Maihar
Encyclopedia
Maihar is a city and a municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 in Satna district
Satna District
Satna District , was formed in 1948, is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Satna is the district headquarters. The district has an area of 7,502 km², and a population of 1,868,648 , 20.63% of which was urban...

 in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....

. Maihar is known for the temple of revered mother goddess Sharda
Saraswati
In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....

 situated on Trikuta
Trikuta
Trikuta is a three peaked mountain in Hindu Mythology. We find its references in the Sundarkand chapter of the Ramayana and its location is believed to be in Lanka. Sreemad Bhagwatam further tells us that it contains a nice garden called Rumak, constructed by Varuna, and it also contains a...

 hill of Maihar.

Origin

There is a mythological story that explains the origin of Maihar. In later Hindu tales, Daksha
Daksha
In Hinduism, Daksha, "the skilled one", is an ancient creator god, one of the Prajapatis, the Rishis and the Adityas. Daksha is said to be the son of Aditi and Brahma...

 is said to be a Prajapati
Prajapati
In Hinduism, Prajapati "lord of creatures" is a Hindu deity presiding over procreation, and protector of life. He appears as a creator deity or supreme God Viswakarma Vedic deities in RV 10 and in Brahmana literature...

 or one of the Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...

's sons. One of his daughters (often said to be the youngest) was Shakti or Dakshayani
Dakshayani
Dākshāyani or Satī is a Hindu Goddess of marital felicity and longevity. She is worshipped particularly by Hindu women to seek the long life of their husbands...

, who had always wished to marry Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

. Daksha forbade it, but she disobeyed him and did so anyway, finding in Shiva a doting and loving husband. Daksha
Daksha
In Hinduism, Daksha, "the skilled one", is an ancient creator god, one of the Prajapatis, the Rishis and the Adityas. Daksha is said to be the son of Aditi and Brahma...

 disliked Shiva intensely, calling him a dirty, roaming ascetic and reviling the great yogi's cohort of goblins and ghouls.
From then on, he distanced himself from his daughter, Dakshayani
Dakshayani
Dākshāyani or Satī is a Hindu Goddess of marital felicity and longevity. She is worshipped particularly by Hindu women to seek the long life of their husbands...

/Shakti
Shakti
Shakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...

, and his son-in-law, Shiva. This enmity culminated in a great sacrifice he had been hosting, one to which he invited all and sundry, family and allies, gods and rishis, courtiers and subjects. However, on seeing the shameless insult to her husband in his absence, and the repeated slights King Daksha and his courtiers railed at Shiva, she committed suicide in grief for her beloved. Hearing the news, Shiva's attendants rushed inside the ceremony hall and started attacking all the guests present there, however, the demons invoked by Bhrigu defeated Shivas attendants and they retreated back to his abode. Upon hearing the news of his beloved wife's death, Shiva was infuriated that Daksha could so callously cause the harm of his (Daksha's) own daughter in so ignoble a manner. Shiva grabbed a lock of his matted hair and dashed it to the ground. From the two pieces rose the ferocious Virabhadra
Virabhadra
According to Hindu mythology, Virabhadra or Veerabhadra was a super being created by the wrath of Rudra , when he stepped in to destroy the Yagna of Daksha, after his daughter Dakshayani - consort of Shiva, self-immolated in yagna fire...

 and the terrible Mahakali
Mahakali
Mahakali , literally translated as Great Kali, is a Hindu Goddess, considered to be the consort of Shiva the God of consciousness, and as the basis of Reality and existence...

. Upon Shiva's orders they stormed the ceremony and killed Daksha as well as many of the guests. Terrified and with remorse the others propitiated Lord Shiva and begged his mercy to restore Daksha's life and to allow the sacrifice to be completed. Shiva, the all-merciful One, restored Daksha's life, with the head of a goat.

