->Mike Peel: Removing Commons category link that does not match this article (:commons:Category:Rishikesh) (Commons category belongs at Rishikesh)

2021-11-12T21:52:10Z

Removing Commons category link that does not match this article (commons:Category:Rishikesh) (Commons category belongs at Rishikesh)

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}

{{Infobox settlement
| name = Muni Ki Reti
| native_name =
| native_name_lang = hi
| settlement_type = Town
| image_skyline = A study group by the Ganga at Muni ki Reti near Rishikesh.jpg
| image_caption = A study group by the eastern banks of Ganges at Muni ki Reti
| pushpin_map = India Uttarakhand#India
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Uttarakhand, India
| coordinates = {{coord|30.07|N|78.16|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Uttarakhand]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Tehri Garhwal district|Tehri Garhwal]]
| established_title = 
| government_type = [[Municipal Council]]
| governing_body = Muni Ki Reti Municipal Council
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_total_km2 = 1.82
| elevation_m = 456
| population_total = 10,620
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_density_km2 = 5835
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = [[Postal Index Number|PIN]]
| postal_code = 249137
| area_code = 0135
| area_code_type = Telephone code
| blank1_name_sec1 = [[Human sex ratio|Sex ratio]]
| blank1_info_sec1 = 581 [[male|♂]] / [[female|♀]]
| demographics1_info1 = [[Hindi]]
}}
'''Muni Ki Reti''' is a town and a [[municipal council]] in [[Tehri Garhwal district]] in the [[States and union territories of India|Indian state]] of [[Uttarakhand]]. It lies close to the pilgrimage town of [[Rishikesh]] and is known for its ashrams, including the [[Divine Life Society]] of [[Sivananda Saraswati]].

==History==
Literally meaning "Sand of the sages" ([[Rishi Muni|muni]]),<ref name="KrishnanandaBhagyalakshmi1986">{{cite book|author1=Swami Krishnananda|author-link=Swami Krishnananda|author2=S. Bhagyalakshmi|title=Facets of Spirituality: Dialogues and Discourses of Swami Krishnananda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7XveZqyxelEC&pg=PR23|date=1986|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0087-8|page=23}}</ref><ref name="Caycedo1966">{{cite book|author=Alfonso Caycedo|title=India of yogis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ba9WAAAAMAAJ|year=1966|publisher=National Pub. House|page=66}}</ref><ref name="Shakespear1849">{{cite book|author=John Shakespear|title=A dictionary, Hindustani and English|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQFfAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA2372|year=1849|publisher=Richardson|page=2372}}</ref> Muni Ki Reti is traditionally considered the gateway for the [[Char Dham]] pilgrimage — [[Badrinath]], [[Kedarnath]], [[Gangotri]], and [[Yamunotri]]. It is also known as the place where King [[Bharata (Ramayana)|Bharata]] of ''[[Ramayana]]'' did penance.<ref name="NandKumar1989"/>

In modern history, 'Kailash Ashram' was established here in 1880 by [[Dhanraj Giri]]. It was one of the first large ashrams to be established in Rishikesh. Before that it was mostly as a place for individual seekers or pilgrims to stop over on way to Char Dham temples pilgrimage.<ref name="Strauss2005">{{cite book|author=Sarah Strauss|title=Positioning Yoga|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=osrMSkvx4fgC&pg=PA30|year=2005|publisher=Berg|isbn=978-1-85973-739-2|pages=30–}}</ref><ref name="NandKumar1989"/>

