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Maheshwar Travel Guide

Distance : 91km from Indore
Population : 15,000

¤ Famous For Its Delicate Cotton and Silk Textiles

More than anything else, Maheshwar is now synonymous with the exquisitely delicate cotton and silk blend handloom saris woven by its people. However, if you rewind to the dawn of Hindu civilization, you’ll find that Maheshwar was a veritable hotbed of culture, religion and politics.
It even made it to the great Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, where it finds mention as, Mahishmati. The sacred Narmada that flows by lends Maheshwar charm and sanctity.



¤ The Temple Attraction

Most of the town’s temples and forts date from the 18th century. Rani Ahilya Bai was a great ruler, so beloved and revered by the people that she almost gained the status of a deity during her lifetime itself.
A visionary and a just ruler, she was against such horrible and repulsive rituals as sati. Yet she had the courage to watch her own daughter become sati, after vainly seeking to dissuade her.


¤ Places of Interest

The Fort
An awesome fort dominates the dusty landscape of Maheshwar. A palace on its premises has now been converted into a museum displaying heirlooms, paraphernalia and other trivia belonging to the Holkar Dynasty.
A really special exhibit is the small shrine on a palanquin which is carried down from the fort during the annual festival of Dusshera. Another must-see is the beautiful statue of Rani Ahilya Bai seated on her throne.

The Ghats
The ghats of the serene Narmada are charming and definitely cleaner than those of the Ganga or the Yamuna. Running along the banks are countless temples dedicated to the numerous Hindu deities.

The Temple Attractions
Most of the temples are multi-storeyed and have intricately worked doorways and overhanging balconies. Don’t miss the Kaleshwara, Rajaraheshwara, Vithaleshwara and Ahileshwara temples.
Do check out the Peshwa, Fanese and Ahilya Ghats to watch the daily rituals of ordinary villagers. You’ll get a pretty good idea of how life still revolves around the river in most villages of India. Do go for a swim in the mighty Narmada – it’s an exhilarating experience. Another highlight of the ghats are the stone memorials to all the women who ever committed sati here.

Navdatoli - An Archaeological Site
Sitting smug on the southern bank of the Narmada, just opposite Maheshwar, is the historically and archaeologically important site of Navdatoli. First discovered in 1950, it yielded painted pottery and microliths.

With increased explorations, archaeologists concluded that a broad sequence of cultures from the Lower Palaeolithic period up to the 18^th century have existed at Navdatoli. The third period of occupation has been dated at between 1,500 BC and 1,200 BC. House plans from this period have been excavated which show either circular or rectangular buildings. The circular houses had a circumference of about 3m and the walls and roof were made of split bamboo covered with mud.
The settlement was apparently wiped out by a great flood when the site was temporarily abandoned. Later a small stupa was built here though it was probably left incomplete.