About District

Saharsa was established on April 1, 1954; prior to this, the Saharsa district was part of the Bhagalpur Division. The Kosi Division was formed on October 2, 1972, by combining the districts of Saharsa, Purnia, and Katihar, with its headquarters located in Saharsa. Similarly, a new subdivision, Birpur, was created on December 1, 1972; it was previously part of the Supaul subdivision, which comprised twenty-four blocks such as Raghopur, Chhatapur, Basantpur, and Nirmali. Two new districts—Madhepura and Supaul—were carved out of the Saharsa district on April 30, 1981, and in 1991, respectively. Saharsa district now comprises two subdivisions: Saharsa Sadar and Simri Bakhtiyarpur. The district consists of ten blocks and ten administrative circles
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Prominent tourist attractions in Saharsa district include the Maa Shri Ugratara Temple (Mahishi), the Sun Temple (Kandaha), Chandika Sthan (Viratpur), the Raktakali Temple, and Matsyagandha. Since ancient times, the village of Mahishi in Saharsa district has been renowned as the site of the philosophical debate (*shastrartha*) between Adi Shankaracharya and the eminent local scholar of that era, Mandan Mishra.

“Where parrots (*sugga*) and mynas are deliberating in pure Sanskrit—discussing whether the Vedas are eternal (requiring no proof) or need validation through other texts—and where disciples are singing, there lies the abode of Mandan Mishra.” Pt. Mishra was a student of Kumaril Bhatta, a preeminent scholar of the Mimamsa school of philosophy at the time.
It is said that Mandan Mishra’s wife, Bharati—a highly learned woman—was appointed as the judge for this philosophical debate.