- Bairat
Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Viratnagar | type = city | latd = | longd =
state_name = Rajasthan
district = Jaipur
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altitude =
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 17,237| population_density =
area_magnitude= sq. km
area_total =
area_telephone =
postal_code =
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sex_ratio =
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footnotes =Bairat is a town in northern
Jaipur District ofRajasthan , state,India located 52 km north ofJaipur , and 66 km west ofAlwar .History
The ancient name of the town was Viratnagar, and its history goes back to the time of the
Mahabharata . Viratnagar was the capital of the ancient Indian kingdom (Mahajanapada ) ofMachcha or Matsya. The kingdom came under the control of the neighboringChedi Kingdom in the5th century , and was later part of theMauryan Empire . The ruins of the "Bijak-ki-pahadi", aBuddhist Chaitya (chapel) from the3rd century BCE , is the oldest free standing Buddhist structure in India. The town also has the ruins of a Buddhistmonastery , a wood and timber shrine, and rock-cut edict from EmperorAshoka that date from the Mauryan period.In
634 Xuanzang had visited the Bairat andMathura towns. He went east toJalandhar in eastern Punjab, before climbing up to visit predominantlyTheravada monasteries in theKulu valley and turning southward again to Bairat and thenMathura , on theYamuna river .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 emperorAkbar hunted and stayed overnight on his yearly pilgrimage toAjmer .The town's Viratnagar Museum houses artifacts from Bairat's long history, including sculptures, coins, pottery, seals and metal objects.the banganga river originates from nearby village mair.
Demographics
As of 2001 Indiacensus , [GR|India] Viratnagar had a population of 17,237. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Viratnagar has an average literacy rate of 50%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 65%, and female literacy is 34%. In Viratnagar, 20% of the population is under 6 years of age.References
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