Vishali

විශාලා නුවර

Vaishali was the capital city of the Licchavi, one of world's first republics, in the Vajjian Confederacy (Vajji)mahajanapada, around the 6th century BC. At the time of the Buddha, Vaishalī, which he visited on many occasions, was a very large city, rich and prosperous, crowded with people and with abundant food. There were 7,707 pleasure grounds and an equal number of lotus ponds. Its courtesan, Amrapali, was famous for her beauty, and helped in large measure in making the city prosperous. The city had three walls, each one away from the other, and at three places in the walls were gates with watch towers. Outside the town, leading uninterruptedly up to the Himalaya, was the Mahavana, a large, natural forest.