Bihar Information

Bihar is located in the eastern part of the country.  It lies midway between West Bengal in the East and Uttar Pradesh in the West.  It is bounded by Nepal in the North and by Jharkhand in the South.  The Bihar plain is divided into two unequal haves by the river Ganga, which flow through the middle from west to east.

Bihar is mainly a vast stretch of very fertile flat land.  It can be grouped into three regions.  They are the northern mountainous region, the Indo Gangetic plain and the Southern plain.  Many rivers like the Ganga, Kosi, Kamla, Burhi, Gandak, Saryu and others flow through this state.  The bapabar hills, Mandargiri hills are some of the mountains in the state. 

Bihar has seen the birth of ancient civilization and modern Indian history Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Muslim and Sikh shrines are around in this ancient land.  Where India’s first major empire rose and fell.  Bihar is the land of not only great religious preachers, but also of mighty emperors and valiant warriors.  Ancient Bihar was known as Magadha.  It was the centre of power, learning and culture in India for 1000 years.  India’s first empire the Mauryan Empire, is one of the great religions.  Buddhism arose in Bihar.  It is one of the first known republics in the world, Licchaui existed in the region.  The classical Gupta dynasty of Bihar was known to have been a period of great culture and learning in fact it is called as the Golden age of India.
During the medieval period, except for the brief period of shershah’s reign, the province of Bihar never enjoyed the status of an independent state.

The British started business from Patna and soon they took over Bihar in 1652.  The British ruled Bihar from 1765-1947.  Bihar became a state under the union of India after its independence.  The state of Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in 2000.

Bihar is steeped in history and has a rich tradition of festivals.  The most famous festival is chatth Puja, which is celebrated twice a year.   Sama-chakeva is another festival it is also celebrated in Bihar. The Mahatma Gandhi Sethu Bridge is over the river Ganga in Patna.  It is the India’s longest river bridge.  The bridge spans over 5.575km from Hajipur at the north end, to Patna at the South end.  Before the bridge was constructed who wanted to go to the north of Bihar, had to cross the river using boats or small ships, streamers of to take a longer rail route.  The bridge was inaugurated in May 1982 by the Prime Minister, Mrs. Indra Gandhi.    

Bihar General Information

Capital
The capital of Bihar is Patna.
Districts
There are 37 districts in this state.
Languages
The principal languages spoken by the people are Hindi and Urdu.
State Bird
Indian Roller is this state’s Bird.
State Animal
Gaur is this state animal.
State flower
White orchid tree is their national flower.                

Festivals

Navarathri, it is the ten day festival where the people of Bihar worship Goddess Durga for nine days.  On the tenth day the idol of the goddess is taken to the river and cast into it.  Makarasankaranthi marks the end of winter and the beginning of the summer season.  Mahavir Jayanthi is celebrated with great pomo and Deo Diwali marks the final liberation of Lord Mahavira are important Jain festivals in Bihar.  Ramanavami, Nagpanchami, Bihula are some of the other festivals celebrated in Bihar.