Dewas is a city on the Malwa plateau in the West-central part of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, about 143 km southwest from the state capital, Bhopal and 35 km from Indore the commercial capital of the state. It is the administrative center of the Dewas District, and was formerly the seat of two '15 Gun Salute' princely states during the British Raj, Dewas Junior state and Dewas senior state, ruled by the royal Maratha 'Puar' (or 'Pawar'). Today, Dewas is an industrial town and houses government's bank note press which is largest of its kind in Asia. The name Dewas is derived from the Devi Vaishini hill in the city, commonly known as Tekri. The hill has a temple of deity Devi Tulja Bhawani, Chamunda Mata and Kalika Mata. The word Dewas is also believed to be a sandhi of words Dev deity and Vas Marathi for abode, thus Dewas means abode of the deity or god. Swami Shivom Tirtha wrote the History of the hill (Tekri) of Dewas in his book—Sadhan Shikhar. E.M.Forster wrote a Travelogue named -The Hill of Devi in 1953. The Hill of Devi is his non-fictional account of him. The district gets its name from the district headquarters town, Dewas which is said to have been derived on the basis of two traditions. One is that Dewas lies on the foot of a conical hill, known as Chamunda hill about 300 ft. above the ground level on top of which the shrine of Chamunda is located. The image of the Goddess is cut in rocky wall of a cave. It is, therefore, known as Devi Vashini or the Goddess's residence. From this the name Dewas (dev-vas) seems to have been derived. The other view of the probable origin is from the name of the founder of the village Dewasa Bania. The present Dewas district broadly corresponds to the twin treaty States in Malwa Political charge of the Central India Agency, divided into a Senior and a Junior branch of the early twentieth century with some adjustments of other territories. There were two district chief ships with separate administrations, acting independently in most matters, sharing the same capital town of Dewas. Consequent upon the merger of princely States and the formation of Madhya Bharat State in 1948 there was reconstitution of boundaries and thus the district in the present form was constituted. The reconstituted district was, however, formed by merging 242 villages of the two tahsils of Dewas of the former Senior and Junior State, 452 villages of Sonkatch tahsil and of 99 villages of Ujjain tahsil of former Gwalior state, 99 villages of Nimanpur tahsil of former Dhar state, one village of Jawar tahsil of former Bhopal State, and then the existing tahsils of Kannod and Khategaon of former Holkar State. With the reorganization of States on linguistic basis on 1stNovember 1956, Madhya Bharat, with other territories got merged to form the New state of Madhya Pradesh and thus Dewas continues to be one of the districts in it. The district is now divided into 9 tehsils viz. Dewas, Sonkatch, Bagli, Kannod, Khategaon, Satwas, Tonk-Khurd, Hatpipliya and Udainagar. Dewas tehsil is situated on the north-western part of the district, Sonkatch on the north-eastern part, Bagli on the south, Kannod on the south-central part and Khategaon on the South-east. Weather road connects all the tahsil headquarters. The headquarters of Dewas tehsil, which is also the district headquarters, is situated on The Bombay-Agra National Highway No.3 and is also connected by broad-gauge railway line of western Railway. Dewas was formerly the capital of two princely states of British India. The original state was founded in the first half of the 18th century by the brothers Tukaji Rao (senior) and Jivaji Rao (junior), from the Puar clan of Marathas, who advanced into Malwa with the Maratha Peshwa, Baji Rao, in 1728. In the time of Puar clan of Marathas Shri Krishan Ji Rao Pawar was the King of Town, and His favorite Body guard and good friend Shri Moti Lal Rathod belongs to Rathod family. Shri Moti lal Rathod was Bharat Kesari Award Winner out of the whole Bharat who won the championship organized at the India level and became "Bharat Kesari". Shri Motilal Rathod contructed Akhada in Dewas and was one and only Brave Wrestler out of India. The brothers divided the territory among themselves; their descendants ruled as the senior and junior branches of the family. After 1841, each branch ruled his own portion as a separate state, though the lands belonging to each were so intimately entangled, that even in Dewas, the capital town, the two sides of the main street were under different administrations and had different arrangements for water supply and lighting. The senior branch had an area of 446 sq mi (1,160 km2). and a population of in 62,312 in 1901, while the area of the junior branch was 440 sq mi (1,100 km2). and had a population of 54,904 in 1901.