History of Purnea

The earliest inhabitants of the district are supposed to have been Anas to the west and Pundras to the east. The former are generally grouped with the Bengal tribes in the epics and formed the easternmost tribes known to the Aryans during the time of the Atharva-samhita. The later are closed among the most degraded classes of men in the Aitarya-brahmana. But it is also stated that they were descendants of the sage Vishwamitra that would seem to imply that they had Aryan blood, though degraded. This Opinion survived in the epic period,for in the Mahabharata and the Harivansa, the Pundras and the Angas are said to be descendents of the blind sage Dritrashtra who was born to the queen of the demon Bali and according to the Manu-Samhita they sank gradually to the condition of Sudras because they neglected the performance of sacred rites and did not consult Brahmanas. 
Some passages in the Mahabharata (Sabhaparva, Adhyaya 30),describe the conquests of Bhima in Eastern India. Bhima is said to have conquered Mahanja king of Kausiki kacha, a tract line between Modadiri (Munger)and the land of the Pundras, which is thus identifiable with south Purnia. It is also said that he also defeated Karna, the king of Anga, conquered the hill tribes, killed the king of Modadiri in the battle, and then subdued the powerful Pundras king, Vasudeva, who is described as the king of the Vangas, Pundras and Kiratas.

The Pundra land appears to have been bounded on the east by the river Kasataya, on the west by the modern Mahananda, which separates it from Anga,on the south by the modern Padma, and on the north by the hills, which were inhabited by aboriginal hill tribes,such as the Kiratas. Local tradition still speaks of the struggle and the conquest of the Kiratas, and the Kirata women from the Morang or Tarai are said to have been the wife of Raja Virat, who according to the legend, gave shelter to Yudhistira and his four Pandava brothers during the 12 yrs of exile. The site of his fort is still pointed out at Thakurganj in the north of the district. At the dawn of history, the part of the district, to the west of Mahananda apparently formed a part of Bhagalpur in the kingdom of Anga, while eastern portion was included in Pundra-Vardhana. Anga was an independent kingdom till the sixth century BC.During the lifetime of Buddha it was annexed by Bimbisara, the ambitious ruler of Magadh and it never appeared to have regained its independence.The Raja of Anga during the time of Budhdha was a noble man, of whom nothing is known except that he granted a pension to a Brahmin. Thenafter its history got mergedwith that of the Magadh Empire. Later, the district formed a part of the empire of the Imperial Guptas, which extended as early as the reign of the Samudra Gupta (Circa AD 340) to Kumarupa (Assam )and Samatata( East Bengal) on the east. The Gupta Empire was shattered by the invasion of the Huns, and Purnia appears to have passed into the hands of Baladitya, the King of Magadh, who in alliance with other kings,and in particular Yasadharman of central India defeated and captured the Hun King, Mihiragula. Mihiragula later killed the Vajra's son on Baladitya and extinguished the family of the Duttas of Pundra- Vardhana. 

Butivarman of Kamrupa possibly had put an end to the Imperial Guptas in the Pundra-Vardhana region in the 6th century AD. A brief account of Pundra-Vardhana and its people has been left by Hiuen Tsian (Yuan-Chwang), who visited around AD 640. 

At the beginning of the seventh century the tract now included in the district seems to have been under Sasanka,the powerful king of Aauda, who held North and South Bihar as well as Central Bengal. He was a worshipper of Shiva and hated Buddhism, which he did his best to destroy. He dug up and burned the holi Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, broke the stone marked with foot prints of Buddha at Patliputra, destroyed the Buddhist convent and scattered the monks carrying his persecutions to the foot of the Nepalese hills. 

Harsha, the great Buddhist emperor of the century (AD 606-647 ), determined to crush Sasanka, and in AD 620, he succeeded in doing so, during the course of his conquest of northern India. After the death of Harsha, the empire was dismembered, and it seems likely that Purnia became part of the Magadha kingdom under Adityasena. From the 9th to the 12th century it was under the Pala king, and on the decline became subject to the Senas.Muhammadan Rule At the end of the 12th century the Muslims under Bakhtiyar Khilji burst down upon Bengal and Bihar. During the Mughal rule, Purnia formed a great military frontier province under the rule of a faujdar, who was nominally subordinate to the subedar. The greater part of Purnia was held in Jagir for the maintenance of himself and his troops. From the Ain-i-Akbari, it appears that the present district was included in Sankar Tejpur, east of the Mahananda and Sarkar Purnia, west of the river. Within its limits were also the two mahals of Sarkar Audumbar and one mahal of Sarkar Lakhnauli in the south. All these sarkars belonged to the Subah Bengal.

"Today Purnea is famously known as the birth place of great Hindi Novelist Phanishwar Nath 'Renu'  "

 

Teesri Kasam (Movie) "Most part of the movie shoot in Purnea" 

Well, let me put the records straight by admitting that ancestrally I belong to almost the same part of the country where the film is set (well, almost, because Darbhanga is a bit away from Purnea, but both are primarily the Maithili heartland), and I could relate with and appreciate the nuanced detailing that the filmmaker has gone into. It immediately impresses you and you start taking the film per 

se more seriously for its other inherent qualities, knowing that you will not be cheated as a discerning audience. The way Raj Kapoor says “Issh” is the way you actually say it in those rural parts, and it brings the local flavour in its truest form. The film is filled with such perfect detailing.