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Bihar in the ancient period of India witnessed the rise and fall of janapadas and mahajanapadas of the 6th c. BCE, great empires, cities, rulers and statesmen, literary figures and courtesans. The term Bihar is derived from the Sanskrit word Vihara, meaning Buddhist monastery. It had been the epicentre of shramanic movement of the 6th c. BCE when Buddhism, Jainism, lokayatism, the ajivika sect and other such sects (which disputed the authority of the Vedas) emerged. The earliest empire of India erupted here viz. the Magadha Empire which constituted the rule of three successive dynasties: the Haryanka dynasty, the Shishunaga dynasty and the Nanda dynasty. The Mauryan empire was the first pan-India empire that was founded in c. 322 BCE. Let’s have a look at some of the historically noteworthy locations in Bihar.  Bhagalpur Bhagalpur is known as the Silk City of India.  The Vikramashila Maha Vishwavidyalaya was a significant university during the Pala dynasty and had more than 10...

Anantashayana Vishnu (Vishnu Lounging on the Celestial Serpent Sheshanaga or Ananta) A Passionate Eye: Textiles, Paintings and Sculptures from the Bharany Donation  (2014) [Exhibition], National Museum, New Delhi  Source: Dr. Richa Singh Vishnu, as the" Preserver of the Universe" in Hindu mythology, took on the form of the avataras, his earthly incarnations, to aid humanity at times of severe adversity. Though the number and identities of Vishnu's incarnations vary. For example, the Sanskrit text Satvata Samhita  one of the earliest agamas or the post-Buddhist scriptures from the Pancharatra agamas , an older collection of Vaishnava texts, enumerates as many as 39 incarnatory forms of Vishnu, including Ananta or Shesha, the Naga who is considered Vishnu's serpent mount on which he rests in eternal yogic sleep in the "Anantashayana" position. Interestingly, some lists incorporate spiritual teachers of the Shramanic movement or heterodox sects that emerged du...

Basaveshwara Gayathri Temple Complex,  Bengaluru, Karnataka Source: Dr. Richa Singh J. K. Rowling, British author stated in a tweet that "the Naga are snake-like mythical creatures of Indonesian mythology, hence the name 'Nagini.'" Amish Tripathi, the writer of the bestseller Shiva trilogy, responded to Rowling's tweet with the following: "Actually @jk_rowling the Naga mythology emerged from India. It travelled to Indonesia with the Indic/Hindu empires that emerged there in the early Common Era, with the influence of Indian traders and Rishis/Rishikas who travelled there. Nagin is a Sanskrit language word.” Nagini is Lord Voldemort's snake in the Harry Potter series. However, few people are familiar with or have a thorough understanding of the concept of the naga despite the fact that nagas are part of a number of traditions across the world and definitely, its origin goes back to India.  Nagas are strong, semi-divine serpents that guard the earth's r...

The Buddha was born   in Lumbin i (in modern-day Nepal) which was located in the Koshala  kingdom and the kingdom was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas . He was born into the Shakya  clan . The Shakya tribe was located in the Himalayan foothills and this small republic (ganarajya)  was one of the vassal states of Koshola  Mahajanapada. The Buddha was the son of a chief of the Shakyas.   It was primarily in such ganasanghas during the Age of the Mahajanapadas when there was the emergence of some prominent monarchical and non-monarchical political formations in the Indian subcontinent that we find the growth of various heterodox sects, including Buddhism.  Because the Buddha was born into the Shakya clan , h e is also known as Shakyamuni   as  he belonged to the Shakya tribe.  Also, the Buddha was born into the Suryavanshi (solar dynasty) of the Kshatriya varna or caste.  In Buddhist literature, he is also called Siddhartha Gautama ...