| Deekshabhoomi | |
|---|---|
 Deekshabhoomi Stupa | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Religious andhistorical monument |
| Architectural style | Stupa |
| Location | Nagpur,Maharashtra,India |
| Address | South Ambazari Road, Abhyankar Nagar, Nagpur |
| Coordinates | 21°7′41″N79°4′1″E / 21.12806°N 79.06694°E /21.12806; 79.06694 |
| Construction started | July 1978 |
| Inaugurated | 18 December 2001 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Sheo Dan Mal, Shashi Sharma |
Deekshabhoomi, also written asDeeksha Bhoomi Nagpur, is a sacred monument ofNavayana Buddhism located inNagpur city in the state ofMaharashtra inIndia; whereB. R. Ambedkar with approximately 400,000 of his followers,[1] mainlyDalits, embraced Buddhism onAshoka Vijaya Dashami on 14 October 1956.[2] Ambedkar played a significant role in the revival ofBuddhism in India, and inspired many such mass conversions to Buddhism.[3][4]
Deekshabhoomi is inNagpur,Maharashtra, a location regarded as a sacred place, prernabhoomi (inspiring land) of social revolution being atheist and a preparations for social actions against class conflicts, discrimination, inequality also the first pilgrimage center of Ambedkarite Buddhism in India. Millions of pilgrims visit Deekshabhoomi every year,[5] especially onDhamma Chakra Pravartan Din i.e. Samrat Ashoka vijaya dashmi ("Mass Conversion Ceremony Day")[6] and 14 October, the memorial day when B.R.Ambedkar embraced and converted to Buddhism here. His final religious act was to embrace Buddhism and envisioned making India The Buddhist nation a prabuddha Bharat[5] Today, the largeststupa in the world is erected in his memory at the site.[7][8]
Nagbhumi, which is ancient place region where majority peoples of clan Nagvanshi survived and strongly followed Buddhas teachings now inMaharashtra state of democratic republic nationIndia.
Deeksha literally means 'act of ordaining'[9] andbhoomi means the 'ground'.[10]Deekshabhoomi means the ground where people got ordained asBuddhist. This religious mass conversion at one place was the first ever of its kind in history.[11] Deekshabhoomi is one of two places of considered to be of great importance in the life of Ambedkar, the other beingChaitya Bhoomi inMumbai.[12]
Dr. Ambedkar had declared in 1935 that although he was born as aHindu, he would not die as one,[13] as conversion was the solution to abandon thecaste system.[14] After this declaration and having extensively and exhaustively studied the doctrines of all the major world religions, Dr. Ambedkar would choose Buddhism for himself and his followers.[14]
Buddhism was 2,550 years old in 1956, so it was a notable year of celebration for the Buddhist religious world globally and 14 October was the traditional date of conversion of EmperorAshoka, the great Indian Buddhist Monarch and the day is celebrated as Ashok Vijaya Dashmi.[15] He selectedNagpur for his conversion ceremony, as he explained in his speech at that occasion, because Nagpur was the homeland of 'Nag' people who embraced Buddhism, supported it with great efforts in its early period, and propagated it throughoutIndia.[16][17] Ground near theRamdaspeth area in Nagpur was selected for the ceremony.
