AMARKANTAK

[vinayak parihar]

Amarkantak is a unique natural heritage area in eastern Madhya Pradesh,
India. This is the meeting point of the Vindhyas and the Satpuras, with
the Maikal Hills being the fulcrum. This is the place from where the
Narmada River, the Sone River and Johila River emerge.

Location
Amarkantak is situated in Anuppur district of Madhya Pradesh in India.
Its latitude and longitude are 22°44' North and 81°54' East. The
altitude is 1060.70 metres. Roads with Rewa, Shahdol, Bilaspur,
Jabalpur, Katni and Pendra connect it. The nearest railway station is
Pendra Road (48 km) in Chhatisgarh. The nearest Airport is Dumna
Jabalpur (240 km).

Geography
It is not only the Narmada which arises from Amarkantak, because the
Son River, initially referred to as Jwalawanti of Johila, the Mahanadi
and the Amadoh, which is a major early tributary of the Godavari, all
rise from within the Amarkantak plateau. The beauty of the plateau can
well be gauged from the fact that it lies 1000 metres a.m.s.l. in the
midst of a moist sal and mixed forest. A little distance from Gaumukh,
the source of the Narmada, is Kapildhara, where the Narmada leaves
Anuppur District and enters Dindori District by cascading more than 20
metres down a sheer basalt rock. Four kilometers from Amarkantak is
Kabir Chabutara, the exact junction point of Dindori, Bilaspur
(Chhatisgarh) and Anuppur districts. As the source of the Narmada,
which is more than 150 million years older than the Ganga and is
considered by many Hindus to be the most sacred for all the rivers of
India, Amarkantak itself is sacred to the Hindus and is deemed to be a
door-way to 'nirwana'. In these hills dwell some of the most
primitive of the Madhya Pradesh tribals, the Hill Korwas and Pandavas.
Even today the Pandavas run away if they see any strangers approaching
their village.

Geologically the Amarkantak Hills have underlying basalt (Deccan
Traps). The overburden consists of bauxite and laterite, making the
soil ferruginous and clayey, with an acidic or neutral reaction. There
is schist and gneiss, which is why sal is to be found here despite
underlying trap. Climatically Amarkantak is temperate.

July, August and September are the real monsoon months, but there is
also some winter rain. February is about the only month which is dry.

The flora and fauna
The temperate climate and the equitable distribution of rain make
Amarkantak an ideal plateau for dense vegetation cover. From 1970 to
1976 H.O. Saxena, the Forest Botanist, State Forest Research Institute
conducted intensive studies on the flora of Amarkantak, which is
classified by Champion as Central Indian sub-tropical hill forests. He
identified 635 species, including 612 angiosperms, 2 gymnosperms and 21
pteridophytes. 7 of these species were new for Central India and 14 for
Madhya Pradesh. Whilst the forest is sal dominated, there are associate
species such as Mallotus Philipensis, Buchanania lanzan, Ougeinia
oojeinesis, Terminalia chebula, Bauhinia spp, Grewia spp, Gardenia
latifolia, Anogeissus latifolia, together with climbers and shrubs such
as Bauhinia vahilii, Dioscorea, Smilax, Celastrus painiculata and such
ground flora as Desmodium, Moghania, Sida, Crotalaria, Leucas,
Pogostemon benglaensis, Strobilantihes, Setaria, Oplismenus etc. As one
moves down into the valleys sal gradually is replaced by mixed forests,
which include Bauhinia retusa, Grewia spp. Bursera serrata (which is
normally to be found in the north-east and whose presence in Amarkantak
shows the catholicity of vegetation here), Rhamnus wightii, Schleichera
oleosa, Schefflera venulosa, Butea monosperma, Lagerstoemia parviflora,
Boswellia serrata, Garuga pinnata, Ficus spp, Lannea coromandelica,
etc, with a wide variety of grasses and other ground flora.
Interestingly enough there are plants of the north-west and central
Himalayas to be found in Amarkantak, including Thalictrum foliolosum,
Ceranium Ocellatum, Androsace umbellata, Mazur delavavi, Lindernia
Hookeri var. Kumannensis, etc. Because of the high percentage of
grasses in Amarkantak the ratio of Dicotyledons to monocotyledons here
is 68.3 to 26.5 whereas the world average is 81.3 to 18.7.

