Simraungadh

Simraungadh is the archaeological remains of a great fortified medieval city, founded in 1097 by Nanyadeva as the capital of the Karnat (Karnata) dynasty of Mithila. Spread across the Terai of Bara district and into adjoining Bihar, it preserves ramparts, moats, tanks, sculpture and temple foundations of a once-flourishing kingdom.

For over two centuries Simraungadh was a centre of Maithili administration, learning and art, until it fell to the armies of the Delhi Sultanate under Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq in the early 14th century. Excavations in the 1990s by the Department of Archaeology with Italian collaboration revealed extensive structures and sculpture.

Simraungadh is foundational to the history of the Mithila region and Maithili culture, language and literature; it remains a place of local pilgrimage and is dotted with shrines reusing ancient images.

The site comprises massive earthen fortification walls and moats enclosing the old city, with scattered brick mounds, stone Vishnu and other sculptures, and water tanks (pokhari) marking palace, temple and residential zones now spread among fields and settlements.

Current condition: Ruined archaeological landscape amid farmland; partly excavated

Protected by the Department of Archaeology; encroachment and farming over unexcavated remains are the main threats.