BEHAR

[s. 93] : A province of Bengal, British India. Ganges Valley, being divided into two nearly equal parts by that great river, which For the most runs through it from west to east. It lies in the part the country is flat; its highest hill is only about 1,600 feet above sea-level. Besides the Ganges itself, several large tributaries of that The area is river flow through the province. 44,130 square miles and the population is about There are small areas near Calcutta 24,000,000. where the density of population is greater than in Behar; but, taken as a whole, this is the most densely peopled province in all India. Each square mile of its territory contains on an average 524 inhabitants; the lowest average being found among the hills in the southeastern part, where the population, of 287 to a square mile, The consists chiefly of the aboriginal Santals. highest average, of 869 per square mile, is found in the district of Saran, in the western part of the In this latter district, which is wholly province. agricultural, the density of population in one locality reaches the enormous average of 1,240. The prevailing religion is Hinduism, with a con Nearly, or sider able number of Mohammedans. quite, a fifth of the entire population belong to cla es that derive their living from the soil, chiefly by way of agriculture or the care of herds. Few provinces of India po e more historical interest than Behar. Here, for nine hundred years, from the 4th century before Christ to our 5th century, flourished an ancient Hindu kingdom, known as that of Magadha, the rulers of which encouraged the arts and learning, built roads and sent fleets and colonists to islands as far east as Java. To Palibothra, the ancient capital of this kingdom (now identified with Fatna, its chief town of modern days), Seleucus Nicator, one of the immediate succe ors of the great At a Alexander, sent his envoy, Megasthenes. Eeriod still earlier five or six hundred years efore Christ Gautama Buddha lived as a devout ascetic in Behar, and it was at the spot now known as Buddh Gaya, in the southwestern part of the province, that he is said to have sat for five — — years under the sacred Pipul Tree wrapped in profound contemplation, until he had attained enlightenment, or Buddha hood. A spot so sacred in the estimation of millions could not fail of identification, and in recent years the intelligent care of the Indian Government has conducted researches there which have been rewarded by the discovery of most interesting relics of the early days of Buddhism. Ancient temples, dating back to 250 B. c, have been excavated; thrones, jewels, sacred images of Buddha, and other remains have been disinterred. 93