jktLFkku osQ nqxZ] egy rFkk gosfy;ka Forts, Palaces and Havelis of Rajasthan jktLFkku osQ nqxZ] egy rFkk gosfy;ka FORTS, PALACES AND HAVELIS OF RAJASTHAN Hkkjr osQ if'peh {ks=k esa fLFkr jktLFkku izkar dh HkkSxksfyd fofHkUurk ogka dh Rajasthan, situated in the western region of India has a diversity laLÑfr esa Hkh >ydrh gSA HkkSxksfyd fo'ks"krkvksa us ogka dh laLÑfr dks izHkkfor of geophysical features which add to the richness and variety of dj viuh Hkkafr le`¼ ,oa ukuk :iksa okyh cuk;k gSA ;gka vjkoyh ioZrekyk] its cultural expressions. It has the Aravalli range of mountains, ouksa ls vkPNkfnr ?kkfV;ka] >hysa] oU; tho] vHk;kj.; rFkk jsfxLrku ,oa jsr forested valleys, lakes, wild life sanctuaries and the desert sand- osQ Vhys feyrs gSaA Hkkjr osQ mÙkj iwoZ esa gksus osQ dkj.k bldh lhek,a iatkc dunes. Pakistan and Punjab and its history dates back to ancient rFkk ikfdLrku dks Nwrh gSa] ogha bldk bfrgkl izkphu dky rd iSQyk gqvk gSA times. Kalibangan, an Indus civilization site in northern Bikaner, was an important walled city of the Harappan period. Above all, mÙkjh chdkusj esa ¯lèkqdkyhu lH;rk osQ vo'ks"k dkyhcaxu esa izkIr gq, gSaA oSls Rajasthan (which means the ‘Land of Kings’) is the cradle of ns[kk tk, rks pkjnhokjh esa f?kjk ;g 'kgj gM+Iikdkyhu gS vkSj bu lcls Åij distinctive Rajput culture and traditions. jktLFkku dk vFkZ gSμ jktkvksa dk LFkkuA ;ksa rks jktiwr laLÑfr ,oa ijaijkvksa From the seventh century A.D. to nineteenth century A.D., the dk osaQnz jgk gSA history of Rajasthan witnessed the rise and fall of the Rajputs. The yxHkx lkroha 'krkCnh ls ysdj mUuhloha 'krkCnh rd dk jktLFkku dk bfrgkl word ‘Rajput’ is derived from the term ‘Rajaputra’ which means jktiwrksa osQ mRFkku ,oa iru dk lk{kh jgk gSA jktiwr dk vFkZ gS] jktk dk iq=kA ‘sons of kings’. They trace their descent from the lineage of the ;s viuk mn~Hko lw;Z ,oa panz ls ekurs gSa vkSj ;ks¼k tkfr {kf=k; ls lacaèk j[krs sun and the moon and belong to kshatriya–the warrior caste. The Rathors of Bikaner and Jodhpur, Gahlots and Sisodias of Udaipur gSaA chdkusj vkSj tksèkiqj osQ jkBkSj] mn;iqj osQ xgyksr ,oa fllksfn;k rFkk t;iqj and the Kachhawahas of Jaipur are Suryavanshis, clans claiming osQ dNokgk Lo;a dks lw;Zoa'kh rFkk Hkxoku jke dk oa'kt ekurs gSa] tcfd descent from Lord Rama. The Bhattis of Jaisalmer claimed to be tSlyesj osQ Hkêðh vius dks panzoa'kh ekurs gSaA buosQ vykok ;g Hkh dgk tkrk Chandravanshis, of lunar descent. It is said that the Chauhans, gS fd pkSgku] lksyadh] ijekj rFkk nsojl tkfr osQ yksx vkcw ioZr osQ ifo=k Solankis, Paramaras and the Deoras emerged from the sacred vfXuoaqQM ls mRiUu gq, FksA fi repit or Agnikunda on the summit of the holy Mount Abu. orZeku jktLFkku osQ foxr esa vusd jkT; Fks] ysfdu muesa ls esokM+ (fprkSM+x<+ Although there were a number of states in the present day rFkk mn;iqj)] vkesj (t;iqj) rFkk ekjokM+ (tksèkiqj] tSlyesj vkSj Rajasthan, the three