The history of Bihar is one of the most varied in India. Ancient Bihar, known as Magadha,was originally known as vihar.. was the center of power, learning, and culture in India for 1000 years. India's "first empire", the Maurya empire as well as one of the world's greatest pacifist religion, Buddhism arose from the region that now makes modern Bihar.[1] Magadha empires, notably under the Maurya and Gupta dynasties, unified large parts of South Asia under a central rule.[2] Its capital Patna, earlier known as Pataliputra, was an important political, military, and economic center of Indian civilization during the ancient and classical periods of history. Many of the ancient Indian text, written outside of the religious epics, were written in ancient Bihar. Abhijñānaśākuntala was the most prominent.