Garhmukteshwar (गढ़मुक्तेश्वर) is a town cum village and a municipal board in Hapur District in the state of
Uttar Pradesh,
India. Around five kilometres from Garhmukteshwar town, flows the holy river Ganges. Garhmukteshwar is situated on the National Highways 24 joining New Delhi with
Lucknow. The town is situated 100 odd kilometres from New Delhi and is the closest point from the capital where the river Ganges flows. Garhmukteshwar is also famous for its bathing fair that takes place on the Full Moon Day in the month of Kartik. About 8 lakh persons, from far and near, come to have a dip in the river Ganges, which they consider to be holy. Another fair, held on the occasion of Dussehra, attracts about 1,50,000 devotees.
Famous For:
Garhmukteshwar is holy place, sitiuated at the bank of holy river Ganga. Garhmukteshwar is famous for its GANGA FAIR which held every year that takes place on the Full Moon Day in the month of Kartik. About 8 lakh persons, from far and near, come to have a dip in the river Ganges, which they consider to be holy. Another fair, held on the occasion of Dussehra, attracts about 96,47,50,000 devotees.The name of the place is derived from the great temple of Mukteshwar Mahadeva, dedicated to the goddess Ganga who is worshipped here in four temples, two situated on a high cliff and two below it. One of them is situated alongside
Meerut road.
The place is famous for its 80 Sati Pillars. These pillars mark the spots where Hindu widows are said to have committed sati. The town also boasts of a mosque built by Gays-ud-din Balban that bears an inscription in Arabic dating to 682 Hijri or 1283 A.D.Garhmukteshwar is also famous for its mudha udhyog.
History:
At Talawdi when there was war between Muhammad Ghori and Prithvi Raj, Jats attacked the army of Mughals but they did not support Prithvi Raj because he had captured their state. Even one Jat warrior Sanjeev Bhandari from Garhwal clan became General of the Army of Malkhan. Malkhan had become popular due to support of Puran Singh. When Sanjeev Bhandari Garhwals lost Garhmukteshwar, they came to Rajasthan and occupied Ker, Bhatiwar, Chhawsari etc. near Jhunjhunu in 13th century. As per their bards when these people came to this place, Johiya, Mohiya Rajputs were the rulers of this area. Bhats have mentioned them as Tomars. When Muslim influence increased in this area they had wars with them as a result they moved from here to there. One of these groups moved to Kuloth, which was ruled by Chauhans.
After a war they occupied Kuloth. Sardar Kurdaram who was a descendant of Garhwals of Kuloth had been tehsildar of Nawalgarh. Garhmukteshwar is also mentioned in the Bhagvat Purana and the Mahabharata. It is said that it was a part of the ancient city of
Hastinapur. The place once boasted off a very ancient fort that is said to be built by later Pandavas, brothers of Kaurvas. A Maratha general, Mir Bhawan, repaired this fort during the Anglo-Maratha war. It is said that the Fort was in so good a condition when the British took possession of the place that it was found possible to locate the District Administration in it without incurring much expense on alteration. Sadly, not much remains of that Fort now and one can only trace some ruins that hardly signify the much-talked glory.
The name of the place is derived from the great temple of Mukteshwar Mahadeva, dedicated to the goddess Ganga who is worshipped here in four temples, two situated on a high cliff and two below it. One of them is situated alongside Meerut road. The place is famous for its 80 Sati Pillars. These pillars mark the spots where Hindu widows are said to have committed sati. The town also boasts of a mosque built by Gays-ud-din Balban that bears an inscription in Arabic dating to 682 Hijri or 1283 A.D. There is a colourful description of day to day life in Garhmukteshwar and the neighbouring Brij Ghat in Malachi O'Doherty's book, I Was A Teenage Catholic. O'Doherty lived there for three years in the 1970s with Swami Paramananda Saraswati.
Railways:
The railway station of the town lies on Delhi-
Moradabad route. It halts more than a dozen EMU/DMU trains. Besides this, the station is very well connected to major Indian cities such as New Delhi,
Allahabad, Lucknow, Rohtak, Meerut,
Saharanpur, Mujaffarpur.
