Old names of Indian cities

Ahmedabad: - Ahmedabad's original name is Karnavati. The area around Ahmedabad has been inhabited since the 11th century and was known as Ashaval. In 1411, Sultan Ahmad Shah founded the walled city of Ahmedabad on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati River. The city was named Ahmedabad in honor of four Ahmads, including Ahmad Shah I, his religious teacher Shaikh Ahmad Khattu, and Kazi Ahmad and Malik Ahmad. 

Hindon's original name is Harnandi in Shiv Mahapuran. This land is the taposthali (abode) of Rishi Vishwawa, the father of King Ravan. Several old temples, some dating back to a thousand years, still exist today in Bisrakh near the river.

 Moradabad: - Moradabad's oldest name was Chaupala. In 1624, Rustam Khan, the governor of Sambhal, captured the city and named it Rustam Nagar. In 1625, the city's name was changed to Moradabad after the son of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, prince Murad Baksh. 

  Aurangzeb: - The city of Aurangabad was originally named Khadki or Khirki. In 1610, Malik Ambar, a former slave and prime minister of the Ahmednagar Sultanate, established the city as the capital of the Sultanate. Within a decade, the city grew to become a large and imposing city. 

Ayodhya was historically known as Saketa

 

 Adilabad: - Before the 10th century, Adilabad was known as Edlawāḍa, which translates to "Land of Oxen" in Telugu. During the rule of the Qutub Shahis, the town was called Edlabad.  The district's name comes from Ali Adil Shah, the sultan of Bijapur. The Islamic ruler of Bijapur, Mohammed Adil Shah, changed the name to Adilabad. 

 Hyderabad: - The city was originally called Baghnagar ("city of gardens"), and later acquired the name Hyderabad.

 Secunderabad: - The old name of Secunderabad was originally "Lalapet". Lalapet was a small village and the area where Secunderabad stands today was gradually developed and named after Sikandar Jah, the third Nizam (ruler) of the Hyderabad State, hence the name "Secunderabad."

 Firozabad: - Firozabad was originally called Chandwar Nagar. In 1566, Firoz Shah Mansab Dar named the city after himself during the reign of Akbar. 

 Mustafabad: - According to government records, the town of Saraswati Nagar was previously known as Saraswati Tirth, and was later renamed Mustafabad by Muslims. Saraswati Nagar is located in the Yamunanagar district of Haryana. 

 Ahmednagar: - The city was known as Bhinar in early Yadava times. It was conquered by Malik Aḥmad Niẓām Shah, founder of the Niẓām Shāhī dynasty, in 1490.

 

 Fathabad: - According to the Puranas, the areas of Fatehabad district remained a part of the Nanda Empire and the real name of Fatehabad was Dhanagarh. The city name Dhanagarh was given by Dhana Nanda who was the King of Nanada empire and his territory was from Pataliputra to Beas river in the north.

 Usmanabad: - The old name of Osmanabad is Dharashiv. The city's name was changed to Dharashiv on June 29, 2022. The city's name is derived from the Dharashiv Fort, which is located in the region. According to a researcher, the name Dharashiv dates back to the eighth century. The researcher says that a king named Shiv from Ter, an ancient trading center, built the cave complex after a water source was found in the area. In Marathi, "Dhara" means a flow or stream of water. 

 Baktiyarpur: - Bakhtiarpur is named after Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji. He was the military general of Qutb al-Din Aibak, and founded Bakhtiyar city after his conquest of Bengal in 1203, destruction of Nalanda and Vikramshila University.

 Muzaffarpur : - The region of Muzaffarpur and Hajipur was known as Vaishali between 725 and 484 B.C. . During the 4th and 5th century B.C., Vaishali covered present day Muzaffarpur. Vaishali was the capital of the Ancient Lichhavi Ganrajya. In 1972, Vaishali separated from Muzaffarpur.  Muzaffarpur was part of the Vajji Republic, which was also known as Vaishali. The Videha Region became part of the Vajji Republic towards the end of the Vedic period. The capital of Videha then shifted from Maithili to Vaishali. 

Muzaffarnagar is a city under Muzaffarnagar district in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. 

