Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal

Virupaksha Temple / Image Credit

Virupaksha is the largest and grandest of all temples built by the Badami Chalukyas in Pattadakal between the 7th AD and 9th AD centuries. Located on the Malaprabha river in Karnataka, Pattadakal is believed to be the site where Chalukyan rulers were crowned kings. 

Also known as the Lokeshwara temple, the Virupaksha temple was commissioned in 745 AD by the Chalukyan ruler Vikramaditya's consort Queen Lokamahadevi to commemorate his victory over the Pallavas of Kanchi,  The architect of the temple was Sri Gundan Anivaritachari who was given the title of Tenkanadiseyasutradhari (the architect of the South). 

Dedicated to Shiva, the Virupaksha temple is influenced by the architecture of the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram. The concept and design of the Virupaksha temple later served as a model for the Rashtrakuta ruler Krishna I (757 -783 A.D.) to carve out the great Kailasha Temple at Ellora.

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  Nandi Facing The Shiva Lingman at Virupaksha Temple at Pattadakal 

Amber Fort Jaipur

If there is an absolute must see in Jaipur, it has to be the Amber Fort. A fine specimen of the Rajput architecture, the Amber (pronounced Amer) Fort -Palace is a classical example of romantic forts for which Rajasthan is famous all over the world. 

The Amber Fort is one of the six hill forts of Rajasthan which have been recognised as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Amber was the capital of the Kachhwaha rulers till 1727 A.D when Jaipur was made capital in place of Amber by Maharaja Jai Singh Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who founded the Jaipur city. 

The construction of the Amber Fort was commenced in 1592 by Man Singh I, one of the foremost generals of the greatest Mughal emperor Akbar, and completed by his successor Jai Singh I. Made of red sandstone and marble and located high on a hill, the Amber Fort consists of a sprawling collection of fairytale buildings including palaces, halls, pavilions as well as temples and gardens. The spectacular reflection of the Amber Fort in the waters of the Maota Lake is a feast for the eyes. 

Chand Baori: Iconic Stepwell in Rajasthan

Chand Baori / Image Credit

95 km from Jaipur is located the medieval Chand Baori (stepwell) at Abhaneri village in the Dausa district of Rajasthan. One of the most famous stepwells in the state, the intricately carved Chand Baori is one of India's largest and deepest step wells. With its haunting architecture, the stepwell is thirteen stories in depth with a maze of 3500 steps.  

Chand Baori is located in front of the Harshat Mata temple, which though in ruins, is known for its beautiful architecture.

Sankar Gompa

Sankar Gompah / Image Credit

Located at a distance of 3 km from Leh in Ladakh, the Sankar Gompa is affiliated with the revered Spituk Gompa and follows the lineage of Gelug, the Yellow Hat sect of Buddhism. 

Here you will find an amazing statue of the Buddhist deity of compassion, Avalokitesvara, with thousand eyes and hands. 

The two-storey Sankar Gompa is the residence of The Kushok Bakul – the regional head of Gelug. The main prayer house enshrines the image of Tsong-kha-pa, the founder of Gelug.  

Kasyapa Matanga And Dharmaratna

White Horse Temple In Luoyang, China / Image Credit

In the 1st century AD, Buddhism was introduced to China by Kasyapa Matanga, an Indian Buddhist monk who traveled  from India to Luoyang in Imperial China with another Indian monk, Dharmaratna or Gobharana. 

Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty constructed the White Horse Temple or Bai Ma Temple in 68 CE in the Han capital Luoyang in honour of these two Indian monks. White Horse Temple is reputed as the first Buddhist temple in China. These two monks learned Chinese and translated several Buddhist books, the first of which was the Sutra of 42 Sections Spoken by Buddha.

Bidar Fort: Marvel at the Medieval Architecture

Recently, Waqf Board has identified 17 monuments inside historical fort of Bidar Fort in Karnataka as its property. The fort was a stronghold of the rulers of the Bahmani kingdom which came into existence in 1347 in the Deccan as a revolt against the rule of the Tughlaq Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughlaq of the Delhi Sultanate.

Bidar Fort / Image Credit

The Bidar fort is surrounded by three miles of walls with 37 bastions. 

History of Bidar

Built in the 10th century, the Bidar fort underwent significant modifications by the rulers of different dynasties including those belonging to Bahmani Sultanate (1347 -1518) Barid Shahi Dynasty (1527-1619), Mughal Empire (1619-1724) and Nizam of Hyderabad (1724 -1948).

/ Image Credit

In 1427 Bidar Fort became the capital of Bahmani Sultanate which came into being 1347 during the reign of the Tughlaq Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq. The capital of the Bahmani was shifted from Gulbarga (present Kalaburagi) to Bidar by Ahmad Shah I, the ninth ruler of the Bahmani dynasty.   

