Ratu Mahal Ranchi : Ratu Mahal is about 150 years old palace of Nagvansh kings located in Ranchi. It is also known as Ratu Garh. Ratu Mahal was built by Raja Pratap Udaynath Shahdev, the 61st of the Nagvanshi kings who ruled Chhota Nagpur. Nagvanshi rule is considered as the oldest dynasty not only in Jharkhand but in India.
रातू महल रांची | Ratu Mahal Hindi Ranchi
Ratu Mahal Ranchi- Nagvansh
The name of the first king of Nag dynasty who established the Nag dynasty was Maharaja Phani Mukut Rai. Phani Mukut Rai ji was also called Adi Purush because he founded the Naga dynasty.
Establishment of Nagvansh – Ratu Mahal Ranchi
It is believed that the Nagvanshi rule was established in the Sutiyambe fort located near Pithoria, which is present day Pithoria. At that time this place was dominated by tribals. Tribal king Madra Munda used to rule there. One day King Madara Munda saw a newborn baby on the bank of the pond. King Mudra Munda saw that the newborn baby was being protected by a hooded snake. King Madara Munda brought the new born child with him and named the child Phani Mukut.
This child was raised by Raja Mudra Munda like his own child and Raja Madra Munda declared Phani Mukut as his successor. In this way, with Phani Mukut becoming the king, the Naga dynasty was established. This dynasty was called Nagavansh because a snake was protecting that newborn child.
That is why Maharaja Phani is known as the first Maharaja of the Mukut Naga dynasty. It was his descendants who built this Ratu Palace. It is believed that Maharaja Phani was a worshiper of Mukut Shakti and it was by him that Durga Puja was started here.
Nagvansh No Tax Policy

According to the information related to Nagvanshi royal family, it is said that Nagvanshi was the first such regime in the world in which no revenue or tax of any kind was ever taken from the subjects. The Nagavansh kings never collected any kind of tax from their subjects, due to which the subjects used to give gifts to the king on festivals and some special occasions as per their wish. It is also said that the Nagvanshi royal family never created any permanent army of its own.
History of Nagvansh – Ratu Mahal Ranchi
Nagvansh is considered to be one of the oldest dynasties not only in Jharkhand or India but in the entire world. The oldest dynasty in the world that is still running is the dynasty of Belgium. The dynasties of Japan and Vietnam are also included in this series. Nagavansh is considered to be the fifth oldest dynasty among the oldest dynasties in the world.
It is believed that the history of Nagvansh is 2000 years old. From time to time the Nagavanshi kings worked for other people of this region. Navratan Fort was built by the Nagvanshi king Durjan Sal and was the first fort that a Nagvanshi king built for himself. Before that, Nagvanshi kings preferred to live in a simple manner among the people. In this 2000 year history of Nagvansh, Maharaja Udai Pratap Singh was the only king who ruled for about 81 years.
Ratu Mahal Ranchi
The construction of Ratu Mahal started in the year 1870 but at some places there is mention of its construction in the year 1901 also. Ratu Mahal was built by Maharaja Pratap Uday Nath Shahdev. He had the Ratu Mahal built by the British Company of Kolkata. Ratu Mahal is built according to the architecture like Buckingham Palace.
This palace has two floors and there are 103 rooms inside this palace. Ratu Mahal is spread over 22 acres of land. Right in front of the main gate of Ratu Mahal is the Durga Mandap.
Durga Mandap – Ratu Mahal Ranchi
The Durga Mandap at Ratu Mahal is dedicated to Goddess Durga and is opened to the general public every year on the occasion of Navratri. This temple was built by Maharaja Chintamani. Raja Chintamani Nath Shahdev was the last king of the Naga dynasty.
The Durga Mandap at Ratu Mahal is dedicated to Goddess Durga and is opened to the general public every year on the occasion of Navratri. This temple was built by Maharaja Chintamani. Raja Chintamani Nath Shahdev was the last king of the Naga dynasty.
There is a golden umbrella placed over Goddess Durga in this pavilion and it is said that this umbrella is as old as the Naga dynasty. There is also a place for offering sacrifices in front of this Durga temple and this tradition of sacrifice is still followed here.
Every year during Navratri, fairs and festivals are organized here and a large number of people of Ratu participate in it.
A guest house was built for the guests on the first floor of Ratu Mahal. Many types of ancient musical instruments can also be seen here. Gopal Sharan Nath Shahdev, a descendant of this dynasty who was a nature lover, had also built a bird park here.
Dhoop Ghadi – Ratu Mahal Ranchi
A sundial was constructed in Ratu Mahal which is opened for visitors only during Durga Puja. In this sundial, time can be estimated according to sunlight.
The Sun Temple and Jagannath Temple were built in the Ratu Mahal complex itself. Like Jagannath Puri, Rath Yatra is started from Jagannath temple here. A huge fair is also organized here during this yatra. Ratu Mahal is also called Red Fort because red bricks were used to build this palace.
Ratu Mahal is a page in the history of Nagvanshi rule of Jharkhand. This palace is counted among the famous palaces of India.
Near by Places – Ratu Mahal Ranchi
Ranchi is the capital of Jharkhand and very famous as a tourist place. Along with Ratu Mahal, located only 16 kilometers from Ranchi, tourists can also cover other tourist places of Ranchi during their journey. Jagannath Temple, Sun Temple, Natural Waterfalls and Biological Park located in Ranchi are very famous.
How to reach Ratu Mahal Ranchi
To reach Ratu Mahal, one can cover the distance from Ranchi to Ratu by road. You can take a taxi or rent a car to Ratu from Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi. If you are traveling by train then you can easily reach Ratu Mahal by road from Ranchi station.
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