Bhadohi district

Bhadohi District is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The city of Gyanpur is the district headquarters. Bhadohi is one of largest centres of Carpet Industries in India and is worldwide known as 'Carpet City of India'. Carpets of Bhadohi have 'Geographical Indication' tag attached to it. Bhadohi has huge geographical significance and position attached to it due to its location between two culturally important and rich heritage cities of Prayagraj and Varanasi. Sita Samahit Sthal According to the epic Mahābhārata, the Pandavas escaped from Lakshagrah through a tunnel and took shelter here at a place called Semradhnath. It is also believed that Mata Sita, wife of Lord Rama, lived here in the ashram of Maharshi Valmiki when she was abandoned by Lord Rama, and also that Lav and Kush the twin sons of Lord Rama were born in this ashram only. Once, followed by fake accuses of public and Lord Rama's request to prove her purity once again Mata Sita in grief immersed herself in the lap of goddess Earth. Bhadohi supposedly gets its name from Bhar Raj of the region which had Bhadohi as its capital, whose traces can be found in the names of ruined mounds and old tanks named after the Bhar rulers, a tributary of Kannauj kingdom, which in the early medieval period was included in the Kingdom of Jaunpur. During the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar, Bhadohi was made a dastur and included in the sarkar of Allahabad. By the fifteenth century the Bhar were overpowered by Monas Rajputs with Sagar Rai as the first head of the clan, and his grandson, Jodh Rai received it as a zamindari sanad (deed) from Mughal Emperor Shah-e-Jahan. However around 1750 AD due to non-payment of land revenue arrears, Raja Pratap Singh of Pratapgarh, in lieu of his paying the arrears gave the entire pargana to Balwant Singh of Benaras, subsequently he received it directly under a sanad from Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh under British influence in 1770 AD. In 1911, Bhadohi came under first Maharaja of the newly created princely state of Benares ruled by Maharaja Prabhu Narayan Singh and it remained with Benaras till 1947.