My wife and I visited some of the sacred and historical sites of Bihar, India. Bihar is an Indian state that borders on Nepal in the north, West Bengal in the east, Uttar Pradesh in the west and Jharkhand in the south. Its capital Patna is situated on the right bank of river Ganga that flows from west to east dividing the state in two parts, the northern part being larger than the southern in area.
Phonetically Bihar is a relaxed pronunciation of the term “Vihar”. It means “Buddhist monastery” in Indian languages. The region of current Bihar was once filled with Buddhist monasteries and hence the area became popular as the “land of monasteries” or “Bihar”.
The region has played a significant role in the history of South Asia. The ancient kingdoms of Magadh, Mithila, Anga, Vaishali and Bhojpur that are a part of modern Bihar are mentioned in spiritual Hindu texts and were known for their achievements and contribution to religion, culture, politics and social development.
Our tour started from Muzaffarpur, the largest town and commercial centre in North Bihar. This region is famous for the production of litchi, a delicious fruit. Muzaffarpur is well connected to Nepal by road, and has a major railway junction in North Bihar. Airfield at Patahi is being developed as an airport for Muzaffarpur.
One hundred years ago, in April 1917, Mahatma Gandhi arrived in Muzaffarpur with Raj Kumar Shukla. Mr Shukla had invited Gandhi ji to help address the grievances of Indigo producers in Champaran, Bihar. In April this year in Bihar, celebrations marked the centenary of the Champaran movement, which helped bring Gandhi ji to the forefront of the Indian Independence movement.
Baba Garibnath temple is a famous Shiva temple in Muzaffarpur that attracts devotees from far and wide. Janakpur, the capital of King Janak and Sitamarhi, the place where Janak found Sita, the wife of Lord Rama during ploughing the land are easily accessible from Muzaffarpur.
Vaishali, the capital of ancient Lichchavi Republic, is not far from Muzaffarpur. Jain Tirthankar Mahavir was born in the Vaishali region. Buddha visited Vaishali many times and stayed and preached there. Major attractions in Vaishali include the Ashoka pillar, Shanti Stupa (world peace pagoda), a museum displaying items obtained from excavation of nearby historical sites and a lake.
Hajipur is the last town in North Bihar on the way from Muzaffarpur to Patna. Sonepur, a town close to Hajipur, is the venue of the largest animal fair during Kartik Purnima, around September – October. The Pauranic story of the fight between the elephant and crocodile occurred at Sonepur, where Lord Vishnu saved the elephant from its attacker, the crocodile. The area is also known as Harihar Kshetra or the area of Lord Vishnu and Shiva.
Gandhi Setu Bridge connects North Bihar to Patna at Hajipur. At the time of construction, this 5.75 km bridge was the largest river bridge in the world.
Our next destination was Patna, the capital of Bihar. It has been known by many names including Kusumpur, Patliputra and Ajimabad. King Ajatshatru established this city as the capital of his kingdom of Magadha over 2,500 years ago. The current name Patna was given to the city by Shershah Suri in the sixteen century, when Patna was his capital.
The Mouryan Empire united the whole of India and had its capital in Patna. Many dynasties including the Gupta, Sunga and Pala ruled their kingdoms from Patna. Patna is full of historical, religious, cultural and administrative buildings, parks, museums and monuments.
Mahavir Mandir in front of the Patna Junction is an impressive temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman. Acharya Kishore Kunal, a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer is the secretary of the Mahavir Temple Trust. He played an active role in building the present temple and was instrumental in appointing a Dalit priest there. He also led the renovations of many old temples in the state.
Acharya Kunal has been awarded with many medals for his philanthropic works. He has established the Cancer Institute and Research Centres in Patna, and hospitals and health care centres. We shared the same residence for some time in Varanasi, and I was fortunate to meet him by chance at the Mahavir Mandir after a very long time.
Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara is a famous Sikh temple in Patna. Pilgrims from all over the world visit this shrine. Guru Govind Singh, the tenth Guru of Sikhs, was born in Patna. Maharaja Ranjit Singh built this temple in his honour.
Golghar, a well-known landmark in Patna, is located near Gandhi Maidan. It was built in 1786 as a grain store to protect the British army from famine. The building is built in Stupa structure style with a wall thickness of 3.6 m at the base. One can reach the top of the Golghar by climbing 145 steps. From the top, a panoramic view of Patna and the river Ganga can be observed.
The Patna Planetarium, Buddha Smriti Park, Gandhi Maidan, Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udyan Zoo, Khuda Baksh Library are some of the other renowned sights, among many other tourist attractions in Patna.
The river Sone and river Punpun on the right side and river Gandak on the left side meet river Ganga near Patna.