In pages of history and revenue records, SARVAT was known as pargana which was given as JAGIR to one of the chieftains named SAIYED MUZAFFARKHAN by emperor SHAHJHAN. He founded the city of Un-Divided Muzaffarnagar in 1633 with lands of KHERA & SUJRU.

Hajipur - In ancient times, Hajipur was known as Ukkacala. The town and its surrounding areas were mentioned in the Mahabharata, though not in great detail. Hajipur is the district headquarters of Vaishali. The district gained independent status in 1972, and was previously part of the Muzaffarpur district. Hajipur is named after the Bengal king Haji Ilyas Shah, who founded it between 1345 and 1358. Hajipur is located on the Gandak River, just north of where it meets the Ganges River. It's in the North Bihar Plains, which are part of the Middle Ganges Plain. Hajipur is also the place where democracy was established around 600 BC. It's also the location of one of the Buddha's sermons, "Cula Gopalaka Sutta". 

 Burhanpur: - Burhanpur's old name is Bhrignapur, which comes from the name of Bhrigu Rishi. Bhrigu Rishi is said to have written the Bhrigu Samhita on the banks of the Tapti River. In 1388, Malik Nasir Khan, the Faruqi dynasty Sultan of Khandesh, discovered Burhanpur and named it after the medieval Sufi saint, Burhan-ud-Din. Burhanpur became the capital of the Khandesh sultanate. 

Anantnag" derives from the name of the spring at the southern end of the town, whose Sanskrit name Anantanāga was mentioned in the Nilamata Purana and other texts. According to the Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladak, it is named after Ananta, the great serpent of Vishnu and the emblem of eternity.

Panwangam

According to the revenue records the original name of Pulwama was Panwangam which comprised 4 villages namely Malikpora, Dangerapora, Chatpora and Dalipora.

Pandrethan

Kalhana calls this capital puranadhisthana, Sanskrit for 'old capital', identified as present-day Pandrethan, 3.5 kilometres south-east of Srinagar. A 'new capital' was built by king Pravarasena, called Parvarapura, in 6th century CE. Srinagari continued to be used as a name for this capital.

What is the old name of Baramulla?

The modern Baramulla was called Varahamulaksetra or Varahaksetra in the ancient days. Originally, it was a suburb of Huviskapura (modern Ushkur). Associated with the Adivaraha, the boar incarnation of Vishnu, it was considered very sacred.

Kashthavata

Kishtwar in its ancient form Kashthavata, is first referred to in the Rajatarangini during the empire of Raja Kalsa of Kashmir, when “Uttamaraja”, the ruler of Kashthavata visited the court of the Kashmiri king in company with several other hill chiefs to pay their respects to the Raja.

The winter capital of Jammu & Kashmir is bluffed on the Shivalik Range, overlooking the northern plains. The city was originally founded by Raja Jamboo Lochan who lived in 14th century BC. According to legend, during one of his hunting campaigns, Raja Jamboo Lochan reached the Tawi River where he saw a goat and a lion drinking water at the same place. Having satisfied their thirst, the animals went their own ways. The Raja was amazed, abandoned the idea of hunting and returned to his companions. His ministers explained that this meant that the soil of the place was so virtuous that no living creature bore enmity against another. He was so struck by this unusual sight that he decided to build a capital city on this land, ‘Jambupura’, on the right bank of the River Tawi, overlooking his brother king Bahu’s fort. This city became known as Jambu-Nagar, which later changed into Jammu.

The word Kashmir is thought to have been derived from Sanskrit and was referred to as káśmīra. A popular local etymology of Kashmira is that it is land desiccated from water. An alternative etymology derives the name from the name of the Vedic sage Kashyapa who is believed to have settled people in this land.That land came to be known as Kashyapamar and, later, Kashmir. Buddhism was introduced by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century bce, and from the 9th to the 12th century ce the region appears to have achieved considerable prominence as a centre of Hindu culture.

Ushkur was called Hushkapur in ancient times. Hushkapur was said to have been founded by King Huvishka of the Kushan dynasty. The Buddhist Kushans ruled parts of Afghanistan and northern India, including Kashmir, during the first three centuries CE.

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