SiwanIndia

Valmiki National Park

2012-11-03T10:43:00.001+05:30

Valmiki National Park

Valmiki National Park is located in the West Champaran district of Bihar state, India. The extensive forest area of Valmikinagar was previously owned by the Bettiah Raj and Ramanagar Raj until the early 1950s.Valmiki tiger Reserve (VTR) is one of the nature's virgin recesses in east India is situated in the North West corner of the State of Bihar. The Pristine forest and wilderness of VTR is an excellent example of Himalayan Terai landscape. VTR comprises of the Valmiki National Park and Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary. The VTR forest area covers 899.38 sqkm which is 17.4% of the total geographical areas of the district West Champaran.
The Valmiki National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary lie in the West Champaran district of Bihar. Name of the district has been derived from two words Champa and Aranya – meaning Forest of Champa trees. Geographically, it is situated between 830 50' and 840 10' E longitude and between 270 10' and 270 03' N latitude. Total forest area comprises of about 900 sq.km., out of which expense of Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary is 880 sq. km. and spread of the National Park is about 335 sq. km. area. In north, the protected areas are bordered by Nepal while the Indian state Uttar Pradesh bounds the Wildlife Sanctuary from western side.

The Valmiki tract is broken and undulating often showing highly fragile geological formations. As a result, there are steep ravines, knife-edge ridges and precipitous walls formed by land slips and soil erosion.
The great Gandak and the Masan rivers collect all the water from the numerous, tortuous tributaries. These rivers and streams keep changing course from side to side, facilitated by the erosion prone sandy and immature soil of the banks. Seasonal rivers like Panchanad, Manor, Bhapsa and Kapan display peculiar behaviour of erosion at one place and deposition of transported soil at another place.
Hill system is the continuation of Siwalik Range, largely made of imperfectly compacted and ill-formed sandstone dotted with pebbles and boulders. Owing to the fragile nature of parent rock material, the soil produced at the foothill is immature, loose sand and display sheet. The menace is further aggravated by maltreatment of the forests by people in general, frequent fires and heavy grazing.

Census

Species

1997

Tiger

Leopard

Forest Types

Bhabar Dun Sal Forest ,Dry Siwalik Sal Forest ,West Gangetic Moist Mixed Deciduous Forest ,Khair - Sisso Forest ,Cane brakes ,Eastern Wet Alluvial Grassland , Barringtonia Swamp Forest .

Major Flora

Sal (Shorea robusta), Asan, Karama, Semal, Khair, Cane(Calamus tenuis), Jamun, Siccharrum, Mahulan, Piper, Lagun (Peepar)

Main Species

Tiger, Leopard, Fishing Cat, Leopard Cat, Chital, Sambar, Hog Deer, Black Buck, Gaur, Sloth Bear, Langur, Rhesus Monkey .

Archeology

i) Lauriya Nanadan Garh: There is lion pillar of Ashoka, which is a single block of polished sand stone, 32'-9.5" in height with a diameter of 35.5" at base and 26.2" at the top. The pillar is over 2000 year old and in excellent condition. Nandgarh is a huge mound composed of bricks and is about 80 feet height. According to a authoritative source, it is an Ashok Stupa in which ashes of Buddha's funeral pyre were enshrined.

ii) Bawan Garhi: A name meaning 52 forts. It is also known as Tripan bazar. The remains of 52 forts and Tripan bazar are at Darubari.

iii) Someshwer Fort: Someshwar Fort is situated in Narkatiagani sub-division, near Nepal border, on top of the Someshwar hill at 2884 ft above M.S.L. It is in ruined state but its remains are well defined.

iv) Triveni: A holy place of Hindu. The name is derived from the fact that three rivers (Gandak, Sonha and Pachanad) merge here soon after they emerge from the hills. Triveni is also believed to be the site at which the fight commenced between Lords of Forest and Water (the Elephant and Crocodile).

THE COLORS OF BIHAR

2012-06-22T10:56:00.000+05:30

Holi is a festival of colors celebrated all over the country. People celebrate it on the first day of the Hindu Calendar, that is 'Pratham Chairtra Mass' (February-March). In Bihar, a typical style Dhamar of holi song is sung in which the villagers celebrate it in a form of group with full joy and dance with musical instruments like dholak, jhal-manjeera, etc. This dance is related to the mythical story of Bhakt Prahlad and his demon father Hiranyakshipu.

Bihar is the state of fairs and festival related to various religious things. It is the state of much of the ritual communities. All of the communities have their own ritual folk traditions. But some of the folk cultures of Bihar celebrated by the all tribes of the state. One of them is the festival of Holi. Holi is the festival of India. It is the festival of colors, joys, and happiness.
Holi is the festival which celebrated by the people on the first day of New Year of Hindu Calendar which called as ‘Pratham Chaitra Massa’ that is the month of February or March. People of Bihar celebrate this festival with the Holi dance. Holi dance is the sign of joyous of people and the energy level to live the life with new manners. It is so beautiful folk dance in which both male and female participate. There are some of beautiful and rhythmic musical instrument like jhal – manjeera and Dholak make this dance so charm and energetic.
There is a mythological story behind the celebration of this festival and dance. It is said that the festival of holi is celebrated in the remembrance of Bhakt Prahlad. He was a true devotee of lord Vishnu. This is the festival which is not only celebrated in Bihar but also in all over the parts of the country.

Phagu Purnima

Phagu Purnima is another name for Holi where Phagu means the sacred red powder and Purnima or Pune is the full moon day, on which the festival ends.

At some places like Bihar, Holi is also known as Phagwa as it is celebrated in the later part of the month of Phalgun and the early part of Chaitra in the Hindu calendar. This corresponds to the English months of March-April.

The concept of New Year (Samvatsar) varies in the different provinces of our country. In some provinces, the month commences from the 'Krishna-Paksha' on the other hand in some provinces it commences from 'Shukla-Paksha'. For the former, the year ends on 'Purnima' of the month of Phalgun. The new years begins next day - Chaitra, 1st day of the Krishna Paksha. For them on this day the last year has died. For this reason in some provinces like Bihar and UP. Holika dahan is also called 'Samvatsar Dahan'. On this day all the bitterness and evil memories of the last year are burnt in the fire and the New Year is begun with a celebration.

THE VITAL LANGUAGE : BHOJPURI

2012-05-05T13:42:00.000+05:30

The Bhojpuri people have a distinct and virile tradition and were famous in the past for their bravery. Bhojpuri is spoken in various forms and its grammatical structure differs in many respects from the other two languages in Bihar. It has peculiarities of declension and conjugation not found elsewhere. On the whole, its grammar is simpler than that of Maithili and Magahi.
The Bhojpuri language of Bihar is the third largest Indian language spoken outside India. The Bhojpuri language covers a large geographic area crossing state boundaries. Other than Bihar, the language is spoken in the North West part of Jharkhand (that was part of Bihar once), the Purvanchal or eastern part of Uttar Pradesh along with the adjoining area of southern plains of Nepal. Outside India, Bhojpuri is spoken in spoken in Guyana, Suriname, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago and Mauritius. These are the places where the Bihari community migrated in vast numbers during the British rule to work in sugar plantations.

For the first time in the history of the Bhojpuri language it is being noticed. From the coming of popular singers such as Kalpana that has made Bhojpuri almost a household name. Hindi film makers are now considering adding Bhojpuri item songs to attract the vast Bhojpuri speaking community.
In addition, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has decided to launch a foundation course in the Bhojpuri language. The course was inaugurated by Indian Parliament speaker Meira Kumar (also from Bihar). She added that "Bhojpuri is not only a language but a lifestyle and a culture. Sanskrit and Latin have most precise grammar and vocabulary. Bhojpuri too has a very precise grammar, rich vocabulary and literature". Although the course is aimed at Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, it is thought that the course might be useful to Bhojpuri speakers in places such as Mauritius. Soon the establishment will be starting Certificate and Diploma Courses in Bhojpuri.
Bhojpuri is spoken in the western districts of Bihar such as Champa-ran, Saran, Shahabad, Palamau and Ranchi. Although the Ranchi district is mainly populated by Adivasis, the common language of the people is Sadari or Sadani, which is a form of Bhojpuri. Bhojpuri-speakers are also found in north-western Muzaffarpur and the Pirpanti and Golgong police stations of theBhagalpur district. There are more than ten million Bhojpuri-speaking people in Bihar. It is spoken also in the Varanasi and Gorakhpur divisions of Uttar Pradesh. Bhojpuri areas have helped much in the growth of Hindi literature. Although Bhojpuri has no such old written literature as Maithili has, the love with which its speakers cherish it is just as great. Bhojpuri is so called after the language of Bhojpur, a pergana of the Shahabad district.
Except in a few isolated instances, the form of the verb depends only on the subject. Bhojpuri is written in Kaithi, a script ascribed to the Kayasthas, the scribes of India, but this script is nowadays being given up by educated people in favour of Devanagri. A mass of oral literature is extant in Bhojpuri in the form of folk-songs, folk-tales and legends and it abounds in proverbs and riddles. In the works of such saintly poets as Kabir, Dharamdas, Dharnidas, Daryadas, and Lakshmi Sakhi, the influence of Bhojpuri is immense.
In recent times, many collections of folk literature have been published by Grierson, Ram Naresh Tripathi, Krishnadeva Upadhyay, Durga Shankar, Prasad Singh and W. G. Archer, and Sankata Prasad. The famous poem 'Batohia' written by Raghubir Narayan and the play entitled 'Bidesia' by Bhikari Thakur have made history by their popularity. Bhikari Thakur is the people's poet in Bhojpuri and in his poems are reflected the joys and sorrows, the toils and tears of the simple rural folk of his area.

ASHOKA :THE GREAT

2012-05-04T09:42:00.000+05:30

King Asoka, the third monarch of the Indian Mauryan dynasty, has come to be regarded as one of the most exemplary rulers in world history. The British historian H.G. Wells has written: "Amidst the tens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd the columns of history ... the name of Asoka shines, and shines almost alone, a star." Although Buddhist literature preserved the legend of this ruler -- the story of a cruel and ruthless king who converted to Buddhism and thereafter established a reign of virtue -- definitive historical records of his reign were lacking. Then in the nineteenth century there came to light a large number of edicts, in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. These edicts, inscribed on rocks and pillars, proclaim Asoka's reforms and policies and promulgate his advice to his subjects. The present rendering of these edicts, based on earlier translations, offers us insights into a powerful and capable ruler's attempt to establish an empire on the foundation of righteousness, a reign which makes the moral and spiritual welfare of his subjects its primary concern. The Australian bhikkhu Ven. S. Dhammika, the compiler of the present work, is the spiritual director of the Buddha Dhamma Mandala Society in Singapore.

With the rediscovery and translation of Indian literature by European scholars in the 19th century, it was not just the religion and philosophy of Buddhism that came to light, but also its many legendary histories and biographies. Amongst this class of literature, one name that came to be noticed was that of Asoka, a good king who was supposed to have ruled India in the distant past. Stories about this king, similar in outline but differing greatly in details, were found in the Divyavadana, the Asokavadana, the Mahavamsa and several other works. They told of an exceptionally cruel and ruthless prince who had many of his brothers killed in order to seize the throne, who was dramatically converted to Buddhism and who ruled wisely and justly for the rest of his life. None of these stories were taken seriously -- after all many pre-modern cultures had legends about "too good to be true" kings who had ruled righteously in the past and who, people hoped, would rule again soon. Most of these legends had their origins more in popular longing to be rid of the despotic and uncaring kings than in any historical fact. And the numerous stories about Asoka were assumed to be the same.

But in 1837, James Prinsep succeeded in deciphering an ancient inscription on a large stone pillar in Delhi. Several other pillars and rocks with similar inscriptions had been known for some time and had attracted the curiosity of scholars. Prinsep's inscription proved to be a series of edicts issued by a king calling himself "Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi." In the following decades, more and more edicts by this same king were discovered and with increasingly accurate decipherment of their language, a more complete picture of this man and his deeds began to emerge. Gradually, it dawned on scholars that the King Piyadasi of the edicts might be the King Asoka so often praised in Buddhist legends. However, it was not until 1915, when another edict actually mentioning the name Asoka was discovered, that the identification was confirmed. Having been forgotten for nearly 700 years, one of the greatest men in history became known to the world once again.

Asoka's edicts are mainly concerned with the reforms he instituted and the moral principles he recommended in his attempt to create a just and humane society. As such, they give us little information about his life, the details of which have to be culled from other sources. Although the exact dates of Asoka's life are a matter of dispute among scholars, he was born in about 304 B.C. and became the third king of the Mauryan dynasty after the death of his father, Bindusara. His given name was Asoka but he assumed the title Devanampiya Piyadasi which means "Beloved-of-the-Gods, He Who Looks On With Affection." There seems to have been a two-year war of succession during which at least one of Asoka's brothers was killed. In 262 B.C., eight years after his coronation, Asoka's armies attacked and conquered Kalinga, a country that roughly corresponds to the modern state of Orissa. The loss of life caused by battle, reprisals, deportations and the turmoil that always exists in the aftermath of war so horrified Asoka that it brought about a complete change in his personality. It seems that Asoka had been calling himself a Buddhist for at least two years prior to the Kalinga war, but his commitment to Buddhism was only lukewarm and perhaps had a political motive behind it. But after the war Asoka dedicated the rest of his life trying to apply Buddhist principles to the administration of his vast empire. He had a crucial part to play in helping Buddhism to spread both throughout India and abroad, and probably built the first major Buddhist monuments. Asoka died in 232 B.C. in the thirty-eighth year of his reign.

