Allahabad

:This article is about the Indian city. For other uses, see Allahabad (disambiguation).

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Allahabad (Hindi: इलाहाबाद, Urdu الاهاباد ilāhābād) is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Related Topics:
Hindi - India - Uttar Pradesh

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The name, meaning "City of God", was given to the city by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1583. In Indian alphabets it is spelt "Ilāhābād": "ilāh" is Arabic for "god", and "-ābād" is Persian for "place of".

Related Topics:
Mughal - Akbar - 1583 - Arabic - Persian

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The modern city is on the site of the ancient holy city of Prayāga (derived from Sanskrit, it means a "Place of Sacrifice" and is the spot where Brahma offered his first sacrifice after creating the world). It is one of four sites of the Kumbha Mela, the others being Hardwar, Ujjain and Nasik. It has a position of importance in the Hindu religion and mythology since it is situated at the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati.

Related Topics:
Sanskrit - Kumbha Mela - Hardwar - Ujjain - Nasik - Ganga - Yamuna - Saraswati

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Because solar events in Allahabad occur exactly 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich, the city is the reference point for Indian Standard Time, maintained by the city's observatory.

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