Bihar History: Ancient and Medieval

Prehistory and early cultures

• Paleolithic tools have been found in the hills of Munger, Nawada, Jamui and Kaimur.
• Neolithic sites:
  • Chirand (Saran): bone tools and early rice;
  • Chechar (Vaishali);
  • Senuwar (Rohtas);
  • Maner, Taradih (Bodh Gaya).
• Chalcolithic layers are found at Chirand, Sonpur and Oriyap.

Bihar in the Vedic and epic tradition

• Videha (Mithila) was ruled by King Janaka, Sita's father. The Yajnavalkya–Gargi debates are set in his court. The Shatapatha Brahmana mentions Videgha Mathava carrying fire east across the Sadanira (Gandak).
• Other early kingdoms were Anga (capital Champa, near Bhagalpur) and Magadha (Kikata in the Rig Veda).

Mahajanapadas: Magadha and Vaishali

• Vajji (Vrijji) confederacy: capital Vaishali. It was ruled by the Lichchhavis and other clans through an assembly, and is often called the world's first republic. Amrapali, the courtesan and later a Buddhist nun, lived there.
• Magadha: see the main Vedic and Mahajanapadas unit.
  • Haryanka dynasty: Bimbisara, then Ajatashatru, who defeated the Vajji, then Udayin, who founded Pataliputra.
  • Shishunaga dynasty: the second Buddhist council was held at Vaishali under Kalashoka.
  • Nandas.
• Religions:
  • The Buddha attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya and taught at Rajagriha and Vaishali.
  • Mahavira was born at Kundagrama (Vaishali) and died at Pavapuri.
  • The first Buddhist council was held at Rajgir (Saptaparni cave).

Mauryas and Guptas

• Pataliputra was the capital of the Mauryas.
  • Megasthenes described a wooden wall with 64 gates and 570 towers.
  • Kumhrar (Patna) has the remains of an 80-pillared hall.
• Ashoka's Bihar monuments:
  • pillars at Lauriya Nandangarh, Lauriya Araraj and Rampurva (bull and lion capitals);
  • the Barabar caves for the Ajivikas;
  • the third Buddhist council at Pataliputra.
• The Didarganj Yakshi (Patna) is a fine example of Mauryan polish.
• Guptas:
  • Chandragupta I married the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi.
  • Nalanda was founded by Kumaragupta I.
  • Aryabhata worked at Kusumapura (Pataliputra).

Ancient universities

University	Location	Founder	Notes
Nalanda	Nalanda district	Kumaragupta I (5th century CE)	Patronised by Harsha and the Palas; Xuanzang and I-tsing studied there; library "Dharmaganja"; burnt by Bakhtiyar Khalji (c. 1193–1200); UNESCO site (2016); new Nalanda University (2010 Act; new campus 2024)
Vikramshila	Antichak, Bhagalpur	Dharmapala (Pala, late 8th century)	Tantric Buddhism; Atisha Dipankara went to Tibet; a central university was announced in 2024
Odantapuri	Bihar Sharif	Gopala (Pala)	Model for Tibet's Samye monastery
Telhara	Nalanda district	Gupta-era	Excavations from 2009

Post-Gupta and Pala Bihar

• Harsha controlled parts of Bihar. Later Gupta kings ruled Magadha; the Aphsad inscription records them.
• The Palas (8th–12th century):
  • Gopala was elected king, according to tradition.
  • Dharmapala and Devapala fought in the tripartite struggle for Kannauj.
  • Strong patrons of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
  • Pala art: black basalt sculptures and palm-leaf manuscript painting.
• Mithila:
  • The Karnata dynasty was founded by Nanyadeva (1097), with its capital at Simraongarh. Jyotirishwar Thakur wrote Varna Ratnakara, an early Maithili prose work, in the court of Harisimhadeva.
  • The Oinwara (Oinihar) dynasty followed. King Shivasimha patronised the poet Vidyapati ("Maithil Kokil").
  • Mithila became a centre of Navya Nyaya logic: Gangesha Upadhyaya wrote Tattvachintamani.

Sultanate and Afghan Bihar

• Bakhtiyar Khalji (c. 1193–1205) raided Odantapuri, Nalanda and Vikramshila. "Bihar" became the name of the region from vihara.
• Bihar was ruled at times by the Delhi Sultans, the Bengal sultans and the Sharqis of Jaunpur.
• Maner became a Sufi centre: Makhdum Yahya Maneri, and Sharfuddin Ahmad Yahya Maneri of the Firdausi order.
• The Lohanis and Nuhanis were Afghan rulers in Bihar.
• Farid Khan (later Sher Shah) rose from Sasaram. He won at Surajgarh (1534) against the Bengal forces and Chausa (1539) against Humayun, and took the throne at Delhi in 1540.
  • Sher Shah's tomb at Sasaram stands in an artificial lake.
  • He rebuilt the Grand Trunk Road and introduced the silver rupiya.
  • Patna grew as a city in his time (he built a fort there, 1541).

Bihar under the Mughals

• Bihar was a Mughal suba, with Patna as its capital.
• Raja Man Singh was governor; he built at Rohtasgarh.
• Daud Khan's rebellion was crushed (1576).
• Guru Gobind Singh was born at Patna Sahib in 1666.
• Azim-us-Shan, Aurangzeb's grandson, renamed Patna Azimabad.
• Trade at Patna: saltpetre, opium and textiles. The English (1620), Dutch and French opened factories there.
• The Chero kings ruled Palamu (now in Jharkhand). Raja Medini Rai was the best known.
• Ujjainiya (Bhojpur) Rajputs: Kunwar Singh's ancestors.

Exam tip: BPSC asks one or two questions on ancient and medieval Bihar almost every year. Learn the places (Vaishali, Rajgir, Pataliputra, Kumhrar, Barabar, Lauriya, Nalanda, Vikramshila, Odantapuri, Sasaram, Maner) and the person linked to each.