[7] Both Dewas states were in the Malwa Agency of the Central India Agency. After India's independence in 1947, the Rajas of Dewas acceded to India, and their states were integrated into Madhya Bharat, which became a state of India in 1950. In 1956, Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh state. Dewas lies Northeast of Indore, Southeast of Ujjain, and Southwest of Shajapur. The city is located on the level plains of the Malwa plateau; to the South, the land rises gently to the Vindhya Range, which is the source of the Chambal and Kali Sindh rivers that flow north through the district on their way to the Ganges.The main river in Dewas is Kshipra, which is known as 'Holy River'. Dewas is also known for the Mata Mandir which is situated at the hill which is famous in the name of mata tekri. Dewas Ke Bhagirath: Dewas is known for their water management and irrigation programs in rural areas. Until 2005 Dewas was a drought area and farmers was having major problems as production was at very low level. But after Umakant Umrao took over as district collector of Dewas things started changing. Today village farmers have plenty of water and it is helping them for removing their poverty. Dewas district became model for other districts in India. United Nations selected Dewas district's community water management works in the best three water management practices in the world under the category of "Best Water Management Practices" for 2011-2012. Dewas was finalist in 'Water for Life United Nation's-Water Best Practices Award 2012 edition. United Nations praised Bhagirath Krishhak Abhiyan of Dewas district started by district administrator Umakant Umrao. Documentary film made by Public Service Broadcasting Trust about Dewas water revolution is featured on Lok Sabha TV. Dewas is famous for Devi Chamunda temple and Devi Tulaja Bhavani temple situated on a hilltop, Tekri. The tekri, about 300 ft height is mounted by a broad flight of stone steps. There are mainly two shrine of goddess called as Choti Mata (Chamunda Mata) and other Badi Mata (Tulja Bhavani Mata). There are numerous other temples spread all over Tekri that can be explored on foot. Shri Sheelnath Dhuni at the Tekri foothills is a revered place for followers of Saint Sheelnath Maharaj's of Gorakh Nath Sumpradaya. Sheelnath Maharaj belonged to a royal of family of Jaipur who later on became a Yogi of Gorakh Nath Sumpradaya who lived in Dewas in his late ages. Pawar Chatries and Meetha talab - The impressive Chattries near the Meetha talab of Dewas remind the strong presence of Maratha architecture in the area. Keladevi or Kailadevi temple at Dewas is the biggest of such in the state. It is situated at Mishri Lal Nagar (Agra Bombay Road). It is situated at Mishri Lal Nagar (Agra Bombay Road), south-westerly. It was established in the month of December 1995 by a businessman and devotee named Mannulal Garg. This modern temple is built by South Indian artists. The temple premise also houses an attractive 51 ft statue of lord Hanumanji. Original Kaila Devi Temple is located on the banks of the Kalisil river in Karauli district of Rajasthan. The temple is devoted to the tutelary deity, Goddess Kaila, of the erstwhile princely rulers of the Karauli state. Mahadev mandir or Kailash Kuti or Girijeshwar temple in Shankar Gadh or Shankargar) - The Dewas Ruler Shrimant Sadashive Rao Maharaja (Khase Saheb) built this temple in 1942. The temple is located on a small hillock along the Bypass road southerly to city in nice environs. Mahakaleshwar temple, Bilwali - Bilavali village is situated on A B road about 3 km North of Dewas. Shivling in Mahakaleshwar temple located here is reputed to be growing in size over time. Popular Shri Digambar Jain Teerth Kshetra, Pushpagiri is located 4 km westerly to Sonkatch in a truly peaceful environs of Songiri Hills. The temple here is dedicated to Lord Mahavir. This Jain kshetra is a sprawling 250 acre complex housing Jain Sthanaks, schools, hospital, museum, cottages, shopping centers and above all, a 108 feel tall idol of Bhagwan Paraswanath