Bihar, the ancient land of Buddha and Mahavira, the cradle of democracy and the Janpadas (Republics), has been the best example for the world to learn evolving democratic process even before the Christ was born. Of course, there is a proverb in Sanskrit i.e. “Chakravat Parivartante Sukhani cha Dukhani cha” (The cycle of happiness and melancholy is like day and night.) The land of best rulers and sages has seen ups and downs. Not that the glorious past would not return, but the Magadh empire, which once had the boundaries from Afghanistan to eastern India and Andhra in the south, almost lost significance with the time. It came to be known as the land of gangsters and mafias where once the Kshatriya Kings used to renounce the worldly pleasures and came to be known as the Sages in the ancient history.
According to the legendary history of Hinduism, Sita, who married Lord Rama, the Prince of Ayodhya, was a princess of Bihar. She was the daughter of King Janaka of Videha. The present districts of Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Samastipur, Madhubani and Darbhanga, in north-central Bihar, mark the ancient Kingdom. Even the original author of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, Mahrshi Valmiki, lived in ancient Bihar.
It was here that Prince Gautam attained enlightenment, became the Buddha, at the present Bodh Gaya, a town in central Bihar; and the great religion of Buddhism was born. Ancient Bihar also saw the glorification of women in matter of state affairs. It was here that Amrapali, a courtesan of Vaishali(the present district with the same name) in the kingdom of the Lichhavis, attained and wielded enormous power. It is said that the Lord Buddha(563-483 BC), during his visit to Vaishali, refused the invitation of many princes, and chose to have dinner with Amrapali instead. It is here also that Lord Mahavira(599-527 BC),the twenty-fourth and the last Tirthankara of the Jain religion, was born and attained nirvana(death). The site is located at the present town of Pawapuri, some miles to the east of Patna, the capital of Bihar which was earlier known as Pataliputra in ancient times.
The ancient kingdoms of Magadh and of Licchavis, produced such rulers who devised a system of administration leading to a modern art of state craft. Kautilya, who wrote Arthshastra, an ancient guide to polity, was adviser to the Magadh King , Chandragupta Maurya. Pataliputra, a city established by King Ajatashatru, around 5th Century B.C., at the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Gandaka and Son. Another Mauryan King, Ashoka, also known as Priyadarshi, was first to formulate firm tenets for the governance of a people. After the battle of Kalinga, where almost two lakh people were killed, Ashoka was converted to Buddhism. He sent his Prince Mahendra and Princess Sanghmitra on a mission to proselytization of people into Buddhism.
It was here the tenth and last Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Govind Singh(22 December 1666- 7 October 1708), was born and attained the sainthood of Sikhism. Patna Sahib is one of the five holiest places of worship(Takhat) for Sikhs.
Even in modern times, Mahatma Gandhi had established himself in public life, after his return from South Africa, through the Champaran Satyagraha in 1917 and his daredevil efforts at Champaran in Bihar earned him the lifelong supporters like Sardar Patel and Dr. Rajendra Prasad. The Government of India headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared the centenary celebration of the Champaran Satyagraha during the year 2017.
Champaran is the land of King Janaka, notes Gandhi in his “Autobiography” and devotes seven chapters to the Champaran Satyagraha to remove distress of tenants in indigo plantation following tinkathiasystem. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, native of Bihar who became the President of independent India, joined hands with Mahatma during the Satyagraha. A Marxist turned Gandhian from Bihar, Jaiprakash Narayan(JP), provided leadership to the nation to install a non-Congress government headed by Morarji Desai in 1977 defeating the mighty Congress Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The world’s first seat of higher learning, a university was established at Nalanda during the Gupta period on this land during 5th century AD. It continued to be the seat of learning till the middle ages, when the muslim invaders burned it down. For over 800 years Nalanda was one of the best universities in the world. At the height of it’s glory, Nalanda was devoted to not only Buddhist studies, but also trained students from all over the world in fine arts, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, politics and the art of war. It is believed that the great astronomer and mathematician Aryabhat(476-550 AD) was the head of the University.
According to the records, Nalanda University was destroyed three times by invaders, but rebuilt only twice. The first destruction was caused by the Huns under Mihirakula during the reign of Skandagupta(455-467AD). But Skanda’s successors restored the library and improved it with an even bigger building. The second destruction came in the early 7th century by the Gaudas. This time, the Buddhist king Harshavardhana(606-648AD) restored the university. The third and most destructive attack came when the ancient Nalanda University was destroyed by the Muslim army led by the Turkish leader Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193. Khilji decided to destroy the roots of knowledge, Buddhism and Ayurveda from the country. He set fire to the great library of Nalanda and burned down nearly 9 million manuscripts. The library was so vast and strong that it took three months to completely destroy it.
Since then the Nalanda has not been restored until 2006 when the former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, while addressing the joint session of Bihar Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, proposed to reopen the university. The Government of India headed by Dr. Manmohan Singh got the Nalanda University Act passed in the Parliament, sanctioned Rs.2700 crore for a period of 10 years for the revival of the University and the Governing Body headed by the Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen was appointed with necessary land allocation by the Government of Bihar at Rajgir, the first capital of the Magadh empire, in Nalanda District. Japan, Singapore, China, Thailand and Australia also extended financial assistance for the revival of the global university. At least 17 countries have signed MOU with the University. In January 2017, the Government of India headed by Narendra Modi appointed Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, father of India’s first supercomputer “ Param” series and Chairman of RSS-affiliated science body, Vijanan Bharti, as the Chancellor to give a boost to the university.
In the modern times, old glory of Bihar is being revived, but it definitely takes time to regain an ancient reputation.
Next Column: Master Tara Singh and Partition of Punjab
(The writer is a Socio-political Historian.
E-mail: [email protected])
