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33-729: A section of the Golalare community is settled in Bundelkhand. Poet Devidas (Vikram 1780-1830 i.e. AD 1723-1773) of Digauda town in the Orchha kingdom, writes that his ancestors lived in the Sikasikahara village in the Bhadawar region. He mentions that his family belonged to Kharaua clan of the Golalare community. A major section of the Golalare in the Bhadavar region are now known as Kharaua . Several clans of

66-535: A group of sages. Secondly, once I reach Orchha, I will be the King of Orchha and not your husband. Thirdly, (since the child form of Ram would travel in the queen’s lap), the first place you seat me will be my final place of stay and will be famous by the name of Ramraja." The Queen agreed and started her journey to Orchha with baby Ram in her lap. Since the queen travelled only in Pukh Nakshtra it took 8 months and 27 days for

99-474: A vow that she would go to Ayodhya and return with the child form of Ram or else she would drown herself in Ayodhya's Sarayu river. The queen left the palace and started the long journey to Ayodhya on foot to bring God Ram with her to Orchha. She didn't tell the King before leaving that she had ordered her servants to start building a temple ( Chaturbhuj Temple ) when she brings God Ram with her. On reaching Ayodhya,

132-497: Is 5 hours and they will ideally be able to get off at Jhansi and grab an autorickshaw or Tuk Tuk for Orchha (costs INR 400). However, if the train halts at Orchha, they can also get off at the Orchha station and grab an autorickshaw to the temple complex. Ram Raja Temple The Ram Raja Temple is a temple in Orchha , Madhya Pradesh , India . It is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage and receives devotees in large numbers regularly and

165-501: Is also commonly known as Orchha Temple. The annual domestic tourist number is around 650,000 and the foreign tourist number is around 25,000. The daily number of visitors to the temple range from 1500 to 3000 and on certain important Hindu festivals like the Makar Sankranti , Vasant Panchami , Shivratri , Ram Navami , Kartik Purnima and Vivaha Panchami the number of devotees who throng to Orchha range in thousands. In India this

198-458: Is awarded to a distinguished community member who conducts Gajarath Pratishtha. Orchha Orchha is a town , near the city of Niwari in the Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh state, India . The town was established by a Bundela rajput ruler Rudra Pratap Singh some time after 1501, as the seat of an eponymous former princely state of covering parts of central & north India, in

231-535: Is given to him by the police every day at the Ram Raja Temple . No other VIP or minister or official behaves like a ruler when they visit Orchha. This aspect makes Orchha a unique place for devotees of lord Rama. On a seasonal island on the bank of the Betwa River , which has been surrounded by a battlement wall, stands a huge palace-fort. The fort consists of several connected buildings erected at different times,

264-640: Is on the Jhansi- Manikpur section of the North Central Railways . 15 km from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, Orchha also lies close to other popular tourist destinations like, Gwalior and Khajuraho . Tourists who wish to visit Orchha from Khajuraho can catch the morning express which leaves at around 8 or 9 AM. Alternatively, they could also avail themselves of the afternoon express which leaves at around 12 or 1 PM. The train journey from Khajuraho

297-484: Is right next to the fort and is a must-see. Tourists can also climb on the roof of the Uth Khana and get a fantastic view of Orchha town. The ruins behind the fort complex are an even greater sight. It makes a tourist travel back in time and is an integral part of a visit to Orchha. It houses the residences of various military officers, ministers (housing, roads), gunpowder factory, etc. Numerous cenotaphs or chhatris dot

330-524: Is sitting in Padmasan ( Lotus position ), with only left leg crossed over the right thigh though (both legs are not crossed unlike in the usual Padmasan). Every day after worship sandalwood's teeka is applied on God Ram's left toe. It is believed when visiting the Raja Ram Darbaar if worshippers look at the left foot's big toe then their wish gets fulfilled. Spotting the left foot's big toe on God Ram's idol

363-405: Is the only temple where God Rama is worshiped as a king and that too in a palace. A Guard of Honour is held every day, police personnel have been designated as Guards at the temple, much in the manner of a king. The food and other amenities provided to the deity at the temple are a royal repast. Armed salutation is provided to God Ram every day. In the temple Raja Ram is accompanied by Sita (on

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396-632: The Bundelkhand region. Orchha lies on the Betwa River , 80 km from Tikamgarh and 15 km from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh . Orchha was founded in 1531 (the 16th century AD) by the Bundela chief, Rudra Pratap Singh, who became the first King of Orchha, (r. 1501–1531) and also built the Fort of Orchha. The Chaturbhuj Temple was built by the queen of Orchha, Ganesh Kunwar (गणेश कुँवर), while Raj Mandir

