YouBihar, the Bihar Social Networking site and online community

History of Bihar

The history of Bihar is as old as the history itself though badly degraded and distorted at present, the vintage angle of Bihar represent an all together different story when it was a center of learning literature, arts, philosophy and science. Bihar or Magadha had its capital at Patliputra which was house to some of the greatest Vedic scholars of that time.

The famous Nalanda and Vikramshila universities of Bihar were fine examples of education portal and hub for learning and set example and standards for other centers for academics of that time as well. It was during this time that Chanakya wrote his principles of diplomacy in his book called “Kautilya arthashastra” the illustrations described in the book were so practical and potent that Chandra Gupta Maurya the first ruler of Mauryan dynasty was not only able to overthrow his predecessor Mahapadma Nanda of Nanda dynasty but also ruled Indian territories spanning from Hindukush mountains in the east to extremities of modern boundaries of Afghanistan in the west.

Patna - History of Patna - The legend of Patna - Sonepur mela - Historical facts on Bihar - Bihar History - Ashoka - Meaning of the word Vihara - History of - Ancient Magadha - Bihar at the time of Buddha - Nalanda University - Bodh Gaya - Historical Mahavira of Magadha

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Comment by RAM PARVESH SHARMA on January 12, 2012 at 4:43pm: hi

koi hai jo hum se bhi baat kare

Comment by Rohit Kumar Sinha on January 12, 2012 at 1:38pm: proud to be Bihari

Comment by Fahad Akhtar on November 26, 2011 at 7:42pm: Dear friends, If we want our supercop Mr. shivdeep lande back, please write to CM Nitish Kumar at

http://gov.bih.nic.in/Write2CM.asp

Listen, larger the number of e-mails received, more will be the chance for his coming back. Please spread this Patnaits.

Comment by RAM PARVESH SHARMA on November 1, 2011 at 5:23pm: hi garv se bolo hum hai bihari

jo 100 par bhi hai bhari

jai hind

Comment by Sonu Sharma on October 5, 2011 at 11:06am: Bihar is one of the most beautiful place in INDIA........

Comment by Vivek Singh on September 14, 2011 at 8:49pm: Babu Kunwar Singh , contributed to the India's First War of Independence

Comment by dewantkumar on August 25, 2011 at 9:01am: yes this is the nice place.bihar ka matlab hai sair ya ghumne k jagah.yes this is the nice place.bihar ka matlab hai sair ya ghumne k jagah.

Comment by dewantkumar on August 25, 2011 at 8:58am: yes this is the nice place.bihar ka matlab hai sair ya ghumne k jagah.

Comment by Sanju Sah on August 19, 2011 at 10:38pm: really our Bihar is a Great land.

Comment by Vikash on July 17, 2011 at 12:48am: Dear friends write to me. I am looking forward to make lots of friends here and learn and share with you out there.

Comment by Vikash on July 17, 2011 at 12:46am: I just joined youBihar and i am learning a lot about this state. History of bihar is very rich and powerful. Will try to learn more about this great history.

Comment by Shalu Sharma on July 5, 2011 at 4:51pm: @Chandan. Wikipedia se ya idhar udhar se copy and paste karne se koi phaida nahi hai.

Comment by Saquib Ashraf on May 15, 2011 at 7:32pm: Just Newly joined this group, and i think this social site will provide me more place to know my Bihar better than before

