PATNA MUSEUM

The Patna Museum is within walking distance from the Indira Gandhi Planetorium. The museum though faded and run down, has a splendid collection of sculptures. Among its most famous pieces is a polished sandstone female attendant or yakshi, holding a flying-whisk, found at Didarganj and dating from the 3rd century.

Some Jain images from the Kushana period, and a collection of Buddhist Bodhisattvas from the Gandhara region in the northwest Pakistan, belong to the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. Natural history exhibits feature several stuffed animals, including a few freaks and a gigantic fossilized tree thought to be 200 million years old. The museum also houses Chinese art, and the second floor is devoted to some superb Tibetan ‘thangkas’ i.e., scroll paintings are stored, which desperately need to be restored.

The museum contains a First World War cannon, metal and stone sculpture of Maurya and Gupta periods.

The museum is open from 10 AM uptil 4.30 PM, on all days except Monday.