Asoka's edicts are to be found scattered in more than thirty places throughout India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Most of them are written in Brahmi script from which all Indian scripts and many of those used in Southeast Asia later developed. The language used in the edicts found in the eastern part of the sub-continent is a type of Magadhi, probably the official language of Asoka's court. The language used in the edicts found in the western part of India is closer to Sanskrit although one bilingual edict in Afghanistan is written in Aramaic and Greek. Asoka's edicts, which comprise the earliest decipherable corpus of written documents from India, have survived throughout the centuries because they are written on rocks and stone pillars. These pillars in particular are testimony to the technological and artistic genius of ancient Indian civilization. Originally, there must have been many of them, although only ten with inscriptions still survive. Averaging between forty and fifty feet in height, and weighing up to fifty tons each, all the pillars were quarried at Chunar, just south of Varanasi and dragged, sometimes hundreds of miles, to where they were erected. Each pillar was originally capped by a capital, sometimes a roaring lion, a noble bull or a spirited horse, and the few capitals that survive are widely recognized as masterpieces of Indian art. Both the pillars and the capitals exhibit a remarkable mirror-like polish that has survived despite centuries of exposure to the elements. The location of the rock edicts is governed by the availability of suitable rocks, but the edicts on pillars are all to be found in very specific places. Some, like the Lumbini pillar, mark the Buddha's birthplace, while its inscriptions commemorate Asoka's pilgrimage to that place. Others are to be found in or near important population centres so that their edicts could be read by as many people as possible.

There is little doubt that Asoka's edicts were written in his own words rather than in the stylistic language in which royal edicts or proclamations in the ancient world were usually written in. Their distinctly personal tone gives us a unique glimpse into the personality of this complex and remarkable man. Asoka's style tends to be somewhat repetitious and plodding as if explaining something to one who has difficulty in understanding. Asoka frequently refers to the good works he has done, although not in a boastful way, but more, it seems, to convince the reader of his sincerity. In fact, an anxiousness to be thought of as a sincere person and a good administrator is present in nearly every edict. Asoka tells his subjects that he looked upon them as his children, that their welfare is his main concern; he apologizes for the Kalinga war and reassures the people beyond the borders of his empire that he has no expansionist intentions towards them. Mixed with this sincerity, there is a definite puritanical streak in Asoka's character suggested by his disapproval of festivals and of religious rituals many of which while being of little value were nonetheless harmless.

It is also very clear that Buddhism was the most influential force in Asoka's life and that he hoped his subjects likewise would adopt his religion. He went on pilgrimages to Lumbini and Bodh Gaya, sent teaching monks to various regions in India and beyond its borders, and he was familiar enough with the sacred texts to recommend some of them to the monastic community. It is also very clear that Asoka saw the reforms he instituted as being a part of his duties as a Buddhist. But, while he was an enthusiastic Buddhist, he was not partisan towards his own religion or intolerant of other religions. He seems to have genuinely hoped to be able to encourage everyone to practice his or her own religion with the same conviction that he practiced his.

Scholars have suggested that because the edicts say nothing about the philosophical aspects of Buddhism, Asoka had a simplistic and naive understanding of the Dhamma. This view does not take into account the fact that the purpose of the edicts was not to expound the truths of Buddhism, but to inform the people of Asoka's reforms and to encourage them to be more generous, kind and moral. This being the case, there was no reason for Asoka to discuss Buddhist philosophy. Asoka emerges from his edicts as an able administrator, an intelligent human being and as a devoted Buddhist, and we could expect him to take as keen an interest in Buddhist philosophy as he did in Buddhist practice.

The contents of Asoka's edicts make it clear that all the legends about his wise and humane rule are more than justified and qualify him to be ranked as one of the greatest rulers. In his edicts, he spoke of what might be called state morality, and private or individual morality. The first was what he based his administration upon and what he hoped would lead to a more just, more spiritually inclined society, while the second was what he recommended and encouraged individuals to practice. Both these types of morality were imbued with the Buddhist values of compassion, moderation, tolerance and respect for all life. The Asokan state gave up the predatory foreign policy that had characterized the Mauryan empire up till then and replaced it with a policy of peaceful co-existence. The judicial system was reformed in order to make it more fair, less harsh and less open to abuse, while those sentenced to death were given a stay of execution to prepare appeals and regular amnesties were given to prisoners. State resources were used for useful public works like the importation and cultivation of medical herbs, the building of rest houses, the digging of wells at regular intervals along main roads and the planting of fruit and shade trees. To ensue that these reforms and projects were carried out, Asoka made himself more accessible to his subjects by going on frequent inspection tours and he expected his district officers to follow his example. To the same end, he gave orders that important state business or petitions were never to be kept from him no matter what he was doing at the time. The state had a responsibility not just to protect and promote the welfare of its people but also its wildlife. Hunting certain species of wild animals was banned, forest and wildlife reserves were established and cruelty to domestic and wild animals was prohibited. The protection of all religions, their promotion and the fostering of harmony between them, was also seen as one of the duties of the state. It even seems that something like a Department of Religious Affairs was established with officers called Dhamma Mahamatras whose job it was to look after the affairs of various religious bodies and to encourage the practice of religion.

The individual morality that Asoka hoped to foster included respect (//susrusa//) towards parents, elders, teachers, friends, servants, ascetics and brahmins -- behavior that accords with the advice given to Sigala by the Buddha (Digha Nikaya, Discourse No. 31). He encouraged generosity (//dana//) to the poor (//kapana valaka//), to ascetics and brahmins, and to friends and relatives. Not surprisingly, Asoka encouraged harmlessness towards all life (//avihisa bhutanam//). In conformity with the Buddha's advice in the Anguttara Nikaya, II:282, he also considered moderation in spending and moderation in saving to be good (//apa vyayata apa bhadata//). Treating people properly (//samya pratipati//), he suggested, was much more important than performing ceremonies that were supposed to bring good luck. Because it helped promote tolerance and mutual respect, Asoka desired that people should be well-learned (//bahu sruta//) in the good doctrines (//kalanagama//) of other people's religions. The qualities of heart that are recommended by Asoka in the edicts indicate his deep spirituality. They include kindness (//daya//), self-examination (//palikhaya//), truthfulness (//sace//), gratitude (//katamnata//), purity of heart (//bhava sudhi//), enthusiasm (//usahena//), strong loyalty (//dadha bhatita//), self-control (//sayame//) and love of the Dhamma (//Dhamma kamata//).

We have no way of knowing how effective Asoka's reforms were or how long they lasted but we do know that monarchs throughout the ancient Buddhist world were encouraged to look to his style of government as an ideal to be followed. King Asoka has to be credited with the first attempt to develop a Buddhist polity. Today, with widespread disillusionment in prevailing ideologies and the search for a political philosophy that goes beyond greed (capitalism), hatred (communism) and delusion (dictatorships led by "infallible" leaders), Asoka's edicts may make a meaningful contribution to the development of a more spiritually based political system.

LOST IN TIME : BIHAR (ANGA)

2012-05-03T10:23:00.000+05:30

Anga was a kingdom that flourished on the eastern Indian subcontinent in the 6th century BCE until taken over by Magadha in the same century. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" (solas Mahajanapadas) in Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya, Anga also finds mention in the Jain Vyakhyaprajnapti’s list of ancient janapadas. Anga was spread over a large area and consisted of the following districts of Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal states of modern India. Angika is the language spoken in Anga Desh. Angika is a dialectal variant of Maithili language .
The body of Manmadha(Cupid) was burnt as he made Lord Shiva angry. Since his body parts (Angas)were burnt on that area. So that area was called as Anga Desh
Based on Mahabharata evidence, the kingdom of the Angas roughly corresponded to the districts of Bhagalpur, Banka, Purnia, Munger, Katihar and Jamui in Bihar and districts of Deoghar, Godda, and Sahebganj in Jharkhand; later extended to include parts of Bengal. The River Champa (modern Chandan) formed the boundaries between the Magadha in the west and Anga in the east. Anga was bounded by river Koshi on the north. According to the Mahabharata, Duryodhana had named Karna the King of Anga.
Sabhaparava of Mahabharata mentions Anga and Vanga as forming one country. The Katha-Sarit-Sagara also attests that Vitankapur, a city of Anga was situated on the shores of the sea. Thus the boundaries of Anga may have extended to the sea in the east.
The capital of Anga was Champa (Campā). According to Mahabharata and Harivamsa, Champa was formerly known as Malini. Champa was located on the right bank of river Ganges near its junction with river Champa. It was a very flourishing city and is referred to as one of six principal cities of ancient India (Digha Nikaya). In the Jataka stories, the city of Champa is also referred to as Kala-Champa. Maha-Janaka Jataka states that the city was located about sixty-yojanas (one yojana = 16.4 km) from Mithila (Here Mithila reflects the Mithilapuri i.e. the Capital of Videha kingdome which was later known as Janakpur & the term Videha as a kingdome was replaced by Mithila). Bhagalpur in Bihar, usually identified as the site of Champa, still has two villages called Champa-nagara and Champa-pura.
Champa was noted for its wealth and commerce. It was also a great center of trade and commerce and its merchants regularly sailed to distant Suvarnabhumi for trading purposes. During his pilgrimage there in the end of the 4th century, the Chinese monk Faxan noted the numerous Buddhist temples that still existed in the city, transliterated Chanpo in Chinese (瞻波 pinyin: Zhānbō; Wade–Giles: Chanpo). The kingdom of Anga by then had long ceased to exist; it had been known as Yāngjiā (鴦伽) in Chinese.
The later kingdom of Champa (in present-day Vietnam) was thought to have originated from this east Indian Champa, although anthropological evidence indicates they are from Borneo on the other side Indochinese Peninsula.
Other important cities of Anga are said to be Assapura and Bhadrika.
Ramayana narrates the origin of name Anga as the place where Kamadeva was burnt to death by Siva and where his body parts(angas) are scattered.
The earliest mention occurs in the Atharava Veda where they find mention along with the Magadhas, Gandharis and the Mujavatas, all apparently as a despised people.
Puranic texts place the janapadas of the Angas, Kalingas, Vangas, Pundras (or Pundra Kingdom - now some part of Eastern Bihar, West Bengal and Bangladesh), Vidarbhas, and Vindhya-vasis in the Purva-Dakshina division.
The Puranas also list several early kings of Anga. The Mahagovinda Suttanta refers to king Dhatarattha of Anga. Jain texts refer to Dhadhivahana, as a ruler of the Angas. Puranas and Harivamsa represent him as the son and immediate successor of Anga, the eponymous founder of the kingdom. Jain traditions place him at the beginning of sixth century BCE.
Between the Vatsas and the realm of Anga, lived the Magadhas, who initially were comparatively a weak people. A great struggle went on between the Angas and its eastern neighbors. The Vidhura Pandita Jataka describes Rajagriha (the Magadhan Capital) as the city of Anga and Mahabharata also refers to a sacrifice performed by the king of Anga at Mount Vishnupada (at Gaya). This indicates that Anga had initially succeeded in annexing the Magadhas, and thus its borders extended to the kingdom of Matsya country.
This success of Angas did not last long. About the middle of 6th century BC, Bimbisara, the crown prince of Magadha had killed Brahmadatta, the last independent king of Anga and seized Champa. Bimbisara made it as his head-quarters and ruled over it as his father's Viceroy. Thenceforth, Anga became an integral part of growing Magadha empire (1996).

BIHAR : STEPUP FOR BETTER TOMORROW

2012-05-02T08:50:00.000+05:30

India's biggest challenge is "how do we help chidren in this process at an early stage?". The article is about how Bihar is tackling this challenge.

In our country, children are expected to learn to read and comprehend simple text by the end of their first year in school. Textbooks in early school grades require children to read fluently by the end of class two. However, available evidence indicates that a large proportion of school children are still struggling to recognise letters and decode words after 2 or 3 years of formal schooling. This makes helping children learn to read one of the biggest challenges in India today.

The Bihar government came up with an initiative to bridge the gap between children and books and Pratham Books was a part of it. It has been a tiring but exciting three months. And as the mela drew to a close, we were glad to have been able to reach children all across Bihar. The following Hindi article describes this initiative and the need for it. For those of you who cannot read the following Hindi document (written by Rukmini Banerji and Manisha Chaudhry), here is a short summary:

Reading and learning are important aspects of education. If a child is unable to read, any educational programme is of no use to him/her. The more a child reads, the more he wants to keep reading and to facilitate this need, there is a requirement of more books.

Books open up the world of a child as he/she begins to connect what they read or hear with concepts they have encountered earlier. Thus, books and reading them is not just important at the school level, but also for the future of a child as it lays the foundation for his/her success.

Children in over 70,000 government schools in Bihar are now enjoying reading hundreds of colourful, well-written, and well-produced storybooks – thanks to Pratham Books and its novel mission to see “A book in every child’s hand”.

Pratham Books, a children’s book publisher with a difference, is addressing this challenge in style. The organization is a not-for-profit trust that was set up in 2004 with the objective of publishing high quality, low cost books in Indian languages and giving Indian children the opportunity to read interesting books that they can identify with, in their own language.

Last year, the government of Bihar introduced Bodhi Vriksha Karyakram, a programme to improve reading levels in early grades of school. However, for reading skills to actually improve, children need many, many books that stimulate their imagination, expand their minds, and evoke enough interest to keep them reading. In an extremely foresighted move, the Bihar government utilised 2% of the funds provided by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to buy storybooks and other such resources for students of standards 1 and 2.

The Government invited publishers including Pratham Books to participate in ‘Pustak Melas’ held in 37 districts of Bihar from November 2008 to January 2009. The schools were encouraged to attend these Melas and buy books for their students. In what could be the biggest investment in India’s history towards making books other than textbooks available to young children, this programme spent Rs. 30 crores, and reached no less than 6 million children! In just 7 weeks, truckloads of books, approximately 400 tons, were distributed across thousands of government primary schools in Bihar.

The Bihar government’s initiative is a simple, efficient model that can be replicated in other states. Efforts like these immensely improve reading levels among young students, and bring us closer to making India a reading country.

You can get more information on Pratham Books at http://www.prathambooks.org/.

GEMS OF BIHAR :NAGARJUN

2012-05-01T08:36:00.000+05:30

The legendary poet of people “Baba Nagarjuna”. Born on 30th June 1911 as Vaidya Nath Mishra in the village Satlakha, his mother’s village,he was fondly called baba by his followers. Baba was known for his revolutionary ideas and unconventional lifestyle. His writings inspired generations and he was known for his candid and anti –establishment views.
Nagarjun is a legendary writer of the Hindi literature. He was affectionately called Nagarjun 'Janakavi'- the People's Poet by his contemporaries and admirers. His poems predominantly deal with politics, problems of ordinary people, of the peasantry and of the proletariat.He was born in a lower middle class Brahmin family in a small village of Tarauni in Darbhanga district of Bihar. He was named Vaidyanath Mishra by his parents but was more popular as Nagarjun in his literary circle. He lost his mother at the tender age of three and his father didn't deliver his responsibilities towards his son seriously. As a result Nagarjun was dependant on his kind-hearted relatives. He was a scholar of the ancient Indian languages like Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali. He first learned these languages at the rural centers and later in the urban centers of Varanasi and Calcutta. He married Aparajita Devi and had five children with her.
Alongwith his higher studies Nagarjun worked for his livelihood. For many years he studied and was semi-employed in Calcutta and later moved to Saharanpur (U.P.) to work as a full time teacher. His insatiable urge for knowledge especially in the Sanskrit treatises and philosophical discourses, and Buddhist scriptures took him to Sri Lanka where he accepted Buddhism in the monastery of Kelania
Nagarjun actively participated in politics. Nagarjun was influenced by the writings of Marx, Lenin and Stalin. He supported the armed revolt of the peasants of Naxalbari in West Bengal and was later passionately involved in the anti-government agitation in Bihar under the leadership of Jai Prakash Narayan in 1974. During this period he was jailed for eleven months.
Nagarjun's novels like Balchanma, Ratinath Ki Chachi, Baba Batesarnath and Varun Ke Bete are landmarks in Hindi fiction depicting the rural reality in an unparalleled manner. He wrote poems both in Maithili and Hindi. He published two Maithili poems, Boorh Var and Vilap in 1941 in the form of pamphlets and sold them on passenger trains. He wrote two poems in Hindi Shapath and Chana Jor Garam, which were circulated in 1948 and 1952 respectively. His first collection of twenty-eight poems in Maithili, entitled Chitra appeared in 1949. It is considered the first modern classic, which is used as a standard university textbook in the Maithili language.
By 1953, there was a change in the themes of his poems, Nagarjun now shifted from lyrical romanticism, and wrote on the rebellion of Telangana, Mother India and famine. In 1950, he wrote a piece of satire in just ten lines about "the five worthy sons of Mother India". He even wrote a short poem in eight lines on "The Famine and After", the poem deals with famine, hunger, anguish, and apathy. In 1948, his novel Ratinath Ki Chachi (Ratinath's Aunt) was published. This novel consisting of 113 pages is autobiographical and one of the most realistic and feminist Hindi novels. The novel is a harrowing tale of abject poverty and extreme exploitation. His next novel Varun ke Bete was published in 1956, is an unconventional work dealing with the story of the low-caste fishermen, who fights for the fishing rights and tries to form a fishermen's cooperative. He wrote thirteen novels, eleven in Hindi and two in Maithili. Most of his novels center around a social, economic or political theme, set in rural or semi-urban Bihar. His novels mostly narrate the story of the destitute and the exploited, chiefly amongst them are women and children.
Nagarjun unconsciously became the forerunner of the Annchalik Upanyas (the Regional Novel) in Hindi. Apne Khet mein is his last published collection of Hindi poems in 1997, which consists of personal poems like Na Sahi and Aur Phir Dhikai Nahin Di and parodies the artist M.F.Hussain and the political leader Laloo Yadav. Hua Gittiyon Men Ras ka Sanchar is another moving poem on the pathetic life of the rickshaw pullers of Calcutta.
He was awarded the Bharat Bharati Award by the Uttar Pradesh government for his literary contributions in 1983. For his collection of poems Patraheer Nagna Gaachhin in Maithili, he was given the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1968.
He passed away in November 1998 at the age of 87 in Darbhanga.
His Major literary works :

Poetry

Yugdharao
Satrange Pankhon Wali
Talab ki Machhliyan
Khichri Viplava Dekha Humne
Hazar Hazar Bahon Wali
Purani Juliyon Ka Coras
Tumne Kaha Tha
Akhir Aisa Kya Kah Diya Maine
Is Gubare Ki Chhaya Mein.
Yhe Danturit Muskan
Mein Military Ka Boodha Ghoda
Ratnagarbha
Aise bhi hum kya
Bhool jao purane sapne
Apne Khet Mein Chandana

Novels

Rati Nath Ki Chachi
Balachnama
Baba Bateshar Nath
Nai Paudh
Varun Ke Bete
Dukh Mochan
Ugratara
Jamania Ka Baba
Kumbhi Pak
Paro and Asman Mein Chanda Tare.
Abhinandan
Imaratia.

Essay collections

Ant Hinam Kriyanam.
Bum Bholenath
Ayodhya ka Raja

Maithili works

Patrahin Nagna Gachh (collection of poems)
citra(collection of poems)
paro(novel)
navturiya(novel)
balchnma(novel)

BIHAR LEGACY : CHANAKYA

2012-04-30T08:47:00.000+05:30

One of the greatest figures of wisdom and knowledge in the Indian history is Chanakya. He is estimated to have lived from 350 - 283 B.C. Chanakya is touted as the "Pioneer Economist of India". Chanakya was the adviser and Prime Minister of Emperor Chandragupta. Chanakya was a professor at the University of Takshila (located in present day Pakistan) and was an expert in commerce, warfare, economics, etc. His famous works include Chanakya Neeti, Arthashastra and Neetishastra. Read this biography of Kautilya that covers his interesting life history.
Chanakya is also known by the name of Kautilya and Vishnugupta as is mentioned in his text. His famous work called Arthashastra is a classic example of statecraft and politics and is read in Europe even today. It basically consists of the principles of politics and how the state works. An able ruler has to be a ruthless leader to make sure that the state works smoothly and efficiently. The legends associated with Chanakya are very interesting and provide a testimony of his greatness.
Chanakya's works predate Machiavelli's by about 1,800 years.an ancient centre of learning, and was responsible for the creation of Mauryan empire, the first of its kind on the Indian subcontinent. His works were lost near the end of the Gupta dynasty and not rediscovered until 1915.
Chanakya's birthplace is a matter of controversy, and there are multiple theories about his origin. According to some scholars he was born in a family of Brahmin as the son of Acharya Chanak in Patliputra (near present-day Patna), the capital of Magadh. According to Jaina accounts, Chanakya was born in the village of Canaka to Caṇin and Caṇeśvarī, a Brahmin couple. According to the Buddhist text Mahavamsa Tika, his birthplace was Taxila.The Jain scriptures like Adbidhana Chintamani mention his birth place as South India possibly present-day Kerala.
Chanakya enjoyed the best education of the time, in Takshashila. Then he is said to have taught in Takshashila which had established itself as a place of learning. The school had by that time existed for more than five centuries and attracted students from all over the ancient world. The Kingdom of Magadha maintained contact with Takshashila. Chanakya's life was connected to these two cities, Pataliputra and Takshashila.
He was a master of the shrewd act of diplomacy. He believed in four ways—Sama, Dana, Danda, Bheda (treating with Equality, Enticement, Punishment or War and Sowing Dissension.)
In his early years he was tutored extensively in the Vedas - Chanakya memorized them completely at a very early age. He also taught mathematics, geography and science along with dharmic education. Later he traveled to Takshashila, where he became a teacher of politics. Chanakya taught subjects using the best of practical knowledge acquired by the teachers. The age of entering the University was sixteen. The branches of study most sought after around India at that time ranged from law, medicine, warfare and other disciplines. Two of his more famous students were Bhadrabhatta and Purushdutta, who were also disciples of Chanakya.
According to the Kashmiri version of his legend, Chanakya, there is an anecdote which says a thorn had pricked his foot once. After that instead of uprooting the tree, he poured buttermilk (in Hindi called "Mattha" )on the tree so that the ants will gather around tree and finish the tree to its last pieces.
Two books are attributed to Chanakya: Arthashastra and Neetishastra which is also known as Chanakya Niti. The Arthashastra discusses monetary and fiscal policies, welfare, international relations, and war strategies in detail. Neetishastra is a treatise on the ideal way of life, and shows Chanakya's deep study of the Indian way of life. Chanakya also developed Neeti-Sutras (aphorisms - pithy sentences) that tell people how they should behave. Of these well-known 455 sutras, about 216 refer to raaja-neeti (the do's and don'ts of running a kingdom). Apparently, Chanakya used these sutras to groom Chandragupta and other selected disciples in the art of ruling a kingdom.
He also knew vedic astrology. His thoughts about vedic astrology can be found in the text called saravali.
Chanakya was a shrewd observer of nature. Once, it is said that Mauryan forces had to hide in a cave. There was no food, and the soldiers were starving.They could not come out of the cave either, as there was a threat to their lives. Chanakya saw an ant taking a grain of rice, whereas, there was no sign of food or grain anywhere. Moreover, the rice grain was cooked. He ordered the soldiers to search and they found that their enemies had been dining under the cave. Indeed, they were eating at the ground floor. As soon as they saw this, they escaped and were thus saved.]
When Bindusara was in his youth, Chandragupta gave up the throne and followed the Jain saint Bhadrabahu to present day Karnataka and settled in the place of Shravana Belagola. He lived as an ascetic for some years and died of voluntary starvation according to Jain tradition.
Chanakya meanwhile stayed as the administrator of Bindusara. Bindusara also had a minister named Subandhu who did not like Chanakya. One day he told Bindusara that Chanakya was responsible for the murder of his mother. Bindusara asked the nurses who confirmed this story and he became very angry with Chanakya. But, he then came to know why the great soul did so. The real cause of Chanakya's death is unknown and disputed. But it is mentioned at various places that he died out of his own wish(ichamrityu literally- icha meaning wish mrityu meaning death).
According to Legends:

When Chanakya was born he had a full set of teeth, which is a sign that he would become a king or an emperor. But since he was born in a Brahmin family, it was considered inappropriate. Thus, his teeth were broken and it was predicted that he would make another person a king and rule through him.
Even as a child, Chanakya had the qualities of a born leader. His level of knowledge was beyond children of his age.
Chanakya was thrown out of the court of King Nanda as he was a blunt man and spoke his mind clearly. Chanakya swore he would take revenge.
Chanakya comes across Chandragupta as a young child. Even at that age, he was a born leader and showed the qualities of an able Emperor. He was the guiding force behind Chandragupta and the vital person who made him an able Emperor.
Chanakya adds poison in little amounts daily in Chandragupta's food in order to make him immune to poison, lest some enemy tries to poison him.
However Chandragupta was unaware about this and once gave a little food to his wife who was in the ninth month of pregnancy. She didn't survive but Chanakya cut open her belly and took out the baby.
This baby grew up to become an able emperor named Bindusara. He had a minister named Subandhu who did not like Chanakya. He told Bindusara that Chanakya had killed his mother.
Without assessing facts, Bindusara confronted Chanakya. On knowing the whole story, he felt ashamed at his hasty actions and begged for forgiveness. He asked Subandhu to go and apologize and make Chanakya come back.
Subandhu was very cunning and on the pretext of going to apologize to Chanakya, he killed him. Thus, ended the life of a great person like Chanakya just because of political rivalry.

FOLK DANCE OF BIHAR :BIDESIA

2012-04-29T07:50:00.000+05:30

Bidesia is the most popular folk dance of Bihar people. The dance is said to have originated in the 20th century. It is a folk theatre form that is prevalent in the Bhojpuri-speaking regions of Bihar.
Bidesia Dance deals with the many social problems prevailing in the society. It is believed that the creator of the dance Bhikari Thakur, who was a barber by profession, used funny and sarcastic comments to bring forth the serious issue and still not hurt the feelings of the people. The stories portrayed are so touching and realistic that they bring back the memories of yesteryears when men were taken away as slaves in distant lands and when used to feel in the pain of separation. They are also used to spread awareness among the masses about poverty, poor status of women in the society. Bidesia is performed in theater style with rhythmic language, soothing songs, and attractive music that makes it the most famous dance of Bihar.
Bidesia is a popular form of dance drama, originated in Bihar ,folk theatre and prevalent in the Bhojpuri-speaking region of Bihar.It is believed that the creator of this plays is Bhikari Thakur, a person barber by profession (from a backward class), left everything in affection of drama. His dramas are dealt with many social issues, contradictory topics & conflict between the traditional and the modern, the urban and rural, and the rich and the poor.
Not only hard hitting but delicate matters & emotional battles are also powered down in through Bidesia e.g. the emotions of birha or pangs of separation find expression in the Bidesia. Women left alone behind by their men who are away for earning a bread & butter in the city, sing through these songs. The train, sometimes represented as the other woman, the weather, the in-laws are all criticized in these songs.
The overall form of Bidesia has been made so effective through the medium of vibrant dances and evoking music and heart-touching stories that paints a realistic picture of olden days. In Bidesia, the female roles are played by the male actor-dancers. Normally, they wear dhoti or shirt trousers and for the appearance of long hair they use artificial means, in case of female roles.
Though there are many new means of communication & entertainment have developed, Bidesia remains the most popular and refreshing relaxation for the Bhojpuris.
In olden days, Bidesia was famous as it gave voice to many social concerned topics like the cause of poor laborers and tried to create awareness about the poor status of women in Bhojpuri society. Casteism and communalism are also handled with due care in the same cultural tunes. Sometimes, the tone of Bidesia is sarcastic in nature.
Bidesia plays and style of theatre is very popular for their rhythmic language, sweet songs and appealing music. These plays are a true reflection of Bhojpuri culture. Bhikari Thakur used satire and light-hearted comments to maximum effect to put forward his views on social ills and other problems plaguing Bhojpuri society.

BIHAR : PLACE OF ENLITENMENT

2012-04-28T08:55:00.000+05:30

ENLITENMENT : Specifically, it’s a perfect understanding of the Four Noble Truths (basically, that suffering is caused by clinging to impermanent things, and that there’s a way to end suffering) and knowledge of karma and one’s past lives such that the cycle of rebirth ends.
Buddha, meaning 'one who is awake' in the sense of having 'woken up to reality' was the title first given to Lord Buddha. It was about 2500 years ago when Prince Siddhartha Gautam left all the worldly pleasures to attain the reality of life, and became the Buddha - the enlightened one. It was a state in which the Buddha gained an insight into the deepest workings of life and therefore into the cause of human suffering, the problem that had set Him on his spiritual quest in the first place.
The Right Path and Immortality
For 45 years, Buddha spread His message of spiritual life to not only His disciples but the common people as well. He gave emphasis on the purification of mind, heart and ultimately, soul by following the Eightfold Path, the Four Noble Truths and the Five Preceptions. This path included the right speech, understanding, determination, deeds, efforts, awareness, thinking and living. As per Buddhism, if one follows these paths, one could overcome desires, which were the reason for all the grieves and miseries.
After spreading His message to the world successfully, Buddha died at the age of 80 years in 483 BCE. at Kushinagar, India. Today, Buddhism has a strong following in various Asian countries and is gradually finding its feet in some of the western countries as well.
Now the magnificent Maha Bodhi temple in Bodhgaya is an architectural amalgamation of many cultures and pilgrimage to many . The temple bears the stamp of the architecture of the Gupta Dynasty and subsequent ages. On the walls of the temple, one sees Buddha carved in different aspects, and in the sanctum sanctorum, a colossal Buddha, is seen touching the ground, which has mythological significance in the Buddhist lores. The temple carries inscriptions recording the visits of pilgrims from Sri Lanka, China and Mayanmar. In the 7th and 10th Centuries AD Hieun Tsang, the Chinese traveler, also visited the temple in the 7th Century. Finally a visit to the Bodhgaya Archaeological Museum is a must for a religious art lover as it initiates one into the age of Buddha’s centered art forms. The Buddhist sculpture collection from 1st Century BC to 11th Century AD is housed here at one place.Reflected through several art forms, it is more like a treasure house of artistic expression.

Bodhgaya, in the state of Bihar, reckoned as the most important Buddhist pilgrimage center, is the place where Lord Sakyamuni (Gautam Buddha) entered into mediation after being moved by the sufferings ofmankind. The giant Bodhi Tree (Peepal) that we see today is believed to have grown from the original Bodhi Tree under which, sitting on the raised platform, Prince Siddharth mediated and finally attained Nirvana. Monasteries raised here by Burmese, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese and Thai devotees, in their native architectural styles, are worth visiting. Then there is Chaukramana, the Jewel Walk, where it is believed that the Buddha strolled while in deep thought.
Bodhgaya is 245 kms. from Varanasi and 178 kms. from Patna via Rajgir and Nalanda. A place of religious sanctity for Hindus, Gaya lies 12 kms. from Bodhgaya between Pretshila and Ramshila hills and is washed by the shores of river Phalgu. Gaya has a large number of Buddhist temples also. While Buddha was doing severe penance, he became weak, tired and hungry. He rested under a tree, where he was offered food by a condemned village woman named Sujata. To everybody’s surprise Buddha accepted her offerings. Legend has it that after having consumed the food, Buddha’s countenance assumed a divine glow and he realized the Supreme Truth; that neither extreme self indulgence nor self mortification is ever required. What is needed is to follow the Middle Path (Department of tourism). Sujata Sthan or Durgeshwari Temple stands as a symbol commemorating this event.

THE ANCIENT LANGUAGE OF BIHAR : MAITHILI

2012-04-27T08:10:00.001+05:30

Maithili was spoken in the ancient land of Mithila and so it has incurred the name Maithili. Tirhutia is another name for the region so Maithili is also known as Tirhutia. The people in Nepal and North-Eastern Bihar speak in this language. It is a language of Indo-Aryan origin.
The cultural and linguistic centers of Maithili in Bihar are the districts of Madhubani, Supaul, Araria, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, Saharsa, Begusarai, Muzaffarpur, Sheohar, Samastipur, and Vaishali . Maithili is also spoken in the Terai region of Nepal, mainly in Narayani Zone, Janakpur Zone, Koshi Zone, and Sagarmatha Zone of Nepal.
In Nepal, Maithili is the second state language and is used by 12% of the total population. Here, Maithili was used in the court of the Kings, during Malla period.
Near about 30 million people in the 26 districts of N.E. Bihar speak in Maithili. The Sahitya Akademi, India and P.E.N (an international organization of letters for Poets, Essayists and Novelists) have recognized Maithili.

It ranks 40th among the most spoken languages of the world, while it occupies the 16th position in the list of the most spoken languages in India. Maithilakshar or Tirhuta is its own script, which originated from Brahmi (a script of the 3rd B.C., also found in the Ahokan Inscriptions). At present the Devanagari script has been adopted because of its widespread use.
It is generally believed that the Sidhhacharyas evolved Proto Maithili during the 8th -9th century when they composed Charyapada. Since then the language has progressed steadily. Vidyapati, a very productive writer has used Avahatta, a form of Proto Maithili in his dramas, the Kirtilata and Kirtipataka. He also composed melodious poems depicting the love of Radha-Krishna in his Padavali that is written in the Maithili of medieval period. Vidyapati also influenced Nepali, Bengali, Assamese, Oriya and Manipuri literature during the medieval period.
Linguists have classified Maithili as one of the Indo-Aryan languages. It is an offshoot of the Indo-Aryan languages, which is a branch of the Indo-European languages. Early Indo-Aryan languages (2500 BC to 500 BC) developed from Vedic Samskrit to Laukik Samskrit. Middle Indo-Aryan Languages (500 BC to 1000 AD) developed from Pali (early Prakrit, 500 BC to 100 BC) to Prakrit (middle Prakrit, 100 BC to 500 AD), Apbhramsha (neo Prakrit, 500 AD to 900 AD) and Avhattha (neo regional Prakrit, 900 AD to 1100 AD). From neo Magadhi Prakrit and its Variant Maithil Avahattha came Maithili Language (1000 AD). It is in the category of Modern Indo-Aryan Language (1000 AD to till date). Linguists consider Maithili to be an Eastern Indic language.
The first grammar of Maithili was written in the year 1880–81. A. F. Rudolf Hoernle published a Grammar of the Eastern Hindi from London in 1880 and compared with the other Gaudian Languages. In this Grammar, Dr. Hoernle recognized Maithili as a dialect distinct from Hindi. He was able to give some specimens of its grammatical forms, but no published materials were then available. The mis-classification by early linguists led to language politics in respect of Maithili. Beames (1872/reprint 1966: 84-85) considered Maithili as a dialect of Bengali. Grierson, however, adopted the notional term "Bihari" language for the language used in Bihar; it has since been shown to be a misnomer for Maithili.
Maithili is derived from Avahattha, the Maithil Apabhramsha, which is derived from Magadhi Apbhramsha. Maithili was traditionally written in the Maithili script (also known by the names Tirhuta, i.e., Mithilakshar) and Kaithi script. The ISO of Unicode Technical Committee has approved the encoding of Kaithi and Tirhuta scripts. Nowadays, Devanagari script is most is most commonly used. An effort is underway to preserve the Maithili script and to develop it for use in digital media by encoding the script in the Unicode standard, for which proposals have been submitted by Sh. Anshuman Pandey (now it has been approved by the ISO, the Unicode Technical Committee).
The term Maithili comes from Mithila, which was an independent state in ancient times. Mithila is important in Hindu mythology, since it is regarded as the birth place of Goddess Sita, the daughter of King Janak of Mithila, who eventually gets married to Lord Rama.
The most famous literary figure in Maithili is the poet Vidyapati (1350–1450), who wrote his poems in the language of the people, i.e. Maithili, at a time when state's official language used to be Sanskrit and Sanskrit was still being used as a literary language. The use of Maithili, instead of Sanskrit, in literature became more common after Vidyapti.

INSPIRING AND INNOVATIVE BIHAR :THE TREE PLANTING STORY

2012-04-26T09:01:00.001+05:30

An Indian civil servant, SM Raju, has come up with a novel way of providing employment to millions of poor in the eastern state of Bihar.Under the scheme, each family can earn a minimum of 10,200 rupees ($210).
The idea is involve families below the poverty line in social forestry and give them employment under this scheme for 100 days
S M Raju, a civil servant in Bihar has done just that. Raju has started a campaign to encourage unemployed village folk to start planting trees. This campaign has been linked with the government’s NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and thus the village people earn money by planting these trees.
His campaign to encourage people to plant trees effectively addresses two burning issues of the world: global warming and shrinking job opportunities. Mr Raju's successfully organised 300,000 villagers from over 7,500 villages in northern Bihar to engage in a mass tree planting ceremony. In doing so the agriculture graduate from Bangalore has provided "sustainable employment" to people living below the poverty line in Bihar.
What he did was he linked his "social forestry" programme to the central government's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) which is also designed to provide employment to poor people.
He made a blueprint of his idea and got the support of senior state officials and released a comprehensive booklet of "dos and don'ts" and distributed it to village heads and district officials.He told the villagers that they would get 100 days employment in a year simply by planting trees and protecting them
Mr Raju even came close to planting one billion saplings on a single day. The saplings planted are both fruit and non-fruit trees. The non-fruit seedlings have been planted on the banks of the embankment and on state and national highways - while fruit bearing trees are planted inside the villages.
For more insight of the story go to this link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8257563.stm

ARYABHATTA PROFICIENCY :- ASTRONOMY & GEOMETRY

2012-04-25T08:46:00.001+05:30

ASTRONOMY:-
Pataliputra was the birth-place of another very great man, namely, Aryabhata, the father of scientific astronomy and mathematics of the Hindus. He was born in 476 A D. and wrote his Kala-kriya (calculation of time) here at the age of 23 that is, 499 A.D.

The consonants from kato ma are valued at 1 to 25 and the eight vowels i, u, r, e,1, ai, o, ou represent multiples of 100 each. Thus ka is 1, kiis 100, ku is 10,000, kr is 10,00,000, kl is 10,00,00,000, keis 10,00,00,00,000, kai is 10,00,00,00,00,000. This is a modified form of the Greek System. One of Aryabhata's works is called DaSagZtikti from the fact that it consists of ten verses in the Gitika metre which is a modification of the Arya. His other work, the Aryasiddhantika, consists of 108 verses and is divided in three sections Kalakriyapada, Golapada and Ganitapada In these two works the extent of which does not jointly go beyond 118 verses, Aryabhata has explained the whole system of Hindu Astronomy. He is even more concise than the philosophical sutras and is in strange contrast with the astronomical Siddhantas which seem to have been written in prose and are very diffuse.
There seem to have been a conflict of Eras at the time when Aryabhata flourished. There was the Malava Era in Western Malwa, the Gupta Era known in the Gupta Empire, the Saka Era, the Kalacuri Era and soon all local and tribal eras. Not knowing in which to date his works which was meant for universal use among the Hindus he took up the Kaliyuga Era known to all.

But in subsequent ages the Saka Era was adopted by all astronomers in India. The reason is not far to seek for in India astronomy and astrology were, if not exclusively, very generally studied and professed by the Sakadvipi Brahmins or Scythian priesthood the old Magii settled in India from remote ages, or neither the Brahmins or the Buddhists favoured astrologers. Buddha has expressly excluded Astrology from Samyak Ajiva or proper livelihood.
GEOMETRY:-
ARYABHATTA was author of the Arykshiasata (800 couplets) and Dasagi-tica (ten stanzas), known by the numerous quotations of BRAHMEGUPTA, BHAT'TATPALA, and others, who cite both under these respective titles. The laghu Arya-sidd''hanta, as a work of the same author, and, perhaps, one of those above-mentioned, is several times quoted by BHA'SCARA'S commentator MUNIS'WARA. He likewise treated of Algebra, &c. under the distinct heads of Cuttaca, a problem serving for the resolution of indeterminate ones, and Vija principle of computation, or analysis in general.

From the quotations of writers on astronomy, and particularly of BRAHMEGUPTA, who in many instances cites ARYABHAT'TA to controvert his positions, (and is in general contradicted in his censure by his own scholiast PBIT'HUDACA, either correcting his quotations, or vindicating the doctrine of the earlier author), it appears, that ARYABHAT'TA affirmed the diurnal revolution of the earth on its axis; and that he accounted for it by a wind or current of aerial fluid, the extent of which, according to the orbit assigned to it by him, corresponds to an elevation of little more than a hundred miles from the surface of the earth ; that he possessed the true theory of the causes of lunar and solar eclipses, and disregarded the imaginary dark planets of the mythologists and astrologers; affirming the moon and primary planets (and even the stars) to be essentially dark, and only illumined by the sun : that he noticed the motion of the solstitial and equinoctial points, but restricted it to a regular oscillation, of which he assigned the limit and the period : that he ascribed to the epicycles, by which the motion of a planet is represented, a form varying from the circle and nearly elliptic : that he recognised a motion of the nodes and asides of all the primary planets, as well as of the moon; though in this instance, as in some others, his censurer imputes to him variance of doctrine. ‘
The magnitude of the earth, and extent of the encompassing wind, is among the instances wherein he is reproached by BRAHMEGUPTA with versatility, as not having adhered to the same position throughout his writings; but he is vindicated on this, as on most occasions, by the scholiast of his censurer. Particulars of this question, leading to rather curious matter, deserve notice.

Madhubani Paintings

2012-04-24T10:45:00.000+05:30

The ceremonial folk paintings - popularly identified as famous Madhubani paintings - are the exclusive monopoly of women artists, passing down for generations from mother to daughter. The girl learns to play with the brush and colours at an early age which finally culminates in the Kohbar (nupital room), which acquires great sanctity in the social life of Mithila. All religious ceremonies relating to the marriage are performed in the Kohbar.The deep (earthen lamp - a symbol of happy conjugal life) is kept burning in all through for four days.

