GLORIOUS BIHAR

Remains of Vaishali

Ancient Bihar which consisted of Anga, Videha/Mithila, Magadha and Vajji/Vrijji was a centre of power, learning and culture in ancient and classical India. Out of five "The Greats" from India, four greats belonged to this region of India, Magadha: Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka, Samudragupta and Vikramaditya. From Magadha arose India's first and greatest empire, the Maurya Empire as well as one of the world's most widely accepted religions, Buddhism. Magadha empires, notably under the Maurya and Gupta dynasties, unified large parts of South Asia under a central rule.Its capital Patna, earlier known as Pataliputra, was an important centre of Indian civilization. Nalanda and Vikramshila was a centre of learning established in the 5th and 8th century CE respectively in Bihar, which is also counted among the oldest and truly international universities, where people all over the world came for study. Bihar has distinction of giving the world its first democracy through Lichchivi during ancient era.