Patna

Capital of Bihar state, India, on the River Ganges, 450 km/280 mi northwest of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta); population (2001) 1,377,000. It has remains of a hall built by the emperor Asoka in the 3rd century BC; it was capital of several kingdoms in the succeeding centuries, under the name of Pataliputra.

Modern Patna stretches 15 km/10 mi along the south bank of the river, expansion dating from the British period when the city became an administrative and transport centre.