About Chhapra

Chhapra (Hindi: Urdu: ) is a city and headquarters of Saran district in the state of Bihar, India. Chhapra is also written as Chapra. It is situated near the junction of the Ghaghara River and The Ganges River. Chapra grew in importance as a river mart in the 18th century when the Dutch, French, Portuguese, and English established saltpeter refineries there. It was constituted a municipality in 1864. The town has major rail and road connections with the rest of India. Various hypothesis exist about the origin of the name "Saran" (Chhapra). General Cunningham suggested that Saran was earlier known as SARAN or asylum which was a name given to a stupa (Pillar) built by Emperor Ashoka. Another hypothesis says that the name SARAN was derived from SARANGA- ARANYA or the deer forest, the district being famous for its wide expanses of forest and deer in prehistoric times. The earliest authentic historical record concerning this district is from the year 898 AD and suggest that the...