"In AH 796 (AD 1393-94), it was reported that Sultãn Muhammad bin Fîrûz Shãh had died at Delhî and that the affairs of the kingdom were in disorder so that a majority of zamîndãrs were in revolt, particularly the Rãjã of Îdar. Zafar Khãn collected a large army and mountain-like elephants and proceeded to Îdar in order to punish the Rãjã… The Rãjã of Îdar had no time to prepare a defence and shut himself in the fort. The armies of Zafar Khãn occupied the Kingdom of Îdar and started plundering and destroying it. They levelled with the ground whatever temple they found… The Rãjã of Îdar showed extreme humility and pleaded for forgiveness through his representatives. Zafar Khãn took a tribute according to his own desire and made up his mind to attack Somnãt…“In AH 803 (AD 1399-1400) ‘Ãzam Humãyûn paid one year’s wages (in advance) to his army and after making great preparations, he attacked the fort of Îdar with a view to conquer it. After the armies of the Sultãn had besieged the fort from all sides and the battle continued non-stop for several days the Rãjã of Îdar evacuated the fort one night and ran away towards Bîjãnagar. In the morning Zafar Khãn entered the fort and, after expressing his gratefulness to Allãh, and destroying the temples, he appointed officers in the fort…"

"The Rãjã of Îdar ran away to the mountains and on the fourth day the Sultãn started from Morãsã and halted near Îdar. He ordered that the houses and temples of Îdar should be destroyed in such a way that no trace of them should remain."

"Sultãn Muzaffar… started for Îdar. When he arrived in the town of Mahrãsã, he sent armies for destroying Îdar. The Rãjã of Îdar evacuated the fort and took refuge in the mountain of Bîjãnagar. The Sultãn, when he reached Îdar, found there ten Rajpûts ready to lay down their lives. He heaped barbarities on them and killed them. He did not leave even a trace of palaces, temples, gardens and trees."

"The linga he raised was the stone of Somnath, for soma means the moon and natha means master, so that the whole word means master of the moon. The image was destroyed by the Prince Mahmud, may God be merciful to him! - AH 416. He ordered the upper part to be broken and the remainder to be transported to his residence, Ghaznin, with all its coverings and trappings of gold, jewels, and embroidered garments. Part of it has been thrown into the hippodrome of the town, together with the Cakrasvamin, an idol of bronze, that had been brought from Taneshar. Another part of the idol from Somanath lies before the door of the mosque of Ghaznin, on which people rub their feet to clean them from dirt and wet."

"In the expedition to Thaneshwar (1015), according to Farishtah, “the Muhammadan army brought to Ghaznin 200,000 captives, so that the capital (Ghaznin) looked like an Indian city, for every soldier of the army had several slaves and slave girls”."

"One day he ordered that an expedition be sent to Thaneswar, (the tanks at) Kurkaksetra should be filled up with earth, and the land measured and allotted to pious people for their maintenance, He was such a great partisan of Islam in the days of his youth..... Sultan Sikandar led a very pious life Islam was regarded very highly in his reign. The infidels could not muster the courage to worship idols or bathe in the (sacred) streams. During his holy reign, idols were hidden underground. The stone (idol) of Nagarkot, which had misled the (whole) world, was brought and handed over to butchers so that they might weigh meat with it."

"It is also related of this prince, that before his accession, when a crowd of Hindus had assembled in immense numbers at Kurkhet, he wished to go to Thanesar for the purpose of putting them all to death..."

"The Sultan now received information that there was a city in Hindustan called Thanessar, and there was a great temple there in which there was an idol called Jagarsom, whom the people of Hindustan worshipped. He collected a large force with the object of carrying on a religious war, and in the year AH 402 marched towards Thanessar. The son of Jaipal having received intelligence of this, sent an envoy and represented through him, that if the Sultan would relinquish this enterprise, he would send fifty elephants as tribute. The Sultan paid no heed to this offer, and when he reached Thanessar he found the city empty. The soldiers ravaged and plundered whatever they could lay hands upon, broke the idols and carried Jagarsom to Ghaznin. The Sultan ordered that the idol should the placed in front of the place of prayer, so that people would trample upon it."

