Bairat

Viratnagar
—  town  —
Viratnagar Location of Viratnagar in Rajasthan and India
Coordinates	27°27′N 76°11′E
Country	India
State	Rajasthan
District(s)	Jaipur
Population	17,237 (2001)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 430 metres (1,410 ft)

Bairat is a town in northern Jaipur district of Rajasthan, India. It is located 52 km north of Jaipur, and 66 km west of Alwar.

History

Bairat's history goes back to the time of the Mahabharata, when it was known as "Viratnagar". Viratnagar was the capital of the ancient Mahajanapada (kingdom) of Machcha or Matsya. The kingdom came under the control of the neighboring Chedi Kingdom in the 5th century and was later part of the Mauryan Empire. The ruins of the Bijak-ki-pahadi, a Buddhist Chaitya (chapel) from the 3rd century BCE located in Bairat, are the oldest free-standing Buddhist structures in India.^{[citation needed]} The town is also home to ruins of a Buddhist monastery, a wood and timber shrine, and rock-cut edict from Emperor Ashoka; these date from the Mauryan period.

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.

The town's Viratnagar Museum houses artifacts from Bairat's long history, including sculptures, coins, pottery, seals and metal objects. The Virat Nagar also known for Great cow lover Mahatma Ramchandra Veer's birth place. The only hindu saint who did anshan to stop the killing of animal in the Temples of India. He had established the Panchkhand Peeth on the top of hill. He was a devotee of God Hanumana but his Hanuman not a monkey but was well known shasthra pandit and the their caste was named Vanar. He had also written the Hindu epic Ramayana in Hindi language the named "Ram katha Amrit", " Vijay Pataka" "Vinash ke Marg" & "Humare Hutatma".

In 634, the Chinese explorer Xuanzang visited Bairat.

Geography

Bairat is located at 27.45°N 76.18°E / 27.45; 76.18. It has an average elevation of 430 m (1,410 ft).

The Banganga River originates from a nearby village, Mair.

Demographics

As of the 2001 census, Viratnagar had a population of 17,237. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Bairat has an average literacy rate of 50%, lower than the national average of 59.5%; male literacy is 65%, and female literacy is 34%. Twenty percent of the population is under 6 years of age.