Meaning of word Bihar and why bihari is proud of their culture and origin
Oh! You are a Bihari. Then you must be expert in corruption, may have criminal record, may be smoking, drinking, fighting etc. This is how many Indians perceive Biharis. Word ‘Bihari’ has become synonym of poverty, corruption, backwardness, violence and failed governance. However, many Indians don’t even know the meaning of word ‘Bihari’. Bihar comes from the word vihara which means monastery (Buddhist) and so, ‘Bihari’ is a sacred word which literally means “'supreme enjoyer of place' or “creator of place” and this is why lord Krishna is known as “Banke Bihari”, “Kunj Bihari” or "Brij Bihari” and Lord Rama is known as "Avadh Bihari" or "Ajir Bihari"
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Lord Krishna-The No.1 Bihari
Without Bihar, India has limited history and cultural heritage
There are plenty of jaw-dropping facts and trivia about Bihar that will leave you bewildered and flabbergasted. Much of its glorious history is shadowed by poor administration, corruption, lawlessness and internal conflicts, still Biharis from different parts of the world are excelling in different spheres of life. Since many of the non-Biharis have wrong perceptions about Bihar and Biharis, this post is for all such ignorant Indians who knows nothing about Bihar. In reality, Bihar is the reflection of glorious history and rich cultural heritage of India. By the end of this post, it would be proven that no other state of India can beat Bihar when the discussion is on past history and cultural traditions of India.
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Bihar- The birth place of Indic religions
Bihar is the birth place of Indic religions-Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
Buddhism
Bihar is the place where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment. Bodh gaya in Bihar is the most sacred and visited place for Buddhists all over the world. Inspired by non-violence and meditation, many spiritual seekers have embraced Buddhism. Some of the greatest converts to Buddhism are King Ashoka-the great(Greatest king of all times), B.R ambedkar(Father of Indian constitution), Steve jobs(Apple CEO), Orlando Bloom(Actor from lord of the rings), Tiger Woods(top golfer), Angelina Jolie and brad pitt(top Actor), Sharon Stone(Actor), Actor Richard gere, Bill Clinton(Former American president) etc
Grand statue of Lord Buddha in gaya, Bihar
Jainism
Bihar gave world its first republic city “Vaishali”. Vaishali is also the birth place of “Lord mahavir”, the 24th and the last Tirthankara of Jain religion. Vasupujya, the 12th Jain Tirthankara was born in Champapur, Bhagalpur district of Bihar. Some of the Jainism pilgrimage centers in Bihar are rajgir, Pawapuri,patna and Vishal.
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Sikhism
Pataliputra(Patna) is one of the holiest cities in Sikhism. Guru gobind Singh was born here in 1966. Patna Saheb is one of the five holiest shrines of Sikhism. Guru nanak dev and guru teg bahadur also stayed in Patna for brief period of their time.
Bihar has the world’s largest Hindu temple and many portions of land was donated by Bihari Muslims.
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Five of the six major kingdoms of ancient India was from Bihar
Biharis are extremely proud of their rich cultural heritage and glorious history. Bihar was a center of power, learning and culture in ancient and classical India. Since the times of lord Krishna, Magadha of Bihar remained the most powerful kingdom in the world. From Magadha, arose the greatest empire of medieval India, the Maurya Empire, which united the entire Indian subcontinent and brought all kingdoms under one rule.
Magadha, Vaishali, Mithila/Videha, Anga, Sakyapradesh, Vijji, and Janaka were the major kingdoms during Vedic period symbolizing Bihar being the center of trade and culture in India. Five out of six greatest emperor of medieval India, namely Samudragupta, Ashoka, Vikramaditya, Chandragupta Maurya and nandas were from Bihar.
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Mithila-one of the oldest civilization and Maithili-one of the oldest language
Mithila kingdom was one of the world oldest civilization and comprised of modern Nepal and north Bihar. King janak was the ruler of ancient Mithila kingdom. His daughter Sita was married to lord ram, king of ayodhya. Maithili was the language of Mithila kingdom. Also my mother tongue, Maithili is the only language of Bihar that have been given constitutional status out of 14 Biharis languages. Maithili is close to Gujarati in which “Che” is used to end sentences, perhaps the reason why PM narendra modi appreciated efforts of former PM atal bihari vajpayee to promote Maithili.
