SOMAPURA MAHAVIHARA
From the road you can see an elevation of 20 m high bricks, the remains of the monastery's stupa. Located in the centre of a vast 11 ha complex, it is surrounded by a wall of open cell rows on the interior of the monastery and the central courtyard. In the final phase of the construction of the monastery, there were no fewer than 177 cells. In 92 of them, there are ornate bases whose use remains unknown. Some archaeologists believe that they might contain the remains of revered monks. It is the second largest Buddhist monastery in South of the Himalayas.
Several inscriptions found on plates at several locations allow a little trace of the monastery's history. It seems that the work started under the reign of the second King Acap, Dharmapal (781-821), to end under that of fourth king Acap, Mahendrapala (850-854). A Tibetan text mentions that the monastery was renovated and repaired under the reign of Mahipala (995-1043). The monastery was severely damaged and burned during a conquest of the Vanga Army in the th century. A century later, King Vipulashrimitra repaired the monastery and added a temple dedicated to the goddess Tara. From the second half of the th century, the importance of the monastery declined before being completely abandoned in the th following the spread of Islam in the region. UNESCO entered the monastery on the World Heritage List in 1985 and injected millions of euros into the preservation of the site. Lack of protection, air salinity and germination of some plants greatly damage terracotta decorative structures and decorative plaques.
Access to the monastery was made by a fortified door north of the wall wall. It was also where the guard's house was located, and one can still understand the importance of the structure. The majority of utility buildings such as kitchen and kitchen kitchens were in the south-east corner of the monastery, as well as a few others in the northeast.
Following the decline of Buddhism in this part of Asia, the temple served the jaïnes and then Hindu communities. Various Buddhist, Jains and Hindu statues and objects were found on the site. But it was the Hindus who changed Somapura most by adding a tank and a temple, both to the south of the stupa and replacing the Buddhist terracotta Plates that decorated the main temple by plaques tracing the epic of the Ramayana.
The Somapura Temple: The main temple is designed according to an impressive base plane by three successive terraces. The lower level is now one metre above the original circumambulatoire road. By turning around, you can admire some of the granite plates that adorn the second level base. The intermediate terrace serves the 4 mandapas or chapels placed at the four cardinal points. This was done through columns of columns. The upper level consists of the imposing rectangular block block that supports the brick column, or stupa.
The Museum: it contains many objects discovered on the site during archaeological excavations, including Buddha heads in Plaster, a statue of Hevagara dressed Shakti or an imposing 2,5 m high bronze Buddha, more often exhibited throughout the world than at the museum.