Bihar: Heritage of Religious Pluralism

Bihar, the birthplace of Buddhism and Jainism, has a rich and long history of religious pluralism and harmony. Gautama became Buddha and preached his ‘Dhamma’ at Bodh Gaya. It is in Vaishali that Mahavira, the great Tirthankara of Jainism, was born and he attained nirvana at Pawapuri. Earliest myths and legends of Hinduism enshrined in the Ramayana are associated with Bihar. Sita, the consort of Lord Rama, daughter of King Janak was born in Sitamarhi. The ancient kingdom of Janak called Videha consisted of the present day Mithilanchal districts of Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Samastipur, Madhubani, Sheohar and Darbhanga. The original author of Ramayana – Maharishi Valmiki– lived in Valmikinager, a small town in West Champaran.

Patna, once known as Pataliputra, was the capital of Ashoka the Great whose pillar- inscriptions, dating back to 3rd century B.C.E, reveal his vision of a mutli-religious and harmonious society. Adi Shankaracharya travelled all the way from South India to Bihar to have theological discourse with Madan Mishra, the great eighth century philosopher.

Not far from Patna is the ‘dargah’ of Sharafuddin Maneri, the great and revered Sufi saint. Seventeenth century Bihar was greatly enriched by the life and teachings of Sant Dariya Saheb, who tried to harmonize the best in Hinduism and Islam. Sikhism’s tenth and last guru, Gobind Singh was born at Patna City, where stands the third holiest gurudwara of the Sikhs.

Christian presence in Bihar began in 1620 when the Mughal Subedar of Patna Maquirum Khan invited Christian missionaries (Jesuits) from Bengal to set up a Christian centre at his capital, Patna City. But the mission was short lived. In 1706 another Christian centre was established by the Italian disciples (Capuchins) of St. Francis Assisi, the saint of the early 13th century who was known as peace maker. They established a Christian centre at Patna City, and founded a church in 1713. The present church, known as Padre ki Haveli at Patna City was built in 1779. The Capuchin missionary scholars studied the religions of Bihar and wrote books on them including books on Dialogue. Bihar’s oldest Christian community, now known as Bettiah Christians, was founded by them in 1745 at Bettiah, at the invitation of the King of Bettiah Kingdom. Thus, Bihar has a long and unique history of interreligious living.