Chitrakoot is a pilgrimage centre and a

nagar panchayat A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...

in the

Satna district Satna District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The city of Satna is the district headquarters. The district has an area of 7,502 km², and a population of 22,28,935(2011 census), 20.63% of which is urban. The distric ...

in the state of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

, India. Connected to the Indian epic

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

, it is a place of religious, cultural, historical and archaeological importance, situated in the Baghelkhand region. It borders the

Chitrakoot district Chitrakoot district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state of India in the Bundelkhand region and Chitrakoot town is the district headquarters. Chitrakoot district is a part of Chitrakoot Division. The district occupies an area of 3 ...

in Uttar Pradesh, whose headquarters Chitrakoot Dham is located nearby. The city lies in the historical Chitrakoot region, which is divided between the present-day Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It is known for a number of temples and sites mentioned in

Hindu scriptures Hindu texts are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few of these texts are shared across these traditions and they are broadly considered Hindu scriptures. These ...

. It attracts pilgrims throughout the year on occasions such as Amavasya, Somwati Amavasya,

Deepawali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali (IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is on ...

, Sharad-Poornima, Makar Sankranti,

Rama Navami Rama Navami () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama, the seventh avatar of the deity Vishnu. people from different parts of Jharkhand attended the world famous international Hazaribagh procession organized in the city every ...

and for Free Eye Care Medical Camps. Noted ' Ayurvedic' and '

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...

' centres like 'Arogyadham' are located in Chitrakoot.

Legend

Chitrakoot is one of the important places connected to the epic Ramayana, where Lord

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 Bein ...

is persuaded by his brother Bharata to return to

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhya wa ...

and where Rama performed the last rites of his father

Dasharatha Dasharatha (Sanskrit: दशरथ, IAST: Daśaratha; born Nemi) was the king of the Kosala kingdom and a scion of the Suryavamsha dynasty in Hinduism. He ruled from this capital at Ayodhya. Dasharatha was the son of Aja and Indumati. He h ...

in presence of all the gods and goddesses. The forests of Chitrakoot is where Rama,

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

and

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...

took refuge and spent 12 years in the woods, which was already home to several hermits. The ancient Indian sages, including Atri Muni, Rishi Agastya, and Sage Sharbhanga, were said to have meditated in the forests of Chitrakoot.

Geography

Chitrakoot means the 'Hill of many wonders'. Chitrakoot region falls in the northern Vindhya Range spread over the states of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

and

. The region is included in the Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh and the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh was created on 4 September 1998.District Unit Chitrakoot, National Informatics Centre
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Demographics

As of the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Chitrakoot had a population of 23,316. Males constitute 54.36% of the population and females 45.63%, making the Female Sex Ratio of 840 against the state average of 931. Chitrakoot has an average literacy rate of 70.01%, lower than the national average of 74% and higher than the state average of 69.32%; with male literacy of 79.49% and female literacy of 58.40%. 15.72% of the population is under 6 years of age.https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/2312_PART_B_DCHB_SATNA.pdf

References

External links

MP Tourism map

The Official Govt Website Of Madhya Pradesh Tourism

Chitrakoot Tourist Destinations: Madhya Pradesh Tourism
{{Hindu holy cities Cities and towns in Satna district Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Hindu holy cities Ancient Indian cities Cities in Bundelkhand Places in the Ramayana Religion in Madhya Pradesh