Basti
Basti (बस्ती) is a city and district in Uttar Pradesh.
Variants
- Vaishishthi (वैशिष्ठि)
- Vashisthi (वशिष्ठि)
- Vaisishthi (वैसिष्ठि)
Location
Basti district is a part of Basti division. It is situated 202 kms east of state capital Lucknow. The district lies between the parallels of 26° 23' and 27° 30' North and Latitude and 82° 17' and 83° 20' East longitude. Its maximum length from north to south is about 75 km. and breadth from east to west about 70 km. The district lies between newly created district Sant Kabir Nagar on the east and Gonda on the west . On the south, the Ghaghra river near Amorha Khas previously known as Amorha Province or State of Raja Zalim Singh separates it from the Faizabad and newly created district named Ambedkar Nagar. While on the North , it is bounded by district Sidharth Nagar.
History
Basti was originally known as Vaishishthi town. The origin of the name Vaishishthi is attributed to the fact that this area was the Ashram of Rishi (sage) Vashistha in ancient period. Lord Rama with his younger brother Laxman had been here for some time with Rishi Vasistha.
The tract comprising the present district was remote and much of it was covered with forest. But gradually the area became inhabitable, for want of recorded and reliable history it cannot, with any degree of certainty, be said how the district came to be known by its present name on account of the original habitation (Basti) having been selected by the Kalhan Raja as a seat of his Raj, an event which probably occurred in the 16th century. In 1801, Basti became the Tehsil headquarters and in 1865 it was chosen as the headquarters of the newly established district.
In the freedom struggle of 1857, about 250 martyrs of Amorha State were hanged by the British Government from peepal trees located at Chhawani.[1][2]