Gorakhpur

Gorakhpur (, ) is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is famous as a religious centre: the city was home to Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jain and Sikh saints and is named after the medieval saint Gorakshanath. Gorakhnath Temple is still the seat of the Nath sect. It is also the birthplace of Paramhansa Yogananda, Chandragupta Maurya. The city is also home to many historic Buddhist sites, Imambara, an 18th century dargah, and the Gita Press, a publisher of Hindu religious texts.

In the 20th century, Gorakhpur was a focal point in the Indian independence movement. Today, the city is also a business centre, hosting the headquarters of the North Eastern Railways, previously known as Bengal Nagpur Railways, and an industrial area, GIDA (Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority) 15 km from the old town.

District statistics

• Geographical Area 3,483.8 km²
• Total Population(2009) 10,61,428
• Sex Ratio (2001) 1000 /959
• Rural Population ( 69.40% ) (2001) 3,030,865
• Urban Population ( 30.60% ) (2001) 738,591
• Total Literates ( 41.89% ) (2009) 4,44,632 approx.

Origin of name

The city and district of Gorakhpur are named after a renowned ascetic saint, Gorakshanath, the chief disciple of the yogi Matsyendranath. Together, Matsyendranath and...
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