most prominent were Mewar (Chittorgarh chdkusj) ;s rhu eq[; FksA bfrgkl esa le;≤ ij jktiwrksa osQ x<+ksaμ tSls fd and Udaipur). Amber (Jaipur) and Marwar (Jodhpur, Jaisalmer fpÙkkSM] esokM+] j.kFkaHkkSj] ekjokM+ rFkk vU; LFkkuksa ij eqfLye vkØe.k djrs jgs and Bikaner). Time and again, Rajput strongholds such as Chittor, FksA egewn xtuoh us bZ-i- X;kjgoha 'krkCnh esa rFkk eksgEen xksjh us bZ-i- ckjgoha Mewar, Ranthambor, Marwar and many others were attacked by Muslim armies. Mahmud Ghazni in the eleventh century A.D. and 'krkCnh osQ var esa jktiwrkus ij vkØe.k fd, FksA ml osQ i'pkr~ oqQrqc&mn~&nhu Mohammad Ghori at the end of the twelfth century A.D. attacked the ,scd us vtesj ij viuk vkfèkiR; tek fy;k FkkA state of Rajputana followed by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak who beseiged bZ-i- pkSngoha 'krkCnh esa vykmíhu f[kyth us j.kFkaHkkSj rFkk fpÙkkSM+ osQ fdyksa ij Ajmer. Alaud-Din-Khalji in fourteenth century A.D. captured the vfèkdkj tek fy;k FkkA eqxy ckn'kkg ckcj rFkk fllksfn;k izeq[k jk.kk lkaxk osQ Fort of Ranthambor and Chittor. In sixteenth century A.D., the chp bZ-i- lksygoha 'krkCnh esa [kkuok esa ?keklku ;q¼ gqvk Fkk] ftldh ifj.kfr battle of Khanwa was fought between the Mughal Emperor, Babur jktiwrksa dh ijkt; esa gqbZ FkhA blosQ oqQN gh le; i'pkr~ ckcj osQ iksrs vdcj and Sisodia chief, Rana Sanga, which ended in a Rajput defeat. Shortly after, Babur’s grandson, Akbar established supremacy us ekjokM+ rFkk esokM+ ij fot; izkIr dh rFkk dNokgk oa'k dh ,d jktoqQekjh over both Marwar and Mewar and married a Rajput princess of ls fudkg dj fy;k Fkk] ftlus ckn esa vkesj {ks=k ij 'kklu fd;kA the Kachhawaha clan, which ruled over Amber region. esokM+ Mewar xqtjkr ls xgyksr oa'k osQ yksx tc jktLFkku osQ nf{k.k&iwoZ fgLls The Gahlots, later known as the Sisodias, migrated from Gujarat esokM+ esa vkdj cl x, Fks rks os fllksfn;k dgykus yxs FksA muls lacafèkr and occupied Mewar, which lies in the south-east of Rajasthan. izkphure f'kykys[k bZ-i- 646 dk gSA esokM+ dh izkphu uxjh fpÙkkSM+x<+ esa rsjg Their earliest inscription in Rajputana is dated 646 A.D. Chittorgarh, the ancient capital of Mewar, has a magnifi cent fort fdyksehVj ifj{ks=k esa ,d HkO; fdyk gS] ftldh lhekvksa esa u osQoy vusd egy with thirteen kilometres of battlements which encloses not only gSa] cfYd >hysa&>jus Hkh gSa] tks vla[; yksxksa dks ikuh eqgS;k djkrs gSaA iUnzgoh palaces but also lakes and reservoirs that can support thousands 'krkCnh osQ eè; esa djhc 35 o"kks± rd fpÙkkSM+x<+ ij 'kklu djus okys jk.kk of inhabitants. Kumbha, who ruled Chittorgarh for thirty-fi ve years oqaQHkk us ;gka LFkkiR;dyk osQ Js"B] uewus] tSls fd nf{k.kh mn;iqj esa oqaQHkyx<+ from mid-fi fteenth century A.D. onwards was responsible for several architectural achievements, such as– Fort Kumbhalgarh in dk fdyk] ekÅaV vkcw esa vpyx<+ fdyk] fpÙkksM+x<+ fLFkr t; LraHk fu£er southern Udaipur, Fort