• One of the four sites in India’s Char Dham pilgrimage. Badrinath was re-established as a major pilgrimage site by Adi Shankara in the ninth century.

(4) Bagh

• Viratnagar was the capital of the ancient Mahajanapada of Machcha or Matsya. The kingdom came under the control of the neighbouring Chedi Kingdom in the 5th century and was later part of the Mauryan Empire. (Akhnoor, a town in the state of Jammu and Kashmir is also considered as the ancient Virat Nagar.)
• The ruins of the Bijak-ki-pahadi, a Buddhist Chaitya (3rd century BCE) are the oldest free-standing Buddhist structures in India. The town is also home to ruins of a Buddhist monastery, a wood and timber shrine, and rock-cut edict from Emperor Ashoka; these date from the Mauryan period.
• The town has a number of Mughal structures, including a Chhatri with some of the earliest surviving murals in Rajasthan, and a lodge where the Mughal emperor Akbar hunted and stayed overnight on his yearly pilgrimage to Ajmer.

• Balasore district was part of the ancient Kalinga which later became a territory of Koshala or Utkal. It was annexed by Moghuls in 1568 and remained as a part of their suzerainty up to the middle of eighteenth century (up to 1750–51). Then the Marathas occupied this part of Odisha and it became a part of the dominion of the Bhonsle Maratha Rajas of Nagpur. The first of English factories was established in this region in 1640. In 1763 Balasore became a Danish possession, governed from Tranquebar, as part of Danish India. Due to the shallowness of its bay, the trading post was abandoned.
• Now It is also the site of the Indian Ballistic Missile Defense Program’s Integrated Test Range

• Balathal is an archaeological site located in Udaipur district of Rajasthan. The Kataranadi River is very close to the site.
• Two cultural periods: the Chalcolithic and the Early Historic.
• The houses found at the site are square or rectangular made of mud brick, stone, and wattle and daub huts with mud plastered floor and two storage pits. It has been determined that the people practiced agro-pastoralism.
• In later phase, a  masive mud fortification wall in the centre of mound, multi-room structural complexes with kitchens and storages and potters’ kilns were found.
• Pottery at the site tells much about life at this ancient site. Balathal is part of the Ahar-Banas Complex and can be connected to other Ahar-Banas culture sites through artifacts that have been discovered. Some of the pottery from Balathal was locally produced, while other types found at Balathal came from other sites in the Ahar-Banas Complex, such as Gilund, Ojiyana, Marmi, and Ahar.
• Pottery includes thin red, black and red, and buffed colored pots. There was also a reserved slip ware.The thick and coarse ware included a red-slipped ware, plain red ware, burnished grey ware and plain grey ware. Very few microliths and a lot of copper artifacts were found. There were also bone tools, stone tools and terracotta balls and figurines of bulls and precious stones. Ornaments included neckless made of terracotta, steatite, semiprecious stones. Much of bones found were of domesticated animals.
• Plant remains included wheat, barley, millet, black&green gram, pea, fruits.
• It was contemporary with early Harappa phase at Kot Diji and as early as the Jodhpura-Ganeshwar culture of north-east rajasthan.

• Basohli is widely known for its paintings called Basohli paintings, which are considered the first school of Pahari paintings, and which evolved into the much prolific Kangra paintings school by mid-eighteenth century

• The archaeological site of Bagor is a Late Mesolithic (pre-Harappa) archaeological site located on the Kothari river in the Bhilwara District.
• Evidence for the domestication of sheep, cattle and goats by the nomadic pastoralists of Bagor dating as early as 5000 to 3000 BC.

• Badoli temples, is located in Baroli village in Chittorgarh district in Rajasthan. The complex of eight temples is situated within a walled enclosure; an additional temple is about 1 kilometre away. Four temples are dedicated to Shiva (including Ghateshwara Mahadeva Temple), two to Durga and one each to Shiva-Trimurti, Vishnu and Ganesha.
• They are built in the Pratihara style of temple architecture dated to the tenth century A.D.
• They were built during the Gurjara-Pratihara Empire in the 10th–11th centuries. They are one of the earliest temple complexes in Rajasthan.
• The Nataraja images carved in these temples have 16 arms.

Bedse are situated in Pune District of Maharashtra. It is famous for Buddhist rock cut caves. It has stupa and monastery (vihara for monks to stay). Caves contain some carvings although are less ornate than later caves. At Bedsa for the first time a new design of Chaitya façade which became the characteristic of the subsequent Chaitya halls.

