Patna The Capital City

            The modern-day town of Patna, capital of Bihar is one of the oldest riverine cities. The heritage of Bihar dates back to the Vedic age. A number of these have been mentioned in the Buddhist and Jain literatures, dating as back as the 1000 BC. Magadh started from here, which is the most prominent of all. The center of the kingdom was the Ganges in Bihar The first capital was Rajagriha (modern Rajgir), then Patliputra (now Patna). Magadh flourished and acquired most of Bihar and Bengal with its conquest of Licchavi and Anga respectively and thereafter much of eastern Utter Pradesh and Odisha.

Bihar expanded under the rule of Mauryans. Chandragupta Maurya and his son Bindusara held control over a significant empire, which stretched from Bengal to Afghanistan. The Ganges, navigable throughout the year, was the main river highway from Delhi to Bengal. Through the banks of Patliputra (Patna) and Champa (near Bhagalpur), Mauryan vessels sailed as long as to Sri Lanka and Java. Emperor Ashoka (Chandragupta’s grandson) who ruled from 273 to 232 B.C became one of India’s most illustrious rulers. Together with his conquest of Kalinga, maritime business alongside the Ganges reached its peak.

Patliputra or the present Patna holds a significant spot in the medieval history, especially for Hindus. It is considered to be related to Goddess Patan Devi. The Greek Historian Megasthenes and the Chinese language explorer Fa-Hien, both have recorded vibrant accounts of the town in their travelogues. Nearly every dynasty in north India, like the Mughals, Sikhs, and Nawabs of Bengal, fought for control over this area. The warfare of Buxar in 1764, mounted the foothold of the East India organization right here which eventually brought about British supremacy over the Northern Provinces.

At the time of British rule, Bihar was ruled by the Viceroys and the public buildings in Patna reflect this fact. Moreover, like any other north Indian state of India, Patna’s architecture displays the various forms of rulers. In 1912, Patna was the capital of the provinces of Odisha and Bihar whilst the Bengal Presidency became partitioned, and later in 1936, Bihar got statehood and Patna became its capital city.