Buxar
| Buxar बक्सर capital of bhojpuri language | |
|---|---|
| city | |
| Nickname(s): sahabad | |
  Buxar | |
| Coordinates: 25°33′38″N 83°58′50″E / 25.56049°N 83.98054°ECoordinates: 25°33′38″N 83°58′50″E / 25.56049°N 83.98054°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Bihar |
| District | Buxar |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,620 km2 (630 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 55 m (180 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 1,402,396 |
| • Density | 870/km2 (2,200/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | bhojpuri, Hindi |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 802101 |
| Telephone code | 06183 |
| Vehicle registration | Br-44 |
| Website | buxar.bih.nic.in |
Buxar is a city in the state of Bihar in the eastern part of India. It is the headquarters of Buxar District. The word Buxar is said to have been derived from VyaghraSar. The tiger face of Rishi Vedshira, an outcome of the curse of the sage Rishi Durvasa, was restored after bathing in a holy tank which was later named as VyaghraSar.
The present district of Buxar consists of areas under Buxar Sadar and Dumraon Sub-Division of the old Bhojpur district and came in existence in the year 1991. Buxar town is the headquarters of the district and also its principal town. The district is bounded on the north by Ballia district of U.P., on the south by Rohtas district, on the west by Ghazipur and Ballia districts of U.P. and on the east by Bhojpur district.
The town Buxar is located on the bank of river Ganges (Ganga). A road bridge over the Ganges connects Buxar with Ballia District in the neighboring state Uttar Pradesh. The town is also connected to the state capital Patna by rail and road routes. The Buxar railway station is a major station. Many major trains pass through the station due to its strategic location. The spoken language is Bhojpuri, written in Devanagari script. Substantial proportion of trade activities are with well connected towns and cities in Uttar Pradesh such as Varanasi, Ballia and Ghazipur.
Administrative Units
Buxar district consists of two sub-divisions and 11 blocks. Of the 11 blocks, seven are in Dumraon sub-division while four are in Buxar Sadar sub-division.
Demography
As of 2011 India census,[1] Buxar had a population of 1,402,396. Males constitute 52.65% of the population and females 47.35%. Buxar has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 81% and female literacy of 59%. 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.
History
In addition to mythological references of Buxar modern historical record are limited to two battles. The earliest of the two was fought between the Mughal dynastic descendant Humayun and Sher Shah Suri at Chousa in 1539 A.D. The battle was won by Sher Shah Suri who is acclaimed for his visionary contribution the Grand Trunk Road project. Later in 1764 Battle of Buxar was fought (see below).
In Hindu religious literature, Buxar is believed to be referenced as "Siddhashram", "Vedgarbhapuri", "Karush", "Tapovan", "Chaitrath", "VyaghraSar". Some claim that the history of Buxar dates back even prior to the period of Ramayana. In the period of Ramayana,Buxar had acquired a prime place, as the Vishamitra Ashram was located (presently located at Charitravan Near M.V. College). This was the place where Bhgawan Rama killed Tadka(Rakashi). The place of Tadka Vadh is presently located at Noulakh Mandir. The etymology of word Buxar is Vyaghra + Sar; Sanskrit words that mean, Tiger and Pond respectively. Presumable suggestive of a pond or lake which was visited by tigers of the region. This is the most accepted origin of the name of the town. Another story relates the name to tiger face of Rishi Vedshira, an outcome of the curse of the sage Rishi Durvasha, was restored after bathing in a holy tank which was later named as VyaghraSar.
District History Buxar district has close linkage with that of its parent district Bhojpur and has an old and an interesting history.