Madhubani painting originated in a small village, known as Maithili, of the Bihar state of India. Initially, the womenfolk of the village drew the paintings on the walls of their home, as an illustration of their thoughts, hopes and dreams. With time, the paintings started becoming a part of festivities and special events, like marriage. Slowly and gradually, the Madhubani painting of India crossed the traditional boundaries and started reaching connoisseurs of art, both at the national as well as the international level.
The traditional base of freshly plastered mud wall of huts has now been replaced by cloth, handmade paper and canvas. Since the paintings have been confined to a limited geographical range, the themes as well as the style are, more or less, the same. Indian Maithili paintings make use of three-dimensional images and the colors that are used are derived mainly from plants. The themes on which these paintings are based include nature and mythological events. The first reference to the Maithili painting of Bihar dates back to the time of Ramayana, when King Janaka ordered the paintings to be created for his daughter, Sita's, wedding.
Madhubani painting has been handed down from one generation to another. Translated, Madhubani literally means ‘a forest of honey’. The art flourished in the villages around Madhubani in the Mithila region of north Bihar near the Indo-Nepal border. This region has historical and religious importance as Mahavir, Buddha and Lord Rama’s wife Sita, are all believed to have been born here.
Extracting of Natural Colors
The women don’t use camel hair brushes to create their works of art, but use only plain, slatted bamboo sticks with wads of cotton to apply the paint. “The colours are made from vegetable dyes or are of natural origin and are prepared by the women themselves.” explained Anmala Devi, a Madhubani artist herself, who spread out samples of her work for us to photograph. “For example, black is made by mixing soot with cow dung, yellow from turmeric, blue from indigo, red from red sandalwood, green from leaves and white from rice paste. The black outlines are drawn first and then the colour is filled into the spaces. ” Yet, despite the crude implements, the result is a bright and bold image with a character of its own.
In the beginning, home made natural colours were obtained from plant extracts like henna leaves, flower, bougainvillea, neem, etc. These natural juices were mixed with resin from banana leaves and ordinary gum in order to make the paint stick to the painting medium. Home made paints, though cheap, was time consuming and produced less than the requirement. The solution was to switch to the synthetic colours avaibale aplenty in the market. Now colours come in powdered form, which are then mixed with goat’s milk. However, black continues to be obtained from the soot deposits by the flame of diya, dissolved in gum.
The colours are usually deep red, green, blue, black, light yellow, pink and lemon. They created mood and hence played an important role. For instance, energy and passion find expression through the use of red and yellow, as monochrome crashed over large surfaces of the painting. Concentration of energy and the binding force is best reflected in red while green governs the natural leaves and vegetation. The Brahmins prefer the very bright hues while the Kayasthas opt for mutted ones. In another class called the Harijan style of painting, hand made paper is washed in cowdung. Once the paints are ready, two kinds of brushes are used - one for the tiny details made out of bamboo twigs and the other for filling in the space which is prepared from a small piece of cloth attached to a twig.
While this art has been in practice for centuries, it has, for most practical purposes, remained confined within the region. Even now, the women prefer to remain anonymous. Most of them being illiterate, are shy, and have not been outside the confines of their mud-thatched villages.
Unfortunately, it was a tragedy that led to these paintings being exposed, appreciated and collected as ethnic art around the globe. During the period 1966-68, a prolonged drought struck Madhubani and the neighbouring region of Mithila. A new source of non-agricultural income had to be found to keep these people away from the pangs of hunger. The All India Handicrafts Board encouraged the women artists to create their paintings on handmade paper for commercial purposes. For the market, the work is done on handmade paper or cloth treated with cowdung to give it its distinctive look and identity. Ever since, this craft has become a regular source of income. The artists travel far and wide and sell their work through art exhibitions. Their success has inspired even their menfolk to join them in their art to meet the growing demand!

BIHARI CULTURE AND DANCE:- CHHAU DANCE

2012-04-23T08:35:00.002+05:30

The simple tribal people of Bihar express their creative joy through the Chhau dance, which was originally a war dance, preformed in order to perfect fighting techniques. It has, over the years, evolved into a narrative ballet.

Chhau dance is a mask dance performed by the male dancers. It is prevalent in Mayurbhanj district in Orissa, Sareikela in Bihar and Purulia district in West Bengal. The dance form was nurtured and developed under different royal patronage. Maharaja Krishana Chandra Bhanj Deo of Mayurbhanj was its greatest patron. Basically, Chhau is a festival dance, performed on the occasion of the sun festival observed according to the Bengali calendar towards the end of the month of Chaitra. Nowadays, Chhau is not only performed on this sun festival but also during many other festivals at other times of the year.

The Chhau dance is indigenous to the eastern part of India. It originated as a martial art and contains vigourous movements and leaps. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many of the princely rulers of the Orissa region took a keen interest in the development of this art. They maintained troupes that performed on special occasions and festivals.

Some Chhau dances use large stylized masks. The depiction of birds and animals is a distinctive feature. There are also heroic dances with sword, bow or shield, with which dancers demonstrate their dexterity. In keeping with the martial origins of Chhau, some of the themes include the depiction of mythological heroes, such as Parashurama, Mahadev, Indrajit and others, from the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics. Over the course of time, female characters and more diverse themes were added.

There are three recognized schools or styles of Chhau. These are the Seraikella, Purulia and Mayurbhanj varieties. Mayurbhanj Chhau dancers do not wear masks. In recent times, Mayurbhanj Chhau has become popular as a medium of choreography, with its wide range of postures and movements that adapt well to modern as well as traditional treatment.

Origin of Chhau Dance
It is said that the word `Chhau` is derived from the Sanskrit word `Chhaya`, which means shadow or image. In Oriya `Chhauka` means ability to make a sudden unexpected attack. Chhau dance perhaps originated from the martial dance Phari Khanda Khela (playing with the sword and the shield). Some say the word `Chhau` has been derived from `Chhauni`, which means military barracks. Most of the tribal people performed it in an effort to appease and influence the Sun God. Whatever may be the origin of this folk drama in course of time it has developed its own rules and grammar. Nowadays, Chhau dance is generally performed during the Chaitra Parva. Gradually this dance has shifted from the barracks and has taken a ritualistic turn.

Theme of Chhau Dance

The Chhau dance is mythological, as it is mainly based on various episodes of the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. Sometimes certain episodes of the Indian Puranas are also used. The individual dance items of Chhau dance of Mayurbhanj include solo, duet and group performances. Two Rasas are dominant in the performance- Vira and Rudra, and in the end, forces of evil are punished and the righteous triumphs.

Music in Chhau Dance
Most of the tunes for Chhau are traditional and folk which are played on Mahuri and various types of drums. The music appropriately reflects the moods which the dancers so impressively interpret. The use of the drum is an important part of Chhau performance. With the beating of drums an invocation to Lord Ganesha is given and the dance begins. As the singer completes the invocation song, a host of drummers and musicians start beating the Dhol and the Dhamsa. The musical part is an integral prelude to the actual dance performance. After this musical journey, the character of Lord Ganesha appears on the dancing ground followed in quick succession by other characters -gods, demons, animals and birds.

Costumes of Chhau Dance
The costumes of the Chhau performers are of various colours and designs.In Bihar they uses mostly facial expression and legs are mostly use to show the dance. in south of India they mainly comprises of Pyjamas in deep green or yellow or red shade that is worn by the artistes playing the role of gods; whereas those playing the role of demons have on loose trousers of a deep black shade. Sometimes, stripes of contrasting colours are also used to make the costumes more attractive and different. The costumes for the upper part of the body are full of various designs. The costumes for the character of Goddess Kali are made up of cloth of unrelieved black, and to express the separate and distinct identity, the characters of animals and birds use suitable type of masks and costumes.

Special features About the dance:

As this dance as a part of martial art, earlier only men used to perform this dance including the women character. But now even women have entered the arena and mastered this art.
Due to the dance being physically demanding in nature, the dancers can get exhausted after a short time. Therefore it`s played over brief period except in the Purulia School where they can have nightlong performances.
One of the main and unique characteristics of this dance, is emotions are not depicted by facial expressions but by legs. The dance has very detailed footwork, jumps etc. to convey the emotions of the character.
This highly energetic dance tells the stories from ancient mythologies like Mahabharata, Ramayana and other folklores. It depicts the nature in dance forms like Sagar Nritya and animal kingdom like sarpa, mayura dance. Melody, mood and rhythm all go hand in hand in making Chhau dance a success.

GOLDEN HISTORY OF BIHAR :-The Mauryan Empire

2012-04-21T08:40:00.000+05:30

In 321 BC, exiled general Chandragupta Maurya, under direct patronage of the genius of Chanakya, founded the Maurya dynasty after overthrowing the reigning king Dhana Nanda.This period was known as the "Golden Age of India." during which Hinduism and Buddhism spread to much of south-east Asia.
Originating from the kingdom of Magadha in the Indo-Gangetic plains (modern Bihar and Bengal) in the eastern side of the sub-continent, the empire had its capital city at Pataliputra (near modern Patna).Rapidly expanding his power westwards across central and western India taking opportunistic advantage of the disruptions of local powers in the wake of the withdrawal westward by Alexander the Great's Macedonian and Persian armies. By 316 BC the empire had fully occupied Northwestern India, defeating and conquering the satraps left by Alexander.
At its greatest extent, the Empire stretched to the north along the natural boundaries of the Himalayas, and to the east stretching into what is now Assam. To the west, it reached beyond modern Pakistan and significant portions of what is now Afghanistan, including the modern Herat and Kandahar provinces. The Empire was expanded into India's central and southern regions by Emperor Bindusara, but it excluded a small portion of unexplored tribal and forested regions near Kalinga.
The Mauryan Empire was perhaps the largest empire to rule the Indian subcontinent until the arrival of the British. Its decline began fifty years after Ashoka's rule ended, and it dissolved in 185 BC with the foundation of the Sunga Dynasty in Magadha.
Under Chandragupta, the Mauryan Empire conquered the trans-Indus region, which was under Macedonian rule.Under Chandragupta and his successors, both internal and external trade, and agriculture and economic activities, all thrived and expanded across India thanks to the creation of a single and efficient system of finance, administration and security.
Chandragupta Maurya succeeded to the Nanda throne in 321 B.C. He was then a young man of about 25 and was the protégé of Brahmin Kautilya, who was his guide and mentor both in acquiring the throne and in keeping it. The acquisition of Magadha was the first step in establishing the new dynasty. Chandragupta belonged to the Moriya tribe, but his caste was low. Young Maurya and his supporters were inferior in armed strength to the Nandas. And it was here that Kautilya strategy came in useful.
They began by harassing the outlying areas of the Nanda kingdom, gradually moving towards the center: this strategy being based, on the morale drawn from the fact that the Kautilya saw a woman scolding her child for eating from the center of the dish, since the center was bound to be much hotter than the sides. Once the Ganges valley was under his control, on Kautilya's advice Chandragupta moved to the north-west to exploit the power vacuum created by Alexander's departure. The areas of the north-west fell to him rapidly until he reached the Indus. Here he paused for the moment, as the Greek Seleucid dynasty had fortified itself in Persia and was determined to hold the trans Indus region.
Chandragupta moved to Central India for a while and occupied the region north of the Narmada river. But 305 B.C. saw him back in the north-west involved in a campaign against Seleucus Nikator, which Chandragupta finally won in 303 B.C. The Seleucid provinces of trans Indus, which today would cover large parts of Afghanistan were ceded to the Mauryas. The territorial foundation of the Mauryan empire had been laid, with Chandragupta controlling the Indus and the Ganges plain and the far north-west - a formidable empire by Indian standards.
Despite the campaign against Seleucids, there was considerable contact of a friendly nature between the two civilizations. Sandrocottos (Chandragupta) is frequently referred to in the Greek accounts. The treaty of 303 B.C. also included a marriage between Seleucus's daughter Helen with Chandragupta Maurya. Seleucus's ambassador Megasthenes accompanied Chandragupta to his court and gives a interesting and informative account about him and Kautilya.
Towards the end of his life, Chandragupta is supposed to have converted to Jainism and that he abdicated in favour of his son, Bindusara and became an ascetic. Together with one of the Jain saints and many other monks, he went to south India, and there he ended his life by deliberate slow starvation in the orthodox Jain manner.

Chandragupta's grandson Ashokavardhan Maurya, better known as Ashoka the Great (ruled 273- 232 BC), is considered by contemporary historians to be perhaps the greatest of Indian monarchs . As a young prince, Ashoka was a brilliant commander who crushed revolts in Ujjain and Taxila. As monarch he was ambitious and aggressive, re-asserting the Empire's superiority in southern and western India. But it was his conquest of Kalinga ( The Kalinga War 265-264 BC was a war fought between the Mauryan Empire under Ashoka the Great and the state of Kalinga, located on the coast of the present-day Indian state of Orissa ) which proved to be the pivotal event of his life. Although Ashoka's army succeeded in overwhelming Kalinga forces of royal soldiers and civilian units, an estimated 100,000 soldiers and civilians were killed in the furious warfare, including over 10,000 of Ashoka's own men. Hundreds of thousands of people were adversely affected by the destruction and fallout of war. When he personally witnessed the devastation, Ashoka began feeling remorse, and he cried 'what have I done?'. Although the annexation of Kalinga was completed, Ashoka embraced the teachings of Gautama Buddha, and renounced war and violence. For a monarch in ancient times, this was an historic feat.
Ashoka implemented principles of ahimsa by banning hunting and violent sports activity and ending indentured and forced labor (many thousands of people in war-ravaged Kalinga had been forced into hard labor and servitude). While he maintained a large and powerful army, to keep the peace and maintain authority, Ashoka expanded friendly relations with states across Asia and Europe, and he sponsored Buddhist missions. He undertook a massive public works building campaign across the country. Over 40 years of peace, harmony and prosperity made Ashoka one of the most successful and famous monarchs in Indian history. He remains an idealized figure of inspiration in modern India

Varahamihira: History Disputed Mythology of Bihar(Magadha)

2012-04-20T08:55:00.001+05:30

What we know about varahamihira is very limited,IT is said Aryabhatta had many students and his next successor Lalla was one of his pupils and some say Varahamihira, too, was his pupil.