"'In the year AH 402 (AD 1011) he set out for Thanesar and Jaipal, the son of the former Jaipal, offered him a present of fifty elephants and much treasure. The Sultan, however, was not to be deterred from his purpose; so he refused to accept his present, and seeing Thanesar empty he sacked it and destroyed its idol temples, and took away to Ghaznin, the idol known as Chakarsum on account of which the Hindus had been ruined; and having placed it in his court, caused it to be trampled under foot by the people...From thence he went to Mathra (Mathura) which is a place of worship of the infidels and the birthplace of Kishan, the son of Basudev, whom the Hindus Worship as a divinity - where there are idol temples without number, and took it without any contest and razed it to the ground. Great wealth and booty fell into the hands of the Muslims, among the rest they broke up by the orders of the Sultan, a golden idol."

"The city of Taneshar is highly venerated by Hindus. The idol of that place is called Cakrasvamin, i.e. the owner of the cakra, a weapon which we have already described. It is of bronze, and is nearly the size of a man. It is now lying in the hippodrome in Ghazna, together with the Lord of Somanath, which is a representation of the penis of Mahadeva, called Linga."

"'In the year AH 402 (AD 1011), Mahmood resolved on the conquest of Tahnesur [Thanesar (Haryana)], in the kingdom of Hindoostan. It had reached the ears of the king that Tahnesur was held in the same veneration by idolaters, as Mecca by the faithful; that they had there set up a number of idols, the principal of which they called Jugsom, pretending that it had existed ever since the creation. Mahmood having reached Punjab, required, according to the subsisting treaty with Anundpal, that his army should not be molested on its march through his country...'The Raja's brother, with two thousand horse was also sent to meet the army, and to deliver the following message:- "My brother is the subject and tributary of the King, but he begs permission to acquaint his Majesty, that Tahnesur is the principal place of worship of the inhabitants of the country: that if it is required by the religion of Mahmood to subvert the religion of others, he has already acquitted himself of that duty, in the destruction of the temple of Nagrakote. But if he should be pleased to alter his resolution regarding Tahnesur, Anundpal promises that the amount of the revenues of that country shall be annually paid to Mahmood; that a sum shall also be paid to reimburse him for the expense of his expedition, besides which, on his own part he will present him with fifty elephants, and jewels to a considerable amount." Mahmood replied, "The religion of the faithful inculcates the following tenet: That in proportion as the tenets of the prophet are diffused, and his followers exert themselves in the subversion of idolatry, so shall be their reward in heaven; that, therefore, it behoved him, with the assistance of God, to root out the worship of idols from the face of all India. How then should he spare Tahnesur?"...This answer was communicated to the Raja of Dehly, who, resolving to oppose the invaders, sent messengers throughout Hindoostan to acquaint the other rajas that Mahmood, without provocation, was marching with a vast army to destroy Tahnesur, now under his immediate protection. He observed, that if a barrier was not expeditiously raised against this roaring torrent, the country of Hindoostan would be soon overwhelmed, and that it behoved them to unite their forces at Tahnesur, to avert the impending calamity...."

"Sultan Sikandar was yet a young boy when he heard about a tank in Thanesar which the Hindus regarded as sacred and went for bathing in it. He asked the theologians about the prescription of the Shari'ah on this subject. They replied that it was permitted to demolish the ancient temples and idol-houses of the infidels, but it was not proper for him to stop them from going to an ancient tank. Hearing this reply, the prince drew out his sword and thought of beheading the theologian concerned, saying that he (the theologian) was siding with the infidels..."

"The chief of Tanesar was on this account obstinate in his infidelity and denial of Allah. So the Sultan marched against him with his valiant warriors, for the purpose of planting the standards of Islam and extirpating idolatry... The Sultan adopted the stratagem of ordering some of his troops to cross the river by two different fords, and to attack the enemy on both sides; and when they were all engaged in close conflict, he ordered another body of men to go up the bank of the stream, which was flowing through the pass with fearful impetuosity, and attack the enemy amongst the ravines, where they were posted in the greatest number. The battle raged fiercely, and about evening, after a vigorous attack on thepart of the Musulmans, the enemy fled, leaving their elephants, which were all driven into the camp of the Sultan, except one, which ran off and could not be found. The largest were reserved for the Sultan. The blood of the infidels flowed so copiously that the stream was discoloured, and people were unable to drink it. Had not night come on and concealed the traces of their flight, many more of the enemy would have been slain. The victory was gained by Allah's grace, who has established Islam forever as the best of religions, notwithstanding that idolators revolt against it. The Sultan returned with plunder which it is impossible to recount - Praise be to Allah, the protector of the world, for the honour he bestows upon Islam and Musulmans!..."

