Palamu Fort Jharkhand : Palamu Fort is located in Latehar district of Jharkhand state of India. Palamu Fort is situated on the banks of Aurang River, a tributary of Koel River, in dense forests at a distance of about 30 kilometers from Medininagar, the headquarters of Jharkhand state. Palamu Fort belongs to the Chero dynasty. Raja Medinirai was the most famous king of the Chero dynasty. Palamu Fort was built by Raja Medini Rai in the 16th century.
पलामू किला झारखंड | Palamu Kila in Hindi
Chero Dynasty – Palamu Fort Jharkhand
The Chero dynasty was a tribal dynasty that ruled parts of modern-day Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh in Central India. The beginning of the Chero is considered to be in the 12th century, although the conflict between them and the Mughals has lasted much longer in modern history. The Chero dynasty was a strong supporter of the Shishodiya dynasty of Mewar and fought with Mewar against the Mughals.
The last Raxaul king in Palamu before the establishment of the Chero dynasty was Mansingh. After defeating them, Bhagwant Rai established the Chero dynasty here. After Raja Bhagwant Rai, Anant Rai took over the throne of Palamu and after Anant Rai, Sahabal Rai became the successor of Palamu.
Raja Medni Rai – Palamu Fort Jharkhand
The most famous king of the Chero dynasty was Medinirai who ruled between 1658 and 1674. King Medinirai was known as a powerful and justice loving king. Raja Medani Rai had constructed the Palamu Fort for security reasons. At that time his empire extended to the south, up to Hazaribagh and Surguja. The reign of King Medinirai is also called the golden period of the Cheras.
Palamu Fort Jharkhand
Palamu Fort has two parts. One part of these is in the plains and the other part is built on a hill. The fort situated in the plains was built by the Raxaul dynasty but the work of making it strategically secure was done during the time of Raja Medini Rai.
Raja Medini Rai had battles with his neighboring kingdoms from time to time. In this sequence, he attacked the Nagvanshi king (King of Doysa) now known as Navratangarh and he defeated the Nagvanshi king Raghunath Shah of Chhota Nagpur. In this battle they looted a lot of treasure and due to that the king also built a fort near the old fort which is known as the most famous fort of that time.
Chero vs Mughal – Palamu Fort Jharkhand
The conflict between Palamu and the Mughal rulers lasted from the time of the Chero king Bhagwant Singh to the last king. This struggle continued like this from Mughal emperors Akbar, Jahangir, Shahjahan to Aurangzeb.
In the year 1613, Agra was ruled by Jahangir and after the death of Raja Bhagwant Rai, Palamu was ruled by Raja Anant Rai who lived for a very short time and after him Raja Sahabal Rai ruled. Raja Sahbal Rai was also a powerful king who plundered the Mughals and worked for his kingdom. Jahangir captured Raja Sahbal and left him to fight the tiger. At that time, unarmed Sahbal Rai fought but for how long could he fight the tiger. That’s when he died.
After that this struggle continued even during the rule of Shahjahan. During his rule, Aurangzeb had called Dawood Khan, the governor of Bihar, to attack Palamu and collect taxes from there. At that time, Dawood Khan had established his authority over Koti fort and Kunda fort.
Juna Rai, who was the ruler of Kunda at that time, had accepted Islam due to which King Medini Rai got the Kunda ruler murdered by Juna Rai’s brother. Dawood Khan also asked Madani Rai to embrace Islam but Medani Rai was determined to fight till the last moment. He fled from there and took shelter in Surguja and at that time Palamu was under the control of Dawood Khan.
The Cheras had to flee towards the forest. Dawood Khan himself started living in Palamu fort and continued oppressing the people living there. In 1662, one Dawood Khan had built a mosque inside the old fort.
Dawood Khan’s Faujdar Mankali Khan took care of it here and Dawood Khan returned back to Patna. As soon as David left from there, Medni Rai who had gone to Surguja returned and re-established his authority over Palamu.
With the death of King Medini Rai, the decline of the Chero dynasty began and it came under British control. The British captured this fort in 1772. After some time, the Chero and Kharwar clans joined together and in 1882 they together faced the British but unfortunately they had to face defeat again. Later the East India Company used this fort of Palamu to jail the 1857 revolutionaries Narayan Peshwa of Tiroha and Raja Radha Krishna.
Architecture – Palamu Fort Jharkhand
Palamu Fort is a square. The walls of this fort used to be very thick and strong so that even horses used to run on those walls. This fort of Palamu is spread over an area of about 5 kilometers. The old fort has two floors and three gates. The main gate here has been built very strong and from security point of view.
To enter inside, one had to cross huge doors, the remains of which are still visible in some places. Inside the fort, there were ministries for the courtiers and water arrangements up to the palace were also made in an excellent manner. For that, big stepwells and drains were used there. Three domes are seen in the inner courtyard of the Lion Gate which appear to be those of a mosque.
The new fort, which was built by Raja Medani Rai, is built on a high mountain at a distance of about one and a half kilometers from the old fort. It has been constructed within a radius of 2 miles. Rooms were built in this fort for the soldiers to stay. The fort has two main gates which were large and artistically built.
Stones and bricks were used in the construction of the fort. Chosen, red clay was used to join these together. Accordingly, the fort was prepared very strong. The main attraction of the fort is its gate which is known as Nagpuri Darwaza. The height of this door is 40 feet and the width of the door is 15 feet. There is also a tunnel leading from this fort of Palamu which is said to lead to another fort.
At Present – Palamu Fort Jharkhand
Palamu Fort, once the pride of the Chero dynasty, has today turned into a ruin. Often local tourists come to see Palamu Fort but this fort is in a very pathetic condition.
How to reach Palamu Fort Jharkhand
To visit Palamu Fort, one can reach here by bus from Ranchi and Hazaribagh, the capital of Jharkhand. If you are traveling by train then you can reach Daltonganj in Jharkhand by train. Beyond this, one can reach Palamu by auto, taxi or local transport.
The nearest airport here is Birsa Munda Airport located in Ranchi. The journey beyond the airport can be done by road.
Best Time to Visit – Palamu Fort Jharkhand
The time to visit Palamu Fort is from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm only. The best season to visit here is from October to March.
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