We next visited Dev, located around 160 km southwest from Patna, travelling via Paliganj and Aurangabad. Dev is a small town famous for the Sun Temple. Every year during Chhath Puja in the month of Chaitra (March – April) and Kartik (October-November), devotees from many parts of Bihar come to this temple to offer their prayers. Chhath Puja is a thanksgiving ceremony to celebrate the Sun god, who is considered to be the cause of a good harvest. Many other legends are also attributed to this celebration.
About 80 km northeast from Dev is the city of Gaya, a popular tourist destination and religious centre for Hindus and Buddhists.
Prince Siddhartha Gautam obtained enlightenment under the Peepal (sacred fig) tree near Gaya, at the bank of the river Niranjana, also known as river Falgu, and became the Buddha. Now the place is called Bodh Gaya and is a major pilgrimage centre for Buddhists from all over the world.
Emperor Ashoka visited the enlightenment site in around 250 BC, and built a shrine there. The Mahabodhi temple is built at the enlightenment site and the Peepal tree is located next to the temple. The current temple structure dates backs to 5th – 6th century. The current Peepal tree is believed to have been grown from the original tree. Buddhist countries have built many other Buddha temples in Bodh Gaya in their national styles. Bodh Gaya has plenty of modern hotels and is well connected by road to Patna. Gaya airport close to Bodh Gaya receives international flights.
Gaya is a sacred city for Hindus where people come to offer Pind-Daan, a symbolic meal offering, for the salvation of their ancestors. Among many other temples, Vishnupad is the most prominent, due to its Pauranic references. According to a legend, Lord Vishnu pushed the demon king Gayasur down to the nether world using his feet, to protect both human and divine populations. Vishnupad temple is built on the site where this event occurred. Ahilya Bai, ruler of Indore, built the current temple in 1787.
Our next destination was Rajgir, ancient name Rajgriha. It was the capital of Magadha Kingdom in ancient times. King Jarasandh, an important character in the Mahabharata, was born here. Buddha spent many years at the foothills of Rajgir and preached from there. A World Peace Pagoda is located at the top of a hill in Rajgir and is a major tourist attraction reachable by a ropeway. Many hot water springs can be found in the hills in and around Rajgir. The water from these springs is believed to have medicinal properties and has ability to cure skin diseases and other ailments.
The ruins of the ancient Nalanda University are located about 15 km from Rajgir. It was a residential university with the capacity to accommodate 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers. It was established during the reign of Gupta Emperor Kumargupta in the 5th century. It was an international centre of learning at that time. The entire region of Nalanda and surrounding districts were also full of Buddhist monasteries. Famous Chinese travellers Huen Tsang and Fa-Hi Yan have given vivid description of the university and Buddhist monasteries in their writings.
The whole university complex was lit on fire in 1193 by the Islamic invader Bakhtiyar Khilaji. The libraries continued to burn for months, thus destroying the intellectual treasure of ancient India. The current chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, has established a new Nalanda University, following the model of ancient teachings used in the original university.
Our next destination was Pawapuri, half an hour drive away from Nalanda. It is 101 km from Patna. Pawapuri is a sacred site for Jains. The 24th Tirthankar, Mahavir Jain, attained Nirvana salvation at this place. Following his death, it is believed that a large number of people came to the site of his Nirvana to pay him their respect, and took some soil from the site as a symbol of blessing from him. It created a big pond. A Jain temple, known as Jal-Mandir is built in the middle of the pond, which now measures 1,451 feet long and 1,223 feet wide. A number of other temples built of white marbles are located in the vicinity of the Jal-Mandir.
As described above, Bihar has a huge potential for national and international tourism. To boost visitors’ interest and numbers, the appropriate infrastructure needs to be installed.
The area of modern day Bihar has experienced many glorious and bleak periods. It has produced great personalities such as the Buddha, Mahavir Jain and Guru Govind Singh, who have established world religions. Works of Chanakya, an advisor of king Chandragupta, continue to inspire politicians interested in just governance. Chandragupta Mourya, the founder of the Mourya dynasty, evicted foreign invaders of his time and built the Grand Truck Road that connects northeast India to the Northwest, to Afghanistan. Emperor Ashoka established hospitals for humans and also for animals. He spread ideals of Buddhism overseas.
In modern India, the first president Dr Rajendra Prasad, national political leader Loknayak Jay Prakash Narayan and national poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar from Bihar remains a source of inspiration for many Indians. The Bihari diaspora can be found in large numbers in Mauritius, Fiji and British Guyana, Australia, USA and many other countries.
Modern Bihar is on the path of progress under the leadership of Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar. Road transport, electricity supply, education, empowerment of women, prohibition of alcoholic drinks and other similar projects are improving the general condition of the population. A lot of more work is to be done to make Bihar a just and prosperous state.