In isolated eco-system, such as remote valleys and islands, there is an
extremely wide variety of floristic genera, but with the proportion of
species to genera being very small. This is because each genus is
unique to itself and does not proliferate and subdivide into many
species. The general rule of the botanical world, however, is that
there is a very high proportion of species to genera. The eco-system of
Amarkantak is truly unique, closely resembling that of isolated valleys
or islands, because whereas the proportion of species genera is 13:1 in
the world, in India it is 7:1 and in Amarkantak it is 15:1. This makes
every genus in Amarkantak of great botanical importance because if a
particular plant becomes extinct the genus itself will die because it
does not live through any of its variant species. There are very few
such spots in India and this makes Amarkantak a natural heritage area
of national and even international importance.

Amarkantak has some extremely valuable medicinal plants, which are now
gravely endangered. Two of these call for special mention, Hedychium
coronarium, or Gulbakavali and Curcuma caesia Roxburghii, or Kali
Haldi. Gulbakavali belong to the family zinziberaceae. Gulbakavali
grows on marshy land, with pure water and under dense shade on deep
soil. Its natural habitat is Mai-ki-bagia, Sonmuda, Kabir Chabutara,
Dudhdhara and some private gardens in Amarkantak. Kali haldi belong to
the same family as ginger, turmeric and amba haldi. It tastes very much
like ginger and is used extensively as an anti-inflammatory drug for
dealing with sprains and bruised. The rhizome gives off new shoots in
the rains, with the leaves being about 30cms. long and 15to 16cms.
broad. The leaves are a deep, dark green in colour. Kali haldi prefers
marshy land and is to be found in Kabir Chabutara, Chadha and the foot
hills of Amarkantak. The rhizome contains essential oils and resins,
sugar, starch, albuminoids, gums and organic acids and substantial
coarse figure. With the other Curcuma Varieties including C. aromatica
and C. augustifolia, kali haldi is an endangered species, especially
because it is highly localised around Amarkantak, and it requires total
protection.
Narmadakund and temples at the place of origin of Narmada
RiverReligious importance of Amarkantak
Amarkantak situated on the western edge of ancient Kingdom of Kalinga
is a place of worship for all the three worlds. Gods and Gandharvas
(Celestial beings), Asuras (demons), Saints and Sages have all achieved
great spiritual powers here. It is believed that who ever dies at
Amarkantak is assured of a place in heaven. A lady who makes offerings
of fruits and flowers will gain the respect of her husband, and no
doubt she will also achieve a place in heaven.

When Lord Shiva destroyed Tripura (The three cities) by fire, the ashes
of one fell upon mount Kailash, the ashes of another fell upon
Amarkantak, and the ashes of the third were saved by Lord Shiva and
kept in heaven. The ashes that fell upon Amarkantak turned into crores
of Shivalingas. Only one is visible at Jwaleshwar in Amarkantak.

Amarkantak is a Sanskrit word the literal meaning of which is immortal
(amar) obstruction (kantak). The place was abode of Gods but was
disturbed by the hindrances of Rudraganas and hence called Amarkantak.
The poet Kalidas has mentioned it as Amrakoot. Myth is that the dense
forests of this region were full of mango (amra) trees. So Kalidas
named it as Amrakoot, which later became Amarkantak.

History of Amarkantak
Amarkantak and rivers originating from it do not find mention in Vedic
literature, but these have been mentioned in Puranas, Ramayana,
Mahabharata, Vashishthasamhita and "Satpath Brahman". After
Mahabharata the history of a period of about 3000 years is in dark.
Professor Arjun Chaube Kashyap concludes that the Puranic name of
Amarkantak was "Riksh parvat". About 6000 years back the
Suryavanshi samrat Mandhata founded a town in the valley "Riksh
parvat" and named it Mandhata. The queen of samrat Purukutsa, who was
son of Mandhata, gave the title of Narmada to the river. Due to
occupation of this area by Mandhata the descendents of Yayati moved
from this area to west of Madhya Pradesh and settled on the banks of
Narmada River.

According to tradition, this Vindhyachal area was included in the
Kingdom of Ayodhya, Kapil Muni, Bhrigu Rishi and Markandey Rishi had
ashrams here. It is also said that Pandavas stayed here and gained
spiritual benefits during their exile.

