CHITTORGARH:Historic Grandeur of Forts/Palaces, Amazing tales of Bravery of Maharanas in Battlefields, Sacrifices&Jauhar of Maharanis to salvage Honour/pride to keep alive Rajputi Values &Traditions

In May 1996,We the family of four persons, set off on a three- day tour of Chittorgarh, Ranakpur, Sanwariyaji and Pushkar and were mesmerised by the grand display of historic grandeur, exquisite handicrafts, traditional folk dances, music and the brightly-attired people all coming together to lend an aura of romance to the Chittorgarh city-a place where sacrifice and bravery walk hand in hand. It was a tour to the majestic land of rich cultural heritage where tales of valour & chivalry of warriors are sung with pride.

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CHITTORGARH:

The pride and glory of Rajasthan state echoes with the proud tales of romance, valour & chivalry.The history of Chittorgarh revolves around its ancient Forts which date back to the rein of Sisodia ruler Bappa Rawal (734-53).The Sisodias are believed to be the oldest dynasty in the world with their origin back to 566 AD. Mewar and Sisodia occupy a very special place in the history of Rajput kingdom which upheld the Rajputi values and kept alive the tradition of Independence when other rulers were bowing to acknowledge Mughal supremacy. known for the 7th century Fort crowned atop a hill, Chittorgarh is full of fortification, temples, Towers and palaces.

BAPPA RAWAL:

The legendary founder of Sisodia dynasty &conquered Chittor in mid 8th century (728 CE or 734CE) from Maurya rulers.In centuries that followed his descendents ruled over the state of Mewar-spread from Gujarat to Ajmer.The place is replete with with heroics of legendary Sisodia rulers-Rana Kumbha, Rana Sanga (Sangram Singh) & Maharana Pratap are today revered as heroes by the nation. From the 7th century, Chittorgarh was controlled by Mewar kingdom & then from 9th to the 13th century it was ruled by the Parmara dynasty.

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The Fort was siezed on three occasions in its entire history:

1)1303 AD-Allauddin Khiljee defeated Rana Ratan Singh Sisodia and captured the fort. It was recaptured by Hammir Singh. Chittor gained prominence in the rule of its successors- Rana Kumbha and Rana Sanga. 2)1535 AD –Bahadur Shah Jaffar,Sultan of Gujarat defeated Bikramjeet Singh Humayun dethroned Bahadur Shah Jaffar & handed back the fort to the Sisodias. 3)1567-68-Akbar defeated Maharana Udai SinghII .After the defeat, men committed Saka (getting killed in combat purposely)&women committed Jauhar(self-immolation) to salvage their honour and pride .An example was set by Rani Karmawati in 1535CE. The Moghul emporer sacked the fort which remained under their control till the onset of British Indian Empire in 1858.

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About CHITTORGARH :

Its a muncipality in southern part of Rajasthan.Its known for the Fort with remains of temples and monuments,a 9-storeyed 15th century Vijay stambh built of red stone and marble.It offers city views from the top and is lit up in the night. Nearby there is the Rajput-styled Fateh sagar palace.Area of fort-350.8 sqkm. Elevation is 395mts,Population-1.16 lakhs(2011 census).Founder-Chitrangada Maurya, a king of maurya dynasty who laid the foundation of one of the largest citadels of Asia.The Fort was capital of Mewar and was spread over an Area of 700 acres with 180 mts height.The fort stands on the bank of rivers Gambhiri and Berach-a tributary of Banas river.In 1568 AD,the capital was shifted to Udaipur being more secure.There are 22 water bodies (ponds,wells and step wells)as against the 84 water bodies earlier.It was earlier called Chitrakoot built by Mourya ruler Chitrangda Mourya.Chittor has been a land of worship for Meera and Panna Dhai(who sacrificed her own son for the sake of the royal kingdom)

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Memorable Sacrifices :

1)Virangana Jawahar Bai,2)Rawat Bagh Singh,3)Jaimal Patta and Kallaji,4)Jhala Man,5)Maharani Koshithal,6)Bhama Shah,7)KulRakshak Panna Dhai,8)Hadi Rani. Jauhars :

1)1303 AD:Maharani Padmini, 2)1535AD :Rajmata Karmawat, 3)1568 AD:Patrani Phool Kunwar.