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Being a Maithili himself, singer “Udit Narayan” sung more than 100 hundred songs in Maithili. Due to his historicity, Maithili was chosen as a constitutional language instead of Bhojpuri, which is widely spoken in other countries like Guyana, Suriname, Fiji, and Mauritius. Bhojpuri is one of the national languages of Guyana, Fiji, and Suriname.
Below song in Maithili is the no.1 religious song of Bihar, Nepal and eastern UP.
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Bihar-The ancient place of learning and education
World most ancient and best university was in Bihar. Bihar was the ancient place of learning and education. Students from all over the world came to nalanda and Vikramshila University for their education and settled on the banks of holy river Ganga.
Ruins of Nalanda University
Bihar was and is still one of the most fertile plain of the world. This was the primary reason behind increased migration and thus the increased population of Bihar. However, now the trend has reversed since Biharis have started migrating to all other states and countries. Megasthenes, political advisor of alexander, termed Bihar as “the land of learned and educated men”. He called Bihar to be better than Athens, Shuza, Samarkand and the whole of Persia. First republic in the world was Vaishali city of Bihar.
Non-Violence originated in Bihar
Non-Violence, the most enchanting concept in the history of mankind came from land of Bihar. Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavir, the pioneering propagators of non-violence preached humanity from Bihar. Bodh gaya(enlightened place of lord buddha) and Pawapuri(enlightened place of lord mahavir) became the symbolic places of non-violence. King Ashoka, Who attributed largely to the cause of Buddhism, started preaching the philosophy of non-violence from Bihar.
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Biharis have always defeated greatest of the great
Chanakya stopped the invasion of alexander, the greatest king of his times. Via his superior intelligence, he not only stopped alexander but also poisoned him to death.
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Chandragupta and Asoka Maurya defeated all kingdoms and brought entire Indian sub-continent under one rule.
Another Bihari, “Jai Prakash Narayan” was the first Indian to stop the winning march of Gandhi dynasty. After Indian independence, Gandhi’s dominated Indian politics for four decades but was defeated by the Janata dal party of “Jai Prakash Narayan” in 1977. After two decades, another Bihari, “Atal Bihari Vajpayee” stopped the winning march of Gandhi dominated congress party. Oops, “Atal Bihari Vajpayee” is not a Bihari by birth, but he does have ‘Bihari’ in his nameJRecently, Biharis stopped the winning march of BJP and narendra modi in Delhi and Bihar. Personally, I am very disappointed by loss of BJP as I love narendra modi since I have never seen or heard of a hardworking and nationalist PM like him.
Some other famous personalities of Bihar
Daanveer Karna:
Who is the greatest warrior of Mahabharata? Anyone who has seen Mahabharata would say karna for obvious reasons. Even lord Krishna adjudged him better than arjuna. Karna ruled anga kingdom (Present day “munger” and Bhagalpur district of bihar)
Aryabhatta: Others started from 1 but our Bihari hero started from zero. Aryabhatta, till date, remains the greatest mathematician of all times.
Chanakya: Dressed like a Brahmin, he was the best diplomat and economist of all times. Along with Chandragupta Maurya, he ruled entire India. He stopped the western invasion by poisoning the most cruel and dangerous Greek king, alexander, to death.
King Asoka and Chandragupta maurya: Asoka is considered as the greatest king of all times. Asoka Chakra which adorns India’s national flag was the symbol of King Asoka.
Rajendra Prasad: A freedom fighter and social activist, the first President of India, was from Siwan, Bihar.
Bismillah Khan: A famous Shahnai player and bharat ratna recipient, Bismillah Khan, was born in Bihar.
Navin Ramgoolam:
Most of the former and current prime minister and president of Mauritius have their origin in Bihar. Below is the pic of former prime minister of Mauritius.
Anil Agarwal: A scrap metal trader, he is a self-made businessman from Patna. Once the 3rd richest Indian, he is now the 15th richest Indian.
Ain’t I missing anything?? Oh yes! I am also from Bihar.
Biharis controls the security of India
It is a strange irony that Biharis are hold responsible for all crimes in India but still, all the important security organizations is entrusted in the hands of Biharis.
Without Biharis, India is not secure. Security of India is in the hands of Biharis.
