Agam Kuan

Agam Kuan is an ancient well and archaeological site in Patna, India. It is said to date back to the period of Mauryan emperor, Ashoka . Circular in shape, the well is lined with brick in the upper and contains wooden rings in the remaining.The Agam Kuan is set within an archaeological site identified by the Archaeological Survey of India which also contains the adjacent Shitala Devi temple where the folk deity Shitala Devi is venerated. Inside this temple, the pindas of the Saptamatrikas are worshipped. The temple is widely revered for its belief in curing smallpox and chicken pox.LocationAgam Kuan is situated close to the Gulzarbagh railway station, on the way to Panch Pahadi, on the outskirts of Patna, Bihar state. It is east of Patna and south-west of Gulzarbagh Station. IndiaHistory and legendDuring the 1890s, the British explorer, Laurence Waddell, while exploring the ruins of Pataliputra, identified Agam Kuan as the legendary well built by Ashoka for the purpose of torture before he embraced Buddhism, as part of Ashoka's Hell chambers. The torture practice was also reported by Chinese travellers (most probably Fa Hien) of the 5th and 7th centuries A.D. The well is stated to have been used to torture convicts by throwing them into the fire that used to emanate from the well. Ashoka's Edict no. VIII makes mention of this well, which was also known as "fiery well" or "hell on earth". Another popular legend states that this was the well where Ashoka threw 99 of his elder half-brother's heads and put the heads in the well to obtain the throne of the Mauryan Empire.