The fort that withstood 52 attacks finally conquered Kangra fort. Nature then destroyed it

Sansar Chand’s death, the fort fell into the hands of Maharaja . It was annexed by the British after the Anglo-Sikh war in 1846. In 1905, the fort, which had withstood so many de- termined attacks by so many kings, fi- nally lost to nature when most of its buildings were destroyed in an Rana Safvi is a historian, author and blogger earthquake. documenting ’s syncretic culture Inside the fort I had read many times about the oldest As I entered the wooden Ranjit gate of documented fort of India and its near RANA SAFVI the fort through a low wicket gate, the impregnability, but it was only on a re- guide told me about an interesting le- cent trip to McLeod Ganj that I was about why the place is called Kangra. gend. Visitors should enter with their able to visit it. The original name, according to le- foot, not their head, he said, for if an Located on a steep hill which ac- gend, was Kangarh (‘kan’ means ear enemy was lurking inside, it was wiser cords a sweeping view, about 20 km and ‘garh’ means fort) as it is built on to lose one’s foot rather than one’s from Dharamsala in Himachal Pra- the ear of the demon giant Jalandhara head! desh, the Kangra fort occupies a nar- who was slayed by Lord Shiva and bu- Written in the 18th century, the row strip of land between the the Ban- ried in a mass of mountains. Aśoka Jer- Ma’asir al-Umara describes the fort in ganga and Majhi rivers. Its unique atha, in Forts and Palaces of the West- glowing terms and says that it has 23 position gave it many advantages, as ern Himalaya, says the demon’s body bastions and seven doorways. The Ja- the vertiginous cliffs made the fort was so huge that he occupied 104 km hangiri darwaza has an inscription mostly inaccessible — the only way in of land. Thus, the demon’s head lies that gives details of Akbar’s son’s con- was from the land side of the town. buried in the Kangra valley, his ear un- quest. Once you enter the door, you The Shash Fat’h-i-Kangra, which was der the fort, his mouth at Jawalamuk- climb a flight of steep stairs and reach written in the 17th century, says of the hi, his back under the town of Jaland- the Darshani darwaza. This leads to fort: “It is very lofty and stands on a ve- har, and his feet at Multan. the palace area of the rulers. ry high hill. Its buildings are very beau- The Darshani darwaza is flanked by tiful. It is so old that no one can tell at Various attacks two sculptures, now damaged, of God- what period it was built. This fort is ve- The much-revered idol in the fort has desses Ganga and Yamuna. It leads to a ry strong, insomuch that no king was received rich offerings. Given Kangra’s courtyard where the exquisite shrines ever able to take it. And it is unani- wealth plus the belief that whoever of Lakshmi-Narayana and Ambika Devi mously declared by all persons ac- controlled the fort controlled the hills, stand. The Katoch still worship their quainted with the history of the an- it was attacked 52 times, first by the Ra- family deity, Ambika Devi, at the tem- cient Rajas that from the beginning up ja of Kashmir, Shreshta, in 470 A.D. La- ple. These are beautifully carved and to this time, it has always remained in ter, Mahmud of Ghazni (in 1009 A.D.) one can just imagine how splendid the possession of one and the same and Timur attacked it and looted it. rest of the palace must have been be- family.” However, all the rulers who attacked fore the earthquake. it, including Firoz Shah Tughlaq in the Though the original Jain temple was The story behind the name 14th century and Akbar in the 16th cen- destroyed in the earthquake, the sta- The kot (fort), which was earlier called tury, failed to conquer it. It was only Ja- tue of Tirthankara Adinath miracu- Nagarkot or fort of the city or Kot Kan- hangir who was successful in 1620 af- lously survived and is kept in a small gra, was ruled by a clan called the Ka- ter a long-drawn siege. He visited the room. It is a popular pilgrimage place. toch. This family traces its ori- fort in 1622 with Noor Jahan and or- As I stood in the mahal area, the fort’s gins to the ancient Trigarta kingdom, dered a palace to be built for him, highest point, looking at the river be- mentioned in the Mahabharata. It is which, however, was left incomplete. low with my back to the ruins, I closed believed that Maharaja Susharma In 1783, the captured the fort, my eyes and imagined the fort’s gran- Chandra, who had fought for the Kau- but in 1786, Maharaja deur before nature took control. I ravas in the Mahabharata, built the fort was successful in wresting it from turned around and faced old, mute after the battle. them. Thus, once more it was in Ka- rocks — the only spectators to all the There are very interesting stories toch hands. In 1828, after Maharaja events of the past.