Patna Museum

History

The museum was constructed by the British to conserve and display the historical artifacts found in the vicinity of the state capital. The concept of having a museum arose in 1912, after Bihar and Bengal were separated. Patna Museum started functioning in 1915 from the commissioner's bungalow, on the campus of A. N. Sinha Institute.

The artifacts were then shifted to new rooms at the Patna High Court building before being taken to the present building in 1929. The land that was selected for the museum, in 1925, was on Patna-Gaya road (now Budh Marg). The two-storeyed building, designed by Rai Bahadur Bishnu Swarup, was completed in 1928. It was opened as the first museum of Bihar and Orissa Province by then Governor of Bihar and Orissa, Sir Hugh Lansdown Stephenson.

Collections

Items on display in the multipurpose museum include archaeological objects, coins, art objects, paintings, instruments, textiles, paintings, thankas, bronze images and sculptures and terra cotta images by Hindu and Buddhist artists. It has a rare collection of British-period paintings depicting day-to-day life, as well as a fine collection related to the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad. It also houses a World War I cannon.

The fossil of a tree said to be more than 200 million years old is on display, as is a casket — unearthed in 1958 by archaeologist, A. S. Altekar, at the Relic Stupa of Vaishali — said to contain the sacred ashes (relics) of Gautama Buddha. A Didarganj Yakshi statue, discovered on a Ganges riverbank in 1917, was the museum's most prized collection, which was later shifted to Bihar Museum. The artefacts from ancient India era to 1764 are kept in Bihar Museum and those of post-1764 period are kept at Patna Museum. Rahul Sankrityayan donated 10,000 manuscripts that are written in gold and silver on handmade papers and books on Buddhist philosophy that were once in the library of ancient Nalanda and Vikramshila universities. These manuscript were taken to Tibet dating back of around 700 years ago before the destruction of these universities. These manuscripts were brought by him. Beginning November 2009, a project was started to build a replacement museum in Patna to enable the display of larger collections.

Heritage tunnel to Bihar Museum

In January 2023, Government of Bihar appointed Delhi Metro Railway Corporation Ltd as consultant for the construction of a 1.4-km-long proposed subway (heritage tunnel) between Bihar Museum and Patna Museum. In August 2023, cabinet of Bihar Government approved the construction of heritage tunnel at the revised cost of 542 crore.

K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute

Main article: Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute

The K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute in Patna was established by the Government of Bihar in 1950 with the object of promoting "historical research, archaeological excavation and investigations and publication of works of permanent value to scholars". The institute is currently based out of Patna Museum.

Notable publications include:

• Bindeshwari Prasad Sinha, Ed.: Comprehensive History of Bihar, Volume 1, Part 1 (1974)
• Bindeshwari Prasad Sinha, Ed.: Comprehensive History of Bihar, Volume 1, Part 2 (1974)
• S. H. Askari and Q. Ahmad, Ed.: Comprehensive History of Bihar, Volume 2, Part 1 (1983)
• S. H. Askari and Q. Ahmad, Ed.: Comprehensive History of Bihar, Volume 2, Part 2 (1987)
• K. K. Datta and J. S. Jha, Ed.: Comprehensive History of Bihar, Volume 3, Part 1 (1976)
• K. K. Datta and J. S. Jha, Ed.: Comprehensive History of Bihar, Volume 3, Part 2 (1976)

Gallery

File:Lohanipur torso.jpg | Lohanipur torso, 3rd century BCE File:002 Brick Sculpture (9218736145).jpg|Brick Sculpture of Buddha File:Pataliputra capital, Bihar Museum, Patna, 3rd century BCE.jpg| Pataliputra palace capital (front and left-side view), early Maurya Empire period, 3rd century BCE. File:003 Torana, 8c Udayagiri (9221507404).jpg|'Dwar Stambh', Udyagiri, 8th Century AD File:015 Buddha calling Earth, 10c Gaya (9218690093).jpg|Buddha, Gaya, 10th Century File:020 Samvara 10c Ratnagiri (9221447100).jpg|Samvara, Ratnagiri, 10th Century File:025 Tara 10-11c Gaya (9221433136).jpg|Tara, Gaya, 10th-11th Century

References

References

1. (2014-02-10). "Museum fun plan to woo kids". Telegraphindia.com.
2. (4 April 2017). "Patna Museum to turn 100 today".
3. (5 April 2017). "Exhibition on 100 yrs of museum concludes".
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5. (2021). "Governance of Higher Education in Bihar: Influence of Power Centers". Routledge.
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7. Abhay Kumar, Patna, 21 December 2013. (2013-12-21). "Museum artefacts find place in Belgium festival". Deccanherald.com.
8. (13 October 2017). "This museum in Bihar houses a 2300-year-old sculpture carved out of a single stone".
9. "Patna Museum". patna.bih.nic.in.
10. "Destinations :: Patna ::Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation". Bstdc.bih.nic.in.
11. Pranava K. Chaudhary, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130910094311/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-03-01/patna/27267355_1_buddhist-pilgrims-holy-ashes-patna-museum "Holy ashes fail to attract pilgrims"] in ''[[Times of India]]'', 1 March 2003.
12. (February 2023). "CM turns attention to Patna museum}}{{dead link".
13. (12 March 2023). "Renovation of century-old Patna Museum to begin from next month".
14. (24 October 2017). "CM for expansion of old Patna Museum".
15. (24 January 2023). "DMRC named consultant for tunnel between Patna museums". The Times of India.
16. (17 November 2021). "Nitish Kumar asks officials to develop proposed subway between Bihar Museum and Patna Museum as a 'world-class heritage tunnel'". The Times of India.
17. (9 August 2023). "Rs 542cr for 1.5-km-long tunnel to connect 2 museums in Patna".
18. (2021). "Upgraded Patna Museum to be magnificent: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar".
19. "Publications".