Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh : Gwalior Fort is located in Gwalior in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Gwalior Fort is known for its great architecture and its rich history. Some parts of the fort are believed to be built in the fifth-sixth century and hence Gwalior Fort is considered to be one of the oldest forts of India. There is no exact information regarding the construction of this fort, but it is believed that the fort was mainly constructed in the eighth century. Gwalior Fort is spread over a radius of about 10 kilometers.
ग्वालियर का किला | Gwalior Kila in Hindi
History – Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
Inscriptions found from the fifth to sixth century show that the history of this fort is about 1000 years old. The magnificent fort of Gwalior is built on the long and narrow hill Gop Giri (Gop Parvat). Gwalior Fort is at a distance of 6 kilometers from the main city.
According to historians, the fort of Gwalior was built by Raja Suraj Sen, the king of Kuntalpur (which is considered to be the place of Kunti, the mother of Pandavas), who belonged to the Kachwaha dynasty. Raja Suraj Sen was a resident of Sihoniya village, 12 km from Gwalior. King Suraj Sen was suffering from leprosy and went to sage Galav for his treatment. Rishi Galav asked King Suraj Sen to drink the water of a pond there and the king stayed with the same sage Galav and got his leprosy cured. After staying there for some time and being treated by sage Galav, Raja Suraj Sen recovered and started the construction of a fort around that pond.
This place was named Gwalior after the name of Rishi Galav. Most of the Gwalior Fort was built by Raja Mansingh Tomar of the Tomar dynasty.
There were many kings who ruled this fort, among whom Kachwaha, Tomar, Gurjar Pratihar and Maratha, Scindia etc. were prominent. Apart from Hindu kings, the fort has also been under the control of Lodhi, Mughal and British rulers from time to time. The reconstruction work of this fort was done by the Scindia government in 1916.
Architecture – Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
Most of the fort is constructed in Hindu style, although in some parts of the fort like Jahangir Mahal and some other places, a mixed architecture of Hindu and Mughal styles can be seen.
This fort is constructed from red sandstone. Blue color can mainly be seen on the walls of Gwalior Fort. These colors were used in the 15th century which are enhancing the beauty of this fort even today. This color work was called Meenakari which was later used in making jewelery and even today Meenakari jewelery is in trend.
Temples built in Dravidian style and North Indian Nagar style are also located in the Gwalior Fort. Teli Ka Temple located in the fort complex is a famous temple built in Dravidian style. Jain and Hindu temples are located in the fort complex which were built between the 6th century to the 18th century.
Attractions – Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
There are many historical monuments in Gwalior Fort. There are Buddha and Jain temples here. Apart from this, Gujari Mahal, Mansingh Mahal, Jahangir Mahal, Karan Mahal, Shahjahan Mahal are the main attractions of Gwalior Fort. For this, it is mainly divided into two parts which include the main fort and the palace. Of which Mansingh Mahal and Gujari Mahal are prominent.
Man Singh Mahal – Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
Sangeet Kaksh – Man Singh Mahal
This is a big room where the king, Raja Mansingh on one side and his 8 queens behind the windows on the other side used to sit here and watch the programs taking place in this hall. In those days, there was a practice of purdah and that is why the seating arrangement for the queens was not made in the open but behind the windows. There are attractive artworks on the walls and windows of this hall.
Diwan – E – Khas – Man Singh Mahal
This is a main chamber of Mansingh Mahal. Diwan-e-Khas was a room in palaces and forts where the king used to hold court with his special guests and ministers of state. This Diwan-e-Khas is also a room built in the same courtly tradition.
Shiv Mandir – Man Singh Mahal
This Shiva temple established in Man Singh Mahal is a temple specially built for the royal family where kings and queens used to worship. While entering the temple, when one looks at its pillars, artefacts like Rudraksh, Chakra of Lord Vishnu, elephant and lotus of Brahma are seen made on them. Lord Shiva’s trident is also depicted on the top of these pillars. This temple is also called Maan Mandir.
There is a special design on the walls inside the temple which earlier had mirrors attached to it. There are a total of 33 windows in the walls of the temple which were made as a symbol of the 33 crore gods and goddesses recognized in Hindu religion.
Dance Hall – Man Singh Mahal
It is a large hall where special functions were often held for the king and his guests. This dancing hall is built in Hindu and Chinese style. In this hall, dragons are painted on the walls and ceilings influenced by Chinese style have been made here.
Gujari Mahal – Gwalior Kila
Gujri Mahal was built by Raja Mansingh for his queen Mriganaini. Gujri Mahal is a rectangular building 71 meters long and 60 meters wide. Gujri Mahal is decorated with colorful tiles. Gujri Mahal is completely safe even today. There is a huge courtyard in Gujri Mahal. Some of the artistic figures on the walls of the palace are elephants, windows, peacocks etc. The main gate of the palace bears a Persian inscription relating to its construction.
Gujari Mahal is the oldest museum of Madhya Pradesh inside which inscriptions related to archaeological history are kept. Some sculptures, coins, weapons, some stone statues, some bronze statues have been displayed inside this museum. Gujri Rani’s village Maihar Rai was about 16 kilometers from Gwalior from where water arrangements were made. Gujari Mahal was connected by tunnel from 3 sides to Agra, Jhansi and Narwar.
