District Sirsa
Sirsa
Sirsa is a city and a municipal council in Sirsa district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is a town in the westernmost region of the Haryana state, India, bordering Punjab and Rajasthan. Its history dates back to the time of Mahabharata. At one time, the Sarasvati River flowed in this area. Baba Sarsai nath is said to have been the first person to come there to do.
The Dera Saccha Sauda sect based in Sirsa has recently been involved in a controversy with the Sikh community. The leader of the sect dressed up as the sikh leader Guru Gobind Singh. He later apologised for his behaviour.
The name of the district is derived from its headquarters Sirsa. It is said to be one of the oldest places of North India and its ancient name was Sairishaka, which finds mention in Mahabharata, Panini's Ashatadhayayi and Divyavadan. In Mahabharata, Sairishaka is described as being taken by Nakula in his conquest of the western quarter. It must have been a flourishing city in the 5th century B.C. as it has been mentioned by Panini.
There are a number of legends about the origin of the name of the town. Its ancient name was Sairishaka and from that it seems to have been corrupted to Sirsa. According to local tradition, an unknown king named Saras founded the town in 7th century A.D. and built a fort. The material remains of an ancient fort can still be seen in the south-east of the present town. It is about 5 km in circumference. According to another tradition, the name has its origin from the sacred river Sarasvati which one flowed near it. During the medieval period, the town was known as Sarsuti. It has been mentioned as Sarsuti by a number of medieval historians. The derivation of name Sirsa, is also attributed to the abundance of siris trees (Albizia lebbeck (Benth)) in the neighborhood of Sirsa which seems quite plausible for it finds some corroboration also in Panini and his commentator. In the ancient period, Sirsa was also known as Sirsapattan
