Bihar

Bihar, the basting of Buddhism is said to be named after a sanskrit word “ vihara “ or a Buddhist monastery, as this the land from where the great religion of Buddhism originated and spread all around the world. This ancient land is also held very sacred by the Jains, as 6 Jain tirthankaras were born and 22 out of 24 tirthankaras, attained nirvana (salvation) at this sacred land. Lord Mahavir, the founder of Jainism was born and stayed here for 42 years. Also, associated with this land of great religions is Guru Gobin Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, whose birth place is Patna. The sacred land of monasteries is studded with number of important Hindu, Jain, Muslim and Sikh shrines. Bihar was also a great centre of learning. The ruins of the worlds’ earliest university still reflect the grandeur of the bygone era.

The State has a very ancient, glorious and colourful history. India’s first major empires, which held sway over the region before Christain era, rose and fell here. Some of the great rulers and dynasties to have rules the land includes, Bimbisara; Udayin, founder of Patliputra city; Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka, the great of Mauryan Dynasty; the Sungas, Kanvas and Kushans followed by Chandragupta Vikramaditya of Gupta Dynasty ; During the medieval period, it came under the reigns of Muslim and finally, the Britisher’s occupied the reign.

The holy river Ganga flowing through the state has enriched the plains and made the region so fertile and plentiful that its natural prosperity nurtured a veritable fountainhead of political and cultural civilizations down the millennia. Today, Bihar is a quaint interface of ancient and anon.