Buxar is famous since the epic period for being the seats of eminent saints, battlefield of Gods and Demons as per Puranas and a combat zone between foreign invasion and countrymen in modern history. The remains from archaeological excavations have established the link of Buxar with ancient civilisations of Mohanjodaro and Harappa. This place was also known as "Siddhashram", "Vedgarbhapuri", "Karush", "Tapovan", "Chaitrath", "VyaghraSar", "Buxar" in ancient history. The History of Buxar dates back even prior to the period of Ramayana. The word Buxar is said to have been derived from VyaghraSar. The tiger face of Rishi Vedshira, an outcome of the curse of the sage Rishi Durvasha, was restored after bathing in a holy tank which was later named as VyaghraSar.
According to mythology, sage Vishwamitra the family guru of Lord Rama and eighty thousand saints, had their sacred ashram at the banks of holy river Ganges that reside inside the modern District Buxar. He was disturbed in the yagna (sacrificial offering) by the demons. The place where due killing of the famous Rakshasi (demoness) Tadika by Lord Rama, is said to fall within the present Buxar town area. Besides, Lord Rama and his younger brother Laxman took their teachings at Buxar. It is also said that Ahilya, the wife of Gautam Rishi restored her human body from that of stone and got salvation by a mere touch of the feet of Lord Rama. This place is presently known as Ahirauli and is situated six kilometers away from the Buxar town. The Kanwaldah Pokhara also known as VyaghraSar is a tourist spot nowadays.
Ancient Significance of Buxar is mentioned in ancient epics like Brahma Purana and Varah Purana:
Battle of Buxar (October 1764)
The Muslim Mughal Mir Kasim (reign:1760 to 1763), made an attempt to recover resource rich province of Bengal from the hands of British. In 1764, he enlisted the support of Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II and Nawab Shuja Ud Daulah of Oudh (Awadh). On October 23, 1764, Mir Kasim with his army was defeated at the Battle of Buxar by the British Major Hector Monro who led a contingent of 857 European soldiers and 6213 sepoys. The battle ground (Katkauli) is situated at about 6 kilometers from downtown Buxar. The stone memorial erected by Britishers at Katkauli bears testament to the fight even today.
A circumstancial account of this battle is provided by Percival Spear. It was a significant battle fought between the forces under the command of the British East India Company on the one side, and the combined armies of Mir Kasim, the Nawab of Bengal ; Nawab of Awadh; and Shah Alam II, the Mughal Emperor. This victory paved the way for British Empire in India. The battle resulted into securing of Diwani rights to administer the collection and management of revenues of large areas which currently form parts of Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, as well as of Bangladesh. The Battle of Buxar heralded the establishment of the rule of the East India Company in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent.
Mythology
According to mythology, sage Vishwamitra the family guru of Lord Rama and eighty thousand saints, had their sacred ashram at the banks of holy river Ganges that reside inside the modern District Buxar. He was disturbed in the yagna (sacrificial offering) by the demons. The place where due killing of the famous Rakshasi (demoness) Tadika by Lord Rama, is said to fall within the present Buxar town area. Besides, Lord Rama and his younger brother Laxman took their teachings at Buxar. It is also said that Ahilya, the wife of Gautam Rishi restored her human body from that of stone and got salvation by a mere touch of the feet of Lord Rama. This place is presently known as Ahirauli and is situated six kilometers away from the Buxar town. The Kanwaldah Pokhara also known as VyaghraSar is a tourist spot nowadays. Ancient Significance of Buxar is mentioned in ancient epics like Brahma Purana and Varah Purana.
According to Ramayana, sage Vishwamitra the family guru of Lord Rama and eighty thousand saints, had their sacred ashram at the banks of holy river Ganges that reside inside the modern District Buxar. He was disturbed in the yagna (sacrificial offering) by the demons. The place where due killing of the famous Rakshasi (demoness) named Tadika by Lord Rama, is said to fall within the present Buxar town area. Besides, Lord Rama and his younger brother Laxman took their teachings at Buxar.
It is also said that Ahilya, the wife of Gautam Rishi (Sage) regained her human form from a stone and got salvation by a mere touch of the feet of Lord Rama. Presently this place is known as Ahirauli and is situated six kilometers away from the Buxar town. The Kanwaldah Pokhara also known as VyaghraSar is a tourist spot.
