Ambajogai

Ambajogai is a municipal council, Tehsil and subdivision in Beed district in the state of Maharashtra, India. Ambajogai is known as cultural capital of the Marathwada. The town has tourist destinations like Hattikhana, Monuments of Mukundraj (Marathi peot), and Dasopant, temples of Yogeshwari temple, Kholeshwar temple, Barakhambi temple.

The town was renamed Nizami name Mominabad to Ambajogai after goddess Yogeshwari (also known as Jogai) whose heritage temple is located here and are visited by people all over from Maharashtra, largely from the Konkan region. The town has many heritage places and this township is known as the cultural capital of the Marathwada region. The town has other heritage Hindu temples such as Sakleshwar, 12 Khambhi Mandir (lit. '12 pillar temple'), Kholeshwar Mandir, Mukundraj Smadhi and Dasopant Swami Samadhi, Kashivishwanath, Amruteshwar. There is an ancient cave called Shivleni Caves (Hattikhana) also known as Jogai Mandap declared as the Protected Monuments in Maharashtra (Archaeological sites in Maharashtra), where Lord Shankar, Nandi and Elephants are carved in stone, Bramha and Vishnu are also carved.

History
The town has been a cultural center in the region from the ancient times. The Yogeshwari temple, Kholeshwar temple and Barakhambi temple hints the cultural prosperity of the town dating back to 10th century AD. It was formerly known as Amrapur, Jayantipur, Jogaiambe.

The town was known as Mominabad under the regime of Nizam of Hyderabad before the annexation of Hyderabad state to the dominion of India. Many heritage sites and temples were harmed during this period. It was a military base of the Hyderabad state army. The stable of the horses of the cavalry of the Hyderabad army was later turned into a hospital and medical college which later was named as Swami Ramanand Teerth Rural Medical College.

Demographics
India census, Ambajogai had a population of 74,844. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Ambajogai has an average literacy rate of 85.89%, higher than the national average of 74.04%; with 91.58% of the males and 79.88% of females literate. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age. Saraswati public school is residential school since last 22 years.

Education
From ancient times, Ambajogai has been referred as the "Shikshanache Maherghar" (meaning: Motherland of Education). Since pre-independence era, the council has been home to educational institutions motivated by particular objectives. The educational organisations such as Shree Yogeshwari Shikshan Sanstha and Bhartiya Shikshan Prasarak Sanstha was established before the formation Maharashtra. Ambajogai's Yogeshwari Mahavidyalaya was founded a year before to Marathwada University (now Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University). There are 14 higher secondary colleges in Ambajogai town and division, including the first rural medical college in Asia – Swami Ramanand Teerth Rural Medical College.