The village is situated 30 kms from Motihari. This place is of religious importance because of an old Shiva temple. Two kilometers west of Areraj is the Lauriya village where one ancient Ashokan stone pillar stands.
This stone column was erected by Lord Ashok in 249 BC. The pillar is also called Stambh dharma lekh and is well preserved and has six letter written from his edict on it. It is a single block of polished sand stone, 36 ½ feet in height with a base diameter of 41.8 inches and a top diameter at the top of 37.6 inches. The weight is 34 tons, and is sunk several feet in the earth. The whole block weighs 40 tons. There is no capital. It had an animal figurine as capital but which was shifted to Kolkata museum.
The edicts can be seen clearly engraved, and has two portions, each with 18 lines and 23 lines. The village calls the pillar as `Laur` - phallus and hence the village is called Lauriya.
