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Sasaram

City in Bihar, India

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The city served as the capital of the Sur dynasty during Sher Shah Suri's rule over India in the 16th century, and was residence place sub capital of epic monarch Sahasrabahu (Kartivirya Arjuna).

Sasaram and the Kaimur Range contain waterfalls, lakes, rivers and picturesque locations as described by the Ain-I-Akbari. Over 200 waterfalls emerge during the rainy season.

Modern Sasaram city covers the largest sub-metropolitan area of Bihar. Its attractions to visit include the Tomb of Sher Shah Suri (included in UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Tentative list), Tomb of Hasan Khan Suri, Rohtasgarh Fort, Shergarh Fort, Manjhar Kund, Kashish waterfall, Karmchat Dam, Salim khan makbara, Tutla Bhawani Mandir, Narayni Devi Mandir, Dhua Kund.

Sasaram city is located in the middle of its other sub-towns like Nokha & Kudra, which have a large number of agriculture based industries, and the city is also emerging as an educational hub. It is situated in the middle of other industrial twin towns like Dehri-on-sone, Dalmianagar, Sonnagar, Amjhor, Nokha and Banjari.

The Sasaram city region is the administrative headquarters of Rohtas district. It was carved out from Shahabad district in 1972. This district headquarters is best known for having the highest literacy rate and highest agricultural & forest cover area of Bihar. Sasaram is also the headquarters of a community development block of the same name, with a total population of 358,283 as of 2011, making it the most populous block in Rohtas district.


Major languages spoken in this region are Bhojpuri, Hindi, English and Urdu; religions of the population include Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Sikhism, and Jainism.

History

During the Vedic age, Sasaram was a part of the ancient Kashi kingdom. Sasaram's name derives from Sahasrarama, meaning "one thousand groves". Sasaram was once also named Shah Sarai (meaning "Place of the King"), as it is the birthplace of the Afghan king Sher Shah Suri, who ruled over Delhi, much of northern India, present-day Pakistan, and eastern Afghanistan for five years as the Sur Empire, after defeating the Mughal Emperor Humayun. Many of Sher Shah Suri's governmental practices were adopted by the Mughals and later the British Raj, including taxation, administration, and the building of a paved road from Kabul to Bengal, also called the Grand Trunk Road.

Sher Shah Suri's 122-foot (37 m) red sandstone tomb, built in the Indo-Afghan style, stands in the middle of an artificial lake in Sasaram. It borrows heavily from the Lodhi style, and was once covered in blue and yellow glazed tiles, indicating an Iranian influence. The massive free-standing dome also has an aesthetic aspect of the Buddhist stupa style of the Mauryan period. The tomb of Sher Shah's father, Hasan Khan Suri, is also at Sasaram, and stands in the middle of a green field at Sherganj, which is known as Sukha Rauza. About a kilometre to the north west of Sher Shah's tomb lies the incomplete and dilapidated tomb of his son and successor, Islam Shah Suri. Sasaram also has a Baulia, a pool used by the emperor's consorts for bathing.

The fort of Sher Shah Suri at Rohtasgarh is in Sasaram. This fort has a history dating back to the 7th century CE. It was built by Raja Harishchandra, known for his truthfulness in the name of his son Rohitashwa. It houses the Churasan temple, Ganesh temple, Diwan-i-Khas, Diwan-e-Aam, and various other structures dating back to different centuries. The fort also served as the headquarters of Raja Man Singh during his reign as the governor of Bihar and Bengal under the regime of Akbar. The Rohtas Fort in Bihar should not be confused with another fort of the same name, near Jhelum, Punjab, in present-day Pakistan. The Rohtas Fort in Sasaram was also built by Sher Shah Suri, during the period when Humayun was exiled from Hindustan.

There is a temple of Goddess Tarachandi, two miles to the south, and an inscription of Pratap Dhawal on the rock close to the temple of Chandi Devi. Hindus in large number assemble to worship the goddess. Dhua Kund, a notable waterfall, is located about 15 km (9.3 mi) from the city.

Rohtas, south of Sasaram, is known to have been the residence of one Satyawadi Raja Harischandra, named for his son, Rohitashwa.

Minor Rock Edict of Ashoka

Sasaram is also famous for an inscription by Ashoka (one of the thirteen Minor Rock Edicts), situated in a small cave of Kaimur hill, near Chandan Shaheed.

The edict is located near the top of the terminal spur of the Kimur Range near Sasaram. There is the Minor rock edict #1 only. Ashoka famously mentions pre-existing stone pillars in the Edict: "...And where there are stone pillars here in my dominion, there also cause it to be engraved.".

  1. Devanampriya [speaks] thus.
  2. .................. years since I am a lay-worshipper (upasaka).
  3. But (I had) not been very zealous.
  4. A year and somewhat more (has passed) since ............
  5. And men in Jambudvipa, being during that time unmingled with the gods, have (now) been made (by me) mingled with the gods.
  6. [For] this is the fruit [of zeal].
  7. ...........cannot be reached by (persons of) high rank alone, (but) even a lowly (person) is able to attain even the great heaven if he is zealous.
  8. Now, for the following purpose (has) this proclamation (been issued), (that) both the lowly and the exalted may be zealous, and (that) even (my) borderers may know (it), and (that this) zeal may be of long duration,
  9. And this matter will (be made by me to) progress, and will (be made to) progress even considerably; it will (be made to) progress to one and a half, to at least one and a half.
  10. And this proclamation (was issued by me) on tour.
  11. Two hundred and fifty-six nights (had then been) spent on tour, — (in figures) 256.
  12. And cause ye this matter to be engraved on rocks.
  13. And where there are stone pillars here (in my dominions), there also cause (it) to be engraved.

— Sasaram Edict (Translated in Inscriptions of Asoka. New Edition by E. Hultzsch)

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