1) D.K PATHAK, is Chief of BSF (Border security force) is from Bihar. He has received ovation and appreciation from PM narendra modi, HM Rajnath singh and NSA ‘Ajit Doval’ for his outstanding efforts against Pakistani rangers.
2) New IB (Intelligence bureau) chief, Dineshwar Sharma is native of Pali village of gaya, Bihar.
3) Anil Kumar Sinha, another native of Bihar, is the new director of CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation). He took over from Ranjit Kumar Sinha(another Bihari). CBI has been headed by the Bihari officer third time in a row.
4) Special Protection Group (SPG): Security of Indian prime minister, is in the hands of SPG and this too is headed by a Bihari IPS officer “Vivek Srivastav”.
5) Krishna Chaudhary, native of bihar is director general of the Railway Protection Force (RPF).
6) Director General of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is Bihari IPS officer “Rajiv Ranjan Verma”
Qualities of Biharis
Hardworking and intelligent
No educated person can deny that Biharis are miraculously intelligent and top the Public Services exams or become good Doctors and Engineers. We put our heart in whatever they do, be it driving auto, selling vegetables or developing softwares etc. All elite institutions like IIT, IIM, NIT, IAS/IPS are filled with Biharis. Coupled by hard work, intelligence and determination, we are the best in their field. We are not only awesome in our field but also intelligent enough to suggest and advice in other fields. Because of our hard work and intelligence, we holds higher administrative posts in many public and private companies.
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Valiant and courageous
Biharis are very courageous and have contacts almost everywhere for jugaads.
Staying with Bihari, be assured that you are well-protected and nothing bad can affect you. Avoid talking rudely with any Bihari. We don’t like getting offended by others and would always think of teaching such people a lesson. We wouldn’t let anyone go off so easily.
Very tough and passionate
Coming from an underdeveloped state, we have seen the lowest standards of living. So, we are mentally and physically very tough and can adapt to any situations. Moreover, we have the passion and determination to change our lowly situations as much as we can. We are a very future oriented person and generally don’t waste money in luxurious pleasures. We don’t like to show offs. You can't debate with us. We can justify literally everything by using statistics and facts and you can't do anything but believe it
Caring, courteous, loving and affectionate
We smile, care, love and show affection to our beloved ones.
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Love in bhojpuri style
We are romantic, understanding, and courteous and take balanced decisions which helps in maintaining relationships. We values family more than work. Sometimes, we can be possessive but manages situations very well. This is why those who have a loving Bihari boyfriend/girlfriend says very proudly "Ek bihari sau (hundred) pe bhaari".
We speak the world most humorous language
Bhojpuri is the most humorous language in the world. Even alien in PK didn't understand any language except Bihari language. Instead of saying 'Ek, Do, Teen', we say ‘Ek Go, Du Go, Teen Go'.
If you think Bhojpuri is not humorous, then read the following post.
<55 Funny bhojpuri movie titles that will blow your mind>
<55 Funny hollywood movie titles in bhojpuri that will blow your mind>
Modest and Respect for culture
Coming from a poor and humble background, educated Biharis are generally very modest and well-cultured. Bihari says “Hum” instead of “Main”. Biharis are often ridiculed by others for bad grammar but the fact is saying “Hum” is a mark of respect and indirect appreciation to others. When we say “Hum”, it shows that we dedicate our achievement to others too but when say “Main”, we tend to be selfish & arrogant and boasts only about ourselves.
Even though Biharis are considered as an inferior race, the fact is we are more proud of our existence and cultured than anyone else. Just see the crazy migrant Biharis boarding the train during Chhath festival. All trains to Bihar are jam-packed as all Biharis including Muslims rush to their home state to participate in the celebrations. Though Biharis are separated by different ideologies, religions and castes, one thing that unites all Biharis is festival of chhath.
Chhath puja-World oldest Vedic festival dedicated to sun god
Egoistic and Stubborn
Many Biharis are Stubborn and super-egoistic. You must be able to handle their ego pretty well. If we want to achieve something, then we will work our ass hard to get it anyhow. We will work hard to get the things done according to their own way. Once we decided on something, there is no stopping us, we just don’t listen. Our goals are bigger than our imaginations and we strive hard to achieve them without blaming the external conditions.
For Ex: when I started my spiritual blog, then I was ridiculed by some of my friends for doing something which no educated person would do. But I stick to my beliefs and I did what I wanted to do and I defended my work very well.
