About Bihar – History, Geography, Economy, Cultural

Bihar is a state in eastern India where some of the most important chapters of Indian history were written. The first great empires of India rose here, the Buddha found enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, and the ancient university of Nalanda drew scholars from across Asia. Today Bihar is one of India’s most populous states, a fertile plain watered by the Ganges and known for Chhath Puja and Madhubani art. This guide covers its history, geography, economy and culture in plain English.

Our old post on this topic gave a short outline with old economic figures. We have rewritten it and checked the facts against standard references.

Bihar at a Glance

• Capital: Patna.
• Area: 94,163 square kilometres, the twelfth largest state.
• Population: 104,099,452 at the 2011 census, the third most populous state at the time.
• Official languages: Hindi and Urdu.
• Main local languages: Maithili, Magahi and Bhojpuri.
• Neighbours: Nepal to the north, Uttar Pradesh to the west, West Bengal to the east and Jharkhand to the south.

Where the Name Comes From

The name Bihar is thought to come from vihara, the word for a Buddhist monastery. Medieval Persian and Turkic writers used the name for the region because it had so many monasteries.

History of Bihar

Ancient Regions

Parts of Bihar such as Magadha, Mithila and Anga appear in ancient religious texts and epics. Mithila was the land of the Videha kingdom, which later became part of the Vajji league. In the Ramayana, Sita is the daughter of a king of Mithila. By the sixth century BCE, the Vajji league had set up a republic with its capital at Vaishali, one of the earliest known republics in India.

The Rise of Magadha

The Haryanka dynasty, founded in 684 BCE, ruled Magadha from Rajgriha, today’s Rajgir. Its best known kings were Bimbisara and his son Ajatashatru, who imprisoned his father to take the throne. The Shishunaga and Nanda dynasties followed. Read more in our post on the Magadha Empire.

The Nandas were replaced by the Maurya Empire, India’s first great empire, which ruled from Pataliputra, now Patna. The emperor Ashoka was born in Pataliputra. Learn about this period in our post on the Mauryan Empire.

Land of the Buddha and Mahavira

According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, where the Mahabodhi Temple is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mahavira, the twenty fourth Tirthankara of Jainism, was born at Kundagrama near Vaishali and attained moksha at Pawapuri. In 383 BCE, the Second Buddhist Council met at Vaishali.

Centres of Learning

Nalanda was founded around 427 CE by the Gupta emperor Kumaragupta I and remained a great centre of learning for centuries. It worked for almost a thousand years, until around 1400. Famous scholars linked to it include the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, and its library was a key source of Sanskrit texts carried to East Asia. The Pala king Dharmapala founded another great university at Vikramashila, at today’s Antichak village near Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district, around the end of the eighth century. Both were destroyed during the invasion of Bakhtiyar Khalji. The ruins of Nalanda are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Medieval Bihar

Sher Shah Suri rose to power in Bihar, becoming its de facto ruler by 1530. He went on to rule north India as the first Sur emperor from 1540 until his death in 1545, and Sasaram was the first capital of his empire. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, was born in Patna on 22 December 1666. Takht Sri Patna Sahib, which marks his birthplace, is one of the five Takhts, or seats of authority, in Sikhism.

British Rule

After the Battle of Buxar in 1764, the British East India Company won the right to collect revenue in Bihar, Bengal and Odisha. During the revolt of 1857, Kunwar Singh, the ruler of Jagdishpur, then about eighty years old, was a chief leader of the uprising in the Bhojpur region.

On 22 March 1912, Bihar and Orissa were separated from the Bengal Presidency as a new province, a date now celebrated as Bihar Day. On 1 April 1936, the province was split into Bihar and Orissa.

The Freedom Movement

Farmers in Champaran had already protested against forced indigo farming in 1914 and 1916. In April 1917, Mahatma Gandhi visited Champaran at the request of Raj Kumar Shukla to see how European planters forced farmers to grow indigo for almost no payment. The Champaran Satyagraha that followed was Gandhi’s first satyagraha in India, and leaders such as Rajendra Prasad joined it. Prasad later became the first President of India in 1950.

Modern Bihar

On 15 November 2000, the southern plateau region was separated to form the new state of Jharkhand. Bihar today is mostly a vast plain.

