Bahour

Bahour is a town, Commune, Taluk and Assembly Constituency in the Union Territory of Puducherry, India. It consists of four non-contiguous areas, including three of the nine true enclaves of Puducherry. It is home to the second largest and perhaps the oldest irrigation lake in the region- the Bahour Eri. The lake has been in existence since the Chola period. Bahour also has reports of lignite deposits but it is not exploited due to its close proximity to the sea and the likelihood of seeping seawater, adulterating the ground water. It is a major access point for villages south of Puducherry and forms the southern border to the Union territory. The city is also known as the ‘rice bowl of Puducherry’ since the area is suitable for Paddy (rice) cultivation.

==History== thumb|Mulanathaswami Temple The historical record of Bahour dates back as early as the Chola Period. Bahour is home to an ancient temple- Sri Moolanathaswamy Temple, built around the 10th century. The earliest inscriptions on the walls of this temple are of Kannara Dev (Krishna III of Rashtrakuta Dynasty). Gabriel Jouveau-Dubreuil considered that this temple marked a transition from the Pallava to Chola style of architecture. Evidence also exists of the presence of a centre for Sanskrit studies- the Vidyasthana in the region which was known for imparting the Chaturdasa Vidya -fourteen branches of learning (i.e. the four Vedas, the six Vedangas, Mimamsa, Nyaya, Dharma Sastra and Puranas). The evidence of this centre can be found through the accounts of the Pallava King Nrpatungavarman(869–880 AD) which has mentions of grants of three villages as endowments to the Vidyasthana by the minister of the King. The inscriptions of Rashtrukta King Krishna III also give an account of an elaborate system of village administration dating back to the tenth century. Inscriptions on the Mulasthanam temple give an account of an assembly, ‘The Great Assembly of Vahur’ which looked after village administration. References to Bahour are also found as ‘Vahour’ and later as ‘Sri Alagiya Chola Chaturvedimangalam’ from the 25th year of Rajaraja I and onwards. Pre historic evidence of funeral urns excavated by archaeologist Kuppuswamy have also been found here, making the territory an area of prehistoric importance.