Bisfi (Vidyapati Dih)

Bisfi, a small village in the Madhubani district, is a site of immense literary pilgrimage, recognized as the ancestral birthplace of the legendary 14th-century poet Vidyapati, affectionately known as the 'Maithil Kavi Kokil' (the poet cuckoo of Mithila). The heart of the village is the 'Vidyapati Dih', a sacred mound believed to be the spot where the poet's ancestral home once stood. This site is steeped in both literary history and spiritual lore; it is famously said that Lord Shiva was so captivated by Vidyapati’s devotional songs that he descended to earth in the guise of a servant named 'Ugna' to serve the poet. The village and its surrounding ‘Ugna Mahadev’ temple are constant reminders of this divine relationship between the creator and the artist. For Maithils, Bisfi is the cradle of their linguistic and cultural identity, as Vidyapati’s verses in Maithili laid the foundation for modern literature in the region. Every year, literature lovers and devotees gather at Bisfi to celebrate 'Vidyapati Parva', where his songs of love (Padavali) and devotion (Nachari) are sung with deep soulfulness. Ongoing efforts by the state government and cultural organizations have seen the development of a memorial and library at the site, aimed at preserving the poet’s manuscripts and promoting the study of Maithili literature. A visit to Bisfi offers a profound journey into the very soul of Mithila, where the boundaries between the human and the divine, and between poetry and prayer, seem to blur in the quiet, agrarian atmosphere of the village.