to the period of Ramayana. The word Buxar is said to have been derived from VyaghraSar. The tiger face of Rishi Vedshira, an outcome of the curse of the sage Rishi Durvasha, was restored after bathing in a holy tank which was later named as VyaghraSar.
According to mythology, sage Vishwamitra the family guru of Lord Rama and eighty thousand saints, had their sacred ashram at the banks of holy river Ganges that reside inside the modern District Buxar. He was disturbed in the yagna (sacrificial offering) by the demons. The place where due killing of the famous Rakshasi (demoness) Tadika by Lord Rama, is said to fall within the present Buxar town area. Besides, Lord Rama and his younger brother Laxman took their teachings at Buxar. It is also said that Ahilya, the wife of Gautam Rishi restored her human body from that of stone and got salvation by a mere touch of the feet of Lord Rama. This place is presently known as Ahirauli and is situated six kilometers away from the Buxar town. The Kanwaldah Pokhara also known as VyaghraSar is a tourist spot nowadays.
Ancient Significance of Buxar is mentioned in ancient epics like Brahamana Purana and Varah Purana:
Battle of Buxar (October 1764)
The Muslim Mughal Mir Kasim (reign:1760 to 1763), made an attempt to recover resource rich province of Bengal from the hands of British. In 1764, he enlisted the support of Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II and Nawab Shuja Ud Daulah of Oudh (Awadh). On October 23, 1764, Mir Kasim with his army was defeated at the Battle of Buxar by the British Major Hector Monro who led a contingent of 857 European soldiers and 6213 sepoys. The battle ground (Katkauli) is situated at about 6 kilometers from downtown Buxar. The stone memorial erected by Britishers at Katkauli bears testament to the fight even today.
A circumstancial account of this battle is provided by Percival Spear. It was a significant