Beliefs of Historical Context
Buxar is famous since the epic period for being the seats of eminent saints, battlefield of Gods and Demons as per Puranas and a combat zone between foreign invasion and countrymen in modern history. The remains from archaeological excavations have established the link of Buxar with ancient civilisations of Mohanjodaro and Harappa. This place was also known as "Siddhashram", "Vedgarbhapuri", "Karush", "Tapovan", "Chaitrath", "VyaghraSar", "Buxar" in ancient history. The History of Buxar dates back prior to the period of Ramayana.
Ramrekha Ghat(banks of river ganga) as per mythology god Rama drew a line on the ghat when he came to help sage Vishwamitr and others from rakshasha's(demons). 33 KM's from the main town town buxar, a place Brahmapur is located which is well known for its Shiva Temple also known as Baba Brameswernath. People from all over Bihar and Uttar Pradesh states throng this place to have a darshan of Lord Shiva. Also, the worlds 3rd largest cattle fair is organised by villagers in this very place.
Geography
Stretching over an area of 1,62,380 hectares. Buxar lies on the border with the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh. River Ganges (Ganga) forms the border in north and in the west river Karmanasa. The entire strip of land between the river Ganges and stretches in south beyond main line of the Eastern Railways. The land form is low lying alluvial plain of river Ganges and her tributaries- Thora and Karmanasa. The river Karmansa joins the Ganges near Chousa. The region is considered to be the best wheat growing area in the State and India.
Climate
The climate of the district is moderate. The hot weather begins from the middle of March when hot westerly winds begin to blow during the day. The months of April and May are extremely hot, normally the monsoon sets in by the third week of June and continues with intermission till the end of September. The cold weather begins from the months of November and lasts till the beginning of March, January is the coldest month when the temperature comes down as low as 5 C. From the month of April, till the break of monsoon, the district experiences occasional thunder storms also.
Rainfall
Rain sets sometimes in June accompanied by fall in temperature and increase in humidity. The district experiences maximum rain during the months of July and August. There is slight rainfall in October but November and December are quite dry.
Forests
Due to deforestation, the forest area of this district is very thin. Some common trees of this district are Mango, Seasum, Mahua, Bamboo and some types of long grasses (Jhalas) are found near diara area of the river Ganges. Jhalas grass is mostly used in roat making of kuccha houses. The forest of the district are not rich in their products. Fire wood is the most important among its products.
The district had variety of wild animals and game birds when the forest were thick. With the increase in irrigation facilities, the area under cultivation has grown, consequently diminishing the forest. The wild animals have suffered in the process and their number has gone down very considerably. Neelgain, spotted deer are found in the plains and near the bank of the Ganges. A considerable number of monkeys are also found in the Buxar Town area. Birds of different types like parrots, patridges, and quail are also found in the district.
Industries
There are however different types of small scale and cottage industries located in this district of Buxar, the details of which have been given below::
- 1. Soap Industry: It is mainly concentrated in Buxar and Dumraon.
- 2. Timber and Furniture works: It is located at Buxar and Dumraon.
- 3. Leather Industry: There are individual leather workers all over the district.
There is a concentration of them at Khilafatpur village in Buxar Sadar Sub-division who are engaged in shoe making.
Livestock
The district of Buxar has large majority of the people engaged in agricultural pursuits and deriving their livelihood from agricultural pursuits. The possession of livestock generally adds to the social status of the farmer. The quality of the live stock has improved because of serious efforts by the Government and the response of the farmers. Since the district has quite a large population of prosperous agriculturists mostly due to the suitability of facilities of canal irrigation the farmers of the canal irrigated area have considerably cattle wealth. Agricultural census conducted taken in 1991 shows the cattle wealth of the district as: Cow-184325, Sheep-15430, Horse-3341, Camel-15, Buffalo-114112, Goat-82186, Mula-240, Ass-1646, Pig-13235, Poultry-70305.
