Vaishali or Vesali (Pali) was the capital city of the Licchavi, one of world's first democratic republics, in the Vajjian Confederacy (Vrijji) mahajanapada, around the 6th century BC. It was here in 599 BCE the 24th Jain Tirthankara, Bhagwan Mahavira was born and brought up in Kundalagrama in Vaishali republic, which make pious & auspicious pilgrimage to Jainist. Also Gautama Buddha preached his last sermon before his death in ca 483 BCE, then in 383 BCE the Second Buddhist council was convened here by King Kalasoka, making it an important place in both Jain & Buddhist religions.

At the time of the Buddha, Vaishali, which he visited on many occasions, was a very large city, rich and prosperous, crowded with people and with abundant food. There were 7,707 pleasure grounds and an equal number of lotus ponds. Its courtesan, Amrapali, was famous for her beauty, and helped in large measure in making the city prosperous. The city had three walls, each one gávuta away from the other, and at three places in the walls were gates with watch towers. Outside the town, leading uninterruptedly up to the Himalaya, was the Mahavana, a large, natural forest. Nearby were other forests, such as Gosingalasála.

The city finds mention in the travel accounts of Chinese explorers, Fa Hian (4th century CE) and Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) (7th century CE), which were later used in 1861 by British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham to first identify Vaishali with the present village of Basrah in Vaishali District, Bihar.

Stage is all set for Bihar Day celebrations all over the world on March 22nd, 2011. Biharis over the world are joining the celebrations with great fanfare and pride. Bihar foundation and various Bihar related groups and associations have joined hands for the occasion across different countries and regions. The team is hosting various cultural and community gets together events to mark this momentous day. Bihar day marks the creation of the state when the British carved Bihar out of the Bengal presidency March 22, 1912. Read more about the history of Bihar’s creation here.

This year, Bihar Divas is being organized to mark the 99th anniversary of independent statehood of Bihar. The festival this year will be organized at a grander scale, as the state will be entering its 100th year. The HRD department will felicitate important persons who have created a niche for themselves in different fields. Grand festivities are in store for Patnaites on the occasion of Bihar Diwas celebrations set to begin on March 22.

These will kick off year-long celebrations that will culminate in 2012 Bihar Diwas centenary functions. A three-day extravaganza, including cultural and academic events, will also be held at Moinul Haq Stadium in Patna. An air show could also be organized and talks were on with the Air Force for the same.The three-day cultural extravaganza at Gandhi Maidan promises to be a musical treat with pure Bihari regional flavour, including Maithili, Bhojpuri, Magahi and Angika folk songs apart from classical songs, 'qawwalis' and kavi sammelans.

Bihar based associations in California, New Jersey in the US, Sydney in Australia, Seoul in South Korea, Qatar and Bahrain in the Gulf, besides Canada and Trinidad are the countries which will observe Bihar Day with pomp and grandeur. You can also enjoy the live show of  Bihar Day celebrations here.