Rajgir (राजगीर)

What makes Rajgir a temple town

Rajgir is sacred to three traditions at once and to none of them exclusively. It was Rajagriha, the capital of Magadha, and the hills around it carry Hindu shrines, the Buddhist sites of the Buddha's own residence, and Jain temples on every peak — the Mahabharata, the Pali canon and the Jain agamas all describe the same valley.

Its ritual centre is the hot springs rather than a building. Brahmakund on Vaibhava hill is the hottest of them, the water led through stone spouts into tanks with a Shiva shrine beside them, and bathing there is a step in a rite rather than an amenity. The Malamas fair in the intercalary month is when the town is fullest.