Traces of something still more ancient are to be seen in the next act of this sacred drama, when Shiva, drunk with sorrow, strides about the earth, all destroying, bearing the form of dead Sati
Dakshayani
Dākshāyani or Satī is a Hindu Goddess of marital felicity and longevity. She is worshipped particularly by Hindu women to seek the long life of their husbands...

 on his back. Then Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

, to save mankind, comes up behind Shiva and, hurling his discus time after time, cuts the body of Sati to pieces till the great god , conscious that the weight is gone, retires alone to Kailash to lose himself once more in his eternal meditation. But the body of sati has been hewn into fifty-two dices, and wherever a fragment touches earth a shrine of mother-worship is Shakti Peethas
Shakti Peethas
The Shakti Pithas are places of worship consecrated to the goddess Shakti or Parvati or Sati or Durga, the female principal of Hinduism and the main deity of the Shakta sect...

  established. It is said that when Shiva was carrying the body of dead mother goddess (Mai in Hindi) Sati
Dakshayani
Dākshāyani or Satī is a Hindu Goddess of marital felicity and longevity. She is worshipped particularly by Hindu women to seek the long life of their husbands...

, her necklace(har in Hindi) fell at this place and hence the name Maihar (Maihar = Mai+Har, meaning the necklace of mother).

History

Maihar's history can be traced since the Paleolithic Age. The town was formerly the capital of the princely state
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...

 of Maihar. The state was founded in 1778 by Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...

s of the Kachwaha
Kachwaha
Kachwaha are a Suryavanshi Kshatriya clan who ruled a number of kingdoms and princely states in India such as Alwar, Maihar, Talcher, while the largest kingdom was Jaipur which was founded by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1727...

 clan, who were granted land by the ruler of the nearby state of Orchha
Orchha
Orchha is a town in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh state, India. The town was established by Maharaja Rudra Pratap Singh in 1501, as the seat of an eponymous former princely state of central India, in the Bundelkhand region. Orchha lies on the Betwa River , 80 km from Tikamgarh &...

. The state became a princely state of British India in the early 19th century, and was administered as part of Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand anciently known as Chedi Kingdom is a geographic region of central India...

 Agency in the Central India Agency
Central India Agency
The Central India Agency was a political office of the British Indian Empire, which covered the northern half of present-day Madhya Pradesh state. The Central India Agency was made up entirely of princely states, which were under native rulers...

. In 1871 the eastern states of Bundelkhand Agency, including Maihar, were separated to form the new agency of Bagelkhand
Bagelkhand
Bagelkhand or Baghelkhand, is a region in central India, in northeastern Madhya Pradesh state. It includes the Madhya Pradesh districts of Anuppur, Rewa, Satna, Shadol, Sidhi, and Umaria....

 in Central India. In 1933 Maihar, along with ten other states in western Bagelkhand, were transferred back to the Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand anciently known as Chedi Kingdom is a geographic region of central India...

 Agency. The state had an area of 407 square miles (1,054.1 km²), and a population of 63,702 in 1901. The state, which was watered by the Tons River
Tons River
The Tons is the largest tributary of the Yamuna and flows through Garhwal region in Uttarakhand, touching Himachal Pradesh. The Tons thrust is named after this river....

, 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 title of the ruler was maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...

. The state suffered severely from famine in 1896–1897. Maihar became a station on the East Indian Railway (now the West Central Railway
West Central Railway
The West Central Railway, one of the 16 zones of the Indian Railways, came into existence on April 1, 2003. It is headquartered at Jabalpur.-History:...

) line between Satna
Satna
Satna is a city in central India and a municipal corporation in Satna district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Satna District. Satna is a border city of the state and is touched by the borders of the state of UttarPradesh.-History:Satna got its name...

 and Jabalpur, 97 miles (156.1 km) north of Jabalpur. Extensive ruins of shrines and other buildings surround the town.

Sharda Devi Temple

Apart from above there is a very famous temple by the name of Sharda Devi
Saraswati
In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....

 temple situated on the top of the a Trikuta
Trikuta
Trikuta is a three peaked mountain in Hindu Mythology. We find its references in the Sundarkand chapter of the Ramayana and its location is believed to be in Lanka. Sreemad Bhagwatam further tells us that it contains a nice garden called Rumak, constructed by Varuna, and it also contains a...

 hill around 5 km from the heart of the town. This temple is known for the 1063 steps to the top. Millions of devotees throng the temple all round the year. The introduction of Ropeway system from September 2009 has been a great boon to the pilgrims (particularly the old and the handicapped) to fulfill their wish to have the audience of Mother Goddess Sharda.

There is one ancient inscription near the feet of stone sculpture of Sharda Devi
Saraswati
In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....

  situated in Sharda Devi
Saraswati
In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....

 temple. There is another statue of Lord Narsingh along with Sharda Devi. These statues were installed by Nupula Deva on Shake 424 chaitra krishna paksha 14 Tuesday, vikram samvat 559 i.e. 502 AD. This stone inscription Sharda Devi
Saraswati
In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....

 in four lines is of size 15" by 3.5" in Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...

 script. Another stone inscription at the temple is of size 34" by 31" inscribed by a shaiva saint Shamba who had knowledge of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 and Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...

 also. This inscription bears a scene of Nāga
Naga
Naga or NAGA may refer to:* Nāga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.-People:* Nayan / Nayar/Nair people of Kerala Society* Naga people, a diverse ethnic identity in Northeast India...

deva and reveals that it was about Damodara, son of Saraswati
Saraswati
In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....

, was considered the Vyasa
Vyasa
Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...

 of Kaliyuga. And that there prevailed system of goat sacrifice at that time during worship.
People can wath live darshan of Maa Sharda on http://www.maiharsharda.com which is hosted by anantworld satna.

Local tradition reveals that the warriors Alha
Alha
Alha of Banaphar Rajput clan was the famous general of great Chandela King Paramdidev or Parmal who fought Prithviraj Chauhan in 1182 CE.Alha's mother Devaki was Ahir...

 and Udal, who had war with Prithvi Raj Chauhan, are associated with this place. Both the brothers were very strong followers of Sharda Devi
Saraswati
In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....

. It is said that Alha
Alha
Alha of Banaphar Rajput clan was the famous general of great Chandela King Paramdidev or Parmal who fought Prithviraj Chauhan in 1182 CE.Alha's mother Devaki was Ahir...

 penanced for 12 years and got the amaratva with the blessings of Sharda Devi
Saraswati
In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....

. Alha and Udal are said to be the first to visit the goddess in this remote forest. Alha used to call the mother goddess by the name 'Sharda Mai' and henceforth she became popular as 'Mata Sharda Mai'. One can see down hill behind the temple, the pond known as 'Alha Pond'. Recently this pond and the surrounding areas has been cleaned / renovated for the benefit of pilgrims. At a distance of 2 km from this pond is situated the akhara of Alha and Udal where they did practice of kusti.
One more famous fact about MAihar is that people of maihar believe that ALHA is still alive and every morning at 4 AM he comes to the temple and perform puja. Several people tried to watch him coming and doing puja but nobody till now has been succeeded.

Geography

Maihar is located at 24.27°N 80.75°E. It has an average elevation of 367 metres (1204 ft).

Demographics

India census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Maihar had a population of 34,347. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Maiharreported an average literacy rate of 64%,male literacy is 72%, and female literacy is 56%. In Maihar, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.and

Transport

Maihar is placed quite well as far as connectivity is concerned . It is connected via both major rail routes & NH 7 ( a national highway). The Mahakoshal Express provides a daily direct connection from Delhi's Hazrat Nizammudin station. Mahakoshal Train runs between Hazrat Nizamuddin station and Jabalpur stations situated about 162 KM away from Maihar. Maihar Railway Station is situated in between Katni and Satna stations of West Central Railway. During Nav Ratra festivals there is heavy rush of pilgims. Therefore during thse days all UP and DOWN trains stop at Maihar for convenience of passengers. The nearest Airports are Jabalpur and Khajuraho.

Industry

There is a 3.1 mn tn cement factory also near maihar (Maihar Cement Factory) which provides an industrial touch to the holy place. The factory complex and the township is situated at Sarlanagar
Sarlanagar
Sarlanagar is a small town 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...

 about 8 KM away from Maihar town on the Maihar-Dhanwahi Road.Two new cement factories KGS cement and Reliance cement are also setting up their cement factories here
NTPC the power giant of india is also setting up a thermal plant at Barethi in Mahiyar district in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh.

Senia Maihar Gharana

Maihar has a prominent place in Indian classical music
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...

 as the birthplace of the Maihar Gharana
Maihar gharana
The Maihar gharana is a gharana or school of Hindustani or North Indian classical music formed principally by the versatile genius and sarod maestro Ustad Allaudin Khan in Maihar in the Madhya Pradesh state of India....

, a gharana
Gharana
In Hindustani music, a gharānā is a system of social organization linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and by adherence to a particular musical style. A gharana also indicates a comprehensive musicological ideology. This ideology sometimes changes substantially from one...