Subsequently, Swami Atmananda founded Swargashram in 1908; [[Sivananda Ashram]] was established by [[Swami Sivananda]] in 1936. Gradually other ashrams came up and soon it became a popular destination for yoga and meditation practitioners and seekers of [[Veda]]ntic knowledge. The town became a [[Nagar Panchayat]] on 30 November 1949 and elevated to [[Municipal Council]] in 2015.<ref name=gov>[http://gov.ua.nic.in/SFC/SFCEnglish/APPENDIX%205.3.9.htm Town Profile]{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} [[Uttarakhand]] Govt. Official website.</ref><ref name="NandKumar1989">{{cite book|author1=Nitya Nand|author2=Kamlesh Kumar|title=The Holy Himalaya: A Geographical Interpretation of Garhwal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wmNGKpcE83cC&pg=PA372|year= 1989|publisher=Daya Publishing House|isbn=978-81-7035-055-2|pages=372–}}</ref> Over the years other [[ashram]]s have come up in the area — Gita Bhawan, [[Parmarth Niketan]] of [[Swami Chidanand Saraswati]] and Vanprastha Ashram — all on the opposite bank of the Ganges.<ref>[http://210.212.78.56/50cities/munikireti/english/profile_history.asp Local attractions]{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref>

In February 1968 [[The Beatles]] visited the now-closed [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]]'s ashram.<ref>[http://thebeatlesinrishikesh.com/stories/india.html Site dedicated to the visit of the Beatles to Rishikesh] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512034210/http://www.thebeatlesinrishikesh.com/stories/india.html |date=12 May 2008 }} Beatles in Rishikesh by Paul Saltzman, 2000, Penguin Studio Books. {{ISBN|0-670-89261-0}}.</ref> [[John Lennon]] recorded 'The Happy Hrishikesh Song' here.<ref>[http://www.last.fm/music/The+Beatles/_/The+Happy+Hrishikesh+Song The Happy Hrishikesh Song - Beatles]{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>[http://www.guitaretab.com/b/beatles/1114.html The Happy Hrishikesh Song]</ref> The Beatles composed nearly 48 songs during their time at the Maharishi's ashram, many of which appear on the ''White Album''. Several other artists, including [[Mike Love]] of [[The Beach Boys]], [[Donovan]] and [[Gyp Mills (Sculptor)|Gyp Mills]], visited the site to contemplate and meditate.

For years boats were the only way to go across the Ganges where numerous ashrams lie, but in 1986, the building of a suspension bridge, [[Ram Jhula, Rishikesh|Ram Jhula]], similar to the [[Lakshman Jhula]] at [[Rishikesh]], allowed easy access and rapid growth to the area.

==Demographics==
According to the [[2011 Census of India]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999|archive-date=2004-06-16|title= Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)|access-date=2008-11-01|publisher= Census Commission of India}}</ref> Muni Ki Reti had a population of 10,620. Males constitute 63% of the population and females 37%. The town has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 63%. In Muni Ki Reti 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Ramjhula - bridge over the Ganga.jpg|[[Ram Jhula, Rishikesh|Ram Jhula]], the bridge over the Ganges.
File:Ghats on the Ganges and Ram Jhula bridge at Muni ki Reti, Rishikesh.jpg|Ghats on the Ganges and Ram Jhula bridge at Muni ki Reti.
File:Ghats by the River Ganga, Rishikesh.jpg|Ganga ghats across the river Ganges, at Muni ki Reti.
File:Shiva in rishikesh.jpg|The Shiva statue overlooking the ghats, near [[Parmarth Niketan]].
File:Meditation chambers at the old Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram, now in ruins, Muni Ki Reti.jpg|Meditation chambers at the old [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]] Ashram, now in ruins, Muni Ki Reti.
File:An Outlet of Gita Press, Gorakhpur, a religious publisher, Muni Ki Reti.jpg|[[Gita Press]] outlet, Gita Bhavan, Muni Ki Reti.
File:Ashrams on the banks of Ganges, Rishikesh.jpg|'Shivananda Kutir' on the Shivananda ghat, with Shivananda Ashram above.
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090303231241/http://210.212.78.56/50cities/munikireti/english/home.asp Muni Ki Reti, Official website]
* [http://wikimapia.org/952312/palika-parking-Muni-ki-reti Muni Ki Reti] ''[[wikimapia]]''

{{Tehri Garhwal}}

[[Category:Hindu pilgrimage sites in India]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in Tehri Garhwal district]]
[[Category:Tourism in Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:Rishikesh]]

Muni Ki Reti - Revision history

->Mike Peel: Removing Commons category link that does not match this article (:commons:Category:Rishikesh) (Commons category belongs at Rishikesh)