The Man Mandir was a revelation, in terms of architecture,
design, as well as ornamentation. No wonder it was the place everyone flocked
to. But there was more to Gwalior fort, monuments built by the other rulers. They
might not match the grandeur of Man Mandir, but they were reminders of others
who left their imprints on the city. They were worth a glimpse, and short of
time, we rushed through them.
The Karn Mahal is said to have been built by Kirti Singh
Tomar (~1454), who was also called Karan Singh. This structure is older than
Man Mandir, and is quite a simple structure from the outside, restored in
recent times. There are a few intricate jaalis visible, and also a few
sculptures, but otherwise, there isn’t much ornamentation.
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| Karn Mahal |
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| A beautiful ornamental work on Karn Mahal depicting elephants and peacocks |
The Vikram Mahal was built by Man Singh Tomar’s son,
Vikramaditya. He was an ardent Shiva devotee, and established a temple to the
Lord inside, and thus the palace is also called the Vikram Mandir. During Mughal
rule, the idols were destroyed, but a small shrine has recently been set up
just outside the palace. There is also a small mosque set up here within one of
the smaller buildings of the palace.
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| The spires of Vikram Mahal |
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| The current temple to Shiva, outside Vikram mahal |
The Jehangir Mahal and Shahjehan Mahal, built for the two respective
Mughal rulers are impressive structures, each built around a central courtyard which
contains a deep water reservoir. The two palaces are connected to each other,
and provide a wonderful view of the city from the uppermost levels.
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| Entry to Jehangir Mahal |
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| Entry to Shahjehan Mahal |
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| Entry to the central section which connects the two Mahals |
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| View of the city from Jehangir Mahal |
Remnants of paintings hint at a colourful past for both
these palaces, which must have once been just as beautiful and impressive as
the Man Mandir. However, they are in desperate need of restoration, and the
water reservoirs in dire need of cleaning up.
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| remnants of painting... on the entry arch of Jehangir Mahal |
The Johar Kund, with the cenotaph of Bhimsingh Rana
(1701-1756) beside it provides a good view from afar, but getting closer, it is
impossible to ignore the stink of the kund. The name suggests that the kund was
used for Jauhar, or self-immolation by the women when their menfolk lost the
battles.
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| Bhimsingh Rana's cenotaph and the Johar Kund |
Our guide told us that all the tanks in the fort had once been
connected to each other, for storage of water. Today, all of them stink
equally, and considering the water shortage in the region (in the wake of
progressively lessening rainfall), the tanks can be put to so much better use,
just by cleaning and restoring the pipelines which already connect them. Interestingly,
while the Man Mandir is maintained by the Central ASI, these other structures
are all maintained by the State ASI. I wonder how two separate organizations
can manage what is essentially one monument!
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| The condition of one of the tanks |
Next to all these monuments is one which is comparatively
recent – a structure built by the British, obviously inspired by Greek
architecture! It stands completely out of place, unused, and left alone, by all
branches of the ASI! There isn’t even a board identifying it!
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| The British structure. What does it remind you of? |
The ASI museum inside the fort is also housed within one of
the colonial structures, one which functioned as a jail and later a hospital! Today,
it houses some of the most ancient relics and sculptures found in the region,
and gives a glimpse of the rich heritage of the area in and around Gwalior,
from the 1st century B.C. to the 17th century A.D. Especially
interesting as well as unique, are sculptures from Pawaya, Padavali, Mitavali
and Morena.
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| A broken lion outside the ASI museum. |
By the time we had walked around all these monuments, I was
almost ready to call it a day. Yet, we had barely seen anything in Gwalior! There
was more to see just on the hill! Dragging ourselves back to the car, we paused
for one final monument – the extremely impressive Assi Khambon ki baoli –
well of 80 pillars, which, very interestingly, is circular in shape!!! What a surprising find it was!
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| The Assi Khambon ki baoli... certainly among the most interesting things we saw at the fort! |
With that, we were done with the monuments of Gwalior Fort.
What now remained were the temples, which, we had heard, were equally
impressive. Wait for my next post to read about them!
Related Posts:
wow...beautiful place...lovely capturing
ReplyDeleteThank you Anuradha!
Deletewaiting for your next post;
ReplyDeleteThank you Viswanath!
DeleteWhat a fascinating place, and so much to see and explore! I think the British building looks like a stable. :)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your post about the temples. Thanks!
That's an interesting oservation, Natalie.. and now that I look again, it does look like a stable. however, it was originally used as an armament depot, and also as a barracks for the soldiers....
DeleteI have heard a lot of interesting facts about the Gwaliorfrom My Dad and there is an addition with this Post : Amazing Structures and Architecture !! That Baoli looks Splendid in terms of the Pillars and the Circular Structure : havent seen like this before. Loved the Post.
ReplyDeleteThank you Pooja! And this isnt all... there are things I missed out too, due to lack of time, and lack of information as well... the baoli was a surprising find though. one i hadnt expected to see!
DeleteYes forgot to mention that British Structure resembles our Bombay Asiatic Library :)
ReplyDeleteThats because its built in the Greco-Roman style, Pooja, so typical of colonial architecture.
DeleteI appreciate this kind of detailed work and write up, good collective information.
ReplyDeleteKeep up you good work #Anuradha