Kurkihar
Ancient site · Buddhist images in Pala style, now worshipped in a Hindu Devi temple · Kurkihar village, Gaya, Bihar
Villagers and visitors worship the Pala-period stone images that remain in the Devi temple; students of...
The "Garh" site of an ancient Buddhist monastery with chaityas, votive stupas and a Shiva temple, an ASI Monument of National Importance. In 1930 a hoard of 226 bronzes, mostly Buddhist and dated 9th-12th century, was found about 25 feet down by someone digging for bricks: Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, stupas, bells and ritual objects, most now in the Patna Museum. Kurkihar was a major pilgrimage centre midway between Gaya and Rajgriha, drawing donors from across India and from as far as Bali and Malaya. A number of the Buddhist images are still in active worship in the local Devi temple.
Plan your visit
- Best season
- September to April
- Area
- Gaya
- Status
- Coming Soon
Tirtham can arrange here
Guide, car and stay around Gaya
Also around Gaya
- Litti chokha: The dish people mean when they say Bihari food.
- Sattu sharbat in summer: What Bihar drinks against the heat: roasted gram, water, lemon and salt, sold from carts on every corner.
- Tilkut on Ramna Road: Gaya's winter sweet, pounded from sesame and jaggery by hand for about 150 years, and eaten at Makar Sankranti.
- Anarsa of Gaya: The rice-and-sesame sweet Bihar Tourism places at Gaya.
- The stone carvers of Patharkatti: A village of stone carvers descended from the Gaur craftsmen Ahilyabai Holkar brought from Rajasthan to build the Vishnupad temple; GI-registered in June 2026.
- Pitrapaksh Mela: The fortnight when families from all over India come to Gaya to offer pind to their ancestors.
Nearby places
- Vishnupad Temple, Gaya: Lord Vishnu's footprint, and the great seat of pind daan
- Akshayavat: It is where the final, concluding pinda of the Gaya Shraddha is offered, making it the last stop of the...
- Sita Kund: Pilgrims come because Sita is held to have performed Pind Daan here for her father-in-law Dashratha...
- Ramshila Hill: Rama is believed to have offered pinda on this hill, so mourners offer pindas here during Pitrapaksh
- Pretshila Hill: Devotees bathe in Brahma Kund and then perform pinda-daan on the hill for ancestors believed to be...
- Brahmayoni Hill: Hindus climb it in large numbers during Pitripaksha to offer at the hill and squeeze through the...
- Mangla Gauri Temple: It is counted among the eighteen Maha Shakti Peethas, the spot where Sati's breast fell, and newlyweds...
- Phalgu River ghats, Gaya: Tarpan and the riverbed pinda offerings of the Gaya Shraddha are made on these ghats
Questions pilgrims ask
Why is Kurkihar important?
The "Garh" site of an ancient Buddhist monastery with chaityas, votive stupas and a Shiva temple, an ASI Monument of National Importance. In 1930 a hoard of 226 bronzes, mostly Buddhist and dated 9th-12th century, was found about 25 feet down by someone digging for bricks: Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, stupas, bells and ritual objects, most now in the Patna Museum. Kurkihar was a major pilgrimage centre midway between Gaya and Rajgriha, drawing donors from across India and from as far as Bali and Malaya. A number of the Buddhist images are still in active worship in the local Devi temple.
When is the best time to visit Kurkihar?
September to April.
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