Madhubani Introduction
DISTRICT PROFILE MADHUBANI INTRODUCTION Madhubani district is one of the thirty-eight administrative districts of Bihar. Formerly the northern sub-division of the erstwhile Darbhanga district, Madhubani was notified as a district in 1972. Madhubani district is a part of Darbhanga division. Madhubani is the cultural heart of Mithilanchal, being the birthplace of many literary people and home to Madhubani paintings . Madhubani has maintained a distinct individuality of its own. Madhubani is bounded in the north by the hilly region of Nepal, and districts of Darbhanga, Sitamarhi and Supaul in south , west and east respectively. The rivers that flow near Madhubani are Kosi river, Kamla Balan, Bhutahi Balan, Adhwara, Kareh, Gehuan, Supen, Trishula, Jeevachh, Bachharaja, Dhous and Ghaghr. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The name Madhubani is derived from the word "Madhuban" meaning “ forest of honey". Also, the word Madhubani is got by joining the words "madhu" and "vaani", meaning "sweet voice/language". There are no pre-historic sites in Madhubani though remains of the earliest aboriginal population known as the Tharus, Bhars, Kiratas, etc., can be seen here. They wielded power in Madhubani region prior to its Aryanisation and Shiva worship was in vogue. The kingdom of Videha, ruled by a successive line of kings known as Janakas, included Madhubani. The royalty and nobility- although the vanguard of Aryan culture, took to worshipping Shiva in consonance with the faith of their subjects. According to Mahabharata tradition, the Pandavas during their exile stayed in the region of Madhubani district. Bimbisar, the founder of the Magadhan empire, and his son Ajatshatru aspired to rule over the whole of Aryan land.
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