According to one of his works, he was educated in Kapitthaka.it is not clear weather he was born in Kapitthaka,but We do know, however, that he worked at Ujjain which had been an important centre for mathematics since around 400 AD. The school of mathematics at Ujjain was increased in importance due to Varahamihira working there and it continued for a long period to be one of the two leading mathematical centres in India, in particular having Brahmagupta as its next major figure.
Astrologer, astronomer and mathematician, Mihira or Daivajna Mihira, became famous as Varaha Mihira (499-587 CE).

Some scholars suggest him to be One amongst the Navarathnas(nine jewels) in the court of King Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II - Gupta dynasty)of Ujjain.
As already mentioned Aryabhatta had another celebrated astronomer as his contemporary. who was Varahamihira. In his Vrhajja- taka in the 26th chapter, he says that he was son of Adityadasa, that he was an Avantaka, that he received his knowledge from his father and that he obtained a book from the Sun-God at Kampillaka or Kapitthaka. Bhattotpala tells us that he was a Migadha dvija. Some say that he was a Magadvija, i.e., one of the Magii long settled in India. From all this the late Pandit Sudhakara Dvivedi in his Ganakatarangiui infers that it is not impossible that Varaha was a Magadha Brahmin. He might have gone to Ujjain for livelihood He studied with his father at his own house in Magadha and also studied the works of Aryabhatta there, he travelled to make himself known, he worshipped Sun-God at Kampillaka (Kalpi) and obtained a book from him. I acquired a manuscript of his son's work Prthuyasah-Sastra at Samkhu the northernmost part of the Nepal valley, the opening verse of which says that the son Varahamihira asked his father some questions while he was residing at the beautiful city of Kanyakubja on the Ganges.
Varaha might have retired to Kanyakubja in his old age to be on the Ganges and there imparted his knowledge to his son Prthuyasah. Amaraja, the commentator of Khandanakhandakhadya says that Varahamihira died in the Saka year 509 that is 587 A.D. Some people think that Varaha wrote his Panca-Siddhantika in 505 A.D. that is Saka 4:27. But this is impossible if we are to believe Amaraja. Varaha would then be only 18. Therefore Dr Thibaut after carefully considering all the facts of the case thinks that 427 Saka was the date when Lalla revised the Romaka-Siddhanta and that the Panca-SiddhSnta was composed about 550 A.D. So Varahamihira was a later contemporary and perhaps a student of Aryabhata.
The Ganakatarangiui has given a list of Varaha’s works and thinks that the Vrhat-Saipbita is his last work. It is an Eucyclopoedic work. It treats not only of Astronomy and Astrology but of such subjects as gardening, agriculture, sculpture, strilak^ana, purusalakgana and so on. This great work is the Pafica-Sidhantta in which he gives a summary of all the Sidhantas current in his time. They are five in number Paulisa, Romaka. VaSi^tha, Paitamaha and Sur.yyasiddhaata. Varaha says that of these five PmiliSa and Roraaka have been explained by Latadeva.
The Siddhanta made by PauliSa is accurate. Near to it stands the Siddhanta proclaimed by Romaka, more accurate is the Savitra (Saura) and the two remaining are far from the truth.
Kern says that the third Skandha of Jyotisa "'namely, its Jataka section has been borrowed from the Yavanas or Greeks. This is a fact. The Yavana-Jataka of Yavan&caryya is still regarded as an authoritative work on the subject and there are other works like Miuaraja Jataka also taken from the Yavanas. some scholars found in Nepal a manuscript of a Yavana-Jataka written in the character of the tenth century oa palm-leaf which contains the following statement at the end.
Varahamihira’s knowledge of Western astronomy
was thorough. In five sections, his monumental work progresses through native Indian astronomy and culminates in two treatises on Western astronomy, showing calculations based on Greek and Alexandrian reckoning and even giving complete Ptolemaic mathematical charts and tables.
Although Varahamihira’s writings give a comprehensive picture of 6th-century India, his real interest lay in astronomy and astrology. He repeatedly emphasized the importance of astrology and wrote many treatises on shakuna (augury) as well as the Brihaj-Jataka (“Great Birth”) and in the Laghu-Jataka (“Short Birth”), two well-known works on the casting of horoscopes.
The most famous work by Varahamihira is the Pancasiddhantika (The Five Astronomical Canons) dated 575 AD. This work is important in itself and also in giving us information about older Indian texts which are now lost. The work is a treatise on mathematical astronomy and it summarises five earlier astronomical treatises, namely the Surya, Romaka, Paulisa, Vasistha and Paitamaha siddhantas. Shukla states in:-
The Pancasiddhantika of Varahamihira:
is one of the most important sources for the history of Hindu astronomy before the time of Aryabhata I .
One treatise which Varahamihira summarises was the Romaka-Siddhanta which itself was based on the epicycle theory of the motions of the Sun and the Moon given by the Greeks in the 1^st century AD. The Romaka-Siddhanta was based on the tropical year of Hipparchus and on the Metonic cycle of 19 years. Other works which Varahamihira summarises are also based on the Greek epicycle theory of the motions of the heavenly bodies. He revised the calendar by updating these earlier works to take into account precession since they were written. The Pancasiddhantika also contains many examples of the use of a place-value number system.
There is, however, quite a debate about interpreting data from Varahamihira's astronomical texts and from other similar works. Some believe that the astronomical theories are Babylonian in origin, while others argue that the Indians refined the Babylonian models by making observations of their own. Much needs to be done in this area to clarify some of these interesting theories.

n Ifrah notes that Varahamihira was one of the most famous astrologers in Indian history. His work Brihatsamhita (The Great Compilation) discusses topics such as :-

... descriptions of heavenly bodies, their movements and conjunctions, meteorological phenomena, indications of the omens these movements, conjunctions and phenomena represent, what action to take and operations to accomplish, sign to look for in humans, animals, precious stones, etc.

Varahamihira made some important mathematical discoveries. Among these are certain trigonometric formulae which translated into our present day notation correspond to

sin x = cos(π/2 - x),
sin²x + cos²x = 1, and
(1 - cos 2x)/2 = sin²x.

Another important contribution to trigonometry was his sine tables where he improved those of Aryabhata I giving more accurate values. It should be emphasised that accuracy was very important for these Indian mathematicians since they were computing sine tables for applications to astronomy and astrology. This motivated much of the improved accuracy they achieved by developing new interpolation methods.
The Jaina school of mathematics investigated rules for computing the number of ways in which r objects can be selected from n objects over the course of many hundreds of years. They gave rules to compute the binomial coefficients _nC_r which amount to

_nC_r = n(n-1)(n-2)...(n-r+1)/r!

However, Varahamihira attacked the problem of computing _nC_r in a rather different way. He wrote the numbers n in a column with n = 1 at the bottom. He then put the numbers r in rows with r = 1 at the left-hand side. Starting at the bottom left side of the array which corresponds to the values n = 1, r = 1, the values of _nC_r are found by summing two entries, namely the one directly below the (n, r) position and the one immediately to the left of it. Of course this table is none other than Pascal's triangle for finding the binomial coefficients despite being viewed from a different angle from the way we build it up today. Full details of this work by Varahamihira is given in .
Hayashi, in , examines Varahamihira's work on magic squares. In particular he examines a pandiagonal magic square of order four which occurs in Varahamihira's work.

Aryabhatta :Lust For Knowledge I

2012-04-19T12:45:00.000+05:30

Aryabhatta I, born 476 A.D in Patliputra in Magadha is now modern Patna in Bihar. There are several tales of claim for his origins. Many believe that he was born in the south of India around the Kerala region and lived in Magadha at the time of the Gupta rulers; time which is known as the golden age of India. There is no evidence that he was born outside Patliputra and traveled to Magadha, the centre of instruction, culture and knowledge for his studies where he even set up a coaching institute. His first name "Arya" is not a south Indian name while "Bhatt" (or sometimes Bhatta) is a typical north Indian name. The name is popular even today in India especially among the trader community of north India.
Pataliputra was the birth-place of Aryabhata, the father of scientific astronomy and mathematics of the Hindus. He was born in 476 A D. and wrote his Kala-kriya (calculation of time) here at the age of 23 that is, 499 A.D.
Aryabhatta is the first writer on astronomy to whom the Hindus do not allow the honour of a divine inspiration. Writers on mathematical science distinctly state that he was the earliest uninspired and a merely human writer on astronomy. This is a notice which sufficiently proves his being an historical character.
ARYABHATTA, or, as written by the Arabs, ARJABAHR, a celebrated Hindu mathematician, and the earliest known author on Algebra, is now generally believed to have lived about the beginning of our era. Nothing, however, has yet appeared that can give us the slightest information as to the place of his birth, or the time when he lived; nor is there, as far as we know, any tradition or record extent from which we can collect any of the circumstances of his life; even his period is still a matter of dispute.
There seem to have been a conflict of Eras at the time when Aryabhatta flourished. There was the Malava Era in Western Malwa, the Gupta Km known in the Gupta Empire, the Saka Era, the Kalacuri Era and so on all local and tribal eras. Not knowing in which to date his works which was meant for universal use among the Hindu he took up the Kaliyuga Era known to all. But in subsequent ages the Saka Era vp-as adopted by all astronomers in India.
The reason is not far to seek for in India astronomy and astrology were, if not exclusively, very generally studied and professed by the Sakadvipi Brahmins or Scythian priesthood- the old Magii- settled in India from remote ages, for neither the Brahmins or the Buddhists favoured astrologers. Buddha has expressly excluded Astrology from Samyak Ajiva or proper livelihood.
The chief doctrines which Aryabhatta professed were that he He affirmed the diurnal revolution of the earth on its axis; an assertion which is fully borne out by a quotation from one of his works, in a commentary on the "Brahmasphut'a-Siddhanta" of Brahmagupta by Prithudakaswami: "The Earth making a revolution produces a daily rising and setting of the stars and planets". Aryabhatta is said to have discovered the diurnal motion of the earth' which he thought to be spherical. Aryabhatta's diurnal motion
He affirmed the diurnal revolution of the earth on its axis; an assertion which is fully borne out by a quotation from one of his works, in a commentary on the "Brahmasphut'a-Siddhanta" of Brahmagupta by Prithudakaswami: "The Earth making a revolution produces a daily rising and setting of the stars and planets". At the same time he thought that this revolving of the earth was produced through the agency of a peculiar current of aerial fluid, or spiritus vector (“wind"), to which he assigned a distance of 150 yojanas (114 miles) from the surface of the earth. In opposition to the generally received opinion, he maintained that the moon, the primary planets, and the stars had no light of their own, and were only illumined by the sun; he consequently knew the true cause of solar and lunar eclipses.
Aryabhatta also ascribed to the epicycles, by which the motion of a planet is represented, a form varying from the circle and nearly elliptic. Moreover, he recognized a motion of the nodes and asides of all primary planets, as well as of the moon, and noticed the motion of the equinoctial and solstitial points, which he restricted, however, to an oscillation within the limits of twenty- four degrees, at the rate of one libration in seventy years. The length of AryabhatYa's sidereal year was 356 days 6 hours 12 minutes and 30 seconds. Aryabhatta stated the diameter of the earth at 1050 yojanas and its circumference at 3300 yojanas (25,080 miles). Hence it appears that he held the proportion of the diameter to the periphery of a circle to be seven to twenty-two, which is a nearer approximation than that of Brahmagupta and S'ridhara, who came after him.
The astronomical sects, of which Arja- bhat't'a is the reputed founder, were distinguished by the name of Audayakas, from Udaya, " rising;" implying that they fixed the beginning of the planetary motions on the meridian of Lanka (Ceylon) at sun-rise, in opposition to the Arddharatrikas, who began the great astronomical cycle at midnight. Aryabhatta is the author of the " Aryasht'- as'ata" (eight hundred couplets in the Arya metre) and the “Das’agitika" (ten stanzas). The “Laghwarya-Siddhanta" is also ascribed to him: but, unfortunately, none of these works have yet been discovered; and we know them only through the numerous quotations from them, with which the works of subsequent writers abound. For an exposition of his numerical system and algebraic doctrine we refer to the article by another renowned scientist called BHASKARA.

NALANDA : IN BRIEF (THE FIRST UNIVERSITY IN THE WORLD) I

2012-04-18T10:55:00.000+05:30

The University of Nalanda was founded in the 5th century by the Gupta emperors. There were thousands of students and teachers. The subjects taught at Nalanda University covered every field of learning. The courses offered at Nalanda included the study of scriptures of Mahayana and Hinayana Schools of Buddhism, Brahminical vedic texts, Philosophy, logic theology, grammer, astronomy, mathematics and medicine. Its importance as a monastic university continued until the end of the 12th century.
The International Scholastic Centre at Nalanda described by later Scholars as an International University was founded much earlier than the 5th century A.D. Nalanda eventually developed into the greatest ancient center of Buddhist learning. Students from China and Korea, Sri Lanka and Indonesia and from all the regions of India came to Nalanda to study.
Nalanda is known as the ancient seat of learning, Students from all over the Buddhist world lived and studied at Nalanda, the first Residential International University of the World.
Nalanda is one of the places distinguished as having been blessed by the presence of the Buddha, it later became particularly renowned as the site of the great monastic university of the same name , which was to become the crown jewel of the development of Buddhism in India. The name may derive from one of Shakyamuni's former births , when hewas a king whose capital was here.Nalanda was one of his epithets meaning "insatiable in giving."

