THE VITAL LANGUAGE : BHOJPURI

The Bhojpuri people have a distinct and virile tradition and were famous in the past for their bravery. Bhojpuri is spoken in various forms and its grammatical structure differs in many respects from the other two languages in Bihar. It has peculiarities of declension and conjugation not found elsewhere. On the whole, its grammar is simpler than that of Maithili and Magahi.
The Bhojpuri language of Bihar is the third largest Indian language spoken outside India. The Bhojpuri language covers a large geographic area crossing state boundaries. Other than Bihar, the language is spoken in the North West part of Jharkhand (that was part of Bihar once), the Purvanchal or eastern part of Uttar Pradesh along with the adjoining area of southern plains of Nepal. Outside India, Bhojpuri is spoken in spoken in Guyana, Suriname, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago and Mauritius. These are the places where the Bihari community migrated in vast numbers during the British rule to work in sugar plantations.

For the first time in the history of the Bhojpuri language it is being noticed. From the coming of popular singers such as Kalpana that has made Bhojpuri almost a household name. Hindi film makers are now considering adding Bhojpuri item songs to attract the vast Bhojpuri speaking community.
In addition, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has decided to launch a foundation course in the Bhojpuri language. The course was inaugurated by Indian Parliament speaker Meira Kumar (also from Bihar). She added that "Bhojpuri is not only a language but a lifestyle and a culture. Sanskrit and Latin have most precise grammar and vocabulary. Bhojpuri too has a very precise grammar, rich vocabulary and literature". Although the course is aimed at Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, it is thought that the course might be useful to Bhojpuri speakers in places such as Mauritius. Soon the establishment will be starting Certificate and Diploma Courses in Bhojpuri. 
Bhojpuri is spoken in the western districts of Bihar such as Champa-ran, Saran, Shahabad, Palamau and Ranchi. Although the Ranchi district is mainly populated by Adivasis, the common language of the people is Sadari or Sadani, which is a form of Bhojpuri. Bhojpuri-speakers are also found in north-western Muzaffarpur and the Pirpanti and Golgong police stations of theBhagalpur district. There are more than ten million Bhojpuri-speaking people in Bihar. It is spoken also in the Varanasi and Gorakhpur divisions of Uttar Pradesh. Bhojpuri areas have helped much in the growth of Hindi literature. Although Bhojpuri has no such old written literature as Maithili has, the love with which its speakers cherish it is just as great. Bhojpuri is so called after the language of Bhojpur, a pergana of the Shahabad district.
Except in a few isolated instances, the form of the verb depends only on the subject. Bhojpuri is written in Kaithi, a script ascribed to the Kayasthas, the scribes of India, but this script is nowadays being given up by educated people in favour of Devanagri. A mass of oral literature is extant in Bhojpuri in the form of folk-songs, folk-tales and legends and it abounds in proverbs and riddles. In the works of such saintly poets as Kabir, Dharamdas, Dharnidas, Daryadas, and Lakshmi Sakhi, the influence of Bhojpuri is immense.
In recent times, many collections of folk literature have been published by Grierson, Ram Naresh Tripathi, Krishnadeva Upadhyay, Durga Shankar, Prasad Singh and W. G. Archer, and Sankata Prasad. The famous poem 'Batohia' written by Raghubir Narayan and the play entitled 'Bidesia' by Bhikari Thakur have made history by their popularity. Bhikari Thakur is the people's poet in Bhojpuri and in his poems are reflected the joys and sorrows, the toils and tears of the simple rural folk of his area.

