East Champaran district, or Purvi Champaran district, is an administrative district in the Tirhut division of the state of Bihar in India. The district headquarters is located at Motihari. Historically, the territory of the present district formed part of the wider Champaran region, in which Mihsī was an established historical territorial and administrative centre. The Ain-i-Akbari, compiled during the reign of Akbar, directly records Mihsī as a pargana of Sarkar Champaran (“Parganah Mihsí, Sirkár Champáran”), providing documentary evidence of Mehsi's place in the historical administrative organisation of Champaran.
The historical importance of Mehsi continued into the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. A Persian correspondence entry dated 5 August 1769 refers to the Peshkar of Mihsi in Champaran, demonstrating the continued administrative use of the name. In 1885, J. Beames listed Mihsi among the three mahals of Sarkar Champaran, alongside Simranw and Majhowa. The 1938 Bihar and Orissa District Gazetteers: Champaran records Mehsi as a settlement in the southern part of the former Champaran district and describes it as having been regarded as a sadar or chief civil station in Champaran when the East India Company first acquired possession of the area. It also records that Mehsi gave its name to the historical Mehsi Pargana.
Prior to 1971, there was a single Champaran district. On 1 December 1971, it was divided into East and West Champaran (Purvi and Paschimi Champaran).
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Notable Palaces
Bhimalpur Forest
Bhimalpur Forest is an emerging eco-tourism and biodiversity site located in Bhimalpur village in Mehsi, a town in the East Champaran district of Bihar, India. The forest area lies near the Burhi Gandak River and has gained attention for its greenery, afforestation programmes, and proposed biodiversity park development.
The forest has been developed through plantation and environmental conservation initiatives supported by the Government of Bihar and local administrative authorities. Large-scale plantation drives were conducted in the area under afforestation campaigns, including the “Didi Ki Paudhshala” initiative, which contributed to increasing green cover and ecological restoration in the region.
Bhimalpur Forest is known for its natural scenery, riverine environment, and biodiversity. Wildlife reported from the surrounding region includes nilgai, peafowl, jackals, and several species of migratory birds. The area is being developed as an eco-tourism destination with proposals for boating facilities, walking tracks, medicinal plant zones, nature trails, and visitor infrastructure.
The forest is situated approximately 7 kilometres from Mehsi town and is considered one of the notable natural attractions of the Mehsi region. Local media reports have described the site as Bihar’s first proposed biodiversity park in a forest area near the Gandak basin.
Someshwar Nath Mandir, Areraj
Someshwar Nath Mahadev Mandir is a well established temple situated in Areraj. The significant divinity of the heavenly temple is of Lord Shiva. Explorers and pilgrims of Lord Shiva go to the holy place from India as well as from Nepal. The merriments on the event of an occasional reasonable known as Shrawani Mela, during July and August. There are numerous different temples nearby around and thus just Areraj is known as the holy place of East Champaran.
Ashokan Pillar
Ashokan Pillar is situated in Lauria Nandangarh, or Lauriya Navandgarh which is a city or town around 14 km from Narkatiaganj and 28 km from Bettiah in West Champaran district of Bihar state in northern India. It is found near the banks of the Budhi Gandak River. Lauriya Nandangarh is a chronicled place which goes under West Champaran district of Bihar.
Kesariya
Kesariya is arranged on the eastern banks of the River Gandak and views the enormous 104-feet-tall stupa, which is viewed as the tallest Buddhist stupa. In like manner, Kesariya orders conspicuous situations in East Champaran the travel industry just as history of Buddhism. The stupa was found in the year 1998.