• In Belagavi district, Karnataka.The present city was built in the 12th century AD by the Ratta dynasty.The fort of Belgaum was built in 1204 by a Ratta officer .Belgaum served as the capital of that dynasty between 1210 and 1250, before the Rattas were defeated by the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri.
• The Khiljis of Delhi invaded the region at the turn of the 14th century and succeeded in ruining both indigenous powers of the region, the Yadava and the Hoysalas, without providing a viable administration. This lacuna was supplied by the Vijayanagara Empire, which had become the established power of the area by 1336.
• A century later, the town had become a bustling trading hub for diamonds and wood, owing to its favourable geographic location in the kingdom.
• In 1474, the Bahmani Sultanate, then ruling from Bidar, captured the fort of Belagavi. Shortly afterward, in 1518, the Bahamani sultanate splintered into five small states and Belagavi became part of the Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur.

• In Kutch district, Gujarat.
• The ruins of ancient city of Bhadrawati can be found here. Bhadrawati was ruled by King Sidhsen in 449 B.C. Later it was ruled by The Solanki rulers who were Jains, and they changed the name to Bhadreshwar. Then in 1315, a great famine struck Kutch, after which the town was renovated by Jagdusha, the Jain merchant
• Centuries old Jain temple complex known as Vasai Jain Temple (One of the oldest Jain temples).
• There is also an ancient Shiva temple known as Chokhanda Mahadev situated at the sea-shore and the big square step well known as the Pandavs Kund.
• Duda Masjid and a stepwell, Duda vaav, which is very old (12th century), meaning they predate the well known Islamic architecture of Ahmedabad.

• A minor archaeological site of Indus valley Civilization in Bharuch district near coastline and gives access to the agate-bearing mines and forested hills of the valleys of the rivers Narmada and Tapti.
• Bhagatrav have been an important port, as Lothal.
• Flood was one of the reasons for decline/destruction of some Harappan settlements such as Bhagatrav, Lothal, Rangpur, Desalpur, Chanhu-daro etc.

• Bharatpur is a city in Rajasthan. Located in the Brij region, Bharatpur was once considered to be an impregnable city and was the capital of the Jat kingdom later captured by the Marathas.
• At the end of the 17th century, Jat Baija, Zamindar of the village of Sansani took advantage of the weakness of the Sultanate of Delhi to enlarge his territory. His descendents, Churaman Singh and Badan Singh continued the expansion, the latter being the founder of the fortress of Bharatpur in 1724.
• The power of the Jats reached its zenith under Suraj Mal, Badan Singh’s nephew, stepson, adopted son and successor. He conquered a vast territory in north central India, including the Imperial cities of Agra and Delhi. Thereafter the Jats proved fickle allies, making and breaking alliances with the Mughals, Mahrattas and the British. The fort eventually fell to Lord Combermere’s forces in 1826, after the British intervened to unseat a usurper, and demolished. Thereafter, Jats proved to be great allies, supplying large numbers of recruits for the Indian Army and the Maharajas participating in Imperial campaigns. The state acceded to the Dominion of India in August 1947

Bharhut is in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. It is known for one of the earliest Buddhist Stupa which may have been first built by Ashoka in the 3^rd century BCE, but many works of art were added during the Sunga period in 2^nd and 1^st century BCE. Now only the stupa railing along with part of the gateway survives. The gateways and railings contain numerous birth stories of the Buddha’s previous lives, or Jataka tales. The stupa railings carry the names of those people who donated towards this work.

Bharhut sculptures represent the Buddha in the form of symbols, such as wheel, a pair of footprints etc and not in human form. Many non-Buddhist deites and mystic concepts are depicted by Bharhut sculptures.

Inscriptions:

Some inscriptions mention the donors while others serve as labels for panels depicting the Jatakas, the life of the Buddha, other stories and Yakshas and Yakshinis.

(31) Bhatnair / Bhatner / Hanumangarh

• The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological site of the Paleolithic, exhibiting the earliest traces of human life on the Indian subcontinent, and thus the beginning of the South Asian Stone Age. It is located in the Raisen District in Madhya Pradesh, southern edge of the Vindhya hills, inside the Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary.
• At least some of the shelters were inhabited by Homo erectus more than 100,000 years ago. Some of the Stone Age rock paintings found among the Bhimbetka rock shelters are approximately 30,000 years old.
• The caves also deliver early evidence of dance. They were declared a World Heritage Site.
• The entire area is covered by thick vegetation, has abundant natural resources in its perennial water supplies, natural shelters, rich forest flora and fauna.
• More than 750 such shelters have been identified, of which 243 are in the Bhimbetka group and 178 in the Lakha Juar group. Archeological studies revealed a continuous sequence of Stone Age cultures (from the late Acheulian to the late Mesolithic), as well as the world’s oldest stone walls and floors.
• Barkheda has been identified as the source of the raw materials used in some of the monoliths discovered at Bhimbetka.
• The rock shelters and caves of Bhimbetka have a large number of paintings. The oldest paintings are considered to be 30,000 years old.
• The colors used are vegetable colors which have endured through time because the drawings were generally made deep inside a niche or on inner walls. The drawings and paintings can be classified under seven different periods.

