Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary - Tourist Spot of Bihar

✎ The Kanwar Taal or Kabar Taal Lake located in the marshes and grasslands spread around Kanwar Taal in Begusarai district of Bihar, India is Asia’s largest fish water oxbow lake.
✎ The lake was born as a consequence of the meandering of Budhi Gandak River and the total area occupied by the sanctuary measures about 67.5 square km.
✎ This lake was officially declared a protected area during 1987.
✎ It is one of the quietest bird sanctuaries in India with pretty less tourist activity, the place is ideal for bird watching and photography.
✎ There are 60 migratory birds that come all the way from Central Asia in winter and recorded around 106 species of resident birds.
✎ A large quantity of flora and fauna are there inside the sanctuary grounds.
Flora of Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary: Visitors to Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary will be welcomed by the beautiful greenery present in the area represented by several trees like Imili, Neem, Bamboo, Sohar, Babool, Sisoo, Khajur, Shirish and many others.
Fauna of Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary: There are more than 40 species of fishes in Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary which are often observed swimming in the waters of the Kanwar Lake, Musk Deer, Palm Squirrel, Leopard, Himalayan Black Bear, Common Mongoose, Rhesus Macaque, Indian Fox, Baking Deer, Jackal, Nilgai and Reptiles including Indian Cobra, Indian Krait, Tortoise, Water Snake, Dhaman and various types of Lizards.
✎ Birds in the region are:
Critically Endangered species - Oriental white- backed Vulture, Long- billed Vulture.
Vulnerable species - Greater Adjutant, Greater spotted Eagle, Lesser Kestrel, and Sarus Crane.
Near Threatened species - Indian Darter, Painted stork, Black- bellied Tern
✎ Threats in Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary are:
Excessive chemicals, like Furadan used to capture birds.
Villagers encroachment of lake area.
Killing of birds.
✎ The best time to approach the sanctuary is the time between October and June.

Vikramashila - Pride of Bihar

✎ Vikramashila was one of the two most important centres of learning in India during the Pala Empire, along with Nalanda.
✎ It was established by king Dharampala in 8th or early 9th century (783 to 820) in response to a supposed decline in the quality of scholarship at Nalanda.
✎ It was destroyed by the forces of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji around 1193 century. 
✎ Vikramashila (village antichak, district Bhagalpur, Bihar) is located at about 50 km east of Bhagalpur and about 13 km north-east of Kahalgaon, a town of Bhagalpur district.
✎ It was prospered for about 4 centuries before it was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji along with the other major centres of Buddhism in India.
✎ It is known to us mainly through Tibetan sources, especially the writings of Taranatha, the Tibetan monk historian of the 16th-17th centuries.
✎ It was the largest Buddhist universities, with more than one hundred teachers and about one thousand students.
✎ It produced eminent scholars who were often invited by foreign countries to spread Buddhist learning, culture and religion.
✎ Subjects like philosophy, grammar, metaphysics, Indian logic, etc. were taught here, but the most important branch of learning was tantrism.
✎ Hierarchy of Vikramashila:
1) Abbot (Adhyaksha)
2) Six gate protectors or gate scholars (Dvarapala or Dvarapandita), one each for the Eastern, Western, first central, second central, Northern and Southern gates.
3) Great scholars ( Mahapandita)
4) Scholars (Pandita), roughly 108 in number.
5) Professors or teachers (Upadhyaya or Acharya), roughly 160 in number including pandits.
6) Resident monks (Bhiksu), roughly 1000 in number.
✎ Dvarapala’s of Vikramashila:
1) Ratnakarasanti (Eastern gate)
2) Vagisvarakirti (Western gate)
3) Ratnavajra (First central gate)
4) Jnanasrimitra (Second central gate)
5) Naropa (Northern gate)
6) Prajanakaramati (Southern gate)
✎ Vikramashila was centre of Vajrayarana and employed tantric preceptors.
✎ Tantric preceptors are Buddhajnanapada, Dipakankarabhadra, Jayabhadra, Sridhara, Bavabhatta, Bhavyakirti, Lilavajra, Durjaychandra, Samayavajra, Tathagatarakshita, Bodhibhadra, and Kamalarakshita.
✎ Meticulous excavation at the site was conducted initially by B.P. Sinha of Patna University and subsequently by Archaeological Survey of India.
✎ It has revealed a huge square monastery with a cruciform stupa in its centre, library building and cluster of votive stupas.
✎ To the north of monastery a number of scattered structures including a Tibetan and a Hindu temple have been found.
✎ The monastery, or residence for the Buddhist monks, is a huge square structure, each side measuring 330 metres having a series of 208 cells, 52 on each of the four sides opening in a common verandah.
✎ The main stupa built for the purpose of worship is a brick structure laid in mud mortar which stands in the centre of the square monastery.
✎ On each of the four cardinal directions there is a protruding chamber with a pillared antichamber and a separate pillared mandapa in front.
✎ In the four chambers of the stupa were placed colossal stucco images of seated Buddha of which three were found in situ but the remaining one on north side was possibly replaced by a stone image after the clay image was somehow damaged.
✎ About 32 metres south of the monastery on the South West corner and attached with the main monastery through a narrow corridor is a rectangular structure identified as a library building and was meant for preserving delicate manuscripts.
✎ The Vikramashila stupa built for the purpose of worship is a brick structure laid in mud mortar and stands in the centre of the square monastery. It has two terraces- the lower terrace is about 2.25 metres high from the ground level and the upper terrace is at a similar height from the lower side. At both terrace there is a circumambulatory path, the lower about 4.5 metres wide and the upper about 3 metres wide.
✎ There is protruding chamber with a pillared antechamber and a separate pillared mandapa in front, placed beyond the circumambatory passage.
✎ The walls and floors of the chamber and antechamber were plastered with lime.
✎ The walls of both the terraces are decorated with mouldings and terracotta plaques which testify the high excellence of terracotta art flourishing in the region during Pal period (8th to 12th century).
✎ The plaques depict many Buddhist deities like Buddha, Avalokiteshwara, Manjusri, Mitreya, Jambala, Marichi and Tara, scenes related to Buddhism, some social and hunting scenes, and a few Hindu deities like Vishnu, Parvati, Ardhanarisvara and Hanuman.
✎ The architecture of the stupa and the terracotta plaques bear great resemblance to the Somapura Mahavira, Paharpur (Bangladesh) which, too, was founded by the same king Dharmapala.
✎ Vikramashila monastery is also larger and has fort- like projections on its outer wall.
✎ It was neglected for years which contributed to extensive damages to the monument but now ASI is planning to develop the excavated site of Vikramashila. Since 2009, there has been considerable work in maintaining and beautifying the place to attract tourism.
✎ The Vikramashila site is the place for Vikramashila Mahotsav, which is held annually during the month of February.

