomi means the land where people get converted to Buddhism. Deekshabhoomi is one of the two places of great importance in the life of Ambedkar, another being Chaityabhoomi at Mumbai. Deekshabhoomi is famous for its architectural beauty and historical importance. It is also one of the main centers of tourism in India.

Ambedkar had already declared in 1935 that although he was born as a Hindu he would not die as one. After this declaration, he extensively studied the doctrines of all the major religions to choose Buddhism for him and his followers. He selected Nagpur for his conversion ceremony, as he explained in his speech at that occasion, because Nagpur was the homeland of Nag people who embraced Buddhism and supported it with great efforts in its early period.[8] A ground near Ramdaspeth area in Nagpur was selected for the ceremony. On October 14, 1956, Ambedkar and his wife Mrs.Savita Ambedkar took oath of Three Jewels and Five Precepts from Mahasthavir Chandramani. Ambedkar then gave the oath of Three Jewels, five precepts, and 22 Vows to his thousands of followers. Dr. Ambedkar died on December 6, 1956, just one and a half months after this ceremony. After his death Dr. Ambedkar Smarak Samiti was organized for the management of Deekshabhoomi. The committee decided to build a Stupa at the place as a monument of that ceremony and a mass conversion of people to Buddhism.

The stupa of the sacred Deekshabhoomi was designed by famous architect Sheo Dan Mal. Construction of the stupa started in July 1978, but it took a long time to finish. Sagar Enterprise of Mumbai, (Mr. H. C. Vakharia and Mr. Sandip Vakharia,) has completed structural work. The stupa was opened for the people on December 18, 2001 after a formal inauguration by the then President of India K. R. Narayanan.

Design of the stupa at Deekshabhoomi is based upon the architecture of the world famous stupa of Sanchi. But unlike the stupa of Sanchi, Deekshabhoomi stupa is completely hollow from inside. It is the largest hollow stupa among all Buddhist stupas in the world.[citation needed] At the ground floor, there is a 211 x 211 feet large square hall. At the centre of this hall, an idol of Buddha is placed. This idol was donated to Deekshabhoomi by Thai students learning in the university of Nagpur. There is also a library and a photo exhibition of the events in the lives of Gautama Buddha and Dr. Ambedkar. Above the hall, there is a hollow dome. This dome is surrounded by a veranda. On all the four directions of the dome, fountains are placed. Above the dome, there is a small slab and a little decorative umbrella. A high quality marble from Dholpur, Rajasthan is used for the flooring of the stupa. The stupa has doors on four directions. The doors open in large arcs, which are decorated with Ashok Chakras, and statues of horses, elephants, and lions, which gives an ancient look. Around the stupa, there is a garden which is maintained by Nagpur Improvement Trust. Statues of Dr. Ambedkar and idols Gautama Buddha are situated in front of the stupa. In front of the stupa, on the right hand side, there is a Buddha Vihara with a bronze idol of lord Buddha. Facilities are also made there for the bhikkhus to live. Besides the Vihara, there is the Bodhi Tree, which is a sacred fig tree. This Bodhi Tree was planted at Deekshabhoomi from three branches of the Bodhi Tree at Anuradhapuram in Sri Lanka. Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan had brought these branches from Sri Lanka as the memoir of Buddha's enlightenment.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deekshabhoomi
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   21°7'42"N   79°3'58"E

Comments

  • JAI BHIM is not abusive. it,s like saying hello, hi etc. Don,t tag it as abusive.
  • This is realy nice place ...........visit it once .........
  • This is that place who witnessed one of the big Religion Change events ever in world history. And that is also driven by one man Army Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. Who himself is one religion. NO one can compare with him. He is "God", this word for those who believes in that word only;Hindu, Christian ,Mosleum etc.. For us, people who really hated by all since decades, he is great than any one born on this earth. But our people who working good and got good status in normal society are forgotten him like anything. Our community leaders and other party leaders are using his name for dirty politics. I think some day you will find Lashkar e tayeba,LTTE or Hamas kind of group will b form and destroy all these dirt people and politicians of Dr. Babasaheb's community and his country's.
  • You can get mental peace here. please do not relate it with any particular category. Broaden your thoughts.
  • Hasn't India suffered under the prejudistic and discriminating caste system? Can we talk of it with pride on a world stage?
  • i hate reservation
  • I am not here to debate or hate anyone but to tell the fact that Indian constituency is just a copy paste from UK, accept the reservation part. Reservation was ok for first 10,20 or even 50 years, but not now. Only people I hate are Indian politician. It's country's loss, our brilliant minds are working for other countries now just because they didn't get chance here because of reservation..
  • fuck up yourself learn your dharm shastra which is copy paste from judaism yehudi and you are videshi.
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