Purnea

Purnia (; also romanized and officially known as Purnea) is the fourth largest city of Bihar and is emerging as the largest economic hub in North Bihar. It serves as the administrative headquarters of both Purnia district and Purnia division in the Indian state of Bihar. It is well known for its favourable climate like Darjeeling and has an abundance of resources for human settlements and economic activities.

The total geographical area of Purnia Urban Agglomeration is which is next only to Patna. The population density of the city is 3058 persons per km sq. making it the 4th largest city of Bihar by population. It is nearly 315 km from Patna, as well as 171 km from Siliguri, 90 km from Bhagalpur. It is 640 km from Guwahati (Approx.) and 450 km from Kolkata, the capital of the adjacent state of West Bengal and the largest city in East India. Purnia district covers 3202.31 sq. km of the state of Bihar. The Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and three of five branches of India's Central Armed Police Forces – the Border Security Force (BSF), the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) – have bases around the district.

Etymology

Several possible origins for the name ''Purnia'' have been proposed. The name may originate from the Sanskrit word ''Purna–Aranya'', which means "complete jungle". ''Purnia'' could also be an altered form of the old name ''Purania'', derived from the word ''purain'' or Lotus, which is said to have grown on the Kosi and Mahananda rivers.

The city's name is also romanized as Purnea.

History

Purnia is part of the Mithila region. Mithila first gained prominence after being settled by Indo-Aryan peoples who established the Mithila Kingdom (also called Kingdom of the Videhas). During the late Vedic period (c. 1100–500 BCE), Videha became one of the major political and cultural centers of South Asia, along with Kuru and Pañcāla. The kings of the Videha Kingdom were called Janakas. The Videha Kingdom was later incorporated into the Vajjika League, which had its capital in the city of Vaishali, which is also in Mithila.

In the 17th century, the rulers of Purnia were involved in wars with the Kings of Limbuwan.

At the beginning of British rule, many people from Europe came to Purnia and settled here. At that time, Purnia was a complete 'Purania', meaning jungle. In the early days of colonization, Europeans settled around the Saura river in the middle of the city, now known as Rambagh area. Later, Europeans started coming west from the Saura river and making their own 'Kothi'. The civil lines existing throughout India, were also in Purnia.

Among the most active European zamindars in Purnia were Alexander John Forbes and Palmer. Alexander John Forbes bought the Sultanpur pargana from Mahajan Babu Pratap Singh of Murshidabad in 1859 and became a Zamindar. Forbes city ( Forbesganj) in the Sultanpur pargana was named after him, but Forbes lived in the city of Purnia. Forbes built the race course and various other clubs. Alexander Forbes and his wife Diana died of malaria in 1890. The Forbes family sold the Sultanpur estate to the country's business house J. K. Singhania, because of the ongoing jute cultivation.

Another Englishman who lived in Purnia was Palmer. He bought the zamindari of a king and settled in Purnia. Palmer's only daughter, Mrs. Downing, was his heir. Mrs. Downing had two heirs - her son C. Y. Downing and daughter Mrs. Hays. Today, the grand residence of Hez Saheb is the main building of Purnia College. There is a dyke in Purnia, which protects the city from floods. In Baghmara, one area in the frontier of the city, there is an embankment parallel to the Saura river, which was built by Palmer. This dam was named the Palmer Dam.

Indigo cultivation was first started in Purnia by an Englishman named John Kelly. Later, many Europeans cultivated indigo here vigorously. Shillingford, a hunter, was the foremost among them who built 'Nilha Kothi' in places such as Nilganj, Mahendrapur, and Bhavbada. Neelha farmers, another group of English farmers, heavily contrubuted to Purnia's settlement. Purnia was a very green and open area.

Places of Interest

Purnea is home to several significant religious sites attracting devotees from across the region.

* Purandevi Mandir – Dedicated to Maa Puran Devi, believed to be one of the Sidh Peethas, drawing large crowds during Durga Puja, situated at Purnea City.

*City Kali Bari – A revered Kali temple, situated on the bank of Saura river. Established by the Bengali community, this temple follows traditional Bengali customs and rituals.

*Mata Sthan – A well-known pilgrimage site dedicated to Goddess Shakti, situated at Adampur.

*Panchmukhi Mandir – A temple devoted to Lord Hanuman, known for its five-faced idol at Forbesganj More .

*Aastha Mandir – A modern temple serving as a center for religious and community gatherings, devoted to Krishna.

*Prahalad Sthambh – Associated with the Narasimha- Prahlad legend, symbolizing devotion and righteousness. It is situated at Banmankhi.

