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Founded c.1400, it was named after the Hindu saint, Yogi Gorakhnath, who is believed to have lived during the 10th and 11th centuries, with the additional pur. It has, however, been suggested that the name is derived from the Gurkhas, Nepalese Hindus. A famous shrine 'Gorakhnath' was built in his honour on the same spot where he practised austerities.
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Gorakhpur is situated on the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, close to the border with Nepal. It is often referred to as the Gateway to the exotic and beautiful terrain of Nepal as the border with Nepal is around 80 km from the city centre. Frequent buses are available from Gorakhpur to the Nepal border at Sonauli. Majority of tourists traveling from India to Nepal overland have to take this route.
Gorakhpur is famous as a religious and cultural centre as the city is home to a number of sacred sites associated with Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism and Sikhism.
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The ancient Gorakhpur, in addition to modern, comprised the districts of Basti, Deoria, Azamgarh and parts of Nepal tarai. These region, which may be called as Gorakhpur Janpad, had been an important centre of Aryan culture and civilization.
Gorakhpur was a part of the famous kingdom of Koshal, one of sixteen mahajanpadas in 6th Century B.C. The earliest known monarch ruling over this region with his capital at Ayodhya was IKSVAKU, who founded the solar dynasty of Kshatriya. It produced a number of illustratious kings till the accession of Ram, who was the greatest ruler of this dynasty. Since then, it remained an integral part of the erstwhile empires of Maurya, Shunga, Kushana , Gupta and Harsha dynasties. According to tradition, the Tharu king, Mausen of Madan Singh (900-950 A.D.) ruled over Gorakhpur city and the adjoining area.
In medieval period, when the entire northern India lay prostrate before the Muslim ruler, Mohammad Ghori, the Gorakhpur region was not left out. For a longer period it remained under the sway of the muslim rulers, from Qutub-Ud-Din Aibak to Bahadur Shah.Tradition has it that Ala-ud-din Khilji (1296-1316) ordered the conversion of old shrine of Goraksha ( a popular deity ) of Gorakhpur into a mosque. However, on Akbar's reorganisation of the empire, Gorakhpur gave its name to one of the five Sirkars comprising the province of Avadh.
Modern period was marked by the transfer of this region by the Nawab of Avadh to the East India Company in 1801. With this cession, Gorakhpur was raised to the status of a 'DISTRICT. The first collector was Mr. Routledge. In 1829, Gorakhpur was made the headquarters of a Division of the same name, comprising the districts of Gorakhpur, Ghazipur and Azamgarh. Mr. R.M. Biad was first appointed Commissioner.
In 1865, new district Basti was carved out from Gorakhpur. The latter was further split up in 1946 to form new district Deoria. The third division of Gorakhpur led to the creation of district Mahrajganj in 1989.
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Gorakhpur has a number of sights of religious and cultural importance. Some of the more famous ones are:
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This temple is situated around 4 kms from the city railway station on the Nepal road and is dedicated to the great yogi, Gorakhnath. It is one of the most prominent temples of the region. Every year during the month of January, "Makar Sankranti Mela" is held which attracts pilgrims and tourists from all parts of the country.
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This temple is dedicated to God Vishnu and has a large statue of Lord Vishnu made of black stone. Ram Lila is performed here during the Dusshera festival.
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This is a renowned centre for Naturopathy and patients come here for treatment of various ailments while staying close to nature.
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This was built by the great Sufi saint Roshan Ali Shah during the 18th Century. Every year during the Muslim month of Muharram "Tazia" processions are taken out from the Imambara.
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This is a huge natural lake near the city. There is an amusement park and a planetarium, apart from these number of other water sports activities are being developed to attract both the locals and the tourists.
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This is situated in the Reti Chowk area of the city and it is centre of great cultural importance. All sorts of Hindu religious books and handloom textiles are sold here at subsidized rates.
The surroundings of Gorakhpur are rich in cultural and historical sights. Some of the places which are worth visiting and are close to Gorakhpur are:
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This is situated around 50 kms from Gorakhpur and is an important international tourist centre, closely associated with Lord Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. It is the place where Buddha breathed his last and achieved Mahaparinirvana(salvation) and was cremated here.
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Lumbini is the birth place of Lord Buddha and it is situated in Nepal around 124 km from Gorakhpur. A temple dedicated to Lord Buddha’s mother Mahamaya and an Ashokan pillar with inscriptions in Prakit, can also be found here.
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This place is around 95 kms from Gorakhpur and is believed to be the place where Lord Buddha spent 29 years of his early life. There is a big stupa from where precious relics of Lord Buddha have been discovered during excavations.
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Situated around 70 km from Gorakhpur, this is the place where Lord Mahavira, 24 Thirthankaras of Jains attained salvation or nirvana.
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Situated around 25 kms from Gorakhpur, this is the place where the great saint and social reformer of the medieval period Sant Kabir Das breathed his last. A temple and a mosque stand close by to the place where he was cremated as a symbol of communal harmony.
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Chauri chaura or Shaheed smarak is around 25 kms from Gorakhpur and is the place where in 1922, a mob of around 2000 people torched a police station killing 19 of them. This violent incident forced Gandhiji to suspend the Non Cooperation Movement which was started in 1920.
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Gorakhpur has an airport which is situated 6kms from the city centre. There is only one flight available presently to Delhi, which may go up considering the strategic location of Gorakhpur and being an excellent base for exploring the sacred Buddhist sites and also serving as a Gateway to Nepal.
Gorakhpur is well connected by rail network to rest of India. Direct trains are available for most of the major cities of India. The railway station at Gorakhpur is a huge and modern one with the entire range of passenger amenities available.
State Transport buses are available to other cities of the state.
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