Parikshitgarh

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?Parikshitgarh Uttar Pradesh • India
Coordinates: (find coordinates)
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
District(s)	Meerut
Population	17,399 (2001)

Parikshitgarh is a town and a nagar panchayat in Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^[1], Parikshitgarh had a population of 17,399. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Parikshitgarh has an average literacy rate of 59%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 68%, and female literacy is 49%. In Parikshitgarh, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age. This town of the hoary past, was the capital of King Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna who ascended the throne of Hastinapur after the Pandavas decided to renounce the kingship. Raja Parikshit, due to a transient malfunctioning of his thinking process, incurred the wrath of 'samadhi-sthit' Sage Shamik by his stupid action of garlanding the sage with a dead serpent, and was accordingly cursed by the saint to die by snake-bite. After his ordained death at the fangs of Takshak Naga, his son Janmejaya became King and held a great sacrifice to annihilate the Nagas out of the passionate feelings of revenge. The town is located on a hillock, which was the ancient fort built by Parikshit. Excavations have yielded pots of coins and pottery pieces, validating the antiquity of the place. The ashram of Rishi Shringi, that great medicine-man and facilitator to the birth of the sons of the infertile King Dashrath, also lies nearby, re-affirming the mythological origins of the town of Parikshit Garh.