Saptaparni Cave
Cave · Gautama Buddha; Mahakassapa (convener of the First Buddhist Council) · Rajgir, Nalanda, Bihar
It is held to be where the First Buddhist Council met after the Buddha's parinirvana and where Ananda...
A group of rock shelters embedded in the hillside about 2 km southwest of Rajgir town, reached by a long flight of steps that climbs from the Rajgir hot-spring/Brahma Kund area up Vaibhara hill. The site is under the Archaeological Survey of India. The cave mouths open onto a terrace with a view over the Rajgir valley; there is no shrine building, just the natural chambers.
Plan your visit
- Best season
- September to April" (Bihar Tourism's stated best season for
- Area
- Rajgir
Yatras that include Saptaparni Cave
- Buddhist Yatra: Where five hundred monks met after his death and recited everything he had said, to fix it.
- Silence and Stillness: Rajgir, where the first council sat. Above the hot springs, up steps.
Experiences here
- Sit in a cave: People have gone to these rooms to be alone for two thousand two hundred years
- The hot springs at Rajgir: Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Muslims have bathed in the same water here for centuries
Tirtham can arrange here
Guide, car and stay around Rajgir
Also around Rajgir
- 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.
- Magahi paan: The betel leaf of old Magadh, soft enough to melt in the mouth, grown under thatch in Nawada, Gaya, Aurangabad and Nalanda.
- The ropeway up Ratnagiri: The ride up to the Vishwa Shanti Stupa, over the hills the Buddha walked, in an open chair or a cabin.
- Rajgir Mahotsav: Bihar's festival of classical dance and music, with a food fair, held in Rajgir each year.
- Silao khaja: A many-layered fried sweet made in Silao, on the road between Rajgir and Nalanda, GI-registered in 2018.
Nearby places
- Rajgir (Griddhakuta): Hills where the Buddha and Mahavira taught
- Vishwa Shanti Stupa, Rajgir: Pilgrims come to circumambulate and pray for peace at one of about 80 Nipponzan Myohoji peace pagodas...
- Venuvana: It is the first monastery ever offered to the Buddha and where he spent several rains retreats, so...
- Pippala Cave: Buddhists visit it as Mahakashyapa's dwelling and a meditation retreat; Hindu visitors come for the...
- Jivakamravana: It is the mango grove the physician Jivaka gave to the sangha and where the Buddha was treated after...
- Bimbisara's Jail: Buddhists come because Bimbisara, the Buddha's royal patron who is said to have attained sotapanna...
- Brahma Kund: Bathing in the hot springs is treated as purifying and curative, and the water is believed to be...
- Makhdum Kund: Muslim pilgrims come to bathe in the spring associated with Makhdum Sahib and to pray at the tomb
Questions pilgrims ask
Why is Saptaparni Cave important?
A group of rock shelters embedded in the hillside about 2 km southwest of Rajgir town, reached by a long flight of steps that climbs from the Rajgir hot-spring/Brahma Kund area up Vaibhara hill. The site is under the Archaeological Survey of India. The cave mouths open onto a terrace with a view over the Rajgir valley; there is no shrine building, just the natural chambers.
When is the best time to visit Saptaparni Cave?
September to April" (Bihar Tourism's stated best season for .
Can Tirtham plan a yatra to Saptaparni Cave?
Yes. Tell us how long you have and who is going, and Tirtham plans the days, the guide, the car and the stay.
Plan my Yatra. Rather talk to someone? Call or WhatsApp +91 87893 56605, or contact us.