File:Paharpur Buddhist Monastery.jpg

Sompur Mahavihara was one of the major learning centres during the heyday of Buddhism in Bengal under the Pala kings (8th-11th centuries AD). The quadrangular structure consists of 177 cells and a Buddhist temple in the centre. The rooms were used by the monks for accommodation and meditation. In addition to the large number of stupas and shrines of various sizes and shapes, terracotta plaques, stone sculptures, inscriptions, coins, ceramics etc. have been discovered. The central lofty pyramidal structure lies in the middle of the 22 acres courtyard. The structure rises upward in a tapering mass of three receding terraces, which, even ruins, reaches a height of 23 meters. Each of the terraces has a circum-ambulatory passage around the monument. At the topmost terrace (of the existing ruin) there were four antechambers on the projecting arms of the cross. The overall design of this complicated architecture is cantered on a square hollow shaft, which runs down from the present top of the mound to the level of second terrace.

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