Tikamgarh is a town and a tehsil in Tikamgarh district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The city serves as a district headquarters. The earlier name of Tikamgarh was Tehri(i.e., a triangle) consisting of three hamlets, forming a rough triangle. In Tikamgarh town there is locality still known as 'Purani Tehri'. Until Indian independence in 1947, Tikamgarh, formerly called Tehri, was part of the kingdom of Orchha, which was founded in the 16th century by the Bundeli chief Rudra Pratap Singh, who became the first King of Orchha. In 1783 the capital of the state was moved to Tehri, about 40 miles (64 km) south of Orchha, which was home to the fort of Tikamgarh, and the town eventually took the name of the fort. The district is famous for the old fort of Kundar known as Garh Kundar, which was built by Khangars and remained the capital of kshatriya Khangar rulers from 1180 to 1347.
Bundelkhand, in the heart of India, has been an ancient centre of Jainism. It is mostly in modern Madhya Pradesh, but part of it is in Uttar Pradesh.
Shah is a common surname in South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan. Shah is another term used for 'king' in Iran, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Persian language, Shah means 'very large'. That is, the one who is the largest in public is called Shah (King). People of the Shah caste mostly reside in Asia. Residents bearing the Shah surname will also be found in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nepal.
Jainism has been present in Maharashtra since ancient times. The famous Ellora Caves demonstrate that Jainism was part of a thriving religious culture in Maharashtra in premodern times.
Badnawar is a Town, former pargana and a Nagar Parishad of the Dhar district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.
Bhojpur is a town of historical and religious importance in Raisen District of Madhya Pradesh, India.
Parwar, also spelt as Paravāra, is a major Jain community from the Bundelkhand region, which is largely in Madhya Pradesh, but also includes [Lalitpur District, Jhansi District of Uttar Pradesh] region of Uttar Pradesh. Apart from this District Nagpur (Maharashtra) have also a very large Parwar community. There is an area in Itwari of Nagpur known as Parwar-Pura having large number of Parwar's homes and shops. Most of the Nagpur's Parwar are migrated from Sagar, Deori, and other small villages of Sagar District of MP. Parwar exclusively follow the Digambar Jain tradition. Parwar usually preferred their marriage within community. There are 12 Gotra in Parwar community. Each Gotra has 12 Moor (lineages). A marriage within the same gotra or lineage are not allowed. Traditionally a marriage within any of the 8 branches was not permitted and hence the community was termed ashta-shakha.
Golapurva is an ancient Jain community from the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh.
Gahoi is a merchant community in central India.
The term Alha Khand is used to refer to poetic works in Hindi which consists of a number of ballads describing the brave acts of two 12th century Banaphar Ahir heroes, Alha and Udal, generals working for king Paramardi-Deva (Parmal) of Mahoba against the attacker Prithviraj Chauhan of Delhi. The works has been entirely handed down by oral tradition and presently exists in many recensions, which differ from one another both in language and subject matter. The Bundeli, the Bagheli, the Awadhi, the Bhojpuri, Maithili and the Kannauji recensions are the most well known among these.
Bahuriband, near Katni in Madhya Pradesh, is famous of the inscription at the feet of a colossal stone image of Jain Tirthankara Shantinath. The colossal statue is 12 feet and 2 inches in height.
During the Chandela rule, many towns in Bundelkhand, including Khajuraho, were home to large and flourishing Jain communities. At Khajuraho the Jains apparently lived on the east side of town. A number of Jain temples from that period have survived in this part of Khajuraho in various states of preservation. Many Jain inscriptions from the Chandela period can be seen at Khajuraho. All the Jain temples are now enclosed within a modern compound wall constructed in the 19th century, with the exception of the Ghantai temple, when the restoration of the temples was initiated. These temple are part of UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other temples in Khajuraho Group of Monuments. There is also an archaeological museum where historical Jain artifacts from the chandella period are preserved.
Nema is a merchant community which is mainly found in Madhya Pradesh. It has also spread to Gujarat and Rajasthan. It originated from the Nimar region of western Madhya Pradesh, where this community is still concentrated.
Uttar Pradesh, a state in north India has a long association with Jainism. Today the state is home to a number of Jain monuments, such as Jain Temples and Jain Tirths. There are around 213,267 Jains in Uttar Pradesh according to 2011 Census of India.
Paporaji, also called Pampapur, a temple site in Madhya Pradesh, India, 5 km east of Tikamgarh. The site is a center for the Jain religion. This is an atishaya kshetra, with 108 shrines.
Bandhaji is a historic Jain tirtha about 35 km from Tikamgarh.
Shantinatha temple is a Jain temple located among the Jain temple cluster in eastern Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India. While its main deity is the Jain tirthankara Shantinatha, it includes 18 shrines with numerous Jain images.
Aharji Jain Teerth is a historical pilgrimage site for Jainism located in Aharji, Madhya Pradesh, on the road from Tikamgarh to Chhatarpur.
Navagarh is a Jain Tirth in India. It is located at the Nabai village near Sojna in central India in Uttar Pradesh, just across the border from Madhya Pradesh. It is 65 km east from Lalitpur and 110 km north from Sagar. This ancient cite was excavated in 1959. It is the only tirth in India where the main deity is the ancient image of Lord Aranatha, preserved in the ancient underground chamber.
