Bihar and Its Important Historical Sites
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...