1. Period I-(Upper Paleolithic): These are linear representations, in green and dark red, of huge figures of animals such as bison, tigers and rhinoceroses.
2. Period II-(Mesolithic): Comparatively small in size the stylised figures in this group show linear decorations on the body. In addition to animals there are human figures and hunting scenes, giving a clear picture of the weapons they used: barbed spears, pointed sticks, bows and arrows. The depiction of communal dances, birds, musical instruments, mothers and children, pregnant women, men carrying dead animals, drinking and burials appear in rhythmic movement.
3. Period III-(Chalcolithic): Similar to the paintings of the Chalcolithic, these drawings reveal that during this period the cave dwellers of this area were in contact with the agricultural communities of the Malwa plains, exchanging goods with them.
4. Period IV&V-(Early historic): The figures of this group have a schematic and decorative style and are painted mainly in red, white and yellow. The association is of riders, depiction of religious symbols, tunic-like dresses and the existence of scripts of different periods. The religious beliefs are represented by figures of yakshas, tree gods and magical sky chariots.
5. Period VI&VII-(Medieval): These paintings are geometric linear and more schematic, but they show degeneration and crudeness in their artistic style. The colors used by the cave dwellers were prepared by combining manganese, hematite and wooden coal.

• One rock, popularly referred to as “Zoo Rock”, depicts elephants, sambar, bison and deer. Paintings on another rock show a peacock, a snake, a deer and the sun.
• On another rock, two elephants with tusks are painted. Hunting scenes with hunters carrying bows, arrows, swords and shields also find their place in the community of these pre-historic paintings. In one of the caves, a bison is shown in pursuit of a hunter while his two companions appear to stand helplessly nearby; in another, some horsemen are seen, along with archers.
• In one painting, a large wild boar is seen. It is not known whether such large boars existed that time (note that, according to the skeletons found, those humans were about 7 feet tall) or the humans drew it with enlarged scale.

• Bhirrana is a small village located in Fatehabad District, Haryana.
• An Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report claims that the largest and oldest site of the Harappan Civilization are both in Haryana. The oldest, according to C-14 radio-dating done by ASI, is at Bhirana and has been dated to 7570-6200 BC. That makes it far older than the site at Mehrgarh, Pakistan, which has been dated to 6400-7000 BC.The report also states that Rakhigarhi, a village close to Bhirana, is the largest Harappan site in the world.
• The excavation has revealed these cultural periods; Period IA: Hakra Wares Culture, Period IB: Early Harappan Culture, Period IIA: Early Mature Harappan and Period IIB: Mature Harappan Culture.
• Period IA: Hakra Wares Culture: The remains of the Harappan culture right from its nascent stage, i.e. Hakra Wares Culture (antedating the Known Early Harappan Culture in the subcontinent, also known as Kalibangan-I.) to a full-fledged Mature Harappan city. Prior to the excavation of Bhirrana, no Hakra Wares culture, predating the Early Harappan had been exposed in any Indian site. This culture is characterised by structures in the form of plastered dwelling pits, cut into the natural soil. The artefacts: a copper bangle, copper arrowhead, bangles of terracotta, beads of lapis lazuli and steatite, bone point, stone saddle etc. The pottery :Mud Applique Wares, Incised, Tan / Chocolate Slipped Wares, Brown-on-Buff Wares, Bichrome Wares (Paintings on the exterior with black and white pigments), Black-on-Red Ware and plain red wares.
• The Period IB: Early Harappan Culture: The settlement was with no fortification. The houses built of mud bricks of buff colour in the ratio of 3:2:1. The pottery of this period shows all the six fabrics of Kalibangan – I along with many of the Hakra Wares of the earlier period. The artifacts: a seal of quarter-foil shape made of shell, arrowheads, bangles and rings of copper, beads of carnelian, jasper, lapis lazuli, steatite, shell and terracotta, bull figurines, rattles, wheels, gamesmen, and marbles of terracotta, bangles of terracotta and faience, bone objects, sling balls, marbles and pounders of sandstone.
• The Period IIA: Early Mature Harappan Culture: This period is marked by transformation in the city lay-out within a fortification wall. The twin units of the town planning; Citadel and Lower Town came into vogue. The streets, lanes and by-lanes were oriented in similar fashion. The pottery assemblage shows a mixed bag of Early Harappan and Mature Harappan forms. The artifacts: beads of semi-precious stones, bangles of copper, shell, terracotta and faience; fishhook, chisel, arrowhead of copper; terracotta animal figurines.
• The Period IIB: Mature Harappan Culture with all the characteristic features of a well-developed Harappan city. The artifacts: Seals of steatite, bangles of copper, terracotta, faience and shell, inscribed celts of copper, bone objects, Terrecotta wheels with painted spokes, animal figurines of terracotta, beads of lapis lazuli, carnelian, agate, faience, steatite, terracotta and stone objects. A replica of the famous “Dancing Girl” from Mohenjodaro is found engraved on a potsherd. The massive fortification wall and house was made of mud bricks. Wide linear roads separated the houses. Presence of the baked bricks is seen used in the main drain to flush out the waste water from the houses.
• People used to live in shallow mud plastered pit dwellings and pits were also used for industrial activity or sacrifices. Multi roomed houses were exposed at this site, one house with ten rooms and another with three rooms; another house had kitchen, court yards, tandoor, chullah in kitchen and beside chullah, charred bone remains of a bovine animal was also found.
• All phases of Indus Valley Civilisation are represented in this site.

