Hastinapur (Hindi: हस्तिनापुर, Sanskrit: हस्तिनापुरम् Hastināpuram) is a town and a nagar panchayat in Meerut district in the Indianstate of Uttar Pradesh.
History
Hastinapur was the capital of the Kuru dynasty of kings. All incidents in the epic Mahabharatahave 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 in Puranas comes as the capital of Emperor Bharata. SamratSamprati, 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 by B.B. Lal, Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India. Although the main aim of this excavation, mentioned by Lal himself, was to find out the stratigraphic position ofPainted 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 the Aryans in upperGanges basin areas. 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 invading Hindustan. During British India, Hastinapur was ruled by the Gujjar Raja Nain Singh Nagar. He built many temples in and around Hastinapur.
Places of interest.
Located on the banks of old ravine of Ganges, Hastinapur is considered one of the holiest place on earth by Jains. 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 Jain temples, Pandeshwar temple, Historical Gurdwara and Hastinapur Sanctuary are worth being seen.
Temples and Monuments
Located in the ruins of the old city of Hastinapur, Old Pandeshwar Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. A statue of Goddess Kali and many Hindu Ashrams are also present on hillock of ruins. Karna temple situated nearby lies on the bank of old ravine of Ganges. The Shivlinginside Karna temple is said to be established by Karna, one of the central figure in the epic of Mahabharata.
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.
Ananya Bhatnagar
Class- VI-E