Jal Mandir - Famous Temple of Bihar

✎ The Jal Mandir meaning Water Temple, also known as Apapuri, in Pawapuri, meaning a town without sins, in the Indian state of Bihar, is a highly revered temple dedicated to Lord Mahavira, the 24th Thirthankara (religious preacher of Jainism) and founder of Jain religion, which marks the place of his cremation.

✎ The temple, a famous and sacred pilgrimage centre of Jainism, is located in the holy city of Pawapuri in the Nalanda district in the Ganga basin.

✎ The temple has been built within a tank filled with red colored lotus flowers

✎ It is said that the temple was built by king Nandivardhan, Mahavira’s elder brother.

✎ It is one of the five main temples in Pawapuri, where the “charan Paduka” or foot impression of Mahavira is deified.

✎ According to a local legend after Lord Mahavira attained Nirvana at Pawapuri he was cremated in the village. The place of his cremation became a pilgrimage centre when a large number of pilgrims took out a very large amount of soil from the site, which was considered as sacred ashes of Lord Mahavira, and thus created a huge pit which got filled up with water and became a tank. To commemorate the place of his cremation a temple was built within the tank.

✎ Jal Mandir is built in white marble within the water tank; the tank measures 84 bigha (one bigha is 5 acres, area is 16.8 acres)

✎ The water surface of the lake is covered with lotuses.

✎ This architecturally elegant temple in the form of a “Vimana” or chariot has the footprints of Mahavir for worship.

✎ A 600-foot long (180m) bridge built in stone connects the temple with bank of water tank.

✎ There was great rush among the gathered devotes to collect his ashes resulting in a lake being created in the hollow.

✎ The temple shines bright and sublime during a moonlight night. The pond has many species of fish which are fed by the priests and devotees.

Mahatma Gandhi Setu - Lifeline of North Bihar

✎ Mahatma Gandhi Setu (also called Gandhi Setu or Ganga Setu) is a bridge over the river Ganges connecting Patna in the South to Hajipur in the north of Bihar.

✎ Its length is 5750 meters (18,860 ft.) and it is second longest river bridge in India and also longest cantilever bridge of Asia.

✎ It was inaugurated in May 1982 by the then Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi; inauguration took place at north end of the bridge located in Hajipur.

✎ The bridge was approved by the central government in 1969 and built by Gammon India Limited over a period of 10 years from 1972 to 1982 with total expenditure of Rs. 87.22 crores.

