Bairat
Encyclopedia
Bairat is a town in northern Jaipur district
of Rajasthan
, India
. It is located 52 km north of Jaipur
, and 66 km west of Alwar.
, when it was known as "Viratnagar". Viratnagar was the capital of the ancient Mahajanapada (kingdom) of Machcha or Matsya
. The kingdom came under the control of the neighboring Chedi Kingdom
in the 5th century and was later part of the Mauryan Empire. The ruins of the Bijak-ki-pahadi, a Buddhist Chaitya
(chapel) from the 3rd century BCE located in Bairat, are the oldest free-standing Buddhist structures in India. The town is also home to ruins of a Buddhist monastery
, a wood and timber shrine, and rock-cut edict from Emperor Ashoka
; these date from the Mauryan period.
The town has a number of Mughal
structures, including a Chhatri
(cenotaph) with some of the earliest surviving murals in Rajasthan, and a lodge where the Mughal emperor Akbar hunted and stayed overnight on his yearly pilgrimage to Ajmer
.
The town's Viratnagar Museum houses artifacts from Bairat's long history, including sculptures, coins, pottery, seals and metal objects. The Virat Nagar also known for Great cow lover Mahatma Ramchandra Veer's birth place. The only hindu saint who did anshan to stop the killing of animal in the Temples of India. He had established the Panchkhand Peeth on the top of hill. He was a devotee of God Hanumana but his Hanuman not a monkey but was well known shasthra pandit and the their caste was named Vanar. He had also written the Hindu epic Ramayana in Hindi language the named "Ram katha Amrit", " Vijay Pataka" "Vinash ke Marg" & "Humare Hutatma".
In 634, the Chinese
explorer Xuanzang
visited Bairat.
The Banganga River
originates from a nearby village, Mair.
, Viratnagar had a population of 17,237. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Bairat has an average literacy rate of 50%, lower than the national average of 59.5%; male literacy is 65%, and female literacy is 34%. Twenty percent of the population is under 6 years of age.
Jaipur district
Jaipur District is a district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. The city of Jaipur, which is Rajasthan's capital and largest city, is the district headquarters. It is the tenth most populous district in India .-Geography:...
of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is located 52 km north of Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
, and 66 km west of Alwar.
History
Bairat's history goes back to the time of the MahabharataMahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, when it was known as "Viratnagar". Viratnagar was the capital of the ancient Mahajanapada (kingdom) of Machcha or Matsya
Matsya Kingdom
Matsya or Machcha , classically called the Mese , was the name of a tribe and the state of the Vedic civilization of India. It lay to south of the kingdom of Kurus and west of the Yamuna which separated it from the kingdom of Panchalas...
. The kingdom came under the control of the neighboring Chedi Kingdom
Chedi Kingdom
Chedi kingdom was one among the many kingdoms ruled during early periods by Paurava kings and later by Yaduvanshi Rajput kings in the central and western India. It falls roughly in the Bundelkhand division of Madhya Pradesh regions to the south of river Yamuna and along river Betwa or Vetravati...
in the 5th century and was later part of the Mauryan Empire. The ruins of the Bijak-ki-pahadi, a Buddhist Chaitya
Chaitya
A chaitya is a Buddhist or Jain shrine including a stupa. In modern texts on Indian architecture, the term chaitya-griha is often used to denote assembly or prayer hall that houses a stupa.-History:...
(chapel) from the 3rd century BCE located in Bairat, are the oldest free-standing Buddhist structures in India. The town is also home to ruins of a Buddhist monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
, a wood and timber shrine, and rock-cut edict from Emperor Ashoka
Ashoka
Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...
; these date from the Mauryan period.
The town has a number of Mughal
Mughal architecture
Mughal architecture, an amalgam of Islamic, Persian, Turkish and Indian architecture, is the distinctive style developed by the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries in what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It is symmetrical and decorative in style.The Mughal dynasty was...
structures, including a Chhatri
Chhatri
Chhatris are elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indian architecture. Chhatris are commonly used to depict the elements of of pride and honor in the Rajput architecture of Rajasthan. They are widely used, in palaces, in forts, or to demarcate funerary sites...
(cenotaph) with some of the earliest surviving murals in Rajasthan, and a lodge where the Mughal emperor Akbar hunted and stayed overnight on his yearly pilgrimage to Ajmer
Ajmer
Ajmer , formerly written as Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Rajasthan state in India. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 , and is located west of the Rajasthan state capital Jaipur, 200 km from Jodhpur, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from...
.
The town's Viratnagar Museum houses artifacts from Bairat's long history, including sculptures, coins, pottery, seals and metal objects. The Virat Nagar also known for Great cow lover Mahatma Ramchandra Veer's birth place. The only hindu saint who did anshan to stop the killing of animal in the Temples of India. He had established the Panchkhand Peeth on the top of hill. He was a devotee of God Hanumana but his Hanuman not a monkey but was well known shasthra pandit and the their caste was named Vanar. He had also written the Hindu epic Ramayana in Hindi language the named "Ram katha Amrit", " Vijay Pataka" "Vinash ke Marg" & "Humare Hutatma".
In 634, the Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
explorer Xuanzang
Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...
visited Bairat.
Geography
Bairat is located at 27.45°N 76.18°E. It has an average elevation of 430 m (1,410.8 ft).The Banganga River
Banganga River
The Banganga is a river of northern India. It is an important tributary of the Beas River. It flows through the Kangra Valley of Himachel Pradesh. The river originates from the southern slope of the Dhauladhar range of the Himalayas.-References:...
originates from a nearby village, Mair.
Demographics
As of the 2001 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, Viratnagar had a population of 17,237. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Bairat has an average literacy rate of 50%, lower than the national average of 59.5%; male literacy is 65%, and female literacy is 34%. Twenty percent of the population is under 6 years of age.