Balirajgarh

Balirajgarh
Interactive map of Balirajgarh
RegionMadhubani district, Bihar, India
Coordinates26°27′34″N 86°19′23″E / 26.4594651°N 86.3230140°E / 26.4594651; 86.3230140
TypeFortification
History
Foundedc. 2nd century BCE and possibly earlier
CulturesIron Age India
Site notes
ConditionIn ruins

Balirajgarh is an archaeological site within Madhubani district of Bihar, India. The site is 1 square km and houses an ancient fortification dating back to c. 200 BCE during the period of the Shunga Empire.[1][2] It is possible the site is pre-Mauryan in origin[3] and the Cambridge University archaeologist, Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, believes Balirajgarh to be the site of Mithila, the capital of the Iron Age Videha tribe.[4] The site of the Balirajgarh fort was first identified in 1884 by George Abraham Grierson, the then Madhubani sub divisional magistrate.[5]

Description

The ruins of the Balirajgarh fort is spread over 176 acres of land. It is located at the Balirajpur village of the Bhupatti panchayat in Babubarhi block of the Madhubani district in the Mithila region of Bihar. It is one of the 71 centrally protected sites of national importance in the state of Bihar in India under the Patna circle of ASI.[5] Several scholars believe that the site of Balirajgarh fort is the remains and ruins of the Mithila’s early urban civilisation. It is officially listed as "Remains of Ancient Fort of Garh, locally known as Raja Bali Ka Garh, at Balirajgarh".[6]

In the campus of the protected site, there are over 20 mounds. On these mounds cattle and pigs come to graze grasses. On one mound, every year an annual fair of Chaiety Mela (Chaitra Navratri) is organised by the villagers, where thousands of people come to visit the fair. There is a lone pond in the middle of the campus which has never ever gone dry.[7]

According to the archeologist Dr Phanikant Mishra of the ASI, remains of a temple was also found here during the previous excavations of the site.[8]

Excavations

Following excavations of the site in 1962/63, the defensive walls were described as:[9]

consisting of a mudbrick core with brick encasement, the outer one being four times the width of the inner. The wall was battered and measured 5.18m at the base and 3.65m at the top. Three phases of construction including repairs were recognized. The earlies phase consisted of mudbrick core with battered brick revetments, of which the outer had approximately three times the width of the inner. In the second phase, a brick-concrete ramp was built against the inner face. The third phase witnessed further reinforcement of the ramp in the shape of a 3m high platform of earth mixed with potsherds, built against the inner face of the fortifications.

In 1938, the Archeological Survey of India declared the ancient site of Balirajgarh as a site of national importance under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904. In the excavations done here in five phases, three thousand years old material was found.[10] The first excavation of the site was conducted in 1962-1963 by the Archeological Survey of India. The second and third excavations was conducted by the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Bihar, in 1972-73 and 1974-75.[11] In 2013-2014, Archeological Survey of India, Bihar circle again started the excavation of the site but due to the negligence of the government no proper results were there.[12][13] In 2015 Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of Bihar Government criticized ASI (Archeological Survey of India) for slow and neglected attitude towards the Balirajgarh fort excavation.[14]

On 26 February 2026, the headquarter of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in New Delhi, has granted fresh approval for excavation at the ancient site of the Balirajgarh fort. The major objective of the proposed excavation is "search for early Mithila civilisation". The proposed excavation is rekindling hopes for in-depth exploration of the buried layers of Mithila’s early urban civilisation under the site of Balirajgarh fort.[6]

Development proposal

The MLA Meena Kumari from the Babubarhi legislative constituency in Bihar, raised the issue of the development of Balirajgarh fort, in the Bihar Legislative Assembly on the last day of the budget session in 2026. She demanded with the Government of Bihar to develop the site of Balirajgarh as a tourist destination in the region with proper facilities. The Tourism minister Arun Shankar Prasad, replied that the protected status of the site prevents the state Government of Bihar for undertaking developmental work at the site.[5]

The Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, has taken attentive initiative to establish the site of the Balirajgarh fort as a landmark site in the study of ancient Mithila similar to Nalanda and Vikramshila universities.[6]

References

  1. ^ Nath Prasad, Birendra (2021). Archaeology of Religion in South Asia: Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jaina Religious Centres in Bihar and Bengal, c. AD 600–1200. Routledge. p. 658. ISBN 9781000416732.
  2. ^ Raymond Allchin, Frank (1995). The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States. Cambridge University Press. p. 301. ISBN 9780521376952.
  3. ^ Olivelle, Patrick (2006). Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE. Oxford University Press. p. 16. ISBN 9780199775071.
  4. ^ Chakrabarti, Dilip (2007). Archaeological Geography of the Ganga Plain: The Upper Ganga (Oudh, Rohilkhand, and the Doab). Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. p. 202. ISBN 9788121511858.
  5. ^ a b c "ASI approves excavation at ancient Balirajgarh fort in Madhubani". The Times of India. 27 February 2026. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  6. ^ a b c "Search for early Mithila civilisation: ASI gives fresh nod to excavation at ancient Balirajgarh site". Hindustan Times. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  7. ^ Tewary, Amarnath (12 March 2026). "Behind the crumbling walls of Bihar's Balirajgarh Fort, a tale of monumental neglect". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  8. ^ "Balirajgarh excavation can uncover 2,000-year-old roots: ASI expert". Hindustan Times. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  9. ^ Chakrabarti, Dilip (1995). The Archaeology of Ancient Indian Cities. Oxford University Press. p. 206. ISBN 9780195634723.
  10. ^ "माता सीता के साथ, इन स्थानों के लिए भी फेमस है मिथिला क्षेत्र". Navbharat Times (in Hindi). Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Loksabha Question: Excavation at Balirajgarh Fort in Madhubani Bihar asked by Yadav Shri Devendra Prasad | Data is information". Data is Info. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  12. ^ "बलिराजगढ़ की खुदाई को जिला प्रशासन गंभीर". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  13. ^ Chaudhary, Pranava K. (24 June 2014). "Over 400 antiquities found in Balirajgarh". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  14. ^ "ASI defers licence, digs hang in balance". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
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