Chittaurgarh Fort

The history of Chittor is one of the most stirring chapters in Indian history for it was there that the flower of Rajput chivalry sprang to life and the immense stretch of its sacred walls and ruined palaces relate the saga of innumerable sieges and heroism which has almost become a myth now.

Chittorgarh was one of the most fiercely contested seats of power in India. With its formidable fortifications, Bappa Rawal, the legendary founder of the Sisodia dynasty, received Chittor in the middle of the eighth century, as part of the last Solanki princess's dowry. It crowns a seven-mile- long hill, covering 700 acres (280 hectares), with its fortifications, temples, towers and palaces.

From the eighth to the 16th century, Bappa Rawal's descendants ruled over an important kingdom called Mewar stretching from Gujarat to Ajmer. But during these eight centuries the seemingly impregnable Chittor was surrounded, overrun, and sacked three times.

In 1303 Allauddin khilji, Sultan of Delhi, intrigued by tales of the matchless beauty of Padmini, Rani of Chittor, of her wit and charm, decided to verify this himself. His armies surrounded Chittor, and the sultan sent a message to Rana Rattan Singh, Padmini's husband, to say that he would spare the city if he could meet its famous queen. The compromise finally reached was that the sultan could look upon Padmini's reflection if he came unarmed into the fort. Accordingly, the sultan went up the hill and glimpsed a reflection of the beautiful Padmini standing by a lotus pool. He thanked his host who courteously escorted Allauddin down to the outer gate-where the sultan's men waited in ambush to take the rana hostage.

There was consternation in Chittor until Padmini devised a plan. A messenger informed the sultan that the rani would come to him. Dozens of curtained palanquins set off down the hill, each carried by six humble bearers. Once inside the Sultan's camp, four well-armed Rajput warriors leaped out of each palanquin and each lowly palanquin bearer drew a sword.In the ensuing battle, Rana Rattan Singh was rescued-but 7,000 Rajput warriors died. The sultan now attacked Chittor with renewed vigor. Having lost 7,000 of its best warriors, Chittor could not hold out. Surrender was unthinkable. The rani and her entire entourage of women, the wives of generals and soldiers, sent their children into hiding with loyal retainers. They then dressed their wedding fine , slid their farewells, and singing ancient hymns, boldly entered the mahal and performed jauhar.

The men, watching with expressionless faces, then donned saffron robes, smeared the holy ashes of their women on their foreheads, flung open the gates of the fort and thundered down the hill into the enemy ranks, to fight to the death.The second sack or shake (sacrifice) of Chittor, by which Rajputs still swear when pledging their word, occurred in 1535, when Sultan Bahadur Shan Of Gujarat attacked the fort.



Rana Kumbha
Rana Kumbha (1433-68) was a versatile man a brilliant, poet and musician. He built mewar upto a position of assailable military strength building a chain of thirty forts that girdled the kingdom But, perhaps more important was a patron of the arts to rival Lorenzo de Medici, and he made Chittorgarh a dazzling cultural center whose fame spread right across Hindustan.



Rana Sanga
Rana Sanga (reigned 1509-27) was a warrior and a man of great chivalry and honor reign was marked by a series of continual battles, in course of which he is said to have lost one arm and had been crippled in one leg and received eighty-four wounds on his body. The last of his battles was again Mughal invader, Babur, in 1527. Deserted by one ofgenerals, Rana Sanga was wounded in the battle and shortly after.


Maharana Pratap
Over the next half-century, most other Rajput rulers allowed themselves to be wooed the Mughals; Mewar alone held out. In 1567 Emperor Akbar decided to teach it a lesson: he attacked Chittorgarh razed it to the ground. Five years later Maharana Pratap (reigned 1572-97) came to rule Mewar - a king without a capital. He continued to defy Akbar, and in 1576, confronted the imperial armies at Haldighati.

