Hastinapur

Hastinapur *हस्तिनापुर*
Kailash Parvat Rachna
Hastinapur Location in Uttar Pradesh, India Show map of India Hastinapur Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh) Show map of Uttar Pradesh
Coordinates: 29°10′N 78°01′E / 29.17°N 78.02°E / 29.17; 78.02Coordinates: 29°10′N 78°01′E / 29.17°N 78.02°E / 29.17; 78.02
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District	Meerut
Elevation	702 m (2,303 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	58,452
Languages
• Official	Hindi and English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	250404

Hastinapur is a city in Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is described in Hindu texts (Mahabharata and Puranas) as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom and is also mentioned in ancient Jain texts.

Etymology

Hastinapur essentially means city of elephants:(Sanskrit) Hastina (elephant) + puram (city). Its history traces back to the period of the great epic, the Mahabharata. It is also said that it is named after the King Hastina,^[1] and is also known as Gajapuram, Nagapura, Asandivata, Brahmasthalam, Shanti Nagaram and Kunjarpuram in ancient texts.

History

Balarama pulling Hastinapur toward the Ganges, page from a Bhagavata Dasamskanda series.

Yudhisthira arrives in Hastinapur at the end of Kurukshetra War in the epic Mahabharata.

Hastinapur is located on the right bank of an old bed of the Ganga, and is known in literature and tradition as the capital of the Kauravas, of Kuru Kingdom, in the Mahabharata. Many incidents in the epic Mahabharata are set in the city of Hastinapur. The Mahabharata villains, the 100 Kaurava brothers, were born here, to their mother, Queen Gandhari, wife of King Dhritarashtra. On the bank of the Budhi Ganga, two places known as Draupadi Ghat^[2] and Karna Ghat remind one of the Mahabharata personages.

The first reference to Hastinapur in the Puranas comes as the capital of Emperor Bharata. Samrat Samprati, the grandson of the emperor Asoka the Great, of the Mauryan Empire, who built many temples here during his reign. The ancient temple and stupas are not present today. Excavation at Hastinapur was carried out in the early 1950s by B.B. Lal, Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India. Although the main aim of this excavation, according to 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 found 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 Aryans in upper Ganges basin areas,^[3] though the pre-history of Hastinapur is not clear, because extensive excavation could not be undertaken in an inhabited area. In the medieval era, Hastinapur was attacked by Mughal ruler Babur when invading Hindustan.

• During British India, Hastinapur was ruled by the Raja Nain Singh Nagar. He built many Hindu temples in and around Hastinapura.^[4]

Geography and climate

In the present-day Hastinapur is a town in the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh in India around 37 km from Meerut and 90 km north-east of Delhi on National Highway 119. It is a small township re-established by Jawaharlal Nehru on February 6, 1949, located at 29°10′N 78°01′E / 29.17°N 78.02°E / 29.17; 78.02.^[5] Hastinapur has an average elevation of 218 metres, and experiences extremes of climate similar to the other cities of Uttar Pradesh. The summer season is from the month of March to the month of May, during which the temperatures vary from a minimum of about 32 °C to about 40 °C. The monsoon season is from July to September, and temperatures during this time are usually moderately low. In winter (between December and February), temperatures can drop to nearly 5 °C and usually don't rise beyond 14 °C, with December being the coldest month in the year.

Demographics

According to the 2001 Census of India, Hastinapur had a population of 21,248, with Males constituting 53% of the population (females 47%) and a literacy rate of 73.9% (above the national average of 59.5%). In Hastinapur, 15% of the population is under 10 years of age.^[6]

Places of interest

Located on the banks of an old ravine of Ganges, Hastinapur is considered one of the holiest place by both Hindus and Jains alike. It is believed to be the birthplace of three Jain Tirthankaras. There are many ancient Hindu temples, Pandeshwar Temple, Karna Temple and Jain temples such as Shri Digamber Jain Mandir, Jambudweep, Kailash Parvat, Shwetambar Jain Temple. Apart from these temples, a nearby Gurdwara and Hastinapur Sanctuary are also popular among tourists.

Temples and monuments

Shri Digamber Jain Prachin Bada Mandir

Pracheen Bada Mandir

Main article: Digamber Jain Mandir Hastinapur

Shri Digamber Jain Bada Mandir is the oldest Jain Temple in Hastinapur. The main temple is believed to have been built in the year 1801 under the auspices of Raja Harsukh Rai, who was the imperial treasurer of the Emperor Shah Alam II.^[7][8] The principal deity in the main temple is of 16th Jain Tirthankar, Shri Shantinath in Padmasana posture. The altar also has idols of 17th and 18th Tirthankara, Shri Kunthunath and Shri Aranath on each side.^[9] There are dozens of other temples and historical monuments in the premises which were mostly built in the late 20th century. Shri Digamber Jain Mandir Tirth Kshetra Committee is also managing numerous Dharamshalas for Jain pilgrims. It has many other facilities including Post Office, Police Sub-station, Jain Gurukul and Udaseen ashram. There are nearby sites of tourist attraction as well, like Jal Mandir, Jain Library, Acharya Vidyanand Museum, 24 Tonks and ancient Nishiyaji’s, situated few kilometres from the main temple.^[10]

Shri Shwetambar Jain Temple

Ashtapad

The Shwetambar temple is renovated recently and the re-establishment took place on Margashirsha Shukla of VS 2021. Ashtapad Teerth built under the aegis of Shri Shwetambar Jain Temple is 151 feet high structure.^[11] The architectural details of this monument are worth seeing. The Panch-kalyanak Pratishtha took place in December 2009 under nishra of Gachhadipati Acharya Nityanand Surishwerji. Jain Sthanak is also situated near to Shwetambar Jain Temple.^[12]

Jambudweep Jain Tirth

Jambudweep

Main article: Jambudweep

Jambudweep, depicting the model Jain cosmology, has been designed here under the supervision of Shri Gyanmati Mataji was in 1985. The premises has various Jain temples which include Sumeru Parvat, Lotus Temple, Teen Murti Mandir, Meditation Temple, Badi Murti, Teen Lok Rachna and many other tourist attractions.^[15]

Karna Temple

Karneshwar Mandir

The Karna Temple situated near to Pandeshwar temple, on the bank of an old ravine of the Ganges. The Shivling inside the Karna temple is said to have been established by Karna, one of the central figures in the epic Mahabharata.^[16]

Hastinapur Sanctuary

Migratory birds at Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary

Hastinapur Sanctuary, constituted in 1986, is one of the prominent wildlife projects in India. The sanctuary extends over a wide area of Meerut, Bijnore, Hapur and Jyotiba Phule Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. It is a sprawling forest occupying the area of 2073 km².^[19][20]

Festivals and fairs

Various cultural and religious believing fairs are held here around 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.

See also

• Indraprastha
• Mahabharata
• Digamber Jain Mandir Hastinapur
• Jambudweep

References

Further reading

• B.B. Lal (1952). New Light on the "dark Age" of Indian History: Recent Excavations at the Hastinapura Site, Near Delhi. Illustrated London news.
• Braj Basi Lal (1955). Excavations at Hastinapura and Other Explorations [in the Upper Gangā and Sutlej Basins], 1950-52.

External links

• Famous Temples of Hastinapur
• Media related to Hastinapur at Wikimedia Commons