The Antiquities of Biharsarif
Summary
This article provides a historical and archaeological survey of Biharsarif in Bihar. Situated near the Paimar and Panchane rivers and overlooked by a sentinel hill, Biharsarif was already an administrative headquarters when ancient cities like Carthage were in ruins. The author traces the region’s history from early Magadhan dynasties—Brhadratha, Bimbisara and Ajatasatru—whose conquests laid the foundations of imperial Magadha. Coins and inscriptions show Saka‑Kusana influences, and Skandagupta’s pillar at Biharsarif provides an early record. Hiuen Tsang found Pataliputra deserted but described a flourishing city near the Ganges, suggesting that Biharsarif (then called Srinagara) became the capital during the later Gupta period. The paper surveys subsequent Maukhari, later Gupta, Pala and Sena dynasties and describes extensive ruins of Buddhist, Jain and Brahmanical monuments both inside and outside the town. It argues that Biharsarif corresponds to Uddandapura (Odantapuri), the Buddhist university founded by Dharmapala, and that the fortified city contained the monastery while the surrounding settlement bore the secular name Srinagara. The article concludes that Biharsarif has been a key administrative and cultural centre from ancient through medieval times and that its ruins illuminate the coexistence of Buddhist, Jain and Hindu traditions.
AI-generated summary, automatically checked against the article text.
Conclusion
The study shows that Biharsarif served as an important capital and cultural centre from the Magadhan empire onward. Epigraphic and numismatic evidence, along with Hiuen Tsang’s description, suggests it replaced Pataliputra as the capital in the later Gupta era and later housed the Buddhist university Odantapuri. Ruins of Buddhist, Jain and Brahmanical monuments attest to its religious diversity. Identifying Biharsarif with ancient Srinagara and Uddandapura underscores its significance in Indian history.