After about 3000 years of Mahabharata the Adi Shankarachrya was born in
788 AD and consecrated on the banks of Narmada River. He founded
Pataleshwar Mahadev in Amarkantak at the origin of Narmada from the
bamboo clumps. This place is known as Surajkund today. There is no
bamboo clumps here now.

In the more recent history, this area was given in dowry to the
Kalchuri King by the Chedi King (10th to 11th century AD). The Kalchuri
Maharaja Karnadeva (1042-1072 AD) had constructed temples at Surajkund.
In 1808 Amarkantak was ruled by the King of Nagpur and later came under
foreign rule.

Places of tourist importance
Amarkantak being a unique natural heritage is very rich in
biodiversity. It has got a number of places of scenic beauty. Apart
from this it is source of origin of three important rivers. It is a
great pilgrim center for Hindus. It is thus a great-unexplored tourism
destination.

Narmadakund and temples
At the place of origin of Narmada River there is an open pool known as
Narmadakund. Around this kund there are number of temples such as
Narmada and Shiva temple, Kartikey temple, Shri Ram Janki temple,
Annapurna temple, Guru Gorakhnath temple, Sri Shuryanarayan temple,
Vangeshwar Mahadev temple, Durga temple, Shiv Pariwar, Siddheswar
Mahadev temple, Sri Radha Krishna temple, Eleven Rudra temple etc.

Ancient temples of Kalchuri period

Ancient temples at Amarkantak built by Kalchuri Maharaja Karnadeva
(1042-1072)ADThe ancient temples of Kalchuri period are situated in the
south of Narmadakund just behind it. These were built by Kalchuri
Maharaja Karnadeva (1042-1072 AD). The Machhendranath and Pataleshwar
temples are excellent examples of architecture. There is also Keshav
Narayan temple built by the Bhonsle ruler of Nagpur in the 18th
century.

Sonemuda
Sonemuda is the place of origin of Sone River. It is situated at a
distance of 1.5 km from Narmadakund at the very edge of Maikal
Mountain. The Sone River cascades from the mountain in a waterfall
hundreds of feet long. As we stand on the viewing platform facing east,
we see a panorama of forested hills and valleys. According to
Megasthanes and other Aryan writers the river Sone gets its name from
gold as the gold dust is found in the water of Sone.

Mai ki Bagiya (Goddess garden)
A grove of trees in dense forests situated at a distance of one km from
Narmadakund is named "Mai ki Bagiya" in honour of the goddess
Narmada. In this natural garden Mango, Banana and other fruit trees
along with Gulbakavli, roses and other flower plants are there.

Kapildhara (Kapil waterfall)
Six km northwest of Narmadakund is situated the famous waterfall called
Kapildhara with a fall of about hundred feet. According to scriptures,
Kapil Muni lived here. There is a scene of natural beauty with
mountains and dense forest down hills. According to 'Vindhya
Vaibhav' Kapil Muni performed severe austerities here and received
divine light. He also wrote 'sankhya philosophy' (an advanced
treatise on mathematics) at this place. The Kapileshwar temple is also
situated nearby. The surrounding mountains are full of caves where
saints have been performing their spiritual practices.

Kabir chabutra (the platform of saint Kabir)

Kabir chabutra Amarkantak It is an old belief that the great saint
Kabir performed austerities here and achieved spiritual powers. It is
therefore a holy place for the Kabir panth sect. The local people, the
Panikas, consider Kabir Chabutara as one of the holiest places of the
Kabirpanthis because Sant Kabir spent many years here in meditation.At
this very place Kabir and Nanak met and discussed spiritual matters and
introduced the way of better living for human being. It is also the
meeting point of three districts, Anuppur and Dindori districts of
Madhya Pradesh and Bilaspur district of Chhatisgarh. There is also a
Kabir waterfall here.

Shri Jwaleshwar Mahadev (the temple of Shiva)
The Jwaleshwar temple and the source of origin of the third river
Juhila River is situated at a distance of 8 km from Amarkantak on
Shahdol road. According to 'Vindhya Vaibhav' Lord Shiva himself
established a Shivling here and also scattered crores of other
Shivlings over Maikal Mountain. According to puranic traditions a
rectangular area containing crores of Shivlings is known as 'Maha
Rudra Meru' and is the abode of lord Shiva himself. There are only
two 'Maha Rudra Meru' places Varanasi and Amarkantak. Lord Shiva
and Parvati live here because of this special spiritual quality.