Great things to know about Uttar Pradesh

Source :
www.facebook.com/myprideind 

 

• The pilgrimage circuit includes the holiest of the Hindu holy cities on the banks of sacred rivers Ganges and the Yamuna: Varanasi (also considered world's oldest city), Ayodhya (birthplace of Lord Rama), Mathura (birthplace of Lord Krishna), Vrindavan (the village where Lord Krishna spent his childhood), and Allahabad (the confluence or 'holy-sangam' of the sacred Ganges-Yamuna rivers).
• The city of Agra, gives access to three World Heritage Sites : Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and the nearby Fatehpur Sikri.
• Khurja is famous for its ceramics pottery; in fact, the entire state is famous for its pottery not only in India but also around the world.
• Firozabad, the city of bangles, is also a hub for crafting many glass accessories. The glass artefacts produced in its factories are of high value and are exported all over the country and around the world.
• Varanasi is famous for its Banarasi saris and silk. A banarasi sari is an essential part of any marriage in the state.

History
The history of Uttar Pradesh is very ancient and interesting. It is recognised in the later Vedic Age as Brahmarshi Desha or Madhya Desha. Many great sages of the Vedic times like Bharadwaj, Gautam, Yagyavalkaya, Vashishtha, Vishwamitra and Valmiki flourished in this state. Two great epics of India, Ramayana and Mahabharata, appear to have been inspired by Uttar Pradesh.The history of Uttar Pradesh is very much associated with the broad history of India. It dates back to 5000s years. The state was the heart of Mahabharata war.
It was sometime around the middle of the 1st millennium BC that Uttar Pradesh saw the advent of Lord Buddha and the spread of Buddhism. Around the time Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon at Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh was under the Magadh rule.

Deities & Avtars

1. Rama (Birthplace: Ayodhya), is a legendary or historical king of Ancient India. In Hinduism, he is considered to be the seventh Avatar of Vishnu.
2. Krishna (Birth Place: Mathura), is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism.
3. Neminath (Birth Place: Mathura), was 22nd Teerthanks of Jainism.
4. Lakshmana (Birthplace: Ayodhya), was the brother and close companion of Rama, and himself a hero in the epic 'Ramayana'
5. Parashuram (Birth Place: Ghazipur), was an avatar of Vishnu.
6. Shreyansnath (Birth Place: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh), was 11th Teerthankar of Jainism.
7. Shantinath (Birth Place: Hastinapur, Uttar Pradesh), was 16th Teerthankar of Jainism.
8. Kunthunath (Birth Place: Hastinapur, Uttar Pradesh), was 17th Teerthankar of Jainism.
9. Aranath (Birth Place: Hastinapur, Uttar Pradesh), was 18th Teerthankar of Jainism.
10. Parsvanatha(Birth Place:Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh), was 23rd Tirthankara of Jainism.

Authors of the great epic

1. Valmiki, wrote Ramayan
2. Vyasa, a central and much revered figure in the majority of Hindu traditions who authored Mahabharata
3. Surdas
4. Tulsidas, a Awadhi poet and philosopher, wrote Rāmacaritamānasa ("The Lake of the Deeds of Rama"), an epic devoted to Lord Rama.
5. Bhrigu (Birth Place: Ballia)

Independence fighters

1. Rani Lakshmibai, the Rani (Queen) of Jhansi
2. Maulvi Liaquat Ali, Indian independence fighter of 1857 from Allahabad, who captured the Khusro Bagh in Allahabad and declared the independence of India.
3. Chandra Shekhar Azad, Indian independence fighter, member of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.
4. Ram Prasad Bismil, Indian independence fighter and socialist.
5. Govind Ballabh Pant, Indian independence fighter and politician, became Chief Minister of the United Provinces. Also Bharat Ratna recipient.
6. Lal Bahadur Shastri, Freedom Fighter, Former Prime Minister belonged to Varanasi & Allahabad.

Prime Ministers

1. Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India
2. Lal Bahadur Shastri, third Prime Minister of India
3. Indira Gandhi, fourth Prime Minister of India
4. Choudhary Charan Singh, fifth Prime Minister of India
5. Rajiv Gandhi, sixth prime minister of India
6. Vishwanath Pratap Singh, eighth Prime Minister of India
7. Chandra Shekhar, ninth Prime Minister of India
8. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. eleventh Prime Minister of India