Maihar


Maihar is a city in Maihar district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the district's administrative headquarters. Maihar is noted for the Maa Sharda Temple, one of the Shakti Peeth.

Origin of the name

According to legend, when Shiva carried the body of the mother goddess Sati, her necklace fell at this place. Local residents believe that the warriors Alha and Udal, under the Chandel king Paramardideva, fought Prithvi Raj Chauhan and were the first to visit the goddess in the forest. They called her "Sharda Mai", and she became known as "Mata Sharda Mai". Alha worshiped her for 12 years and reached immortality with Saraswati's blessing.

History

Maihar's history dates back to the Paleolithic. It was the former capital of the princely state of Maihar. The state was founded in 1778 by Jogis who were granted land by the ruler of the nearby state of Orchha. It became a princely state of British India during the early 19th century, and was administered as part of Bundelkhand in the Central India Agency. Bundelkhand's eastern states were separated to form the new agency of Bagelkhand in 1871. In 1933, Maihar and ten other states in western Bagelkhand were returned to Bundelkhand. The state had an area of and a population of 63,702 in 1901. Watered by the Tamsa River, it consists primarily of alluvial soil covering sandstone and is fertile except for the southern hills. A large area was forested, and the city experienced a severe famine in 1896–1897. Maihar became a station on the East Indian Railway line between Satna and Jabalpur, north of Jabalpur. Extensive ruins of shrines and other buildings surround Maihar. Maihar is part of the Satna Lok Sabha constituency with six other Vidhan Sabha constituencies: Chitrakoot, Raigaon, Satna, Amarpatan, Nagod and Rampur-Baghelan. Shrikant Chaturvedi is the MLA for the Maihar Assembly constituency.

Attractions

The Maa Sharda Mandir, built, is at the top of Trikut hill. The hill has 1,063 steps and a ropeway. Other temples in Maihar are the Golamath, Oila, Badi Mai, Bada Akhada and Icchapurti temples. The home of musician Allauddin Khan has been restored in his memory.

Elevation and rainfall

Maihar is located at. It has an average elevation of 367 metres. The area receives moderate rainfall, primarily in July and August.

Demographics

Maihar town 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.
The population of children aged 0-6 is 5238 which is 13.03% of total population of Maihar. In Maihar Municipality, the female sex ratio is 911 against state average of 931. Moreover, the 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 the state average of 69.32%. In Maihar, male literacy is around 87.82% while the female literacy rate is 75.62%

Religion

is the majority religion in Maihar, accounting for about 81%. Jainism accounts for 17%, and there are also a small number of Others.

Transport

Maihar is connected to both major rail routes and National Highway 7. The Mahakoshal Express provides a daily direct connection from Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin station. Maihar railway station is between the West Central Railway's Katni and Satna stations. Many pilgrims attend the Nav Ratra festivals. The nearest airports are Jabalpur and Khajuraho, and bus service is available in the city.

Music

Maihar is noted in Indian classical music as the birthplace of the Maihar gharana, a gharana of Hindustani music. Allauddin Khan lived in Maihar for many years and was the court musician in Maihar Raja's palace. His students popularised the gharana during the 20th century, and included Ravi Shankar and Nikhil Banerjee. The first Ustad Allauddin Khan music conference was hosted by Shri Deep Chand Jain in 1962.