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PLACES
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RITHPUR
Rithpur or Rddhapur is a large and populous village in Morsi
tahsil with in 1961, 703 houses and 3,663 inhabitants. It lies 9.656
km. (6 miles) east of Candur Bazar on the Acalpur-Candur-Morsi
road. Being the headquarters of the Mahanubhava sect, it is often
called the Banaras of Mahanubhava Panthis. It belonged to Sala-
bat Khan having been given to him as tankhajagir, and was a place
of much importance. Some 130 years ago it was surrounded by a
stone wall, not a trace of which is left to-day, and contained
about 2,000 houses and some 12,000 inhabitants. In the time of
Namdar Khan, the notorious Raja Bisn Cand was Talukdar
here. He is remembered alike for his miserliness and oppression,
and carried them to such an extreme that Rithpur was
completely deserted by the people.
Objects.
There are now numerous
temples of Mahanubhava Panthis, important of them being the Raj Math, Krsna Mandir, Datta Mandir also known as Bhagatrai
Mandir and Gopiraj Mandir. The Hindus have a shrine dedicated to Rama and the Muslims quite a few dargahs of which those of Salam Miya and Mehbub Subhani are of importance and a masjid, which is in the midst of the Mahanubhava buildings.
Raj Math ana Krsna Temple.
Raj Math and Krsna Mandir are not two separate buildings but the latter is housed within Raj Math and are the most important places of worship of the Mahanubhava sect for these are said to have been established by Cakradhara Svami, the founder of the sect. At a later date the old math was rebuilt on a much larger scale at a total cost of Rs. 12,000. The shrine of Krsna is entered through a richly decorated arch-shaped door. The idol of Krsna, of black flint stone, is graceful and stands on a raised platform and nearby is marked a place where Cakradhara Svami used to sit to offer his prayers. Local tradition declares that at the back of the Raj Math in the compound, there were three more maths viz., Tripurus Math (of Brahma, Visnu and Mahes), Unca Math and Narsimha Math all of which were razed to the ground by Aurangzeb and a mosque established in its place which is still in a very good condition. The Mahanubhavas could reconstruct only the first i.e., Raj Math. Ruins of the Unca Math could be seen even to-day. Annually two fairs are held one each on Caitra Paurnima and Asadhi Paurnima. Nearly 5,000 people gather on these occasions.
Not far away from the Raj Math is the shrine of Gopiraj with a
spacious hall. It is entered through a richly carved door and
contains an idol of Krsna and a Homakunda. Within the premises
of this mandir a lihrary is located.
A well, known as Lala's well provides excellent drinking water to about half the village populace. The neighbouring soil is rocky and poor. The weekly bazar is held on Tuesdays. There is a branch post-office, primary schools and a middle school. Now Rithpur is also connected by a II class road with Tivasa, the length of which is about. 37.014 km. (23 miles). River Pedhi, flowing through this village, is considered as Kasi by the Mahanubhavas.
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