As I approach Gwalior Fort from the city what strikes me is the sheer height of the fort built on a hill with a near perpendicular precipice. This imposing structure dominating Gwalior city has been called the “Gibraltar of India”. Mughal emperor Babur called it the “Pearl among the fortresses of the Mughal Empire”. This was built sometime in the 6th century AD and a succession of rulers have controlled the fort over the millenia. Gwalior Fort has many attractions to merit a full day’s visit. Here are some of the outstanding monuments located in the fort.
All palaces are pretty from the inside; Man Mandir Palace is aesthetically pleasing both from outside and inside. The outer walls are adorned with ceramic coloured tiles showing different animal motifs; elephants, tigers, ducks, parakeets. This was built by the Tomar dynasty king Man Singh in the late 15th century. Man Singh was a person of aesthetic sensibilities and it shows in the interior of the palace as well. This four-storeyed palace- two floors being below the ground level- has intricately carved columns, walls and cornices, including some Chinese dragons!
A connoisseur of music, Man Singh encouraged and refined the Dhrupad style of music. The music room in the palace hosted several reputed musicians including Baiju Bawara who taught music to the queens.
The king’s bedroom is ornate, I am told it had walls inlaid with precious stones. The room has two walls. This helped control the temperature in the room. The other benefit is interesting. Dancers would walk between the walls in the mornings, the tinkle of their ghunghroos serving as a morning wake up call for the king!
In the floor below, there is the jhoola ghar (swing room) for the eight queens of the King, jhoola rings on the ceiling are still visible. This room has a sordid past too. In later years, it was used as a jail for the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind. It was in this room that Aurangzeb had his brother Murad executed to become the undisputed Mughal emperor. In the lowest floor is the Kesar Kund which was an indoor pool for the queens. When Man Singh died in a battle his queens committed (jauhar) self-immolation in this very room.
Gujari Mahal, now a museum, houses several priceless archaeological gems from over the last two thousand years or so. This palace has an interesting history. Once, when out hunting, Man Singh saw a young and beautiful gujari (milkmaid) battling a wild buffalo, alone. Smitten, the King asked for her hand. She made three conditions: she will never be in purdah, she will be alongside the King in times of peace or war, and she will drink water piped from the Rai river near her village. Man Mandir Palace was at a significant height for the water to flow up, so Man Singh built her a palace at a lower height with a terracotta pipeline (the outlet is still visible in the palace) for the water.
One notable exhibit is the statue of Shalbhanjika from the 10th century AD. Thanks to the statue’s mysterious smile, it has been called “Monalisa-in-stone”. This was apparently insured for Rs nine crores when it was sent to Europe for an exhibition. It is now displayed in a secure glass case in the museum curator’s office.
The Sahastrabahu Temple was built in the 11th century by the Kachhwaha dynasty. It is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. This name was corrupted to Saas-Bahu Temple by the locals, possible because of the two temple, one smaller than the other. These are built on a large platform, typical of the Kachhwaha style of temple architecture. Despite the weakened structure of the bigger temple, I cannot but marvel at the intricate carvings of flora and fauna and scenes from Krishna Leela on the pillars, ceilings and porches. The smaller temple- not as well decorated- was probably used for preparations prior to worship in the main temple.
Some say Teli ka Mandir temple was built with contributions from the Teli (oil merchant) community. It was built sometime in the 8th or 9th century in the reign the Pratihara dynasty. There no agreement among scholars about either the date or the builders of the temple. Also inconclusive is the deity to which this temple was dedicated to. Most probably it was dedicated to Shakti with later incorporation of Vaishnavism and Shaivism. What remains undisputed is the unusual construction of the temple. This is a rare temple in North India which draws inspiration from the Dravidian style. Case in point: the Gopuram. Thirty meters high, it is the tallest temple in the Fort complex. The other striking feature is the ornate- and intricate- carvings on the temple façade.
From Teli ka Mandir, we see a tall, magnificent edifice, Gurudwara Daata Bandi Chhod. This has an interesting history. Guru Hargobind was imprisoned by the Mughal emperor Jehangir at the Gwalior Fort around 1617 AD. Jehangir had brutally murdered the Guru’s father, the fifth Guru Arjan. Worried that Guru Hargobind would take revenge, Jehangir had him imprisoned. After about two years Jehangir got more comfortable with his hold over the empire and decide to release the Guru. Another version of the story is that Jehangir fell seriously unwell which his wife Mumtaz suspected was due to the Guru’s imprisonment. She persuaded Jehangir to release the Guru. Guru Hargobind had other ideas. He wanted the fifty-two others with him to be released as well. Jehangir relented, with a condition. The Guru could take along only as many prisoners as he could carry on his person. The Guru got fifty-two tails stitched to his cloak which were held by the prisoners. Thus, the entire group walked out to freedom. This earned the Guru the epithet, Daata Bandi Chhod (munificent liberator). There was a small shrine built to commemorate this. Sometime in the 70’s and 80’s a larger complex was built including the towering six storey Gurudwara.
Returning from the fort, I could not but help marvel at what I had experienced during the day; an entire sweep of history from the 6th century onwards and more importantly, the beauty of our heritage shining through even in the centuries old temples and palaces!