Patna (pop. 1,684,222; met. area pop. 2,046,652) is the capital of the eastern Indian state of Bihar. It is a long, narrow city lying on the southern bank of the Ganges River. Patna is one of the oldest areas of continuous settlement in India, dating from about 2,500 years ago. In ancient times, it was known as Pataliputra.
Pataliputra was originally a fort built by Ajatasatru, one of the early Magadhan kings, who reigned from about 494 to about 467 B.C. The city became the capital during two of the great periods of ancient India, those of the Mauryan Empire (about 324-185 B.C.) and the Gupta dynasty (about A.D. 320-500).
Chandragupta Maurya ruled from about 324 to about 298 B.C. At that time, Pataliputra was surrounded by a wall with 570 watchtowers and 64 gates. The brick palace of Chandragupta was in a fenced park filled with flowering trees and shrubs, and lakes. Chandragupta’s grandson, Ashoka (?-232 B.C.), built a new palace of stone at Pataliputra, from where he controlled almost all of India and part of central Asia. Ashoka also erected many stone monuments with carved inscriptions in the city.
The rise of the Gupta dynasty in the A.D. 300’s brought about a golden age lasting nearly 200 years. Pataliputra enjoyed a flowering of Hindu culture, known as the classical period. The poet and dramatist Kalidasa and the astronomer Aryabhata probably came to the court of Chandragupta II, who reigned from about A.D. 375 to about 415. However, the city’s fortunes declined along with those of the Gupta dynasty, and it remained unimportant until the 1500’s.
After Muslim invaders from central Asia defeated Bihar’s Hindu rulers in 1197, Pataliputra was controlled by a succession of local Muslim rulers until the 1500’s. In 1540, Muslim ruler Sher Shah Suri defeated the Mughal emperor Humayun and became emperor of northern India. In 1541, Sher Shah Suri built a new fortified city, known as Patna. After it was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1574, the city became the seat of the regional government and again rose to political, cultural, and economic prominence.
During the period of European colonial rule, Patna was a major center of trade. Both the British and Dutch East India companies established trading houses in Patna in the mid-1600’s. Cotton and silk cloth, saltpeter, and opium formed a large part of its trade. It was also a banking and diplomatic center. All financial and political transactions between the Mughal emperor in Delhi and towns throughout Bengal passed through Patna. With the growth of the city of Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the 1800’s, Patna’s importance decreased. It became the capital of the province of Bihar in 1912, after Bihar was separated from Bengal.
Patna is home to one of the holiest Sikh shrines, the Har Mandir. The shrine is dedicated to Gobind Singh (1666-1708), the 10th and last living guru (teacher) of the Sikh religion. Gobind Singh was born in Patna. Other important buildings in Patna include the Oriental Library and the Sher Shah mosque, which was built in the 1500’s. The remains of Pataliputra lie south of the city, and there have been many archaeological excavations of the area.
Patna College was founded in 1863. Patna also has a medical and an engineering college. Until the 1980’s, the difficulty of crossing the Ganges at Patna limited travel to and from north Bihar. However, Mahatma Gandhi Bridge has opened up road traffic on the main road routes to the border with Nepal. Patna also has the main airport in the state.
