Culture > Forts

Forts

Rajasthan’s history lies enshrined in its forts, several of which dot the arid landscape. Over the centuries, several forts were abandoned, some captured and some disabused, leaving behind a rich history in their wake. While palaces outside of the forts have been a more recent phenomenon ranging across the 19th and 20th centuries, the forts are often very old. However, since additions were constantly made to these dwellings, they provide a rich architectural legacy of influences on architecture that begins with the Hindu-Rajput, shows assimilation of the Mughal and later the British, resulting in a sense of opulence best characterised by what has come be referred as Indo-Saracenic architecture.

Provided here are small capsules of some of the more historic forts of Rajasthan. This is a small list and completely overlooks others such as the forts at Ranthambhor and Gagron that have had a major role to play in the history of India, because they are less frequented by visitors.

Chittaurgarh: Probably India’s greatest medieval fort, and its most chivalrous; it was from here that the Sisodias went to war against the Mughals at the famous battle of Haldighati. Set on a high plateau, Chittaurgarh sprawls supremely above the surrounding countryside. First established in the 7th century, Chittaur became the gaddi for the Sisodia rulers who proved themselves indomitable fighters. Its fortifications meander along the ridges of the hills, and from these concealed vantage points, they extended their sway over the kingdom. Top^

Ransacked in 1303 through an act of treachery perpetrated by Allauddin Khilji in his attempt to win over Rani Padmini, Chittaur fell twice more in the 16th century, first to the forces of the Sultan of Gujarat, and later the Mughal emperor Akbar. Abandoned then by its rulers who continued to wage guerilla warfare against the Mughals (creating legends out of the names of Rana Sangha and Rana Pratap), the Sisodias later established a new capital at Udaipur.

Chittaurgarh’s abandonment led to the ruin of its palaces and apartments and its durbar halls. Little has survived the ravages of the pillaging armies and of time, but there is enough to provide a glimpse of what must have been one of Rajputana’s greatest citadels. These include the ruins of Rana Kumbha’s palace as well as what is believed to be Rani Padmini’s palace. Both are in a state of ruin, and there is little that hints at architectural splendour, because many of the subsidiary buildings and much of the ornamentation no longer exists. Chittaurgarh also houses the palaces, again in ruins, of the brave Sisodia warriors, Jaimal and Patta.

Among the buildings that are in a reasonable state of preservation are two towers, the 22-metre high, 12th century Kirti Stambh which was built by a Jain merchant and is carved with figures of Jain tirthankaras, and Vijay Stambh, the 37-metre high victory tower carved with episodes from the Hindu epics, raised in the 15th century to commemorate a battle victory against the rulers of Malwa and Gujarat.

A religious people, the Rajputs also paid homage to their gods in elaborate rituals. No wonder there are so many temples within the fortifications of Chittaurgarh. These include the Kumbha Shyam and Kalika Mata temples, as well as the Meera temple, where a princess of the royal family composed many of the religious hymns to Krishna. Chittaurgarh is 90 km from Udaipur airport, which is its entry point from several other parts of the state. Top^

Junagarh, Bikaner : Just over five centuries old, Bikaner was founded by a scion of the house of Marwar (Jodhpur). The fort of Bikaner, Junagarh, however, was built built in 1593 by Raja Rai Singh who also served as a general in the army of Emperor Akbar. Made from red sandstone and encircled by a moat around which the modern city of Bikaner has spread in a somewhat erratic fashion, Junagarh consists of several palaces and apartments in a remarkable state of preservation. The art of the mason and sculptor is most obvious in the recreation of delicate stone screens, kiosks, pavilions and a series of arched entrances to buildings reached from corridors that have windows overlooking the city beyond.

Some of the palaces are among the most richly decorated in Rajasthan, and include Anup Mahal, Chandra Mahal and Phool Mahal. They give the impression of a rich inlay of pietra dura, though in fact the apartments are merely richly painted. The paintings have been preserved as good as new because of the extremely dry heat conditions of the desert town. Another palace, Badal Mahal recreates paintings of clouds on its walls, a reminder of the monsoon that often failed the settlement. The Anup Mahal courtyard has a throne set in a pool of water, bringing alive the sensitivity the rulers showed in their building environment. A formal set of sandstone staircases and the wooden Durbar Hall are additions made early in this century by Maharaja Ganga Singh.

