Uttar Pradesh is a state in India. "Northern state" is a term used to describe this region in India since ancient times.
Along the Nepalese border, there is a modern Indian state by the same name formed post independence.
Uttar Pradesh is India's most populated state, making it one
of the country's most politically significant.
From the high Himalayas to the rice-growing plains of the
eastern basin, the state has a diverse environment, providing tremendous
natural and social diversity.
Uttar Pradesh also has the origins and a large portion of
the length of both the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers, as well as several of India's
holy places.
The four Himalayan Dhams ("[divine] abodes"),
Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath; the sacred cities of Haridwar,
Allahabad, and Benares; the city of Ayodhya, the mythic home of the god Rama;
and the Braj region south of Delhi, which is mythically associated with the god
Krishna, are just a few of the state's major sacred sites (tir Christine Nivin
et al., India, 8th ed., Lonely Planet, 1998, is an accessible reference for
general information on Uttar Pradesh and all of India's provinces.
Also see four dhams.