✎ This was built to connect North Bihar with the rest of Bihar and part of National highway 19 (NH19).

✎ The bridge consists 45 intermediate spans of 121.065 meters (397.19 ft.) each and a span of 65.530 meters (214.99 ft.) at each end.

✎ The deck provides for a 7.5 meters (25 ft.) wide two- lane roadway for IRC class 70 R loading with footpaths on either side.

✎ The cantilever segmental construction method was adopted to construct this mega bridge. Each span has two cantilever beams on both sides which are free to move at the ends.

✎ It has two lanes one upstream and the other downstream each with width of around 6 metre. Both the lanes are also free from each other and are not connected anywhere.

✎ The spans are connected by using a Protrusion which is free to move longitudinally also along the river flow. In upwards and downwards direction it is such that it allows vibration to transfer smoothly to the next span while vehicular movement without much discreteness.

✎ The scenic view of the river Ganga validates the vastness of the nation’s largest and the world’s third largest river by discharge.

✎ The 5.7 km long viaduct is an engineering marvel and beautiful sight to see at night when it is brightened up by different coloured lights.

Naulakha Palace - Tourist Spot of Bihar

- Navlakha Palace also called Naulakha palace, is a royal Brahmin palace situated in town of Rajnagar, close to the Kamala river, near Madhubani in Bihar, India.

- This palace was built by Maharaja Rameshwar Singh of Darbhanga in 17th century A.D.

- It is also known as Rajnagar palace complex and is one of the major tourist centres of Mithila.

- This palace suffered extensive damage during the earthquake of 1934 and was not rebuilt thereafter.

- There are very few written records or photographs available of the Navlakha Palace.

- Umantha Jha has described the Navlakha Palace from his childhood memories in his book “Bital din Aa Bisral log”.

Description of Palace:-

The oldest surviving Madhubani painting [done in year 1919, on occasion of the marriage of Shrimati Lakshmi Daiji, daughter of Maharaja Rameshwar Singh of Darbhanga] is found in gasauni ghar (the room where family deity is kept) of this palace. There is Durga Bhawan towards the enterance of the palace. In front of Durga Bhawan lies a pond. A temple dedicated to goddess Kali is located towards the north of pond. The centre of Navlakha palace has a seven storey tower. There is building having three courtyards in the western side of the Durga Bhawan. A two storeyed white coloured palace of the Bari Maharani is located towards the north of the building. Another temple in the palace is dedicated to Goddess Tripura Sundari and has many paintings of the goddess.

First President of India- Dr. Rajendra Prasad

✎ Dr. Rajendra Prasad was Kayastha Hindu and was born on 3rd December, 1884 in Zeradai, in the Siwan district of Bihar, Patna, India.His political life was from 1950-1962.
✎ He was Indian political leader and also lawyer by training. He was subsequently awarded the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian award. After the completion of traditional elementary education, he was sent to Chapra district school and at age of 12 he was married to Rajavanshi Devi but after marriage also he did not left his studies. Before independence, he has served as minister of food and agriculture in the central government but afterwards he was elected as president of the constituent assembly of India which prepared the constitution of India and served as its provisional parliament. His first association with Indian National Congress was during 1906 where he participated as a volunteer, while studying in Calcutta. 
✎ He was a supporter of Mahatma Gandhi and for this he was imprisoned by British authorities during Salt Satyagraha of 1931 and Quit India Movement of 1942. He was so greatly moved by the dedication, courage and conviction of Mahatma Gandhi that he retired from his lucrative career of lawyer as well as duties in University to aid the movement. As a president, he established a tradition of non- partisanship and independence for the office-bearer and retired from Congress party politics. When Congress passed the Quit India Resolution in Bombay, then he was arrested from Sadaqat Ashram, Patna and sent to Bankipur central jail. He also encouraged the development of education in India.He wrote articles for the revolutionary publications Searchlight and the Desh and collected funds for these papers.
✎ He took an active role in helping the affected people during 1914 floods that struck Bihar and Bengal.During 31st May 1935 Quetta earthquake, when he was forbidden to leave the country due to governments order he set up Quetta Central relief committee in Sindh and Punjab under his own presidency.He travelled the world extensively as an ambassador of India, build diplomatic rapport with foreign nations.During his tenure, the Mughal Gardens for the first time at Rashtrapati Bhavan were open for public for about one month.Following the tussle over the enactment of the Hindu Code Bill, he took a more active role in state affairs.
✎ After 12 years as president in 1962 he announced his decision of retirement and after relinquishing the office of the President of India he returned to Patna on 14 May, 1962 and preferred to stay in the campus of Bihar Vidhyapeeth.
His Literary Contributions:
• President of Constituent Assembly
• Satyagraha at Champaran (1922)
• Division of India (1946, online)
• Atmakatha (1946), his autobiography written during his 3-year term in Bankipur Jail.
• Mahatma Gandhi and Bihar, some reminiscence (1949)
• Bapu ke kadmon mein (1954)
• Since Independence (published in 1960)
• Bharatiya Siksha

• At the feet of Mahatma Gandhi

Sattu Paratha - One of the Bihar’s Famous Dish

✎ Sattu is darker in color then besan and can be eaten uncooked.