BIHAR : PLACE OF ENLITENMENT

ENLITENMENT :  Specifically, it’s a perfect understanding of the Four Noble Truths (basically, that suffering is caused by clinging to impermanent things, and that there’s a way to end suffering) and knowledge of karma and one’s past lives such that the cycle of rebirth ends.
Buddha, meaning 'one who is awake' in the sense of having 'woken up to reality' was the title first given to Lord Buddha. It was about 2500 years ago when Prince Siddhartha Gautam left all the worldly pleasures to attain the reality of life, and became the Buddha - the enlightened one. It was a state in which the Buddha gained an insight into the deepest workings of life and therefore into the cause of human suffering, the problem that had set Him on his spiritual quest in the first place.
The Right Path and Immortality
For 45 years, Buddha spread His message of spiritual life to not only His disciples but the common people as well. He gave emphasis on the purification of mind, heart and ultimately, soul by following the Eightfold Path, the Four Noble Truths and the Five Preceptions. This path included the right speech, understanding, determination, deeds, efforts, awareness, thinking and living. As per Buddhism, if one follows these paths, one could overcome desires, which were the reason for all the grieves and miseries.
After spreading His message to the world successfully, Buddha died at the age of 80 years in 483 BCE. at Kushinagar, India. Today, Buddhism has a strong following in various Asian countries and is gradually finding its feet in some of the western countries as well.
Now the magnificent Maha Bodhi temple in Bodhgaya is an architectural amalgamation of many cultures and pilgrimage to many . The temple bears the stamp of the architecture of the Gupta Dynasty and subsequent ages. On the walls of the temple, one sees Buddha carved in different aspects, and in the sanctum sanctorum, a colossal Buddha, is seen touching the ground, which has mythological significance in the Buddhist lores. The temple carries inscriptions recording the visits of pilgrims from Sri Lanka, China and Mayanmar. In the 7th and 10th Centuries AD Hieun Tsang, the Chinese traveler, also visited the temple in the 7th Century. Finally a visit to the Bodhgaya Archaeological Museum is a must for a religious art lover as it initiates one into the age of Buddha’s centered art forms. The Buddhist sculpture collection from 1st Century BC to 11th Century AD is housed here at one place.Reflected through several art forms, it is more like a treasure house of artistic expression.
 
Bodhgaya, in the state of Bihar, reckoned as the most important Buddhist pilgrimage center, is the place where Lord Sakyamuni (Gautam Buddha) entered into mediation after being moved by the sufferings ofmankind. The giant Bodhi Tree (Peepal) that we see today is believed to have grown from the original Bodhi Tree under which, sitting on the raised platform, Prince Siddharth mediated and finally attained Nirvana. Monasteries raised here by Burmese, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese and Thai devotees, in their native architectural styles, are worth visiting. Then there is Chaukramana, the Jewel Walk, where it is believed that the Buddha strolled while in deep thought.
Bodhgaya is 245 kms. from Varanasi and 178 kms. from Patna via Rajgir and Nalanda. A place of religious sanctity for Hindus, Gaya lies 12 kms. from Bodhgaya between Pretshila and Ramshila hills and is washed by the shores of river Phalgu. Gaya has a large number of Buddhist temples also. While Buddha was doing severe penance, he became weak, tired and hungry. He rested under a tree, where he was offered food by a condemned village woman named Sujata. To everybody’s surprise Buddha accepted her offerings. Legend has it that after having consumed the food, Buddha’s countenance assumed a divine glow and he realized the Supreme Truth; that neither extreme self indulgence nor self mortification is ever required. What is needed is to follow the Middle Path (Department of tourism). Sujata Sthan or Durgeshwari Temple stands as a symbol commemorating this event.

ARYABHATTA PROFICIENCY :- ASTRONOMY & GEOMETRY

ASTRONOMY:-
Pataliputra was the birth-place of another very great man, namely, Aryabhata, the father of scientific astronomy and mathematics of the Hindus. He was born in 476 A D. and wrote his Kala-kriya (calculation of time) here at the age of 23 that is, 499 A.D.

The consonants from kato ma are valued at 1 to 25 and the eight vowels i, u, r, e,1, ai, o, ou represent multiples of 100 each. Thus ka is 1, kiis 100, ku is 10,000, kr is 10,00,000, kl is 10,00,00,000, keis 10,00,00,00,000, kai is 10,00,00,00,00,000. This is a modified form of the Greek System. One of Aryabhata's works is called DaSagZtikti from the fact that it consists of ten verses in the Gitika metre which is a modification of the Arya. His other work, the Aryasiddhantika, consists of 108 verses and is divided in three sections Kalakriyapada, Golapada and Ganitapada In these two works the extent of which does not jointly go beyond 118 verses, Aryabhata has explained the whole system of Hindu Astronomy. He is even more concise than the philosophical sutras and is in strange contrast with the astronomical Siddhantas which seem to have been written in prose and are very diffuse.
There seem to have been a conflict of Eras at the time when Aryabhata flourished. There was the Malava Era in Western Malwa, the Gupta Era known in the Gupta Empire, the Saka Era, the Kalacuri Era and soon all local and tribal eras. Not knowing in which to date his works which was meant for universal use among the Hindus he took up the Kaliyuga Era known to all.

But in subsequent ages the Saka Era was adopted by all astronomers in India. The reason is not far to seek for in India astronomy and astrology were, if not exclusively, very generally studied and professed by the Sakadvipi Brahmins or Scythian priesthood the old Magii settled in India from remote ages, or neither the Brahmins or the Buddhists favoured astrologers. Buddha has expressly excluded Astrology from Samyak Ajiva or proper livelihood.
GEOMETRY:-
ARYABHATTA was author of the Arykshiasata (800 couplets) and Dasagi-tica (ten stanzas), known by the numerous quotations of BRAHMEGUPTA, BHAT'TATPALA, and others, who cite both under these respective titles. The laghu Arya-sidd''hanta, as a work of the same author, and, perhaps, one of those above-mentioned, is several times quoted by BHA'SCARA'S commentator MUNIS'WARA. He likewise treated of Algebra, &c. under the distinct heads of Cuttaca, a problem serving for the resolution of indeterminate ones, and Vija principle of computation, or analysis in general.

From the quotations of writers on astronomy, and particularly of BRAHMEGUPTA, who in many instances cites ARYABHAT'TA to controvert his positions, (and is in general contradicted in his censure by his own scholiast PBIT'HUDACA, either correcting his quotations, or vindicating the doctrine of the earlier author), it appears, that ARYABHAT'TA affirmed the diurnal revolution of the earth on its axis; and that he accounted for it by a wind or current of aerial fluid, the extent of which, according to the orbit assigned to it by him, corresponds to an elevation of little more than a hundred miles from the surface of the earth ; that he possessed the true theory of the causes of lunar and solar eclipses, and disregarded the imaginary dark planets of the mythologists and astrologers; affirming the moon and primary planets (and even the stars) to be essentially dark, and only illumined by the sun : that he noticed the motion of the solstitial and equinoctial points, but restricted it to a regular oscillation, of which he assigned the limit and the period : that he ascribed to the epicycles, by which the motion of a planet is represented, a form varying from the circle and nearly elliptic : that he recognised a motion of the nodes and asides of all the primary planets, as well as of the moon; though in this instance, as in some others, his censurer imputes to him variance of doctrine. ‘
The magnitude of the earth, and extent of the encompassing wind, is among the instances wherein he is reproached by BRAHMEGUPTA with versatility, as not having adhered to the same position throughout his writings; but he is vindicated on this, as on most occasions, by the scholiast of his censurer. Particulars of this question, leading to rather curious matter, deserve notice.

THE TRADITIONAL WEDDING :- MAUR and MAURI

The Head-dresses: MAUR and MAURI     
                                         
There are two head- dresses, one worn by the bridegroom, which was earlier made of talipot-leaves but now a days made of some ornamental paper,mirror etc. is called maur ; the other is worn by the bride, and is mauri, or patmauri. The bride's head-dress is made of date-leaves or mango leaves. These are brought to the bride's house and the maur is put on the mother's head and the mauri on the bride's head.
The bridegroom's party then returns to the janwasa, and the bride goes inside the house and exchanges her kaneyai or bihauti for her wedding dress piyeri. The father or elder male relat
                           
ion brings the bride and seats her beside the bridegroom under the marhwa to his left. Some one belonging to the bride's family then goes inside and gets the bridegroom's maur from the bride's mother, and brings it out, and it is put on the bridegroom's head.
The marriage service is now read by the Purohit. This is called shumangali. The bridegroom sits under the marhwa in front of the bride. The father of the bride sits kneeling on one knee, keeping the bride sitting on his other thigh. This is the ceremony of giving the girl in marriage, and is called kanyadan.
The officiating Purohit recites verses from the Vedas, and leads in various acts of worship. From the time of the arrival of the bariyat up to the completion of the kanyadan the father and mother of the bride can eat nothing.
Next follows the knotting together of the clothes of the bride and bridegroom. This is gath bandhan or genth jor same time something of small value, such as few paisa or sometimes a piece of betel-nut, is tied in the bride's waist-band and in her breast-cloth by the Purohit. Sometimes an ornament is tied to the bride's sheet, which is called anchri .
The moving round of the sacrificial fire is done by both bride and bridegroom. The bride holds it in her hands in front of her and the bridegroom follows her with an arm passing round her on each
side, also supporting the sieve. Her brother fills the sieve as they go along with parched grain prepared in the fireplace formerly under the marhwa, which the bridegroom at the same time scatters
by shaking the sieve with his hands .This is called lawa chhitai or lawa merai . Care is taken to keep the sacrificial fire to the right. It is considered unlucky for the girl to pass it to her left. This ceremony is called bhawar or fera. This is performed seven times, and is the important part of the ceremony. This is followed by the application of vermilion. In this the bridegroom takes a small wooden cup , sinhoura containing vermilion in one hand, and applies vermilion to the parting of the bride's hair with a piece of hemp. This is called senur dan or sindur dan.
The couple then leave the courtyard and go into the house where the family deity is put. This house
is called kohbar. At the door they are stopped by the sister of the bride, who requires
the bridegroom to repeat certain verses, called duraundh or duar path. The bridegroom demands a present for doing so, and on this being given he repeats the verses. This ceremony is called duar chhenkai .
The bridegroom takes off his shoes before entering the house. If he is silent or is too nervous to speak much, the bride's sister may, as a joke, steal his shoes while he is inside, and conceal them somewhere, in order to compel him on his reappearance to speak, " where are my shoes ? " This ceremony is called juta chorai .
The couple then kneel facing the north-east, and perform the worship of the tutelary deity of the family, offerings being made to him at the same time. This is called gor lagai. The clothes of the bride and bridegroom are then untied, the promised presents given to the sister of the bridegroom, and the marriage is concluded.

THE TRADITIONAL WEDDING II :- PHERA AND SENURA-DAAN

PHERA and SENURA-DAAN

The moving round of the sacrificial fire is done by both bride and bridegroom. The bride holds it in her hands in front of her and the bridegroom follows her with an arm passing round her on each side, also supporting the sieve. Her brother fills the sieve as they go along with parched grain prepared in the fireplace formerly under the marhwa, which the bridegroom at the same time scatters by shaking the sieve with his hands . This ceremony is called bhawar or fera. This is performed seven times This is followed by the application of vermilion. In this the bridegroom takes a small wooden cup , sinhoura containing vermilion in one hand, and applies vermilion to the parting of the bride's hair with a piece of hemp. This is called senura daan or sindur daan...

The paddy reserved from the dhanbatti is parched in the chulha.

This parched grain is taken with the wedding procession, and mixed with that parched in the bride's house, and with it scattered at the phera.They then cover the bridegroom with cosmetic ubtan, and his nails are cut , he sitting in front of his mother, and his mother wearing the maur. This, as in the bride's case, is called nahchhu. The ceremony of imli ghontai is also observed .

He is then bathed and anointed, and sets out with the marriage procession. A little of the water in which he was bathed is brought with him. This is called sineh ke pani. He is not allowed to bathe again until the chauthari. When the marriage party arrives at the bride's house, this water is given to her mother, and at the time of the girl's nahchhu, the barber's wife mix it with other water, and bathe the bride with it immediately before cutting her nails.

When the bridegroom arrives at the door of the bride's house, the women of her family receive him, and scatter over him uncooked rice, the dung of a heifer, halls of cooked rice, and other articles. A married woman of the family then takes a brass pan, chhippi or thari and a diya and gives them to the bridegroom ; and then, holding two corners of her chunari, touches with them the pan, then the boy's forehead, and then her own. This is called parichhawan, parichhan or galsedi
The Marriage of Shiva & Parvati : Carved ivory with traces of tamarind juice,Madurai,1766 AD

The girl's mother then rubs in the palm of her hand a curry pestle (lorha), which she applies to the cheeks of the bridegroom. Ths is called gal senki.

The marking of the bridegroom's forehead with sandal paste before marriage is tilak or chandan. This is done by a man called tilkahru or tilakiya. He is generally the bride's father. This tilak is quite distinct from the tilak paid at the time of proposal of marriage.These ceremonies at the door are called collectively duar puja,also known as duar lagai. Somewhere, elder presents to the bridegroom by scattering rice achchhat over him.

A male member of the bride's family(generally her sister's husband) then brings a bowl of sweet drink or sharbat, called dhua,covered with a red cloth. He also brings some urid flour mixed up with finely-powdered pepper. This is called bukua. He scatters this in the air,causing the bridegroom's party to sneeze.The whole ceremony is called bukua urai. A similar ceremony is called, north of the Ganges,dhurchhak,in which water is sent in pitchers, and a little scattered over the party with mango sprays. Then the bridegroom's maur or head-dress, is taken away tothe bride's house.

