Bhangarh The 'most haunted' place in India?

 

Bhangarh:

The 'most haunted' place in India

 

 

 If you are one of those people that love to get scared then check this out. India has some of the world’s most haunted places. In fact, if you thought that India was a country of many Gods and Goddess then you might in for a surprise. India has a dark and spooky side as well. Indians believe in all sorts of ghosts, ghouls, spirits, black magic and unnatural things. You might wish to read about the types of ghosts believed in India. If are one those travelers who likes to explore haunted places then why not visit the Bhangarh Fort that has the reputation of being one of the most haunted places in India and is listed as one of the most haunted places of the world. Sadly, this place is not the most visited of places in India and neither do foreign tourists know about this place. But the place has a reputation of its own and is considered as India’s “most haunted” place. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, why not check this place out for yourself.

 

 

 

 About Bhangarh Fort

The Bhangarh Fort is a 17 century fort built by a King called “Madho Singh” of Rajasthan. The fort is situated in Bhangarh, a deserted town near the famous tourist destination of Jaipur in the Alwar district of Rajasthan. Why not take the opportunity and visit this place as well while you are in Jaipur. The town of Bhangarh was established by Bhagwant Das the son of Madho Singh, the younger brother of Emperor Akbar’s general called Man Singh. Historical archives suggest that he and his father fought many battles and Bhangarh town had a population of more than 10,000.
The decline of Bhangarh started when the next ruler of the place, his son Chhatr Singh died. This collided with the decrease in the strength of the Mughal Empire particularly after Emperor Aurangzeb (son of Mumtaj Mahal for whom the Taj Mahal was built). Today the fort is deserted and nearby town (almost a village) of Bhangarh has about 200 households with a population of around 1500 people. The town and the fort were supposed to be a precursor of the city of Jaipur.

There are temples, shops, havelis (palaces), and courtyards, built around the fort. If a lavish fort could be built in the town of Bhangarh then this indicates that it must have been a prosperous place but sadly nothing remains of the town and the fort other than the ruins and a few temples. Today a handful of local tourists visit the place simply out of curiosity. Bhangarh is not even advertised a tourist destination for foreigners. The Bhangarh Fort is lovely and while standing on the terrace of the fort, you can see the vast expanse the place. When you enter, you will find temples dedicated to Hanuman and Shiva as soon as you enter the fort and the residences of the priests which lie in ruins. It has four gates namely Lahori Gate, Ajmeri Gate, Phulbari Gate and Delhi Gate. Outside of the gates, there is a Muslim tomb. It is thought that it is one of sons of Hari Singh who had converted to Islam

Getting to Bhangarh Fort

 

 

The fort is about 300 km drive away from Delhi. If you leave Delhi in the early hours of the morning then you will be able to get there in about 4 hours. If you want to visit this place then ask your tour operator or the hotel to organize you a taxi and a driver for the day. My estimate is that it should not cost you more than 10,000 Rupees for the entire trip depending on the type of car you hire. The TATA Indigo is the most popular of cars for hire in India but I prefer an SUV as it’s more conformable for the dusty Indian roads. If you are driving from Delhi, you will need to go via Gurgaon and then head towards Bhiwadi and then take the turning to Alwar district in Rajasthan. From Alwar, you will have to cross the Sariska reserve and then Ajabgarh where you will then enter the Bhangarh territory. It’s a nice but long drive from Delhi. The fort is about 80 km away from Alwar city and 50 km from Jaipur. Sadly the roads are not good at all and you will find the ride bumpy and uncomfortable
There is a belief about Bhangarh that the place is haunted and no one dares to go after sunset there.

Bhangarh is a place between Jaipur and Alwar in Rajasthan state of India. Bhangarh is known for its ruins, but still worth a visit; the place is beautiful and tranquil. What remains though, is a shadow of a once beautiful kingdom.
The Bhangarh Story
The story (and the history) of the Bhangarh began in the year of 1573 when the fortress was established. Built by Raja Bhagawant Das, the ruler of the city of Amber, Bhangarh Fort has become the residence of Madho Singh, ruler's second son who fought alongside his father and brother in many wars. The decline of Bhangarh Fort started in 1630 after Chhatr Singh, son of Madho Singh got killed in a violent attack. The decline continued until 1783 when the fortress and the city were completely abandoned following that year's famine.

