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Kannauj (Hindustani pronunciation: ) is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar palika in Kannauj district in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located 113 km (71 mi) from Etawah, 93 km (58 mi) from Kanpur, 129 km (81 mi) from Lucknow. The city's name is an evolved form of the classical name Kanyakubja. During the ancient Vedic period, it was the capital city of the Panchala Kingdom during the reign of king Vajrayudha. In the medieval era, it formed the core of the Kingdom of Kannauj and was ruled by multiple successive royal families.
It was also known as Mahodaya during the time of Mihira Bhoja. It is situated 104 kilometres west of the state capital, Lucknow.
Kannauj is famous for distilling of scents and perfumes. It is known as "India's perfume capital" and is famous for its traditional Kannauj Perfume, a government protected entity. This industry is threatened by the rise of perfumes made from chemicals, rather than using attar, made from the petals of flowers grown in this area.
Under the names of Kuśasthala and Kanyakubja, it is mentioned as a well-known town in the Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and by the grammarian Patanjali ().Rama S. Tripathi, History of Kanauj: To the Moslem Conquest (Motilal Banarsidass, 1964), pp.2,15-16 Also according to the Hindu epics, Kannauj or Kanyakubja was the capital of Amavasu dynasty the son of Pururavas and an ancestor of Rigvedic sage Vishwamitra.
The Pali Canon mentions Kannauj as Kannakujja, and refers to its location on the trade route from Mathura to Varanasi and Rajgir.Moti Chandra (1977), Trade Routes in Ancient India pp.16-18
Kannauj may have been known to the Greco-Roman civilization under the name of Kanagoja or Kanogiza, which appears in Geography by Ptolemy (). It was also visited by the Chinese Buddhist travellers Faxian and Xuanzang in the fifth and seventh centuries CE, respectively.Tripathi, History of Kanauj, pp. 17-19
-style 'seated goddess' coin of Gahadavala dynasty of Kannauj (r. c. 1114-1155 CE). ]]During the decline of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century, the Maukhari dynasty of Kannauj – who had served as vassal rulers under the Guptas - took advantage of the weakening of central authority, broke away and established control over large areas of northern India.Tripathi, History of Kanauj, pp. 22-24
Under the Maukharis, Kannauj continued to grow in importance and prosperity. It became the greatest city of Northern India under Emperor Harsha (r. 606 to 647 CE) of the Vardhana dynasty, who made it his capital.Tripathi, History of Kanauj, p. 147James Heitzman, The City in South Asia (Routledge, 2008), p.36 Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited India during the reign of Harsha, and described Kannauj as a large, prosperous city with many Buddhist monasteries.Heizman, The City in South Asia, pp.36-37 Harsha died with no heir, resulting in a power vacuum until Maharaja Yashovarman seized power as the ruler of Kannauj.
There were initial struggles but ultimately the Gurjara Pratiharas succeeded in retaining the city. The Gurjara-Pratiharas ruled Avanti (based at Ujjain), which was bounded to the South by the Rashtrakuta Empire, and the Pala Empire to the East. The Tripartite struggle began with the defeat of Indrayudh at the hands of Gurjara-Pratihara ruler Vatsraja (r. 780-800 CE). The Pala ruler Dharampala (~770-821 CE) was also keen to establish his authority at Kannauj, giving rise to a struggle between Vatsaraja and Dharmapala, in which Dharmapala was defeated. Taking advantage of the chaos, the Rastrakuta ruler Dhruva Dharavarsha (r. 780–793 CE) surged northwards, defeated Vatsaraja, and took Kannauj for himself, completing the furthest northern expansion by a South Indian ruler.
When the Rashtrakuta ruler Dhruva Dharavarsha advanced back to the south, Dharampala was left in control of Kannauj for some time. The struggle between the two northern dynasties of Palas and Gurjara Pratiharas continued: the Pala's vassal Chakrayudha (Dharmapala's nominee for Ujjain) was defeated by the Pratihara Nagabhata II (r. 805–833 CE), and Kannauj was again occupied by the Gurjara Pratiharas. Dharmapala tried to take control of Kannauj but was defeated badly at Moongher by the Gurjara Pratiharas. However, Nagabhata II was in turn soon defeated by the Rashtrakuta Govinda III (r. 793–814 CE), who had initiated a second northern surge. An inscription states that Chakrayudha and Dharmapala invited Govinda III to war against the Gurjara Pratiharas, but Dharmapala and Chakrayudh both submitted to the Govinda III, in order to win his sympathy. After this defeat, Pratihara power degenerated for some time. After the death of Dharampala, Nagabhata II regained hold over Kannuaj and made it the capital of the Gurjara Pratihara Empire. During this period, the Rashtrakutas were facing some internal conflicts, and so they, as well as the Pala Empire, did not contest this. Thus Gurjara Pratiharas became the greatest power in Northern India after occupying Kannauj (9th century CE).
