Sonitpur District
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Sonitpur district শোণিতপুৰ |
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| District | |
Map of Sonitpur district
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 Sonitpur district
 Sonitpur district
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| Coordinates: 26°38′N 92°48′E / 26.63°N 92.8°ECoordinates: 26°38′N 92°48′E / 26.63°N 92.8°E | |
| Country |
 India
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| State | Assam |
| Headquarters | Tezpur |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5,324 km2 (2,056 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 48 m (157 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 1,925,975 |
| • Density | 360/km2 (940/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Assamese |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| ISO 3166 code | IN-AS |
| Vehicle registration | AS |
| Website | sonitpur |
Sonitpur {Pron: ˌsə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊə or ˌʃə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊə} (Assamese: শোণিতপুৰ) is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. It stands among the largest districts of Assam. In terms of area Sonitpur is the second largest district of Assam after Karbi Anglong district. It is spread over an area of 5324 km2 on the northern banks of Brahmaputra, the lifeline of Assam. The population of Sonitpur district is 19, 24,110 as per 2011 Census. It is the third most populous district of Assam (out of 27), after Nagaon and Dhubri. The demography of Sonitpur district is not entirely homogenous as several linguistic, religious and ethnic communities and groups live in Sonitpur district. It is also home to several natural beauty and wildlife hotspots with number of such wildlife sanctuaries, national parks are situated in and around Sonitpur. The district headquarters are located at Tezpur. Distance from State Capital (Dispur) is 198 km (via Nagaon) and 181 km (via Mangaldoi).
The name Tezpur is derived from the Sanskrit words 'Teza' (meaning blood) and 'Pura' (meaning town or city). Legend has it that the original name of this place was 'Sonitpur' ("sonit" in Sanskrit also means blood), the capital of asura king, Banasura, a devout of Shiva. Later his daughter Usha had a Gandharva marriage with Aniruddha, the grandson of Lord Krishna, whom she had abducted with the help of Chitralekha. On finding this Banasura imprisoned Aniruddha. Subsequently, in the battle between Krishna's army and Banasura's army fought for the rescue of Aniruddha, the grandson of Lord Krishna, according to legend, there was so much bloodshed that the whole place was stained in red. This led to the name of the place becoming Tezpur. It is the "seventh largest city" of Assam after Guwahati, Silchar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Nagaon and Tinsukia.
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