Purnia (Hindi : )is a city located in Purnia district in the Indian state of Bihar.It is the largest city of North-Eastern Bihar and is located at a distance of nearly 300 kilometers from Patna the capital city of Bihar. Purnia is at a distance of 171 kilometers from Siliguri, 92 kilometers from Bhagalpur & 214 kilometres from Muzaffarpur. It is at a distance of 450 kilometers from Kolkata. The Indian Army, Indian Air Force, Border Security Force (BSF) the SSB and ITBP have their bases around the district.The origin of the name appears to have different sources. The name possibly originates from the Sanskrit word PurnaAranya, which stands for "complete jungle".[2] Purnia could 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. This derivation is stated by O'Malley[who?] and is also in the old gazetteer.[clarification needed][citation needed] An alternative could be a derivation from the words Pur Aranya. W.W. Hunter and Buchanan[who?] have mentioned the name of Purnia,[clarification needed][citation needed] it being a forested area, using combination of the words purn (full) and aranya (forest). The name of Purnia's 600-year-old temple of Mata Puran Devi (Kali), located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) outside the city, is believed[by whom?] to be the name origin of Purnia.[citation needed]
