Six Madhya Pradesh Heritage Sites Including Gwalior Fort Included in Tentative UNESCO List

Gwalior Fort's Entrance / Image credit

Recently, six heritage sites in Madhya Pradesh - Gwalior Fort, the Historical Ensemble of Dhamnar, Khooni Bhandara in Burhanpur , Gond Memorial of Ramnagar in Mandla, Bhojeshwar Mahadev Temple and Rock Art Sites of Chambal Valley (also included in Rajasthan) have been added to the tentative list of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites.

Gwalior’s Piece de Resistance: Gwalior Fort

Gwalior's main attraction is its formidable fort, whose 35 feet walls bear testimony to the fact that it was one of the most invincible forts of India. Within the fort you will find a number of elaborately carved sculptures and paintings. The present-day fort consists of a defensive structure and two main palaces, "Man Mandir" and Gujari Mahal, built by Tomar Rajput ruler Man Singh Tomar (reigned 1486–1516 CE).

Gujari Mahal

Built in the 15th century by Raja Man Singh Tomar for his queen, Mrignayani, Gujari Mahal is a monument of love. According to popular tradition, since none of the eight queens were able to produce a heir for the king, he finally married a milkman’s daughter called “naani”, whom he named “mrignani” ((meaning beautiful eyes). Since Mrignayani wasn’t of royal heritage, Mansingh Tomar has to build a separate palace for her. Hence the Gujari Mahal came into being.

Gujari Mahal now houses Archaeological Museum.

Man Mandir Palace

Built by Raja Man Singh between 1486 and 1517, Man Mandir Palace was scene of action for many momentous events. When war of succession took place among four brothers of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, he had one his brothers, Murad, imprisoned. Murad was later executed here in 1659 on the orders of Aurangzeb.

Other important shrines in the Gwalior fort are the11th-century Sas Bahu Ka Mandir (Temple of the Mother-in-law and the Daughter-in-law).

The Historic Ensemble of Dhamnar

The series of caves consists of 14 larger caves and 37 smaller caves. Rock cut site in Dhamnar in the Mandsaur district of Madhya Prades consists of 51 monolithic Buddhist caves and Hindu temple complex (Dharmarajeshwara temple). The caves have been mentioned in the accounts of explorers James Tod who visited the site in 1821, James Furgusson in 1845 and later by Alexander Cunningham who paid a visit to the site in 1864-65.

The presence of Buddhist caves and Dharmarajeshwara temple is illustrative of the spirit of tolerance in ancient India.

Khooni Bhandara Burhanpur

Khooni Bhandara is a 17th century AD underground water management system located in the historical city of Burhanpur in the district of the same name in Madhya Pradesh. It was built during the governorship of Abdur Rahim khan- Khanan during Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s reign. Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, popularly known as Rahim, was a medieval Hindi poet, scholar of Sanskrit and Persian and powerful minister and military commander.

Bhojeshwar Mahadev Temple

Bhojeshwar Temple / Image Credit

Overlooking the Betwa River, the Bhojeshwar Mahadev Temple is located 32 km from Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh. Built by Parmara ruler Bhoja this thousand-year-old Shiva temple is located in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh. The most notable feature of the temple is its massive lingam, is carved out of a single stone. The lingam measures approximately 2.3 meters in height and 5.4m in circumference that sits on a pedestal approx. 8m high.

The Rajput kingdom of Paramaras ruled in Malwa and the adjacent western and central parts of India during the 9th -14th century.

The greatest ruler of the Parmara dynasty was Bhoja (1018-55) who had authored no less than 24 books on a variety of subjects including astronomy, medicine, poetics, polity, grammar, religion, architecture etc. Samaranganasutradhara, a unique work on architecture, is one of his famous works,

Gond Monuments of Ramnagar, Mandla

Built by Gond rulers the monuments of Ramnagar, Mandla consist of Moti Mahal, Raibhagat ki Kothi, Begum Mahal etc.

Rock Art Sites of Chambal Valley

Rock art sites in the hilly areas of the Vindhyan, Satpura, and Kaimur ranges.

Muhammad Shah Rangila

Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal emperor, died in 1707. Muhammad Shah became Mughal emperor in 1719. During the interregnum, Bahadur Shah I , JahandarShah , Farrukhsiyar r, Rafi-ud-Darajat and Rafi-ud-Daula ascended the Mughal throne. Jahandar Shah was murdered on the orders of Farrukhsiyar who had the support of the two powerful Mughal nobles Sayyid Abdullah and his brother Sayyid Husain Ali at that time. They are famous in history as Sayyid brothers, the King-makers. In 1719, Farrukhsiyar were murdered in utter disregard of a Mughal emperor by Sayyid brothers. Rafi-ud-Darajat died of consumption in a few months. Rafi-ud-Daula was addicted to opium and died in 4 months. Sayyid brothers now chose Raushan Akhtar, a son of Jahan Shah (the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I), to be the emperor. Raushan Akhtar ascended the throne under the title of Muhamamd Shah in September 1719. In the beginning Muhammad Shah was a puppet in the hands of Sayyid brothers who soon began to lose their...

Ghaseti Begum: The Begum of Motijheel

Clive meeting Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, (By Francis Hayman) Ghaseti Begum, originally named Mehar un-Nisa, was the eldest daughter of Alivardi Khan, the Nawab of Bengal. She was married to Nawazish Muhammad Khan. Ghaseti Begum went all out to conspire against her nephew Siraj-ud-Daula who was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. Siraj-ud-Daula was defeated by the British under Lord Clive in the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and was killed on the orders of Miran, the son of Mir Jafar who was now made the Nawab of Bengal by the British. Ghaseti Begum was called the Begum of Motijheel due to her residence at the bend of this reservoir in Murshidabad. Motijheel or Pearl Lake is an oxbow lake in Murshidabad. The lake was created by her husband Nawazish Muhammad Khan. Nawazish Muhammad Khan died of grief when his adopted son Ekram-ud-Daulah succumbed to smallpox at a yo...

Chauth and sardeshmukhi: Two important taxes in the Maratha taxation system

Chauth and sardeshmukhi were the two most important taxes in the taxation system of the powerful Maratha state founded by brilliant Maratha leader Shivaji (1627-1680). According to Mahadev Govind Ranade , a famous Indian scholar and freedom fighter, chauth was a military tribute that was levied as a quid pro quo for protection against the invasion of a third power. But eminent historian Jadunath Sarkar does not ascribe to this view. According to him, chauth, 25% tax on revenue or produce, was realized from the alien territories to save themselves from the unwelcome presence of the Maratha soldiers and civil underlings. Shivaji was not under obligation to guard the territory from foreign invasion or internal disorder. According to another authority S. G Sardesai , chauth was a military tribute paid by the conquered or hostile territories. Since Shivaji was the hereditary sardeshmukh (Chief Headmand) of Maharashtra, he demanded an additional levy of 10 percent know...

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