Bihar – State of Buddha
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Posted On :
Jul-15-2011
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941
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The Word “Bihar” has been coined from “Vihara” meaning Buddhist Monasteries. Bihar is the fascinating land of great religious leaders like Gautama Buddha, Lord Mahavir and Guru Gobind Singh.
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The Word “Bihar” has been coined from “Vihara” meaning Buddhist Monasteries. Bihar is the fascinating land of great religious leaders like Gautama Buddha, Lord Mahavir and Guru Gobind Singh. Bihar is the home of Emperor Ashoka who preached “Ahimsa” or non-violence and spread the message of Buddhism throughout the world. The tradition of “Ahimsa” has been carried forward into the modern times and is also a witness to the “Satyagraha (or non-violence) Movement” of the Father of the Nation, Mahatama Gandhi.
Bihar is situated in the eastern part of India with the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal to its north and the states of Orissa, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh flanking its sides. Bihar, a land of many Buddhist Monasteries is also known as “The Land of Buddha”.
History:
The history of Bihar is very rich and eventful. This is due to the fact that Bihar was a center of power, learning and culture. It has been a cradle of Indian civilization and the birth place of two of the major religions Buddhism and Jainism that have emanated from India. Arthashashtra and Kamasutra are the religious epics written in Bihar. The central region of what is now known as Bihar was called Magadha in ancient days.
325 BC- The greatest Indian empire, the Mauryan empire, originated from Magadha.
1553–56- Pashtun dynasty ruler “Adil Shah” took the reigns of North-India and made Chunar his capital.
1557 to 1576- Akbar, the Mughal emperor, annexed Bihar and Bengal to his empire
1764- After the Battle of Buxar, the British East India Company obtained the Diwani rights (rights to administer, and collect revenue or tax) for Bihar, Bengal and Orissa.
Until 1912- Bihar remained a part the Bengal Presidency of the British Raj, when the province of Bihar and Orissa was carved out as a separate province.
1935- Certain portions of Bihar were reorganized into the separate province of Orissa.
April 1936- All these radical developments on the peasant front culminated in the formation of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress and Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was elected as its first President.
2000- The state of Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar.
The 2005 Bihar assembly elections ended 15 years of continuous RJD rule in the state, giving way to National Democratic Alliance led by Nitish Kumar. Bihar now celebrates its birthday as Bihar Diwas on 22 March from 2010.
Culture: Bihar has a rich cultural heritage with flamboyant architectural reservoir. The predominant themes are from the myths and legends of Hinduism.
Madhubani, in the heart of the Mithila region, had a rich tradition of wall paintings done by the village women with vegetable dyes. The beautiful stories of the ancient times are depicted in the exquisite handicrafts of Bihar. The Madhubani School of Painting, is one of the rare art forms which has lately received much attention and popularity. An artist encouraged them to try their wall paintings on paper and since then Mithila paintings gained ground. These line paintings in primary colors normally depict village scenes, human and animal forms, gods and goddesses.
Dance forms of Bihar are another expression of rich traditions and ethnic identity. There are several folk dance forms that can keep one enthralled, such as dhobi nach, jhumarnach, manjhi, gondnach, jitiyanach, more morni, dom-domin, bhuiababa, rah baba, kathghorwa nach, jat jatin, launda nach, bamar nach, jharni, jhijhia, natua nach, bidapad nach, sohrai nach, and gond nach.
Theatre is another form in which the Bihari culture expresses itself. Some forms of theater with rich traditions are Bidesia, Reshma-Chuharmal, Bihula-Bisahari, Bahura-Gorin, Raja Salhesh, Sama Chakeva, and Dom Kach. These theater forms originate in the Anga region of Bihar.
The famous cuisines of Bihar are Chitba and Pitthow which are prepared basically from rice, are special foods of the Anga region. Tilba and Chewda of Katarni rice are also special preparations of Anga. Kadhi bari is a popular favorite and consists of fried soft dumplings made of besan (gram flour) that are cooked in a spicy gravy of yoghurt and besan. Bihar offers a large variety of sweet delicacies like Anarasa, Belgrami, Chena Murki, Motichoor ke Laddoo, Kala Jamun, Kesaria Peda, Khaja, Khurma, Khubi ki Lai, Laktho, Parwal ki Mithai, Pua & Mal Pua, Thekua, Murabba and Tilkut. Tilkut and Anarsa from Gaya are quite famous and Lai from Dhanarua is also famous. Gurahi Laddu is also famous from Bhabua. Other traditional salted snacks and savories popular in Bihar are Chiwra, Dhuska, Litti, Makhana, Sattu and Khaja.
Topography and Weather: Bihar is a vast stretch of fertile plain. It is drained by the Ganges River, including its northern tributaries Gandak and Koshi, originating in the Nepal Himalayas and the Bagmati originating in the Kathmandu Valley that regularly flood parts of the Bihar plains.
The climate of Bihar is a part of the climatic pattern of the Indian subcontinent. It enjoys a continental monsoon type of climate owing to its great distance from the sea. Winter prevails from December to February. Summers range from March to May, southwest monsoon prevails from June to September and the retreating southwest monsoon prevails from October to November.
Places to Visit:
Patna Museum
Golghar
Kumrahar Excavations
Har Mandir
Qila House
Khuda Baksh Oriental Library
Mahaveer Mandir
Sher Shahi
Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park
Barabar Caves
Mahabodhi Temple
Amaravana
Ajatasatru's Fort
The Cyclopean Wall
Griddhakuta
Swarna Bhandar
Nava Nalanda Mahavira
Hieun Tsang Memorial Hall
Ashokan Pillar
Bus tickets are easily available online. One can plan trip and do bus booking online in advance. Online bus booking is an easy process which can save your time and price.
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