Comment by Jitendra Kumar Yadav on January 24, 2011 at 5:23pm: History of Bihar
Ancient Times
The land mass currently known as Bihar is very ancient. The name is
derived from “Vihara” – a land of monasteries. Hindu, Buddhist, Jain,
Muslim, and Sikh shrines abound in this ancient land. Earliest myths and
legends of Hinduism are associated with Bihar. Sita, the Consort of Lord
Rama, daughter of King Janak was born in Sitamarhi. The ancient kingdom
of Janak called Vidaha consisted of present day districts of Muzaffarpur,
Sitamarhi, Samastipur, Madhubany, and Darbhanga. The original author of
the Hindu epic – The Ramayana – Maharishi Valmiki lived in Valmikinager,
a small town in West Champaran.
It was here in Bodhgaya, under a banyan tree, the Bodh tree, that Prince
Gautama attained supreme knowledge to become Buddha, the enlightened
one. Most of the major events of his life, like enlightenment, last sermon, and
nirvana (death) happened in Bihar. The great religion of Buddhism was born
here, and Bodhgaya is one of the most important and sacred Buddhist
pilgrimage centers in the world.
The Lord Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, was born at Vaishali and
attained nirvana (death) at Pawapuri, near Rajgir. The tenth and the last
guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobindt Singh was born in 1666 in Patna Sahib. A
lovely and majestic Gurudwara – the Harmandir, built to commemorate his
memory, is one of the holiest places of worship for Sikhs. The ancient
kingdom of Magadh and of Licchavis, around 7-8 Century B.C. produced
rulers who devised a system of administration that truly is progenitor of the
modern art of state-craft and of the linkage of state-craft with economics.
Magadh rose to glory during Guptas (4th and 5th centuries A.D.) and produced
Kaultilya, the author of Arthashastra, the first treaties of the modern science
of Economics and Chanakya, the advisor to the Magadh king, Chandragupta
Maurya. Chanakya produced the first Indian treaties on state-craft and
politics. Patliputra (ancient name of Patna, the Mauryan capital) was
established by King Ajatshatru around 5th century B.C. at the confluence of
the rivers Sone and Ganga.
The Maurya Emperor Ashok (234-198 B.C) was the first to formulate firm
tenets for the government of a people. These edicts inscribed on stone pillars
were planted across his kingdom extending to almost all of the undivided
India. Ashok was responsible also for the widespread proselytization of
people in Buddhism.
Nalanda, the world’s first seat of higher learning, a Monastic University was
established during the Gupta period and flourished from the 5th to the 11th
century. The University had 9 million books and 2000 teachers to impart
knowledge to 10,000 students from all over the Buddhist world. Lord
Buddha himself taught here and Hieun Tsang, the 7th century Chinese
traveler, was a student. Ongoing excavations have uncovered temples,
monasteries, lecture halls and charred library burned by Mughal invaders.
Medieval Times
The glorious history of Bihar lasted until around the 8th century Gupta
Period. It was followed up by the Palas of Bengal, who ruled until 1197,
when the Mughal period began. In Medieval Times, Bihar lost its prestige as
the political and cultural center of India. The Mughal period, which lasted
from the 12th to the 17th century, was a period of unremarkable provincial
administration from Delhi. The only remarkable person of these times in
Bihar was Sher Shah, an Afghan whose rule in the 16th century extended all
the way to the Punjab. His mausoleum is located in Sasaram.
Modern Times
The British acquired Bihar in 1764 in the Battle of Buxar and ruled until
India

Comment by Arshad on December 9, 2010 at 7:52pm: Now Nitish Kumar should take good decision about electricity. i hope that nitish kumar will be solve the electricity problem of Bihar in coming year.

Comment by Engr. feeroj ahmed on November 29, 2010 at 4:26pm: While you may be thinking that Bihar is a troubled state and should not venture into a place turbulent by eventualities, you just forgot that every coin has two sides and are exactly opposite to one another. Ok you have seen the bad side of Bihar.

Comment by mukesh mishra on November 24, 2010 at 5:29pm: BIHAR FIRST POSITION IN INDIA,IN WORLD

Comment by Rajesh Kumar on November 21, 2010 at 12:45pm: Plze add the chhapra historical temples detail

Comment by Mohammad Shamim Mallick on November 11, 2010 at 6:29am: my birth place Mallick-Chuck

Comment by Bikash Kumar Singh on September 22, 2010 at 2:10pm: History of my BIHAR........................
History weighs heavily on Bihar. The area that constitutes the present day Bihar was the scene of rise of many great empires and kingdoms in ancient India.

The first great Kingdom in Bihar was that of Magadha. Bimbisara and Ajatsatru of this kingdom were great expansionists. During the reigns of these two emperors, Jainism and Buddhism came into existence. It was at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, the Buddha attained enlightenment. The Mauryan empire, one of the greatest empires o the world, ruled from its capital at Patliputra (modern Patna). Founded in 324 BC by Chandragupta Maurya, the empire had Asoka as its emperor, one of the greatest emperors in the world.

The reign of Asoka constitutes one of the brightest chapters in the history of mankind. The conquest of Kalinga (Orissa) in 261 BC was a turning point in his life. Moved by the tragic killing of thousands he decided to eschew military conquest. After the war, he devoted his life to the moral and material welfare of his subjects.

After the fall of Mauryan Empire, Bihar continued to be an important centre of power, culture and education during the next one thousand years. The Gupta Empire, which was a great power with its capital at Pataliputra, is referred to as the Golden Age of India thanks to the rapid stride made in the field of literature, science, mathematics, astronomy and religion.

The Vikramshila and Nalanda universities were the centres of learning in ancient times.

Bihar bore the brunt of Muslim invasion under Muhammad Bin Bakhtiar Khilji, who ransacked the famed universities of Nalanda and Vikramshila in 12th century, massacring thousands of Buddhist monks.

Bihar once again came to the centerstage of Indian history during the reign of Sher Shah Suri, who during his short rule six years (1540 -1546 CE), built the Grand Trunk Road. His mausoleum, one of the finest monuments in India, is located at Sasaram in Bihar. Bihar was annexed into the Mughal empire by Akbar, the Mughal emperor, during his course of imperialism. With the decline of the Mughal Empire, Bihar came under the control of the Nawabs of Bengal. The tenth and the last human Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh was born in Patna, the preset capital of Bihar.

The Battle of Buxar, fought in 1764 between the English and Bengal Nawab Mir Qasim, resulted I the victory of the English, who were now free to pursue their expansionist policy.