*Kamakhya Mandir – Inspired by Assam’s Kamakhya Temple, known for Tantric rituals, situated at Majra.

*Dhima Shiv Temple – A sacred Shiva temple, particularly significant during Mahashivaratri, is situated in Banmankhi.

Geography

Purnia and its surrounding lands lie in the sub-montane alluvial tract of the Gangetic Plain. The city however lies on the banks of numerous tributaries of the Koshi River. Two major rivers traverse Purnia city with the Kari Kosi river on the western end and the Saura river on the eastern end. The main city is situated between these two rivers.

Purnia city has an area of .

Climate

Purnia is known for its favourable climate; it has earned the name "Mini Darjeeling" for this reason. Purnia has a largely humid climate, with the highest level of rainfall in Bihar state and humidity rising to above 70%. A cold season, from November to February, is followed by a hot season from March to June. The monsoon season begins in early June and lasts until September; 82% of its total annual rainfall falls during the monsoon season.

January, the coldest month, has a mean daily minimum temperature of 5 to 10 °C and a mean daily maximum of 20 to 25 °C. Wind is typically light in the non-monsoon seasons but during the monsoon, storms and depressions originating in the Bay of Bengal cause heavy rain and strong winds.

Demographics

As of the 2011 census, Purnia Municipal Corporation had a total population of 282,248, of which 148,077 were males and 134,171 were females. It had a sex ratio of 906 females to 1,000 males. The population below 6 years was 43,050. The literacy rate for the 6+ population was 73.02%, compared to the 74.04% national average. Purnia Urban Agglomeration, comprising Purnia Municipal Corporation and Kasba (Nagar Panchayat), had a population of 310,817 in 2011.

Languages

Maithili, is native language and Hindi, Urdu and Bengali are the other languages spoken by the people of Purnia. Surjapuri and Santali dialects are also spoken in some parts of the city. English continues to be taught in the English Medium schools.

Languages

Economy

In recent years, Purnia is has become a regional epicenter for the service and automobile sectors.
Primarily, Gulabbagh, Khuskibagh, Line Bazar, Bhatta Bazar, Madhubani Bazar, City Industrial Estate and Maranga Outgrowth Centre are the prime locations for the economic activities.

Gulabbagh and Khuskibagh

Gulabbagh and Khuskibagh are situated at eastern outskirts of main city, and known for their famous agriculture markets (in local language ''mandi''). Many merchants come from Nepal and West Bengal to purchase supplies of raw materials, especially Maize. GulabBagh in Purnia houses a major grain storehouse and is Asia's largest maize trading center. This location as well as central and eastern Bihar supply the grain requirements of Bengal, Nepal, and the states of Northeast India. Numerous highways in Purnia, including , , provide excellent connectivity to all parts of India. Khuskibagh has fruit and vegetable markets that are close to (station code: PRNA), which provides rail connectivity.

Education

Purnia has historically been a center of education in the North Bihar region. The Zila School, founded in 1800 during the period of British rule, is the oldest school in Purnia and one of the largest in the city. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Garhbanaili (located 14 km from the main city), is a prestigious government-run school. Vidya Vihar Residential School, a leading boarding school in Bihar, has its campus in Parora, Purnia. G D Goenka Public School, one of India's leading school chains, established its third campus in Bihar in Purnia, following those in Patna and Gaya. Purnia also has a Kendriya Vidyalaya.

The prominent schools in Purnia include:
* Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Garh Banaili
* Vidya Vihar Residential School
* Kendriya Vidyalaya, AFS Purnia
* G D Goenka Public School
* Don Bosco Public School
* S.R. DAV Public School
* Ursuline Convent English/Hindi Medium School
* Millia Convent English Medium School
* Purnia High School
* Indian Public School
* B.B.M. High School
* St. Peter Residential School
* Mount Zion Mission School
* Bright Career English School
* Bijendra Public School
* Saraswati Vidya Mandir
* Saraswati Shishu Mandir
* St. John's High School
* Greenfield Public School

Colleges

Purnia has several colleges offering higher education in disciplines such as engineering, law, arts, and home science. These institutions are recognized by the state government and affiliated with various universities, including Aryabhatta Knowledge University, Bihar Agricultural University, and Purnea University.

The major colleges in Purnia include:
* Purnea College
* Purnea Mahila College
* Purnea College of Engineering
* Government Medical College and Hospital, Purnea
* Bhola Paswan Shastri Agricultural College
* B.M.T. Law College
* Government Polytechnic of Purnea
* Vidya Vihar Institute of Technology
* Millia Group of Colleges (managed by Millia Education Trust)
* Millia Institute of Technology
* Millia Polytechnic, Rambagh
* Simanchal Institute of Medical Science, Kasba
* Shershah Institute of Medical Sciences
* Medical College and Hospital by Millia Educational Trust

Additionally, a 3D animation and multimedia institute is located in Madhubani Bazar.