Nalanda, where ruins of the great ancient university have been excavated, is situated at a distance of 90 km. in the south east of Patna by road, the Capital City of Bihar State in India, is a village called the 'Bada Gaon', in the vicinity of which, are the world famous ruins of Nalanda University.
The ruins extend over a large area represent only a part of the extensive establishment. There are many versions of what the term Nalanda means. One is that Nalam means Lotus and Da means to give. Both combined together, Nalanda means Giver of Lotus. Since Lotus is supposed to represent knowledge, Nalanda means Giver of Knowledge.
Nalanda was the largest residential centre of learning that the world had ever known. The library was located in a nine storied building. Since the time of Buddha, the bhikkus were always encouraged to study the various arts and sciences. Learning was greatly encouraged as served dual proposes: knowledge and practice. The monks, therefore took to learning so that they might practice it and realise Dhamma perfectly and thereby enrich the masses.

Irrigation in Bihar :- Brief History

2012-04-17T10:23:00.001+05:30

Bihar once used to be the famed kingdom of Magadh. The agriculture yields were primarily good because of the prevalent traditional system of irrigation that contributed to Magadh's prosperity.
The present-day scenario, however, is dismal, as many places falling in Patna and Gaya region are facing shortage of water.
Bihar primarily has an agriculture-based economy and society. And, today it is facing a double whammy-a drought like situation and the specter of food shortage.

There could be an estimated shortage of more than 60% in rice production. The Kharif crop has been battered during the lack of rain this summer and all hopes were fixed on the Rabi crop towards the winter months to turn the tide in a sector which has been going steadily downhill.

But sadly one crop cycle, however promising it is touted as, does not naturally offset the damage of a precious cycle. On the contrary, there are some systemic, climatic factors which remain, factors which caused the failure of the preceding agricultural cycle.
Bihar is largely agricultural yet it is largely rain-fed agriculture. It has a fair amount of rain as compared to other States yet it has poor irrigational facilities in comparison to many others.
The ancestors used to harvest the rainwater, as it would both fulfill the immediate needs for drinking and irrigation. But, more importantly, it would conserve the level of groundwater literally for posterity; for future generations to reap the benefits.

What today are drought-hit districts, there existed a rich tradition of irrigation where water from rivers was fetched to fields through Paeen (small nullahs) and Aahar (a pond-like place where water is stored).
Paeen was used to water fields on both sides and Aahar was used to supply water to drought-hit lands. Between them was a perfect 'water-tight' system to ensure that irrigation facilities covered the sown fields.

In the modern context, however, consecutive State governments have either been ignorant or chosen to remain so, of the traditional irrigation systems devaluing its promise and denying the people its potential to bring prosperity and make agriculture yields turn their fortunes around.
In Bihar, where 75 per cent of its population lives on agriculture, only 50-60 per cent of land is covered by irrigation facilities. There is a heavy dependency on tube-wells, which in turn, are dependent on electricity, which is in short supply. There is also the high cost of diesel for running the tube-wells. It is a vicious circle which makes irrigation, nothing more than a pipe-dream for farmers.
There are six major sources of irrigation — surface canals (major), surface canals (minor), tanks (including ahars and pynes), tubewells, other wells and other sources.
Tanks and other sources are becoming less important over time, leaving the other four sources for providing irrigation facilities to agricultural operations. In 2009-10, canals (major and minor) provided 27.47 percent and tubewells provided 61.39 percent of total irrigation.
Sourcewise tubewells are an extremely important source of irrigation, providing more than 50 percent of the total irrigation in 30 districts. However, irrigation from surface canals (both major and minor) plays an important part in no less than 8 districts – Rohtas, Kaimur, Bhojpur, Buxar, Aurangabad, Banka, Munger and Lakhisarai. In each of these districts, surface canals provide more than 50 percent of the irrigation facilities. All these 8 districts are notable rice producing districts of Bihar.

A report by the Water and Land Management Institute, Patna :

This report by the Water and Land Management Institute, Patna traces the history of irrigation in Bihar through the ancient, British and Pre-plan period. Irrigation is being practiced there since ancient times dating back to Kautilya, who lived in Patliputra (now Patna), which was the capital of the mighty Mauryan empire (400 BC). Kautilya had laid down the principles on rainfall and irrigation in his famous book Kautilya Arthasashtra.
The report traces the history of irrigation in the ancient period through various sources since written documents are not readily available and inscriptions are rarely to be found. The pieces of information have been collected from going through the manuscripts of eminent engineers like C H Dickens, W A Inglis, F H Rundall, H C Levinge, R B Buckley and others whose contributions have enriched the science of hydraulics through centuries. Some of the names and formulae are relevant even today.
In Bihar the history of irrigation can be traced long back but one could find the systematic written documents from the early British period only. Sone canals, Teur canals, Saran canal, Dhaka Canal, Triveni canal and Kharagpur Irrigation Works are some of the earliest milestones on the path of scientific development of water resources in the State of Bihar.
Stories of the development of science of hydraulics and their application in old irrigation works have been narrated in this book. The old times are helpful in bringing out the old stories but their memories sometimes fall them as regards exactness of date and sequence of events. Existing structures and works tell their tale themselves but planners and engineers are obliged to alter, reshape, remodel or sometimes remove the old structures in toto to make room for the new ones to meet the increased demand. This has happened in Bihar where new projects have replaced the old ories or the old canals have been made the part of new larger system.
The report also records the passing of the new comprehensive and consolidated Irrigation bill in 1996 by the Bihar Legislature incorporating new concepts in the field of irrigation and repealing the old and defunct Irrigation Acts prevailing in the state since 1864. It also presents maps which depict the location of old irrigation projects constructed before Independence as also the numerous major and medium schemes which have since been implemented.

Aryabhatta, the Bihari Mathematician

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Aryabhatta (476-550 A.D.) was born in Patliputra in Magadha, modern Patna in Bihar. Many are of the view that he was born in the south of India especially Kerala and lived in Magadha at the time of the Gupta rulers; time which is known as the golden age of India. There is no evidence that he was born outside Patliputra and traveled to Magadha, the centre of education and learning for his studies where he even set up a coaching centre. His first name “Arya” is hardly a south Indian name while “Bhatt” (or Bhatta) is a typical north Indian name even found today specially among the great “Bania” (or trader) community of Bihar.

Whatever this origin, it cannot be argued that he lived in Patliputra where he wrote his famous treatise the “Aryabhatta-siddhanta” but more famously the “Aryabhatiya”, the only work to have survived. It contains mathematical and astronomical theories that have been revealed to be quite accurate in modern mathematics. For instance he wrote that if 4 is added to 100 and then multiplied by 8 then added to 62,000 then divided by 20,000 the answer will be equal to the circumference of a circle of diameter twenty thousand. This calculates to 3.1416 close to the actual value Pi (3.14159). But his greatest contribution has to be zero. His other works include algebra, arithmetic, trigonometry, quadratic equations and the sine table.

He already knew that the earth spins on its axis, the earth moves round the sun and the moon rotates round the earth. He talks about the position of the planets in relation to its movement around the sun. He refers to the light of the planets and the moon as reflection from the sun. He goes as far as to explain the eclipse of the moon and the sun, day and night, the contours of the earth, the length of the year exactly as 365 days.

He even computed the circumference of the earth as 24835 miles which is close to modern day calculation of 24900 miles.

This remarkable Bihari was a genius and continues to baffle many mathematicians of today. His works was then later adopted by the Greeks and then the Arabs.

Ancient History of Bihar:- Revisited

2012-04-14T12:15:00.000+05:30

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 was remained a ground 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. The then Mithila was the birth place of Sita, wife of Lord Ram. As far as ancient history is concerned Bihar's journey started from the post Vedic age when there were number of Mahajanapadas or republics flourished in Bihar like Vaisali, Magadha and Videha. The first kingdom in Bihar was established by Bimbisara and his son Ajatshatru.
Bihar in the ancient times was known by "Magadh". Magadh (Bihar) was founded by King Jarasandha, a semi mythical king some 5000 years ago. Since then, Magadh has been in the eye of each and every one. It has been the centre of every Great Revolution, be it Religious reformation or Political. Mythologically, Bihar is also mentioned in Ramayana, the Holy Epic of Hindus. During Bhagwan Ram's time North-East Bihar was known by Mithila and it was ruled by Maharaj Janak, Father of Goddess Sita, who later married Lord Ram.

Jaanki Mata, Goddess Sita, consort of Bhagwan Ram was born in Bihar's Mithilanchal (Mithila) district, she was daughter of an ancient king of Bihar from Mithilanchal, called Maharaj Janak. She was called Mithlesh-Nandini, a daughter of Mithila. She has been regarded as the Kuldevi (Goddess) of Magadh, and Sun God Surya is the Kuldevta(chief God) of Magadh. That is the reason why Chatth-Parva(a festival of Bihar) for the worship of Sun-God is so much famous in Bihar and is celebrated worldwide by all Biharis. Legend has it that Chatth-Parva was started by Karna of Mahabharata who used to rule over Anga desh of Magadh(ancient Bihar).

It is said that King Jarasandha, founder of Magadh belonged to the Brihadrath Dynasty one of the descendants of eponymical King Puru. It is stated in Vayu Puran that King Jarasandha's dynasty ruled over Magadh for 1000 years after his death but no historical facts prove this as noone recorded this event. Brihadrath dynasty was followed by Pradyota Dynasty who has been said to rule over Magadh for 138 years.

After the fall of Pradyota Dynasty, Haryanka Dynasty took over the reign of Magadh founded by King Hemajit in 684 BC. It is also said in some that The first kingdom in Bihar was established by Bimbisara and his son Ajatshatru. King Bimbisara of this dynasty was born in 558 BC who has been responsible for expanding the boundaries of his kingdom through matrimonial alliances and conquest. The land of Kosala fell to Magadha in this way. King Bimbisara was the contemprory of Lord Buddha and has been said to even met Gauatam Buddha. Gautam Buddha was born in 563 BC and he went to Bihar's Bodh Gaya to find enlightment. He did meditation there for a lot of days under a Bodhi tree and find enlightment at the age of 35 years and he became Buddha, The Enlightened One. Thus was Buddhism born in Bihar one of the Greatest Religion of the World. that teaches non-violence.

During the same time in 599 BC, Yuvraj Vardhman was born in Vaishali district of Magadh (ancient Bihar) from King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala. Prince Vardhman renounced the World at the age of 30 and went in search of Truth. Thus Jainism, The First Greatest Pacifist Religion was founded by Bihar's son Vardhmana who since then came to be known as Mahavir Jain. So we see, that World's 2 Greatest Religions, Buddhism and Jainism was born in Great Bihar.

Coming back to Haryanka Dynasty, King Bimbisara was succeded by his son Ajatsatru who has been accredited of killing his father to gain the throne of Magadh. He has been attributed of finding the city of Patliputra(modern Patna) and has been incidental in shifting his capital from Rajgir to Patliputra. He was a great warrior, who conquered 36 republican states surrounding his kingdom and firmly established the predominance of Magadh in Eastern India. The most important war waged by Ajatashatru to gain supremacy over his neighbours was that with the powerful Licchavi Republic, ruled democratically by a group of noblemen. Such was the Unity and warfare of Licchavi Republic that Gautam Buddha has pronounced themselves as invincible. But Ajatsatru defeated them and protected the future genreation of Magadh from invading Licchavis forever. The scythed chariot was invented by Ajatashatru, the King of Magadh in Ancient India, in circa475 BC, who used these chariots against the Licchavis. The scythed chariot was a modified war chariot with a blade(s) mounted on both ends of the axle. Later he left violence and became a disciple of Lord Buddha and built Buddhist monasteries.

Haryanka Dynasty was followed by Shishunaga dynasty founded by Shishunaga in 430 BC. It was followed by Nanda Dynasty founded by Mahapadma Nanda in 424 BC. The Nandas, under Mahapadma Nanda, established the first great North Indian empire with its political centre in Magadha. His sons were not as capable as him. During the reign of one of his successors called Dhana Nanda, Alexander a Greek King attacked India in 326 BC, after his victory in Battle of Hydaspes River, when he marched forward his Macedonian Army after seeing Magadhan Army of Nandas, which formed 200,000 infantry, 80,000 cavalry, 8,000 war chariots, and 6,000 war elephants forced him and his army to run away from India. So, the so called Greatest Conqueror of World, Alexander, the so-called son of God Zeus, lost to Great Bihar. Long live Bihar !!

Nanda Dynasty was overthrown by a young boy of 20 years old whose name was Chandragupta Maurya, born in 340 BC in Magadh(Bihar). He was the son of Senapati Maurya(Genral of Magadh) and Rajmata Mura. He was trained by Vishnugupta Chanakya in the matters of warfare and politics. He overthrew the oppressive rule of Dhana Nanda in 320 BC and established the Mauryan Rule, which later came to be known as India's First Golden Age. Alexander died in Persia in 323 BC, and Great Chandragupta Maurya vowed to bring back all those land taken away by Macedonian king Alexander. He killed 2 Greek governors, Nicanor and Philip. He fought with Seleucus Nicator I and defeated him and brought back the Indus strap to India. He signed a treaty with Seleucus and forced him to return from India. Later he turned his attention towards Southern districts of India and conquered them and brought whole of India under 1 Flag and for the first time established Peace and 1-Man-Rule in Bharatvarsha (India) and gave stability. Thus Samrat Chandragupta Maurya was officially the First Greatest Ruler of India who defeated Alexander's invasion and hence defeated the so-called invincible army of Macedonia. Thus Army of Macedonia lost to the Army of Magadh.

Maharaj Chandragupta Maurya was succeeded by his son Bindusara who ruled Magadh from 298 BC to 272 BC. During his Rule, the territory of Magadh gained control over southern territories. Bindusara was followed by his son Ashoka The Great, who ruled over Magadh from 272 BC to 232 BC.

