Hardwar
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Hardwar
Ancient town and place of pilgrimage in Saharanpur District, United Provinces, situated in 29° 58' N. and 78"' 10' E. Till 1900 it was the terminus of a branch of the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway opened in 1886, but it is now connected by rail also with Dehra. The pilgrim route to the shrines of Kumaun passes through it. The population fluctuates considerably according to the number of pilgrims visiting it, and has been: (1872) 21,555, (1881) 28,106, (1891) 29,125, and (1901) 25,597. Of the total [)opulation in 1901, Hindus numbered 18,209 and Musalmans 7,119-
The place has borne several names. According to tradition il was nanicci Kiipila altrr iIil- sage of ihat name, who is said to have Hved here. In the seventh century Hiuen Tsiang described a town named ]\Io-yu-lo, which was {jrobably Mayura or Mayapur, a suburb south of Hardwar. The Chinese pilgrim also mentions that there was a Brah- manical temple north of Mo-yu-lo which the Hindus called 'the gate of the Ganges,' and this name Gangadwara is regularly used by the Muhammadan historians for Hardwar. The meaning of The present name is dis])uted. AVorshippers of Siva derive it from Hara, a name of Siva, while the ^'aishnavas claim that the correct origin is from Hari, a name of Vishnu. Abul Fazl, in the reign of Akbar, refers to Maya, known as Haridwara, and Tom Coryat, who visited the place in Jahangir's reign, calletl it ' Harl-dwara, the capital of Siva.'
The town is beautifull)' situated on the right bank of the Cianges, at the foot of the Siwaliks, close by the gorge through which the river debouches on the plains. On the opposite shore rises the hill of Chandl Pahar, whose summit is crowned by a temple. The Ganges here divides into many shallow channels, with wooded islands between. One channel commences about 2 miles ab(jve Hardwar, and flows jxast the main town and its suburbs, Majapur and Kankhal, rejoining the parent river a little beUjw the last-mentioned place. The head-works of the Upper Ganges Canal are situated on this branch, between Mayapur and Kankhal. The town has grown considerably since the early part of the nineteenth century. At the present day the great object of attraction is the bathing ghat^ called Hari-ka-charan or Harl- ki-pairl (' Vishnu's footprint '), with the adjoining temple of Ganga- dwara. A stone on the wall of the ,^h(it bears the footmark, which is an (jbject of special reverence. Pilgrims struggle to be the first to l)lunge into the pool on great occasions, and stringent police regulations are required to prevent the crowd from trampling one another to death. In 18 1 9, 430 persons, including some sepoys on guard, lost their lives in this manner, and \h^ ghat was enlarged. The great a.ssemblage of pilgrims is held annually on the first day of the month of Baisakh, the commencement of the Hindu solar year, when the sun enters Aries. Every twelfth year the planet Jupiter is in the sign Aquarius (Kumbh) at this time, and the occasion is considered one of special sanctity, the fair being called the Kumbh mela. In 1796 the attendance was estimated at 2-| millions, and in 1808 at 2 millions. These were probably exaggerations, as the number at ordinary fairs was later found to be only about 100,000, and at the Kumbh mela about 300,000. In 1892 the fair was broken up on account of an outbreak of cholera, and the vast concourse of people sent off by rail before the great bathing day. The result of this action was the formation of the Hardwar Improvement Society, supported by contributions from Hindus all over India, which has introduced various sanitary reforms. The bottom of the pool has been paved, and the current of the (langes (Hrected so as to secure a constant strong flow of water, while an iron railing has been erected to prevent bathers from being carried away. Another sacred pool, called Bhimgoda, has been enlarged and paved, and water is now supplied from the Ganges. The society also furnished part of the funds required to bridge a torrent-bed lying between the station and the town. Plague broke out in 1897, but was quickly suppressed. A few more cases took place in 1898, and the measures adopted to prevent the spread led to a riot. The numbers at the fair have decreased considerably since plague appeared.
The total at any one time is also affected by the fact that pilgrims now visit Hardwar throughout the year, instead of only on the fixed days. On the great bathing day at the Kumbh mela of 1903 about 400,000 persons were present. Cholera, however, broke out ; and although the cases at Hardwar were few, the di.sease was carried by the pilgrims into the hill tracts leading to the Himalayan shrines. In early days riots and bloody fights were of common occurrence amid the excited throng. In 1760, on the great bathing day, the rival mobs of ,i:;osains and Imird^s had a long battle, in which 1,800 are said to have perished. In 1795 the Sikh pilgrims slew 500 of {he gosai/is. Timur plundered and massacred a great concourse of pilgrims here shortly after seizing Delhi in 1398. In 1894 it was anticipated that the flood caused by the Gohna Lake would damage the town and head-works of the canal ; but the river rose only 12 feet, and the damage was not excessive. The trade of the town is confined to supplying the wants of the pilgrims and to the through traffic with Dehra. Branches of the American Methodist Mission are maintained at Jwalapur and Kankhal. The Hardwar Union municipality was constituted in 1S68, and includes the two villages of Mayapur and Kankhal. The income and expenditure from 1892 to 1901 averaged about Rs. 43,000. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 91,000, of which Rs. 31,000 was derived from octroi, Rs. 20,000 from a loan, and Rs. 33,000 from the pilgrim tax. The expenditure was 1-2 lakhs; chiefly on the fair, Rs. 84,000.
This section has been extracted from THE TRIBES and CASTES of BENGAL. Ethnographic Glossary. Printed at the Bengal Secretariat Press. 1891. . |
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Hardwar
A sept of Mundas in Chota Nagpur.
Hardwar
A section of the Biyahut and Kharidaha Kalwars i a mul or section of the Ayodhia.¬basi sub-caste of Sonars in Behar.
