Panna

About:

The only Diamond City in India is Panna. Panna is beautifully calm and serene : roll-on meadows dotted with evergreen trees, hills, forests Panna is famous for its temples which strikes a very fine blend of Hindu and Muslim architecture.

Panna is the most sacrosanct pilgrimage for the followers of the Pranami sect world over. With a sanctuary for rare wild life and avifauna & a diamond mine, Panna has transformed a royal past into a vibrant and lively present.Panna is the twenty second Tiger Reserve of India and fifth in Madhya Pradesh . The Reserve is situated in the Vindhyan Ranges and spreads over Panna and Chattarpur districts in the north of the state.

Lying between 23º 45' and 25º 10' north latitudes and 79º 45' and 80º 40' east longitudes, Panna is a north-eastern district of Madhya Pradesh. Panna is divided into five blocks which consist of 1048 villages, 6 towns and a total population of 6,87,945.

The district's economy depends largely on its famous diamond mines.

Panna is a tourists' delight with its temples, museums, palaces, forests, waterfalls and diamond mines. The Panna Tiger Reserve, Baldeoji Temple and Pandav Fall are some the must visit places. Even though Panna, the only diamond city on the Indian subcontinent, is today a vibrant city, it has maintained its charming sense of tranquility. Here visitors will be greeted with long, rolling green meadows, forests and hills, wildlife sanctuaries and fine ancient temples.

The district makes the northern most boundary of natural distribution of teak and the eastern limits of teak-kardhai mixed forests, which is one of the most significant ecological aspects of the Reserve. River Ken flows through the reserve from south to north and is natural habitat for long snouted crocodile (gharial) and Marsh Crocodile (maggar) and other aquatic fauna.

Panna has a tiger reserve which is called Panna National Park. The sightings of tigers in Panna have fallen over recent years, and official tiger population figures were disputed by naturalists. There were plans to relocate two tigresses to Panna in 2009, which actually happened, but the last male tiger meanwhile disappeared. The reserve is home to a wide variety of other animals, many of which can be seen at closer quarters than in other reserves, because Panna has fewer visitors.Panna Tiger Reserve is the most important PA in the north-central highlands of India, as it links the eastern and western populations of wild animals through the NE-SW running Vindhyan ranges.

The Panna district also serves as the northernmost boundary of the beautiful natural teak reserves.

Location info:

Climate/Weather:

There are three distinct seasons:

Summer : March till mid June.
Rainy Season : Mid June till Mid September.
(the period from Mid Sept. till Mid Nov. is again dry & hot.)
Winter : Mid November till February.

History of Panna:

Shri 5 Padmavatipuri Dham, Panna and its sacred places. Adorned with divine lustre Padmavatipuri Dham is in Panna town at the centre of Vindhyachal in Madhya Pradesh. Moving around in different places along with his disciples Mahamati Prannath reached Panna with a divine message of awakening one's soul. Seeing a desert island he decided to unfurl the flag of Jagani there. He helped the brave king Chhatrasal and adorned him by the title of Maharaja. He remained there for elevan years, and took samadhi inside the dome itself. The place, therefore, is known as the seat of salvation [Muktipitha] or Padmavatipuri Dham.

Panna was the capital of Chhatar Sal, the Bundela Rajput leader who led a revolt against the Mughal Empire. Upon his death in 1732, his kingdom was divided among his sons, with one-third of the kingdom going to his ally, the Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao I.

The kingdom of Panna went to Harde Sah, the eldest son of Chhatar Sal. In the early 19th century, Panna became a princely state of British India, and gained control states of the states of Sohawal and Nagod. Raja Nirpat Singh assisted the British in the Revolt of 1857, and the British rewarded him with the title maharaja. Maharaja Mahendra Yadvendra Singh acceded to the Government of India on January 1, 1950, and the kingdom became Panna District of the new Indian state of Vindhya Pradesh. Vindhya Pradesh was merged into Madhya Pradesh on November 1, 1956.