Healthcare

The Indian Red Cross Society operates the second-largest blood bank in Bihar, with a capacity of 1,000 units, following the one in Patna. The Bihar government has recently inaugurated one of three megastock warehouses for medicines at Kasba, which serves 13 districts of North Bihar.

Sports and Recreation

The Indira Gandhi Stadium houses a Sports Authority of India sports hostel for athletes. The DSA and Zila School grounds serve as the city's outdoor stadiums. In January 2025, the Bihar government announced the construction of a modern sports complex at Rangbhumi Maidan in Purnia at a cost of ₹42 crore. The project aims to provide advanced facilities for local athletes, enabling them to perform excellently at the state and national levels.

University

Purnia is home to Purnea University, the ninth university in Bihar. It is the only university in the Purnia Commissionerate and includes affiliated colleges from the districts of Purnia, Katihar, Araria, and Kishanganj.

Transportation

Air

Purnia Airport, is located within the cantonment area but is restricted to army usage only. Proposals for the airport to operate scheduled flights are being widely discussed at the level of the state government.

The nearest commercial airport, Bagdogra Airport, is about 150 km away at Bagdogra in Darjeeling district. And Darbhanga Airport is around 231 km from Purnia. Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport (Patna Airport) is located in Patna, capital of Bihar, at a distance of 310 km from Purnia.

Rail

Purnia is served by two railway stations separated by 5 km, (station code: PRNA) and (station code: PRNC). Purnia Junction is closer to the residents of Khuskibagh, Gulabbagh, and Eastern Purnia, while Purnia Court is in the western part of the city and caters to the residents of Madhubani, Janta Chowk, and Central and Western Purnia.

Purnia Junction is situated on Jogbani–Katihar line of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Saharsa–Purnia line of the and East Central Railway zone that connects Purnia to , , and . There are daily and weekly trains to , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and other nearby cities.

Road

National Highways namely , , , make Purnia accessible to the people from nearby cities & states while state highways connect the other neighbouring cities and villages to the main city area. The newly constructed directly connects Purnia to some important towns and cities of North Bihar namely Darbhanga & Muzaffarpur. It takes nearly 5 hours to reach Muzaffarpur through this Expressway. This expressway which also traverses through the newly built Kosi Mahasetu bridge ends at Muzaffarpur to continue further for Patna. It has turned out to be an alternate route for Patna & has helped in decongesting the ever busy and traffic-prone NH31.

traverse the main city and terminate Gulab bagh at in the east and Patna to the west via Mokama, Khagaria & Begusarai.

The east–west corridor connecting Silchar, Assam to Gujarat passes through Purnia in the form of . It is a modern four-lane highway constructed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). State Highways 60, 62, 65, 77 & 90 also pass through Purnia.

and are four-lane expressways and are a strength to the intercity transportation services.

Notable events

Phanishwar Nath Renu's popular story "Maare Gaye Gulfam" which was adapted into a film ''Teesri Kasam'' (The Third Vow), by Basu Bhattacharya (produced by the poet-lyricist Shailendra) in 1966 was shot in Purnia, in which old Purnea is pictured, especially 'the Gulabbag Mela'.

Purnia held the record for making and displaying the world's longest tricolour flag, with the length measured at 7,100 metres (7.1 km) before it was broken on 12 August 2019 by Raipur, Chattisgadh.

Notable people

* Raja Bahadur Kirtyanand Sinha (1880–1938), patron and known for charitable works
* Syed Abdus Samad (footballer) (1895–1964), footballer
* Satinath Bhaduri (1906–1965), novelist and politician
* Phanishwar Nath 'Renu' (1921–1977), novelist
* Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay (1899–1979), playwright and poet
* Bhola Paswan Shastri, three-time Chief Minister of Bihar
* Air Marshal A.K.Bharti, Deputy chief of the Air Staff, Indian Air Force
* Alo Roy, noted Bengali poet, story writer and cultural organiser
* Sushant Singh Rajput, actor
* Gurmeet Choudhary, actor
* Elizabeth Sharaf un-Nisa, 18th century Mughal noble

See also

* Chunapur

References

Further reading

* Chakrabarti D.K. (1996b). From Purnea to Champaran: The distribution of sites in the north Bihar plains. South Asian Studies, 12: pp. 147–158

{{Authority control

Cities and towns in Purnia district