Editorial: Drone Video Provides Rare Look at Ancient Buddhist Monastery in Bangladesh

A drone pilot created a video of a famous Buddhist monastery in Bangladesh, providing a rarely-seen aerial view of one of the most important cultural landmarks in Southern Asia.    Somapura Mahavihara was built in the 9th century in what is now the Naogaon District in the northwestern part of the country, near the present-day border with India.  The monastery played an important role in the spread of Buddhism eastward from its initial roots in Nepal and northeastern India.  It was one of a small group of monasteries throughout the Indian Subcontinent which facilitated the religion’s spread in various directions, in the case of Somapura Mahavihara eastwards into Southeast Asia.    In recognition of its cultural significance, Somapura Mahavihara has been designated as a World Heritage Cultural Site by the United Nations’ UNESCO agency, one of three such designated sites in Bangladesh as of 2018. SOURCES: “Somapura Mahavihara,” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Dec. 2018, wikipedia.org/wiki/Somapura_Mahavihara “Somapura Mahavihara - Ruins of Buddhist Vihara at Paharpur,” Mystery of India, Mystery of India, 27 Dec. 2018, www.mysteryofindia.com/2015/04/somapura-mahavihara-ruins-of-the-buddhist-vihara-at-paharpur.html