Major foreign travelers visiting Bihar

Today in this article, we are telling you about the major foreign travelers coming to Bihar, with the help of which you can not only help BPSC but also Anganwadi, AIIMS Patna, BPSC, BRDS, BSPHCL, Bihar Education Project Council, IIT Patna, RMRIMS, Bihar Agricultural University, District Health Society Arwal, Bihar Police, Bihar Steno, Bihar Constable, BSSC You can easily prepare for the exam.

Prominent foreign travelers visiting Bihar

Megasthenes

Megasthenes came to the court of Chandragupta Maurya in 315 BC as a messenger of the Satrap Seleucus, the West Asian territories of the Macedonian conqueror Alexander, where he lived for almost a decade. He has discussed about India in a book called Indica. This work is not available, but later historians have presented its quotes in their works, which are safe. In this there is a detailed discussion of Patliputra city and its administration.

At the time of Megasthenes, this city i.e. Pataliputra or Palibrotha was almost 200 years old. According to Megasthenes, the Raj Bhavan was in the center of the city and was surrounded by beautiful gardens, with a system of small ponds and springs.

Some facts about Indica

Pataliputra is called Palibrotha in Indica. According to it it was the largest and grandest city of India, 9.5 miles long and 15 stadia wide in 280 stadia. It was situated at the confluence of the Ganges and Son rivers. According to it it was prettier than the cities of Susa and Ekbatana. It was protected by a deep moat (which was 600 feet in width and 45 feet in depth) and a protective wall with 64 gates and 570 minarets.

The city administration was governed by a 30 member board. The said board was divided into 6 committees. The members of this board collectively looked after the maintenance of public buildings, cleanliness of the city etc. Members from this ashtonomai used to say,

Demaclis (Dimex)

In the court of Chandragupta's successor Bindusara, Dimokiles or Dimachus also remained for a long period as the emissary of Seleucus, the Greek ruler of Syria. Although no account of his writing is available, but the later classic writer Strabo, (64 BC – 10 AD) mentions that Dymex wrote an account about Pataliputra and India. Presently his residence in Pataliputra shows that Hindi had friendly relations with the Greek rulers even during this period.

Fahian

Fahien was born in a place called Wu-Yang of China, this Chinese traveler came to India in 399 AD and remained there till 411 AD. Its purpose was to find Buddhist texts. He lived in Pataliputra for 3 years.

According to him, there were two grand Buddhist viharas of Mahayana and Hinayana sects in the city, in which 600 to 700 monks lived. Due to the scholarship of these Buddhist monks, people from all over the country and abroad used to come and receive education from them.

According to Fahien, Magadha was a prosperous state. Here he saw the Rath Yatra of Brahmins, in which the idols of the gods were taken out in a well-equipped chariot. On the 8th of the second month of every year, the procession of Buddha and Bodhisattva was taken out decorated with 20 chariots. He also went to Nalanda and Rajgir where he did the Gridhakoot hill. While seeing the Gridhakoot hill, he became so emotional that he wept bitterly.

Yuwan-chwang

Yuvan-Chwang was a contemporary Chinese traveler of Harshavardhana who lived in India from 630-644 AD. Si-U-Key is a book based on its travelogue.

According to him Nalanda was the center of higher education in northern India. Students from abroad also used to come here. At that time there were 8,500 students and 1,510 Acharyas. Education of religion, grammar, logic, science and medicine was available here. According to Hansong, at that time Kannauj was at its height and Pataliputra had become its grandeur and some villages were left in the cluster.

itsing

This was the second Chinese traveler of the seventh century. India came in 673 AD and remained there till 692 AD. He received his education in Nalanda Mahavihara. According to him 5000 monks lived in Nalanda at that time. He has also discussed about Vikramshila Mahavir.

heko

This was a Buddhist monk from South Korea, who lived in the eighth century. It wrote as his memoir Pilgrimage to Five Kingdoms of India Wrote a book called Koreans first world wide Koreans traveling around Asia by sea and by road I agree.

dharmaswamin

The Buddhist monk Dharmaswamin came to India in the 13th century. According to him, Turks used to attack. An important information is received from his description that between 1197-98 AD, the destruction of Nalanda Mahavihara was at the hands of Bakhtiyar Khilji.

