1. About the course:Buddhist Tourism is a four-credit course of 15 weeks’ duration.In the 1st credit, we will discuss the sacred sites related to the life of Buddha: Lumbini- where Siddharth Gautam was born, Bodhgaya- where he attained enlightenment, Sarnath- where Gautam Buddha delivered his first sermon called Dhammachakkapavattan Sutta and lastly, Kushinara / Kushinagar- where Buddha attained Mahaparinibban.In credit 2, we will study the Buddhist Heritage Sites of Northern, Eastern and North-Eastern India. We will undertake a journey to the ancient Buddhist University of Vikramashila, the grand Buddhist stupa at Kesariya, the Buddhist Heritage Triangle of Ratnagiri-Udayagiri-Lalitagiri and other important sites.Credit 3 is devoted to the study of the Buddhist Heritage Sites of Central and Western India. The World Heritage Sites such as Sanchi, Ajanta and Ellora have been a major attraction for international tourists in these regions. Besides a virtual journey to these sites in this credit, we will also be discussing other important Buddhist sites from these regions such as Sirpur, Junnar, Karle, Bhaja, Kanheri and the recently excavated Buddhist site of Vadnagar.The 4th credit will shed light on Buddhist Heritage sites of South India and modern Buddhist tourist sites. We will be virtually visiting and understanding important Buddhist sites such as Amravati, Nagarjunakonda, Guntapalli, Salihundam. The 20th century witnessed the revival of Buddhism in India. In this credit, we are also going to study Modern Buddhist Sites like Deekshabhoomi at Nagpur, Dharmashala and Global Vipassana Pagoda at Mumbai.The course aims to provide an outline of Buddhist Heritage Sites in India. The course focuses on the sites in India though the only exception is made in the case of Lumbini. Lumbini, though it belongs to Nepal, is included because it is Buddha’s birthplace and it is easy to approach from India. The course will help the student to get acquainted with archaeological and historical remains of Buddhism in ancient India and their relevance in the present context; to promote heritage awareness among the society. A special advantage of this course is that it aims to provide opportunities for Buddhist Tourism Industry; to facilitate career-oriented knowledge in the field of Buddhist Heritage and Tourism.2. Pre-requisite for the course:Graduation in any subject with the knowledge of English as medium of instruction, interest in Buddhist studies.3. Course type: core or elective: Open Elective4. Estimated work load every week: 8 to 12 hours. (Watching videos, reading module contents- (2 or 3 every week), attempting questions and reading related reference materials.)5. Total assignments allotted for the course (Indicate Graded assignments (which contain marks) and non-graded (those non-marks): In all fifteen assignments (one assignment per week) and 15 assignments without marks. In addition, there will be five long essay type assignments (One assignment every three weeks). Out of them three assignments will be graded and two non-graded.
Overview
Syllabus
6.Week wise schedule(including the assignmentto be kept in the week):
Buddhist Tourism: Week-wise Distribution of Modules
Week No.
Nos. and Titles of Modules
Assignment to be given to the students
1
1. Introduction to Buddhist Tourism
2. Origin and Development of Buddhist Pilgrimage in India
3. Lumbini
Assignment 1 to be submitted next week.
Special assignment 1 (Long essay) to be completed by the end of the 3rd week.
2
4. Bodhgaya
5. Sarnath
6. Rajgir
Assignment 2 to be submitted next week.
3
7. Vaishali
8. Shravasti
Assignment 3 to be submitted next week.
4
9. Nalanda
10. Kushinara
Assignment 4 to be submitted next week.
Special assignment 2 (Long essay) to be completed by the end of the 6th week.
5
11. Buddhist Sites of Ladakh
12. Buddhist Sites of Rajasthan: Kholvi and Bairat
13. Vikramashila (Antichak)
Assignment 5 to be submitted next week.
6
14. Kesaria
15. Telhara and other Buddhist sites of Bihar
16. Buddhist sites of West Bengal
Assignment 6 to be submitted next week.
7
17. Ratnagiri
18. Udayagiri
19. Lalitagiri
20. Buddhist Sites of Arunachal Pradesh
Assignment 7 to be submitted next week.
Special assignment 3 (Long essay) to be completed by the end of the 9th week.
8
21. Sanchi
22. Satdhara and other Buddhist Sites of Madhya Pradesh
23. Sirpur
24. Vadnagar and Other Buddhist Sites of Gujarat
Assignment 8 to be submitted next week.
9
25. Bhaja, Bedsa and Karle
26. Junnar and Nashik
27. Pitalkhora and Aurangabad
Assignment 9 to be submitted next week.
10
28. Kanheri and Kondivate
29. Ajanta
30. Ellora
Assignment 10 to be submitted next week.
Special assignment 4 (Long essay) to be completed by the end of the 12th week.
11
31. Amaravati
32. Nagarjunakonda and Anupu
33. Thotlakonda and Bavikonda
Assignment 11 to be submitted next week.
12
34. Salihundam and Sankaram
35. Guntapalli and other Buddhist sites of Andhra Pradesh
Assignment 12 to be submitted next week.
13
36. Phanigiri and other Buddhist Stupa sites of Telangana
37. Kanaganahalli
Assignment 13 to be submitted next week.
Special assignment 5 (Long essay) to be completed by the end of the 15th week.
14
38. Deeksha Bhoomi, Nagpur
39. Dharmashala, Himachal Pradesh
Assignment 14 to be submitted next week.
15
40. Global Vipassana Pagoda, Mumbai
Assignment 15 to be submitted at the end of the week.
Taught by
Dr. Shrikant Ganvir (Assistant Professor, Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeo
