GWALIOR CITY GUIDE
Gwalior
is much acclaimed its old and very large fort.
Within the fort walls are ruins of many palaces and many interesting
temples. The rich and impressive history of the great fort goes back over 1000
years.
Gwalior's illustrious history begins from a meeting between a hermit Gwalipa and
Suraj Sen. The hermit Gwalipa lived on the hilltop where the fort stands. He
cured Suraj Sen of leprosy by making him drink water from the Suraj kund, which
is still there in the fort and gave him a new name Suhan Pal.
He also told him that his descendants would rule well as long as they
retained the name Pal. Suhan Pal's next 83 descendants followed this advice but
the 84th descendant changed his name to Tej Karan and lost his Kingdom.
In 1398 the Tomar dynasty came to power and for the next several centuries
Gwalior fort was the scene of continual conspiracy and feuds with the
neighbouring powers. Man Singh the greatest of the Tomar rulers came to power in
1486.The fort was besieged by Ibrahim Lodi in 1516.
Man Singh died but his son held out for a year.
Afterwards the Mughals led by Babur held the fort until 1754.
In 1754, the Marathas captured it.
In the next 50 years the fort changed many hands.
Finally the Scindias came to power.
During the Indian Uprising in 1857 the Maharaja maintained loyalty to the
British but his troops did not and the fort became the locale for some of the
final and dramatic events of the Uprising. It was near here that TantiaTopi was
defeated by the British and in the final assault on the fort the Rani of Jhansi
was killed.
The
Fort
There is much to see in and around the fort.
Guides can be hired at the gate. Every evening an atmospheric light-and-sound
show is held at the open-air theatre outside the Man Singh Palace.
There are two versions-English and Hindi respectively.
Jain Sculptures
There are many impressively big Jain sculptures, which were originally cut into
the cliff faces in the 15th century. They
were defaced by Babur's forces and renovated later. The images are in five main
groups.
Teli Ka Mandir
Its distinct pattern integrates a Dravidian roof with Indo-Aryan decorations.
Sculptures fill every nook and corner of this temple, which dates back to the
9th century.
Sasbahu Temples
The Sas-bahu (Mother-in-law, Daughter-in-law) temples have much similarity in
style and stand close to the eastern wall.
These temples date back to the 9th to 11th centuries.
Man Singh Palace
A charmingly eccentric Palace also known as the Chit Mandir or Painted Palace
due to the tiled and painted ornamentation of ducks, peacocks
and elephants. The palace
looks very striking even today. A
small museum next to the Man Singh Palace houses sculpture and carvings from
around the fort.
Other Palaces
Within the fort walls are other palaces but they are not as appealing as the
Man Singh Palace. The other palaces
are Karan Palace or Kirti Mandir, Jehangir Mahal and Shan Jahan Mahal has a
large lank Jauhar Kund. It is at
this place that the Rajput women of the harem committed mass sati or self-immolation
after the Raja's defeat in battle in 1232.
North-East Entrance
This is an entire sequence of gates, the sixth gate- the Hawa Gate, the fifth
gate- the Hathiya Paur, the fourth gate-named after Lord Ganesha, the third
gate-Badal garh, the second gate-Bansur or Archer's Gate and the first gate-
Alamgiri Gate.
Archaeological Museum
Within the Gujri Mahal is the Museum.
The Museum houses an extensive collection of Hindu and Jain sculptures
and copies of the Bagh Caves frescos.
Jai Vilas Palace and Scindia Museum
Though the current Maharaja still dwells in this Palace of the Scindia family
about 35 rooms have been converted into a museum. The museum houses ludicrous
items such as Belgian cut glass furniture, stuffed tigers, a Rolls Royce on
rails, a German bubble car, a life-size marble statue of Leda and a model railway
that carried brandy and cigars around the dining table. The main Durbar hall
with its giant chandeliers is captivating.
Old Town
The Jama Masjid, the tomb of Mohammed Gaus, the tomb of Tansen and the Moti
Mahal are all places to be visited in the Old Town of Gwalior.