Steeped in the splendour of the royal legacies of its past,Panna is infectious, reverentially mysterious, enveloping and holy. The oldest reference to Panna is in the Ramayan and various Purans.The ancient name of Panna was Padmawati-Puri, mentioned in Vishnu Puran and Bhavishya Puran.In the 41st sarg of Valmiki Ramayan it is described as Kilkila-Khand by Sugriv and Shrimad Bhagwat calls it Kilkila Pradesh.According to local believes, it was the capital of Raja Dadhichi and also of Raja Padmavat during satyug.

That was Swami Pran Nathji who told Raja Chhatrasal Bundela, a great medieval warrior regarding Diamond mines of Panna and thus strengthened his financial position.He also persuaded Chhatrasal to make Panna his capital and arranged his coronation there.

Panna district of today has been carved mainly out of former princely states of Panna and Ajaigarh.Originally a Gond settlement up to the thirteenth century, it was raised to importance by Raja Chhatrasal Bundela who made it his capital.

From explorations,it is proved that the district was inhabited by primitive men in the earlier pre-historic period. During the Ramayan period the Panna region seems to have been included in the great Dandkaranya.The district was the part of the vast empires of Mauryas, Shungas and Imperial Guptas.

From the middle of the 10th century AD to the second half of the 13th century, the Chandellas kingdom included Khajuraho, Kalingar and Ajaigarh. When the Bundelas came to power in the 17th century , the area came to be known as Bundelkhand.Panna is rich in water falls and scenic views. Panna is situated on Vindhyachal Ranges which give Panna so many beautiful sites. Pandav Fall, Brihaspati Kund, Nand-Chand, Nachne, etc. are some of them.

Educational Institutions in Panna:

Law Colleges in Panna, Madhya Pradesh offering Legal Education including Civil Law, Criminal Law, Business Law, Forensic Law etc. and courses such as Bachelor of Law (BL), Master of Law (ML) etc:

DBC Mahavidyalaya, Panna

Langauges:

How to reach Panna?

Nearest Railway Station:

The nearest Railway station is Satna which is directly connected to Bhopal, Jabalpur & Delhi and from Satna, there is about 70 Kms drive for Panna.

Nearest Airport:

The nearest Airport is Khajuraho, the world famous heritage. Khajuraho is directly connected to the national capital, New Delhi by Air. From Khajuraho Airstrip, there is only 45 Kms drive for Panna.

Road Transport:

Good Network of Roads Connect Panna to Cities and Towns of the State.Madla (24 kms) is Nearest Transport Center. Regular Bus Service is Available.

Tourist Attraction of Panna:

Temples of Panna district are well-known all over the state of Madhya Pradesh and present a fine blend of Hindu and Muslim architecture. The district of Panna is the most sacrosanct pilgrimage for the followers of the Pranami sect world over. The dominant architectural schemes of a majority of the temples are uniformly homogenous. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, Muslim architectural wisdom appeared in these temples like; domes of these temples are plain as well as onion shaped. The temples in the district of Panna have kalasha on top and most of the tallest domes have a lotus form.

One of the most famous temples in the Panna district is the Mahamati Prannathji temple. This is the most prominent temples of pranamies which reflects their religious and social life. The construction of the temple was completed in A.D. 1692. It is believed that Prannathji lived here and will remain here and thus became the highest Pranami tirtha as Mahamati`s Punyasthali, and hence Panna is the `param dham` for Pranamies. This temple reminds one of the great Taj Mahal at Agra. The Rang Mahal has eight pahals and each pahal possesses 201 domes. The spherical central dome is as Muslim architecture and the lotus form on this dome is as per the Hindu tradition. The glistering divine golden kalasha is accompanied by the divine panja which denotes Mahamati`s blessing and signifies the Aksharatita Purna Brahman. The main entrance of central dome is known as Kaman Darwaza, made of silver. On Sharada Purnima every year, thousands of people gather at this temple to celebrate the Mahotsava.

