Chanderi

Chanderi चन्देरी چندےري
Town
View of Chanderi town from Qila Kothi. The Chaubisi Jain temple with 24 shikharas, installed in 1836 by Bhattaraka Harichand of Sonagir, is in the center.
Nickname(s): ऐतिहासिक नगरी चंदेरी
Chanderi Location in Madhya Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 24°43′N 78°08′E / 24.72°N 78.13°E / 24.72; 78.13Coordinates: 24°43′N 78°08′E / 24.72°N 78.13°E / 24.72; 78.13
Country	India
State	Madhya Pradesh
District	Ashok Nagar
Founded by	Raja Shishupal (mentioned in Mahabharata)
Named for	Chedi Kingdom
Government
• Type	City Municipality Board
Area
• Total	10.7 km2 (4.1 sq mi)
Elevation	456 m (1,496 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	33,081
• Rank	3rd in Ashoknagar District
Languages
• Official	Bundelkhandi, Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Telephone code	07547
Vehicle registration	MP 67
Website	chanderi.nic.in

Chanderi (Hindustani: चंदेरी (Devanagari), چندیری (Nastaleeq)) is a town of historical importance in Ashoknagar District of the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. It is situated at a distance of 127 km from Shivpuri, 37 km from Lalitpur, 55 km from Ashok Nagar and about 45 km from Isagarh. It is surrounded by hills southwest of the Betwa River. Chanderi is surrounded by hills, lakes and forests and is spotted with several monuments of the Bundela Rajputs and Malwa sultans.

The Chanderi area has been a major center of Jain culture. It was a major center of the Parwar Jain community. There are a number of Jain places nearby- Gurilagiri (7 km), Aamanachar (29 km), Bithala (19 km), Bhamon (16 km), Khandargiri (2 km), Thuvanji (22 km) and Bhiyadant (14 km), and Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh (20 km, across the border).

At a distance of 19 km from present Chanderi town is situated the Buddhi (old) Chanderi. Buddhi Chanderi is situated on the banks of Urvashi river. It is believed that the Chaidnagar mentioned in Puranas is same as Buddhi Chanderi. There is a myth that when Raja Nala left Damayanti asleep in the forests of Narwar she moved through dense forests and reached Chaidnagar protecting herself from wild animals. The route through forests from Narwar to Chanderi is very short. A number of 9th and 10th century Jain temples are there in Buddhi Chanderi attracting thousands of Jain pilgrims from all over the country.