Gumbaz Darwaza / Image Credit

The Bahmani Sultanate had 18 rulers whose rule extended for almost 200 years. Ahsanabad (Gulbarga) used to be its capital before Bidar. Of the 18 Bahmani rulers, first eight rulers made Gulbarga as their capital and the rest ten rulers of the dynasty ruled from Bidar as capital between 1427 and 1538.

Solah Khamba Masjid / Image Credit

The Solah Khamba Masjid is surrounded by landscaped gardens maintained by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). 

Bidar Fort 

The Fort has seven grand arched gates- of which the Gumbad Darwaza and Sharaza Darwaza were the two most prominent entrance gates. The other five gates – Carnatic Darwaza, Mandu Darwaza, Kalyani Darwaza, Kalmadgi Darwaza, Delhi Darwaza were named based on their directions.

Rangeen Mahal

It is one of the preserved palaces in the Fort. 

Takht Mahal 

Takht Mahal (Throne Palace) is another attraction which once housed the splendid throne of the Bahmani sultans. Diwan-e-Aam where the fabulous turquoise throne (Takht-i-Firoza ) once rested, has three storied structures.

The Solah Khamba Masjid (16 Pillars mosque), Gagan Mahal, Naubat Khana and Tarkash Mahal are other prominent structures in the Bidar Fort. 

Tarkash Mahal

The Hazar Kothari monument is another attraction in the Bidar Fort.  

Rathore Rulers of Bikaner

Junagarh Fort in Bikaner / Incredibleindia.org

History of Bikaner in Rajasthan is the history of its Rathore rulers. Bikaner is named after its founder Rao Bika, son of Jodhpur’s founder Rao Jodha. Rao Bika, a Rajput chieftain of the Rathore clan, founded the princely state of Bikaner in 1486. In this endeavor he was assisted by his brave uncle Rawat Kandhal who was killed in 1490 in the Battle of Sahawa in which the Delhi Sultanate forces were then led by Sarang Khan, Governor of Hisar during the Lodhi dynasty. 

Battle of Sahawa, Rawat Kandhal and Sarang Khan / Image Credit

The area that constitutes the present day region of Bikaner was once a barren land known as “jungledesh”.

Another ruler Rao Lunakaran,  who ruled from 1505 to 1526, built Shri Laxminath Temple in Bikaner.  After his death in a battle with Nawab of Narnaul, the reins of the kingdom passed on to his son Rao Jait Singh who was born on 31 October 1489 and ruled from 1526 to 1542.

He faced the attack of the Mughal attack under Kamran, the second son of Babur, the first Mughal emperor. Kamran captured Bikaner’s fort, albeit for a day, which had otherwise remained unconquered in history. The Mughal army had to retreat due to the onslaught of the Bikaner forces. 

Jait Singh was killed in a battle with Rao Maldeo Rathore of Jodhpur. He was succeeded by his son Rao Kalyan Mal (1542 –1571) who acknowledged the suzerainty of Emperor Akbar at Nagaur in November 1570. With the support of Sher Shah Suri, the founder of Sur dynasty, Kalyan Mal defeated Maldeo in 1945 in the Battle of Sammel. It was a pyric victory for Sher Shah who suffered heavy loss due to the valiant efforts of commanders Jaita and Kumpa of Maldeo Rathore. He is said to have remarked after this ""for a handful of millet, I almost lost the Empire of Hindustan." 

Next in line was his son Rao Rai Singh who ruled from 1571 to 1611.  He is famous for commissioning the Junagarh Fort in Bikaner, built under the supervision of his minister Karan Chand. The Junagadh Fort was built between 1589 and 1594.

In the second half of the seventeenth century, Anup Singh, the ruler of Bikaner during 1669–1698, had led the Mughal army to capture the Golconda Sultanate under Abul Hasan Qutb Shah in 1687, for which Aurangzeb granted him the title Maharaja. Aurangzeb also granted him the royal honour of Mahi Maratib. 

He collected several manuscripts and established the Anup Sanskrit Library in his capital city of Bikaner.

After the weakening of the Mughal Empire following the death of Aurangzeb, Bikaner and the princely state of Jodhpur indulged in battle. 

In 1818 the princely state of Bikaner entered the protection of the East India Company under subsidiary alliance system started by Lord Wellesley (Lord Wellesley (1798-1805). Under this system the Indian ruler, who entered into this alliance, was to surrender a part of his territories or give money for the maintenance of a subsidiary force of the British needed for the defence of the state. The subsidiary state had also to surrender its external relations to the Company and accept a British resident at the capital.

At the time of its integration with the state of Rajasthan in 1949, the princely state of Bikaner controlled an area of more than (60,000 square km).