(school or style) of Hindustani music. The greatest doyen of Indian Classical Music Ustad
Ustad
Ustad is an Arabized Persian word is a honorific title for a Muslim man in South Asia. The title precedes the name and is usually used for well regarded teachers and artists, most often musicians. It is applied and used via informal social agreement. It is abbreviated as ut. or ud.-References:*...

 Allauddin Khan
Allauddin Khan
Allauddin Khan , was a Bengali sarodiya and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most renowned music teachers of the 20th Century in Indian classical music.In 1935, he toured Europe, along with Uday Shankar's ballet troupe, and later also worked at his...

 (died 1972) lived here for long time and was the court Musician of Maihar Maharaja's Palace; his students Shrimati Annapurna Devi (Alauddin Khan's daughter), Ustad
Ustad
Ustad is an Arabized Persian word is a honorific title for a Muslim man in South Asia. The title precedes the name and is usually used for well regarded teachers and artists, most often musicians. It is applied and used via informal social agreement. It is abbreviated as ut. or ud.-References:*...

 Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan , often referred to as Khansahib or by the title Ustad , was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod...

 (Alauddin Khan's son), Pandit Ravi Shankar (musician), Ustad
Ustad
Ustad is an Arabized Persian word is a honorific title for a Muslim man in South Asia. The title precedes the name and is usually used for well regarded teachers and artists, most often musicians. It is applied and used via informal social agreement. It is abbreviated as ut. or ud.-References:*...

 Aashish Khan
Aashish Khan
Aashish Khan Debsharma is an eminent Indian classical musician, known for his virtuosity on the Sarod. He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2006 in the 'Best World Music' category for his album "Golden Strings of the Sarode"...

 (Alauddin Khan's grandson), Ustad
Ustad
Ustad is an Arabized Persian word is a honorific title for a Muslim man in South Asia. The title precedes the name and is usually used for well regarded teachers and artists, most often musicians. It is applied and used via informal social agreement. It is abbreviated as ut. or ud.-References:*...

 Dhyanesh Khan (Alauddin Khan's 2nd grandson), Ustad
Ustad
Ustad is an Arabized Persian word is a honorific title for a Muslim man in South Asia. The title precedes the name and is usually used for well regarded teachers and artists, most often musicians. It is applied and used via informal social agreement. It is abbreviated as ut. or ud.-References:*...

 Pranesh Khan (Alauddin Khan's 3rd grandson), Ustad
Ustad
Ustad is an Arabized Persian word is a honorific title for a Muslim man in South Asia. The title precedes the name and is usually used for well regarded teachers and artists, most often musicians. It is applied and used via informal social agreement. It is abbreviated as ut. or ud.-References:*...

 Bahadur Khan
Bahadur Khan
Ustad Bahadur Khan was a sarod player.-Early Life & Family:Ustad Bahadur Khan, a Bengali, was born on January 19, 1931 in Shibpur, Comilla, Bangladesh, , and died on October 3, 1989 in Calcutta, India...

 (Alauddin Khan's nephew), Timir Baran Bhattacharya (first student of of Allauddin Khan), Pt. Indranil Bhattacharya ( son of Timir Baran Bhattacharya), Vasant Rai
Vasant Rai
Vasant Rai was one of world's most acclaimed performers of Indian music and virtuoso of the Indo/Persian/Afghan instrument Sarod.-Personal life and education:Rai was born in Unjha, Kutch, Gujarat and studied music in India...

 (Last student of Alauddin Khan) Pandit Pannalal Ghosh
Pannalal Ghosh
Pannalal Ghosh , also known as Amulya Jyoti Ghosh, was a Bengali Indian flute player and composer. He was a disciple of Allauddin Khan, and is credited with giving the flute its status in Hindustani classical music....

, Pandit Nikhil Banerjee
Nikhil Banerjee
Nikhil Ranjan Banerjee was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar Gharana who played the stringed instrument sitar.-Early life and background:...

(Alauddin Khan's students) popularized the style in the 20th century.The First Ustad Allauddin Khan music conference was held by Shri Deep Chand Jain in 1962 In this conference the artists was ustad ali akbar,pt ravi shankar,pt ram narayan,pt shantaprasad,pt nikhil banerjee,ms saran rani,pt V.G jog etc.
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