in an Yogic (Padmasan) posture. This would be one of tallest Jain idols surpassing even (57' height) Bhagwan Bahubali idol at Shravanabelgola in Karnataka. Shri Manibhadra Veer Jain tirth, Matmor or Shivapur Theerth Shri Manibhadra Veer Shvetamber Jain centre is located in Matmor village of Bagli taluk, Dewas district. Manibhadra veer is one of the sacred protector deities of Jains. At this place a chariot shaped temple was inaugurated on 19-5-91 under guidance of Shri Veer Ratna Vijayji Maharaj Sab. The pilgrimage is situated in fantastic natural environs. At this place there are various amenities like pantry, retiring rooms, residence for Jain teachers, old age centre, library, old manuscripts,etc. Kheoni wildlife Sanctuary: Kheoni or Khinvi wildlife Sanctuary was established in the year 1955. The area of reserved forest is 115.320 sqkm and of protected forest is 16.678 sqkm and totalling to 132.778 sqkm. This sanctuary houses different types of animals, birds, aquatic and lush greenery throughout. There are around 2 Lion, 8 Leopards, 70 Sambhar, 275 Cheetal, 163 Neelgay, 45 Chinkara and 75 Bhhendki according to 1999 census. There is a forest guesthouse in Kheoni village. Kavadia Hills: This pahaad situated next to Potla and Pipri villages in Bagli Taluk, Dewas district is a series of small rocky mountains. There are total seven mountain-like formations of geographically shaped interlocking basalt columns that are probably created simultaneously as a result of volcanic eruption millions of years ago. These rock columns are arranged in a pattern that gives an appearance of a man made structure. Most of the columns are hexagonal and interlocked with similar rocks on all the edges that emit a musical sound when struck. Most visible columns are 8 to 10 feet long but there can be longer rocks further deep inside the mountain. Although basalt columns are not unique and are found at several places around the world (including St. Mary's Islands in Karnataka, India), the Quality, Quantity, Geometrical arrangement and Geographical location (far away from ocean) of this place is unique. Gidya Khoh: Situated on the Indore-Nemawar [Road NH 59A], Gidya Khoh or Gidiya Khoh is a picturesque place in the Dewas District. The place has a spectacular waterfall surrounded by an beautiful green valley. Water fall cascades down from a height of 500–600 ft. Khudel devta temple located here is much revered by the local tribes. Gidya Khoh is located about 48 km southerly Dewas and 42 km easterly to Indore, and Double Chwki is the nearest junction from where Gidya Khoh is 9 km far [Double Chowki >4 km> Shivni >1 km> Janakpur >3 km> Bhadkiya >1 km> Gidiya Khoh waterfall]. Dewas Junction(DWX), is a Standard Broad Gauge Railway Station which belongs to Ratlam Division of Western Railway (India) Zone, is well connected with all major cities of India.The Railway station is also awarded by the Western Railway India Dewas Junction lies on Indore Junction BG – Ujjain Junction branch line and it has one line originating and going towards Maksi Junction which connects Nagda Bhopal Junction WR-CR link line. Indore – Ujjain line has been eletrified now. This would rather increase some more speed and connectivity. There are regular trains plying to Mumbai (BCT), Delhi (NDLS), Kolkata (HWH), Chennai (MAS), Pune (PUNE), Ahmedabad (ADI), Lucknow (LKO), Jaipur (JP), Kanpur (CNB), Patna (PNBE), Thiruvananthapuram (TVC), Coimbatore (CNB), Eranakulam (ERS), Nagpur (NGP), Jammutavi (JAT), Amritsar (ASR), Dehradun (DDN), Ajmer (AII), Jodhpur (JU), Chhindwara (CWA), Jabalpur (JBP), Gandhinagar (GNC), Gwalior (GWL), Bhilwara (BHL), Udaipur (UDZ) and other major cities. Dewas is well connected to major cities of the State through an extensive network of national and state highways. NH3 Agra Mumbai National highway (A.B. Road) passes through the town. NH 86 starts from Dewas and goes up to Kanpur passing through UP via Ashta, Sehore, Bhopal, Raisen, Sanchi, Vidisha, Sagar, Chhatarpur, Malhara. Dewas is well connected with both cities Bhopal and Indore, political and commercial capital of MP respectively. Dewas is connected to Bhopal by 4 lane expressway highway known as Dewas-Bhopal Corridor. It is described as one of the best roads in central India. It is 142.6 km access controlled road made by SPV promoted by Chetak Enterprise Ltd. (CEL), Welspun Projects Limited. (WPL; previously known as MSK Projects (India) Limited and BSBK Ltd.