Siddharthanagar (), formerly and colloquially still called Bhairahawa (), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and the administrative headquarter of

Rupandehi District Rupandehi District (; ), a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal and covers an area of . The district headquarter is Bhairahawa. As per the national census 2011, the population of Rupandehi was 880,196. Etymo ...

Lumbini Province Lumbini Province () is a Provinces of Nepal, province in western Nepal. The country's Provinces of Nepal, third largest province in terms of area as well as List of Nepalese provinces by population, population, Lumbini is home to the World Herita ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, west of Nepal's capital

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

. It is the closest city to

Lumbini Lumbinī (, "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. The Buddhist commentaries state that Maya Devi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini around 624 BCE. Gautama is bel ...

, the birthplace of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

, which is located to the west. The city borders the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n city of

Sonauli Sonauli is a town, near city of Mahrajganj, Uttar Pradesh, Maharajganj in Maharajganj district in Uttar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, India. It located on the Indo-Nepal Border and is a well-known and most famous transit point between India and Nepal. ...

Maharajganj district Maharajganj district is one of the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India, and the town of Maharajganj is the district headquarters. District is a part Gorakhpur division. It is located in Terai region of Himalayas, bordering Ne ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. Although the current name was first used in 1977, many still refer to it as Bhairahawa.

History and etymology

The city was founded as ''Bhairahawa'' in 1967. The city's current name ''Siddharthanagar'' derives from

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

's given name ''Siddhartha'', as the birthplace of Buddha is located only to the west. The name was changed to Siddhartanagar in 1977 AD by poet

Komal Dutta Tiwari Komal may refer to: Given name * Komal (actor), Indian actor in the Kannada film industry * Poonam Sinha, also known as Komal, Indian actress * Komal Chautala, a fictional hockey player played by Chitrashi Rawat in the 2007 Indian film '' Ch ...

Climate

The highest temperature ever recorded in Siddharthanagar was on 7 June 2023, while the lowest temperature ever recorded was on 20 January 1971.

Demographics

The population of Siddharthanagar in 2001 was 52,569. In 2011 it was 64,566 and in 2021 it was 74,436.

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri may refer to: * Bhojpuri language, an Indo-Aryan language of India and Nepal * Bhojpuri grammar, grammatical rules of the language * Bhojpuri nouns, nouns of the language * Bhojpuri people, people who speak the language * Bhojpuri region ...

is spoken by 42.2%, Nepali by 40.7%,

Awadhi Awadhi may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Awadh or Oudh region in Uttar Pradesh, northern India ** Awadhi people, ethnic group of India *** Awadhi language Awadhi, also known as Audhi, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging ...

by 5.9%, Magar by 1.9% and

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

by 1.9% of the Siddharthnagar municipality population as their first language.

Education

Rupandehi Lilaram Ma Vi, Bhairahawa Ma Vi, Paklihawa Ma Vi are old higher secondary schools. There are several higher education facilities in Siddharthanagar including Rupandehi Campus, IAAS Paklihawa Campus, Universal College of Medical Sciences and Bhairahawa Namuna Campus.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Rupandehi District Transit and customs posts along the India–Nepal border Points for exit and entry of nationals from third countries along the India–Nepal border Nepal municipalities established in 1967

History and etymology

Climate

Demographics

Education

See also

References