✎ Sattu is used inregional cuisine to varying degrees. In Lahore, Multan, Punjab, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and New Delhi use of Sattu is extensive and is used in several dishes.

✎ Sattu may also be known as Chhatua (In Odia language) or archaically as Sat- Anaaj, also known as “Chattu’ (In Bengali language).

✎ Sattu  Paratha, is rich in minerals, proteins and fibres, low of Glycemic index- Sattu is said to be the most economical antidote of diabetes.

✎ Sattu is prepared by dry, roasting Bengal gram (chana dal) and powdering it finely.

✎ It is similar in texture to besan, which is also made of Bengal gram dal and dal is unroasted in this case.

✎ In Sattu Paratha, the filling is slightly moist, neither powdery nor sticky.

✎ In Sattu Paratha,, stuffed balls can also be deep fried or cooked in boiling water. These are called Makuni or Mukuni Litti.

✎ Sattu Paratha, can be eaten with curd, coriander chutney, Baigan bharta and pickle.

Mahavir Mandir - Bihar’s Famous Temple

✎ Mahavir Mandir is one of the holiest Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Hanuman, located in Patna, Bihar, India.
✎ Acharya Kishor Kunal is the secretary of the Mahavir Mandir Temple Trust, Patna.
✎ From scrutiny of historical facts and traditions it appears that this temple was originally established by Swami Balanand, an ascetic of Ramanandi sect in around 1730 A.D.
✎ After partition in 1947 when Hindu refugees come to Patna then this temple was more popular among them.
✎ As per the Patna high court judgment in 1948 the temple exists since time immemorial.
✎ It was broken down in 1987 to make a huge marble temple and idol of Sankat- Mochan standing in it.
✎ Mahavir Mandir Trustsis named Shri Mahavir Sthan Nyas Samiti and monitors working and development of temple.
✎ The trust also runs human welfare organization like Mahavir Cancer Institute and Research Centre, Mahavir Vaatsalya Hospital and Mahavir Arogya Hospital and several hospitals and orphanage in the agricultural and rural state of Bihar.
✎ Floating stone is for public exhibition which never sinks in water and is brought from famous Ram Setu.
✎ It is ‘Manokamana’ mandir where devotees every wish is fulfilled this is the reason for ever-increasing no. of devotees in the temple.
✎ Thousands of people visit Mahavir Temple on every Ram Navami and New Year celebrations.
✎ It is the first religious trust which started Shravan Kumar Awards for the dedicated service to parents with utmost devotion.

Malpua - Bihar’s Dish

✎ Malpua was eaten by Arya of Vedic period and its one preparation was sweet cake called apupa and also malpua preserves both the name.
✎ Malpua is a pancake served as a dessert or a snack originating from the Indian subcontinent, popular in India, Nepal, Bihar and Bangladesh. In Northern India particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan it does not contain fruit.
✎ Pua/Malpua is a traditional Bihari dessert that is relished particularly during Holi.
Malpua are delicious when eaten hot and you can keep the batter in the fridge and fry them fresh whenever you want to eat it.
✎ The batter for malpua in some areas is prepared by crushing ripe bananas or coconut, adding flour, and water or milk. The mixture is sometimes delicately seasoned with cardamoms.
✎ The Bihari version of this dish has sugar added to the batter prior to frying.

Litti Chokha - Bihar’s Popular Dish

✎ Litti was first cooked in Magadh Kingdom before becoming popular in Bihar.
✎ Litti Chokha is very popular and traditional Bihari recipe.
✎ Litti is a dough ball stuffed with sattu and roasted until cooked and then dipped into pure ghee to enhance the taste.
✎ Chokha is blend of baigan, potatoes, tomatoes and lot of spices and it is roasted with vegetable mix.
✎ Litti Chokha is healthy in a way as they are roasted and grilled.
✎ Before becoming popular dish, it was eaten by peasants and farmers of Bihar as it had cooling properties and keeps them active throughout the day in summers.