Anantnag is a city and a municipality, capital of the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a large business and trading centre of Kashmir Valley in Jammu and Kashmir.
Naming of Anantnag
The name Anantnag is derived from the Sanskrit term Ananta meaning Infinite and Nag means Snake. Ananta Nag is another name of Shesha Nag which is the Divine Serpent of Lord Vishnu. Nag also means water spring in the Kashmiri language.
Location of Anantnag
Anantnag is located at 33.73 degree North to 75.15 degree East at an elevation of 5,300 feet (1,600 m) above sea level, at a distance of 53 kilometres (33 mi) from Srinagar District of Jammu and Kashmir.
History of Anantnag
Anantnag is believed to mean "numerous springs", because there are many springs in the town, such as Nag Bal, Salak Nag and Malik Nag. According to Marc Aurel Stein, the name of the city comes from the great spring Ananta Nag issuing at the centre of the city. This is also corroborated by almost all local historians including Kalhana, according to whom the city has taken the name of this great spring of Cesha Nag or Ananta Nag. Anantnag is an ancient city that came into existence as a market town around 5000 BCE making it one of the oldest urban human settlements in the world. Before the advent of Muslim rule in 1320 CE, Kashmir was divided into three divisions, viz., Maraz in the south, Yamraj in the centre and Kamraj in the north of the Valley.
Administration of Anantnag
Anantnag is constituted by three main boroughs or towns Anantnag, Khanabal, Mattan, Jammu and Kashmir and half a dozen small townships. Most of the population of the city resides in the Anantnag borough. The old city of Anantnag comprises of Nagbal, Maliknag, Kadipora, Cheeni Chowk, Doni Pawa, Pehroo, Sarnal Bala, Janglatmandi, Old Port Khanabal, Downtown Martand, and Dangarpora areas.
Geography of Anantnag
Anantnag has three new streams. Near Anantnag, there exists the confluence of three streams, Arapath, Brengi and Sandran, and the resulting river is named Vyeth or Jhelum. There are several larger streams such as Brengi. Another stream Lidder joins the river a little downstream and from that point the river becomes navigable.
Temples in Anantnag
The Martand temple is one of the important archaeological sites of the country. It was built around 500 AD. This temple has the typical Aryan structure as was present in Aryan Kashmir. The temple was attacked by Sikander Butshikan. It took one year for Sikander Butshikan to fully damage and destroy this Martand temple.
Visiting Information
Anantnag is accessible from both roadways and airways. Srinagar is 53 km from Anantnag. The distances of some other towns from Anantnag are Achabal 10 km, Kokarnag 23 km, Verinag27 km and Pahalgam 39 km.
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