Mithila in the Nineteenth Century: Aina - i - Tirhut of Bihari Lal 'Fitrat'

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Maharajadhiraja Kameshwar Singh Kalyani Foundation was set up by Maharaniadhirani Kam Sundari Devi (also known as Kalyani Devi) at Darbhanga. One of the main objectives of this Foundation is to work for the promotion of our socio-cultural and educational activities. It was, therefore, decided to start a series of publication for bringing to light those old records and books which are now not at all accessible to scholars working on Bihar. Kameshwar Singh Bihar Heritage series was thus launched by the Foundation and it is a matter of great pleasure that Aina-i-Tirhut has come out in print in this series after more than a century of its publication in Urdu in 1883.

This book was written by Bihari Lal 'Fitrat. By the second half of the twentieth century, it became difficult for any scholar to find it out in the market or in any library. Besides, for most of the scholars working on Bihar access to Urdu texts is very difficult. The few scholars, who consulted it, most probably had to depend on the scholars of Urdu who could read the portions of the book in which they were interested to them. As a result, the title of the book remained in the memory of scholars, but its valuable contents could not ever be utilized for enhancing one's knowledge of Tirhut in the nineteenth century.

Shri Shadan Faruqi of Laheriasarai (Darbhanga) was kind enough to make a copy of Aina-i-Tirhut available to the Foundation. I am very grateful to him for appreciating the mission of Foundation. Shri Izharul Imam translated the Urdu text into Hindi in Deonagari script. My debt to him is great. Dr. Surendra Gopal, a renowned historian, has kindly contributed "The Importance of Aina-i-Tirhut in Urdu Historiography' which has definitely enriched the present volume. I shall remain indebted to him. Paras Nath Singh Thakur and Shrutikar Jha typed the entire manuscripts on computer. The former also prepared the index. Tejakar Jha prepared the cover design. Rajesh Agrawal of Alekhan undertook the job of printing. I am thankful to all of them.

The historical narratives of Mithila or Tirhut may be grouped in two categories: one consisting of the works of those scholars who were not trained in the practice and profession of the discipline of history that grew in this country under the influence of the western intellectual tradition since the late eighteenth century, and the other including those historical accounts which began to be prepared in the twentieth century by those who were (and are) academics pursuing the research methodology of this discipline quite professionally. Historical writings of the first kind are available right from, the ancient period. For example, Shatpath Brahman, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Smritis. Puranas, etc.. besides Buddhist and Jaina texts refer to Mithila or Tirbhukti in different contexts and some of them describe the glory of its rulers whose court had become known as a centre of intellectual excellence'. Of all these, Brihad- Vishnupurana includes one whole section known as 'Mithila Khanda' or 'Mithila Mahatmya' that covers the origin and boundary of this land, genealogical details of its Janak dynasty, its rivers, sacred spaces, etc., in detail and highlights the religious sanctity of the land.

Among the Persian works of the medieval period, there are Basatinuluns, Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, Tarikhi-i-Firuzshahi, etc., which have just casual references to Tirhut. However, a scholar of the court of emperor Akbar, Mulla Taqia, prepared his Bayaz that included a detailed account of Tirhut. Unfortunately, Bayaz is lost now. It was Ilias Rehmani who had discovered it in 1933 in the personal library of Moulavi Shah Enayat Karim of mohalla Pakki Haveli of Darbhanga. He consulted it for writing a paper on Darbhanga during the Islamic rule. This paper contains some extracts from Bayaz and except these extracts nothing more of Mulla Taqia is available now.

In the eighteenth century, Raghava Vijayavali and Kandarpi Ghatakalarai were written by Krishna Kavi and Lal Kavi respectively. Another book, Shrimat Khandavalakula Vinod, was also written in this period by one Gopal Jha. All these were written in poetry covering the accounts of the victory of Raghava Singh and Narendra Singh in the battles they had fought. The accounts are eulogistic. However, Shrimat Khandavala Kula Vmod includes genealogical information about the successive rajas of the Khandavala dynasty from Mahesh Thakur to Narendra Singh. This book like other two works of the same century has also not much to say regarding socio-cultural aspects of the region.