Maihar is a tehsil in Satna,

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...

, India. Maihar is known for the temple of the revered mother goddess Sharda situated on

Trikuta Trikuta is a three-peaked mountain. The Lanka of Ravana was located in it Significance to history and Hinduism Trikuta is one of the twenty mountains surrounding Maha Meru (Mount Meru) the home of Brahma. The height is said in the Bhagavata Pura ...

hill.

Origin of the name

It is said that when lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

was carrying the body of the dead mother goddess (''Mai'' in Hindi) Sati, her necklace (''har'' in Hindi) fell at this place and hence the name "Maihar" (Maihar = ''Mai''+''Har'', meaning the "necklace of mother"). there is also one fact about Maihar, that is related to famous Warriors Alha and his brother Udal. According to the locals of Maihar, the warriors

Alha Alha (देवनागरी: आल्हा ; ISO: Ālhā ) was a legendary general of the Chandel king Paramardideva (also known as Parmal), who fought Prithviraj Chauhan in 1182 CE. He is one of the main characters of the ''Alha-Khand'' ...

and Udal, regime under King

Paramardideva Paramardi (reigned c. 1165–1203 CE) was a king of the Chandela dynasty of central India. He was the last powerful Chandela king, and ruled the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh). Around 1182–11 ...

Chandel who had war with

Prithvi Raj Chauhan Prithviraja III (IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; reign. – 1192 CE), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in present ...

, were very strong followers of Sharda Devi. It is said that they are the first ones to visit the goddess in this remote forest. They called the mother goddess by the name "Sharda Mai", and henceforth she became popular as "Mata Sharda Mai". Alha worshiped for 12 years and got the amaratva with the blessings of Sharda Devi. Behind the temple and downhill is Alha Pond. At a distance of 2 km from this pond is situated an "akhara" (wrestling ring) where Alha and Udal used to practice ''kushti'' (

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

). The people of Maihar believe that Alha is still alive and comes at 4:00 a.m. to worship the Goddess Sharda. This has been covered by various television news channels and broadcated on news

History

Maihar's history can be traced to the

Paleolithic Age The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος '' lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

. The town was formerly the capital of the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

Maihar Maihar is a tehsil in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India. Maihar is known for the temple of the revered mother goddess Sharda situated on Trikuta hill. Origin of the name It is said that when lord Shiva was carrying the body of the dead mother go ...

. The state was established in 1778 by Jogis clan, who were granted land by the ruler of the nearby state of Orchha.(Maihar king developed the other state

Vijayraghavgarh Vijayraghavgarh is a town, tehsil headquarters, and a nagar panchayat located in Katni district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It belongs to Jabalpur division and is east of district headquarters Katni. Demographics India census, ...

). The state became a princely state of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

in the early 19th century, and was administered as part of

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion l ...

Agency in the

Central India Agency The Central India Agency was created in 1854, by amalgamating the Western Malwa Agency with other smaller political offices which formerly reported to the Governor-General of India. The agency was overseen by a political agent who maintained ...

. In 1871 the eastern states of Bundelkhand Agency, including Maihar, were separated to form the new agency of

Bagelkhand Bagelkhand or Baghelkhand is a proposed state and a mountain range in central India that covers the northeastern regions of Madhya Pradesh and a small area of southeastern Uttar Pradesh. History Dahala Baghelkhand was known as Dahala 6th–1 ...

in Central India. In 1933 Maihar, along with ten other states in western Bagelkhand, were transferred back to the Bundelkhand Agency. The title of the ruler is "Raja" and the present ruler is HH Raja Shrimant Saheb Akshay Raj Singh Ju deo Bahadur. The state had an area of , and a population of 63,702 in 1901. The state, which was watered by the

Tamsa River The Tamsa River (also called as Tons river) is a tributary of the Ganges flowing through the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Course The Tamsa rises in a tank at Tamakund in the Kaimur Range at an elevation of . It flows ...

, consists mainly of alluvial soil covering sandstone, and is fertile except in the hilly district of the south. A large area was under forest, the produce of which provided a small export trade. The state suffered severely from famine in 1896–1897. Maihar became a station on the

East Indian Railway The East Indian Railway Company, operating as the East Indian Railway (reporting mark EIR), introduced railways to East India and North India, while the Companies such as the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, South Indian Railway, Bombay, Barod ...

(now the West Central Railway) line between Satna and

Jabalpur Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. ...

, north of Jabalpur. Extensive ruins of shrines and other buildings surround the town. Maihar (constituency number 64) is one of the 7 Vidhan Sabha constituencies located in

Satna district Satna District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The city of Satna is the district headquarters. The district has an area of 7,502 km², and a population of 22,28,935(2011 census), 20.63% of which is urban. The distric ...

, it is the most politically motivated city of satna district with elections hugely dominated and contested by Hindu Brahmins and Patel community. Maihar is part of Satna Lok Sabha constituency along with six other Vidhan Sabha segments of this district, namely, Chitrakoot, Raigaon, Satna,

Amarpatan Amarpatan is a municipal city in Satna district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. Geography Amarpatan is located at . It has an average elevation of 358 metres (1174 feet). Multiple villages surround the city. It is on Nation ...

, Nagod and Rampur-Baghelan Narayan Tripathi is the current MLA of Maihar Vidhan Sabha.

Tourist sites

File:Night view of sharda temple.jpg, alt=Night view of Maa Sharda temple Maihar from local market on 09-04-2019, Night view of Maa Sharda temple Maihar from local market on 09-04-2019 File:Alha Udal pond maihar.jpg, alt=Pond of Alha and Udal near Maa Sharda temple Maihar, Pond of

and Udal near Maa Sharda temple Maihar File:Alah Dev Mandir Maihar.jpg, alt=Alha Dev temple behind Maa Sharda temple Maihar,

Dev temple near Maa Sharda temple Maihar ''Tourist attractions in Maihar include'': * Maa Sharda Devi Temple: Maihar is known for the Maa Sharda Devi temple (around of 502 A.D.), situated at the top of Trikut hill which is around 5 km from the railway station. There are 1,063 steps to reach the top of the hill. Along with stairs, there is a ropeway for convenience of the pilgrims developed government authorities. * Ustad Allauddin Khan Maqbara: Padma Vibhushan "Sarod Samrat" Ustad

Allauddin Khan Allauddin Khan, also known as Baba Allauddin Khan ( – 6 September 1972) was an Indian sarod player and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most notable music teachers of the 20th century in Indian classical music. For a generation m ...

chose the holy city of Maihar as his home and established the Maihar Gharana of music. He took his last breath here and buried as per his wish. ''Another Temples in Maihar'' * Golamath Temple: This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This east facing Pancharathi temple is built in Nagara style and has been built during Kalchuri period (10th – 11th century A.D.). It is said that this temple was built in one fortnight only. * Oila Temple: Established by Neelkanth Maharaj, this temple is said to fulfil all the wishes of its pilgrims. This is situated in Satna Road. * Badi Mai Temple: One of the oldest temples of the region, this temple is situated in Satna Road, Maihar. * Bada Akhada: This temple is situated on Deviji Road, Maihar. The campus also has a Sanskrit School. * Icchapurti Temple: Situated in the Campus of KJS Cement Factory at Rewa Road

Geography

Maihar is located at . It has an average elevation of 367 metres (1204 ft).The area receives moderate rainfall mostly in the month of July and August.

Demographics

The Maihar city is divided into 18 wards for which elections are held every 5 years. The Maihar Municipality has population of 40,192 of which 21,031 are males while 19,161 are females as per report released by Census India 2011. Population of Children with age of 0-6 is 5238 which is 13.03% of total population of Maihar (M). In Maihar Municipality, Female Sex Ratio is of 911 against state average of 931. Moreover, Child Sex Ratio in Maihar is around 875 compared to Madhya Pradesh state average of 918. Literacy rate of Maihar city is 81.99% higher than state average of 69.32%. In Maihar, Male literacy is around 87.82% while female literacy rate is 75.62%

Religion

Hinduism is the majority religion in maihar which is approx 81% Islam is the second largest religion in maihar which is approx 17% There are also some Jains which is approximately 0.23%