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Main Tourist Attractions :

1)Chittorgarh fort ,2)Vijay Stambh(Tower of Victory) in the fort constructed by Mewar King Rana Kumbha in 1448 to commemorate his victory over the armies of Malwa &Gujarat led by Mohd. Khilji. The tower is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. 3)Kirti stambh (Tower of Fame)is a 12th Century tower in the fort built by a Jain merchant Jeeja Bhagerwala during 1179-1191 for glory of Jainism,4)Meera Temple,5)Padmini’s palace,6)Rana kumbha palace,7)Kalika Mata temple,8)Jauhar Sthal,9)Kumbha Shyam temple,10)Maharana Pratap statue,11)Ratan Singh palace,12)Suraj pole,13)Sri Digambar Jain Adinath temple &Satbees Deora,14)Jaimal and Patta haveli,15)Govt. museum-Fateh mahal converted into a museum,16)Chittor Railway station(stn.code-COR)it is under western railway zone .Earlier it was Rajputana-Malwa Railway built in 1874-1881 ,17)Ranakpur is a village located in Desuri tehsil near Sadri town of Pali distt. of Rajasthan located between Udaipur and Jodhpurin a valley of Aravali hills .Nearest railway station is Falna.It s the most famous place of Pali at an elevation of 486mts known for its most spectacular marble Jain temples.There is also a small Sun temple managed by the Udaipur Royal family trust.Its dedicated to Tirthankar Adinatha.The temple honours Adinath ,the first Tirthankar of the present half cycle according to Jain cosmology.Its named after the ruler Rana kumbha who supported the construction of the temple.Its believed that Darna Shah and local Jain businessman started construction of temple in 15th century.Other temples are Chaumukha temple,surya temple, Suparshvanatha temple and Amba temple. The Chaturmukh Dharana vihara temple is dedicated to Tirthankara Rishabnatha Chaumukha with four faces symbolises its conquest of 4 cardinal directions and hence the cosmos.Its one of the largest temples & 5 holiest Jain shrines in India and part of Gorwad Panch teerth, 18)Sanwariyaji temple dedicated to Lord Krishna,is made of white marble at Bhadsora town 40km from Chittorgarh. Deity is also called Sanwariya seth renowned in Hinduism. Dedicated to Lord Krishna it is an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. 19)Pushkar Dham :Its a city in Ajmer distt. located 10km NW of Ajmer and about 150km SW of Jaipur.Its a pilgrimage site for Hindus and Sikhs .Most of the temple /ghats in Pushkar are of 18th century and later because the temples were destroyed during muslim conquests and were rebuilt.Most famous is the Brahma temple built by Gurjar Samrat Pushkar who is father of Vedmata Gayatri and who was a Chechikanya married to lord Brahma.Its considered a sacred city by Hindus .There are many ghats in the shores of Pushkar lake for pilgrims to take holi dip.One of the ghats is nameg Gurugovind ghat. Also there are Gurudwaras for Guru Nanak and Govind singhji built by Sikhs in memory of Gurugovind singhji. There is an annual fair held here named Pushkar camel fair for cattles, horses and camels in the month of Kartik attracting around 2lakhs domestic and international tourists,20)Bundi :Located at 206 km from Chittorgarh is Bundi (built in 13th century) -a town in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan.It was ruled by Hadas who are are a major branch of Chauhan agnikula Rajputs. It was named after the Meena chieftant Bunda.Its famous for:a)Taragarh fort which towers over the city with more than 50 sunken step wells.used to draw clean water prior to installation of modern watermains.Others are the Raniji ki Baori stepwell ,Dabhaikund and Nagar saga kund.b)Palace and Chitrashala,c)Sukh mahal and d)Chaurasi khambon ki chhatri 21)Badoli-(130kms) Ruins of famous Badoli temples can be seen 4kms away from Rawatbhata on Kota road,21)Pratapgarh,22)Bijaipur, 23)Sitamata sanctuary,24)Menal,25)Jogini mata,26)Bhaisroadgarh wild life sanctuary -it is near Rana Pratap sagar/chambal hydroelectric station in Rawatbhata, 27)GaipernathTemple (on kota-Rawatbhata road) is an ancient Shiva temple(more than 500 yrs old )devotees pay frequent visits to the place,28)Charbhuja Nath temple in Rawatbhata(140km from Chittorgarh)is another ancient and famous temple .

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