History of Chitrakoot

Chitrakoot played a very prominent role during the exile of Lord Rama from Ayodhya and that’s why this place marked itself as a holy place in the history of India. It is a quaint little town situated in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh and comes under the chain of holiest places to visit once in a lifetime in India. Numerous Hindu pilgrims come here every day with the wishful thinking of visiting the very place where Lord Rama once stepped. The town is visited by the highest number of crowds during some of the famous Hindu festivals like Ram Navami, Diwali, Sharad Poornima, Makar Sankranti, Somwati Amavasya, etc. Apart from attracting thousands of pilgrims during these festivals, it also welcomes the visitors who are in search of some quaint places where they can practice yoga.

It was in the deep forest of Chitrakoot where Lord Rama, Goddess Sita, and Lord Laxman found their spiritual abode when they were called out on an exile by their father Dashratha. Later, when he discovered about the sudden demise of his father then, it was here where he performed all the Hindu rituals that many of us perform after our loved one’s death. On the thirteenth day of his father death which is known as ‘Shuddhi’ in the local language, Lord Rama hosted a ‘Shraddha’ ceremony where he invited many Gods and Goddess to partake in the ceremony. After that, Chitrakoot emerged as a holy place and was walked by many sages, devotees, seers, etc. Some of the honorary mentions like Sage Atri, Dattatreya, Sati Anusuya, Valmiki, Maharshi Markandeya also visited this holy place.

As per legends, the life journey of Lord Rama was long known by the sage Valmiki and it is said that he wrote the story even before his birth. And in his tale, Valmiki also mentioned this place and described it as the spiritual abode of Lord Rama. He also mentioned how this place will be visited by many other great sages after Lord Rama and thus announcing that it will then be worshipped as a spiritual place by many in the modern world. The mention of Chitrakoot was not only in the Hindu epic ‘Ramcharitmanas’ but the other Hindu epic ‘Mahabharata’ also mentioned this place as a blessed place to be visited once in a lifetime.

There is a temple in Chitrakoot popularly known all over India by the name of ‘Bharat Milap Temple’, it was this very place where Lord Ram met another brother Lord Bharat who refused the throne after his brother’s exile. The temple is regarded as a very religious place by the people of India and also visited by hundreds of pilgrims, saints every day. Apart from this temple, there are many other religious, historical, cultural, and archeological places in Chitrakoot which one can visit.

Many great poets also visited this small town and mentioned its name in their poetry and literature work. One of the very famous poet ‘Rahim’ also visited this town when the Mughal emperor Jahangir exiled him from his territory. He then described the beauty and spirituality of this place in his literature scriptures.

So, Chitrakoot is a holy place which is often visited by many pilgrims round the year and there is also a popular belief that surrounds this place as a blessed which has the capacity to wash away one’s sins. One can see saints draped in orange colored clothes wandering along the streets of Chitrakoot because this place also offers you a great location to meditate. To sum it up, Chitrakoot will be a very spiritual journey for those who are looking for a little bit of peace away from all the hustle-bustle of big cities.