Balrampur

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This article is about the municipality in Uttar Pradesh, India. For its namesake district, see Balrampur district. For disambiguation, see Balrampur.

Balrampur बलरामपुर
city
Balrampur Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 27°26′N 82°11′E / 27.43°N 82.18°E / 27.43; 82.18Coordinates: 27°26′N 82°11′E / 27.43°N 82.18°E / 27.43; 82.18
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District	Balrampur
Government
• Type	Parliamentary Seat
• Body	Shravasti
Elevation	106 m (348 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	90,000
• Density	692/km² (1,790/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration	UP 47
Sex ratio	912/1000♂/♀
Website	www.balrampur.nic.in

Balrampur is a city and a municipal board in Balrampur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is situated on the bank of river Rapti and is the district headquarters of Balarampur district.

Demographics

Balrampur had population as of 2011 census is 90000.

Religions in Balrampur
Religion			Percent
Hindus			51%
Muslims			47%
Jains			1.4%
Others†			0.6%
Distribution of religions †Includes Sikhs (0.2%), Buddhists (<0.2%).

Historical significance

Balrampur city is in close vicinity of Shravasti where Lord Gautam Buddha is considered to have displayed his supernatural powers in the spiritual transformation of Angulimala, a famous dacoit who wore a necklace (mala) of fingers (anguli).^[1]^[2]

Geography

Balrampur is located at 27°26′N 82°11′E / 27.43°N 82.18°E / 27.43; 82.18. It has an average elevation of 105 metres (344 ft).^[3]

Archaeological sites

Two prominent archaeological sites, Jetavana and Savatthi, or Saheth and Maheth, as they are locally known, are located in the vicinity of Balrampur city. Alexander Cunningham used the ancient (6th century CE) accounts of Chinese pilgrim-monks to determine that Saheth-Maheth actually referred to Jetavana and Savatthi.^[4]

Saheth, covering an area of 32 acres, was the site of the Jetavana monastery. It became an important place of pilgrimage, adorned with numerous shrines, stupas and monasteries. The stupas belong mostly to the Kushan period, while the temples are in the Gupta style. The remains date from the Mauryan era (3rd century BCE) to the 12th century CE. One of the earliest stupas, contained relics of the Buddha. A colossal statue of the Buddha was also found here which is now preserved in the Indian Museum, Kolkata.

Maheth covers an area of about 400 acres (160 ha), and has been identified with the remains of the city proper and is located about 0.25 miles (0.40 km) to the north-east of Saheth. Excavations have exposed the massive gates of the city, ramparts and also the ruins of other structures which testify to the prosperity of ancient Sravasti. The Sobhanath Temple is located here. The ruins of Maheth includes two stupas. One stupa, known as Pakki Kuti, is said to be that of Angulimala while the other, known as Kachchi Kuti, is believed to be that of Sudatta, a disciple of Buddha.^[5] Pakki Kuti and Kacchi Kuti were later converted into Brahmanical temples.

The Emperor Ashoka visited Jetavana, and the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen- Tsang (Xuanzang)mentions two Ashokan pillars at Sravasti. Other places of interest include the Swarnagandha Kuti where Gautama Buddha lived. In Jetavana is also located the second-holiest tree of Buddhism: the Anandabodhi Tree.^[6]

Tourism and culture

The district has very rich literary heritage. Famous Urdu poet Ali Sardar Jafri was born here in 1913. He is among the only four Urdu poets who got the prestigious Jnanpith award (other three are Firak Gorakhpuri, Kurtulain Hyder and Shaharyar). The other notable poet of the city is Syed Ali Mehdi Rizvi, very famous for his religious Urdu poetry such as Mussadas, Marsiya, Salam, Rubai, Nauha etc. Apart from extensively writing the religious poetry, his other notable works include poetic representation of History of India named "Matla-e-Watan" and translation of Bhagavad Gita in Urdu poetry. Apart from that the birthplace of Mohd Shafi Khan also known as Bekal Utsahi is Balrampur. He has the distinction of being a former member of Rajya Sabha . In 1976 he got Padmashree Award in the field of literature. During a visit to the Mazar of Hazrat Vaaris Ali Shah of Devan-Sharif in 1945 Shah Hafiz Pyari Miyan quoted, "Bedam Gaya Bekal aaya". After that incident Mohammad Shafi Khan converted his name as "Bekal Varsi".During the period of Pandit Nehru in 1952 an interesting event happened, which resulted in the emergence of Bekal Utsahi. There was an election programme of congress party in Gonda at that time. Bekal Varsi welcomed Pandit Nehru by his poetry "Kisan Bharat Ka". Nehru was very much impressed and said,"Yeh hamara utsahi shayar hai".Finally he is renowned as Bekal Utsahi in the literary world.

One of the most popular Hindu worship place is situated in Tulsipur about 27 kilometers from the district Headquarter. It is known as Devi Patan.^[7]

Patan Devi Temple, Tulsipur, Uttar Pradesh, India

Patan Devi Temple, Tulsipur, Uttar Pradesh, India

The temple has the distinction of having included in 51 "Shaktipeethas" of Goddess Durga according to Hindu mythology. It is believed that during the event when Lord Shiva was carrying the corpse of his wife Sati, the light shoulder of Sati had fallen here. Revered by Hindus in India and Nepal, millions of pilgrims visit this place throughout the year. A Grand festival has been organized at the time of Durga Puja. During the month of chaitra a "Mela" has also been organized every year. One of the salient feature of this event is "Shobha Yatra" of Peer Ratan Nath. Every year devotees from Dang district of Nepal used to come here as an integral part of yatra.

The Devi Patan Siddha Peeth had been established by Guru Gorakshnath of the Nath Sampradaya. The existing temple here is said by to be constructed King Vikramaditya. In the 1lth century King Suheldeo of Sravasti had renovated the temple. The Royal family of Balrampur, is today the caretaker of the temple. A large fair takes place in Navratri and every year on Chaitra Panchami the deity of Pir Ratan Nath is brought from Dang in Nepal to the Devi Patan temple where it is worshipped along with the Devi.

Apart from that Bijleshwari Devi temple is also famous among the local people.