Place · temple hill · India
Ramtek
The 5-century Vakataka hill temple complex at Ramtek in Nagpur district, Maharashtra, 50 kilometres from Nagpur — the hill traditionally held as Rama's resting place during his southern exile, with Ramchandra temple at the summit. The Vakataka dynasty (c.250-500 CE) patronised the temple complex; Kalidasa (c.5-century) is traditionally said to have composed his Meghadutam (The Cloud Messenger) at Ramtek, taking the Vakataka court as his base. The hill preserves the 5-century Narasimha temple, the 10-century Khindsi temple complex, and the 1200 CE Yadava-period Ramchandra Shrine. The annual October Dussehra festival at Ramtek is one of Vidarbha's largest. The Ramtek site helps restore the Vakataka Deccan to the sacred-geography map that the Puranas-based imagination of 'Ramayana India' often overlooks.
- Function
- Sacred site & pilgrimage
- Tradition
- Deccan archaeology and Maratha history
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 21.400, 79.270
Connections (2)
- Vakataka capitalNagardhan
Nandivardhana, now Nagardhan, was a Vakataka capital below the sacred hill of Ramtek, whose temples the dynasty and their Gupta relatives endowed — Prabhavatigupta, Chandragupta II's daughter, ruled here as regent for over a decade and her inscriptions are among the principal Vakataka records. Ramtek is also where Kalidasa's Meghaduta is traditionally set, which gives the hill a literary claim alongside the dynastic one.
- Site adjacencyNandivardhan
Nandivardhan (modern Nagardhan) and Ramtek sit 5 kilometres apart in Nagpur district, Maharashtra. The Vakataka eastern-branch capital at Nandivardhan under Pravarasena II (c.410-440 CE) and the Vakataka royal temple complex at Ramtek together constitute the Vakataka archaeological ensemble. Kalidasa is traditionally said to have composed his Meghaduta at the Vakataka court here. The Vakataka patronage of the Ajanta Caves (16, 17, 19) was administered from this capital region.
Sources
Wikipedia, “Ramtek”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
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