Amarkantak

Amarkantak is situated in the Maikal Mountains at an altitude of 1057 m, which are the meeting point of the Vindhyas and the Satpura Mountain Ranges in Central India. It is also the source of the rivers Narmada and Sone and thus is an important pilgrimage center for Hindus. There are dense forests of teak, Mahua, etc. around Amarkantak where one can find numerous small & trickling streams feeding the Narmada.

In its course Narmada passes through Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat and meets the Arabian Sea at Bharuch in Gujarat. The 1312 kms course of Narmada is breathtaking as she meanders her way through large forests, breathtaking waterfalls. Narmada has also been named "Rewa" (rev means leap) due to its turbulent course over the gorges, waterfalls and rapids. The Puranas, ancient Hindu texts, consider it necessary for one to bathe once in the Ganga, thrice in the Saraswati and for 7 days in the Yamuna to attain salvation, but just the sight of the Narmada is enough to ensure eternal bliss. People living along the banks of Narmada consider her holier than the river Ganga and respect her as a source of life, thus referring to her as Narmada Mai (Mother Narmada).

Excursion
Shwetamber Jain Temple
Shri shwetamber jain shri sangh did the pratistha of "shri rishab dev" in raipur here. The temple has 3 prasadas, 3 devkulikayes & 8 gavashas. Apart from this there is a beautiful statue of chandraprabhu swami, which is adorned with gems. The temple has all the statues of the 24 jain tirthankars.

Shri Jagannath Dev Temple
More than a hundred years old and named after lord jagannath, the temple has a legend. It is believed that in the 18th century one pujarii family passing through here performed pujas for the ailing ruler, which cured him. The pujari had said that if the ruler recovered he would build a jagannath temple here. The family was requested by the ruler to stay back.

In this yatra lord balbhadra, devi subhadra and lord jagannath are taken in different chariots (raths), which are pulled by the devotees. The yatra goes on for 15 days. On full moon day the rathyatra goes back to the jagannath temple. There is a myth that those who see lord jagannath, lord balbhadra and devi subhadra during this rathyatra achieve "moksh" (nirvana) and people not only from raipur but from nearby cities come to be a part of this festival.

Guru Nanak Devji Gurudwara
Constructed in the year 1940 this gurudwara in raipur is the oldest and biggest of all the 500 gurudwaras found in the original state of madhya pradesh. This gurudwara welcomes all people, irrespective of religion, cast, creed and wealth.

Dongargarh
Dongar means mountains while garh means fort. Like most places of pilgrimage, dongargarh also has legend behind it. Roughly 2200 years ago, raja veersen, a ruler of this kingdom, was childless and upon the suggestions of his royal priests, went to mahishmatipuri (mandla) to perform some puja and construct a temple. Within a year, the princess gave birth to a son whom they named madansen. Raja veersen considered this a blessing of lord shiva and parvati and constructed a temple here. Raja madansen went on to have a son named kamsen, under whose rule the kingdom flourished and it came to be known as kamakhaya nagari. Now the place is known as dongargarh. The maa bamleshwari devi temple is of great spiritual importance. Situated at a height of 1000 ft, this is the main temple at dongargarh. One has to climb 1100 stairs to reach here.

Chhoti Bamleshwari
The temple on the plains is dedicated to the goddess bamleshwari and is popularly known as choti bamleshwari devi temple. The temple was constructed on the plains for those who wished to pray to the goddess but couldn't walk all the way up to the main temple on the mountain.

Dudhadhari Math
The founder of this "math" (temple) was shri balbhadra das mahantji. He was a great devotee of lord hanuman. It is believed that when he started worshipping a piece of stone as an idol of lord hanuman, everyday a cow, surhi would come and bathe the stone with milk. Popular belief is that mahantji drank this milk after the stone was bathed and stopped eating everything else. Since mahantji's food became "dudh-ahari" (meaning food consisting of milk), the math came to be named so.

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Getting There
By Air
The nearest airhead is Jabalpur (245 kms).

By Rail
The nearest railhead is Pendra Road (17 kms) though Anuppur (48 kms.) is more convenient.

By Road
There are buses from Pendra Road, Bilaspur and Shahdol.

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