Saharsa is a city and municipal corporation in the

Saharsa District Saharsa is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar, India. Saharsa city is the administrative headquarters of this district. Saharsa district is a part of the Kosi Division and it became a district on 1 April 1954 and has subsequently become ...

in the eastern part of the state of

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is situated near the eastern banks of the

Kosi River The Kosi or Koshi is a transboundary river which flows through China, Nepal and India. It drains the northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet and the southern slopes in Nepal. From a major confluence of tributaries north of the Chatra Gorge o ...

. It serves as the administrative headquarters for the Saharsa District and is also the Divisional headquarters of the

Kosi Division Kosi division is an administrative geographical unit of Bihar state of India. Saharsa is the administrative headquarters of the division. Currently (2022), the division consists of Saharsa district, Madhepura district, and Supaul district. Eco ...

. The regional language of the city is Maithili. Alongside Maithili,

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

is widely understood and spoken.

History

Saharsa is part of the

Mithila region Mithila (), also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal, is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothil ...

, which first gained prominence after settlement by Indo-Aryan tribes that established the

Mithila Kingdom Videha ( Prākrit: ; Pāli: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern Indian subcontinent whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Videha, the Vaidehas, were initially organised into a monarchy ...

(also known as the Kingdom of the Videhas). During the late Vedic period (c. 1100–500 BCE), Videhas developed as one of the major political and cultural centres of

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, along with ''Kuru'' and ''Pañcāla''. The kings of the Videhas Kingdom were referred to as

Janaka Janaka (, IAST: ''Janaka'') is the King of Videha who ruled from Mithila (region), Mithila, in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Janaka was married to Sunayana (Ramayana), Sunayana. He is the father of Sita and Urmila in the epic. The term Janaka ...

s. The Videha Kingdom was later incorporated into the

Vajjika League The Vajjika (Pāli: ) or Vrijika () League, Confederacy, or Sangha, also called simply Vajji (Pāli: ) or Vriji (), was an ancient Indo-Aryan league which existed during the later Iron Age period in the north-eastern Indian subcontinent. Na ...

, which had its capital in the city of Vaishali, which is also located in Mithila.

Economy

Agriculture

It is a major producer of

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

and

makhana ''Euryale ferox'', commonly known as prickly waterlily, makhana, or Gorgon plant, is a species of water lily found in southern and eastern Asia, and the only extant member of the genus ''Euryale''. The edible seeds, called fox nuts or ''makhana' ...

in India. From Saharsa, corn and Makhana are exported to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Every year, 2 lakh metric tons of corn are exported to different countries, and similarly, to Makhana.

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

es,

litchi Lychee ( , ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. There are three distinct subspecies of lychee. The most common is the Indochinese lychee found in So ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

, and

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

Transport

Darbhanga Airport Darbhanga Airport is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force Station, serving Darbhanga, Bihar, India. It is located just at the outskirts of the city near the NH-527B and NH-27 highways, which passes through Darbhanga. The airport is ope ...

is the nearest operational airport roughly 97 km away via road.

SpiceJet SpiceJet is an Indian low-cost airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. , it is the fourth largest airline in India by number of domestic passengers carried, with a market share of 4% and connects 73 destinations, including 60 Indi ...

and

IndiGo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

operate flights to cities including Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad. One can reach Saharsa by rail and by road from

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

, and

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. is a railway station under the

East Central Railway The East Central Railway (abbreviated ECR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India. It is headquartered at and comprises , , , and divisions. History First set up on 8 September 1996 with headquarters at Hajipur, Bihar, East Central R ...

. Saharsa Junction covers up to , Forbesganj Station, and . It is an A-category railway station under the

Samastipur railway division Samastipur railway division is one of the five railway divisions under the jurisdiction of East Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways. This railway division was formed in 1969 and its headquarter is located at Samastipur in the state of Bi ...

. The railway junction has been certified as ISO 14001:2015 for environmental management. Saharsa Junction is one of the top 50 rail ticket booking stations in

and one of the top 3 rail ticket booking stations in ECR. In early 2005, a

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

line connected it to

Khagaria Khagaria is a town in Indian state of Bihar and the administrative headquarters of Khagaria district. Khagaria is a part of Munger division. It is located at and has an average elevation of 36 metres (118 feet). The Khagaria Junction railw ...

on the New Delhi-

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

main line. Earlier, there was only a meter-gauge line on the Khagaria – Mansi – Forbesganj section of the East Central Railway. Saharsa is directly connected to

Sealdah Sealdah is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Etymology Jackals (''sheal'' in Bengali) howled around Sealdah. Antiquarians identify it as Shrigaldwipa (Jackal Island). Nearby Beliaghata ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

Bandra Bandra ( æːɳɖɾa is a coastal suburb located in Mumbai, the largest city of the Konkan division in Maharashtra, India. The area is located to the immediate north of the River Mithi, which separates Bandra from the Mumbai City district. It ...

the

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

via Train. Highways including NH107, NH327E, and NH527E help connect the city to other parts of India.