Achalgarh in Mount Abu, the Victory Tower djok, Fks rFkk lkFk gh fpÙkksM+x<+ osQ fdys esa Hkh uohuhdj.k djok;k FkkA at Chittorgarh, and for the innovations and additions to the Fort at esokM+ dh jktèkkuh mn;iqj esa LFkkukarfjr fd, tkus ls iwoZ eqfLyeksa us rhu ckj Chittorgarh. fpÙkkSM+x<+ ij vkØe.k fd;k FkkA lu~ 1303 esa fnYyh osQ ckn'kkg vykmíhu Chittorgarh was invaded three times by the Muslims before the capital of Mewar was shifted to Udaipur. In 1303 A.D. Alaud-Din- f[kyth us izfl¼ laqnjh rFkk Hkhe ¯lg dh iRuh jkuh in~feuh ls fookg osQ mís'; Khalji, Sultan of Delhi, laid seige to Chittorgarh in an attempt to ls fpÙkkSM+x<+ dks ?ksj fy;k FkkA marry the famous beauty, Rani Padmini, the wife of Bhim Singh. xqtjkr osQ cgknqj'kkg us Hkh lu~ 1533 esa fpÙkkSM+x<+ osQ foØethr ij Bahadur Shah of Gujarat attacked Vikramjeet of Chittorgarh in vkØe.k fd;k Fkk rFkk tc foØethr dh lsuk gkjus yxh Fkh rks cwanh dh 1533 A.D. In face of defeat, Rani Karnavati, a Bundi princess jktoqQekjh jkuh d.kZorh us 'ks"k fL=k;kas ,oa cPpksa osQ lkFk tkSgj fd;k FkkA exj led the Jauhar in which many women and children sacrifi ced their lives. However, her own child, Udai Singh was smuggled jkuh d.kZorh dk yM+dk oqaQoj mn;¯lg fdlh izdkj cp x;k Fkk] tks ckn esa out, and he lived to inherit the throne of Chittorgarh. In 1567, fpÙkkSM+x<+ dk mÙkjkfèkdkjh cukA lu~ 1567 esa eqxy ckn'kkg vdcj us fpÙkkSM+x<+ A.D., the Mughal Emperor, Akbar beseiged Chittorgarh but dks ?ksj fy;k Fkk] ysfdu jktk mn;¯lg fdlh izdkj cp fudyk rFkk mlus Udai Singh managed to escape and founded Udaipur, the new mn;iqj dh LFkkiuk dh FkhA ;ksa] rks esokM+ osQ 'kkldksa us ges'kk eqfLye vkØe. capital of Mewar. The rulers of Mewar were known for their kdkfj;ksa ls yksgk fy;k] exj l=kgoha 'krkCnh esa vkilh lqyg osQ dkj.k geyksa resistance to the Muslim invaders. However, compromise with dk [krjk dkiQh de gks x;k Fkk] ftlls bl 'kkafr dky esa bl {ks=k esa lkaLÑfrd the Mughals in the seventeenth century A.D. reduced the threat of invasion and enabled them to devote more time for cultural xfrfofèk;ksa dks c<+kok feykA pursuits. mn;iqj esa vusd lqanj Hkou gSa] tks ogka osQ 'kkldksa osQ lkSan;Z izse dks n'kkZrs The city of Udaipur has several beautiful buildings that speak gSaA flVh iSyslμvFkkZr~] uxj&egy eqxyksa dh ltkoV dyk rFkk jktiwrksa dh of the aesthetic taste of its rulers. The City Palace is a blend of lSfud okLrqdyk osQ fefJr :i dk ,d laqnj mnkgj.k gSA fiNksyk >hy osQ Mughal decorative art and Rajput military architecture. It is a fdukjs ij cuk ;g ,d fo'kky Hkou gSA bldh ckgjh nhokjksa jsrhys iRFkj dh massive edifi ce built on the shores of Lake Pichola. The walls iryh ijrksa@LysVksa ls cuh gSa rFkk mu ij mPpdksfV dk 'osr jax fd;k x;k gSA on the outside are built of thin slates of sandstone and covered vkarfjd Hkkx esa fnokjksa dks laxejej ls cuk;k x;k gS rFkk mu ij tM+kÅ dk;Z with the fi nest possible white plaster work.