 

 

It is said that the city of Bhangarh was cursed by the Guru Balu Nath, causing the towns evacuation. Balu Nath sanctioned the establishment of the town but said: "The moment the shadows of your palaces touch me, the city shall be no more!" Ignorant of such foreboding, one ambitious descendant raised the palace to such a height that its shadowed Balu Nath's forbidden retreat and thus the town was devastated as prophesied. The small samadhi where Balu Nath is said to lie buried is still there.
The other myth is as follows: The charm of princess of Bhangarh Ratnavati was said to be matchless in all of Rajasthan.

 Being eighteen years old, the princess started getting matrimonial offers from other states. In the same region there lived a tantrik, a magician well versed in the occult, named Singhia who was desperately in love with the princess knowing that he would never be allowed to even see her, let alone meet her. One day, he saw the princess' maid in the market buying scented oil for her. Seeing this, he got an idea by which he could meet the princess. He used his black magic and put a spell on the oil which would hypnotize the princess by her merely touching the oil, and she would surrender herself. The princess foiled this plan though. She had seen the tantrik enchanting the oil, and she therefore threw it away, whereupon the flagon rolled over a stone. As soon as the oil touched the stone, it started rolling towards the wicked tantrik and crushed him. While dying, Singhia cursed the palace with the death of all who dwelt in it, without any rebirth in their destinies. The very next year there was a battle between Bhangarh and Ajabgarh and Ratnavati died.

Famous And Beautiful Fort In India ,Red Fort,Agra Fort,Amber Fort,Chittorgarh Fort

Famous fort in india :

• Chittorgarh Fort

• Jhansi Fort

• Gwalior Fort

• Junagarh Fort

• Golkonda Fort

• Daulatabad Fort

• Jaisalmer Fort

• Agra Fort

• Amber Fort

• Red Fort

• Mehrangarh Fort

• Gwalior Fort

Chittorgarh Fort: 

Chittorgarh Fort is one of the largest forts in India and probably the grandest in the state of Rajasthan. It is a World Heritage Site.

 

 

 

 The fort, popularly known as Chittor, was the capital of Mewar and is today situated in Chittorgarh CityChittorgarh, also called Chittaur, from the 7th century to the 16th, was the capital of Mewar under the Rajputs. Chittaur evokes memories of great heroism and sacrifice by Rajput men and women in the intermittent battles that they had to fight against invaders from Northwest or Delhi. Chittaur witnessed both the ravages of war and the triumphs of the spirit. Allaudin Khilji who coveted Queen Padmini of Chittaur, invaded the city in 1303 A.D. Queen Padmini and the women of the court sacrificed themselves in a pyre of fire rather than submit to anybody.
This supreme sacrifice has been called 'Jauhar' and epitomises the fiery spirit of the Rajputs of the day. The city stands strewn with monuments and battlements as evidence of the blood and gore that it went through in medieval times.

 

 

 

 The Chittaur Fort is the best known fort in Rajasthan. Its origins are traced to the Pandavas of Mahabharata. It is said that Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers, built the fort. Standing on 180 meters high hill, the fort covers an area of 700 Acres. Inside it is the Meera and Khumba Shyam Temple. It is associated with Meera, a mystic poetess devoted to Lord Krishna
whose life and bhajans have become part of the folklore and literary traditions of the region and several parts of India.

 

Water Fort :

 

 

 Chittorgarh fort is also called as Water Fort. The fort had 84 water bodies, out of which only about 22 exist today. These Include talabs (ponds), kunds (wells), and baories (stepwells). All the talabs have a natural catchment. The kunds and baories are located below the talabs, so that even the seepage from the latter is not lost.The fort spreads over 700 hectares, 40 per cent of which are given over to water bodies. The average reservoir depth is about 2 m. Taken together, this means these reservoirs can store about 4 billion litres of water.