Ashoka was the grandson of Samrat Chandragupta Maurya, initially he used sword to conquer the territories. Ashoka was a True Magadhan (Bihari), he used to say "Wherever there is land on this Earth, I want to see it under Magadhan Flag." Long Live such a Great ancestor. We Biharis are Proud of you, Maharaj Ashoka. Ashoka continued to win battles after battles using his able military skills and might. He invented Ashoka-Neeti(Ashoka-Wisdom), under this strategy, The Army of Magadh used to Fight on three different war-front under the same time under 3 different Magadhan generals. Ashoka's mother Dharma was assassinated by his half-brother Sushima in a bid to get the thrown of Magadh. At this, Ashoka venged with anger killed Sushima and regained the throne of Magadh and killed all the brothers and supporters of Sushima. But one of the brother of Sushima had fled to Kalinga(The modern day Odisha). When Ashoka requested Kalinga king to hand him the traitor, the Kalingans refused telling that Kalinga will not submit to Chanda Ashoka(merciless Ashoka). At this, Ashoka invaded Kalinga in 265 BC. The war continued for 2 years and it resulted in killings of 1 lakhs men and women from Kalinga and 10,000 soldiers of Magadh. After the war was over, Ashoka travelled into Kalinga and saw corpses of children, women and old people. At this, his heart was filled with pity and threw the sword and renounced war. He converted into Buddhist Religion and took a vow to preach non-violence and Peace. Thus he came to be known as Dhamm-Ashoka (Righteous Ashoka). He built 84,000 Buddhist stupas and has been known to sent his son Mahindra and daughter Sanghamitra to Srilanka to preach Buddhism. He also sent Buddhist monks to Japan, China and Greece to propogate Buddhism. Thus he made Buddhism a World Religion. Such was his greatness that when India got Independence, his sign of Ashok-Chakrawas officially incorporated on the National Flag of India. Thus you see Ashok Chakra on India's National Flag is given by a Bihari called Ashok Vardhan. Long live Ashoka The Great.

Mauryan Empire fall within 50 years of Ashoka's death and came to be ruled by Pushyamitra Sunga in 185 BC, a Brahmin who founded Sunga Dynasty. He has been called One of the Greatest Hindu Emperor as he stopped the end of Hindu Religion from this World by making reforms in it and has been giving equal Rights to the People irrespective of their Caste (Kshatiya-Brahmin-Vaishya-Shudra), he respected the so called Shudras who were ill-treated by Brahmins and they were on a rampage to accept Buddhism. Thus, he saved Hinduism or in a way, he Re-founded Hinduism. Sungas have been known to rule from 185 BC to 73 BC. After the fall of Sungas in 73 BC they have been known to be followed by Kanva Dynasty. Little is known about them.

After the Kanvas, Magadh became predominant in the Era of Guptas which started from 320 CE to 550 CE. Gupta Era is known by Second Golden Age of India. Gupta Empire was founded by Chandragupta I, son of King Ghatotkacha, in 320 CE. He was succeeded by his son called Samudragupta in 335 CE, who is known to be one of the Greatest Warrior of India. Samudragupta is called India's Napolean by some western Historians but I believe he is more greater than Napolean as Napolean lost his final battle and was captured but Samudragupta was invincible. He ruled till 35 years from 335 CE till his death in 380 CE. By his death in 380, he had incorporated over twenty kingdoms into his realm and his rule extended from the Himalayas to the river Narmada and from the Brahmputra to the Yamuna. He was succeeded by his son Chandragupta Vikramaditya who ruled from 375 CE to 415 CE. He was a great warrior and is known for defeating a lot of kings. His greatest victory was his victory over the Shaka-Kshatrapa dynasty and annexation of their kingdom in Gujrat, by defeating their last ruler Rudrasimha III. He has been known for unburdening the sacred earth of the Barbarians like the Shakas, Mlecchas, Kambojas, Yavans,Tusharas, Parasikas, Hunas, etc. by annihilating these sinful Mlecchas completely. He fought a lot of foreign invaders and saved India from them. He was followed by his son Kumargupta I. Kumargupta was followed by Skandgupta born from one of his junior wife and Skandgupta has been instrumental in fighting a lot of battles and has been able to restore the glory of Magadh. When he was just 17 years old, White-Huns invaded India. His father had not got so much army as those of Huns (Indo-Hepthalites) but he assured his father of either Victory or his Death. White-Huns were 5 lakhs in number and Prince Skandagupta had 2 lakhs army. But he stopped the invasion of White-Huns on the North-Western Province of India and forced them to run away to Kandhar(now Afghanistan). After Skandagupta death, Gupta's Empire came to be ended in 550 CE.

Thus ended the ancient history of Great Magadhans who ruled over Bharat(India) for more than thousand years and gave Peace, stability and Greatness to India. Where will you find such Great men who sacrificed everything for their Country?? Such was the Greatness of Magadhans (Biharis) that Alexander could not conquer India. During those times after the defeat of Macedonians by Chandragupta Maurya, Macedonians mothers used to say stories to their children which said, "There are two types of Indians, The Magadhans and The Rest of them."

Religious,cultural,fundamental & Educational aspect during this Era:-
As stated by some scholars the first kingdom in Bihar was established by Bimbisara and his son Ajatshatru.

During this period two great persons of the history Gautama Buddha and Jaina Mahavir took birth and preached two great religions of Buddhism and Jainaism respectively. Gautama Buddha was enlightened at present Bodh Gaya and Jaina Mahavira attainted his salvation in present Pawapuri both in Bihar. As the wheel of history turned Bihar saw one the greatest empire in India. The Mauryan empire under some of the ablest rulers of the world like Chandragupta Maurya and Ashok flourished with the name of Magadha kingdom with Pataliputra as its capital. Kautilya, the author of Arthashastra, the first treatise of the modern science of Economics, lived here and was the advisor to Mauryan king Chandragupta.

It was during this period that Nalanda and Vikramasila flourished as international universities providing education to Indian and foreign students. Great travelers like Meghasthenes came to India during this time. Great empires of Gupta's and Harshavardhana also consists part of Bihar which further enrich its historical contents. In the mediaeval times Bihar was at its peak during the reign of Sher Shah Suri who started his journey to Delhi from Sasaram, Bihar. Bihar also left its imprint among various events of modern history of India. This region provided strong resistance to mighty British forces during 1857 sepoy mutiny under Kunwar Singh. From this fertile ground of Bihar Gandhiji started his political career with his active involvement in Champaran Satyagraha of 1917.

Some of the great revolutionaries of Indian Freedom Struggle like Khudiram Bose, Prafulla Chaki and Chandrasekhar Azad have strong association with Bihar. Bihar produced some of the great nationalists like Dr. Rajendra Prasad and socialist leaders like Jai Prakash Narain. Undoubtly as history of Bihar says it contributed a lot to social, cultural, religious, political and economic life not only of India but also across the world. The evolution and spread of Buddhism and Jainism are most significant.

The political, administrative and economic life also greatly shaped by some of the greatest account of these field like that of Chanakya and Meghasthenes. Culturally art, architecture, sculpture of Mauryan and Gupta's have great influences on many other styles that developed later on. In the field of education and knowledge Bihar's contribution is praiseworthy because of its ancient universities at Nalanda and Vikramasila. The inscriptions of Ashok, his Dhamma, and other features like Ashokan pillar have shaped the Indian every day life. The music, paintings, dance and songs of Bihar has always been a driving force of the Indian way.

Hariharnath Temple in Sonepur, Bihar

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Hariharnath temple in Bihar

The Hariharnath temple in Bihar is a place of pilgrimage for the devotees who come here especially on the occasion of the great Sonepur mela on Kartik Purnima day. This day of full moon is believed to be very auspicious and any prayer offered on this day to the Lord is always fulfilled.

The day of the Kartik Purnima is really a celebration to the

people in the Hariharnath temple at Bihar. There are fairs all around. The devotees gather here to worship the deity. They always keep fast and break it only after they had finished their pujas or worship of the Lord.

The day of the great worship is accompanied with meals that are given to each and every one of the people whoever come to this place. It is very interesting to find that these meals run for as long as a month or even more. This is one of the major attractions of the devotees. The festival at Hariharnath temple of Bihar is attended by millions of people.

The maximum number of people gather over here in the Hariharnath temple on the day of the Kartik Purnima chiefly in order to take the bath in the river. In these days the village of Sonepur takes an absolutely different look. This look however lasts for more than a month.

Sonepur is a prime junction on the North-Eastern Railway. It is also important to note that this place is the district headquarters of the Traffic as well as the Locomotive departments of the state of Bihar.

The origin of the Shiva temple at Sonepur known as Hariharnath is shrouded in mystery. A large section of orthodox Hindus believe that the temple was built by Rama on his way to Janakpur to win Sita. There is, however, no reference to this in the Ramayana. But that Rama passed this way is established. It is a fact that the whole of Tirhut division is imbued with the Rama-Sita cult and there are a large number of temples throughout the Tirhut division, consisting of Champaran, Saran, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga (Mithila) districts, which commemorate the deeds of Rama, Sita, Valmiki, etc. It may be correct to assume that this Hariharnath temple might have originated in this manner. The present temple, however, is not old. There is not much of architecture. As Spooner has observed: ``We see a single square chamber, constituting of the cella, with a simple, ordinary

rising to a point, and with a narrow porch in front. These are the constituents of our simplest form of temple, and in the present example we find them in as simple forms as now are traceable among the existing and recorded monuments.’’
There is a stray reference to the temple of Hariharnath during the Subedarship of Raja Man Singh who is said to have done some repair work. The present temple was built by Raja Ram Narain, a noted figure of Bihar during the later Mughal period. The temple has been recently reconstructed by the Birlas. The temple of Hariharnath Mahadeo is the principle place of worship here but several smaller temples also receive the offerings of pilgrims. Among these are the Kali Asthan and the Panch Devata Mandir; the latter was built by a priestess who claimed to have built the temple with the offerings she received.

Siwan Post Office 'Richest' in Bihar,India

2012-04-11T10:05:00.000+05:30

The post office in Bihar's Siwan district HQ remained the richest post office for the third consecutive year, receiving the highest number of 35,600 international money orders via western union between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011.
Gopalganj was a poor second, receiving 24,800 international money orders while Motihari with 21,000 and Darbhanga with 20,000

international money orders via western union remained at the third and fourth positions respectively. Patna GPO lagged behind all of them and finished fifth.
"In 2008, Bettiah was the richest post office," said postal department director (marketing) . According to him, the postal department received 2,57,674 international money orders for areas under 385 post offices in Bihar. The state postal department ranked fourth in the country in terms of international money order receipts in 2010-11. "But we are nowhere when it comes to sending money orders to other countries. This is obviously because of high rate of migration of Biharis to other countries" .
Under western union international money order facility, the customer gets a code while transferring money. The code can be used by the receiver in India to claim the money from the nearest post office within five minutes of its transfer. The transfer being so fast, the exchange rates are usually the same at the time of transfer and receipt.

THE TRADITIONAL WEDDING :- MAUR and MAURI

2012-04-09T17:29:00.000+05:30

The Head-dresses: MAUR and MAURI

There are two head- dresses, one worn by the bridegroom, which was earlier made of talipot-leaves but now a days made of some ornamental paper,mirror etc. is called maur ; the other is worn by the bride, and is mauri, or patmauri. The bride's head-dress is made of date-leaves or mango leaves. These are brought to the bride's house and the maur is put on the mother's head and the mauri on the bride's head.
The bridegroom's party then returns to the janwasa, and the bride goes inside the house and exchanges her kaneyai or bihauti for her wedding dress piyeri. The father or elder male relat

ion brings the bride and seats her beside the bridegroom under the marhwa to his left. Some one belonging to the bride's family then goes inside and gets the bridegroom's maur from the bride's mother, and brings it out, and it is put on the bridegroom's head.
The marriage service is now read by the Purohit. This is called shumangali. The bridegroom sits under the marhwa in front of the bride. The father of the bride sits kneeling on one knee, keeping the bride sitting on his other thigh. This is the ceremony of giving the girl in marriage, and is called kanyadan.
The officiating Purohit recites verses from the Vedas, and leads in various acts of worship. From the time of the arrival of the bariyat up to the completion of the kanyadan the father and mother of the bride can eat nothing.
Next follows the knotting together of the clothes of the bride and bridegroom. This is gath bandhan or genth jor same time something of small value, such as few paisa or sometimes a piece of betel-nut, is tied in the bride's waist-band and in her breast-cloth by the Purohit. Sometimes an ornament is tied to the bride's sheet, which is called anchri .
The moving round of the sacrificial fire is done by both bride and bridegroom. The bride holds it in her hands in front of her and the bridegroom follows her with an arm passing round her on each
side, also supporting the sieve. Her brother fills the sieve as they go along with parched grain prepared in the fireplace formerly under the marhwa, which the bridegroom at the same time scatters
by shaking the sieve with his hands .This is called lawa chhitai or lawa merai . Care is taken to keep the sacrificial fire to the right. It is considered unlucky for the girl to pass it to her left. This ceremony is called bhawar or fera. This is performed seven times, and is the important part of the ceremony. This is followed by the application of vermilion. In this the bridegroom takes a small wooden cup , sinhoura containing vermilion in one hand, and applies vermilion to the parting of the bride's hair with a piece of hemp. This is called senur dan or sindur dan.
The couple then leave the courtyard and go into the house where the family deity is put. This house
is called kohbar. At the door they are stopped by the sister of the bride, who requires
the bridegroom to repeat certain verses, called duraundh or duar path. The bridegroom demands a present for doing so, and on this being given he repeats the verses. This ceremony is called duar chhenkai .
The bridegroom takes off his shoes before entering the house. If he is silent or is too nervous to speak much, the bride's sister may, as a joke, steal his shoes while he is inside, and conceal them somewhere, in order to compel him on his reappearance to speak, " where are my shoes ? " This ceremony is called juta chorai .
The couple then kneel facing the north-east, and perform the worship of the tutelary deity of the family, offerings being made to him at the same time. This is called gor lagai. The clothes of the bride and bridegroom are then untied, the promised presents given to the sister of the bridegroom, and the marriage is concluded.