Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh

Geography of Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh

Ashoknagar is situated at the average elevation of 507 metres (1640 ft) above sea level. It is in the plateau region. It has an agricultural topography. The plateau is an extension of the Deccan Traps, formed between 60 and 68 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period. In this region, the main classes of soil are black, brown and bhatori (stony) soil. The volcanic, claylike soil of the region owes its black colour to the high iron content of the basalt from which it is formed. The soil requires less irrigation because of its high capacity for moisture retention. The other two soil types are lighter and have a higher proportion of sand. The year is popularly divided into three seasons: summer, the rains, and winter. Summer extends over the months of Chaitra to Jyestha (mid-March to mid-May). The average daily temperature during the summer months is 35°C, which typically rises to around 46 °C on a few days. The rainy season starts with the first showers of Aashaadha (mid-June) and extends to the middle of Ashvin (September). Most of the rain falls during the southwest monsoon spell, and ranges from about 100 cm in the west to about 165 cm in the east. Ashoknagar and surrounding areas receive an average of 140 cm of rainfall a year. The growing period lasts from 90 to 150 days, during which the average daily temperature is below 30 °C, but seldom falls below 20°C. Winter is the longest of the three seasons, extending for about five months (mid-Ashvin to Phalgun, i.e., October to mid-March). The average daily temperature ranges from 15°C to 20°C, though on some nights it can fall as low as 5°C. Some cultivators believe that an occasional winter shower during the months of Pausha and Maaghaknown as Mawta is helpful to the early summer wheat and germ crops.

Location & Geographical Area -

Ashoknagar is located on the northern part of Madhya Pradesh between Sindh and the Betwa rivers. It comes under the northern part of Malwa plateau, though main part of its district lies in the Bundelkhand Plateau. Geographically, the district is situated between the latitude 24.34 N and longitude 77.43 E. The eastern and western boundaries of the District are well defined by the rivers. The Betwa flows along the eastern boundary separating it from Sagar District and Lalitpur District of Uttar Pradesh. The Sindh is the main river flowing along the western boundary. Ashoknagar was formerly known as Pachhar. Ashoknagar is well known for its Grain Mandi and "Sharbati Gaihu", a type of wheat. Ashoknagar District in Madhya Pradesh was a part of Guna district till 2003. On 15 August 2003 Ashoknagar was created as a separate district on the ground that Guna as it then stood was a too large district for administrative purpose. The District consist five tehsils named Ashoknagar, Chanderi, Isagarh, Mungaoli and Shadora. Ashok Nagar district is surrounded by the Shivpuri, Guna, Vidisha and Sagar Districts of Madhya Pradesh and touches the Uttar Pradesh Boundary. Ashoknagar is approximately 200 k.m. away from the capital of the state Bhopal.

Topography -

Ashoknagar is situated at the Heart of India. Ashoknagar is situated at the average elevation of 507 metres (1640 ft) above sea level. It is in the plateau region. It has an agricultural topography. The plateau is an extension of the Deccan Traps, formed between 60 and 68 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period. In this region, the main classes of soil are black, brown and bhatori (stony) soil. The volcanic, clay-like soil of the region owes its black colour to the high iron content of the basalt from which it is formed. The soil requires less irrigation because of its high capacity for moisture retention. The other two soil types are lighter and have a higher proportion of sand. The year is popularly divided into three seasons: summer, the rains, and winter. Summer extends over the months mid-March to May. The average daily temperature during the summer months is 35°C, which typically rises to around 46 °C on a few days. The rainy season starts with the first showers mid-June and extends to the middle of September. Most of the rain falls during the southwest monsoon spell, and ranges from about 100 cm in the west to about 165 cm in the east. Ashoknagar and surrounding areas receive an average of 140 cm of rainfall a year. Winter is the longest of the three seasons, extending for about five months October to mid-March. The climate of Ashoknagar is sub-tropical. In summers, the temperature reaches 47°C, while dropping to 4°C in the winter. Rainfall is adequate and sometimes less.

Availability of Minerals - There is no Major Mineral available in the district. However, Predominant Geological Formations Vindhyans sand stones, Shales and Lime stones; Deccan Trap is available in the Distt.