Geography

Saharsa is located at . It has an average elevation of 41 metres (134 feet). Saharsa and its surrounding areas occupy a flat

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a plain (an essentially flat landform) created by the deposition of sediment over a long period by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A ''floodplain'' is part of the process, bei ...

forming part of the

Kosi KOSI (101.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Denver, Colorado. KOSI is owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International and airs an adult contemporary music format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. ...

river basin. The city lies in the Kosi alluvial

megafan An alluvial megafan is a large cone or fan-shaped deposit built up by complex deposition patterns of stream flows originating from a single source point known as an apex. Megafans differ from alluvial fans in their sheer size. Due to their larger s ...

, one of the largest

alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to Semi-arid climate, semiar ...

s in the world. The land is very fertile but frequent changes in the course of the Kosi, one of the largest tributaries of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

, have led to the problems associated with soil erosion. Flooding is a major reason for the poor connectivity of the area; bridges are often washed away. Major flooding occurs almost annually, causing a significant loss of life and property.

Rivers

The

Koshi River The Kosi or Koshi is a transboundary river which flows through China, Nepal and India. It drains the northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet and the southern slopes in Nepal. From a major confluence of tributaries north of the Chatra Gorge onw ...

and its tributaries flood annually, affecting about 21,000 km² (8,100 sq mi) of fertile agricultural lands and affecting the rural economy. This is the most devastating river in Bihar, earning it the epithet "Sorrow of Bihar".

Demographics

In 2011, Saharsa had a population of 1,897,102, of which 995,502 and 901,600 were male and female, respectively. There was a change of 25.79 percent in the population compared to the population as of 2001. In the previous census of India in 2001, Saharsa District recorded an increase of 33.03 percent in its population compared to 1991. The initial provisional data suggest a density of 1,125 in 2011 compared to 895 in 2001. The total area under the Saharsa district is about 1,686 square kilometres (651 sq mi). The average literacy rate of Saharsa in 2011 was 54.57, compared to 39.08 of 2001. Male and female literacy were 65.22 and 42.73, respectively. For the 2001 census, the same figures stood at 51.66 and 25.27 in Saharsa District. The total number of literates in Saharsa District was 829,206, with 521,560 males and 307,646 females. In 2001, Saharsa District had 465,577 in its total region. The sex ratio in Saharsa stood at 906 females per 1000 males compared to the 2001 census figure of 910. The average national sex ratio in India is 940 as per the latest reports of the Census 2011 Directorate.An official Census detail of Saharsa, a district of Bihar has been released by Directorate of Census Operations in Bihar. Enumeration of key persons was also done by census officials in Saharsa District of Bihar.

Educational institutes

* Lord Buddha Koshi Medical College and Hospital *

Shree Narayan Medical Institute and Hospital Shree Narayan Medical Institute and Hospital, established in 2021, is a self financed medical college and hospital located at Saharsa, Bihar. This college offers the Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) courses and has an annual intake capacit ...

* Saharsa College of Engineering

Notable people

Maṇḍana Miśra Mandana Mishra (; c. ) was a Hindu philosopher who wrote on the Mīmāṃsā and Advaita systems of thought. He was a follower of the Karma Mimamsa school of philosophy and a staunch defender of the holistic sphota doctrine of language. He w ...

* Bindheshwari Prasad Mandal, former

Chief Minister of Bihar The chief minister of Bihar serves as the head of the Government of Bihar, overseeing its administration and governance within the constitutional framework of India. While the Governor of Bihar holds the ceremonial role of the constitutional h ...

Tarkishore Prasad Tarkishore Prasad (born 5 February 1956) is an Indian politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party who served as the 5th Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar from 16 November to 9 August 2022.He held the portfolios of Finance & Commercial Taxes a ...

Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar The deputy chief minister of Bihar is the seniormost cabinet member of the state government who serves as the de facto second head of the state. He is the second highest ranking executive authority of the state's council of ministers. The curr ...

Baldev Mishra Jyotishacharya Pandit Baldev Mishra was a prolific writer of Maithili literature in the 20th century who wrote extensively on several topics in his mother language Maithili. Besides Maithili, he also wrote few books in Hindi and Sanskrit cov ...

writer * Jamshedpur Gopeshwar, politician *

Ulka Gupta Ulka Gupta (born 12 April 1997) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Hindi and Telugu films and television. She is popularly known as Manu, as she played the role of Manu (the young Rani Lakshmibai) in the Zee TV soap '' Jhansi Ki R ...

, actress * Mehboob Ali Kaiser, politician * Rajkamal Choudhary writer

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Mithila, India Cities and towns in Saharsa district

History

Economy

Agriculture

Transport

Geography

Rivers

Demographics

Educational institutes

Notable people

See also

References