Maharaja Ganga Singh is also responsible for the building of Lallgarh, his red sandstone palace outside Junagarh. Designed by Sir Swinton Jacob, it remains a formal, but unmistakably Rajput structure with a rich mass of stone pierced screens and windows.

Kotah Fort, Kota: Once a part of the kingdom of Bundi, the principality of Kota was gifted away to a scion, and has since been known for its stirring saga of valour and chivalry. The fort, a large, sprawling structure, is best known for its Durbar Hall, which has paintings and mirrorwork and has doors of ebony and ivory. Top^

Kota, like Bundi, came to be known for the very high quality of its wall paintings. In particular, it has become known for its hunting scenes.

Like other kingdoms, the maharajas abandoned the fort to build themselves modern palaces. Umed Bhawan is a sprawling, ungainly structure while the smaller Brijraj Bhawan overlooks the Chambal river in the city and the growing industrialisation that now characterises the town. Both palaces double as hotels.

Kumbhalgarh: If Chittaurgarh was the pride of the Sisodias, Kumbhalgarh is the crown with which they earned themselves merit. Raised by Rana Kumbha, this impregnable fortress perches itself on top of 13 mountain peaks in the Aravallis. Battlements 36 km long gird its fierce looking bastions overhung with steep walls from which decorative windows project. A steep climb up a narrow road leads to the entrance. It was here that Prince Uday, smuggled out of Chittaurgarh by his nursemaid Panna Dai, found refuge and ruled before going on to establish the new capital of Udaipur.

Though inhabited briefly, it also afforded refuge to the Mughal prince Jehangir from his estranged father, Emperor Akbar. Within the fort, Badal Mahal is particularly noteworthy for its exquisite interiors and its soaring height over other structures. Also found here are ancient Jain temples dating back to the Mauryan period. Medieval Hindu temples with fluted pillars, and a few chhatris or cenotaphs are also memorable. The buildings at Kumbhalgarh, unlike at Chittaurgarh, are mostly intact.

Lohagarh, Bharatpur: Underrated by most visitors to Bharatpur who head for its national park and bird sanctuary, the fort held by the Jat rulers of this state has bastions of sand that were strong enough to absorb the impact of canon shells that simply embedded themselves within it. Impregnable to most attacks, this 18th century fort was ordered by Maharaja Suraj Mal, the founder of the dynasty at Bharatpur. TOP^

Lohagarh is located in the heart of the old city and its entrance is from a crowded street that leads through the massive entrance gate into what is a living fort with several modern additions. However, the part of the fort that has been preserved consists of a sprawling palace complex. It combines Rajput and Mughal architecture with Jat influences in building style, a few of the eight original towers of which Jawahar Burj and Fateh Burj are of particular interest, and floors laid with tiles.

Visitors are also recommended a visit to Deeg, 32 km away, the summer retreat of the Jats, where the palaces take on a languid quality. Since it was a leisure retreat, the buildings are set apart with gardens interspersing the spaces in between. One complex, the Monsoon Palace, is fronted by coloured fountains and used machinery set into the ceiling that recreated the sound of thunder – a welcome sound in this parched desert country. Top^

Mehrangarh, Jodhpur: One of the most stunning hill forts of Rajasthan, Mehrangarh appears to rise from the bluff-coloured sandstone hill itself, so well built into the base that it is difficult to tell where the hill ends and the walls begin. Founded in the 15th century by the Rathore Rajputs when they shifted their capital from nearby Mandore to Jodhpur (or the region known as Marwar), it is approached by a series of seven gateways set at an angle so that armies could not attack them with any success. Past the gates, the fort-palace takes one’s breath away. Across from huge courtyards are set wings of palatial apartments that have been built over five centuries of bristling history.

Today, managed as a museum by the royal trust that maintains it, only some of the more spectacular palaces of Mehrangarh are open to visitors. These consist of Moti Mahal with its pierced screen windows overlooking the coronation seat where the Rathore rulers have been ritually anointed to rule; Jhanki Mahal, the apartment from where the zenana women would watch ceremonial events; Chandan Mahal, where affairs of state were discussed; the royal Darbar Takhat or throne room with its octagonal throne; and the Rang Mahal where the maharaja would play Holi with his zenana. Also noteworthy are Sheesh Mahal, Phool Mahal, Umaid Vilas and Maan Vilas, while a large tent seized from the Mughals in battle is spread for viewing in what has come to be referred to as the Tent Room. Top^

Mehrangarh from the outside is impressive, and certainly forbidding. There is a surprising lightness to it though, once actually within the fort. The builders seemed to want to make up for the stern austerity of its walls with an overwhelming profusion of windows and jharokas at the upper ends. The effect seems to exaggerate its already impressive height.