On 14 October 1956, Dr. Ambedkar and his wife took the oath ofThree Jewels andFive Precepts from theBurmese monk Mahasthavir Chandramani fromKushinagar.[18][19] Dr. Ambedkar then gave the oath ofThree Jewels, Five Precepts, and22 Vows to thousands of his followers.[18] In this way, Nagpur became the birthplace ofNeo Buddhist movement.[8]
Dr. Ambedkar died on 6 December 1956, one and a half months after theDeeksha ceremony. However, this ceremonial conversion continued after his death, converting 15-20 million by March 1959.[20] After his death the 'Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Deekshabhoomi Smarak Samiti' (Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Deekshabhoomi Memorial committee) was organized for the management of Deekshabhoomi. The committee decided to build astupa at the place as a monument of that ceremony and a mass conversion of people to Buddhism. Arya BhadantSurai Sasai is the president of the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Deekshabhoomi Memorial committee, Nagpur.[21][22]
Deekshabhoomi is spread over four acres of significant land in the city.[11] The stupa was designed by architectSheo Dan Mal.[23] In 1968, construction started with residential houses for monks, later on P/G College. Construction of the stupa started in July 1978, but it took a long time to finish.[24] The stupa was inaugurated on 18 December 2001 by the President of IndiaK. R. Narayanan.[7]
It comprises a large two storied hemispherical buildings with gates resembling aSanchi gate.[11] Five thousand monks can stay in each storey.[24] The design of the stupa at Deekshabhoomi is based on the architecture of the world famous stupa ofSanchi.[25] But unlike the stupa of Sanchi, Deekshabhoomi stupa is completely hollow inside.[8][26][27][28] It is the largest hollow stupa among all Buddhist stupas in the world.[8] The inner circular hall is spread across 4000 square feet[11] with granite, marble and Dholpur sandstone used in its construction.[24]
On the ground floor, there is a 211 x 211 feet large square hall. At the center of this hall, an image ofBuddha is placed. This image was donated to Deekshabhoomi byThai students studying atNagpur University. There is a library and a photo exhibition of the events in the lives of Gautama Buddha and Ambedkar.
Above the hall, there is a hollow dome. This dome is surrounded by a veranda. On all four sides, fountains are placed. Above the dome, there is a small slab and a little decorative umbrella. The stupa has doors facing four directions. The doors open in large arcs, which are decorated withAshok Chakras, and statues of horses, elephants, and lions.
Around the stupa, there is a garden that is maintained by theNagpur Improvement Trust.[29] Statues of Ambedkar and images of Gautama Buddha are in front of the stupa.
In front of the stupa, on the right hand side, there is aBuddha Vihara with a bronze image of Buddha.
Besides the Vihara, there is theBodhi Tree: a sacred fig tree. This Bodhi Tree was planted at Deekshabhoomi from three branches of the Bodhi Tree atAnuradhapura inSri Lanka.Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan brought these branches from Sri Lanka as a memorial of Buddha's enlightenment.[30]
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Deeksha Bhoomi hosts a memorial to Ambedkar and has been graded an A-class tourism and pilgrimage site by the Government of Maharashtra.[31][32][33] Deekshabhoomi is famous for its architectural beauty and historical importance. It is one of the main centers oftourism in India.[5] Every year, thousands of tourists visit Deekshabhoomi, especially on the anniversary of the conversion ceremony.[34] On Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din, thousands of compact cassettes of Ambedkar, Ambedkar movement and Buddha songs are sold at Deekshabhoomi. The books of fewcrore rupees in different languages are sold in a single day, this makes Deekshabhoomi a unique place in the world.[35]
Foreign tourists come mainly from the Buddhist countries such asJapan andThailand.[citation needed]
Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din.
{{cite book}}:|first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)Deeksha Bhoomi
आंबेडकरी चळवळीच्या, बुद्ध आणि भीमगीतांच्या हजारो कॅसेट्स एका दिवशी खरेदी होतात. पुस्तकांच्या तीनशेपेक्षा जास्त स्टॉल्सवर खरेदीसाठी झुंबड उडते. मराठीसह हिंदी, इंग्रजी भाषांतील पुस्तकांची दरवर्षीची विक्री सर्वांनाच ठाऊक आहे. परंतु, यावर्षी दक्षिणेतील तमीळ, कानडी भाषांतील पुस्तकांचे स्टॉल लावण्यात आले. याशिवाय श्रीलंकेतील सिंहली भाषेतील बुद्धाचे साहित्य यावर्षी खरेदीसाठी होते. कोट्यवधीची पुस्तकखरेदी एका दिवशी होणारे दीक्षाभूमी हे जगातील एकमेव ठिकाण आहे, हे विशेष.
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