Another temple of importance is the Baldeoji temple. It is constructed in the Paladian style as a scaled down replica of St. Paul`s Cathedral in London under the supervision of Mr. Manly, an Italian expert. The temple structure improves upon the Romanesque and Gothick styles prevalent in Britain in 18th Century. This temple consists of a large hall called maha mandapa with massive pillars and is erected on a raised platform so that one may obtain darshan even from out side the main gate. The attractive image of Shri Baldeoji is made in black shaligrami stone. This temple is the finest building in Panna and represents the zenith of architecture of the Panna district.

Padmavati Devi or Badi Devi temple is also well-known in the district of Panna as an important place of pilgrimage. It is situated on the northwestern corner near Kilkila River and it is believed to be a very old temple. The temple has great historical and religious importance under the belief that goddess Padmavati, who was still alive was the protector of prosperity and happiness of Panna. During Nav-Durgotsava, thousands of devotees gather here. Maharaja Chhatrasal Bundela accepted the Goddess as the Raj Lakshami although their kuldevi is Vindhyavasani.

The Jugal Kishoreji temple is the main Hindu temple in the district of Panna and was erected in the Bundela temple style. The natya mandapa, garbha griha, bhog mandapa and pradkshana path are present in this temple. The attire of the Lord is not Brij but Bundelkhandi. According to the common belief, the idol came to Panna from Vrindavan via Orchha. Apart from these temples there are various other temples of great importance in the district of Panna. Some of these temples include Ram-Janki temple, Swamiji temple, Sarang temple, Baiji temple, Govindji temple, etc. All the above temples are located in the Panna town itself except Sarang temple, which is about 20 kilometers from the town.

Other Temples : Other than the above temples, Ram-Janki Temple, Swamiji Temple, Sarang Temple, Baiji Temple, Govindji Temple are some of the important temples in Panna.

All the above temples are located in the Panna town itself except Sarang Temple, which is about 20 kms from the town.

Panna National Park is home to some of the best wildlife species in India. It is close to the world heritage site of Khajuraho, which you could also include in your itinerary. Spread over 543 sq Km of rugged landscape, scrubby vegetation, gorges, forest patches and plateaus, Panna is one of India's best tiger reserves. The Ken River which flows through the park is the main source of water for the wildlife, and breaks into breathtaking waterfalls. More than 20 species of mammals and 230 bird species inhabit Panna National Park. Besides wildlife, the small town of Panna is also famous for its diamond industry.

As for major fauna, the reserve has a variety of species of mammals and reptiles. Tiger, Jungle Cat, Leopard, Hyena, Wild Dog, Wolf, Sloth Bear, Sambhar, Chital, Nilgai, Chinkara, Chausinga, Porcupine, Jungle Cat, Rusty Spotted Cat, Hare, Ratel and Tree Shrew, are mainly found mammals. Long snouted crocodile (gharial) and Marsh Crocodile (mugger) are chief reptiles found in the Ken river.
With a view of eco-development, a short term consultancy project has been taken up by WII on “Assessment of Impact Zone around Panna National Park” in 1998-99. This Project will also give on-the-spot training to the front line staff of the Reserve on ecodevelopment issues and will develop a manual of ecodevelopment planning (in Hindi) for range level staff.

Panna Tiger Reserve is just 25 km from Khajuraho-a mere half an hour drive.

Tiger sighting is always a matter of chance but regular sightings are reported.

Cheetal, Sambar, Nilgai, Chinkara, Chowsingha, Langoor, Wildboar and Jackal, are frequently sighted.

Gorges and falls along the course of the Ken river in the Reserve are beholding.

Dynamic dry deciduous forest undergoes dramatic change from lush green in monsoon to dry grey in summer.

Relics of Gondwana period (rule of the tribal people of Central India) are scattered all over the Reserve.

Besides the wildlife watchers (around 12000 annually), Panna gets visitors (around 20000 annually) who exclusively visit the famous Pandav Fall.

Hotels/Lodge/Accommodation in Panna:

Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge