Gorakhpur History, India

Gorakhpur is one of those cities of India which did play their role to enrich the history of the country but failed to keep pace with the modern world. Hence, as a result as of today Gorakhpur is one of those cities of India which has rich historical evidence and huge religious resources but very less ways to help its economy grow.

Gorakhpur is said to have received its name from Gorakshanath who was one of the most famous saints and disciple of the well known yogi Matsyendranath. Gorakhpur also boasts of the headquarters of North Eastern sections of Indian Railways. It is the largest meeting point of Broad Gauge railway line of North India and this has been possible due to the contributions of British Rulers in the city. British regime was responsible for establishing huge railway lines in and around the city which helped Gorakhpur become the hot spot for North Indian Railways.

Initially Gorakhpur was made up of three districts namely Deoria, Basti, and Azamgarh. Solar Dynasty was amongst the first that officially ruled Gorakhpur in its early years. Lksvaku, a monarch of Solar Dynasty, was the one who ruled Gorakhpur for the first time. The land in and around Gorakhpur witnessed the growth of Aryan civilization and their culture in its area. Koshala and his famous kingdom was also part of Gorakhpur itself during the historical years. Gorakhpur was also the important center, during the sixth century, for of the 16 available states (known as Majanapads of those years).

Rivers Rohini and Rapti merge into each other near Gorakhpur itself and it is documented that Gautama Buddha (who was the one who laid the roots of Buddhism) gave up his modern clothing near this merging point itself. This had happened somewhere in 600 BC. So, Gorakhpur can be considered the place where the foundation of Buddhism was laid.

After Akbar’s empire started to spread, Gorakhpur also came under the Mughal rule. Later on, it was year 1803 when Gorakhpur went under the control of British Army. Gorakhpur also experienced the Chauri Chaura incident of year 1922. This incident proved to be the turning point in the struggle for Indian Independence and hence Gorakhpur had its name written with golden letters in the history books of Indian Independence.