Raja Man Singh and Gujri Love Story
The love story of Maan Singh and Mriganaini has been quite popular. King Mansingh saw Mriganayani fighting with the animal in the forest and was greatly impressed by it. Impressed by her beauty and bravery, he proposed marriage.
Mrignayani’s name was Nanhi, which was later changed to Mrignayani. Mrignayani was a Gujri. Nanhi put three conditions before the king, firstly that she would never wear purdah, secondly after marriage, she would take Mansingh with her while going hunting and in war and thirdly she would not use the water of Gwalior. Raja Man Singh accepted all these three conditions and built a separate palace below the hill which is known as Gujri Mahal. At that time, water was arranged in this palace through pipes from Gujri Rani’s village Maihar Rai.
Fansi Ghar -Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
Man Singh Mahal is built up to 6 floors but only 4 floors can be seen by tourists. There are many basements in this palace which were in great use at that time. The first basement is also called the gallows. Mughal ruler Aurangzeb hanged his brother Murad in this basement and since then it came to be known as the hanging house.
The queens’ room is situated on the far floor of the basement. There is complete arrangement for light and ventilation in this room. Modern telephone-like technology has been used in the basement so that messages can be transmitted from one part of the palace to another. This manufacturing technology is considered to be about 500 years old. In this, two pipes were installed in one window of the room, one of which was for speaking and the other for listening.
Johar Kund – Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
On the third floor of the basement, a tank was arranged for the queens to bathe, which contained about 8 to 10 feet of water. After Raja Mansingh, this fort came under the control of Ibrahim Lodi. At the time of Lodhi attack, when the queens saw that King Mansingh’s death was certain, his queens converted their bathroom located in the basement under the palace into a fire pit, and performed Jauhar in it.
Other Attractions – Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
Karan Mahal -Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
Apart from these main palaces, Karna Mahal also introduces the tourists to the history of the palace. Raja Karan Singh was the father of Raja Man Singh. His palace is in this complex which is built up to 4 floors. A beautiful view of Gwalior city can be seen from the upper part of the palace.
Jahangir Mahal – Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
Jahangir Mahal, Shahjahan Mahal and Hawa Mahal are also special attractions for tourists. After facing the Mughal attacks for a time, the Bundel kings had made a treaty with the Mughals. When Jahangir rebelled against Akbar, the rulers of Bundel region were in support of Jahangir. Jahangir Mahal and Shahjahan Mahal are symbols of their friendship.
Apart from these monuments, Teli Ka Temple and Sahasrabahu Temple built in the 10th century, also known as Saas Bahu Temple, are also famous here.
Teli ka Mandir – Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
This temple is built in Dravidian style. It is said about this temple that the oil traders of that time had given money etc. for the construction of this temple. Due to its connection with oil traders, this temple came to be called the Oil Temple.
Sahastrabahu Mandir – Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
This temple built in Hindustani Nagar style was built in the 11th century. King Mahipal had built this temple. There are stone inscriptions written in Pali language installed in this temple on which information related to the construction of this temple is available. This temple dedicated to Sahastrabahu is today known as Saas Bahu Temple.
Gurudwara – Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
The famous Gurudwara located in the fort complex holds a special significance in Indian history. Sri Hargobind Sahib, the sixth Guru of the Sikhs, was taken captive. In protest against this, 52 Hindu kings refused to pay taxes to Jahangir. As a result, Jahangir also captured all those 52 kings. After some time, when Sri Guru Sahib was released, he put a condition that all these kings should also be released along with him. On this, Jahangir said that all the kings who could escape from your oppression will be released. It is said that then Shri Guru stitched a robe of 52 buds and gave one end to each king and thus freed all the kings from Jahangir’s captivity. From that time onwards this Gurudwara was called Data Bandi Chhattisgarh.
Apart from this, Bhim Singh’s Chhatri and Scindia School are other major attractions here. Gwalior Fort has been in existence for more than 1000 years which is known as a fortified fort. This fort has come from the hands of many kings. The walls of this fort are very steep. This fort has been a witness to the history of India.
The famous king of Tomar dynasty who ruled the fort of Gwalior was Raja Mansingh, who had 8 queens who used to live in Mansingh Palace, and his ninth queen which was Queen Mriganaini, a separate palace was built for her. There was what is called a quadrilateral fort in the plain below the hill.
Rani Lakshmi Bai – Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
On June 1, 1858, Rani Lakshmibai along with the Maratha rebels captured this fort, but later on June 16, it was attacked by the British army, in which Rani Lakshmibai displayed extraordinary bravery and warned the British not to capture the fort. But Lakshmibai later died on 17th June due to bullet injury and after the death of Rani Lakshmibai, the British captured this fort.
Ticket – Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
To enter Gwalior Fort, there is a ticket of Rs 75 and for foreign tourists this ticket is available for Rs 250. Light and sound show is also the main attraction in Gwalior Fort. Here the time is fixed at 7:30 pm in Hindi language and at 8:30 pm in English language.
How to reach Gwalior Fort Madhya Pradesh
Gwalior is a main city of Madhya Pradesh which is famous as a historical and tourist place. If you are traveling by flight, you can directly reach Gwalior Airport and take a taxi or public transport to the fort from there.
Gwalior is a big railway station and is well connected to the rail network of the country. Gwalior can be reached from any part of the country by direct or connected train. From Gwalior station one can take taxi or auto or other public transport service to reach Gwalior Fort.
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