The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hindusim vol 2

Uttar Pradesh
the sun is calculated as entering
Capricorn, usually January 14) and ends
the day before Karka Sankranti (the day
the sun enters Cancer, usually calculated
as July 14). The uttarayana is considered
a more auspicious time than the
Dakshinayana (in which the sun is traveling
toward the south) because the
guardian deity for the southern direction
is Yama, who is death personified.
Uttarkashi
(“northern Benares”) Himalayan town
and sacred site (tirtha) on the
Bhagirathi River in northern Uttar
Pradesh. As its name indicates,
Uttarkashi is claimed as the northern
form of the city of Benares, the city of
the god Shiva that is one of the most
sacred sites in India. Uttarkashi’s charter
myths also claim that in the present age,
Shiva no longer dwells in Benares, but
instead lives in Uttarkashi. To buttress
the claim to being the northern Benares
Uttarkashi shows many parallels and
homologies with Benares itself: In both,
the Ganges River flows in a northern
direction through the city; both have
their core region defined as the area
between the Varuna and Asi Rivers;
both are enclosed by a panchakroshi
pilgrimage route; and in both, the primary
deity is Shiva in his form as
Vishvanath. Uttarkashi is a site of great
antiquity—inscriptions have been discovered
from the seventh century C.E.—
and although these parallels to Benares
might seem slavish, the basis of this
claim is not just that Uttarkashi is a holy
place, just as Benares is a holy place, but
that the holiness of Uttarkashi is equal
to that of Benares. Aside from its importance
as a pilgrimage town, Uttarkashi
is also the district headquarters and
a major supply point to the other sites
in the region. The town was severely
damaged in an earthquake in early 1993
and has been rebuilding slowly since
that time.
Uttar Pradesh
(“northern state”) Modern Indian state
running along the border with Nepal.
Uttar Pradesh is India’s most populous
state and is thus one of its most politically
important. The state has a range of
different ecosystems, from the high
Himalayas to the rice-growing plains in
its eastern basin, which gives it
immense natural and social variety.
Uttar Pradesh also contains the sources
and much of the length for both the
Ganges and Yamuna Rivers, and the
state thus contains many of the holiest
sites in India. Although a full catalog
would be difficult to give, some of
the state’s major sacred sites (tirthas)
are the four Himalayan Dhams
(“[divine] abodes”), Yamunotri,
Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath;
the sacred cities of Haridwar,
Allahabad, and Benares; the city of
Ayodhya, the mythic home of the
god Rama; and the Braj region south
of Delhi, which is mythically associated
with the god Krishna. For general
information about Uttar Pradesh and
all the regions of India, an accessible
reference is Christine Nivin et al.,
India, 8th ed., Lonely Planet, 1998. See
also four dhams.
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