- Somapura Mahavihara is one of the most important archeological sites in the country.
- It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
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| Paharpur |
Tourist attraction :
- A number of monasteries grew up during the Pāla period in ancient Bengal and Magadha.
- According to Tibetan sources, five great Mahaviharas stood out: Vikramashila, the premier university of the era; Nalanda, past its prime but still illustrious, Somapura Mahavihara, Odantapurā, and Jaggadala.
- The five monasteries formed a network; "all of them were under state supervision" and there existed "a system of co-ordination among them.
- It seems from the evidence that the different seats of Buddhist learning that functioned in eastern India under the Pāla were regarded together as forming a network, an interlinked group of institutions," and it was common for great scholars to move easily from position to position among them.