Communication
The district has been fairly rich in road communication for a long time. Francis Buchhunan has mentioned in Buxar Journal that there are some very good roads in the district. He travelled by a very good road with brick bridges from Koilwar to Buxar. He also mentioned a few other good roads viz. the great road to Buxar, the Varanasi road to Sasaram and the great road to Dumraon-Patna-Arrah-Buxar road, Behiya-Piro road, Dumraon-Nasriganj road, Sasaram-Bikramganj-Arrah road as also worth mentioning.
Buxar, the district headquarters is on the main line of the Eastern Railways. The Ganges is navigable all the year round and goods are transported to Kolkatta on the east and places in Uttar Pradesh on the west through the rivers.
Trade and Commerce
The district is well served by road,water and railway transport. The main trade items include cereals (rice,wheat),fruits, vegetables, fish and manufactured goods of jail industry (Central Jail, Buxar manufactures, carpets etc.). Engineering equipment, medicine and construction materials are imported in large quantities. There are also a number of mandies and important marketing centres located at Arrah and Buxar.
Panchkoshi Parikrama
This is a religious area. Many people once in a year take a round of this religious area called panchkoshi parikrama. They perform it in five days by halting in night in five villages surrounding Buxar. During the visit they cook their own food called litti-bhanta. This is a vegetarian dish which is famous in Bihar, Litti is ball shaped eatable made of wheat flour with fillings of roasted-black gram-powder called sattu mixed with salt, mustard oil and spices. Bhanta (Brinjal) roasted in the fire of Goitha (dried dung) along with potato and tomato and finally all are smashed and mixed together with spices, salt and mustard oil, after peeling off its skin (peel) and served with litti which is also roasted on the same dung-fire.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the main occupation of the majority of the people of this district. One major canal passing through this district has been the source of irrigation for the farmers along with its subsidiary channels. However, over time it has not been receiving the due care and maintenance that it needs and hence, it has become a less reliable source of irrigation, particularly, at the lower end of it. The farmers are engaged in growing rice, wheat, sugarcane, potato, jowar, bajra, maize, sunflower and all varieties of green vegetables. The district is abundant with mango trees. The district has various banks which provide loans to farmers.
Irrigation facilities
The rivers Sone and Ganges are the perennial source of surface water. They provide irrigation to major portion of agricultural land. In old days the people used to maintain hars and pynes which served the purpose of both irrigation and drainage. The district Gazetteer of Shahabad (1966) mention as follows: The agricultural prosperity of the district depends on artificial irrigation without which may tracts would be uncultivated and the land would be unable to grow sufficient food crops to sustain its population. The three great sources of irrigation were artificial reservoirs, wells and Sone Canal, all of which helped to supplement the natural supply of water and to compensate for its inadequacy or untimely distribution. Ahars are artificial reservoirs meant to collect the rain water. These long shallow tanks where protected by small embankments and served as artificial catchment basin for receiving the water coming down from the adjacent lands. From the ahars, water channels (pines) are connected.
The swoons of artificial irrigation mentioned so far however are of minor importance as compared to the Sone Canal system which has been the most important source of irrigation in the district.
Land Utilisation
In this district both the irrigated and non-irrigated areas are being exploited for cultivation purpose. Even some of the large ponds (Jhils) like one at Dumraon which was a duck shooting area have been put to use for cultivation purpose. Rice, wheat, grams and pluses are the main crops of the district: in some areas near, old Bhojpur vegetables are abundantly grown. These crops and vegetables are transported to other districts. The straw is used as fodder and for rooting the houses.
See also
References
- Spear, Percival (1977), A History of India 2, Penguin Books Ltd, ISBN 0-14-020770-8
- ↑ "Census of Buxar". http://censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
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