Pariksha SaathiLesson 1 of 10 · Bihar General Knowledge
Ancient Bihar: From Chirand to Magadha, Nalanda and the Palas
Drafted with AI assistance and fact-checked on 28 October 2026; not yet read line by line by a human editor. Spotted a mistake? Tell us. Editorial standards & corrections
Earliest settlements
Bihar's human story begins long before written records. The site exams ask about most is Chirand in Saran district, on the north bank of the Ganga close to where the Ghaghara joins it. Excavations there revealed a Neolithic village known for tools of bone and deer antler, followed by Chalcolithic (copper-stone age) levels with black-and-red pottery. Senuwar in Rohtas district and Taradih near the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya are other early farming sites.
Vedic references
The early Vedic people lived far to the west, and their texts treat the east as distant. The Rigveda mentions the Kikatas, later identified with Magadha, and their chief Pramaganda in unfriendly terms, and the Atharvaveda names the Angas and Magadhas among faraway peoples to whom fever should be sent. The Shatapatha Brahmana tells how Videgha Mathava, with his priest Gotama Rahugana, carried the sacred fire east across the Sadanira (usually identified with the Gandak) and settled Videha. Videha, with its capital at Mithila, became famous for King Janaka, at whose court the sage Yajnavalkya debated with scholars including Gargi, as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad records.
Mahajanapadas and the Vajji republic
For the 6th century BCE the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya lists 16 Mahajanapadas, three of which lay in present Bihar: Anga with its capital at Champa near Bhagalpur, Magadha with its capital at Girivraja or Rajagriha, and the Vajji confederacy with its capital at Vaishali. The Vajji was a gana-sangha, a union of 8 clans led by the Licchavis, in which an assembly of clan heads took decisions; this is why Vaishali is often called one of the world's earliest republics. The Buddha praised the Vajjis for seven conditions of welfare, such as meeting often in assembly and respecting elders and women. Vaishali was also the home of the courtesan Amrapali, who gifted a mango grove to the Buddha, and the place where the first order of Buddhist nuns was founded.
Rise of Magadha
Magadha became India's first great empire because of its geography: fertile alluvial soil, the Ganga and the Son for trade and defence, iron ore in the southern hills, elephants from the forests, and capitals protected by hills and rivers. The Haryanka king Bimbisara grew strong through marriage alliances with Kosala, the Licchavis and Madra, and annexed Anga. His son Ajatashatru conquered the Vajjis after a long war, having divided them through his minister Vassakara, and built a fort at Pataligrama on the Ganga. Tradition credits Udayin with founding Pataliputra (Kusumapura) and moving the capital there. Shishunaga destroyed the power of Avanti, and his son Kalashoka (Kakavarna) patronised the Second Buddhist Council at Vaishali. The Nandas then built the first empire under a non-Kshatriya line: Mahapadma Nanda took the titles Ekarat and Sarvakshatrantaka, and the fame of Dhana Nanda's army is said to have discouraged Alexander's soldiers at the Beas in 326 BCE.
Mauryas and Guptas at Pataliputra
Chandragupta Maurya, guided by Chanakya (Kautilya), overthrew Dhana Nanda around 321 BCE. Megasthenes, the ambassador of Seleucus Nicator, described Palibothra in his Indica as a city enclosed by a wooden wall with 570 towers and 64 gates, run by a committee of 30 members. Ashoka (about 268-232 BCE) held the Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra under Moggaliputta Tissa, gave the Barabar caves to the Ajivikas, and raised pillars at Lauriya Nandangarh, Lauriya Araraj, Rampurva and Vaishali (Kolhua). Later the Guptas rose in the same region: Chandragupta I married the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi, and his son Samudragupta proudly called himself Lichchhavi-dauhitra, the daughter's son of the Licchavis. The Chinese pilgrim Faxian (Fa-Hien) admired Ashoka's palace at Pataliputra in the reign of Chandragupta II, and Aryabhata wrote the Aryabhatiya at Kusumapura in 499 CE.
Land of the Buddha and Mahavira
Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment under a peepal tree at Uruvela, now Bodh Gaya, on the bank of the Niranjana. At Rajgir, Bimbisara gifted him the Venuvana bamboo grove, and he often preached on the Griddhakuta (Vulture's Peak); after his death the First Buddhist Council met in the Saptaparni cave at Rajgir under Mahakassapa, with Ajatashatru as patron. Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, was born according to tradition at Kundagrama near Vaishali to Siddhartha of the Jnatrika clan and Trishala, a Licchavi princess, and attained nirvana at Pawapuri in Nalanda district, where the Jal Mandir stands in a lotus tank. The First Jain Council met at Pataliputra under Sthulabhadra around the time of Chandragupta Maurya.
Universities and the Palas
Nalanda, founded by Kumaragupta I in the 5th century CE, grew into a residential university that drew students from China, Korea, Tibet and South-East Asia; Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) studied there under the abbot Shilabhadra in the 7th century, and Yijing (I-tsing) came soon after. The Pala dynasty was founded by Gopala around 750 CE when, according to tradition, the people chose him to end a period of anarchy (matsyanyaya). Dharmapala founded Vikramashila at Antichak in Bhagalpur district, and Odantapuri at Bihar Sharif is traditionally credited to Gopala. Atisha Dipankara of Vikramashila carried Buddhist teaching to Tibet. These monasteries were ruined in the Turkish raids at the end of the 12th century.
Key facts
- Chirand (Saran district, near the meeting of the Ghaghara and the Ganga): Neolithic site famous for bone and antler tools, with later Chalcolithic levels.
- Bihar's three Mahajanapadas: Anga (capital Champa, near Bhagalpur), Magadha (Girivraja or Rajagriha) and Vajji (Vaishali), out of the 16 listed in the Anguttara Nikaya.
- Vajji: a confederacy of 8 clans led by the Licchavis with its capital at Vaishali, often called one of the world's earliest republics.
- Magadha's dynasties in order: Haryanka (Bimbisara, Ajatashatru, Udayin), Shishunaga (Shishunaga, Kalashoka), Nanda (Mahapadma, Dhana Nanda), then Maurya.
- Shatapatha Brahmana: Videgha Mathava carried the sacred fire east across the Sadanira (Gandak) to settle Videha, whose capital Mithila was ruled by King Janaka.
- Megasthenes' Indica: Pataliputra (Palibothra) had a wooden wall with 570 towers and 64 gates and was run by a 30-member city committee.
- Gupta-Licchavi link: Chandragupta I married the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi; Samudragupta called himself Lichchhavi-dauhitra.
- Mahavira: born at Kundagrama near Vaishali (tradition), mother Trishala a Licchavi princess, nirvana at Pawapuri (Jal Mandir); First Jain Council at Pataliputra under Sthulabhadra.
- Pala foundations: Vikramashila (Antichak, Bhagalpur) by Dharmapala; Odantapuri (Bihar Sharif) traditionally by Gopala; Atisha Dipankara of Vikramashila went to Tibet.
Quick revision
Chirand (Saran) Neolithic bone tools; Kikatas in Rigveda; Videgha Mathava crossed the Sadanira; Janaka of Mithila; Mahajanapadas Anga (Champa), Magadha (Rajagriha), Vajji (Vaishali, 8 clans, Licchavis); Haryanka-Shishunaga-Nanda-Maurya; Pataliputra by Udayin; Megasthenes 570 towers, 64 gates; Third Council under Ashoka; Kumaradevi; Mahavira nirvana Pawapuri; Nalanda by Kumaragupta I; Vikramashila by Dharmapala.