Viratnagar
title: "Viratnagar" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cities-and-towns-in-kotputli-behror-district", "archaeological-sites-in-rajasthan"] topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viratnagar" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Viratnagar |
| native_name | |
| other_name | Bairat |
| settlement_type | town |
| image_skyline | City of Bairat-Viratnagar.jpg |
| image_caption | The city as seen from Bairat Temple |
| pushpin_map | India#India Rajasthan |
| pushpin_relief | yes |
| coordinates | |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | India |
| subdivision_type1 | State |
| subdivision_name1 | Rajasthan |
| subdivision_type2 | District |
| subdivision_name2 | Kotputli-Behror |
| established_title | |
| unit_pref | Metric |
| elevation_m | 430 |
| population_total | 17237 |
| population_as_of | 2001 |
| population_density_km2 | auto |
| demographics_type1 | Languages |
| demographics1_title1 | Official |
| demographics1_info1 | Hindi |
| timezone1 | IST |
| utc_offset1 | +5:30 |
| postal_code_type | |
| website | http://www.viratnagar.in |
| iso_code | RJ-IN |
| official_name | Viratnagar |
| :: |
| name = Viratnagar | native_name = | native_name_lang = | other_name = Bairat | settlement_type = town | image_skyline = City of Bairat-Viratnagar.jpg | image_alt = | image_caption = The city as seen from Bairat Temple | nickname = | image_map = | map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = India#India Rajasthan | pushpin_relief = yes | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = India | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 = Rajasthan | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Kotputli-Behror | established_title = | established_date = | founder = | named_for = | government_type = | governing_body = | unit_pref = Metric | area_footnotes = | area_rank = | area_total_km2 = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 430 | population_total = 17237 | population_as_of = 2001 | population_rank = | population_density_km2 = auto | population_demonym = | population_footnotes = | demographics_type1 = Languages | demographics1_title1 = Official | demographics1_info1 = Hindi | timezone1 = IST | utc_offset1 = +5:30 | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | registration_plate = | website = http://www.viratnagar.in | iso_code = RJ-IN | footnotes = | official_name = Viratnagar Viratnagar previously known as Bairat (IAST: raj) or Bairath (IAST: raj) is a town in Kotputli-Behror district of Rajasthan, India.
History
Ancient era
According to Huen Tsang, visitor from China, Tonk was under Bairath State or Viratnagar previously known as Bairat or Bairath.
The present-day site of Bairat corresponds to the ancient city of Virāṭanagara, which was the capital of the Iron Age Matsya kingdom (c. 1400-c. 350 BC), which was one of the solasa (sixteen) Mahajanapadas (great kingdoms) according to the 6th BCE Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya. Matsya kingdom had Kuru and Surasena mahajanapadas to its north and east respectively.
Medieval era
Bairat was a part of the Mauryan Empire. The ruins of the Bijak-ki-pahadi (Bairat Temple), a Buddhist Chaitya (chapel) from the 3rd century BCE located in Bairat, are the oldest free-standing Buddhist structures in India. The town is also home to ruins of a Buddhist monastery, a wood and timber shrine, and two rock-cut edicts (Bairat Edict and Bhabru Edict) from Emperor Ashoka; these date from the Mauryan period (circa 250 BCE). However, Akhnoor, a town in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir is also considered by many as the ancient Virat Nagar.
Early modern era
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.
Geography
Bairat is located at . It has an average elevation of 430 m.
References
References
- Malik, Dr Malti. (2016). "History of India". New Saraswati House India Pvt Ltd.
- "Integration of Rajasthan". Rajasthan Legislative Assembly website.
- Viratnagar in archives & archaeology: India's perennial city, Sī. Ela Śarmā, Malti Prakashan, 1997
- A Tryst with History at Viratnagar, Florine Roche, 3 December 2012, http://www.daijiworld.com/chan/exclusive_arch.asp?ex_id=1968
- Brara, Sarita. (10 August 2013). "Akhnoor: Caught in a time warp". The Hindu.
- "Official Web Site of Akhnoor Sub-Division (J&K)".
- The Early Rajput Murals of Bairāt (c. AD 1587) H. Goetz, Ars Orientalis Vol. 1, (1954), pp. 113-118
- "Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Bairat". Fallingrain.com.
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