Bihar is bound on the north by Nepal, on the east by West Bengal , on the west by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh , and Orissa in the south. The present name of the state of Bihar owes its origin to the "Viharas" built by Lord Buddha who attained spiritual enlightenment on this land and preached love, peace and tolerance. The erstwhile capital city of Patliputra of Emperor Ashoka is the present day state capital, Patna.

Most travellers just pass through Patna on their way to Calcutta or Kathmandu. However, Bodhgaya is an excellent place to study Buddhism, and Rajgir, Nalanda and Sasaram are interesting places that are not on the tourist trail. Bodhgaya is one of the most sacred place for Buddhists and Hindus and has a number of Buddhist temples. In Gaya, visit the Mahabodhi Temple. In Vaishali, check out an ancient parliament, the Fort of King Vishal, and Ashok Pillar.

Bihar is a state of the Indian union situated in the eastern part of the country. Its capital is Patna. Etymologically, the name Bihar derives from the Sanskrit Vihara which means abode. The Buddhist Vihara, which were the abode of the Buddhist monks, dotted the area in the ancient and medieval periods.

To Bihar's north is the Kingdom of Nepal. On its other three sides Bihar is surrounded by the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh to the west, Jharkhand to the south and West Bengal to the east. Bihar lies in the very fertile Gangetic plains. Culturally, it is a part of the Hindi heartland of India.

Bihar has a very rich history. It was called Magadha in ancient times. Its capital Patna, then known as Pataliputra, was the center of the Mauryan empire, which dominated the Indian subcontinent from 325 BC to 185 BC. Emperor Ashoka was the most famous ruler of this dynasty. Bihar remained an important place of power, culture and education during the next one thousand years. The Vikramshila and Nalanda Universities, were one of the oldest and best centres of education in ancient India but unfortunately got destroyed by the maruading invaders during the medieval period.

Bihar is the birthplace of many religions, including Buddhism and Jainism. Buddha attained Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, a town located in the modern day district of Gaya. Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, was born in Vaishali. The word "Bihar" has its origin in the Sanskrit word Vihara meaning Buddhist Monasteries. At one time these "viharas" were strewn all over the landscape of Bihar, around villages and cities.

With the advent of foreign aggression and the eventual foreign subjugation of India, the position of Bihar also was adversely affected. Muhammad Bin Bakhtiar Khilji, a General of Muhammad Ghori captured Bihar in 12th century. Bihar saw a brief period of glory for six years during the rule of Sher Shah Suri, who was from Sasaram and built the longest road of the Indian subcontinent, the Grand Trunk Road, which starts from Calcutta and ends at Peshawar in Pakistan. During 1557-1576, Akbar, the Mughal emperor, annexed Bihar and Bengal to his empire and made Bihar a part of Bengal. With the decline of Mughals, Bihar passed under the control of the Nawabs of Bengal.

After the Battle of Buxar (1765), the British East India Company obtained the diwani rights (rights to administer and collect revenue, or tax administration / collection) for Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. From this point onwards, Bihar remained a part the Bengal Presidency of the British Raj until 1912, when Bihar was carved out as a separate province. In 1935, certain portions of Bihar were reorganised into the separate province of Orissa. Again, in 2000, 18 administrative districts of Bihar were separated to form the state of Jharkhand.

Babu Kunwar Singh of Sasaram and his army, as well as countless other persons from Bihar, contributed to the India's First War of Independence (1857), also called the Sepoy Mutiny by some historians.

After his return from South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi started the freedom movement in India by his satyagraha in the Champaran district of Bihar -- against the British, who were forcing the local farmers to plant indigo which was very harmful to the local soil. This movement by Mahatma Gandhi received the spontaneous support of a cross section of people, including Dr. Rajendra Prasad, who ultimately became the first President of India.

Geography Bihar is mainly a vast stretch of very fertile flat land. It has several rivers: Ganga, Son, Bagmati, Kosi, Budhi Gandak, and Falgu to name a few. Central parts of Bihar have some small hills, for example the Rajgir hills. The Himalayan mountains are to the north, in Nepal. To the south is the Chota Nagpur plateau, which was part of Bihar until 2000 but now is part of a separate state called Jharkhand.

Patna, Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Vaishali