In a year of more than normal rainfall (average annual rainfall: 700 mm), enough water would be stored to last the next 12 months. Even after water loss due to seepage and evaporation and other causes, an army of 50,000 could live in the fort for four years without fear of thirst. 

 

Tower of Victory - (Vijay Stambh) :

 

 

 

Built in 1440 AD by Maharana Kumbha to commemorate his victory over Mohamed Khilji this 9-storyed tower is adorned by sculptures of Hindu deities around.
There are around 157 narrow steps leading to the terrace where the balconies give a beautiful top angle view of the whole town. When illuminated in the evening, the tower reflects a mesmerizing effect and the view is worth capturing in the camera.

Tower of Fame - (Kirti Stambh)
Dedicated to Adinathji the 1st Jain Teerthankar adorned by the naked figures of the Digambars [Adherents of the Digambar sect who does not believe in covering the natural body] A narrow stairway goes through seven stories of the tower to the top. The 22 metres high tower was build by a wealthy jain merchant in the 12th century A.D.  

 

Seven Gates of the Fort:

To enter in to the Fort Of Chittorgarh, the person has to go through seven huge gates(Pol). Each gate is different in its name, design and its size. Below is the list of these gates:
1. Padan Pol
2. Bhairon Pol
3. Hanuman Pol
4. Jorla Pol
5. Ganesh Pol
6. Laxman Pol
7. Ram Pol

 

history of Chittaur fort: 

The history of Chittor is one of the most stirring chapters in Indian history for it was there that the flower of Rajput chivalry sprang to life and the immense stretch of its sacred walls and ruined palaces relate the saga of innumerable sieges and heroism which has almost become a myth now. 

 

Rana Kumbha

 

 

 

 Rana Kumbha (1433-68) was a versatile man a brilliant, poet and musician. He built mewar upto a position of assailable military strength building a chain of thirty forts that girdled the kingdom But, perhaps more important was a patron of the arts to rival Lorenzo de Medici, and he made Chittorgarh a dazzling cultural center whose fame spread right across Hindustan.

 

Rana Sanga

 

 

 

  Rana Sanga (reigned 1509-27) was a warrior and a man of great chivalry and honor reign was marked by a series of continual battles, in course of which he is said to have lost one arm and had been crippled in one leg and received eighty-four wounds on his body. The last of his battles was again Mughal invader, Babur, in 1527. Deserted by one ofgenerals, Rana Sanga was wounded in the battle and shortly after. 

Maharana Pratap 

 

 

 

 

 Over the next half-century, most other Rajput rulers allowed themselves to be wooed the Mughals; Mewar alone held out. In 1567 Emperor Akbar decided to teach it a lesson: he attacked Chittorgarh razed it to the ground. Five years later Maharana Pratap (reigned 1572-97) came to rule Mewar - a king without a capital. He continued to defy Akbar, and in 1576, confronted the imperial armies at Haldighati.

The battle ended in a stalemate and Maharana Pratap and his followers withdrew to the craggy hills of Mewar, from where they continued to harrass the Mughals through guerilla warfare for the next twenty years. Maharana Pratap made his descendants vow that they would not sleep on beds, nor live in palaces, nor eat off metal utensils, until Chittorgarh had been regained.In fact, right into the 20th century the maharanas of Mewar continued to place a leaf platter under their regular utensils and a reed mat under their beds in symbolic continuance of this vow.

 

Rani Padmini 

 

 

 

 

 

 In 1303 Allauddin khilji, Sultan of Delhi, intrigued by tales of the matchless beauty of Padmini, Rani of Chittor, of her wit and charm, decided to verify this himself. His armies surrounded Chittor, and the sultan sent a message to Rana Rattan Singh, Padmini's husband, to say that he would spare the city if he could meet its famous queen. The compromise finally reached was that the sultan could look upon Padmini's reflection if he came unarmed into the fort. Accordingly, the sultan went up the hill and glimpsed a reflection of the beautiful Padmini standing by a lotus pool. He thanked his host who courteously escorted Allauddin down to the outer gate-where the sultan's men waited in ambush to take the rana hostage.