Mulla Takiya

During the reign of Akbar, it traveled from Jaunpur to Bengal. Its description is an important study source of the history of Bihar, but its complete copy is not safe. Only a few excerpts, which have been translated and published in Urdu, are now available. In these there is a detailed discussion regarding North Bihar especially Darbhanga region.

Rolf Fitch

English traveler who visited the Mughal Empire between 1585-87. While going from Agra to Bengal, he had passed through Bihar and he has discussed Patna. According to him, people in Patna used to dig the land and search for gold. He has described the textile, opium and sugar industries of Patna. According to him there was superstitious behavior among the residents, especially women.

Abdul Latif

Abdul Latif was an Iranian traveller. He came to Bihar in 1600 AD and traveled from Agra to Taj Mahal by the Ganges river route. He has described Chausa, Sasaram, Patna, Munger and Raj Mahal. The original copy of his travelogue is unavailable but parts have been translated into English.

Mohammed Sadiq

Mohammad Sadiq was an Iranian traveler who came to Patna with his father and stayed here for about 4 years. His father was appointed Diwan-e-Khalisa of Patna in 1619-20 AD. He has described the beauty of Patna and its glory, as well as discussed famous scholars. The name of his account is Subah-e-Sadiq.

Peter Mundy

It was the trading officer of the British who was in India during the early reign of Shah Jahan. He stayed here till 1628-34. In 1632 AD, he came to Patna because it was a major trading center at that time. He wrote especially about the townspeople, the feudatories.

He has described a special type of kayak Mayurpankhi and also discussed about the Sarai made by Saif Khan and the measures related to public welfare. According to him Patna was a prosperous center of international trade at that time, where a large number of Mongol, Iranian and Armenian traders were settled.

Manrique

This traveler from Poland came to Patna in the first half of the 17th century (about 1612 AD). According to him, the population of Patna was 2,00,000, where there were grand buildings, mosques and inns. People were happy here. Patna was an important center of trade where bullion trades worth lakhs of rupees were done or exported to Central Asia.

Manuchi

This Italian traveler named Manucci came to India during the reign of Shah Jahan. He came to Patna in the middle of the 17th century and gives him a description of the Bihar of the period.

Taverniye

John Tavernier, a French traveler, came to Patna in 1665-66 AD. He used to discuss the administrative system of Bihar, trade with rent etc. and also the trade of saltpetre by Holland residents in Patna. He also met Armenian merchants here. According to him the trade of Patna was also done with inaccessible areas like Bhutan, Assam and Tripura.

John Marshall

The English traveler Marshal, who was a physician, came to Patna in the first half of the 17th century. He has discussed the structure of Patna city, the living conditions of doctors, musicians, mystics and dervishes. At that time there was a severe famine here in 1670-71. According to him food grains were very expensive and during this period 1.15 lakh people were killed in the adjoining areas of Patna.

Mula Bahbahani

He was an Iranian cleric who came to Bihar in the 19th century. He traveled to the Rajmahal of Murshidabad, Bhagalpur, Munger, Patna and Sasaram and described all the aspects of these cities. Bahbahani traveled to Bihar several times and later settled in Patna.

He has called Patna as Jamitul Hind (Heaven of India). He also mentions the Navnirman of Patna and the naming of Azimabad by Prince Azim. He had heard the discussion of Saif Khan's madrassa in Patna in Iran. The name of his travelogue is Meerutul Ahwal.

Bishop Heber

It was an English priest who reached Bihar in 1824 AD while traveling by river route from Bengal. While passing through the river he observed and described the panoramic view of Patna.