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1) Places associatedwithRamayana:
A) Ayodhya:
On the banks of river Sarayu 134 Km. from Lucknow
was the capital of Mahakosala Kingdom and was the Birth place of
Lord Rama. There is a small Rama temple at this place.
B) Janakpur:
22 kilometers from Indian border in Nepal is the birth
place of Goddess Sita Devi.
C) Chitrakuta:
Located 132 Kms South of Allahabad, was the place
where Lord Rama and Sita stayed in a forest during their 14 years of
exile.
D) Panchavati (Near Nasik):
This place is on the banks of river
Godavari near Nasik in Maharashtra. This is the place where Rama,
Sita and brother Lakshmana stayed during their vanavasa period.
This was the place from where Sita Devi was carried off by Ravana to
Sri Lanka.
E) Naimisaranya:
Where Lord Rama is said to have performed a
sacrifice here before killing Ravana.
F
)
Rameswaram:
The name of this place is derived from Lord Rama
who installed the sacred Shiv Linga of Lord Shiva here before his
departure to Lanka to kill Ravana. Lord Rama performed Pooja again
at this temple on his return fromLanka.
Thus, the temple town became (Ram + Eswar) Rameswaram. The
place represents the cultural unity of India.
G) Lanka:
Lanka, means an island as per Hindu mythology and
presently known as Sri Lanka. The fortess of Ravana was located
between the three mountain peaks known as the 'TRIKUTA'
mountains. Trincomalee, the ancient capital city of Lanka was burnt
by Lord Hanuman after killing Ravana. Ravana's brother Vibhishana
ruled the kingdom thereafter.
H
)
Kishkinda:
I
t is located about 5 Kms from Hampi, on the banks of
river Tungabhadra. This was the place where Lord Rama met
Hanuman and Sugreeva. Hampi was the capital of the Great Vijaya
Nagara empire.
I
)
Gandharvaparvata:
It is a small hill top 2.5 Kms Northwest of
Ramanatha Swamy temple in Rameswaram. The place is also known
as Vindyaranyam. It is said that Hanuman made his great leap to
Lanka from this mountain.
2) Places associated with Mahabharat :
A) Indraprastha (present Delhi
)
:
Was founded by legendary
Pandavas of Mahabharata around 1400 B.C. This is the most ancient
city in Northern India located on the banks of river Yamuna and was
the capital of Pandavas.
B) Hasthinapura
:
38 kms fromMeerut in U.P., was the capital of Kuru
Dynasty. King Hasti of Kuru race founded the city of Hastinapur.
Kauravas of epic Mahabharat belong to Kuru Dynasty and made this
place as their capital.
C) Gurgaon
:
Presently in Haryana near Delhi was the ancestral
village of Guru Dronacharya who taught warfare to Pandavas &
Kauravas. In course of time Guru-Gram (Guru Dronacharya's village)
became Gurgoan.
D) Mathura
-
Brindavan-Govardhan:
These places are associated
with birth of Lord Krishna. They are known as Srikrishna
Janmasthala.
E) Dwaraka (Gujarat)
:
It was here that Lord Krishna set up his capital
after Mathura. Dwarakanath temple at Dwaraka is dedicated to Lord
Krishna.
F) Kurukshetra (Haryana):
180 Kms from Delhi, was the place
famous for Mahabharata war, that took place between Pandavas and
Kauravas thousands of years back. At Jyotisar under the holy Banyan
tree, Lord Krishna delivered the timely sermon to Arjun before the
start of Mahabharata war. Preachings are contained in Bhagwad Gita,
the epic of Mahabharata.
3. Magadha Kingdom (547-322 B.C.)
:
Aryans migrated from Central Asia to North India, occupied the entire
Indo Gangetic Plain from Karachi to Calcutta 3000 years back.
Magadha was the most prominent and powerful of the sixteen
Mahajanapadas, set up by theAryans at Gaya and Pataliputra.
