Place · Ramayana river crossing · India
Shringaverapura / Gangā crossing zone
Also known as Shringverpur
The Ganga crossing on the eastern bank near Allahabad where Rama, Sita and Lakshmana are said to have shed their royal garb for bark cloth and crossed into forest exile with the help of the Nishada chief Guha. The crossing marks the exile route's shift from royal territory to ascetic wilderness; Sita's vow to the Ganga here is a key episode in the Valmiki Ramayana. The ashram-ghats of the modern town preserve the memory, and Shringaverapura is also an important Mauryan–Shunga archaeological site with excavated water tanks built by Pushyamitra Shunga in the 2nd century BCE.
- Periods
- Second Urbanisation, Classical and Puranic Age, Regional Flourishing, Islamic Age and Bhakti Traditions, Early Modern Age, British Colonial Age, Republic and Living Practice
- Function
- Sacred site & pilgrimage
- Tradition
- Vālmīki Rāmāyana
- Confidence
- Traditional / narrative attribution — The defining association is carried by Vālmīki Rāmāyana; it is presented as a traditional or narrative attribution.
- Location
- 25.630, 81.660
Connections (3)
- Ramayana traditionAyodhyā
Ayodhya and Shringaverapura are connected through Rama’s departure into exile. Shringaverapura, associated with Nishada king Guha, was situated near the Ganga and became an important early stop after Rama left Ayodhya. The tradition connects the royal world of Ayodhya with forest communities, river crossings and the wider sacred geography of northern India.
- Ramayana traditionPrayāga / Prayagraj/ Allahabad
Shringaverapura on the Ganga above Prayaga is where Rama's party crosses the river and is ferried over by the Nishada king Guha, the point at which the exile turns from a journey into forest life. Archaeology at the site has found a large early-historic tank and brick structures, so there is a real town under the epic name. Its nearness to the confluence ties the Ramayana's northern route directly into the Prayaga tirtha complex.
- Mythic sequenceNandigarama
Nandigrama, where Bharata ruled in the sandals' name, and Shringaverapura, where Rama crossed the Ganga, are the two ends of the exile's opening: one the arrangement left behind in Kosala, the other the point where forest life begins. Traditional reconstructions run Ayodhya to Shringaverapura to Bharadvaja's ashram at Prayaga to Chitrakuta, and the sites still lie roughly on that line, which is one reason the northern leg of the route is the most stable part of it.
On these journeys
Sources
Wikipedia, “Shringverpur”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
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