(34) Bhitargaon 

• Bhitargaon is a town in Kanpur district, Uttar Pradesh known for its ancient Hindu temple.The Bhitargaon Temple is a terraced brick building fronted with a terracotta panel. Built in the 6th century during the Gupta Empire, it is the oldest remaining terracotta Hindu shrine with a roof and a high Sikhara.
• The temple is built on a square plan with double-recessed corners and faces east. There tall pyramidal spire over the garbhagriha. The walls are decorated with terracotta panels depicting aquatic monsters, Shiva and Vishnu etc.

• The pillar is carved from red sandstone and rises to fifteen feet in height. The upper part is highly polished whereas chisel marks can still be seen on the lower section. The capital is broken and all that remains is a bell shape. 
• Bhitari pillar inscription (dated in year 136 of the Gupta Era (454-455 CE)) refers to the reign of Skandagupta, as a successor of Kumaragupta I, an installation of a Shiva linga by Skandgupta, the erection of a sacred image of Vishnu, and the allotment, to the image, of the village in which the column stands.
• Bhitari pillar inscription mentions that the fortunes of the dynasty had sunk to a low and was restored by Skandagupta.
• Skandagupta fought some hard battles to restore the lost glory of the Guptas. Bhitari inscription talks about Pusyamitras and Mlechchas (Huns) who were defeated by Skandagupta.

• Bhopal was founded by the king Bhoja of the Paramara dynasty (AD 1000–1055), who ruled from his capital at Dhar.
• In the early 17 th century, In the early 18th century, Bhopal was a small village in the local Gond kingdom.
• The modern Bhopal city was established by Dost Mohammad Khan (1672–1728), an Afghan soldier in the Mughal army. Khan received the territory of Bhopal from the Gond queen Rani Kamlapati in lieu of payment for mercenary services, and usurped her kingdom after her death.

• Birbhanpur is on Banks of Damodar River in West Bengal (Burdwan district) and it is a Mesolithic site.

(43) Bodhgaya (Uruvela, Sambodhi, Vajrasana or Mahabodhi)

 It is situated In Gaya district of Bihar. In Budhist text, Bodh Gaya is called Uruvela situated on the ban of river Niranjana where Lord Buddhia attained (Bodhimandala) under the Bodhi Tree.

Mahabodhi Temple Complex is situated here which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple was described by the Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang calling it Mahabodhi Vihara.

This place was visited by Magadh Emperor Ashoka.

For Buddhists, Bodh Gaya is the most important of the main four pilgrimage sites related to the life of Gautama Buddha, the other three being Kushinagar, Lumbini, and Sarnath.

Accounts of the Chinese pilgrims Faxian in the 5^th century and Hiuen Tsang in the 7^th century describe Bodh Gaya.

In the Gupta period, as per the Chinese traditions, the king Meghavarman of Sri Lanka sent, with the permission of Samudra Gupta, a monk to establish at Bodh Gaya a monastery for the use of Sri Lankan monks.

Brahmagiri is an archaeological site located in the Chitradurga district of Karnataka. It is known for the large number of megalithic monuments.

Neoliths found in this region were evidence of the occupation of this region by farming-herding communities in the pre-megalithic period.

Excavation has revealed medieval stone temples, pottery, terracota beads and figurines, semiprecious stones and megalithic structures.

Rock edicts of Emperor Ashoka here, denoted the southernmost extent of the Mauryan Empire.

(45) Bundi 

• Bundi and the eponymous princely state are said to derive their names from a former Meena tribe man called Bunda Meena. Later the region was governed by Rao Deva Hada, who took over Bundi in 1342, and established a princely state Bundi, renaming the surrounding area called Hadoti, the land of great Hada Rajputs.
• The Taragarh Fort, is the most impressive of the city’s structures. It was constructed in AD 1354 .
• The Bundi Palace is  adjacent to the Taragarh Fort and is notable for its lavish traditional murals.
• The largest of Bundi’s baoris or stepwells is the intricately carved Raniji ki Baori, built in 1699 by Rani Nathavatji.There are over 50 stepwells in Bundi.