Rajrappa is a

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

and a pilgrimage centre in the Chitarpur CD block in the Ramgarh subdivision of the Ramgarh district 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

Rajrappa is located at . Rajrappa stands at the confluence of the Damodar and Bhairavi (locally called Bhera) rivers. Rajrappa is located off NH 23 connecting Ramgarh and

Chas Chas may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Chas, Puy-de-Dôme, a commune in central France * Chas, Bokaro, a city in Jharkhand, India * Chas block, an administrative division in Jharkhand, India * Chas, Khed, a panchayat village in Maharashtra, Ind ...

. It is from Ramgarh, from

Hazaribagh Hazaribagh is a city and a municipal corporation in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is also the administrative headquarters of Hazaribagh district and divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is known ...

, from

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

and from

Bokaro Steel City Bokaro, officially known as Bokaro Steel City (), is a large and Planned community, planned city in Jharkhand, India. It is the List of cities in Jharkhand by population, fourth most populous city in the state and one of the first planned cities ...

. 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.

Waterfalls

Near Rajrappa falls Ramgarh Jharkhand India

The Bhera or Bhairavi joins the Damodar, falling from a height of .

Geographical significance

Rajrappa Falls has tremendous geographical significance. The Damodar valley at Rajrappa is a typical example of polycyclic valley or topographic discordance which is characterized by two storey valley. The Damodar developed its broad and flat valley of senile stage before the onset of Tertiary upliftment. The river was rejuvenated due to upliftment of landmass during the

Paleogene The Paleogene Period ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Neogene Period Ma. It is the fir ...

and

Neogene The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...

Periods (66 million to 1.8 million years ago) by the side effects of the Himalayan orogeny and thus the Damodar excavated its new deep and narrow valley of youthful stage within its broad and flat valley of senile stage. The Bhera river coming from over the Ranchi plateau makes a waterfall while joining the Damodar and thus presents an example of a hanging valley. The Damodar gorge near Rajrappa is a typical example of incised meander.

Pilgrimage centre

Rajrappa is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

centre attracting an estimated 2,500-3,000 persons daily. The main attraction of the

Chhinnamasta Chhinnamasta (, :"She whose head is severed"), often spelled Chinnamasta, and also called Chhinnamastika, Chhinnamasta Kali, Prachanda Chandika and Jogani Maa (in western states of India), is a Hindu goddess ( Devi). She is one of the Maha ...

(also known as Chinnamastika)

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

located here is the headless

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

of goddess Chinnamasta which stands on the body of Kamdev and

Rati Rati (, ) is the Hinduism, Hindu Devi, goddess of List of love and lust deities, love, carnal desire, lust, passion, and sexual pleasure. Usually described as the daughter of ''Prajapati'' Daksha, Rati is the female counterpart, the chief consor ...

in the lotus bed. The Chhinnamasta temple is very popular for its Tantrik style of architectural design. The temple is very old but has that essence of enchantment. Apart from the main temple, there are ten temples of various gods and goddesses such as the Sun God and

Lord Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as ''The Destroyer' ...

. Animal sacrifice is still practised in the temple. The sacrifice is offered on Tuesdays and Saturdays and during Kali puja. Rajrappa also is a pilgrim centre for the

Santal The Santal (or Santhal) are an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic-speaking Munda peoples, Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found ...

s and other tribals who come for immersion of the ashes of their loved ones in the Damodar. They come mostly during the month of December, in groups known as ''yatri''. As per their mythology it is their final resting place. In their

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

songs Rajrappa is referred to as "Thel Kopi Ghat" (Water Ghat) and they use oil after bathing. They come in significant numbers from the southern parts of Jharkhand state such as East and West Singhbhum and

Saraikela Saraikela (also spelled Seraikella) is the district headquarters and a nagar panchayat in the Seraikela Sadar subdivision of the Seraikela Kharsawan district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Jharkhand. It was formerly the c ...

districts.

Civic administration

Police station

Rajrappa police station serves Chitarpur CD block.

Economy

Coal mining

Rajrappa Area of Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), a subsidiary of

Coal India Limited Coal India Limited (CIL) is an Indian public sector undertaking and the largest government-owned coal producer in the world. Headquartered in Kolkata, it is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Coal, Government of India. It acc ...

, is located in Ramgarh Coalfield. It is one of the biggest coal-fields in this region. It is widely known as the Rajrappa Project, which consist of the main

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

(a huge open cast mine), offices, colonies, recreation facilities, shopping complexes, a police out-post and public utility buildings. It is a complete township in itself.

Education

* DAV Public School Rajrappa * * Shishu Vidya Mandir (SVM) Rajrappa *Government School , Rajrappa * *

References

External links

{{North Chotanagpur Division topics Waterfalls of Jharkhand Ramgarh district