By
Venerable Mangala Priya Bhikkhu
Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University
It is
treated as the Largest Buddhist Seat of Learning of South Asia. It is a small
village, 5 km west of Jamalganj in the greater Rajshahi district, where the
remains of the most important and the largest known monastery south of the
Himalayas has been excavated.
This 7th century AD archaeological
find covers an area of approximately 11 hectare. The entire establishment,
occupying a Quadrangular court, measures more than 300 meters and varies from
3.5 to 4.5 meters in height with an elaborate gateway complex on the north, there
are 45 cells on the north and 44 in each of the other three sides, with a total
number of 177 rooms.
