北方邦(Uttar Pradesh)

（阿格拉与欧德）联合省（United Provinces (of Agra and Oudh)）

印度北部一邦，首府勒克瑙。是印度人口最多的邦。两部伟大梵文史诗《摩诃婆罗多》和《罗摩衍那》即以北方邦为背景。是西元前6世纪後佛教崛起之地。大部分位於恒河上游流域。西元3世纪中叶，孔雀王朝皇帝阿育王、笈多王朝（320年～425?）和戒日王（606～647）等统治过该地区。从16世纪到18世纪末，该地区处於蒙兀儿王朝历代君主的统治之下。在19世纪，英国人从孟加拉逐步向西扩张势力。北方邦成为1857年印度人反英起义的主要舞台。该地区後来是印度独立运动的前哨，1950年印度成立共和国时成为一个邦。2000年北部部分地区被画入乌多安查邦。北方邦是印度最大的矽土生产邦。农业是该邦经济最重要的部分。最着名的旅游胜地为阿格拉和瓦拉纳西。面积243,286平方公里。人口约166,052,859（2000）。

English version：

Uttar Pradesh

State (pop., 2000: 166,052,859), northern India. It covers an area of 93,933 sq mi (243,286 sq km); its capital is Lucknow. The state, the most populous in the country, lies largely in the plains formed by the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. The region was the setting of two great Sanskrit epics, the [work]Mahabharata and [work]Ramayana, and the scene of the rise of Buddhism after the 6th century BC. It was ruled by Mauryan King Ashoka in the mid-3d century BC, the Gupta dynasty c. 320-c. 425 AD, and King Harsa (606-647). The Mughals gained control in the 16th century, at which time the city of Agra became a chief center. The British arrived in the late 18th century; by the 1830s they held sway and eventually formed the North-West Provinces, to which Oudh was later annexed. It was the main scene of the Indian Mutiny of 1857. The current province was formed in 1902, and became a state of India in 1947. In 2000 the northern portion of it was made into the state of Uttaranchal. Uttar Pradesh is the largest silica-producing state in the country, yet agriculture is by far its most important economic sector. Its noted tourist meccas are Agra and Varanasi.