Kawardha district General information
Kawardha district is formed by bifurcating Tehsil Kawardha from District Rajnandgaon and Tehsil Pandariya from District Bilaspur with its head quarters at Kawardha on July 06,1998.
District Kawardha extends in 4634.98 Sq K.M. area between 21.32' to 22.28' North latitude and 80.48' to 81.48' east longitude. Boundaries of district touch Dindori in north, Bilaspur and Durg in east, Rajnandgaon in South, and District Balaghat in west. The northen and western parts are surrounded by Maikal mountain ranges of Satpura. Here the highest peak is Kesmarda in Maikal mountain which is 925 meter high , while the minimum height is 320 meter.
Kawardha is a peaceful and attractive place located on the Southern bank of river Sakri. Due to the advent of Kabir Sahib and the establishment of the seat of descendants of his disciple Dharmdas, it was named as Kabirdham, and afterwards as Kawardha. Before Damakhera, District Raipur,this was the seat of Kabir Panthis.
Tehsil Kawardha included in District Kawardha was known as state Kawardha till the first half of 18th century. It came into existence as Tehsil Kawardha in District Mandla from 1895 to 1902, in District Bilaspur from 1903 to 1911, in District Raipur from 1912 to 1948, in District Durg in 1948 and remained part of Durg upto 25/01/1973. After that from 26/01/1973 this Tehsil became part of Rajnandgaon upto July 05,1998 from the time of formation of District Rajnandgaon with the division of District Durg. Likewise, the second Tehsil Pandariya included in the district was known as Pandariya Zamindari before 1952. In 1952 Pandariya become the community block Head-Quarters in Dsitrict Bilaspur. It got the status of Tehsil in 1986 and from then it remained part of District Bilaspur till July 05,1998.
Both the above Tehsil Head-Quarters of District Kawardha are important from historical point of view also. Not only Kawardha but also the place Chaura and Chhapri located at about 17 Km. from Kawardha, which is known as Bhoramdev,is a very important place historically and archeologically. This place was the capital of Nagvanshi kings from about 9th century to 14th century.After that this came under possession of Haihayvanshi kings who were related to state Ratanpur. The Archaelogical remains of the temple and old fort constructed by these kings are still available.
Geographical Location
District Kabirdham extends in 4447.05 Sq K.M. area between 21.32' to 22.28' North latitude and 80.48' to 81.48' east longitude. Boundaries of district touch Dindori in north, Bilaspur and Durg in east, Rajnandgaon in South, and District Balaghat in west. The northen and western parts are surrounded by Maikal mountain ranges of Satpura. Here the highest peak is Kesmarda in Maikal mountain which is 925 meter high , while the minimum height is 320 meter.
The central east and southern part of the district is plain, whereas the northen and western part is mountainous.Mainly Black,Kanhar and Dorsa soil is found in the district, in which Nitrogen, Alp Potash and Sulphur is available in medium quantity, whereas Zinc and Sulphur elements lack.
The main rivers of the district originate generally from Maikal mountain range. Haf, Phok and Sakri rivers after emerging from north-west of the district flow towards south-east and in the end after going in District Durg fall in river Shivnath, whereas Phen,Halon,Banjar and Jamunia rivers flowing towards west fall in river Narmada. There is no all weather rivulet except Saliha Nala in the district.
History
The History of kanker is started from Stone era. In starting stage here human was like abysmal and their behave was like animals. With reference of Ramayana and Mahabharat there was a dense forest area named Dandakaranya and the Kanker state belonged to Dandakaranya.According to myths the Kanker was the land of monks. A lot of Rishis (monks) named Kank, Lomesh, Shringi, Angira were lived here. In sixth century before Christ the region was affected by Buddhism. The ancient history of Kanker tells that it remained always independent state.
In 106 AD the Kanker state was under the Satvahan dynasty And the king was Satkarni, This fact is also descripted by chinese visitor Whensaung. After Satkarni his disasters named Pulumavi, Shivshri and Shivskand became the king. After Satvahans the state was under control of Nags, Vakataks and Gupt dynasties time to time.
