Ratanpur
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, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Ratanpur
Town in the District and tahsll of Bilaspur, Central Provinces, situated in 22 if N. and 82 n'E., 16 miles north of Bilaspur town by road. It lies in a hollow below some hills. Popula- tion (1901), 5,479. Ratanpur was for many centuries the capital of Chhattlsgarh under the Haihaivansi dynasty, its foundation being assigned to king Ratnadeva in the tenth century. Rums cover about 15 square miles, consisting of numerous tanks and temples scattered among groves of mango-trees. There are about 300 tanks, most of them very small, and filled with stagnant, greenish water, and several hunared temples, none of which, however, possesses any archaeological importance. Many sail monuments to the queens of the Haihaivansi dynasty also remain. Ratanpur is a decaying town, the proximity of Bilaspur having deprived it of any commercial importance. It pos- sesses a certain amount of trade in lac, and vessels of bell-metal and glass bangles are manufactured. Its distinctive element is a large section of lettered Brahmans, the hereditary holders of rent-free villages, who are the interpreters of the sacred writings and the ministers of religious ceremonies for a great portion of Chhattlsgarh. The climate is unhealthy, and the inhabitants are afflicted with goitre and other swellings on the body. The town contains a vernacular middle school, with branch schools.