Because of our stubborn and egoistic actions, we often lose good friends due to misunderstanding.
When I say stubbornness, how can I forget a world famous Bihari “Dasrath maanjhi”, who alone broke a mountain
Why Biharis should be proud of themselves?
Despite of its significant achievements and past history, Bihar remains one of the most under-rated states of India. Well, I already stated many facts which can make every Bihari proud. Below are some more:
1) Bihar is the only state from where the under-privileged children of the society reaches the top institutes of the world. Super-30 is the best example which has sent hundreds of under-privileged children’s to top companies of the world.
2) Bihar alone has produced more number of IAS/IPS officers than the so called educated south-Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra unitedly.
3) Bihar has produced more probationary officers than any other state
4) World’s first yoga university is in my hometown munger.
View of world first yoga university on banks of river ganga, munger
See the crowd of foreign devotees chanting Hare Krishna mahamantra at this university in front of goddess Ganga
In 2004 Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, beloved President of India (2002-2007) named Munger the �City of Yoga�. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bitjOV-1Jrc>
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueVQYDwszWs>
5) Oldest surviving Vedic festival is chhath puja, the no.1 festival of Bihar and cultural icon of Bihar. Chhath puja was venerated by Goddess Sita of Ramayana, Bhisma, karna draupadi of Mahabharata and all great sages of India.
My humorous barb on those who hate Biharis
Below is one of the conversation I had with a girl who hated Biharis
Girl: I hate Biharis
Me: Hmm...Ok
Expecting a reply from me, she waited for a minute. But I intentionally chose not to reply.
Girl: (Surprised) wouldn’t you ask why I hate them?
Me: No, I already know
Girl: Really? Then tell me why?
Me: Because you are an ignorant kid who hasn’t grown enough to think beyond what you see
Girl: How can you say this to me?
Me: There can be plenty of reasons to hate an individual or group with whom you have personally interacted or had bad experiences but if you are going to blame an entire diaspora or community, who had a rich cultural heritage, just because of your bad experience with few of them just shows how stupid and ignorant you are. You are like a kid who just look at things but don’t understand them
Girl: (After a thought) I don’t hate all Biharis. I hate only few Biharis.
Me: Ok. That’s fine
It took only a minute for me to change her perception towards others.
Below are some of the favorite questions posed to me and my answer on them
From where you are, brother?
Bihar
Oh that state where 5th and 6th grade kids also carry pistols and knives?
Yeah, in schools they are taught to fire guns and pistols so that they later join the burgeoning kidnapping industry and take good care of their kids. You don’t get a good job unless you have 2-3 murders in your kitty.
Guns produced in gun factory at my hometown, munger
“Is it true that if you walk alone, then you will be kidnapped in Bihar?"
Yes, because Biharis encourage social harmony. If you are alone then it means you are very arrogant, selfish and egoistic and don’t like to live in groups. Biharis don’t like this and so, you are kidnapped and tortured.
Aren’t Biharis just illiterate goons?
Yes, I also got degree of kidnapping from tabela of Bihar. I even have a certificate from Nalanda University for being the master in rapes, forgery, murder and all other criminal activities.
Are there only slums in Bihar?
Yeah, everyone including chief minister lives in slums.
Q. Why there are so many Biharis in Mumbai and other states?
All Biharis are on the mission of ruling India and with people at influential positions in every region, much of our mission is already achieved.
Why Biharis spit paan and gutka everywhere?
It’s the most important sport of Bihar. Every year, competitions are held and awards is given to Biharis who spits the most on roads.
Is there any airport in Bihar?
No, I travel to my hometown by bullock cart or cycle only. I have never seen an aero plane or airport.
"Is it true once the train enters Bihar-you are being robbed?"
Yes, since all visitors travelling to Bihar are very rich, they are robbed every day. Riding on horses, chasing trains and robbing trains is the second most followed sport in Bihar and we feel very privileged to do it.
You don't look and talk like a Bihari?
Yeah, I did plastic surgery and I completed a local language course last year
Japanese premier to Laloo: Give us Bihar and we will transform it to Japan in 10 years.
Laloo response to Japanese premier: Give me Japan, and I will transform it to Bihar in 1 Year.
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Who I am?
