Just a few hours from Agra by train or
road(120 km), Gwalior is famous for its old and very large fort. Within the
fort walls are several interesting temples and ruined palaces. The dramatic
and colourful history of the great fort goes back over 1000 years.
History
Gwalior’s legendary beginning stems from a meeting between Suraj Sen
and the hermit Gwalipa, who lived on the hilltop where the fort stands. The
hermit cured Suraj Sen of leprosy with a drink of water from the Suraj Kund,
which still remains in the fort. He then gave him a new name, Suhan Pal, and
said his descendants would remain in power so long as they kept the name
Pal. His next 83 descendants did just that, but number 84 changed his name
to Tej Karan and lost the kingdom.
What is more certain is that in 1398 the Tomar dynasty came to power in
Gwalior and over the next several centuries, Gwalior Fort was the scene of
continual intrigue and clashes with neighbouring powers. Man Singh who came
to power in 1486, was the greatest of these Tomar rulers. In 1505 he
repelled an assault on the fort by Sikander Lodi of Delhi, but in 1516 the
fort was besieged by Ibrahim Lodi. Man Singh died early in the siege, but
his son held out for a year before capitulating. Later the Mughals, under
Babur, took the fort and held it until 1754 when the Marathas captured it.
For the next 50 years the fort changed hands on several occasions,
including twice to the British. It finally passed into the hands of the
Scindias, although the British retained control behind the scenes. At the
time of the India Mutiny in 1857, the Maharaja remained loyal to the British
but his troops didn’t, and in mid 1858 the fort was the scene for some
of the final, and most dramatic, events of the Mutiny. It was near here that
the British finally defeated Tantia Topa and it was in the final assault on
the fort that the Rani of Jhansi was killed.
Fort
Rising 100 metres above the town, the fort hill is about 3 km in length.
Its width varies from nearly a km to less than 200 metres. The walls, which
encircle almost the entire hilltop, are 10 metres high and imposingly solid.
The climb can be sweaty work in the hot season. There are several things to
see in and around the fort, although most of the enclosed area is simply
open space and fields.
Jain Sculptures The long ascent on the southern side climbs up through a
ravine to the fort gate. Along the rock faces flanking this road are many
Jain sculptures, some impressively big. Originally cut into the cliff faces
in the mid 1400s, they were defaced by the forces of Babur in 1527 but were
later repaired.
The images are in five main groups and are numbered. In the Arwahi group,
image 20 is a 17 metre high standing sculpture of Adinath, while image 22 is
a 10 metre high seated figure of Nemnath, the 22nd Jain tirthankar. The
south-eastern group os the most important and covers nearly a km of the
cliff face with more than 20 images.
Teli Ka Mandir Beyond the Suraj Kund tank, this temple probably dates from
the 9th century and has a peculiar plan and design. The roof is Dravidian
while the decorations (the whole temple is covered with sculptures) are
Indo-Aryan. A Garuda tops the 10 metre high doorway. This is the highest
structure in the fort.
Between the Teli Ka Mandir and the Sasbahu temples is a modern Sikh
Gurdwara.
Sasbahu Temples The ‘mother-in-law’ and ‘daughter-in-law’
temples sand close to the eastern wall about midway along that side of the
fort. The two temples are similar in style, and date from the 9th to 11th
centuries. The larger temple has an ornately carved base and figures of
Vishnu over the entrances, and the four huge pillars carry the heavy roof.
Man Singh Palace The palace, a delightfully whimsical building, is also
known as The Chit Mandir or Painted Palace because of the tiled and painted
decorations of ducks, elephants and peacocks. Painted blue, with hints of
green and gold, it still looks very impressive.
The palace was built by Man Singh between 1486 and 1516, and was repaired
in 1881. It has four storeys, two of them underground and all of them now
deserted. The subterranean ones are cool, even in the summer heat, and were
used as prison cells during the Mughal period. The emperor Aurangzeb had his
brother Murad imprisoned and executed here. The east face of the palace with
its six towers topped by domed cupolas, stands over the fort entrance path.
Other Palaces There are other palaces clustered within the fort walls at
the northern end. None is as interesting or as well preserved as the Man
Singh Palace. The Karan Palace, or Kirti Mandir, is a long, narrow,
two-storey palace on the western side of the fort. At the northern end are
the Jehangir Palace and Shah Jahan Palace with a very large and deep tank,
the Jauhar Kund. It was here that the Rajput women of the harem committed
mass sati after the raja was defeated in battle in 1232.
North-East Entrance There is a whole series of gates as you descend the
worn steps of the path to the archaeological museum. The sixth gate, The
Hawa Gate, originally stood within the palace but has been removed. The
fifth gate, The Hathiya Paur, or Elephant Gate, forms the entrance to the
palace.
Descending, you pass a Vishnu shrine dating from 876 AD known as Chatarbhuj
Mandir, Shrine of the Four-Armed. A tomb nearby is that of a nobleman killed
in an assault on this gate in 1518.
The interesting fourth gate was built in the 1400s and named after the
elephant headed god, Ganesh. There is a small pigeon house or Kabutar Khana
here, as well as a small four-pillared Hindu Temple to the hermit Gwalipa,
after whom the fort and town were named.
The third gate dates from the same period as the Gujri Mahal and is known
as the Badalgarh, after Badal Singh, Man Singh’s uncle, or as the
Hindola Gate after a swing, or hindol, which used to stand here. The second
gate, the Bansur, or Archer’s Gate has disapperead. The first gate is
the Alamgiri Gate, dating from 1660. It was named after Aurangzeb, who took
the title of Governor of Alamgiri in this region.
Archaeological Museum The museum is within the Gujri Mahal palace. Built in
the 15th century by Man Singh for his favourite queen, Mrignayni, the palace
is now rather deteriorated. There’s a large collection of Hindu and
Jain sculptures and copies of the Bagh Caves’ frescoes. It’s open
from 10 am to 5 pm daily except Monday; admission is Rs 2 plus Rs 2 for a
camera.
Jai Vilas Palace & Museum
Located in the new town, which actually dates from 1809, this was the
palace of the Scindia family. Although the current maharaja family still
lives in the palace, a large part of it is now a museum. It’s full of
the bizarre items Hollywood maharajas are supposed to collect, such as
Belgian cut-glass furniture (including a rocking chair), and what looks like
half the tiger population of India, all shot, stuffed and moth-eaten. Modes
of transport range from a Rolls Royce on rails to a German bubble car. Then
there’s a little room full of erotica, including a life-sized marble
statue of Leda having her way with a swan. But the piece de resistance is a
model railway that carried brandy and cigars around the dining table after
dinner.
The main durbar hall is quite impressive. The gold paint used around the
room is said to weigh 58 kg, and the two giant chandeliers are incredible;
they each hold 248 candles, are 12.5 metres high and weigh 3.5 tonnes a
piece, so heavy that elephants were suspended from the ceiling to check that
it could take the weight.
Old Town
The old town of Gwalior lies to the north and north-east of the fort hill.
The 1661 Jama Masjid is a fine old building, constructed of sandstone
quarried from the fort hill. On the eastern side of town is the fine tomb of
Mohammed Gaus, a Muslim saint who played a key role in Babur’s
acquisition of the fort. It has hexagonal towers at its four corners, and a
dome which was once covered with glazed blue tiles. It’s a very good
example of early Mughal architecture.
Close to the large tomb is the smaller tomb of Tansen, a singer much
admired by Akbar. Chewing the leaves of the tamarind tree near his grave is
supposed to do wonders for your voice. It is a place of pilgrimage for
musicians during December/January.
