Telhara monastery, (near) Koath, Bihar, IN

Raw data

This ancient village is "located 13 miles south-east of the Masurhi Railway Station and about 21 miles west of Nalanda." It is the site called Ti-lo-tse-kla by Xuanzang. Cunningham found inscriptions that confirmed the name and location, though dating from the 9th-11th centuries. Further excavations are not possible because the site is a Muslim graveyard. Xuanzang found that Telhara was one of several monasteries in the immediate area, housing about 1,000 monks, all studying Mahayana.

See Brajmohan Kumar, Archaeology of Pataliputra and Nalanda (Delhi: Ramanand Vidya Bhawan, 1987), p. 72.
Src: IN
Input by: SG, Mar 28, 2009

A place some 21 miles W of Nalanda is situated close to the village of
Koath, India Page
Other names: Koāth
World:India:Bihar State of
Latitude 25.3167 Longitude 84.2667
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/34/Koath.html
- tmc, 10 Jun 2009.

Nalanda - Almost a suburb of Rajgir. The monastic university covered an area of several square kilometers, now occupied by modern villages Jagispur and Bargaon (Huntington 1884:108). Nalanda and the nearby Uddandapura were destroyed by the invading Muslims in 1199 (Huntington 1884:109).

Barkagaon, India Page
Other names: Barkagaon
World:India:Bihar State of
Lat 25.2167 Long 84.4167
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/34/Barkagaon.html

Jagdispur, India Page
Other names: Jagd?spur
World:India:Bihar State of
Lat 25.4833 Long 84.4167
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/34/Jagdispur.html

"The chief places of archaeological interest are RAJGIR, MAKER, PATNA CITY, BIHAR, and GIRIAK. The village of BARAGAON has been identified as the site of the famous Nalanda monastery, and with the neighbouring village of Begampur contains masses of ruins; at Tetrawan and JagdIspur are colossal statues of Buddha, and at Telhara and Islampur the, remains of Buddhist monasteries. Many other Buddhist remains are of more or less interest."
Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 20, p. 58.
http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/text.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V20_064.gif
Input by: tmciolek, Apr 1, 2009

Telhara (Nalanda) Exacvation Report - A Brief Report by Atul Kumar Verma
http://yac.bih.nic.in/Documents/Telhara-(Nalanda)-Excavation-Report.pdf

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 19 Jul 2014

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 2 km from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Telhara monastery, IN.

General location of the Telhara monastery, IN.
lat=25.3167 long=84.2667
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2009.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=25.3167+84.2667+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Telhara%20monastery,%20IN)&ll=25.3167,84.2667&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en


Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

  • Telhara monastery

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • India:State of Bihar

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names


4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

The monastery is situated approx. 21 miles (=33.7 km) west of Nalanda


5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries


6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village


7. The settlement's alternative/historical names


8. The settlement's coordinates


9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

  • Mahayana - Kumar (1987:72)

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

  • [missing data]

12. Date-intermediate

  • 636 CE - a visit by Xuangzang

MBM chrono-tag 0633-66c - tmciolek 19 Jul 2014
0600-32p 0633-66c 0667-99c 0700-32c 0733-66c 0767-99c 0800-32c 0833-66c 0867-99c 0900-32c 0933-66c 0967-99c 1000-32c 1033-66c 1067-99c 1100-32c 1133-66c 1167-99c dated-xl


13. Date-late

  • 1199 CE. Destruction of site by Muslim troops.

MBM chrono-tag 1167-99c - tmciolek 19 Jul 2014


14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • texts, pilgrim account, excavations, inscriptions

16. Additional notes

  • In 636 CE there were 1,000 monks

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

  • [missing data]

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