BILASPUR, Chhattisgarh

Main Attraction: Mahamaya Temple-Ratanpur

Ratanpur is at a distance of 25.6 km. from the district headquarters. It had been the capital of Kalchuri rulers in ancient times. It is believed that King Ratandeo of Kalchuri lineage built Devi Mahamaya temple in 1163. Architecture of Mahamaya temple is unique. At present the temple has been restructured but the originality of the main idol has not been disturbed. Ratanpur is full of architecture and other cultures. About 300 old ponds had been built around it. Most of the ponds are now non-existent and only some remains can be seen. Out of them “Dulraha Talab” is considered as the most sacred one. Badal Mahal, Bhairav Temple, Ram Tekdi and Vridheshawar Mahadeo are some important temples nearby Ratanpur. Several fairs are organised every year in Ratanpur during NAVRATRI.

Brief History

The district is named after Bilaspur town which is the 3rd largest city in Chhattisgarh State and home to its High Court. The city is approximately 400 years old. The name is derived from Bilasa, the name of a fisher woman. According to a folk lore, Bilasa was a very beautiful young married woman. A king of this area wanted to have her. To avoid her surrender and to save her chastity Bilasa committed suicide by burning herself. Her husband also committed suicide. Bilaspur district was named after Bilasa. The district occupies the north-east portion of the State.

History of Bilaspur is very old and glorious. It can be traced back to the 4th A.D. The area comprising this district was then known as South Koushal or Mahakoushal. It is said that as most of the area is covered with ‘Kush’ which is a special kind of grass, the place is known as Koushal. According to another version, this place is named Koushal after the name ‘Kush’, the son of great Rama of the Ramayanam, epic.

In the mid-4th century A.D., King Mahendra and Byaghra-raj ruled here. Afterwards, Samudragupta ruled this area, till 6th century A.D. After that till 7th century A.D. it was under a Buddhist ruler and he made Bhanrak of Chanda, its capital. A branch of this dynasty settled in Sirpur (Raipur district) and separated itself from its parent-state and captured the whole of Mahakoushal. The Sirpur kings ruled till 8th or 9th century. The rule of Haihaivanshi begins from 10th century. Actually Haihaivanshi were called Kalchuri, who were originally the ruler of Chedi area. Some historians of the middle-age called Chedi area as Chedigarh which is now called “Chhattisgarh”. In 1050 A.D. king Ratnadeo is known to have established Ratanpur.

Chhattisgarh was ruled by Kalchuri kings for a very long time and were very energetic. Their kingdom spread from Amarkantak to Godawari and from Vidarbh to the border Orissa. At first, Tumman and later, Ratanpur was the capital of Chedi or Dahal Kalchuri dynasty, which were in Bilaspur district. In the ancient age, the descendants of Kart Viryarjun were, in fact, Haihai caste Kalchuri king. In the genealogy, Ratandeo or Ratanraj first(1045 to 1065), Prithvi Deo I (1065-1090), Jajall Deo I, RatanDeo II, Prithvi Deo II, Jajall Deo II, Jag Deo, Ratan Deo III. Pratap Mall etc. were there, whose last king was Raghunath Singh.

In 1742, Maratha Commander Bhasker Pant attacked this area and finished Haihai dynasty. In the changing historic events Bhasker Pant was murdered brutaly in Cuttack and Raghunath Singh once again became free from marathas. Mohan Singh was seated on the throne and who ruled till 1758. Meanwhile, Maratha king Bimbaji organised himself and took over power. Bimbaji had no heir and so he nominated his nephew, Chimna Ji as his heir. Maratha rule lasted for about 60 years, i.e. from 1758 to 1818.

The area which comprises present-day Bilaspur District was under the control of the Bhonsla Rajas of Nagpur until 1818 and was governed by a Maratha ‘Subah’ (district officer). In 1818, the British started administering the area on behalf of Raghuji III who was a minor. The area was administered by a commissioner. In 1853, after the death of Raghuji III, British annexed the Nagpur Kingdom to British India as Nagpur Province, and in 1861 when the new Central Provinces was born, Bilaspur was organized into a separate district. In October 1903, a new province ‘The Central Provinces and Berar’ was constituted and Bilaspur District became a part of the Chhattisgarh Division of the province. In October 1905, on transfer of Sambalpur District to Bengal Province, Chandrapur-Padampur and Malkhurda estates were transferred to Bilaspur District. In 1906, when the Drug district (presently Durg District) was formed, a part of the Mungeli Tahsil was transferred to the new district. Also, another part of the district was transferred to the Raipur District. On 25 May 1998, the original Bilaspur District was split into 3 smaller districts, present Bilaspur, Korba and Janjgir-Champa. Later, on 6th July 1998, Pandariya Tahsil of this district was also transferred to Kawardh district.