HARDWAR, an ancient town of British India, and Hindu place of pilgrimage, in the Saharanpur district of the United Provinces, on the right bank of the Ganges, at the point where the Ganges debouches from the foot-hills of the Himalayas into the plains. Pop. The position is of great natural beauty, and the river at this point has special sanctity. The town is of great antiquity, and has borne many names. It was originally known as Kapila from the sage Kapila. Hsuan Tsang, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, in the 7th century visited a city which he calls Mo-yu-lo, the remains of which still exist at Mayapur, a little to the south of the modern town. Among the ruins are a fort and three temples, decorated with broken stone sculptures. The goal of the vast numbers of Hindus who visit Hardwar is the Hari-ka charan, or bathing ghat, with the adjoining temple of Ganga dwara. The charan or foot-mark of Vishnu, imprinted on a stone let into the upper wall of the ghat, forms an object of special reverence; and water from the pool below is carried off all over India, for use on solemn occasions. A great assemblage of people takes place annually, at the beginning of the Hindu solar year, (April–May), when the sun enters Aries. Since 1892 many sani tary improvements have been made for the benefit of the annual concourse of pilgrims. In early days riots and also outbreaks of cholera were of common occurrence. It is at Hardwar that the main Ganges canal takes off from the river; and the headworks are an engineering feat of much interest.