Gwalior Fort : Exploring the city of Scindia

Gwalior is an ancient city located in Madhya Pradesh. According to legend, the city is named after a saint named Gwalipa. The story goes that a Prince by the name of Suraj Sen had lost his way in a forest and came across this old sage. This sage took the Prince to a lake and the water from that lake not only quenched his thirst but also cured him of leprosy. The Prince was so grateful that he built a wall around the lake which came to be known as the Gwalior fort. Eventually the city that grew around it also adopted the name Gwalior. This city is a beautiful amalgamation of various cultures. It brings together Indo-Islamic and Maratha culture because of the presence and influence of Muslim and Maratha rulers in the past. 

The fort of Gwalior is one of the major attractions of the city that exists in the valleys of huge rocky hills that surround it. The fort has had a long history with different dynasties and rulers coming in and settling here. The date for the construction of the fort is not ascertained. However, evidence suggests that the fort has existed almost as long as the sixth century CE. The first ruler was probably Suraj Sen who was bestowed with the title Pal. He was told that as long as his descendants carry the title ‘Pal’, they would rule. This went on until the 84th ruler - Tej Karan who eventually lost it.

                

Tenth-century records show that Gwalior at that time was ruled by the Kachchhapaghata dynasty.  The Sanskrit etymology of this word literally means "tortoise killer”. The Kachchhapaghatas were originally the vassals of the Pratiharas and the Chandelas. If the fort could retell its story it would speak of how the Muslim rulers came, attacked, captured and enriched the history of the fort. Muhammad of Ghazni was the first Islamic ruler to do so. He attacked the fort for four days and only surrendered the fort when he was offered 35 elephants as a tribute. Various Sultans of the Delhi Sultanate made a weak attempt at capturing and recapturing the fort multiple times. From Qutubudin Aibak to Iltumish to the Lodis, everyone had their eyes on this magnificent fort. 

The symbol of the Tomar dynasty

In 1398, the fort came under the control of the Tomars. The most distinguished of the Tomar rulers was Maan Singh. He built the Man Mandir mahal for his favourite queen Mrignayani and several other structures as well. He also built the Gujari Mahal for the queen who had demanded a separate palace for herself with regular water supply from the Rai river. When the Mughals captured the fort from the Delhi Sultanate, they were in awe of its grandeur and glory. Emperor Babur reputedly described it as "the pearl in the necklace of the forts of Hind”. During the Mughal era, it was also converted into a political prison where the fort witnessed several death punishments of the royal family and otherwise. Murad, Aurangzeb’s younger brother was also executed here. 

With the death of Aurangzeb and the decline of the Mughal empire, the Marathas started to gain importance and control over northern India. The fort fell into the hands of the Rana chieftains of Gohad who lost it to a Maratha General, Mahadaji Shinde (Scindia). This was a time when the ownership and control of the fort often changed hands between the Ranas, Scindia and the English East India Company. During the 1857 revolt, the then Scindia ruler, Jayaji Scindia remained loyal to the Britishers and also refused to support Rani Laxmi Bai in her struggle against the Britishers. After the revolt had subsided and the Britishers had pretty much the whole of India under their control, the fort lost its importance for them. Hence they decided to return it to the Scindia’s who ruled the state of Gwalior till 1947 when they acceded to the democratic government of newly formed India. 

The fort has seen some interesting architectural styles come together and become a form of art within themselves. It displays a Chinese influence on Indian architecture, as Chinese dragons have been crafted at the hilt of the pillars. This indicates the active trade that India had with China at the time of the construction of the fort. We have a lot of Islamic influence too as the rulers who conquered and captured the fort also brought in ideas of their own. We have two palaces by the name of Shahjahan Mahal and Jahangir Mahal. The idea of having a chatri in honour of a king is very Marathi. It even houses remnants of British architecture in the form of office buildings and garrisons that they built within the fort complex. 

Chaturbhuj Temple

There are some other interesting structures in and around the fort. As we walk uphill towards one of the entrances to the fort, we get to see a very tiny temple known as Chaturbhuj Temple. The temple is famous for the earliest known inscription in the world that uses the symbol "0" to mean zero. It is a tiny 0 and can be easily missed by people but it is there nevertheless. It is a ninth century temple carved out of a single rock. We also have the Gopachal hill which has about 1500 idols ranging from 6 inches to 57 feet in height and have been carved out of cutting the hilly rocks.






Disclaimer - All pictures that are used in this post are clicked by me unless stated otherwise.