Hastinapur
| Hastinapur हस्तिनापुर |
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 India
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| State : | Uttar Pradesh | ||
| District : | Meerut | ||
| Sub-district : | Mawana | ||
| Location : | 29 ° 9 ′ N , 77 ° 59 ′ E | ||
| Height : | 220 m | ||
| Area : | 7.57 km² | ||
| Residents : | 26,452 (2011) | ||
| Population density : | 3494 inhabitants / km² | ||
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Hastinapur ( Hindi हस्तिनापुर , Sanskrit Hasti ) is a place with about 30,000 inhabitants in the district of Meerut in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh .
Location and climate
Hastinapur is located in Doab approx. 5 km west of the Ganges and approx. 40 km (driving distance) northeast of the city of Meerut at an altitude of approx. 220 m . The climate is often humid and, by Indian standards, quite rainy, with most of the annual rainfall (approx. 935 mm / year) falling in the monsoon months , ie from late June to mid-September.
Population development
| year | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 |
| Residents | 15,081 | 21,249 | 26,452 |
As a result of the mechanization of agriculture and the abandonment of smallholders, unemployment and rural poverty have risen enormously; many people therefore seek their happiness in the cities ( rural exodus ). The male part of the population exceeds the female population by approx. 12%.
economy
The inhabitants of the city and its surrounding area live primarily directly or indirectly from agriculture; Retail trade, handicrafts and day laborers dominate the city. But pilgrimage tourism in India also plays an important role.
history
According to tradition , Hasti, which was formerly probably about 5 km to the northeast, was the capital of a Vedic empire originally ruled by the legendary King Bharata , in the vicinity of which the famous battle of Kurukshetra took place centuries later , which is particularly described in the Bhagavad-Gita in the Mahabharata became famous. Excavations carried out by archaeologist BB Lal in the 1950s uncovered a special ceramic (Painted Gray Ware) dating from around 720 BC. Is dated. Other ceramic shards (Ocher Colored Pottery) are even dated to around 2500 BC. BC, which is rather unlikely, but overall makes an early beginning of the settling of the people in this part of India credible.
Attractions
Due to the lack of stone material, there are no artistically or historically significant stone buildings in Hastinapur and its surroundings; It was not until British rule that the production of fired bricks began on a large scale , but most of them were plastered . Most of the temples (mandira) in today's city belong to the Jain religion .
- The Shri Digamber Jain Prachin Bada Mandir was built in 1801 and is dedicated to the Tirthankara Shantinatha . The central figure is accompanied by the Tithankaras Kunthunatha and Aranatha , who otherwise hardly play a role in the Jain pantheon.
- The round, eight-fold Ashtapad Temple is reminiscent of the place where the highly revered first Jain Tirthankara Rishabha or Adinath entered nirvana . Inside the temple is supported by a mighty, but multi-tiered pillar with four seated Jain figures looking in all directions.
- The tower-like, plastered central building of the Jambudweep Jain Tirth is surrounded by numerous smaller shrines.
- The Mahavira Temple , built in traditional styles at the end of the 20th century, is dedicated to the 24th and last Tirthankara Mahavira , the actual founder of the Jain teachings.
- The Karna mandir , built in the traditional Hindu manner , is made entirely of brick. Only the Shiva - lingam in the interior was brought from far away.
Hall in the Jain Prachin Bada Mandir
Pillar with four Jain figures
Ashtapad Temple
dto., pillar
Jambudweep Temple
Mahavira Temple
