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UPSC & State PSC

Bihar History for BPSC

Magadha and Vaishali, the Buddha and Mahavira, the Mauryas, Nalanda and Vikramshila, Sher Shah, 1857, Champaran and the JP movement. It appears in Prelims and in Mains GS, where you must explain Bihar's role in national events, not just list them.

11 guides·Conducted by Bihar Public Service CommissionOfficial website

Study in this order

  1. 1The rise of Magadha: Haryankas, Shishunagas and NandasOf the sixteen great states of the sixth century BCE, one — Magadha, in south Bihar — swallowed the rest and became the core of India's first empire. Who ruled it, how it expanded, and why geography, iron and ambition made Magadha supreme. 4 min read
  2. 2Vaishali and the Vajji confederacyTwo and a half thousand years ago, a confederacy of clans in north Bihar governed itself through assemblies and debate. The Buddha admired it; Magadha coveted it. What we know about Vaishali's gana-sangha, why it is called one of the world's early republics, and how it fell. 3 min read
  3. 3The Buddha in Bihar: Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, VaishaliThe Buddha was born in Lumbini and died at Kushinagar, but it was in Bihar that he attained enlightenment, taught for decades, and gathered his earliest royal patrons. The places, events and councils that make Bihar the heartland of early Buddhism — and what Buddhism taught. 4 min read
  4. 4Mahavira and Jainism in BiharVardhamana Mahavira was born near Vaishali, attained enlightenment in Bihar and died at Pawapuri. Jainism's teachings — non-violence in its strictest form, many-sided truth, and the discipline of the five vows — took shape in the same Magadhan world as Buddhism. The life, teachings and Bihar sites that BPSC asks about. 4 min read
  5. 5The Mauryas and PataliputraFrom its capital at Pataliputra, the Mauryan empire ruled most of the Indian subcontinent — the first empire of its kind. How Chandragupta and Chanakya built it, how it was governed, what Megasthenes saw in Pataliputra, and what archaeologists have found under modern Patna. 4 min read
  6. 6Ashoka and his DhammaAfter the slaughter at Kalinga, an emperor ruling from Pataliputra carved his remorse into stone and promised to govern by Dhamma — a code of ethical conduct for rulers and subjects alike. Ashoka's inscriptions, his Dhamma, his pillars in Bihar, and why historians still debate what he meant. 4 min read
  7. 7The Guptas and BiharSix centuries after the Mauryas, another dynasty rose in the Magadha region and presided over a flowering of science, literature and art often called India's classical age. The Gupta rulers, their links with Bihar and Pataliputra, Aryabhata of Kusumapura, and the founding of Nalanda. 4 min read
  8. 8Nalanda and Vikramshila: Bihar's ancient universitiesFor some seven centuries, students from across Asia travelled to Bihar to study at Nalanda — logic, grammar, medicine, philosophy, astronomy. Vikramshila, Odantapuri and other great monasteries followed. Their history, their teachers and visitors, their destruction, and the revival of Nalanda in our time. 4 min read
  9. 9The Palas of Bihar and BengalIn the eighth century, after decades of anarchy, the people of Bengal chose a king. His dynasty — the Palas — ruled Bihar and Bengal for four centuries, patronised Nalanda and Vikramshila, fought for Kanauj, and produced a distinctive school of sculpture and painting. A complete guide for BPSC. 4 min read
  10. 10Sher Shah Suri: the administrator from SasaramIn just five years on the throne of Delhi, a jagirdar's son from Sasaram reorganised revenue, currency, roads and the post — reforms the Mughals would build on for two centuries. The life of Sher Shah Suri, his victories over Humayun, and why he is remembered as one of India's great administrators. 4 min read
  11. 11Bihar under the Sultanate and the MughalsBetween Bakhtiyar Khalji's arrival around 1200 and the Battle of Plassey in 1757, Bihar passed through the hands of Delhi sultans, Bengal sultans, Jaunpur, the Surs and the Mughals. It also became a centre of Sufi thought, the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh, and a hub of saltpetre trade. A structured guide. 4 min read

New Bihar History guides are added regularly. Back to all BPSC guides