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Attractions to Visit in Maheshwar

Dhruvil Nisar
September 27, 2023
5:54 pm

Maheshwar is a religious place in the Khargone district in the central state of India, Madhya Pradesh. It is only 91 km from the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, Indore. Narmada River flows to the north of this holy town. It has been known for 1000 years as having jyots lightened up all the time. The town has various ghats, and you can take a holy dip in them, letting you ward off all the evils. Shop on to some local Maheshwari sarees that are famous worldwide. Let us now discover the holy town of Maheshwar.

Reaching Maheshwar

Maheshwar can be reached via Indore in a private taxi or a local bus. It hardly takes a couple of hours from Indore. Once you enter the town of Maheshwar, various local guides will make you visit all the tourist spots in around 3-4 hours, charging Rs 200-300. They will take you to the places in the jeeps.

Attractions to visit in Maheshwar

The main tourist attractions of Maheshwar include:-

Raja Rajeshwara Temple

Raja Rameshwara temple is known as Mahishmati as well. It is dedicated to the mighty king, Kartivarjun. There you would be able to see multiple diyas from different places. It is believed that all wishes or prayers are fulfilled if you take blessings in the temple. But after your wish is fulfilled, you need to pour ghee in the 11 “Akhand jyots,” and your mannat will be over. It is said that these 11 Akhand jyots have not been extinguished for several years. This makes the place very special.

The temple is full of peace, providing serenity. The morning aarti in the temple takes place at 7-30 a.m. It looks divine. Like Rudra Abhishek, you can provide donations and have different kinds of pujas done over there.

Maheshwar Fort

The fort is just 20-25 steps ahead of the Raja Rameshwar temple. From there, you will get to enter the Sahastradhara. Ahilya Bai constructed the fort in the 18th century. The architectural work is amazing and has intricate designs. Rani Ahilya Bai also constructed the Maheshwar temple and Holkar Wada. Besides this, owning this beautiful place, several Bollywood and Tollywood movies have been shot over there; some of them are Ashoka, Manikarnika, and Padman.

You would also view two other temples, Kashi Vishwanath temple, and Ahilya temple. The fort has several small constructions like chhatris that connect to history. The Sabha Mandap has a Nandi in it. The intricate wall designs have inspired the form of print in famous Maheshwari sarees. The guide will inform you about various historical facts attached to the temple.

Ahilya Ghat

When you move out, you will have a look at a scenic Ahilya ghat on the river Narmada. It looks like the ghats at Varanasi. The river Narmada flows alongside, and while moving ahead, it gets divided into 1000 streams, becoming sahashtradhara. You can get there via boat. On the banks of the ghat, there are several fish you can feed for just Rs 10.

House of Ahilya Bai

There is a life-size statue of Ahilya Bai in her palace. She led a very simple and peaceful life. She was the queen of Malva Kindom in the 18th century. She married Khaderao, and her husband died in a battle in 1954. After her husband and father-in-law’s demise, she took over the charge of the kingdom and became a great leader in the history of India. It also has stairs that used to be a godown for storing grains.

When you move forward from the statue a few steps, there will be the house of Ahilya Bai Holkar. People assume it to be a grand-sized palace as she was a queen, but it is quite the opposite of that. It is a very simple house, just like the commoner’s house. There is no sort of royalty in it. It has an aangan in the center and plenty of rooms in the surrounding of the aangan. At first, on the left side, there is a place where Ahilya Bai used to take a rest. There is a photo idol of Ahilya Bai at present over there. Then, moving on to the other side, you will see paintings and 3D idols depicting Maheshwar. Her life story, table, chairs, etc., are also kept in that house for people to visit and have a chance to dive deep into the life of Ahilya Bai. There are plenty of swords showcased that were used in the battle to fight.

Shopping for Maheshwari sarees

It is fascinating to learn about the weaving and handcraft of India’s finest heirloom sarees, Maheshwar sarees. The traditional sarees were originated from Surat and Mandu traders, whom Ahilayabai hired. You can see stripes, checkered and floral borders in Maheshwari sarees, again inspired by designs in Maheshwari fort. There is a small house just before Ahilyabai Holkar’s house that does handcrafting of the Maheshwar sarees and sells them. Maheshwar sarees can be bought from several other places in the town, shops, and showrooms. The sarees are made with the help of machines. The price of sarees is really high as the fabric is pure and feels royal.

Shri Bakey Bihari Shuddh Bhojnalaya

The name of the bhojnalaya is renowned as they provide authentic, pure, and hygienic food at nominal rates. It provides Jain food with no garlic and onion. Reaching the food place could be clearer, and you might not get it in one go. But to reach the place exactly, make sure you remember the car parking area. It is opposite to that and in a different direction from the temple and fort. The seating inside the bhojnalaya is very traditional. You need to sit down and eat.

Chairs and tables are also available for people with a problem sitting down, but the low seating is its main USP apart from that. You can order the type of thali you want, which is quite sufficient and tasty.

Maheshwar, the religious town, provides inner calm and strength once you leave the place. You would be enriched with the great history and braveness of rani Ahilya Bai Holkar. The Indore airport is named after her as well.

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