Kannauj was clearly the wealthiest city in early Medieval India at large and the country all around Kannauj was called Āryāvarta. It seems likely that Kannauj and Middle country was the place of origin of majority of migrating Brahmins throughout the medieval centuries. In 1010 A.D. Mahmud of Ghazni saw Kannauj as a "City which raised its head to skies which in strength and structure might justly boast to have no equals".
Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni captured Kanauj in 1018. Chandradeva founded the Gahadvala dynasty with its capital at Kannauj around 1090. His grandson Govindachandra "raised Kannauj to unprecedented glory." Muhammad Ghori advanced against the city, and in the Battle of Chandwar of 1193 killed Jayachandra.
Al-Biruni has referred to "Kannoj" as the key geographical point to explain marching distances to other Indian cities.(India, Vol 1, from p 199 onwards, Translated by Dr Edward C. Sachau, London 1910). The "glory of Imperial Kannauj" ended with Iltutmish's conquest.Sen, S.N., 2013, A Textbook of Medieval Indian History, Delhi: Primus Books,
Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun at the Battle of Kannauj on 17 May 1540.
Famous Pir-e-Kamil, Hazrat Pir Shah Jewna Al-Naqvi Al-Bokhari was also born in Kannauj in 1493 in the reign of the Delhi Sultanate Sultan Sikandar Lodi (r. 1489-1517). He was a descendant of Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari and his father Syed Sadar-ud-din Shah Kabeer Naqvi Al Bukhari was a great saint and was also among the advisors of Sultan Sikandar Lodhi. Shah Jewna migrated to Shah Jeewna (a town named after him) now in Pakistan. Shah Jewna’s colonized towns in Kannauj :- Siray-e-Miran, Bibiyan Jalalpur, Makhdumpur, Lal Pur (associated with the name of Saint Sayyed Jalaluddin Haider Surkh Posh Bukhari or Lal Bukhari). His descendants still present in various parts of India and Pakistan.
Different spellings that are used to refer to Kannauj, apart from the official Kannauj, are: Cannodge, Kannauj, Kannoj, Kinnouge, Qannauj and Qannawj. The British who visited Kannauj in the later part of 19th century mostly referred to it as Kanauj (notice the single "n"). George Forster spells it Kinnouge. Alexander Cunnigham wrote its spelling as Kanoj.
Kannauj itself has more than 200 perfume distilleries and is a market center for perfume, tobacco and rose water. It has given its name to a distinct dialect of the Hindustani known as Kannauji, which has two different codes or registers.
Changes in when flower crops bloom due to climate change are affecting the industry of perfumes made from natural sources, like attar from roses. The unpredictable bloom times make it difficult to deliver the blooms and raises a concern that perfumes from these natural sources will be replaced by chemicals.
It is situated on GT road (Delhi to Kanpur). It has road transportation Kannauj Depo. under the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transportation Corporation (UPSRTC).
Demographics
India [[census]], Kannauj had a population of 71,530. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Kannauj has an average literacy rate of 58%: male literacy is 64%, and female literacy is 52%. In Kannauj, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Colleges
Medical College
Government Medical College, Kannauj is a government medical college located in Tirwa of Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is affiliated to King George's Medical University, Lucknow.
Engineering College
Government Engineering College, Kannauj is a government engineering college located at Kannauj. It is a constituent college of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (formerly Uttar Pradesh Technical University) in Lucknow. The college is situated at Aher, Tirwa.
Transportation
The city is served by two major railway station Kannauj railway station and Kannauj City railway station. The nearest airport is Kanpur Airport situated about 2 hours drive from the town.
Notable people
See also
Further reading
External links
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