Also known as Kuru-shila, this place is known as the land of Kurus or where the Kuru dynasty of Mahanharat originated from. A distorted form of Kuru-Shila, modern day Kursela is one of the hilly regions in Purnia which is said to have belonged to ancient King Kuru.
About 4km from here is the well known Bateshwar hills which is known as the site of the Vikramshila university.
Raja Ayodhya Prasad Singh, 1st Zamindar of Kursela, he left his family’s original zamindari of Barh-Rupas in Patna Districtm in 1881 and acquired 32,000 acres of land in Kursela, becoming a major landowner in the area, he was subsequently acknowledged as the Zamindar of Kursela.
Raja Bahadur Raghubansh Prasad Singh, Zamindar of Kursela, born 1895, he was granted the title of Raja Bahadur, which he later rejected in favour of Rai Bahadur. He was a great philanthropist, and administrator. He was the largest land donor in Vinobha Bhave’s “Bhudan movement”, wherein he donated 4,000 acres of land. He sponsored the opening of two schools and a hospital in Kursela. He also donated many houses and land to the congress party including “Kala Bhavan” in Purnea. He also had a love for life and living. He was one of the few people of the era to have a private aerodrome and planes; he married Rani Sampati Devi, and had issue. He died 1980.
His younger son Sri Dinesh Kumar Singh was a Cabinet minister in the Bihar govt. for over 20 years and held portfolios including Health, Education, and Home. He died in 2005. His valuable contributions to the development of Bihar will not be forgotten by the people of Kursela.