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History
It was here that the most ancient portions of Rig Veda were composed on the banks of the Jahnavi and Yamuna. The other three holy Vedas were also said to have been composed on the banks of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and others. The region came to be known as Aryavarta (Land of the Aryans), the earliest Aryan state in India.[1]
Lord Rama, the seventh Avatara of Vishnu, is the most popular Hindu God-King, and the legend of the Ramayana, the world's oldest and largest epic emanates from His life, and his reign as King of Bharat from Kosala, from the city of Ayodhya.
The ancient Hindu kingdom of Kosala in Ayodhya, where Lord Rama of the Ramayana reigned was located in the modern day state. The holiest Hindu cities of Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar and Allahabad, by the holiest rivers - Ganga and Yamuna are all located in the state. The state hosts a Kumbha Mela every 12 years, where over 10 million Hindus congregate - the largest gathering of human beings in the world.
Lord Krishna, the revered eighth Avatara of Vishnu, was born in the city of Mathura. He leads the Pandava brothers in the holy war of the Mahabharata over the ancient kingdom of Hastinapura, rumored to have existed on the banks of the Ganga or Yamuna. The ancient capital city of Indraprastha once stood close to the are where the modern national capital of Delhi today stands.
The U.P. was especially important in modern Indian history as a hotbed of the Indian Independence Movement, and the city of Allahabad was home to prominent nationalists such as Motilal Nehru, Purushottam Das Tandon, Professor Rajendra Singh a.k.a Rajju Bhaiyya (After Kakori Kaand the freedom fighters came and stayed at his house in Prayaag) and Lal Bahadur Shastri. Allahabad was also home to a record five Prime Ministers of India: Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Rajiv Gandhi.
Tourism
Uttar Pradesh attracts a large number of both national and international visitors. There are two regions in the state where a majority of the tourists go. These are the city of Agra and the holy cities on the banks of the Ganges River that include Kanpur, Allahabad and Varanasi.
A vast number of tourists visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. Other important tourist attractions in Agra are the Agra Fort. Also famous is a 16th century capital city built by the Mughal emperor Akbar known as Fatehpur Sikri near Agra.
Millions of tourists and piligrims visit the cities of Allahabad and Varanasi, as they are considered to be two of the holiest cities in India. Every year thousands gather at Allahabad to take part in the festival on the banks of the Ganges, the Magh Mela. The same festival is organised in a larger scale every 12th year and attracts millions of people and is called the Kumbha Mela.
Varanasi is widely considered to be the second oldest city in the world after Jerusalem. It is famous for its ghats (steps along the river) which are populated year round with people who want to take a dip in the holy Ganges River.
About 13 km from Varanasi is the historically important town of Sarnath. Gautama Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath after his enlightenment and hence is an important pilgrimage site for the Buddhists. Also at Sarnath are the Ashoka Pillar and the Lion Capital, both important archeological artifacts which have national significance.
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