Karra
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (Retd.) |
Karra or Kara (कड़ा) is place of historical importance in Kausambi District, Uttar Pradesh.
Variants of name
It has been sometimes spelt at Karrah, Kada and Kurrah but actually it is Kara (in Hindi कड़ा and Urdu کڑہ )and often called with its sister town across the river Ganges called Manikpur. Still it is called Kara-Manikpur. Kara falls in Kaushambi district while Manikpur has now become a part of Partapgarh District.
Location
Kara is an old township situated near Sirathu, on the banks of Ganges, 69 km west of the city of Allahabad in Kaushambi district in Uttar Pradesh state in India.
History
It was capital of a very big region for centuries under the Delhi Sultanate and Jaunpur Sultanate rule.
Sir H. M. Elliot Edited by John Dowson[1] writes that The royal armies accordingly marched to Hindustan, passing down the Doab between the Ganges and Jumna. After some fighting, the fort of Nandana was captured, and Ulugh Khan was sent with some other generals and a Muhammadan force to oppose Dalaki wa Malaki. This was a Rana in the vicinity of the Jumma, between Kalinjar and Karra, over whom the Rais of Kalinjar and Malwa had no authority.
.... that Kanauj was a favourite beat for tiger-shooting, and wild elephants plentiful at Karra and Kalpi.[2]
Centuries ago it was the seat of the Governor of the Sirkar of Kara ("the Province of Kara"). Between the 7th century and the 16th century it retained its charm and importance as the capital.
In 1526, the Mughal emperor Akbar made Allahabad the capital and thus reduced Kara to a subdivision of the province.
During British Rule, Allahabad gained so much importance that Kara went into oblivion and today it is a town of dilapidated havelis, forts, and monuments unknown. Hundreds of thousands of graves are lying in an area with a diameter of 7–8 km. This stunning fact which emboldens its claim that it had been certainly inhabited by many people during its history.
In the 11th century the warrior saint of Islam, Saiyid Salar Masud Ghazi, defeated the princes of Manikpur and Kara, but Muhammadan rule was not established till the defeat of Jai Chand by Muhammad Ghori. Manikpur and Kara on the opposite bank of the Ganges were important seats of government in the early Muhammadan period. Ala-ud-din Khilji was governor here, before he gained the throne of Delhi by murdering his uncle on the sands of the river between these two places.
In the 15th century the district came under the rule of the Sharqi kings of Jaunpur, and after its restoration to Delhi the Rajput chiefs and the Muhammadan governors were frequently in revolt. The Afghans long retained their hold on the District, and early in the reign of Akbar the governor of Manikpur rebelled.
Kara lost its importance when Allahabad became the capital of a Province, and from that time it was merely the chief town of a sarkar.
The Rajputs again rose during the anarchy which marked the disruption of the empire after the death of Aurangzeb. They were, however, gradually reduced by the Nawabs of Oudh, and in 1759 Kara was removed from the Sufrah of Allahabad and added to A lot of noble Muslim families had settled there. With the passage of time they left the town due to the lack of civic amenities and the carelessness of the government for the upkeep and development of the town.
It is the same place where Jalaluddin Feroz Khilji was murdered by his nephew Alauddin Khilji.
Shah Karak Abdal, a famous sufi saint lies buried here whose annual Urs is the largest Urs in the area of Allahabad.
Kara is a place of pilgrimage. It is the site of the holy temple of Kara Devi (Shitala Devi). Once the provincial capital of the Delhi Sultanate, its ruins extend 3.5 km. This place has been a religious pilgrimage since at least A.D. 1000. Kara was also an important township in the medieval kingdoms of northern India and even today one can see the remains of the fort of Jaichand of Kannauj, the last Hindu king of Kannauj.
कड़ा
विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[3] ने लेख किया है ...कड़ा (AS, p.128) इलाहाबाद ज़िला, उत्तर प्रदेश का एक ऐतिहासिक नगर है। कड़ा उत्तर प्रदेश में इलाहाबाद से 40 मील (लगभग 64 कि.मी.)की दूरी पर अवस्थित है। कहा जाता है कि इस स्थान पर जह्र ऋषि का आश्रम था, जैसा कि यहाँ के आधा मील पर स्थित 'जाह्रवीकुंड' से सूचित होता है। मुस्लिमों के शासन काल में कड़ा एक सूबे के रूप में मुख्य स्थान रखता था। दिल्ली के सुल्तान जलालुद्दीन ख़िलजी के शासनकाल (1290-96 ई.) में उसका भतीजा एवं दामाद अलाउद्दीन ख़िलजी कड़ा का सूबेदार नियुक्त किया गया था।
कड़ा के ही निकट गंगा नदी को नाव से पार करते समय बूढ़े जलालुद्दीन को राज्य लोलुपता के नशे में चूर अलाउद्दीन ने धोखे से मार दिया और उसका सिर वहीं पास के किसी स्थान पर दफ़ना दिया, जिससे वह स्थान 'गुमसिरा' कहलाया।
दिल्ली के सुल्तान मुहम्मद तुग़लक़ ने कड़ा के पास एक नया नगर 'स्वर्गद्वार' बसाया था। दोआबे में भयंकर अकाल पड़ने पर वह वहाँ जाकर रहने लगा। यहीं पर वह अनेक भूखों लोगों को बसाने के लिए ले गया और अयोध्या से अन्न मंगवाकर बंटवाया। राजनीतिक दृष्टि से कड़ा अपने चरमोत्कर्ष के समय बहुत ही महत्त्वपूर्ण माना जाने लगा था। यह भी प्रसिद्ध हो चुका था कि जो कड़ा का मालिक होगा, वही दिल्ली का वास्तविक भावी सुल्तान भी होगा।
मुग़लों के शासन काल में भी कड़ा में सूबेदार रहता था। 'शहज़ादा सलीम' (बाद में जहाँगीर) ने जब अकबर के विरुद्ध बग़ावत की थी, तब वह कड़ा में ही रहता था। कड़ा का प्राचीन क़िला उल्लेखनीय है। यह स्थान संत मलूकदास की जन्म भूमि के रूप में भी प्रसिद्ध है। (अजगर करै ना चाकरी, पंछी करै ना काम, दास मलूका कह गये सबके दातस राम।- यह दोहा इन्हीं मलूकदास का है।)
Places of historical interest
Places of historical interest include;
- Dargah of Khwaja Karak,
- Kara Devi Temple,
- Samadhi of Saint Maluk Das,
- a mound called fort of Jai Chand,
- Jama Masjid,
- Kshetrapal Bharav Temple,
- Kaleshwar Mahadev Temple,
- Shivala Maharishi Ashramractions.
Karra Inscription of 1037 A.D.
A king Yasahpala of Kausambi is known from the Karra Inscription of 1037 A.D.but his relationship with the Pratihara dynasty, if any, is unknown. A complete list of relevant inscriptions, with full references, is given in V. A. Smith's article (J. R. A. S., 1909, pp. 53 ff., 247 ff.) [4]
External links
References
- ↑ The history of India : as told by its own historians. Volume II/VIII. Tabakat-i Nasiri of Minhaju-s Siraj,p.366
- ↑ The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians/Sir Henry Elliot's Original Preface,pp.xxiv
- ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.128
- ↑ Later kings of the Pratihara dynasty
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