On the hill of Mehrangarh is Jaswant Thada, the white marble cenotaph built to commemorate the memory of Maharaja Jaswant Singh in 1899. The cenotaphs of the other rulers in the same neighbourhood are relatively simpler. From the ramparts of Mehrangarh, one can also see the art deco Umaid Bhawan Palace located on top of Chattar Hill. One of the largest private residences in the world, designed by Sir Edwin Lancaster, it is now home to the erstwhile royal family as well as a luxury hotel. TOP^

Sonar Qila, Jaisalmer: Life in the searing heat of the summer months of the medieval ages once flourished within the 99 bastions of the fort of Jaisalmer. Rising from the sands, it merges with the sand dunes, resembling from a distance a giant anthill. Closer, the bastions show up more formidable, vast chunks of honey-coloured stone blocks carved to dovetail together. Within these bastions is a complete township that consists of a palace complex, the havelis of rich Jain merchants carved with an incredibly light touch, and Jain and Hindu temples.

Jaisalmer was founded in the 12th century by the Bhatti Rajputs who shifted here from Lodurva. Placed strategically on the trade route along which ancient caravans passed, Jaisalmer soon became rich, so much so that the merchants, who also served as ministers in the royal courts, came to command more power than the rulers themselves. No wonder the large mansions of the merchants, built adjacent to each other in the nature of medieval desert cultures, are so profusely decorated that the palace, in comparison, appears to pale. Top^

While the havelis and the palace, along with the temples will warrant the mandatory visits, Jaisalmer is incredible for the experience it brings alive of a medieval township caught in a time warp, as you move up its ancient cobbled streets. For most part, its incredible sculptors were Muslims craftsmen who were induced, on their journeys to the patrons in other parts of India, to stay. The result is an architectural purity that, because of Jaisalmer’s incredible isolation, is not seen elsewhere.

Taragarh, Bundi: Girded by the Aravalli hills, Bundi’s Taragarh fort and the palace complex at its base are among the most romantic sights of Rajasthan. Set within the horseshoe shaped fold of the hills, and with lakes and water reservoirs below, the fort straddles the crest and offers invincible battlements that must have proved difficult to scale.

Bundi, ruled by the Hada Chauhans from the 13th century on, was given its fort in the mid-14th century, hewn out of the sandstone and basalt rock of the Aravallis here. It was here too that huge water reservoirs were created, since water was one of the most important resources when armies laid siege on a fort. In the Bundi Palace complex, reached from a ramp, are the several apartments for public affairs and private dwellings that are an important part of such complexes in princely Rajasthan. However, Bundi has come to be well known for the very high quality of its wall paintings which can be seen in Chandra Mahal and more particularly at the Chitrashala or picture gallery established by Rao Raja Umed Singh in the 18th century. These depict scenes from the life of Krishna and are unusual for their blue-green tints. Top^

Architectural Details: Some architectural details you should familiarise yourself with:

Sati hands: At the entrances of most forts, you will see imprints or impressions of female hands. These were left behind by the women of the royal family when committing sati (burning on the funeral pyre with their husbands).

Jauhar pits: Mostly closed to visitors, these were basement pits ringed with a ramp. It was here that the women of the zenana and small children would leap to a fiery death in the event of their armies losing a battle. It was not unusual for thousands to commit jauhar at any point.

Chhatri: A cenotaph or memorial raised to a dead ruler or feudal chief.

Baori: Step well, held great significance in this dry country and therefore was embellished with ornamentation. Step wells were mostly dug and built as acts of philanthropy.

Haveli: A large mansion or townhouse built typically with a public area for men to receive visitors in the front. The domestic quarters were usually ranged around a courtyard.

Mahal: Literally palace, apartments within forts were individually called mahals because each served its own purpose. Therefore, a fort or even a palace would consist of several apartments, each called a mahal. Top^

Jharokha: A window with a projection and sometimes, even a balcony, almost always with a pierced screen that ensured privacy, and ornamental overhangs.

Pol: Entrance or gateway. Though defensive by nature, they were usually also decorated. Top^

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