Maniyar Math
At a distance of 4 km from Rajgir Railway Station, Maniyar Math is a historic and religious place located in Rajgir, Bihar. Situated on the way to Bimbisara Jail, it is one of the important places to visit in Rajgir. Located almost at the center of the old city of Rajgriha, the ancient site of Maniyar Math may be identified with the name Manimala Chaitya mentioned in Pali Texts or the shrine of Mani - Naga referred to in Mahabharata. The main attraction here is a well-like structure made of 1.2m thick wall with a diameter of 3 m. The exterior provides niches containing 0.6 m high stucco images of a linga decorated with garland, four-armed Vishnu, Nagi image, Ganesha twisted with snakes around his body, and six-armed dancing Shiva. Unfortunately, most of the images have now disappeared from their art-style belongs to the Gupta period. The minor structures such as alter platform and shrines etc, seem to be constructed for the religious and ritual purpose related to serpent worship.