Like any other mother who goes to her parental house during conception of child, my mother went to Bihar before my birth. As a result, I was born in Bihar but shortly moved to Mumbai after my birth. Out of my 30 years, I have hardly stayed for few months in Bihar. So, since my janma-bhoomi(birth place) in Bihar and my karma-Bhoomi is Mumbai, when somebody ask me about my origin, I say very proudly, “By Janma, I am a Bihari but by karma, I am a Marathi"
To conclude, I am a Bihari but I am not a...
Thug
Thief
Burglar
sabji wala (vegetable vendor)
Girl harasser
kidnapper
Killer
Rapist
Pickpocket
Relative of politician
Watchman/security guard
Doodh wala (milkman)
Didn't go to school riding a buffalo
Don't own a cow
Malnourished
On the contrary, like any other fellow Biharis, I am:
software engineer and qualified professional
Good in written and spoken English
Good in maths, science, technology and literature
Excellent health
Friendly and joking
Warm-hearted
Concerned about my nation's economy and politics
Hard-working and courageous
Passionate and futuristic
Always enjoy hard... VERY HARD....
Always willing to help everyone
Willing to work and perform under any situation
Excellent orator and presenter
Why Non-Biharis have wrong perception of Biharis?
Because of Laloo Yadav, many Biharis hide their identities as they are afraid of being labelled as rapists and a source of criminal activities. Many Bollywood and south Indian movies have done a good job in profiling Bihari as a poor, loud, uncivilized, rude and hot-headed villain. Due to this, anyone who is uncultured, illiterate or behaves miserly or improperly is labelled as a Bihari. Typical image of Bihari in everyone’s mind is that of a doodh-wala(Milk man), sabzi vala(Vegetable vendor), Dhobi(Washerman), auto-driver etc. Since most of Indians sees a Bihari every day in doodhwala, sabziwala, autowala, and not in IPS/IAS/engineers/ doctors, they don’t have a decent perception of Biharis.
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Non-Biharis hate Biharis for no rational reason
Many of the ones who hate Biharis have no rational reason. They simple hate because for no reason, they think themselves to be great than Biharis. Another reason why Biharis don’t have a good name is because successful Biharis hide their identity as they are ashamed of being ridiculed by others. Unlike Bengalis who boasts of their intellectual heritage by citing doses of Subhash Chandra Bose or Rabindra Nath Tagore, Biharis often don’t live up to their image by citing the unmatched greatness of Chanakya/ Chandragupta or ashoka maurya, Lord Buddha, lord mohair, Lal Bhadur Shastri, Jai Prakash Narayan etc
Why whole India is indebted to Biharis?
Biharis are often blamed for crimes on basis of pre-defined stereotypes and dogma but in reality, all Indians are indebted to Biharis for their low cost labor, hardwork, efficiency and productivity, without which inflation would have grown beyond limits and development would have been very limited. Biharis have been actively pushing the economy of other states. Biharis migrate to other states to fulfill their dream, a right that has been guaranteed to every citizen by republic of India. Biharis take up the job which others don’t. Irrespective of what the Biharis does, be it driving auto, selling vegetables or working as laborers, it contributes equally to the development of the states. Biharis are engineers, managers, doctors, businessmen etc but the perception of a “Bihari” remains the same. Comments of Sheila Dikshit “that these people are law breakers” and of Raj Thackeray that “ek bihari sau bimari” are discriminatory anti-Bihari sentiments that are going to hurt the localities more than the migrant Biharis.
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Few Biharis visiting my blog wanted me to write a post on Bihar. So, here I am done. Happy!!!! “Toh kuch meetha ho jaye”Please share this article to all your friends.
Not Happy?????? Then, below is my small poem for all Biharis
जिसे चाहती है दुनिया सारी
उसे कहते है लोग बिहारी
जो सब पर पड़ता है भारी
उसे कहते है लोग बिहारी
जिसने कभी हार नहीं मानी
उसे कहते है लोग बिहारी
जिससे कोई नहीं कर सकता होशियारी
उसे कहते है लोग बिहारी
जिसने बड़ो बड़ो की बाजा डाली
उसे कहते है लोग बिहारी
जिसकी आपार है बुद्धिमानी
उसे कहते है लोग बिहारी
जो है अति-वीर और साहसी,
उसे कहते है लोग बिहारी
जो है बहुत शालीन और स्नेही
उसे कहते है लोग बिहारी
जिसने देश के कोने कोने में टाट