Bishnupur district

Bishnupur district Bishenpur
District
Location of Bishnupur district in Manipur
Coordinates: 24°38′N 93°46′E
Country	India
State	Manipur
Headquarters	Bishnupur
Area
• Total	496 km2 (192 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	237,399
• Density	21.83/km2 (56.5/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Meiteilon (Manipuri)
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 code	IN-MN-BI
Vehicle registration	MN
Website	bishnupur.nic.in

Bishnupur district (Pron:/ˌbɪʃnʊˈpʊə/) is the district of Manipur state in northeastern India.

Origin of name

Its name is derived from a Vishnu temple located at Lamangdong.

Geography

Bishnupur town is the administrative headquarters of the district. Other major towns in this district are: Nambol, Moirang, Ningthoukhong, and Kumbi. Major village in this district are Nachou, Ngaikhong Khullen, Toubul, and Khoijuman Khullen.

Demographics

Religions in Bishnupur District
Religion			Percent
Hindus			91.56%
Others			6.20%
Muslims			2.87%
Christian			1.80%
Not Stated			0.31%
Buddhist			0.03%
Sikh			0.02%
Jain			0.01%

According to the 2011 census Bishnupur district has a population of 237,399, roughly equal to the nation of Vanuatu. This gives it a ranking of 583rd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 485 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,260/sq mi) . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 15.36%. Bishnupur has a sex ratio of 1000 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 76.35%.

Languages

Primary language spoken is Meiteilon. Other minority languages spoken includes Rongmei, Nepali, Bengali, Hindi and Thadou.

Flora and fauna

In 1977 Bishnupur district became home to Keibul Lamjao National Park, which has an area of 40 km² (15.4 sq mi).

Tourism

Loukoipat

Loukoipat, a small natural lake sandwiched between two knolls is a picturesque tourist spot in Bishnupur. Here, the beauty of hills converges with the beauty of lake. The panoramic view of the Manipur valley from the higher slopes of Loukoipat tourist lodge is sure to please the viewers' senses. Loukoipat is further being developed with an ecological park.

Vishnu Temple

Vishnu Temple at Bishnupur is a 15th-century temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. King Kyamba of Manipur along with Chaopha Khe Khomba, the king of Pong, conquered Kyang, a Shan kingdom in the Kabaw Valley of present Myanmar. Jubilant at the victory, an idol of Lord Vishnu was given by the Pong king to King Kyamba. King Kyamba started worshipping the idol at Lumlangdong which then came to be known as Bishnupur i.e. abode of Vishnu. Subsequently, he built a Vishnu Temple of brick at Bishnupur which has now become a protected historical monument under the Ministry of H.R.D (Archeology), Government of India. It is now standing as a symbol of the remains of ancient times. And the statue got by Kyamba from the Pong king is very important since it gives us the idea of the religious beliefs of those days and the very name that it had given.

During the rule of Kyamba the worship of Vishnu began in Manipur again. A little image of Lord Vishnu was presented by the King of Pong when he concluded a treaty with the king of Manipur in 1470 AD. Kyamba built a brick temple at Bishnupur and installed the image there. In this way the worship of Lord Vishnu began in Manipur again. But "in spite of regular worship of Vishnu Kyamba was not initiated to Vaishnavism by a preceptor."

Administrative divisions

The district is divided into 3 sub-divisions:

• Bishnupur
• Nambol
• Moirang

External links

• Bishnupur district website