"In towns like Amritsar, where the earliest attacks occurred, even before any Hindu or Sikh was thinking that fighting would take place, the Muslims were fully prepared for the offensive. For example, they had distributed among their own folk all the available sword-blades in Amritsar. On Muslim shops had been written in prominent lettering ‘Muslim Shop’ in Urdu to protect these shops from planned arson."

"Amritsar was the spiritual capital of the Sikhs, and Sikh history is full of wars waged by Sikhs in the pre-Ranjit Singh Era for the recovery of Amritsar from the hands of Muslims who desecrated the holy Hari Mandir (the Golden Temple of, later days) and filled the sacred Tank with sand. ... To surrender Amritsar to the Muslims would mean practically the writing off of Sikh history and admitting a status inferior to that of the Muslims in the Punjab-a status, in view of the past record and declared ambitions and methods of the Muslim League, of serfdom. To break the Sikh resistance and morale in Amritsar was, therefore, of the first importance... As a result of the Muslim campaign of arson, from the 5th March onwards, more than one-fourth of the city of Amritsar has been laid in ruins-the worst sufferer in this respect among the cities of the Punjab."

"The comments of the Chief Secretary to the Punjab Government of those days, Mr. Akhtar Hussain; are significant:... “The two cities have shown some distinctive features in their disorders and in Lahore stabbings had the place in favour taken by crude bombs in Amritsar. However, both have points in common, the most important of which have been arson and the signs of better organization and greater determination which have emerged. In respect of arson Muslims have been the main culprits and there have been numerous acts of incendiarism in both places resulting in conflagrations which have taxed the available army and civil resources to their utmost limit.”"

"No one in the whole city ate anything on this night; no one slept a wink. The whole town was ringing with the yells of the attacking Muslims and the defiant shouts of Hindus and Sikhs. Flames were rising and tall buildings were gutted with huge fires. (149)... During the night, the Hindu and Sikh quarters got hell. Parties of Muslims would go about shouting Pakistan and Islamic slogans, setting fire to Hindu and Sikh houses... Hindus and Sikhs trying to escape from flames were lynched by the mob. A large part of Amritsar was reduced to cinders and rubble in the fires of this night and the one following it. If one stood on the top of a high building in the night, red flames could be seen rising high, spread over large areas, lending a terrible and awful glow to the darkness of the night... Attacks on Sikhs found anywhere became a feature of the Muslim campaign in Amritsar. Any Sikh found anywhere on the road was attacked and killed. A large number of Sikhs coming from the villages around Amritsar, and many pilgrims coming from outside to visit Darbar Sahib were stabbed by Muslim parties lying in ambush.... Besides the Muslim mobs and assassins, Muslim police shot out of hand any Sikh or Hindu they could lay hands on. Muslim police are known to have gone about prowling of a night, to have sometimes called out of their homes Hindus and Sikhs and to have shot them dead on the spot. This practice they called ‘shikar’ and it was a terror for Hindus and Sikhs."

"The related tradition tells us that one Ksatriya King Iksvaku, a predecessor of Ram Chandra, performed many Yajnas at ]this holy place and that it was named Iksvakusar after him. It is claimed that Sita stayed at Ram Tirath (15 KM from Amritsar) during her exile and gave birth to two sons, Lava and Kush. It is further said that Lava and Kush fought a battle with their father, Ram Chandra, in which the latter was wounded at the site where now stands the Dukh Bhanjani Beri. When the identity of dying Ram Chandra was disclosed to Lava and Kush, they brought amrit (nectar) which saved him. After serving some amrit to Ram Chandra, the rest of it was immersed in a nearby pond. From that very moment, the pond became a reservoir of amrit."

"In the history of the Muslim League War on the Hindus and Sikhs of the Punjab in 1947, Amritsar occupies an outstanding position. It was in this city, along with Lahore, though with an intensity even greater than in the latter town, that the most sustained war, lasting for over five months was waged on the Hindus and Sikhs, especially the latter, by the Amritsar Muslims. In the scheme of the Muslim League, Amritsar appears to have been Theatre of War No. 1. ... Amritsar, to use a not inappropriate parallel, became a kind of Stalingrad of this Muslim League-Sikh War."