Geography

The Ganges Plain

The Ganges flows through the middle of Bihar from west to east, dividing it into North Bihar and South Bihar. The average height above sea level is just 53 metres. Northern tributaries such as the Gandak and Kosi rise in the Nepal Himalaya, and the Bagmati begins in the Kathmandu Valley. The Son, Budhi Gandak and Phalgu are other important rivers.

The Sorrow of Bihar

The Kosi River is called the Sorrow of Bihar because its yearly floods affect about 21,000 square kilometres of farmland. The river carries huge loads of silt and has built a vast fan of land below the hills, where its many channels keep shifting during floods.

Hills and Forests

Bihar has a few small hill ranges, including the Rajgir hills in the centre, the Kaimur Range in the south west and the Shivalik foothills in the north. Valmiki National Park, covering about 800 square kilometres in West Champaran, is the eighteenth tiger reserve of India. Other protected areas include the Kaimur, Bhimbandh and Gautam Buddha wildlife sanctuaries. Forests cover only about 6,764 square kilometres, around 7 percent of the state, with sal forests in the wetter foothills of West Champaran.

Climate

Bihar has a subtropical climate with hot summers and cold winters. Most rain falls during the monsoon months, and the wettest areas lie in the far north near the Himalayan foothills.

Languages

Hindi is the main language of government, and Urdu is a second official language in 15 districts. At home, most people speak Maithili, Magahi or Bhojpuri. Smaller groups speak Bengali and Surjapuri, mainly in the eastern districts.

Economy

Farming supports most families, with about 80 percent of people working in agriculture. Major crops include rice, wheat, sugarcane, litchi, mango, guava and pineapple. Floods and soil erosion are constant challenges for farmers.

In recent years Bihar has been among the fastest growing state economies in India, and a startup policy for 2022 to 2027 aims to draw young entrepreneurs. Important industrial towns include Hajipur, Muzaffarpur, Barauni, Munger and Jamalpur, and Patna district records the highest income per person in the state.

Culture

Chhath Puja

Chhath Puja, dedicated to Surya, the Sun God, is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in Bihar and is observed by Bihari communities around the world. Read more in our post on Chhath Puja.

Madhubani Painting

Madhubani art, named after Madhubani district, comes from the Mithila region. The skill was traditionally passed down through generations, mainly by women, and the paintings are now famous across the world.

Music and Literature

The poet Vidyapati shaped Maithili song, and the shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan came from Bihar. Dhrupad singing has old family traditions in Bihar, such as the Darbhanga and Bettiah gharanas. Maithili is one of the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Places to Visit

• Bodh Gaya: The Mahabodhi Temple and the Bodhi tree. See our post on Bodh Gaya.
• Nalanda: Ruins of the ancient university.
• Rajgir: The first capital of Magadha, surrounded by hills.
• Vaishali: The Relic Stupa, said to hold some of the Buddha’s ashes, and one of the best preserved Ashokan pillars, topped by a lion. Both have been on UNESCO’s tentative list since 2010.
• Patna: Takht Sri Patna Sahib and the city’s museums.
• Valmiki National Park: Tigers and forests near the Nepal border.

Sal, mahua and arjun trees grow in the deciduous forests of the Saharsa and Purnia districts.

The first Maithili film, Kanyadan, was released in 1965.

What We Changed From the Old Post

We rewrote the post in plain English and added sections on Buddhism and Jainism, Nalanda, the freedom movement, culture and places to visit.

We removed 2013 to 2014 economic figures, a claim that Bihar was the fastest growing major state, and unchecked winter temperature figures. We also softened sweeping claims about Magadha’s thousand year rule.

We added the dates for the 1912 and 1936 provinces and for Jharkhand.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the capital of Bihar?

Patna, the ancient city of Pataliputra, is the capital.

Why is Bihar Day celebrated on 22 March?

On 22 March 1912, Bihar and Orissa were separated from Bengal as a new province.

Which river is called the Sorrow of Bihar?

The Kosi, because of its frequent floods.

Where did the Buddha attain enlightenment?

At Bodh Gaya in Bihar, under the Bodhi tree.