How to reach Ashoknagar (Transport System in Ashoknagar)

Ashoknagar has a good transport facility. It is connected to main cities of the state as well as to the cities around India by Railways and Roadways. Ashoknagar is the part of Kota-Bina railway section of Western Central Railway. One can reach Ashoknagar by airways too, the nearest airport to Ashoknagar is Bhopal Airport and Gwalior Airport. Ashoknagar is situated by the State Highway. It is Well connected with its surrounding district namely Guna, Vidisha and Shivpuri The length of state highways in the District is about 82.20 km. Ashoknagar is situated on the Western-Central Railway 's broad gauge line of the Kota-Bina Section. Another rail link, viz., The total rail length in the district is about 141 km and the route kilometrege per 100 square KM is 1.27. Recently The trains are available for Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodra, Kota, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Bhilwara, Ajmer, Kolkata, Delhi, Dehradoon, Jhansi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Darbhangga, Mujjafarpur,Durg, Bilaspur, Sagar, Ujjain. Ashok Nagar is well connected by road from Indore, Bhopal and Gwalior. The NH-3 Agra Bombay highway is just 44 km from Ashok Nagar connecting with NH- 76 in an hour drive.

Culture of Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh

Ashoknagar is famous for the Jain temple called Trikaal Choubeese, where the idols of past, present, and future Thirthankars, as described in the Jain religion, have been kept.The district is also famous for a small town called 'Chanderi', which is about 60 km from Ashoknagar.Chanderi was earlierat the time of Mahabharata was known as "Chendi". Chendi naresh Shishupal was its rular. who was then killed by Lord Krishna. In Chanderi, ancient sculptures have been discovered in large numbers. Thubonji Sidhdha Kshetra is another one of the pilgrim centre for Jains. It is about 32 km from Ashoknagar. In the south, about 35 km from Ashoknagar, is the famous Karila Mata Mandir, which is known to be the birthplace of Luv and Kush, sons of Lord Rama and Sita Mata. A huge fair is organized every year on Rangpanchmi in which Rai Dance is performed by Bedni Women. Tumen is also a famous historical pilgrim centre situated at Triveni known for Mata Vindhyavasini temple. There are many more places of religious importance in the district of Ashoknagar. Chanderi is a tehsil of Ashoknagar district and is a famous historical & tourist palace. The main occupation of the people of Chanderi is handicraft. Chanderi sarees are famous all over the world. These are made by cotton and silk by hand through Khatka. Khatka is a self made machine for preparing sarees. Another famous place in Ashoknagar district is Sri Anandpur, the world headquarters of Sri Advaith Paramhansa Sect. Disciples from across the globe visit Anandpur twice a year during Baisakhi and Guru Purnima to seek blessings from the gurus. Kadwaya, a small village in the district is also famous for the ancient Shiv Mandir, Garhi and Mata Mandir.

Cuisine of Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh

Places of interest in Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh (Please click on the name to view the detail information)

Ashoknagar is a beautiful place for the tourists to visit. There are so many tourist spots are there in Ashoknagar, along with that numbers of other beautiful spots are also present in the outskirts of Ashoknagar.
Trikal Chaubisi - "Shanti Nagar"
Tulsi Sarovar - Huge natural water lake. Boating at evening.
Amai Dam
Sankat Mochan
Nehru Bal Udhyan
Tulsi Sarovar Park
Along with the above mentioned spots, there are so many other tourist spots are there in the outskirts of Ashoknagar.

Chanderi
Chanderi fort is situated on a hill 71 meter above the town . The fortification walls were constructed mainly by the Muslim rulers of Chanderi. The main approach to present fort is through a series of three gates the uppermost of which is known as Hawa Paur and lowermost is called the Khuni Darwaja or the gate of blood. The peculiar name is derived from the fact that criminals were executed at this point by hurling them from the battlements above and thus dashing their bodies into pieces at foot. Within the fort there are only two ruined buildings the Hawa and Nau-Khanda Mahals built by Bundela Chiefs. The most beautiful spot of the fort is a rest house on the northern ridge, from where a charming view of the town below the country-side may be obtained.

Chanderi Fort
To the south West of Fort there is a curious gateway called katti-ghatti made through hill side. It is 59 meter long 12 meter broad and 24.6 meter high in the middle of its portion of the rock has been view into the shape of a gate, with a points arch, flanked by a slopping towers.

