Spire of Main Shrine - Ram Temple, Ramtek

Ramtek is a city and

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

in Nagpur district of Maharashtra,

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

History

Ramtek hosts the historic temple of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

. It is believed that Ramtek was the place where

, the Hindu god, rested while he was in exile. According to Hindu history the

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Agastya Agastya ( kn, ಅಗಸ್ತ್ಯ, ta, அகத்தியர், sa, अगस्त्य, te, అగస్త్యుడు, ml, അഗസ്ത്യൻ, hi, अगस्त्य) was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the I ...

was situated close to Ramtek. The present temple was built by Raghuji Bhonsale, the Maratha ruler of Nagpur in 18th century after his victory over fort of Deogarh in Chindwara. This place is also related to the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. It is believed that Kalidasa wrote Meghadūta in the hills of Ramtek. Ramtek is the birthplace the second

Sarsanghchalak The Sarsanghchalak (IAST: Sarasanghacālaka) is the head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist organisation that is widely regarded as the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The RSS is on ...

(supreme leader) of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar.

Jain Temple

Summit of Shantinath Jain Mandir, Ramtek

Ramtek is also known for its ancient

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

temple with various ancient statues of Jain

Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English language, English: literally a 'Ford (crossing), ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the ...

. The main idol of Shantinatha, the sixteenth Tirthankar has a legend associated with it. It became more popular when one of the leading Digambar

Acharyas,

Acharya Vidyasagar Acharya Shri Vidyasagarji Maharaj (born 10 October 1946) is a ''Digambara'' Jain ''Acharya'' (Digambar Jain Monk) in present time. He is recognized both for his scholarship and ''tapasya'' (austerity). He is known for his long hours in meditati ...

visited and stayed with his sangh in Ramtek in 1993, 94, 2008, 2013 and 2017 for the four months of chaturmas during the rainy season. With his inspiration, a big

temple has been constructed. The place was ruled by Gond rulers before being captured by the Bhonsale rulers of Nagpur in the eighteenth century.

Education

Ramtek has an engineering college KITS which comes under Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University,

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...

as also the Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University. The college Shri Narendra Tidke College of Arts and Commerce is also located in Ramtek.

Geography

Ramtek is located at . It has an average elevation of 345 metres (1131 feet). It is located at a distance of around 50 km from

. Khindasi lake is one of the important tourist attractions at Ramtek.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, Ramtek had a population of 22,517. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Ramtek has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 68%. In Ramtek, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

{{Geographic Location , Centre = Ramtek , North =

Deolapar Deolapar is a village in Nagpur district in Nagpur division of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra state in India. Being on the border of two states, the town has the mixed culture among people, who are mainly from Marthi-speaking Maharashtra and ...

, Northeast = Madhya Pradesh State Border, Seoni,

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. J ...

, East = Tumsar( Bhandara district) , Southeast = Bhandara , South = Mauda , Southwest = Kamptee,

, West =

Parseoni Parseoni is a town and a tehsil in Ramtek subdivision of Nagpur district in Nagpur revenue Division in the Berar region in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is located on the banks of Pench River. Demographic As per Indian government census ...