The battle ended in a stalemate and Maharana Pratap and his followers withdrew to the craggy hills of Mewar, from where they continued to harrass the Mughals through guerilla warfare for the next twenty years. Maharana Pratap made his descendants vow that they would not sleep on beds, nor live in palaces, nor eat off metal utensils, until Chittorgarh had been regained.In fact, right into the 20th century the maharanas of Mewar continued to place a leaf platter under their regular utensils and a reed mat under their beds in symbolic continuance of this vow.


Rani Padmini
In 1303 Allauddin khilji, Sultan of Delhi, intrigued by tales of the matchless beauty of Padmini, Rani of Chittor, of her wit and charm, decided to verify this himself. His armies surrounded Chittor, and the sultan sent a message to Rana Rattan Singh, Padmini's husband, to say that he would spare the city if he could meet its famous queen. The compromise finally reached was that the sultan could look upon Padmini's reflection if he came unarmed into the fort. Accordingly, the sultan went up the hill and glimpsed a reflection of the beautiful Padmini standing by a lotus pool. He thanked his host who courteously escorted Allauddin down to the outer gate-where the sultan's men waited in ambush to take the rana hostage.

There was consternation in Chittor until Padmini devised a plan. A messenger informed the sultan that the rani would come to him. Dozens of curtained palanquins set off down the hill, each carried by six humble bearers. Once inside the Sultan's camp, four well-armed Rajput warriors leaped out of each palanquin and each lowly palanquin bearer drew a sword.In the ensuing battle, Rana Rattan Singh was rescued-but 7,000 Rajput warriors died. The sultan now attacked Chittor with renewed vigor. Having lost 7,000 of its best warriors, Chittor could not hold out. Surrender was unthinkable. The rani and her entire entourage of women, the wives of generals and soldiers, sent their children into hiding with loyal retainers. They then dressed their wedding fine , slid their farewells, and singing ancient hymns, boldly entered the mahal and performed jauhar.


Chittorgarh And Jainism
Chittorgarh is ancient center of Jain tradition. Here are few facts about Chittor:
Chittor is adjacent to the ancient city of Madhyamika. The Jain inscriptions at Mathura from the Kushana period (1-3rd cent) mention a "Majjhimilla" branch of the "Kottiya" gana, indicating that it was a major Jain center.
The famous Acharya Haribhadra Suri (6th cent) was born in Chittor and wrote "Dhurtopakhyana" there.
There was a scholar Elacharya at Chittor from whom Vira-senacharya (9th cent) learned the ancient Shat-khandagama and Kashayapahuda. Vira-senacharya later the famous "Dhavala" and "Jayadhavala" on the basis of these books.
Chittor was the residence of Jinavallabha who propagated the Vidhimarga in the 12th cent. In the 15-17th century, it was the seat of a Bhattaraka.

RED FORT STRUCTURE AT DELHI

Diwan-i-Am: Raised on arches supported by pillars and with a façade of nine engraved arch openings, the Diwan-i-Am is the next structure, which one comes across, inside the fort complex. It is the Hall of Public Audience where the emperor received the general public and listened to their complaints. Justice was carried out at once and various methods were used to punish the convict, including beheading! It houses a marble canopy or baldachin under which stood the throne of the Emperor. The marble throne canopy was also known as 'The Seat of the Shadow of God'.

Mumtaz Mahal: Mumtaz Mahal is the southern end of all the palaces along the eastern wall of the Fort. Originally, along the riverfront, there were six main palaces and the Stream of Paradise or Nahr-i-Bihisht flowed through them. Mumtaz Mahal is one of them and it was the residence of Jahanara Begum, Shah Jahan's favorite daughter and the head of the royal harem. The Mahal had six apartments divided by arched piers and was the part of the imperial seraglio. The interesting feature of the Mahal is that only the lower half of its walls and pillars are built with marble

Diwan-i-Khas:The inscription of the great poet Amir Khusrau over the corner arches of the northern and southern walls in the hall very aptly describes the beauty of Diwan-i-Khas. The emperor used Diwan-i-Khas or the Hall of Private Audience for holding private meetings with selected courtiers and visitors. Surrounded by aisles of arches rising from piers, the hall consists of a rectangular central chamber made of white marble. The lower parts of the piers were carved with floral designs while the upper portions were artistically gilded and painted. The hall was so designed that the 'stream of paradise' or Nahr-i-Bihisht used to flow through the center of the hall. In the center of the hall over the marble pedestal once stood the famous Peacock Throne, which was looted by Nadir Shah in 1739.