When all is ready the friends of the bridegroom come with the presents for the bride. Amongst these is a valuable cloth, culled kaneyai or bihauti, which is taken to the female apartments, and in which she is dressed. She is then brought out and made to sit in the marhwa. This visit is called nirichhan, as the bridegroom's party see the bride now for the first time.

Then the ceremony of making the bracelet is performed.The bridegroom and seven other men husk paddy in a mortar. When husked, two or three grains are wrapped up in mango leaves to form a kind of bracelet. Two of these bracelets are made, and one is tied on to the bridegroom's right wrist, and the other on the bride's left wrist. These bracelets are called kangan. The ceremony is called athongar.
Then follows the adoration of the bride. In this ceremony the elder brother of the bridegroom offers sweets,dresses and and ornaments to the bride. He then takes some betel-leaf and dahi in his right hand, and presses it against the bride's forehead, at the same time pressing his left hand against the back of her head.

These two ceremonies ars together called bandan or gurhatthi and signify that he has touchedher once for all, and that if he touch her again he will be guilty of a sin.

Then the bride's mother sits in the marhwa with the bride between her knees, holding her round the waist. The ceremony is called nahchhu.

CULTURE :-THE TRADITIONAL WEDDING ; PART I

The Traditional wedding in Siwan,(Bihar) India.

When the marriage has been agreed upon, the father of the bridegroom visits the father of the bride, and each provides a few handfuls of paddy. These are mixed together and then divided between the two fathers by the priest, and the bridegroom's father takes his share home. This ceremony is called dhanbatti. This paddy is reserved to be parched in the chulha .

Then the females of the bride's family perform the chumawan or chumauna ceremony. In this, five women take rice between the thumbs and forefingers of both hands and touch in order her feet, knees, and shoulders with it. They then put it on her head. On the fifth or eighth day before the expected arrival of the wedding procession, the preparations are made in the bride's house. If they take place five days previously, they are called pachmangra ; if eight days athmangra.

On the ceremony of matkorwa , the women of the family and their friends go singing to a well. They level a piece of ground near the well and smooth it down with lal mati, a kind of yellow clay which is generally found immediately over gravel. They then dig a clod up out of it, and carry it home on the head of one of them. They make a fireplace, chulha, of this mud in the center of the court-yard, aangan. In somewhere a plantain-tree and a bamboo is set up in the courtyard, under which the mud is placed.

The day before the expected arrival of the marriage procession, the family sets up a bamboo shed in the court-yard over the fireplace. This shed is called marhwa, or manro. An earthen pot, called kalsa, with a four- wicked lamp, called chaumukh,on its top is placed in the house where the family god is placed for the purposes of the marriage. This house is called kohbar.

Some of the pot are placed at marhwa. A plough-shaft , haris, a plough-yoke palo, and some bamboo twigs, karchis are then buried in the ground in the centre of the marhwa. Then five men bring out from the kohbar the kalsa, and place it under the marhwa in front of the bamboo twigs. The father of the bride then anoints the four posts of the marhwa with ghee and on each the mother applies some vermilion (senur). The name of this ceremony is gheeudhari or ghidhari.

At the same time worship is offered to the progenitors of the family, which is called mantri puja. Then five men take turmeric (hardi), oil and dub grass (dubi), which they scatter on the bride's forehead. This is called hardi charhae. Then women anoint her body with oil and turmeric. This is called ubtan.

Next follows the ceremony of swallowing the mango fibre. This is called imli ghontai. An elder male of the mother's family (usually her brother) puts into her left hand a present of money or ornaments. The barber's wife then gives him the center fiber of one of the mango leaves hanging up in the marhwa, which he presents to the bride's mouth. She then bites a small piece off this and deposits it in the hollow of her mother`sown right hand, into which the elder male pours a little water. The piece of fiber is called kharika. This the mother holds over her daughter's head and gulps it all down.

The elder male then says to her, " Are you cool (jurailoo)"? to which she replies " I am cool (jurailin)".

Wedding wreaths of mango leaves, flowers, etc., are hung over the door, and about the marhwa. These are, bandnewar or ghera. In Bhagalpur mango branches are hung about the house, and are
called pallo.

In the bridegroom's house, before the marriage procession starts for the marriage ceremony, very similar ceremonies are gone through; the matkorwa is performed. A chulha is made in the court-yard. The plough-shaft, yoke, and bamboo twigs are buried, and the earthen pot with lights is set up. Only no marhwa is built. The ceremonies of chumauna and hardi are performed on him, as is done to the bride.