Ramtek
City
Ram Temple, Ramtek.
Ram Temple, Ramtek.
Ramtek is located in India
Ramtek
Ramtek
Location in India
Ramtek is located in Maharashtra
Ramtek
Ramtek
Location in Maharashtra, India
Coordinates: 21°23′40″N 79°19′35″E / 21.39444°N 79.32639°E / 21.39444; 79.32639
Country India
StateMaharashtra
DistrictNagpur
Government
 • TypeMunicipal Council
 • BodyRamtek Municipal Council (RMC)
Elevation
345 m (1,132 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total
22,518
Languages
 • OfficialMarathi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
441106
Vehicle registrationMH-40

Ramtek is a city and municipal council in Nagpur district of the Maharashtra, India.

History

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View of Ramtek city

Ramtek has got Historic temple of Rama. It is believed that Ramtek was the place where Rama, the Hindu god, rested while he was in exile. According to Hindu Mythology the ashram of the Hindu sage Agastya was situated close to Ramtek. While the sages performed religious rites, the demons used to disrupt their activities and slayed holy men. Rama was distressed to hear about this, and took a vow to relieve the world from the demons.

The present temple is believed to have been built by Raghuji Bhonsale, the Maratha ruler of Nagpur in 18th century after his victory over fort of Deogarh in Chindwara.

This place is also related to the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. It is believed that Kalidasa wrote Meghadūta in the hills of Ramtek. The former Indian Prime Minister Narsimha Rao contested his election from Ramtek Constituency.

Ramtek is the birthplace the second Sarsanghchalak (supreme leader) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar.

Jain Temple

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Shantinath Jain temple

Ramtek is also known for ancient Jain temple with various ancient statues of Jain Tirthankara. The main idol of Shantinatha, the sixteenth Tirthankar has a legend associated with it.

It became more popular when one of the leading Digambar Jain Acharyas, Acharya Vidyasagar visited and stayed with his sangh in Ramtek in 1993, 94, 2008, 2013 and 2017 for the four months of chaturmas during the rainy season. With his inspiration, a big Jain temple has been constructed. Jain disciples report many miracles attributed to the ancient Jain statue and so the place is more popularly called as Atishayakshetra Ramtek ji by them.

As of now (January, 2020), there are 10 temples. Temple no.1 is considered to be the oldest and focuses the mool nayak statue.

The place was ruled by Gond rulers before being captured by the Bhonsale rulers of Nagpur in the eighteenth century.

Education

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Ramtek has an engineering college KITS[1] which comes under Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur as also the Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University which provides courses in B.A, B.Ed, M.A, M.Phil and Ph.D degree. [2] The college Shri Narendra Tidke College of Arts and Commerce is also located in Ramtek.[3] Ramji mahajan Deshmukh Nagar parishad Highschool run by nagar parishad ramtek for highschool education.

Geography

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Map of Nagpur district with major towns(including Ramtek) and rivers.

Ramtek is located at 21°24′N 79°20′E / 21.4°N 79.33°E / 21.4; 79.33.[4] It has an average elevation of 345 metres (1131 feet). It is located at a distance of around 50 km from Nagpur. Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses can be used to ply to and from Nagpur. Khindasi lake is one of the important tourist attractions at Ramtek.

Demographics

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As of 2001 India census,[5] Ramtek had a population of 22,517. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Ramtek has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 68%. In Ramtek, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "KITS Engineering college".
  2. ^ "Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University".
  3. ^ "Shri Narendra Tidke College of Arts and Commerce, Ramtek".
  4. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Ramtek
  5. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.