Central India · Madhya Pradesh
Maihar, Madhya Pradesh
Sources: wikimedia
Before you go
A Shakti shrine above the Satna plains; Navratri is the peak. Khajuraho is ~120 km.
About Maihar
- Hills
Where it is
Maihar is a town in the Baghelkhand region of northern Madhya Pradesh, headquarters of Maihar district, formerly part of Satna, with the Sharda Devi temple crowning Trikuta hill above the plains.
History
Tradition holds that the Chandela-era warriors Alha and Udal were devotees of the goddess Sharda here, and the hilltop temple has long been revered as a Shakti shrine. Maihar was later a small princely state, and in the 20th century its court musician, Ustad Allauddin Khan, shaped the Maihar gharana, whose students included Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan.
People
Maihar's people speak Hindi and Bagheli, and the town lives from the pilgrimage, farming and its cement works. Its musical heritage lives on in an annual music festival held in Allauddin Khan's memory.
Known for
- The Maa Sharda Devi Temple on Trikuta hill
- More than a thousand steps or a ropeway to the shrine
- The Maihar gharana of Hindustani music
- Navratri fairs
- Alha Talab and the legend of Alha and Udal
Did you know?
After an epidemic left many children orphaned, Allauddin Khan trained them as musicians and formed the orchestra now known as the Maihar Band.
Shrines and sites
- Maa Sharda Devi Temple on Trikuta hill
- Alha Talab
Traditions
- Hindu
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.