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Indian Tourism Directory --» East India Tourism --» Patna Tourism Directory

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Patna Tourism

Seat of mighty empires.Beneath the din and bustle of Patna, the capital of Bihar state, has a fascinating past. And in each chapter of its history, it has been crowned by a new name- Kusumpur, Pushpapur, Pataliputra and Azeemabad.

Turning over the pages of early Indian history one comes across the name of the pre-eminent city of Pataliputra. Located at the site where Patna is today, this city saw the rise and fall of India's first major kingdoms. Its Period of glory spanned a thousand years, from 6th century B.C. to 5th century A.D. Ajastshatru, second in the line of Magadh Kings, built a fort at Pataligram on the bank of river Ganga.

This later became famous mauryan metropolis of Pataliputra and was ruled by Chandragupta Maurya (a contemporary of Alexander) and his grandson Ashok, acclaimed for the spread of Buddism. Other emperors who ruled from Pataliputra were the Gupta and Pala Kings, Shershah Suri (16th Century) and Azimush-Shan (18th Century) grandson of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who renamed it Azeemabad. Vestiges of this ancient city can be seen at Kumhrar, Bhikhnapahari, Agamkuan, Bulandi Bag etc.

Today Patna, the capital of the State of Bihar, is an important business centre of eastern India. More significantly, it is a gateway to the Buddhist and Jain pilgrim centres of Vaishali, Rajgir, Nalanda, Bodhgaya and Pawapuri.

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Places of Interest

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GolGhar
This huge and impressive beehive-shaped structure was constructed in July 1786 by Captain John Garstin following a terrible famine in 1770, to serve as a state granary. A flight of steps winds round this 29m high building to the top from where one gets a fine view of the river Ganga and Patna city.

Museum
It contains metal and stone sculptures of the Maurya and Gupta Periods, terracota figurines and archaeological finds from different sites in Bihar. Among its prized exhibit are Ashes of the Buddha, image of Yakshi (3rd century B. C.), and a 16 metre long fossilized tree.

Har Mandirji
This shrine consecrates the birthplace of the tenth religious preceptor of the Sikh faith, Guru Gobind Singh. Originally built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a ruler of Punjab, Harmandirji is one of the holiest Sikh shrines. Standing in the Chowk area of Old Patna, this dome-dhaped structure contains Sikh scriptures and the personal belongings of the guru.