"In Pataliputra, India, which is now the city of Patna, legend also says that the Emerald Buddha was created in Patna (then Pataliputra) by Agrasena in 43 BCE...in Northern Thailand, lightning struck a pagoda in a temple in Chiang Rai, after which something became visible under the stucco. The Emerald Buddha was dug out and the people thought the figurine was made from emerald, hence its current name...The Buddha's clothing are changed by the King of Thailand, to celebrate the changing of seasons."

"Kumhrar, located in the city of Patna, is the site that consists of the archaeological excavations of Patliputra and marks the ancient capital of Ajatshatru, Chandragupta and Ashoka. The remains of the ancient city of Patilputra have been uncovered in Kumhrar, south of Patna. It is six km from the railway station, on the Kankarbagh Road. Excavations here have revealed relics of four continuous periods from 600 BC to 600 AD. An important find is the 80-pillared huge hall of the Mauryan dynasty dating back to 400 - 300 BC."

"Man, this place barely exists on the map and there are all these wonderful people coming out of the woodworks with Powers of 10 albums and posters that I haven't even seen in America. They know everything I have ever done, every tune I have ever played... it's just bizarre, simply inconceivable."

"Agam Kuan (Unfathomable well) is one of the most important early historic archeological remains in Patna. It is situated just close to Gulzarbagh railway Station, which is proposed to be associated with the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka."

"The city’s half-timbered architecture has been rather swamped by lots of drab modern concrete, but areas such as Oakland and Lumsohphoh retain many older houses...The Anglican Church, perched above Police Bazaar, is a graceful structure fronted by pretty lawns...The 1902 All Saints’ Cathedral would look perfect pictured on a biscuit tin. Located nearby, the turreted Das-Roy House lurks behind a traffic circle that harbours five forgotten Khasi monoliths as well as a mini Soviet-style globe monument."

"It's true that we're well-known globally but it's also important to be known in your own country. It is very comforting indeed that our kind of music is accepted by the rest of the country. It gives us a great sense of identity. And of course there is no platform like television to present your talent to the whole nation."

"The casket is kept in a separate room making it possible to meditate in the relic’s presence with out any outside disturbance...Behind a glass window, on a raised platform, sits a small soapstone casket, with its contents neatly laid out beside it a copper coin, a shell, two glass beads and a small gold plate (the ashes are still inside the casket). We gaze silently at the casket for a few moments and then tell the guard we want to meditate. It is not every day you get a private audience with the Buddha's remains."

"Patna Museum, Rajput fashioned, was built by the [[British in 1917 and now houses a collection of poorly labeled Buddhist statues from the past 2000 years. The museum’s marvelous collection of stone and metal statues and painyings of the Buddha and the bodhistvas demonstrate how the Dhamma had inspired beauty and creativity throughout the centuries.In addition to the art work, the museums most prized possession is a relic casket containing what is believed to be the portion of the Buddha’s ashes obtained by Lichhavi rulers after the Buddh;as passing."

"They've [Shillong Chamber Choir] made us all very proud."

"It was a walled city and the European trading companies settled outside the fort area all along the river front. The city developed in three phases during the European influence and the British rule: First along the river front, Next on the southern side of Maidan to railway station and Third after being made the capital of the province of Bihar along the Bailey road, the new capital area."

"It was a major port on the Ganges before the British and Calcutta. After the Battle of Bihar (1765), the East India Company took charge and installed a puppet Raj, and Patna became capital of Bihar Province under the British Raj."

"They [British] built their residences and residential quarters, churches, schools, clubs, institutions and official buildings. One of the major intervention in the city was development of the Race course the present day Gandhi Maidan, in the central part of the city. These are significant heritage components of the Institutional area along the river front today. They are notonaly historically important but also form the prominent Institutional, Public-Semi-Public space of the city continuous in use from more than 200 years."

"Patna became a centre of international trade in the seventeenth century. The European trading countries British, French, Danes, Dutch and Portuguese started to come to Patna for trading purposes."

"After a temporary eclipse, in 16th century, Sher Shah Suri returned the city to its former glory and established the present Patna. After the decline of the Mughals, the British too found Patna a convenient regional capital and built a modern extension to this ancient city and called it Bankipore. It was in Gandhi Maidan in this area, that Mahatma Gandhi held his prayer meetings."

"In the middle of 16th century, Sher Shah Suri built a fort on the banks of the Ganga understanding the strategic location of the city and importance of the port. The place has continued to be a significant trading centre during Sultanate period and flourished during the rule of Mughals and Nawabs of Bengal."

