and 450 km from Kolkata, the capital of the adjacent state of West Bengal and the largest city in East India.

[3] Purnia could also be an altered form of the old name Purania, derived from the word purain or Lotus, which is said to have grown on the Kosi and Mahananda rivers.

[5] During the late Vedic period (c. 1100–500 BCE), Videha became one of the major political and cultural centers of South Asia, along with Kuru and Pañcāla.

In the early days of colonization, Europeans settled around the Saura river in the middle of the city, now known as Rambagh area.

Alexander John Forbes bought the Sultanpur pargana from Mahajan Babu Pratap Singh of Murshidabad in 1859 and became a Zamindar.

The Forbes family sold the Sultanpur estate to the country's business house J. K. Singhania, because of the ongoing jute cultivation.

In Baghmara, one area in the frontier of the city, there is an embankment parallel to the Saura river, which was built by Palmer.

[8] Some of the popular religious places in and around Purnea are.. Purnia and its surrounding lands lie in the sub-montane alluvial tract of the Gangetic Plain.

Gulabbagh and Khuskibagh are situated at eastern outskirts of main city, and known for their famous agriculture market (in local language mandi).

Many merchants come from Nepal and West Bengal to purchase supplies of raw material and specially Maize.

GulabBagh in Purnia houses a major grain storehouse and is Asia's largest maize trading center.

This location as well as central and eastern Bihar supply the grain requirements of Bengal, Nepal, and the states of Northeast India.

Khuskibagh has fruit and vegetable market that is too close to Purnia Junction (station code: PRNA) that provides rail connectivity.

The alluvial soil, irrigated by the Kosi and Mahananda rivers, has been particularly suited to the paddy cultivation of rice.

Other crops grown are potatoes, wheat, khesari, chickpeas, chili peppers, maize, lentils, arhar dal, barley, sugarcane, tobacco, makhana, mung beans, and jute.

Purnia is a powerful poultry producer and has also been catering to the demands of the nearby regions of Nepal and West Bengal for many years.

Fishes are also transported to the nearby markets of West Bengal, especially those in the Siliguri Metropolitan Region, the nearest large urban centre.

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Garhbanaili (14 km away from the main city) is a prestigious school run by the government.

Other prominent schools are - There are colleges for higher studies concentrating engineering, law, arts, and home science.

Proposals for the airport to operate scheduled flights are being widely discussed at the level of the state government.

The newly constructed NH 27 directly connects Purnia to some important towns and cities of North Bihar namely Darbhanga & Muzaffarpur.

This expressway which also traverses through the newly built Kosi Mahasetu bridge ends at Muzaffarpur to continue further for Patna.

Phanishwar Nath Renu's popular story "Maare Gaye Gulfam" which was adapted into a film Teesri Kasam (The Third Vow), by Basu Bhattacharya (produced by the poet-lyricist Shailendra) in 1966 was shot in Purnia, in which old Purnea is pictured, especially 'the Gulabbag Mela'.

[citation needed] Purnia held the record for making and displaying the world's longest tricolour flag, with the length measured at 7,100 metres (7.1 km) before it was broken on 12 August 2019 by Raipur, Chattisgadh.