PATNA, a town of British India, capital of a district of the same name, in the presidency of Bengal, stands on the right bank of the Ganges, 10 miles E. of Dinapore, 157 E. of Benares, and 377 N.W. of Calcutta. The city and suburbs extend along the river to the length of 9 miles, and inland for about 2 miles; but the city itself, which is of a rectangular form and surrounded with walls, is only about a mile and a half in length, by three-quarters of a mile in breadth. When viewed from the water, the appearance of Patna is very beautiful, as there are then seen many large and handsome houses with flat roofs and carved balustrades, numerous temples and mosques, Saracenic arches and ancient towers; while many ghats, or flights of stairs, lead down to the Ganges; and in the background a range of heights closes in the view. There is one principal thoroughfare extending parallel to the river, between two gates in the eastern and western walls. This street is wide, though neither straight nor regular; but the other streets and lanes are very narrow and crooked. The better class of houses are built of brick, and have flat roofs and balconies; but a great number consist of little better than mud, and are covered with tiles or thatch. There are numerous mosques in the city, but the majority of them are treated with so little reverence or care, that they are used as warehouses,—a fate from which even the principal mosque, though a handsome building, is not exempt. The chief place of Mohammedan worship is in the west suburb, where vast multitudes of Mussulmans frequently congregate. In the same suburb are the residences of the Europeans, for the most part along the river's bank, but they are neither many in number nor splendid in appearance. A penitentiary and house of correction have recently been erected within the city; and there is also a school where the English language and literature, history and mathematics, are taught. The eastern suburb contains the principal market-place and several granaries. The manufactures of Patna are neither extensive nor important; but the bazaars are well supplied with domestic and foreign goods; and some trade is carried on in rice, opium, wheat, indigo, salt-petre, sugar, &c. During the summer the heat is very great, as the sun's rays are reflected from a bare and sandy island opposite the town. Patna is a place of great antiquity. Its old Sanscrit name was Pataliputra, and it is supposed to be the place mentioned by Greek and Roman writers under the name of Palimbothra. It was visited by Megasthenes, who went as an ambassador from Seleucus Nicator to Sandracottus, and who afterwards wrote an account of India. It is said to have been then 80 stadia in length and 15 in breadth, and surrounded with a stockade and ditch. It seems to have been at this time the capital of an independent state, but subsequently it formed part of the kingdom of Kunnoj, which was in early times one of the most powerful nations of India. In 1194 A.D. this kingdom was conquered and annexed to the empire of Delhi, of which Patna, along with the rest of Bengal and Behar, thenceforward formed a part. Factories were established here at an early period by the British, and a trade was carried on in rice and opium. In 1763 disputes began to arise between Meer Cossim, the nawab of Bengal and Behar, and the servants of the East India Company, about the transit-dues levied on native traders, from which the English claimed exemption. The nawab for some time refused to accede to these demands; but finally he entirely abolished all the imposts both on British and native goods, a step which was not desired by the Company, and which must have greatly diminished his revenues. In revenge for this injury, he proceeded in various ways to annoy the British;
and at length went so far as to seize some of their boats on the Ganges. On this, Mr Ellis, the chief of the factory at Patna, made an attack on the city, and took possession of it, although Meer Cossim soon afterwards recovered it, and forced the British to take refuge in the factory. For four months hostilities continued between the two parties, in the course of which the nawab was several times defeated, until he became so exasperated at the loss of the city of Monghyr, that he ordered the murder in cold blood of 200 prisoners. The grave of these prisoners is marked by a column in the city. On the 6th of November in the same year Patna was taken by the British; and in May 1764 Meer Cossim's troops were totally defeated under the walls. Since that time the place has remained undisturbed in the hands of the British. Pop. stated at 284,132.