Education

Schools

# Maharishi Vidya Mandir #Santhome Senior Secondary School #Sarla Higher Secondary School at Sarlanagar, #Gyan Vihar Vidyapeeth School at Satna Road # Simran Public higher secondary school # Guru Nanak Mission Higher Secondary School # Gurukul convent academy school udaipur, # Maa Sharda Devi Mandir Public School (MSDM) and # Miniland Academy are other developing schools. Maihar has more than 35 Hindi and English medium schools. Ropeway Post at Maihar, Madhya Pradesh

1. Swami Vivekananda college 2. Sharda mahavidyalya Sarlanagar Are the two major colleges of maihar

Transport

Maihar is placed quite well as far as connectivity is concerned. It is connected via both major rail routes and

National Highway 7 The following highways are numbered 7. For roads numbered A7, see list of A7 roads. Route 7, or Highway 7, may refer to: International * Asian Highway 7 * European route E07 * European route E007 Afghanistan * Kunduz-Khomri Highway (A7) Al ...

. The ''

Mahakoshal Express The 12189 / 12190 Mahakoshal Express is a daily Express train of the Indian Railways, which runs between railway station of Jabalpur, one of the important cities and military cantonment hub of the Central Indian state Madhya Pradesh and Haz ...

'' provides a daily direct connection from Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin station. The ''Mahakoshal'' train (Train no. is 12189(Jbp to Delhi) and 12190(Delhi to Jbp))runs between Hazrat Nizamuddin station and Jabalpur station which is situated about past Maihar.

Maihar railway station Maihar railway station is a railway station serving Maihar town, in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh state of India. Maihar is A category station of West Central Railway Zone of Indian Railways. Administration It is under Jabalpur railwa ...

is situated in between

Katni Katni officially Murwara is a city on the banks of the Katni River in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Katni District. It is in the Mahakoshal region of central India. The city is from the divisional headquarter ...

and Satna stations of the West Central Railway. During the Nav Ratra festivals there is a heavy rush of pilgrims. Therefore, during these days all up and down trains stop at Maihar for the convenience of passengers. The nearest airports are

and

Khajuraho Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous ...

. Pilgrims can reach the temple either by the stairs or rope-way. Rope-way facility is available for pilgrims and is a safe, convenient, fast and economic way of reaching the remotely located temple.

Economy

Maihar is developing as an industrial town of the state due to availability of limestone in the area. There is a 3.1 mn tn cement factory near Maihar (Maihar Cement FactoryMaihar Cement, a BK Birla Group of Companies
/ref>). The factory complex and the township are situated at

Sarlanagar Sarlanagar is a city near Maihar where the employees of Maihar Cement reside. It is named after Smt. Sarla Birla, wife of Shri B.K. Birla, who owns B.K. Birla Group of companies, which owns Maihar Cement. It is split into three sections: * Sta ...

about 8 km away from Maihar town on the Maihar-Vijayraghavgarh Road. KJS Cement is also one of the major cement industry at Rewa Road. Reliance opened its first Cement Plant near Maihar in 2014, but due to its financial and industrial issues, M.P. Birla Group took it in 2016. Majority of the population of Maihar is agricultural based and many rely on farming as their primary source of income.

Culture

Maihar has a prominent place in

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

as the birthplace of the

Maihar Gharana The Maihar Gharana or Maihar-Senia Gharana is a gharana or school of Hindustani classical music, a style of Indian classical music originating in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. The school was formed by Allaudin Khan in the prin ...

, a '' gharana'' (school or style) of

Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

. One of the doyen of Indian classical music,

Ustad Ustād or ostād (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian ) is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages such as Persian, , Azerbaijani, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Marat ...

(died 1972) lived here for a long time and was the court musician of Maihar Raja's palace. His students popularised the style in the 20th century and some of his renowned disciples are Pandit Ravi Shankar and Nikhil Banerjee. The first Ustad Allauddin Khan music conference was held by Shri Deep Chand Jain in 1962. Every year, Maihar organizes a 2/3 days Cultural Event in the memory of Ustad Allauddin Khan in month of February.

References

External links

* {{MP Princely States Cities and towns in Satna district Satna Religion in Madhya Pradesh