Maihar is a city in the Maihar district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Maihar is known for the temple of Maa Sharda the deity of Education, Knowledge, Virtues and Wisdom[1] of the revered mother goddess Sharda situated
It is said that when lord Shiva was carrying the body of the dead mother goddess (Mai in Hindi) Sati, her necklace (har in Hindi) fell at this place and hence the name "Maihar" (Maihar = Mai+Har, meaning the "necklace of mother").[2][better source needed]there is also one fact about Maihar, that is related to famous Warriors Alha and his brother Udal.[citation needed]
According to the locals of Maihar, the warriors Alha and Udal, regime under King Paramardideva Chandel who had war with Prithvi Raj Chauhan, were very strong followers of Sharda Devi.[citation needed] It is said that they are the first ones to visit the goddess in this remote forest. They called the mother goddess by the name "Sharda Mai", and henceforth she became popular as "Mata Sharda Mai". Alha worshiped for 12 years and got the amaratva with the blessings of Sharda Devi. Behind the temple and downhill is Alha Pond. At a distance of 2 km from this pond is situated an "akhara" (wrestling ring) where Alha and Udal used to practice kushti (wrestling). The people of Maihar believe that Alha is still alive and comes at 4:00 a.m. to worship the Goddess Sharda.[citation needed] This has been covered by various television news channels and broadcated on news.[when?]
Maihar's history can be traced to the Paleolithic Age. The town was formerly the capital of the princely state of Maihar. The state was established in 1778 by Jogis clan, who were granted land by the ruler of the nearby state of Orchha.(Maihar king developed the other state Vijayraghavgarh). The state became a princely state of British India in the early 19th century, and was administered as part of Bundelkhand Agency in the Central India Agency. In 1871 the eastern states of Bundelkhand Agency, including Maihar, were separated to form the new agency of Bagelkhand in Central India. In 1933 Maihar, along with ten other states in western Bagelkhand, were transferred back to the Bundelkhand Agency. The title of the ruler is "Raja" and the present ruler is HH Raja Shrimant Saheb Akshay Raj Singh Ju deo Bahadur. The state had an area of 407 square miles (1,050 km2), and a population of 63,702 in 1901. The state, which was watered by the Tamsa River, consists mainly of alluvial soil covering sandstone, and is fertile except in the hilly district of the south. A large area was under forest, the produce of which provided a small export trade. The state suffered severely from famine in 1896–1897. Maihar became a station on the East Indian Railway (now the West Central Railway) line between Satna and Jabalpur, 97 miles (156 km) north of Jabalpur. Extensive ruins of shrines and other buildings surround the town.[3] Maihar (constituency number 64) is the most politically motivated town with elections hugely dominated and contested by Hindu Brahmins and Patel community. Maihar is part of Satna Lok Sabha constituency along with six other Vidhan Sabha segments of this constituency, namely, Chitrakoot, Raigaon, Satna, Amarpatan, Nagod and Rampur-Baghelan Narayan Tripathi is the current MLA of Maihar Vidhan Sabha.
Maihar is located at 24°16′N80°45′E / 24.27°N 80.75°E.[4] It has an average elevation of 367 metres (1204 ft).The area receives moderate rainfall mostly in the month of July and August.
Maihar town is divided into 18 wards for which elections are held every 5 years. The Maihar Municipality has population of 40,192 of which 21,031 are males while 19,161 are females as per report released by Census India 2011.[5]