Surrounded by west Bengal, Orissa Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and Nepal the state of Bihar is primarily a rice producing area. Historically, the state has a rich and anciend cultural heritage About 25 centuries ago Pataliputra or the present day Patna was the capital of the first major empire in Indian history Magadh, from where the great king Ashoka had ruled His rule was followed by that of the Guptas and the Palas from the 5thcentury A.D. to 1197 and a few centuries later by the Mudhals. The mid-18th century saw the rise of the British who ruled the state till Indian Independence in 1947.
Touristically, Bihar’s fame lies in its being am important religious and cultural center for the Hindus, the Jains and world was first started and preached here by Buddha Bodhgaya was the place where the Buddha meditated under the Bodhi tree before achieving supreme enlightenment. The small township of Rajgir was the scene of many sermons and numerous important events in the master’s life. Thousands of pilgrims visit Rajgir Bodhgaya and the present descendant of the original Bodhi tree.
Lord Mahavira founder of the jain sect is also believed to have spent about 15 years of his life preaching at Rajgir and hence its religious significance for him jain pilgrims. History records that the Nalanda University of which only some magnificent ruins now remain was once a world famous university for the study of Buddhism in the 5th century A.D.