Bihar, the ancient land of Buddha, has witnessed golden
period of Indian history The fertile
land of Bihar has a rich and very ancient history which even goes back to the
very dawn of the human civilizations. Throughout the ages and civilizations
it’s the land which gave birth to many great men who spread the massages of
love, peace, brotherhood and humanity throughout the length and breadth of the
globe. The earliest history of Bihar region can be traced in Hindu epic of
Ramayana. Sita, the consort of Lord Rama, was a princess of Bihar. She was the
daughter of King Janak of Videha. The present districts of Muzaffarpur,
Sitamarhi, Samastipur, Madhubani, and Darbhanga, in north-central Bihar, mark
this ancient kingdom. The present small township of Sitamarhi is located here. According
to legend, the birthplace of Sita is Punaura, located on the west-side of
Sitamarhi, the headquarters of the district. Janakpur, the capital of King
Janak, and the place where Lord Rama and Sita were married, lies just across
the border in Nepal. It is reached via the rail station of Janakapur Road
located in the Sitamarhi district, on the Narkatiyaganj - Darbhanga section of
the North-Eastern Railway. It is no accident, therefore, that the original
author of the Hindu epic - The Ramayana - Maharishi Valmiki - lived in
Ancient Bihar. Valmikinagar is a small town and a railroad station in the
district of West Champaran, close to the railhead of Narkatiyaganj in northwest
Bihar. The word Champaran is derived from champa-arnya, or a forest of the
fragrant Champa (magnolia) tree.
Different regions of Bihar like Mithila, Anga, Magadha, Vaishali,
are mentioned in different religious and epics of ancient India. South-West
Bihar was the power centre of ancient
Bihar, which was around the region of called Magadha .It was which was the centre of power, learning, and
culture in India for 1000 years.
The Haryanka dynasty was founded in 684 BC ruled by Magadha
from the city of Rajgriha (modern name is Rajgir), There was two well known
kings Bimbisara and his son Ajatashatru
who imprisoned his own father to get the throne. Pataliputra was founded by Ajatashatru which was the
city.Then later became the capital of
Magadha. He declared war and conquered Vajji another powerful Mahajanapada
north of Ganges with their capital at Vaishali. Vaishali was ruled by Licchvi
who had a republic form of government where king was elected from the number of
rajas. Based on the information found in pertaining to both Jainism and
Buddhism, Vaishali was established as a republic by the 6th century BCE, prior
to the birth of Gautama Buddha in 563 BCE, making it the world's first
republic. Haryanka Dynasty was followed by Shishunaga dynasty and later Nanda
Dynasty replaced them with a vast empire from Bengal to Punjab.
Maurya
Empire replaced the Nanda Empire . India's first empire, the Maurya empire as
well as Buddhism arose from the region that now makes up modern Bihar. The
Mauryan empire, which originated from Magadha in 325 BC, was started by
Chandragupta Maurya who was born in Magadha, and had its capital at Pataliputra
(modern name is Patna). The Mauryan Emperor, Ashoka, who was born in
Pataliputra (Patna) is believed to be one of the greatest rulers in the history
of India and the world. Pataliputra is
situated on the bank of the holy river Ganga
Bihar was an
important place of culture and education during the next 1000 years. Such
fertile is the soil that has given birth to innumerous intellectuals which
spread the light of knowledge and wisdom not only in the country but in the
whole world. The Gupta Empire which was originated from Magadha in 240 AD is referred
as the Golden Age of India in science, mathematics, astronomy, commerce,
religion and Indian philosophy. Bihar and Bengal was invaded by Rajendra
Chola of the Chola dynasty in the 11th
century.
