Sherrie7069 at 23:01, 13 March 2026

2026-03-13T23:01:08Z

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{{Short description|Capital of mediaeval Mithila Kingdom}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Gajarathapur
| official_name = Siwaisinghpur
| native_name = गजरथपुर
| native_name_lang = Mai
| other_name = Shivasinghpur
| settlement_type = Historical village
| mapframe-coordinates = {{Coord|26.0676093|N|85.9184634|E}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = India
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = Bihar
| subdivision_type2 = Region
| subdivision_name2 = Mithila
| subdivision_type3 = District
| subdivision_name3 = Darbhanga
| subdivision_type4 = Block
| subdivision_name4 = Hayaghat
| founder = King Shivasimha
| population_demonym = [[Maithil]]
| footnotes = Capital of Mithila during the period of King Shivasimha ([[Oiniwar Dynasty]])
}}
'''Gajarathapur''' ([[Maithili language|Maithili]]: गजरथपुर) is a historical village in the [[Mithila (region)|Mithila region]] of [[Bihar]] in [[India]]. It was established as the capital of the mediaeval [[Videha|Mithila Kingdom]] by the [[Shiva Simha Singh|King Shivasimha]] of the [[Oiniwar dynasty|Oiniwar Dynasty]]. It is presently located in the [[Darbhanga district]] of Bihar.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mishra |first=Vijayakanta |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Cultural_Heritage_of_Mithila.html?id=8FBuAAAAMAAJ#gajarathapur |title=Cultural Heritage of Mithila |date=1979 |publisher=Mithila Prakasana |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sinha |first=Bindeshwari Prasad |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Comprehensive_History_of_Bihar.html?id=MmpDAAAAYAAJ#gajarathapur |title=Comprehensive History of Bihar |date=1983 |publisher=Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Indian_Antiquary.html?id=F2xDAAAAYAAJ#gajarathapur |title=Indian Antiquary |date=1985 |publisher=Swati Publications |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Shree Rambriksh |first=Benipuri |url=https://ia902904.us.archive.org/25/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.345844/2015.345844.Vidhyapati-Ki_text.pdf |title=विद्यापति की पदावली |publisher=Pustak Bhandar |location=Laheriasarai (Darbhanga)}}</ref> According to historians, during the period of the king Amritkar, the son of the famous king Chandrakar, he shifted his capital from Gajarathapur to [[Padma Village|Padma]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=राजा पद्म सिंह के धरहरबा डीह का नहीं हो सका विकास - Raja Padma Singh's Dharbaba could not be developed for development |url=https://www.jagran.com/bihar/madhubani-raja-padma-singhs-dharbaba-could-not-be-developed-for-development-19164584.html |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Jagran |language=hi}}</ref>

== History ==
Gajarathapur was established on the bank of the [[Bagmati River]]. The fort of the capital was built near the river bank. The river bank where the fort was built, is still known as ''Kilaghat''. The literal meaning of the Indic term kila is fort.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Śarmmā |first=Rāmaprakāśa |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Mithila_ka_itihasa.html?id=TZAJAQAAIAAJ#%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0 |title=Mithila ka itihasa |date=1979 |publisher=Kamesvarasimhadarabhangasamskrtavisvavidyalaya |language=hi}}</ref> According to the book ''Mithila-Tatva-Vimarsh'' written by ''Mahamahopadhyaya Parmeshwar Jha'', the village is also known ''Siwaisinghpur''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tripāṭhī |first=Havaladāra |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Bihara_ki_Nadiyam.html?id=gwEKAQAAIAAJ#%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0 |title=Bihara ki Nadiyam |date=1977 |publisher=Bihar Hindi Granth Academi |language=hi}}</ref> It was also called as Shivasinghpur after the name of King Shivasimha.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Govind Ram |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Vidy%C4%81pati_k%C4%AB_k%C4%81vya_pratibh%C4%81.html?id=gLVHAAAAMAAJ#%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0 |title=Vidyāpati kī kāvya-pratibhā |date=1965 |publisher=Navayuga-Prakāśana |language=hi}}</ref>

Later, the capital was attacked by [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] and a war was erupted between the King Shivasimha and the Mughals. It is said that the King Shivasimha either lost his life or got missing after the war. After this defeat, the capital of Gajarathapur was devastated, and anarchy prevailed in the region for some time. The queen [[Lakhimadevi]] and her ''Rajpandit'' [[Vidyapati]] along with some relatives of the royal family went to the court of ''Dronwar Puraditya'' in [[Raj Banauli]] ([[Banauli Vidyapati Dih]]) for asylum.<ref name=":0" />

== Demographics ==
The village is presently known as Siwaisinghpur in the Hayaghat block of the Darbhanga district in Bihar. As of 2011, the number of families residing in this village is 316. The total population of the village is 1490, of which 796 are male while 694 are females.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population Finder 2011 |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/census.website/data/population-finder |website=Census India}}</ref>

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Villages in Darbhanga district]]
[[Category:Capitals of Mithila]]
[[Category:Former capitals in India]]

{{Darbhanga-geo-stub}}

Gajarathapur - Revision history

Sherrie7069 at 23:01, 13 March 2026