Ratanpur was historical capital of Chhattisgarh until British takeover of Central Province from

Maratha The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as ...

. Ratanpur is a town and a

nagar palika In India, a Municipal Council (also known as Municipality, Nagar Palika, or Nagar Palika Parishad) is an Urban Local Body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more. However, there are exceptions to that, as previously Nagar Palikas co ...

in Bilaspur district in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of Chhattisgarh. It is located about from Bilaspur on National Highway 130 towards Ambikapur.

History

Ratanpura, originally known as Ratnapura, was the capital of

Kalachuris of Ratnapura The Kalachuris of Ratnapura were a central Indian dynasty during 11th and 12th centuries. They ruled parts of present-day Chhattisgarh from their capital at Ratnapura (modern Ratanpur in Bilaspur district). They were an offshoot of the Kalachur ...

, who were a branch of the

Kalachuris of Tripuri The Kalachuris of Tripuri (IAST: ), also known the Kalachuris of Chedi, ruled parts of central India during 7th to 13th centuries. They are also known as the Later Kalachuris to distinguish them from their earlier namesakes, especially the Kala ...

. According to the 1114 CE Ratanpur inscription of the local king Jajjaladeva I, his ancestor Kalingaraja conquered Dakshina Kosala region, and made Tummana (modern Tuman) his capital. Kalingaraja's grandson Ratnaraja established Ratnapura (modern Ratanpur). In 1407, the Kingdom of Ratanpur was divided into two parts, with its junior branch ruling from

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Ch ...

. It continued as the capital of Haihaiyavansi Kingdom until the 18th century, when it ruled large areas of Chhattisgarh, until the area passed to the control of the

Bhosle The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of kunbi origin. They claimed descent from the Sisodia Rajputs but were likely Kunbi tiller-plainsmen. History Earliest members The earliest a ...

and later the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. British India controlled Ratanpur from Bilaspur which was part of The Central Provinces. The Central Provinces covered part of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states and its capital was

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nagpur is projected to ...

. It became the Central Provinces and Berar in 1903. After independence of India, Ratanpur became part 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 ...

with

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

as its capital. On formation of Chhattisgarh state the capital city of Chhattisgarh shifted to

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, Ratanpur had a population of 19,838. Males constituted 51% of the population and females 49%. Ratanpur has an average literacy rate of 59%, lower than the national average of 59.5% while male literacy is 70% and female literacy is 47%. In Ratanpur, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Culture and religion

The town is popular as a religious center and many Hindu devotees come here to offer their prayers and seek the blessings at the Mahamaya Temple, goddess Mahamaya also known as Kosaleswari, as she was presiding deity of Dakshin Kosal (modern Chhattisgarh). Many other temples such as Bhudha Mahadev and Ramtekri are also situated there.

Transport

At around from Bilaspur, the second largest city in Chhattisgarh state after Raipur, the journey to Bilaspur from the town can be made by plane, train or bus.

Air

Air travel is also accessible from Bilaspur. The Bilaspur Airport was inaugurated in March 2021 . There are direct flights from Bilaspur to

Jabalpur Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. J ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

and

Prayagraj Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

References

Cities and towns in Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh Former capital cities in India {{Chhattisgarh-geo-stub