East India · Bihar
Bihar
Sources: open-meteo, wikimedia
About Bihar
- Riverside
Where it is
Bihar is a landlocked state in eastern India on the fertile plains of the Ganges, which crosses it from west to east, with Nepal to the north and the Chota Nagpur Plateau of Jharkhand to the south; its capital is Patna.
History
Bihar was the heart of ancient Magadha, whose capital Pataliputra, modern Patna, was the seat of the Maurya and Gupta empires. The Buddha attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, and Mahavira, the 24th Jain tirthankara, was born at Vaishali. After Sultanate, Mughal and British rule, Bihar was separated from the Bengal Presidency in 1912, and Jharkhand was carved out of it in 2000.
People
Hindi and Urdu are the official languages, and many people speak Bhojpuri, Maithili and Magahi, with Angika and Bajjika also spoken. Farming on the Gangetic plains, Mithila painting and the sun festival of Chhath are at the heart of Bihari life.
Known for
- Bodh Gaya and the Mahabodhi Temple
- The ruins of Nalanda
- Madhubani (Mithila) painting
- The Chhath festival
- Litti chokha
Did you know?
Nalanda, a great Buddhist monastery and centre of learning founded in the 5th century CE, drew scholars from across Asia, and its ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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