Madhepura

Madhepura
Town
Madhepura

Location in Bihar, India

Coordinates: 25°54′52″N 86°46′58″E / 25.9144400°N 86.7826500°E / 25.9144400; 86.7826500Coordinates: 25°54′52″N 86°46′58″E / 25.9144400°N 86.7826500°E / 25.9144400; 86.7826500
Country  India
State Bihar
Region Mithila
District Madhepura
Population (2011)
 • Total 54,472
Languages
 • Official Maithili, Hindi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 852113
ISO 3166 code IN-BR
Vehicle registration BR-43
Lok Sabha constituency Madhepura
Vidhan Sabha constituency Madhepura
Website madhepura.bih.nic.in

Madhepura is a municipality in Madhepura district in the Indian state of Bihar. Madhepura district as it stands now was carved out of Saharsa district and got the status of revenue district on 9 May 1981. Prior to that, Madhepura was a sub-division under Bhagalpur district with effect from 3 September 1845. Subsequently, it was on 1 April 1954 that Saharsa district was carved out of Bhagalpur district.

History

The history of Madhepura can be traced back to the reign of Kushan Dynasty of Ancient India. The "Bhant" communities living in villages of Basantpur and Raibhir under Shankarpur block are the descendants of the Kushan Dynasty. Madhepura was then part of Maurya Dynasty, a fact asserted by the Mauryan pillar at Uda-kishunganj.

The name Madhepura is believed to have evolved from Gangapur - a village named after Gangadeo, the grandson of King Mithi, who is said to have established the state of Mithila. Gangapur village itself is said to be named after King Gangsen of the Sen Dynasty. From 1704 AD to 1892, the Kosi river with its diverse courses remained striding the areas right from Forbisganj to Chandeli Karamchand and Raghuvansha Nagar & thereafter submerging itself into the Ganges at Kursela. As Madhepura stands at the centre of Kosi ravine, it was called Madhyapura- a place centrally situated which was subsequently transformed as Madhipura into present Madhepura. Another view is also there as to its naming as the area is said to have been inhabited by the bulk of Madhavas - clan of Lord Krishna. It was termed as Madhavpur which gradually became Madhavpur into Madhepura. (Extracted from Brihad Hindi Kosh, 5th Edition, Page- 887). In ancient times, Madhepura remained a part of Anga Desh. It was also governed by Maurya, Shunga, Kanva and Kushan dynasties. It was a part of Mithila province during Gupta Dynasty. The Mauryan Pillar discovered at Kishunganj bears testimony to it. Madhepura remained under the dominance of Bihar rulers during Rajput rule. Present Raibhir village under Singheshwar block was a stronghold of Bhars.

During Mughal period Madhepura remained under Sarkar Tirhut. A mosque of the time of Akbar is still present in Sarsandi village under Uda-Kishunganj. Sikander Sah had also visited the district, which is evident from the coins discovered from Sahugarh village

Madhepura and River Kosi

As such Madhepura district stands on the heaps of ravages caused by the mythological river Kosi originating at a height of 5400 meters in the Himalayas and crossing Tibet reaching plains at Chatra in Nepal and in India in the border of Madhubani & Darbhanga and flowing through Supaul & Saharsa negotiates with the Ganges near Kursela covering 254 km. The legend has it that Satyavati, the young sister of Vishwamitra, after being widowed at the demise of her old husband Richik reached heaven and appeared on the earth in the form of struggling and ravaging Kosi river, popularly known as the 'sorrow of Bihar'. (Extracted from Shaiv Avdharna Aur Singheshwar Asthan - Written by Harishankar Shrivastava 'Salav' & Dainik Jagran, Bhagalpur, Nagar Sanskaran, dated 30 July 2003).

Facing the onslaughts of the Kosi river, the history of Madhepura is replete with tales of owes, sorrow and sufferings. Since time immemorial, it has seen several ups and downs perpetuated by Kosi in the form of flood, famine and drought. Floods and droughts have remained the regular feature of the area so much so that the then government had to shift the court and the sub-divisional headquarters from Madhepura to Supaul from 1935 to 1938.

Religious connections

The place has remained the meditation ground of Lord Shiva and other Gods. Sri Hari Shankar Shrivastav 'Salav', a distinguished historian, finds the area of Madhepura part of Singheshwar as the place of adoration and experiment of Vivandak and his son Rishya Shringa. The name of village Satokhar standing on the western embankment of one of the tributaries of Kosi west of Singheshwar at a distance of 5 km has been derived from Sanskrit word Sapta Pokhar - Seven Ponds, said to have been created 'Yajna Shala' by Rishi Shring for Putreshthi Yajna (Sacrificial ceremony for a son's birth). Rishi Shring at the request of his wife Shanta, the adopted daughter of Rompad, agreed and performed the Yajna to precipitate God to bless King Dashratha with sons. Consequently, the wives of Dashratha were impregnated after taking medicated Khir prepared by Rishi Shring and their sons Ram, Lakshmana, Bharat & Shatrughan were born one after the other. The Bharat Puran also refers to Singheshwar as Sringeshwar. The area has been identified as Rishi Shring Ashram during Ramayana period, its vicinity being surrounded by jungle inhabited by deer, leopards, bears, etc. King Yudhishthir is said to have visited the place along with Rishi Lomus during Mahabharat period.

Sheet and Basant both rulers of Kushan dynasty inhabited in this area. The fort of Sheet was located at present Kadamma whereas the fort of Basant was located at present Basantpur, a village under Singheshwar block. Ruins and remains of those forts are still visible. Sri Nagar, a village under Ghailarh block recently carved out of Madhepura block situated at a distance of 22 kilometres west of Madhepura town also present the remains of the two forts of King Sri Deva. [1]

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,[2] Madhepura had a population of 45,015. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Madhepura has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 71%, and female literacy is 51%. In Madhepura, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age. Madhepura has the highest population of Yadavs.[3]

Rail

Dauram Madhepura station is situated on Purnia-Saharsa-Samastipur Section. There are three pairs passenger train to Purnia & Saharsa. There are trains to Patna, Darabhanga, Jaynagar & Katihar.

Road

NH-107 passes through Madhepura.It goes through Purnia, Saharsa & Maheskhut. There is daily bus service to Purnia, Saharsa, Supaul, Darbahanga & Patna.

Air

Nearest airport is Bagdogra airport Siliguri.(230 km) away and Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport, Patna.

Educational institutions

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Madhepura Pincode". citypincode.in. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  2. ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  3. ↑ http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130908/jsp/bihar/story_17323700.jsp#.Ui0_ztI3tFs
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