15th-century Indian mystic and poet Kabir is said to have meditated in Amarkantak, and the place is now known as Kabir Chabutra.[2]
Etymology
Amarakantaka is a combination of two Sanskrit words, amara (immortal) and kantaka (obstruction or thorn). The poet Kalidas has mentioned it as Amarakuta, which later became Amarakantaka.[3]
Per the 2011 India census, Amarkantak has a population of 8,416 of which 4,514 are males and 3,902 are females.[6] The female sex ratio is 864 against a state average of 931. Moreover, the child sex ratio in Amarkantak is around 931 compared to Madhya Pradesh's state average of 918.[6] Literacy rate of Amarkantak city is 80.20%, higher than the state average of 69.32%. Male literacy is around 88.06% and the female literacy rate is 71.02%.[6] 95.51% of the population follow Hinduism.[6]
Religious significance
Ancient temples, Amarkantak
Amarkantak is known as the king of pilgrimages, or Tirthraj, because the town has many temples and holy places.[7][8] It is narrated in the Hindu scriptures like the Puranas that Amarkantak is the place where celestial beings, sages and others obtained spiritual powers.[8] There are many ancient temples of the Kalachuri period in Amarkantak[9] Which were built by different Kalachuri Kings, indicating it was a prominent site for the Kalchuris.[7] Some of those temples were:
Pataleshwar Temple: It is an ancient temple where Bhagwan Shiva is the deity and the Shiv Lingam was installed by Adi Shankaracharya during his visit. The temple was later constructed by King Lakshmikarna.[10]
Narmada Temple: It is the main temple of the town. It is said that Shankaracharya on his quest to determine the source of Narmada declared the stream currently at the temple to be the main stream, the temple was later constructed by Kalachuris of Tripuri in 12th century CE and Renovated by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar.[11]
Pinus caribaea, known as tropical pine, was planted in Amarkantak in 1968 on advice of Forest Research Institute, Dehradun on the recommendations of National Commission on Agriculture looking to the future demand of quality pulpwood. This work was undertaken under a World Bank Technical Assistance Project by clearing natural sal forests. The naturalists and environmentalists in India raised controversy over it; ultimately the project of tropical pine plantation was abolished.[14]
Educational institutions
The Indira Gandhi National Tribal University was established in Amarkantak by an Act of Parliament in 2007.[15] It was created to promote and provide higher education and research in various aspects of tribal communities.[16] The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya was established in 1987 to provide education for the rural young.[17]