Amarkantak

Excursion

[ Narmadakund | Hindu Temples | Mai Ki Bagiya | Sonmuda | Dugdhdhara | Kapildhara | Kabir Chabutra | Shri Jwaleshwar Mahadev ]

Narmadakund
At the place of origin of Narmada River there is an open pool known as Narmadakund. It is considered as the holiest spot in Amarkantak. Many temples such as Narmada and Shiva temple, Kartikey temple, Shri Ram Janki temple, Annapurna temple, Guru Gorakhnath temple, Sri Shuryanarayan temple, Vangeshwar Mahadev temple, Durga temple, Shiv Pariwar, Siddheshwar Mahadev temple, Sri Radha Krishna temple, Eleven Rudra temple etc. are around this kund. All these temples are important in each of their own way.

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Hindu Temples
The ancient temples of Kalchuri period are situated in the south of Narmadakund just behind it. These were built by Kalchuri Maharaja Karnadeva (1042-1072 AD). The Machhendranath and Pataleshwar temples are excellent examples of architecture. There is also Keshav Narayan temple built by the Bhonsle ruler of Nagpur in the 18th Century.

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Mai Ki Bagiya
The very name suggests that it is a garden. This place is a very beautiful garden with a temple. A grove of trees in dense forests situated at a distance of one km from Narmadakund is named "Mai ki Bagiya" in honour of the goddess Narmada. In this natural garden Mango, Banana and other fruit trees along with Gulbakavli, roses and other flower plants are present.

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Sonmuda
Sonmuda is the place of origin of Sone River. It is situated at a distance of 1.5 km from Narmadakund at the very edge of Maikal Mountain. The Sone River cascades from the mountain in a waterfall hundreds of feet long. As we stand on the viewing platform facing east, we see a panorama of forested hills and valleys. According to Megasthanes and other Aryan writers the river Sone gets its name from gold as the gold dust is found in the water of Sone.

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Dugdhdhara
This is a very famous waterfall of Amarkantak. However, here the uniqueness of this waterfall is that, the water descends from a height of nearly 50-ft. and in a milk-white cascade.

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Kapildhara
6 km northwest of Narmadakund is situated the famous waterfall called Kapildhara with a fall of about hundred feet. According to scriptures, Kapil Muni lived here. There is a scene of natural beauty with mountains and dense forest down hills. According to 'Vindhya Vaibhav' Kapil Muni performed severe austerities here and received divine light. He also wrote 'Sankhya philosophy' (an advanced treatise on mathematics) at this place. The Kapileshwar temple is also situated nearby. The surrounding mountains are full of caves where saints have been performing their spiritual practices. This place is also a beautiful picnic spot.

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Kabir Chabutra
It is an old belief that the great saint Kabir performed austerities here and achieved spiritual powers. It is therefore a holy place for the Kabir panth sect. The local people, the Panikas, consider Kabir Chabutara as one of the holiest places of the Kabirpanthis because Sant Kabir spent many years here in meditation. At this very place Kabir and Nanak met and discussed spiritual matters and introduced the way of better living for human being. It is also the meeting point of three districts, Anuppur and Dindori districts of Madhya Pradesh and Bilaspur district of Chhatisgarh. There is also a Kabir waterfall here.

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Shri Jwaleshwar Mahadev
The Jwaleshwar temple and the source of origin of the third river Juhila River is situated at a distance of 8 km from Amarkantak on Shahdol road. This is also known as the temple of Shiva. According to 'Vindhya Vaibhav' Lord Shiva himself established a Shivling here and also scattered crores of other Shivlings over Maikal Mountain. According to puranic traditions a rectangular area containing crores of Shivlings is known as 'Maha Rudra Meru' and is the abode of lord Shiva himself. There are only two 'Maha Rudra Meru' places Varanasi and Amarkantak. Lord Shiva and Parvati live here because of this special spiritual quality.

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