Buxar district is one of the 38 districts of Bihar, India. Located in the southwestern part of the state, it is a primarily agricultural district. The district headquarters is at the town of Buxar. Etymology According to local traditions, the name Buxar is derived from a lake in the town named Aghsar (effacer of Sin), which in course of time became Baghsar and took the present form that is Buxar. Another Vedic legend states that, a sage or rishi named Besira transformed himself to take the look of a Tiger to frighten Durvasa rishi, and doomed by him to retain the form of Tiger forever. In order to restore his human form, Bedsira bathed in the holy pond of Aghsar and worshipped Garushankar. To commemorate this event the spot was called Vyaghrasar and later became Baghsar (The Tiger's pond). History The Battle of Buxar and Battle of Chausa were fought in this district. The present district was created on 17 March 1991, when it was split off from Bhojpur district. Geography Buxar district is located in the southwestern part of the state of Bihar, bordered by Rohtas and Kaimur districts to the south, and by Bhojpur district to the east. To the north and west, respectively, the Ganges and Karmanasa Rivers form the boundary with the state of Uttar Pradesh. In Uttar Pradesh, the district of Ballia is to the north and west of Buxar and that of Ghazipur lies to the west.) Buxar district covers an area of 1,703 km2, roughly 1.8% of the total area of Bihar, making it the 30th largest district in the state by area. Much of the district consists of an alluvial plain, gently sloping downward toward the northeast, with a height ranging from 71m above sea level in the south to 66m in the north. The soil consists of ultisols, ochrepts, orthents, fluvents, and psamments. The district formerly had large areas of forest cover, but deforestation caused by clearing land for agriculture has significantly reduced its area. This has also caused wildlife in the area to dramatically decline in numbers. Common trees in the forests of Buxar district are mango, , mahua, and bamboo. Their main human use is as firewood. Additionally, long jhalas grass grows near the Ganges and is used to make roofs for kuccha houses. Demographics According to the 2011 census, Buxar district has a population of 1,706,352 (roughly equal