BHAGALPUR HISTORY | Bhagalpur History |
| Written by Chandan | |
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Bhagalpur is famous worldwide for its silk production. The silk industry in this city is hundreds of years old and a whole clan exists that has been producing silk for generations.
References to Bhagalpur can be found in Indian epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata where Bhagalpur has been described as the kingdom of Anga.
Mandar Hill, situated 52 km south from Bhagalpur, is believed to have been used as Churner during Samudra-Manthan by God and Danav according to Hindu mythology.
Ancient cave sculptures of Emperor Ashoka's regime (274 BC-232 BC) are found in the neighbourhood and at Sultangunj, 20 km west of Bhagalpur, a temple of the Gupta period (320-500) still exists.
The tomb of Suja, brother of Moghul emperor Aurangzeb, in the heart of the town is reminiscent of the city's association with the Mughal period.
Ruins of ancient Vikramshila University are located 44 km east of Bhagalpur. It was the medieval centre to the conservation and propagation of Buddhist education, established by King Dharampal of Bengal (783-820) at the end of the 8th century.
Bhagalpur formed a part of the ancient Sanskrit kingdom of Anga.
In later times it was included in the powerful Hindu kingdom of Magadha or Behar, and in the 7th century A.D. it was an independent state, with the city of Champa for its capital.
It afterwards formed a part of the Mahommedan kingdom of Gaur, and was subsequently subjugated by Akbar, who declared it to be a part of the Delhi empire.
Bhagalpur was passed to the East India Company by the grant of the emperor Shah Alam in 1765.
Angika is the main language of Bhagalpur.
Angika is one of the oldest language of the world, which was known as Aangi during ancient time.
Angika is spoken by more than 30 million of Indian and around 50 million population worldwide.
Among others Hindi and English are the main languages. Nearly 75% of the population speaks English, out of which 50% are quite fluent.
Kadambini, daughter of Braja Kishore Bose, headmaster of Bhagalpur School, was one of the first women graduates in the British Empire and the first woman doctor in South Asia. |
