About
Jalandhar:
Jalandhar pronunciation is an ancient city in
Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It was the
capital of Trigarttas (people living in the "land between
three rivers": Ravi, Beas and Sutlej) in the times of
Mahabharata war. It has an urban population of almost a million,
and another million live in the rural areas outside the city.
The city is located almost 375 kms from Delhi, and about 90
kms from Amritsar. Jalandhar is named after Jaldhar, a demon
king who lived in water as his name suggests (Jal=water, dhar=in).
It was the capital of Punjab until 1953, when it was replaced
by Chandigarh. Others say Jalandhar is derived from the fact
that it is located between two rivers JAL (water) & ANDHAR
(in). During British occupation it was called Jullundur.
History:
In ancient time, the district or Kingdom
of Jalandhar comprised the whole of the Upper Doabas from
the Ravi to the Satluj. According to the Padama Purana, as
quoted by General Conningham the country takes its name from
the great Daitya King Danava Jalandhara the son of the Ganga
by Ocean. The earliest historical mention of Jalandhar occur
in the region of Kanishka, the Kushan King of northern India
in whose time a council of Buddhists theologians was held
near Jalandhar about 100 AD to collect and arrange the sacred
writings of Buddhism and to bring about reconciliation between
its various sects. This makes Jalandhar along with Multan
the oldest surviving city of the Punjab region. In the 7th
Century, when the famous Chinese traveller and pilgrim Hiuen
Tsang visited India during the reign of Harsha Vardhana, the
Kingdom of Jalandhar or Trigartta under Raja Utito. It was
said to have extended 167 miles (269 km) from east to west
and 133 miles (214 km) from north to south, thus including
the hill states of Chamba, Mandi and Suket (Himachal Pardesh)
and Satadru or Sirhind in the plains. Raja Utito was a tributary
of Harsh Vardhana. The Rajput Rajas appear to have continued
to rule over the country right upto the 12th century, interrupted
some time or the other, but their capital was Jalandhar and
Kangra formed and important stronghold. According to Chinese
pilgrim Fahien, who traveled India in the seventh century
AD, there were so many Vihars of Buddhism in India. In the
Jalandhar District, there were as many as 50 Vihars of Buddhism.
The Buddhism religion was adopted by a large number of people.
From the later half of the tenth century up to AD 1019, the
district was included in the Shahi Kingdom of the Punjab and
Jalandhar was an important city in the region.
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