Sultanganj
Sultanganj is a village in Bhagalpur district of Bihar in India. It is situated close to the Ganges at about 25 km from Bhagalpur town.
Sultanganj is known for various reasons including two great rocks of granite, one of which is situated on the river bank and is crowned by a mosque, and second and larger one is occupied by a temple of Ghaibinath Siva. It is also referred to as Ajagaibinatha.
The legend of Ajagaibinatha is associated with Baba Harinath a regular visitor and fervent devotee of Shiva. On his way to Deogarh, he once emptied his pot of water to quench the thirst of a dying man. He was left with no water for Shiva at Deoghar. Consequently, he was returning to Sultanganj when he heard a voice telling him that Shiva was pleased by his devotion and he could now worship him at Sultanganj as well.
The river here impinges on a stone cliff and is believed to be the place where Lord Shiva fell in love with the River Nymph.
Close to Sultanganj railway station are extensive remains of Buddhist monasteries, where a number of figures have been exhumed, and nearby is a fine old Stupa. There is also a Shiv temple established by one sage Hainath.
Sultanganj is also famous for the abode of the sage Jahnu. The hill that contained the Ashram of Jahnu Muni is still existing in the mid stream of the Ganga and at present the famous Shiva temple of Ajgaivinath is situated at its summit. There is a famous mosque on the nearby hill.
The present village Jahangira to the west of Sultangang still keeps alive the memory of the Ashram of Jahnu Muni. During the rule of the Mauryas, Guptas and Palas many works of art and architecture were raised at Sultanganj. The area has yielded ancient relics like stupas, seals, coins, terracotta and Hindu and Buddha images. Many carvings can still be seen in the Sultanganj hills. A number of small images along with a copper image of Lord Buddha about seven feet high were excavated here. A large number of antiquities found from krishnagarh at Sultanganj have been preserved in Patna Museum.
The panorama can best be summed up in words of Abdul Latif, the Mughal Diwan of Bengal who passed by Sultanganj in 1608. He records, "It has two hillocks, one in the midst of the river and other on the bank, facing each other, so that there are few places on earth equalling it in airiness. How can I describe the moonlit nights, which exhilarate the spirit and freshen the life of man." If it is monsoon, it is time for the Shravanimela when Sultanganj is flooded by thecontinous flow of pilgrims and the rain ensures the need of small boats to reach the temples located high on the hillock. The devotees of Siva gather here to collect the holy water (called Uttarbahini or where the Ganges run towards north, instead of usual south) to pour on the Shivlings at Vasukinatha and Baidyanath Dham. Between the two hills there are smaller granite formations with a number of interesting Gupta period carvings that are exclusive to Bhagalpur. These artistic etchings on the rock depict a variety of Hindu divinities, including Buddha and Mahavira.
Sultanganj shot to fame in 1861 when a railway engineer, during the construction of railway track between Calcutta and Varanasi, stumbled upon a stupa that yielded a mighty bronze statue of Buddha in Abhaya mudra. The seven feet high bronze dating back to fifth century is now in Birmingham city museum.