Jalandhar Beautiful City
Jalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh. In Hindu mythology, Jalandhara was the eponymous kingdom of a devil in Satyuga. It was also known as Prasthala at the time of the Mahabharta and as Jullundur in British times.
History
Jalandhar and Multan are the oldest surviving cities of the Punjab region, with historical references as far back as A.D. 100. The Jalandhar Doab (the region surrounding the city between the Beas and Sutlej rivers) also marked the easternmost territory of the empire of Alexander the Great. He erected giant altars in this area to mark the eastern most extent of his empire and also founded a city named Alexandria in the vicinity and left many Macedonian veterans there.
In the 7th century, when the famous Chinese traveller and pilgrim Hiuen Tsang visited India during the reign of Harsha Vardhana, the Kingdom of Jalandhara or Trigarta was under the rule of Raja Utito (whom Alexander Cunningham identifies with the Rajput Raja Attar Chand of the Katoch dynasty). The kingdom was said to have extended 167 miles (269 km) from east to west and 133 miles (214 km) from north to south, thus including the hill states of Chamba, Mandi and Suket (Himachal Pradesh) and Satadru or Sirhind in the plains. The city proper of Jalandhar was, when visited by Hiuen Tsiang, a large city, miles in circuit, and functioned as the capital of a Rajput kingdom. Raja Utito was a tributary of Harsh Vardhana. The Rajput Rajas appear to have continued to rule over the country right up to the 12th century, with occasional interruptions, but their capital was Jalandhar and Kangra formed an important stronghold.
