Itkhori is a village and gram panchayat in the Itkhori CD block in the Chatra subdivision of the

Chatra district Chatra district is district one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India. The district was formed after separation from Hazaribagh district in 1991. Chatra is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district covers a ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

Geography

Location

Itkhori is located at . It is 35 km from Chatra and 16 km from

Chauparan Chauparan is a census town in the Chauparan CD block in the Barhi subdivision of the Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Geography Location Chauparan is located at . It has an average elevation of . Area overview Hazari ...

National Highway 19 Route 19, or Highway 19, may refer to: For roads named "A19", see list of A19 roads. International * Asian Highway 19 * European route E19 * European route E019 Canada * Alberta Highway 19 * British Columbia Highway 19 * Manitoba Highway ...

(old number NH2/

Grand Trunk Road Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sadak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sadak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It r ...

Area overview

The map alongside shows that the forests (mark the light shading), covering around 60% of Chatra district, are evenly spread across the district. It is a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

area with an elevation of about above mean sea level. Efforts are on to get the first unit of the

NTPC Limited NTPC Limited, formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation, is an Indian central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the ownership of the Ministry of Power and the Government of India, who is engaged in the generation of electricit ...

’s

North Karanpura Thermal Power Station North Karanpura Thermal Power Station is an upcoming coal-based thermal power plant located in Tandwa in the Simaria subdivision of the Chatra district, Jharkhand. The power plant is owned by NTPC Limited NTPC Limited, formerly known as Nat ...

(3x660 MW), ready in 2021.

North Karanpura Coalfield North Karanpura Coalfield is located in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Chatra and Latehar districts in the Indian state of Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its ...

Central Coalfields Limited Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) is a subsidiary of Coal India Limited (CIL), an undertaking of the Government of India. CCL was established in 1956 as National Coal Development Corporation Limited and is a Category-I Mini Ratna company sinc ...

, spread over in the southern part of the district, with spill over to neighbouring districts, and having coal reserves of 14 billion tonnes is among the biggest in India. The map provides links to three CCL operational areas. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the district. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Itkhori (location code 349000) had a total population of 7,121, of which 3,568 (50%) were males and 3,553 (50%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 1,141. The total number of literate persons in Itkhori was 4,742 (79.30% of the population over 6 years).

Civic administration

Police station

Itkhori police station serves Itkhori CD block.

CD block HQ

Headquarters of Itkhori CD block is at Itkhori village.

Education

Bhadrakali College was established at Itkhori in 1979. Affiliated with the

Vinoba Bhave University Vinoba Bhave University is a state university located in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, India, about 100 km from Ranchi, the state capital. The university offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. It manages and maintains 12 ...

it offers courses in arts, science and commerce streams.

Culture

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

once stayed here for some time. His maternal aunt failed to disturb him in his meditation. She left the place with the comment "Iti khoi" which in

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

means "I lost him here". Later, the place came to be known as Itkhori. There are various Buddhist relics at Itkhori dating from 200 BC to 1200 AD. There is a ‘stupa’ like structure with 104

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

s and four principal Buddhas sculpted on each side. Buddhist and Jain monks from different countries visit Itkhori round the year. Itkhori has the footprint of the 10th Jain

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...

Shitalanatha Shitalanatha was the tenth tirthankara of the present age according to Jainism. According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Jains believe Shitalanatha was born to King Dradhrath and Quee ...

. Plans are afoot for a Jain temple at Itkhori. The Ma Bhadrakali temple, built in the 9th century, has several ancient deities that includes the Hindu deity

Bhadrakali Bhadrakali (IAST: Bhadrakālī; ) is an important goddess, mainly worshiped by Hindus, and is a form of Kali. She is considered to be the auspicious and fortunate form of Adi Shakti or Durga, the supreme mother who protects the good, known ...

and the Buddhist deity Tara. Itkhori Mahotsav is organised annually in February. It is believed that Siddhārtha Gautama travelled from Itkhori to

Bodh Gaya Bodh Gayā is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautam ...

where he attained enlightenment. Numerous Buddhist and Hindu sculptures have been unearthed at a village called Bihari, near Itkhori. It is also near

Kauleshwari Temple Kauleshwari Temple is a pilgrimage centre where Kauleshwari Devi, a form of Sati/Kali, is worshipped. It is in the Chatra subdivision of Chatra district in Jharkhand, India. Geography Location Kauleshwari Temple is located at on Kolhua Hill ...

. Many other sculptures have been found while digging wells etc. in the region. There are some valuable sculptures in the Bhadrakali Mandir Museum.

References

{{Chatra District Villages in Chatra district