429-523: The Chaturbhuj Temple the next day. But according to God Ram's conditions he took the first place where he was seated, hence God Ram transformed into an idol and got transfixed in the queen's palace itself. To this day the Ram Raja Temple is in the queen's palace (Ranivaas or Rani Mahal) and not in the Chaturbhuj Temple which is right next to the palace. Originally, God Ram was standing position and

462-524: The Jahangir Mahal. There is a spectacular light and sound show in the evening hours in the Jahangir Mahal. The show displays the history of the city of Orchha and the Jahangir Mahal . Chaturbhuj Temple is an old temple from the 9th century, and is noted for having one of the tallest Vimana among Hindu temples standing at 344 feet. The Uth Khana (Camel Shelter) where the King's camels were stationed

495-597: The Kharaua community have the title Pande (i.e. Pandit). These families produced scholars and priests. The bhattarakas of Balatkara Gana who had a seat at Ater , and Rura, were born in this community. Bhattaraka Gyanbhushan of Sagwada seat in Gujarat also belonged to this community. One of the earliest inscriptions from samvat 1237 mentioning the community have been found in the Aharji Jain Teerth Jain tirth, which

528-475: The Queen started praying to God Ram close to Laxman Fort near Sarayu river . She ate only fruits, then she gave up fruits and ate only leaves, and eventually she gave up all food. The Queen fasted and prayed for about a month but God Ram did not appear, so eventually in despair, she jumped into the river at midnight. Just then something magical happened and God Ram appeared in child form in the Queen's lap. God Ram told

561-456: The central storeys. The roof is crowned by eight large fluted domes, with smaller domes between them, connected by an ornamental balustrade. The Jahangir Mahal is considered to be a singularly beautiful specimen of Mughal architecture. A point worth mentioning here is that the mother of Jahangir, Mariam-uz-Zamani, was a Rajput princess. It is with this in mind that the Rajput king of Orchha had built

594-541: The left), brother Lakshmana (on the right), Maharaj Sugriva and Narsingh Bhagwan (on the right). Durga Maa is also present in the darbaar on the right side. Hanuman ji and Jambavan ji are praying just below Sita . The speciality of this temple is that God Ram has a sword in his right hand and a shield in the other. Shri Ram is sitting in Padmasan, with the left leg crossed over the right thigh. The story of Ram Raja Temple according to many local people goes like this: The King of Orchha Madhukar Shah Ju Dev (1554–1592)

627-462: The most noteworthy of which is the Raja Mahal . The Ram Raja Temple is built on a square base and has an almost entirely plain exterior, relieved by projecting windows and a line of delicate domes along the summit. The Jahangir Mahal is built on a rectangular base and is relieved by a circular tower at each corner surmounted by a dome, while two lines of graceful balconies supported on brackets mark

660-416: The only king of Orchha, there will be no other king. Second that wherever he is placed once he will remain there only and third that he will go at a particular time and with some monks. Queen accepted the conditions and thus Rama (statue representing Rama himself) was brought to Orchha. Since then Rama is the only king in Orchha. Even in the present times Rama is regarded as the only king and the guard of honour

693-578: The population and females 47%. Orchha has an average literacy rate of 54%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 64%, and female literacy is 42%, 18% of the population is under 6 years of age. The nearest Airport to Orchha is Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia Airport in Gwalior which is 119 Kms. Orchha is 170 km km and 3 hours drive from Khajuraho Airport which is well connected with other metropolitan cities in India. Orchha Railway station

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726-469: The queen that he was happy with her prayers and she could ask for a boon, at which the queen asked God Ram to come with her in child form to Orchha. God Ram agreed to go but he put forth three conditions: "I will travel only in Pukh Nakshatra . When Pukh Nakshatra will end I will stop and resume only when Pukh Nakshatra sets in again. In this manner I will travel from Ayodhya to Orchha on foot along with

759-421: The queen to reach Orchha from Ayodhya on foot (between 1574 and 1575). King Madhukar Shah meanwhile had a dream where God Banke Bihari scolded him on discriminating between God Ram and himself. God Banke Bihari reminded the King that God Ram and he are one and the same, there is no difference. King was very apologetic when he woke up and found out that the queen was returning from Ayodhya. The King went to receiver

792-437: The queen to stop praying child form of God Ram and accompany him to Braj. But the queen was adamant, after which the king said that "You keep praying to Ram but Ram never appears in front of us, unlike God Krishna who danced with us along with Radha the other day. If you are so adamant to go to Ayodhya then go, but return only when you have the child form of Ram with you. Only then will I accept your true devotion." The queen took

