Agra is a grand old city which is famous in the world for the Taj Mahal, which is one of the seven wonders of the world. It is also famous for the Imperial glory of Akbar the Great, who followed a policy of national harmony and love and who propagated a new religion called Din-E-llahi which contained in it all the best principles of almost all the religions of the world. Agra is famous for its cottage industries, for its beautiful gardens of the Mughals, for its narrow lanes, old Bazars of the Mugals times, but at the same time for the famous marble items, leather goods, durries, carpets, iron foundries and for diesel engine pump sets and generating sets.
Agra is situated on the banks of famous river yamuna. Agra reminds us of the old settlements of the early Aryans, the hindu kings and the imperial glory of the mighty mughals.
There are various and conflicting versions regarding the early history of agra. Some historians are of the view, that in the ancient days, the Aryans settled themselves at the same site where agra is situated at present. The Aryans chose this site because it was situated between the ‘Doab’ –i.e. between the fertile valleys of the holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna. At that time, Agra was called “Arya Griha” which means the dwelling place of the Aryans. By and by “arya-griha” became abbreviated and later on its new name agra came into existence. It is said that agra of the Aryan age was well protected with sixteen tages. The famous historian tallby wheeler corroborates that agra was one amongst the five early settlements bounded by the Aryans.
Some historians identify agra with the ‘agra vana’ of the Mahabharat period. These historians are of the opinion that this region in the Noth-East India was famous for its lengthy and vast green forests and was famous as ‘Brij mandal’ or Brij Bhoomi’ which comprised of eighty four sub-forests or ‘vanas’. Out of these eighty four ‘vanas’ some popular and famous ones were vrindavana , madhuvana , mathura , modern morena and agra respectively. It is also said that there was a big prison house of king kansa, in agra, who was the maternal uncle of lord sri Krishna.
