Narmadapuram

Narmadapuram, earlier known as Hoshangabad, has grown for centuries along the southern bank of the sacred Narmada River. The region has been inhabited since ancient times because of its fertile alluvial plains, river trade and proximity to forested hills. Early on, it lay on the cultural frontier between Malwa, Gondwana and the northern Deccan, influenced by various local chiefs and dynasties that controlled nearby routes and ghats.

The town’s older name, Hoshangabad, is generally linked to Hoshang Shah, a ruler of the Malwa Sultanate in the 15th century, when the area became an important outpost on the Narmada. Later it passed under Mughal influence and then Maratha control, especially through powers based in Nagpur and Indore, who used the river crossing and surrounding tracts for trade and revenue.

After the early 19th century Anglo–Maratha wars, the British incorporated Hoshangabad into the Central Provinces. It developed as a district headquarters with courts, churches, bungalows and a broad riverfront, while Sethani Ghat emerged as the main religious and social focus on the Narmada.

Following Independence, the town continued as an administrative centre. In the 21st century, to emphasise its Narmada identity and cultural heritage, the name was officially changed from Hoshangabad to Narmadapuram, highlighting the city’s enduring bond with the river that defines its history and life.