Bairat

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Viratnagar | type = city | latd = | longd =
state_name = Rajasthan
district = Jaipur
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population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 17,237| population_density =
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Bairat is a town in northern Jaipur District of Rajasthan, state, India located 52 km north of Jaipur, and 66 km west of Alwar.

History

The ancient name of the town was Viratnagar, and its history goes back to the time of the Mahabharata. Viratnagar was the capital of the ancient Indian kingdom (Mahajanapada) of Machcha or Matsya. The kingdom came under the control of the neighboring Chedi Kingdom in the 5th century, and was later part of the Mauryan Empire. The ruins of the "Bijak-ki-pahadi", a Buddhist Chaitya (chapel) from the 3rd century BCE, is the oldest free standing Buddhist structure in India. The town also has the ruins of a Buddhist monastery, a wood and timber shrine, and rock-cut edict from Emperor Ashoka that date from the Mauryan period.

In 634 Xuanzang had visited the Bairat and Mathura towns. He went east to Jalandhar in eastern Punjab, before climbing up to visit predominantly Theravada monasteries in the Kulu valley and turning southward again to Bairat and then Mathura, on the Yamuna river.

The town has a number of Mughal structures, including a "Chhatri" (cenotaph) with some of the earliest surviving murals in Rajasthan, and a lodge where the Mughal emperor Akbar hunted and stayed overnight on his yearly pilgrimage to Ajmer.

The town's Viratnagar Museum houses artifacts from Bairat's long history, including sculptures, coins, pottery, seals and metal objects.the banganga river originates from nearby village mair.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, [GR|India] Viratnagar had a population of 17,237. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Viratnagar has an average literacy rate of 50%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 65%, and female literacy is 34%. In Viratnagar, 20% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References