Barwani Town
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Barwani Town
Capital of the State of the same name, in Central India, situated in 22° 2' N. and 74° 54' E., 3 miles from the left bank of the Narbada, and 80 miles from Mhow on the Rajputana-Mahva Railway. Population (1901), 6,277. The town is believed to have been founded in about 1650 by Rana Chandra Singh. Five miles from the town is Bawangaja1 ('52 yards') hill, a place of considerable sanctity among the Jains. Its name is derived from the popular idea of the height of the gigantic figure of the Jain teacher Gomateswara, cut in the face of the hill about three-quarters of the way up the slope. On the summit is a small temple constructed from the remains of an older building, which contains two inscriptions dated 1166 and 1459. Large numbers of Jain pilgrims visit the place on the full moon of the month of Pausha (January). At the foot of the hill stand some modern Jain temples, which are examples of the degraded style of Hindu archi- tecture followed in so many modern structures. A State guest-house, a hospital, British post and telegraph offices, a jail, and a school are situated in the town.
