Arrah

History

The 7th-century Chinese explorer Xuanzang described a place he called Mo-ho-so-lo, which has been identified with the contemporary village of Masarh. He noted that the inhabitants were all Brāhmans who did not respect the law of Buddha, This opinion supports historical analysis that Buddhism, despite its prominence in the Magadha region, never gained a significant hold in the Shahabad district. Archaeological evidence strengthens this opinion, noting a contrast with the neighbouring district of Gaya; while Buddhist images and temples are numerous there, such remains almost disappear as soon as one crosses the Son River into the Arrah region. Xuanzang recounts that a stupa was built in Arrah by the emperor Asoka to commemorate the spot where the Buddha had converted a group of people whom he called "demons of the desert" who fed on human flesh. The struggle continued for centuries, with the Cheros temporarily recapturing the territory in 1607 before being defeated again by the Ujjainiyas in 1611. The power of the Cheros was finally broken in the 16th century when Sher Shah Suri dispatched his general, Khawás Khán, to subdue them, an act considered one of Sher Shah's major military accomplishments. Later when the jagirdar of Arrah was Farhat Khan, the town became a center of a major conflict with the local Ujjainiya chieftain, Gajpati. These rebels temporarily seized control of Arrah from Mi’r Mu’izzul-Mulk. According to Akbarnama, Mi’r Mu’izzul-Mulk granted an interview to another rebel, Bahádur, but took an uncompromising stance, stating that "his crimes could only be cleansed with blood". During this period, Unable to confront Gajpati's large force, Farhat Khan retreated in the fort at Arrah. The ensuing struggle involved battles near the fort and on the Sone River,…

Geography

Arrah is located at the elevation of 192 m from the sea level at the bank of Son river, Ganga River and Gangi River. Arrah lies at the confluence of the Ganga and the Son River, other small rivers that flow in the town are Gangi River. The Son River joins the Ganges about 10 miles north of Maner, at a point roughly halfway amid Arrah and Danapur. Old accounts from the 19th century note that the course of the Ganges in this area has been unsteady. The village of Masarh, for instance, was once situated close to the Ganges, but by the late 1800s, the river had moved nine miles away. A gradual southward shift of the riverbed was observed to have begun around 1860. During the British Raj Arrah was the part of Bengal presidency. The land of the city is fertile and most used for cultivation with very low forest cover. The main crops that are grown here are rice, mango and mahuaa. The Son River outlines the eastern border of the Arrah region. It joins the Ganges about 10 miles north of Maner, at a point roughly midway between Arrah and Danapur. The river is characterised by a intense seasonal transformation. In the Summers, it is often a narrow stream within a vast bed of sand, but during the monsoon, it swells rapidly from its 21,000-square-mile catchment basin, with flood discharges reaching up to 830,000 cubic feet per second, causing short-lived but intense floods in the adjacent plains. Arrah is situated within the geological landscape of the Bhojpur district, which is primarily characterised by an unconsolidated to semi-consolidated sequence of Quaternary sediments. These sediments unconformably overlie the Pre-Cambrian Vindhyan Supergroup rocks at a depth of approximately 100 to 1200 meters below ground level. While the Vindhyan Supergroup rocks are not exposed on…

Most-observed species

• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  28
• Spotted Dove

  Spilopelia chinensis (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  22
• Red-vented Bulbul

  Pycnonotus cafer (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  19
• Jungle Babbler

  Turdoides striata (Dumont, 1823) · Aves
  18
• Red-wattled Lapwing

  Vanellus indicus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  16
• Greater Coucal

  Centropus sinensis (Stephens, 1815) · Aves
  16
• Black Drongo

  Dicrurus macrocercus Vieillot, 1817 · Aves
  15
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  14