Threemajor dynasties.
a) Haryanka Dynasty:
Bimbisara and Ajathasatru were prominent
kings.
b) Shishunaga Dynasty:
Ajathasatru established his capital at
Vaishali.
c) Nanda Dynasty:
Mahapadma Nanda was the founder of this
dynasty (487-387 B.C.) Buddhism and Jainism flourished during this
period. First Buddhist council was held at Rajgir in 487 B.C. Second
Buddhist council was held at Vaishali in 387 B.C. Taxsila (15 kms.
from Islamabad in Pakistan) and Banaras were great centers of
learning.
4) Birth of Jainism
and their teachings
:
Rishabhanatha was the
first Teerdhankar of Jainism. Jain monks are known as Teerdhankars.
The 24th Teerdhankara (MAHAVEERA) was born at Kundagrama
near Vaishali (U.P.). In 540 B.C., at the age of 42, he attained supreme
knowledge. The followers of Vardhamana Mahaveera are called
Jains and the religion preached by him is called Jainism.
5) Birth Of Budhism and its role :
Siddhartha Gautama founded
Buddhism. He was born in 563 B.C. at Lumbini, the capital of
Kapilavastu (presently in Nepal). One day, he accidentally saw the
sufferings of an old man. Gautama meditated under a peepal tree in
Gaya and attained supreme knowledge of enlightenment. Thus,
Gautama became Buddha and the religion preached by him is known
as Buddhism.
6) Mauryan Empire :
Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of this
dynasty, Magadha as his capital. In 321 B.C. Kautilya (Chanakya)
was the Chief Minister and adviser to King ChandraguptaMaurya.
He gave political unity to India for the first time and built a strong.
administrative system. Kautilya's Arthasastra on Law, Politics and
Administration is an important document reflecting the ability of our
ancestors.
7) King Ashoka:
(273-232 B.C.) was one of the greatest kings of
Mauryan Empire in the world history. Third Buddhist Council was held
at Pataliputra by King Ashoka. The King Ashoka made Buddhism a
world religion.
Universities of Taxsila, Ujjain and Banaras were great centers of
learning. He built the very FIRST Grand Trunk Road from Taxsila to
Patali Putra. He built Sanchi Stupa and Sarnath Pillar near Banaras
with the figure of Four Lions.
This was adopted by Govt. of India as
the“National Emblem”.
Mauryans patronized Prakrit and Sanskrit
languages.
8) Kushan Empire
:
Kanishka was emperor of this dynasty and ruled
entire Northern India during 79-102 A.D. Peshawar was his Capital.
th
He summoned the 4 Buddhist council in Kashmir.
9) Gupta Empire:
This empire was founded by Chandragupta-I in
320 A.D. Gupta empire ruled the entire Northern India for about 200
years. Pataliputra (Patna) was their Capital. The period of Gupta
Empire was the Golden age in the history of ancient India. They
maintained trade relations with China, Ceylon, East Asia and Roman
Empire in Europe. Kalidasa's Abhigyanashakuntalam in Sanskrit is
regarded as one of the best epics in the world. The copper image of
Buddha and Iron pillar near Qutub Minar, Delhi were embodiment of
metallurgical skill and beautiful sculptures of Gupta age.
10) Harsha Empire (606-647 A.D.):
King Harshavardhana extended
his Kingdom to the whole of Northern India. He transferred the capital
fromThaneswar to Kannauj.
Nalanda University in Bihar became a centre of Buddhist religion,
attracted students from several countries in Asia China, Japan and
Korea. In this university there were 1500 teachers and 10000
students. Buddhismbecame world religion during Harsha's period.
11) Rajputs (647-1200 A.D.):
Played a remarkable and sensational
role in the history of North India. Many Rajput Kings ruled over North
India for five centuries. The regions of Kannauj, Malwa, Gujarat,
Bundelkhand. Udaipur and Jaipur were Rajput Kingdoms.
12) Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 A.D.):
Delhi Sultanate was founded
3000 Years Glorious History of Northern India