Kaushak Mahal
The Kaushak Mahal of Chanderi is also known as Tawarikh-i-Ferishta. As per history, in 1445 AD Mehmood Shah Khilji of Malwa was passing through Chanderi, when he ordered a seven storied palace to be built there. Kaushak Mahal is the outcome of that order. It is an imposing building of some grandeur, though standing in a half ruined condition. To the south, east and north of the Kaushak Mahal, well maintained palaces of Ramnagar, Panchamnagar and Singhpur are situated respectively. All are built by Bundela Chiefs of Chanderi in the 18th Century.

Shri Anandpur
Shri Anandpur is one of the glorious religious place, which is the part of Issagarh Tehsil, about 30 K.M. from the district HQ of Ashoknagar. The institution is influenced by "Advait Mat". The founder of this institution was Shri Advait Anand Ji. He is also known as Maharaj Shri Paramhans Dayal Ji. The place is well surrounded with greenery and natural beauty. The Ashram is situated near Vindhyachal Mountain range and is the centre of attraction for its glorious building and pollution free environment. The development of Anadpur started away back in 1939 and continued till 1964. The institution was established as "Shri Anandpur Trust" on 22 April 1954. Most of its development took place during Shri Padshahi Ji Maharaj IV & Shri Padshahi Ji Maharaj V. Shri Anand Shanti Bhavan is the main part of the sacred place, is constructed with pure white marble. The pillar can be seen from a long distance away from the building. The Satsang Bhavan is a huge and the most attractive place of Shri Anandpur. It is the centre of attraction for the devotees. The place is a beauty to watch during the autumn season when the garden is full of colorful flowers spread all over the way. The rest house is also available for the tourist who come from the far flung areas. They get a warm welcome with free Shri Langar. In Shri Anandpur the facilities of Hospital, School, Post office etc. are present too.

Issagarh
Kadwaya a small village of Ashoknagar tehsil contains a number of temples. One of these temples has been constructed in the 10th century in Kachhapaghata style of architecture. It has garbha-griha (sanctum), antaral and mandapa. Another old temple of Kadwaya is known as Chandal math. As per history, it was built to house Matta Mourya, members of Shaiva sect. During Akbar's reign Kadwaya was the headquarters of Gwalior's sarkar. it is also famous for mata BIJASEN TEMPLE. it is said that one cures there defected eyes,by her blessings. total population of kadwaya is appox.3000

Thubonji Sidhdha Kshetra
In Thubonji Sidhdha Kshetra, there are a group of 26 very beautiful temples imparting the message of peace, nonviolence & non affection ness to pilgrims. This sacred place Thuvonji came to knowledge during the period of famous businessman Padashah. It is believed that when Padashah put his metal Tin here, it got converted into Silver. The temples are beautiful & vast with so many miraculous & attractive idols. Temple No. 15 is the main among them known as big temple, with 28 feet high miraculous colossus of Lord Adinath in standing posture, installed by Vikram Samvat in 1672.
Atishay - It is said that sound of various musical instruments is heard at the night as the gods from heaven come here for prayers & worships. It is also said that after the completion of this high colossus, initially devotees were unable to install it in the standing posture. At that night, Head of the Construction saw a dream that worshipping the colossus will only allow it to be installed in the standing posture, accordingly in the next morning colossus was worshipped and then Head of the Construction alone was able to place the high colossus in standing posture. The public present at that time saw this miracle with wonder.
There are number of Jain temples are also present in the Kshetra :
Lord parsvanath Jain Temple – There is a magnificent 15 feet high colossus of Lord Parsvanath (23rd Teerthankar) installed in V.S. 1864. The colossus have a very artistic serpent hood over the head as well as in both the sides of the colossus.
Lord Shantinath Jain temple - 18 feet high standing posture of Lord Shantinath (16th Teerthankar) is the principal deity in the temple.
Ajitnath Jain Temple - Principal deity is the Lord Ajitnath(2nd Teerthankar).
Adinath Jain Temple - It is also a magnificent and vast temple having 16 feet high colossus of Lord Adinath. This was installed by Savasingh of Chanderi in V.S. 1873. He also completed the famous Choubeesee Mandir of Chanderi
Chandraprabhu Jain Temple - Lord Chandraprabhu (8th Teerthankar) is the principal deity in the temple, 1.5 feet sitting(Padmasana) statue of the Lord is the idol in the temple.
Other temples are also worth being seen.
Museum - Some ancient idols are kept there, among them a standing 12 feet high idol with beautiful nimbus is the most noticeable.

Events in Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh