Ramtek has got the Historic temple of lord Rama. It is believed that Ramtek was the place where Rama, the Hindu god, rested while he was in exile. Legend has it that the ashram of great Hindu sage Agastya was situated close to Ramtek.
Shrine’s History
Ramtek has got the Historic temple of lord Rama. It is believed that Ramtek was the place where Rama, the Hindu god, rested while he was in exile. Legend has it that the aashram of great Hindu sage Agastya was situated close to Ramtek. While the sages performed religious rites, the demons used to disrupt their activities and slayed a great number of holy men. Lord Rama was distressed to hear about this and took a vow to relieve the world from the demons. ‘Tek’ means vow in the local language, hence the word Ramtek comes from ‘Vow of Ram’. Thus it is believed locally that whoever takes a vow at Ramtek is blessed by the gods for its fulfilment. The ‘padukas’ of Lord Ram are believed to have been worshipped here for centuries. The present temple is believed to have been built by the King of Nagpur, Raghuji Bhonsale, after his victory over fort of Deogarh in Chindwara. The present temple is 400 years old.
This place is also famous for its relation with great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. It is believed that Kalidasa wrote Meghdootum in the hills of Ramtek. The Indian Prime Minister Mr Narsimha Rao contested his election from Ramtek Constituency. Ramtek is also known for the ancient Jain temple with various ancient statues of Jain Tirthankara.The main idol of Shantinatha, the sixteenth Tirthankar has a legend associated with it. King Raghuji Bhosale, along with his muni came to Ramtek for the construction of Ram Mandir. One day, the munim came late after the arrival of king bhosale. King asked the reason he said “oh king I am Jain, I am bounded by the rule that I can’t eat food without worshipping jain idol, so I went 30 km away for worship. This answer satisfied the king, the king had ordered his troops to go and search Jain temple nearby ramtek. Troops had come back in evening and answered the king, ” oh king there is no Jain temple in ramtek but some people worship an idol down the hills which may be a jain idol. Munim of the king went to see that idol it was placed under the tree and that was jain idol of the main deity SHANTINATH bhagwan. King has ordered to make a big Jain temple at that site.
Today the main idol of the temple is exactly at that site where it was found. It became more popular when one of the leading Digambar Jain Acharyas, Acharya Vidyasagar visited and stayed with his sangh in Ramtek in 1993, 94 and 2008 and 2013 for the four months of chaturmas during the rainy season. With his inspiration, a big Jain temple has been constructed. Jain disciples report many miracles attributed to the ancient Jain statue and so the place is more popularly called as Atishayakshetra Ramtek Ji by them.
Atishay = During chaturmas of VIDYASAGAR MAHARAJ once the injured deer came struggling inside the temple which was bleeding heavily. The deer was about to die. VIDYASAGAR came outside the room and chanted the holy NAVKAR MANTRA for deer. After few hours deer was cured and was able to run.
The place was ruled by Gond rulers before being captured by the Bhonsle rulers of Nagpur in the eighteenth century. Ramtek also has an engineering college KITS which comes under Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur.
Architectural Relevance of This Shrine
Ram Temple is renowned for its unique OM structure, located at the foot of Ramgiri hill. Measuring 350 feet long, 10.5 feet high and 11 feet wide, this structure is beautifully adorned with the picturesque description of Ramayana, Krishna Leela and idols of Lord Hanuman, Sai Baba and Gajanan Maharaj.
Shrine’s Map Location and How to Go There
By Road
The nearest Bus stop is Nagpur.
By Rail
The Nearest Railway Stations in Ramtek Nagpur,Nagpur-50 Kms.
By Air
The Nearest Airport in Ramtek Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport ( NAG ) , Nagpur-50 Kms.
Events Celebrated at This Shrine
Ramanavami