Amarkantak ( NLK ''Amarakaṇṭaka'') is a pilgrim town 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 Anuppur,

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

, India. The Amarkantak region is a unique natural heritage area and is the meeting point of the Vindhya and the Satpura Ranges, with the Maikal Hills being the fulcrum. This is where the Narmada River, the Son River and Johila River (Tributary of Son) emerge. Popular 15th-century Indian mystic and poet Kabir is said to have meditated on ''Kabir Chabutra'', also called the platform of Kabir situated in the town of Amarkantak.

Etymology

Amarakantaka is a combination of two

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

words, ''amara'' (immortal) and ''kantaka'' (obstruction or thorn). The poet Kalidas has mentioned it as ''Amarakuta'', which later became ''Amarakantaka''.

Location

Amarkantak is located in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India at . It has an average elevation of . Roads running through Rewa, Shahdol, Anuppur, Jabalpur, Katni, Bilaspur and Gaurela, Pendra Road connect it. The nearest railway stations are Pendra road and Anuppur, Pendra road is via Keonchi and only via Jwaleshwar. The nearest airport is Bilaspur Airport (120 km).

Demographics

The Amarkantak Nagar Panchayat has a population of 8,416 of which 4,514 are males while 3,902 are females as per report released by Census India 2011. The population of children with age of 0-6 is 921 which is 10.94% of the total population of Amarkantak (NP). In Amarkantak Nagar Panchayat, female sex ratio is 864 against a state average of 931. Moreover, the child sex ratio in Amarkantak is around 931 compared to Madhya Pradesh's state average of 918. Literacy rate of Amarkantak city is 80.20%, higher than the state average of 69.32%. In Amarkantak, male literacy is around 88.06% while the female literacy rate is 71.02%. 95.51% of the population, or 8,038 people, follow

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global po ...

Tourism

* Ancient temples of Kalachuri period: The ancient temples of

Kalachuri The Kalachuris (IAST: Kalacuri), also known as Kalachuris of Mahishmati, were an Indian dynasty that ruled in west-central India between 6th and 7th centuries. They are also known as the Heheya Kingdom, Haihayas or as the Early Kalachuris to d ...

period (famously known as Trimukhi Temple) are in the south of Narmada Kund, just behind it. These were built by Kalachuri Maharaja Karnadeva (1041–1073 AD.) * Sarvodaya Jain temple
Yantra Mandir
The Shri Yantra Mandir in Amarkantak is in the form of a Maha Meru which is a three-dimensional representation of the Shree Yantra or Shri Chakra. This temple is located on the hallowed land that is the birthplace of the sacred Narmada River in Amarkantak, Annupur District, Madhya Pradesh.

Flora and fauna

The town of Amarkantak is surrounded by a rich variety of flora with medicinal properties. The Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary, is located at a distance of no more than 40 km from the town of Amarkantak in the state of Chhattisgarh on the road to Bilaspur. The enchanting lush green forest belt in Amarkantak is a part of Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve. The forests of Amarkantak are linked with the forests of Kanha National Park. Amarkantak falls on the Kanha-Achanakmar Corridor, a hilly region covered with dense forests. Kanha and Achanakmar are both conserved wildlife parks in India famous for

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

s. '' Pinus caribaea'', known as

tropical pine ''Pinus tropicalis'', the tropical pine, is a pine tree endemic to the western highlands of the island of Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of C ...

, was planted in Amarkantak in 1968 on advice of Forest Research Institute, Dehradun on the recommendations of National Commission on Agriculture looking to the future demand of quality pulpwood. This work was undertaken under a

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

Technical Assistance Project by clearing natural sal forests. The naturalists and environmentalists in India raised controversy over it; ultimately the project of tropical pine plantation was abolished.

Educational institutions

The Indira Gandhi National Tribal University was established in Amarkantak by an Act of Parliament in 2007, to promote education and research in various aspects of tribal communities and provide higher education to the tribal population. It has 28 departments which offer undergraduate, post-graduation, and PhD programs. The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya was established here with the aim of nourishing and fostering the rural young. Jawahar Navodya Vidyalaya, Anuppur started in the year 1987.

References

Falling Rain Genomics, Inc – Amarkantak

External links

Anuppur : Official

Amarkantak :Tourist Place
{{Shahdol Division Geography of Madhya Pradesh Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Hindu holy cities Cities and towns in Anuppur district Tourism in Madhya Pradesh