It is the oldest district in the state of Bihar. In 1912, Bihar and Orissa were carved as separate provinces out of the old Bengal Province and Purnia became the district of the new provincial unit. Before the state re-organization in 1956, Purnia was contiguous to East Pakistan. The area of this district was about 4,239 square miles (10,979 km2). Buchanan Hamilton the first historian-geographer of India visited Purnia in 1801-10.
Name- “Purnia” originates from the Pundra Kingdom (also known as Paundra, Paundraya, Purnia etc.), a part of greater Bengal. This was an eastern kingdom located in Eastern Bihar, West Bengal andBangladesh. The bhats of the Pundir Rajputs, state that, having had their origins in Telangana, the Pundirs are descendants of the great Pundra dynasty. A Pundra king challenged Vasudeva Krishna by imitating his attributes. He called himself Paundraka Vasudeva. He was later killed by Vasudeva Krishna in a battle. The founders of five eastern kingdoms, Angas Vangas, Kalingas, Pundras and Suhmas, shared a common ancestry.
The name “Purnia” is an altered form of the old name Purania. This name as stated in the locality has been derived from the word purain that means the Lotus, the local plant, which is said to have grown thickly on the beds of the river Kosi and Mahananda, where swamps and marshes have been formed. This derivation has been ascertained by O’Malley also in the old gazetteer. Another derivation is from the word Pur Aranya, which means the adobe of forests. W.W. Hunter and Buchanan have mentioned the name of Purnia. It is also said that because Purnia was forest area and filled with all kind of trees so it was called “PURN + ARANYA” which means “full forest” which later called as Purnia.
Purnia has a tradition of at least a few centuries behind it. Under the Mughal rule, the district comprised Sarkar Tajpur, east of the Mahananda and Sarkar Purnia, west of the river. Purnia, at that time was a great military seat under the rule of a Fauzadar as a frontier district; Purnia has always had an extra administrative importance. Even in the early British days, Purnia was considered to be an important responsibility particularly as it was located on the border of Nepal.
Forests- Purnia district was once abode to monsoon and prairie forest. The principal trees were Sal, Sakhua, Teak, Shisham, Palas, Peepal and Semal. The forest and wild life have almost completely disappeared now.
Purnia, has long been known to be a paradise for Shikaris. The biggest Rhino that stands stuffed in a standing position in the museum of Calcutta was shot in Purnia district by Joe Shillingford, a well-known sportsman and Indigo-Planter of Purnia.
Rivers- The river system of the district consists of four distinct parts, to the extreme west and forming the boundaries of the district on the side, the river Kosi, which, with its main branches may be called the first part. The Panar or Panwar, which has its rise in the northeast corner of the district, divides the district into four equal parts, and may be said to be the second part. The third part of the river system consists of river Mahananda and Koska. The fourth part consists of the river Ganga. By far the most important of all rivers of Purnia is the Kosi. It is formed by the Sapt-kosi, Likhi kosi, Dudhi-kosi, Arun-kosi and Tambar-kosi. From Brahchhatra, the river leaves the lower hills of the mountain in three stages violently rapid and this part is known as Kosi. It first touches the Indian territories in the extreme north east of Bhagalpur and after a few miles along the boundary, it enters the district. The course of the river has always been changing and it still continues to change.
The Mahananda forms the boundary between Purnia and Bengal. Rising below the Makald-aram hills in the Darjeeling district, it enters the district at Titulia and flows southwest to the Kishanganj sub-division. A river like Kosi is liable to shift its course and it has changed its course many a times.
The Ganga forms the southern boundary of the district.
Kosi Maiya (local term for Mother) is the most important river of Purnia, having more than half its course passing through the district. This river brings a vast amount of sand and kankar with it and spreads them on both its banks, which make the areas extremely infertile. It touches the north-east portion of Saharsa district.
The Kosi, known as Kausika in Sanskrit books is one of the most ancient rivers of India and it debouches in the plains is the third biggest river in India being next only to the Indus and the Brahmaputra. It drains a catchment basis of some 22,888 square miles (59,280 km2) of which 2,228 square miles (5,770 km2) are under glaciers. The river rises in Himalayas and drains the hilly area, east of Kathmandu in Nepal covering the world’s two highest peaks: Mount Everest and Kanchanjunga.
The Kosi is known to have shifted as much as 12 miles (19 km) in a single year. The apparent cause of the rapid change in the river is heavy silt charge that it carries in suspension and the detritus that moves along its bed. The ancient Kausiki of Vishwamitra, whom he called noble and sacred is the Modern Kosi, Bihar’s river of Sorrow-identical to Whanwho, Yellow river of China-in its capacity of relentless destruction and responsible for untold human sufferings.
The Saura is the principal tributary of the Kosi. It rises in some lowland to the north-west of Jalalgadh and joins the Kosi near Mirganj. The river flows to the eastern side of the Purnia town and separates old Purnea City and new Purnea Town.
The Panar is a combination of so many streams flowing between the Kankai and the Kosi. The main stream rises near Forbesganj. This is a tributary of the Ganga. It is a very useful river as it makes it banks very rich in fertilizers.