825-419: The queen was serving Him 3–4 hours every day in standing position and used to get tired. God Rama requested to serve Him sitting only but queen replied that if He is standing then how can she sit. The deity God Rama sat down on hearing this from queen (source Bhaktmal by Nabhadasji Maharaj). Additionally, as promised by the queen, God Ram is the King (Raja) of Orchha, hence the name Ram Raja Temple. Shree Ram

858-413: The queen with horses, elephants, servants, food, etc. and apologized to the queen. The queen did not accept king's apology and refused the comforts offered to her by the King. The Queen claimed that she now possessed everything one could ever ask for (God Ram in child form). On returning to Orchha , the queen went back to her palace with baby Ram and retired in her room for the night, only to take God Ram to

891-409: The temple. The king and queen also joined in the prayers and started to sing and dance. It is believed that God Krishna and Radha personified and danced with them and golden flowers were showered from the heavens at that moment. After that incident the king asked the queen to accompany him to Braj - Mathura the land of God Krishna, but the queen wanted to go to Ayodhya . The king got annoyed and told

924-636: The vicinity of the fort and the Betwa river. Elsewhere about the town there is an unusual variety of temples and tombs, including the Chaturbhuj temple, which is built on a vast platform of stone. The more unguarded and neglected of these buildings are popular hangouts for tropical bees, wasps, and other such excitable stinging creatures. In 2006, Orchha's buildings were being documented by the LIK Team of IIT Roorkee , India. A community radio station, Radio Bundelkhand

957-455: Was a devotee of Banke Bhihari ( God Krishna ) of Brindavan while his wife Queen Ganesh Kunwari, also called Kamla Devi, was a devotee of God Ram. One day the King and the Queen went to God Krishna's temple but the temple had closed by that time. The queen urged the king to go back but the king wanted to stay. So both the king and queen decided to stay back. They joined a group of devotees who were singing and dancing in praise of God Krishna outside

990-432: Was a devotee of Lord Krishna whereas his wife queen Kunwar Ganesh was a devotee of Lord Rama. There were always disputes due to this difference. Once king challenged the queen that if Rama really exists then bring him to Orchha. Queen went to ayodhya and prayed for 21 days with rigorous penance to lord Rama. At last Rama appeared before her in his child form and agreed to go with her with three conditions: first that he will be

1023-1116: Was a major pilgrimage center during the rule of Chandela king Paramardi . According to some of the inscriptions, the Golalare are descendants of the ancient Ikshvakus . This inscriscption mentions the dedication of a rock-carved shrine on the south-east side of the Gwalior fort near the rock-carved water reservoir. सिद्धेभ्यः श्री ...सम्वत्‌ 1525 वर्षे चैत्र सुदी 15 मूलसंघे सरस्वती गच्छे बलाकार गणे श्री कुन्दकुन्दाचार्यान्वये आम्नाय भट्टारक श्री प्रभाचंद्र देवा ततो पट्टे .. भट्टारक श्री सिंहकीर्ति यतीश्वरा तेषाम्‌ उपदेशात्‌ श्री गोपाचल महादुर्गे श्री तोमरान्वये महाराजाधिराज श्री कीर्तिसिंह विजयराजे। ...सिद्ध प्रतिष्ठा श्री इक्ष्वाकु वंशोन्दवा गोलारोड ति मद्ये संघातिपति पम ॥श्री॥ ...सुहाग श्री तत्पुत्रा माणिक सं. अश्वपति सं. कुषराज सं.... ये तषाम मध्ये संघादिपतियम्‌। भूपतयः बंधु निज पुत्र पौत्रो श्री पार्श्वनाथ तीर्थश्वरम्‌ नित्यं पूज्याम्‌ प्रणमति श्री शांति रस्तु शिवम्‌ सुख नित्य आरोग्य भवतु... सिद्धरस्तु शत्रु निवारन कुल गोत्र वंशादष्टु इति श्री राजा श्रावक प्रजासुखी नो भवन्तु धर्मोवृद्धिताम्‌ श्री॥ The title Sanghapati (or Singhai)

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1056-505: Was built by 'Raja Madhukar Shah' during his reign, 1554 to 1591. Orchha was captured by imperial forces of the Mughal Army led by Prince Aurangzeb in October 1635. Lord Rama is regarded as the King of Orchha. Orchha is the only place in India other than Ayodhya, where lord Rama is also the King of the town. The story behind this goes like this: In 16th century, king Madhukar shah of Orchha

1089-559: Was launched in Orchha on 23 October 2008. It is an initiative of the Development Alternatives Group . The radio station broadcasts daily programs in the Bundeli dialect and devotes significant amount of its broadcast time to local issues, culture, education and the rich tradition of Bundeli folk music. The station is available on 90.4 MHz. As of 2001 India census , Orchha had a population of 8501. Males constitute 53% of

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