After the Vakataks the Kanker state came under control of Nal dynasty. according to historians Vyghraraj was the first king of Nals. the second king Varahraj won the whole region of dandakaranya. after Varahraj , Bhavdutt verma became the king of Kanker state. During the kingdom of Bhavdutt Verma Vakatak king Narendra Sen attacked on state and won a little part of state, but after some years Bhavdutt Verma recollect the lost part and also expand his state up to Orrisa and Maharashtra. after the death of Bhavdutt verma his son Arthpati became the king. He got a bigger state from his father but he was a poor king and had not the qualities like his father and lost some part of states to Vatakataks. In 475 Skand Verma became the king of Kanker state and ruled up to 500 AD. He was the last memorable king of Nal dynasty. After his death the Kanker state suffered a lot of attacks and divided into many parts. After the downfall of Nal kings the state was won by famous king Pulkeshin II of Chalukya dynasty, he also won the some part of Orrisa. During his kingdom a lot of temples were constructed in kanker state. After Pulkeshin, Vikramaditya, Vinayaditya, Vijayaditya, Vikramaditya II, Kirtiverman II were the other kings of Chalukyas They Ruled the state up to 788 AD after Chalukyas the state was ruled by different dynasties time to time like Nals, Nags, Kalchuris etc up to 1100 AD.
Due to weakness of Kalchuri king Gayakarna, A brave person Singh raj won the Kanker stateand kept the foundation of Som dynasty, He ruled the state from 1125 to 1140. After the downfall of Soms A brave and strong person Dharam Dev kept the foundation of Kandra dynasty. After the downfall of Kandras the Chandra dynasty came.
Divisions
The district is divided into two tehsils, Kabirdham and Pandariya. Kabirdham tehsil consists of 3 blocks: Bodla, S.Lohara and Kawardha. Pandariya tehsil is a single block. The four Vidhan Sabha constituencies in this district are Kawardha, Virendra Nagar, Lormi and Mungali.
Climate
The climate of District Kabirdham is temperate, where the maximum temperature in summer is 42'c and the minimum temperature in winter goes to the lowest of 15'c only, where intense cold is experienced from about December 20 to January 15 only. From the point of view of rain also this district lags behind other districts. The average rainfall here is 990 m.m.
Places of interest
KAWARDHA AND IT'S PALACE: was designed and built by Maharaja Dharamraj Singh in the period 1936-39. This inspiring monument to the past was created using Italian marble and stone and is set in eleven acres of private lush gardens. The magnificence of the domed and filigreed DURBAR HALL along with the marble staircases and elegant sweeping verandahs (which surround all the suites) and the high ceilinged lounges are reminiscent of bygone eras. The main entrance to the palace grounds is known as the HAATHI DARWARJA (Elephant Gate).
RADHA KRISHNA TEMPLE: This family temple was built by the present Maharajas forebear Raja Ujiyar Singh 180 years ago. The underground rooms where the Sadhus practised their special ceremonies of ritualistic asceticism can still be seen. While a walk around the adjacent Ujiyar Sagar (Holy water tank) provides many different and interesting views of the temple as well as an insight into the everyday activities of the people.
The other temples that can be visited during your stay include BHOREMDEO MANDWA MAHAL and the MADAN MANJARI MAHAL. All three date from the 11th century and can be found twenty minutes north of Kawardha. Both BHOREMDEO and MANDWA MAHAL are decorated with exquisite stone carvings illustrating many of the favored Deities involved in religious activities. BHOREMDEO temple was erected next to the PUSHPA SAROVAR (lake) where beautiful Paradise Fly-Catcher birds can be spotted among the trees and bushes.
LOHARA BAVLI:is about 20 kms to the southwest of Kawardha. The well was built 120 years ago by Baijnath Singh a member of a branch of the ruling Kawardha family. The unusual feature of this well is the presence of chambers within the interior walls. These rooms were built to provide relief to the ruling family from the scorching mid-summer temperatures before the arrival of the long awaited monsoon.
SARODA RESERVOIR: covers 500 acres of lowland and is about 12 kms from the palace. Here you can swim wander along the shore or try your hand at fishing from small boats.
KANHA NATIONAL PARK: is approximately 3 hours away from Kawardha by road which takes you through some of the finest examples of SAL forests in India. Here the fortunate may glimpse the majestic . Indian Tigers in their natural habitat along with leopards many species of deer monkeys the sloth bear colourful and rare birds and many other jungle dwelling creatures.