Hastinapur (Hindi: हस्तिनापुर,Sanskrit: हस्तिनापुरम् Hastināpuram) is a town and a nagar panchayat inMeerut district in the Indian state ofUttar Pradesh.
Quick facts: Country, State ...
Close
Etymology
Hastinapuram (Sanskrit) Hastin (elephant) + puram (city) is a city named after the elephants. History of this place begins from the period of Mahabharata. It is also described as Gajpur, Nagpur, Asandivat, Brahmasthal, Shanti Nagar and Kunjarpur in ancient texts.
History
Hastinapur was the capital of the Kurudynasty of kings. All incidents in the epicMahabharata have taken place in the city of Hastinapur. The birth of the Mahabharata villains, the 100 Kauravas, happened here, by their mother, Queen Gandhari, wife of King Dhritarashtra.
The first reference to Hastinapur inPuranas comes as the capital ofEmperor Bharata. Samrat Samprati, the grandson of the emperor Asoka, built many temples here during his empire. The ancient temple and stupas are not present today. Excavation at Hastinapur was carried out in the early 1950s byB.B. Lal, Director General of theArchaeological Survey of India. Although the main aim of this excavation, mentioned by Lal himself, was to find out the stratigraphic position of Painted Grey Ware with reference to other known ceramic industries of the early historical period, Lal also ended up making correlations between the text of the Mahabharata and the material remains that he uncovered at Hastinapur. This exercise led him to historicize some of the traditions mentioned in the text, as well as link the appearance of the Painted Grey Ware with the arrival of theAryans in upper Ganges basin areas.[1]Though Pre history of Hastinapur is not clear as full scale excavation could not be undertaken in inhabited area. In the medieval era, Hastinapur was attacked by Mughal ruler Babur when invadingHindustan. During British India, Hastinapur was ruled by the Gujjar Raja Nain Singh Nagar. He built many temples in and around Hastinapur.[2]
Geography and Climate
In the present-day Hastinapur is a town in the Doab region of Uttar Pradeshin India around 37 km from Meerut and 100 km north-east of Delhi on National Highway 119. It is a small township re-established by Jawaharlal Nehru on February 6, 1949. Hastinapur is located at 29.17°N 78.02°E.[3] Hastinapur has an average elevation of 218 metres. Hastinapur experiences extremes of climate similar to the other cities of Uttar Pradesh. Summer season is from the month of March to the month of May. During the summer temperatures vary from a minimum of 32 °C and rise up to a maximum of 40 °C. Monsoon season is from July to September. Temperatures during the monsoon months are usually low. Winters months are from December to February. December is usually the coldest month of the year. Temperatures can drop to a minimum of 1 °C can rise up to a maximum of 12 °C during this time.
Demographics
Places of interest
Located on the banks of old ravine of Ganges, Hastinapur is considered one of the holiest place on earth by Hindus andJains. It is believed ? to be the birthplace of three Jain Tirthankaras. There are many ancient Jain temples in Hastinapur. Shri Digamber Jain Mandir, Jambudweep, Kailash Parvat, Shwetambar Jain Temple are the main and famous temples in Hastinapur. Apart from Pandeshwar temple,Jain temples Historical Gurdwara andHastinapur Sanctuary are worth being seen.
Temples and Monuments
Ancient Pandeshwar Temple
Digamber Jain Mandir, Hastinapur
Located in the ruins of the old city of Hastinapur, Old Pandeshwar Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. A statue ofGoddess Kali and many Hindu Ashramsare also present on hillock of ruins. Karna temple situated nearby lies on the bank of old ravine of Ganges. TheShivling inside Karna temple is said to be established by Karna, one of the central figure in the epic ofMahabharata.[5]
Bhai Dharam Singh Gurdwara
It is a small Gurdwara located in a village Saifpur, some 2.5 km (1.6 mi) away from Hastinapur. Bhai Dharam Singh (1666–1708) was one of the Panj Pyare (Punjabi: ਪੰਜ ਪਿਆਰੇ) or the Five Beloved, the forerunners of Khalsa. He was the son of Bhai Sant Ram of the village Saifpur.[6][7]
Hastinapur Sanctuary
Hastinapur Sanctuary is one of the prominent wildlife projects in India. It was constituted in the year 1986. The sanctuary extends over a wide area ofMeerut, Bijnore, Hapur and Jyotiba Phule Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. The Hastinapur Sanctuary is a sprawling forest occupying the area of 2073 km2. Vijaypal Baghel, and Raveesh Kumar from village mukteshwara now lives in greater noida a famous buisnessman in greater noida both are environmental activist is fighting against destruction of Sanctuary since 2001.[8][9]
Festivals and fairs
Various cultural and religious fairs are held here round the year, like Akshaya Tritiya, Das Lakshana, Kartik mela, Holi mela, Durga Puja and many other programs are organised by NGOs and the tourism department round the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment