________________ THE GLORIES OF BIHAR J. W. HOULTON, I. C. S. In Bibar we have especial opportunities for the study of history and archaeology at first hand, for Magadha is prominent in the ancient history of India, and particularly in that period which to my mind is the most fascinating of all, the Mauryan epoch. From the description of those who visited the capital of Asoka's empire, from other writings, and from the excavations financed by Sir Ratan Tata, we know more about that period than about the centuries which followed. We can conjure up in imagination the glories of Pasaliputra, with its royal palace and pillared halls, wide streets, and shops and restaurants, its lofty wooden ramparts, and its jetties on the Ganges and the Sone. For we may assume that when Pataliputra was selected as the successor to Rajgir, it was especially favoured by its location at the poict where at the time the Sone flowed into the Ganges. It was a period when the arts, especially architecture, sculpture and terra-cotta work, reached great heights. The Didarganj statue and a few other remains are enough to show how high was the artistic attainment of that period. We can only hope that future excavations in our province will reveal more such masterpieces and will teach us more of the manners and customs of the time. To recall the wealth of Bihar in historical associations, we have only to mention a few of the famous places in our province: Rajgir, Nalanda University, Bodha Gaya, a hundred other sites which are associated with Gautama Buddha; places which recall the founder of the Jain religion; still older cities, like Campapagar near Bhagalpur, and other sites famed in Hindu mythology.
