Darbhanga is the fifth-largest city and municipal corporation in the state of Bihar in India. It is one of the most important districts and big cities of North Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. Darbhanga was the seat of the erstwhile Khandwala zamidaar dynasty under the Mughals. It is the capital of the proposed Indian state, Mithila. It is considered as the Medical Capital of North Bihar. It has Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital & second AIIMS, of the state after the capital city Patna. Darbhanga is one of the oldest cities in India. Musical, folk art, and literary traditions in Sanskrit, Maithili and Urdu have been passed down generations in Darbhanga and constitute the city's strong cultural background. It us popularly known as the "Cultural Capital of Bihar" and the "Heart of Mithilaanchal". History The city was the capital of the Darbhanga Raj, an estate established in the 16th century, and contains the Anandbagh Palace. It was constituted a municipality in 1864. Darbhanga is home to the Kameshwara Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University (1961), which is located on the grounds of the palace, and the Lalit Narayan Mithila University (1972). Darbhanga has a museum housing archaeological materials, as well as historical and handicrafts exhibits. Darbhanga has been a centre for music since the late 18th century and has produced multiple well-known dhrupad (an ancient form of Indian classical music) musicians. A major rail and road junction, Darbhanga trades in agricultural produce, mangoes, and fish. In addition to food processing, the city has a light manufacturing industry. Darbhanga is situated on a vast alluvial plain, with low-lying areas containing marshes and lakes. Grains, oilseeds, tobacco, sugarcane, and mangoes are important crops in the region. Under the British Raj, Darbhanga was a part of Sarkar Tirhut until 1875, when it was constituted into a separate district. Its subdivisions had been constituted earlier – Darbhanga Sadar in 1845, Madhubani in 1866, and Samastipur (then known as Tajpur) in 1867. The city of Darbhanga is said to have been founded by one Darbhangi Khan, about whom practically nothing is known. It is also held that the name Darbhanga is derived from Dwar Banga or Dar-e-Banga, meaning the ‘door of Bengal’. This etymology does not appear to be very correct as the division between Bengal and Bihar has always been held to be further to the east.