"Patna’s locational advantage, specifically its position on the great Gangetic artery connecting northern India to Bengal made it ideal as an entrepot city. Convenient land routes connected Patna both with the cities of the north and with important centers in Bengal. Jehangir had ordered the construction of a road that would link Patna to Agra."

"Akbar himself came to capture the city, the downfall of which completed the conquest of Bengal. Then came the great days in which Patna was the center of political life in Bengal. Azim-us-Shan, the grandson of Aurangzeb held his court there, and gave to the city his own name – Azimabad, which it bears in works such as Seir-i-Mutaqherin. It is said writes O ‘Malley, “that the young prince aspired to make the city a second Delhi, but this ambition was cut short by the patricidal war which broke out on the death of Aurangzeb, in the course of which he met his death (1712) by being swallowed up alive by quicksand."

"Historically it [Patna] went back to antiquity and was the capital of Mauryan Empire at the time of Alexander…centrally located on the south bank of the Ganges in central northern India. It was major trading center and wealthy. Gautama Buddha passed through Patna in 490 BC. At the time of Alexander, Chandragupta Maurya ruled an empire from the Bay of Bengal to Afghanistan."

"Ajatashatru’s son had moved his capital from Rajagriha to Pataliputra and this status was maintained during the reign of the Mauryas and the Guptas. Ashoka the Great, administered his empire from here. Chandragupta Maurya and Samudragupta, valiant warriors, took Pataliputra as their capital. It was from here Chandragupta sent forth his army to fight the Greeks of the western frontier and Chandragupta Vikramaditya repelled the Shakas and the Huns from here."

"It was there [Patna] that the Greek ambassador Megasthenes stayed during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya. The famous traveler Fa-Hien in the 3rd century and Hiuen-Tsang in the 7th century inspected the city. Many noted scholars like Kautilya stayed here and works like ‘Arthashastra’ were written from this place. This city was the fountainhead of the spring of knowledge and wisdom in ancient times."

"The history and tradition of Patna go back to the earliest dawn of civilization. The original name of Patna was Pataliputra or Patalipattan and its history makes a start from the century 600 B.C. The name Patna has undergone many changes at its earliest stages like Pataligram, Kusumpur, Patliputra, Azimabad etc., ultimately terminating to the present one. Chandragupta Maurya made it his capital in the 4th century A.D"

"The Chinese Scholar Fa Hein who took Buddhism back to China in 400 BC described Patna in his dairy as the greatest city of earth. It was capital to the Mauryas and Gupta India empires."

"Towards the end of his life, the Buddha went to visit Pataliputra...thousands of people gathered at the hall to hear the Dhamma directly from the Buddha...the city folk came to see him off and in the Buddha’s honour, named the gate through which he left “Gotama’s Ghat” (Gotamudvara) and the ferry landing that he used to cross the river “Gotama Ferry Landing” (Gotamatitta)."

"The Buddha then set off to continue his journey... he turned back to look at the city, and shared with Ananda a prediction that it would grow into a great metropolis, but then fall into ruin caused by fire floods, and war (which in fact did happen). Several years after the Buddha’s death King Ajatasatru moved his capital from Rajagar to the humble Pataligama (Patali village), which blossomed into the prosperous Pataliputra (Patali City). This city remained a capital for almost 1000 years and reached the apex during the Maurya dynasty led first by Chandragupta and later his grandson, the benevolent Ashoka."

"Patna’s biggest break as entrepot came with the consolidation of Mughal control over Bengal – particularly with the final suppression of the Pathan chiefs of Eastern Bengal in 1612... the city also served as an outlet for several commodities produced in its hinterland...By 1620 Patna was being described as the “chefest mart towne of all Bengala"."

"Commercial establishments within the city are mainly lined along the arterial and major roads and there is extensive mixed land use of commercial and residential use throughout the city."

"Patna is ahead of Mumbai but second only to New Delhi in terms of ease of starting a business, according to a World Bank ranking."

"The per capita GDDP of Patna is over four times more than the per capita gross state domestic product (GSDP) of the state."

"As a busy capital, Patna serves as a major transportation hub for the region."

"Patna is located on the banks of the River Ganga. Patna is a metropolis and has a designated regional development area."

"Even in India there are but few places so rich in historical memories as Patna. Beneath the soil watered by the blood of Mir Kasim’s victims, lie the ruins of the ancient Buddhist capital, Pataliputra, the greatness of which had been foretold by Buddha a few months before his death."