Khas Mahal: Khas Mahal was the private palace of the Mughal Emperor. It consists of different sets of rooms, which were used by the emperor for sleeping, worshipping and living. 'Tasbih Khana' was a set of three rooms, which was used by the emperor for his private worship. Also known as 'Chamber of Telling beads', these rooms faced the elegant Diwan-i-Khas. The three rooms of the Khwabgah or the 'sleeping chamber' were behind the Tasbih Khana.

Muthamman Burj: Muthamman Burj is the octagonal tower, which lies near the eastern wall of the Khwabgah. The Emperor appeared before his subjects at this tower, every morning. It is said that if for some reason the Emperor didn't appear, there was near panic in the city. This ceremonial appearance was known as Darshan

Rang Mahal: Rang Mahal, also known as the Palace of Color, is built on a basement, and consists of a large hall. The hall derives its name from its painted interior, which was wholly defaced after the War of Independence in 1857 when the British army occupied and used it as an officer's barrack. Rang Mahal was either the common room of the Royal ladies or the residence of the emperor's chief wife and is said to be the place where the emperor took most of his meals.

Hammam: Located to the north of the Diwan-i-Khas, the Hammam housed the royal baths. It consisted of three apartments separated by corridors and surmounted by a dome. The floors of the apartments are built with marble and featured pietra dura work (inlaid floral patterns of multicolored stones). The eastern chamber was used as the dressing room.

Moti Masjid: This small mosque lies on the west of the Hammam and is also known as Pearl Mosque. Aurangzeb built the mosque in 1659 for his private use. The mosque took five years to complete. The prayer hall of the mosque was built in black marble and stands at a higher level than the courtyard. The hall is covered by three domes, which were originally copper plated.

Hayat Bakhsh Bagh: Hayat Bakhsh Bagh or the Life-Giving Garden is located to the north of the Moti Masjid. The real gardens were all uprooted during the First War of Independence in 1857 by the British. Only the general outline of the original garden can be seen today as the rest was destroyed and replaced with simple lawns. The original gardens were laid out in the pattern of Mughal Gardens. They were divided into squares, with water channels, pools and pavilions between them.

Shahi Burj: Located on the northeastern corner of the garden is the royal tower or Shahi Burj. The dome of the tower was destroyed during the War of 1857. The tower is said to be the emperor's private working area, where the emperor also organized private gatherings. The roof of the tower is said to be one of the hallmarks of Shah Jahan's architectural design. The tower was octagonal in shape and had three storeys.

Other structures in Red Fort:

Asad Burj: Located on the southeastern corner of the fort stands the Asad Burj tower. This tower was also damaged during the War of 1857. It has a similar design as the Shahi Burj but is not so elegant.

Moti Mahal and Hira Mahal: Bahadur Shah II built these two Mahal or palaces along the eastern wall of the fort. The palaces or Mahals were built on raised land. The northern Mahal was known as the Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace) while the southern Mahal was known as Hira Mahal. However, the palaces were also damaged during the War of 1857 by the British.

Delhi Gate: Delhi Gate was the other important gate of the Red Fort. Equally elegant, massive and similar in structure to Lahore Gate, Delhi Gate is now closed to public. The emperor used this gate when he led his ceremonial procession every Friday to the Jama Masjid. The area beyond Delhi Gate is known as Daryaganj, another famous market place of Delhi.

Swatantra Sangrahalaya: As one enters Red Fort from Lahore Gate, you will find a museum on the left side after crossing Chatta Chowk. The museum presents the brief history of Indian Independence, highlighting the main incidents of the struggle and contributions of prominent leaders of the country. It houses the idols of the leaders, chronological pictorial representation of the struggle and maps of India in different centuries. The museum also contains souvenirs, tokens and relics of historical importance.