From the strategic river fortification of Ajatashatru in 490 BCE to the imperial metropolis of Ashoka, the mathematical golden age of Aryabhata, and the modern civic era.
King Ajatashatru constructs a fortified stockade at the confluence of the Ganges and Son rivers to launch campaigns against the Licchavis of Vaishali. The Buddha visits the site and prophesies its rise as a world metropolis.
Under Chandragupta Maurya and Emperor Ashoka, Pataliputra becomes the imperial nerve center of a subcontinent-spanning empire. Megasthenes, the Seleucid ambassador, records a 9-mile long fortified city with 570 towers and 64 gates. In 250 BCE, Ashoka hosts the Third Buddhist Council.
Pataliputra flourishes as the epicenter of classical Indian mathematics and astronomy. At the Kusumapura Astronomical Observatory, Aryabhata completes the Aryabhatiya (499 CE), defining zero, pi, and planetary orbits.
Recognizing the unparalleled strategic topography of the site along the Ganges, Sher Shah Suri invests 500,000 rupees to construct a grand riverfront fort and permanently establishes the modern name Patna.
The 10th Sikh Guru, warrior-poet, and founder of the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, is born in Patna City. Consecrated today as Takht Sri Patna Sahib, one of the five supreme Takhts of the Sikh faith.
Commissioned by Governor-General Warren Hastings following the devastating famine of 1770, engineer Captain John Garstin constructs the 29-meter beehive stupa-granary with a storage capacity of 137,000 tons.
