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The present name of Begusarai, an industrial district lying north of the Ganga in Bihar, is derived from a medieval sarai (rest house) that once existed in the headquarter town. While the original historical name of the district remains unresolved or forgotten, it is seen as a confluence of three important ancient cultural traditions i.e. of Mithila, Magadha and Anga and is geographically believed as having been the southernmost part of the ancient Mithila region, which was traditionally demarcated on the south by the Ganga and on the north by the Himalayas, with the rivers Gandak and Kosi serving as the western and eastern boundaries respectively. Interestingly, the region was also known as Anguttarap in Buddhist literature, as the Anga region lay just across the Ganga. While the original historical importance of the region still remains to be fully understood, several sites dating back to the most ancient times of civilisation in the Ganga valley and abounding in antiquarian remains, do bear testimony to its imprints in time.
Certain regional traditions seem to have continued almost timelessly and even today, persons hailing from Begusarai, get introduced to two religious landmarks at a very early age, the first being the banks of the Ganga, where one is taken for the Mundan sanskar (i.e. first shaving of the hair), and soon thereafter, to the highly venerated temple at Jaimanglagarh. Situated about 22 kms from Begusarai atop a mound on the edge of the Kabar lake, considered as one of the largest freshwater oxbow lakes in Asia, the ancient temple, with present structure dating back to the 9th-10th centuries A.D, is mentioned in the historical texts of Mithila and is associated with several legends in local folklore.
The site, is clearly quite ancient since even without proper excavations, it has yielded artefacts dating back to the 5th century B.C. and not being very far from Pandavsthan in Samastipur, where civilisation is now known to have existed from earlier than 3000 B.C., the dating here remains as a challenge for the archaeologist.
To be continued.......