Bhangarh

Bhangarh
	Bhangarh
	— village —
	Bhangarh Location of Bhangarh; in Rajasthan and India
Coordinates	27°05′N 76°17′E / 27.08°N 76.28°ECoordinates: 27°05′N 76°17′E / 27.08°N 76.28°E
Country	India
State	Rajasthan
District(s)	Alwar
Nearest city	Dausa
Parliamentary constituency	Alwar
Assembly constituency	Alwar Grameen
Population; • Density	0 (2001); • 0 /km2 (0 /sq mi)
Sex ratio	N/A ♂/♀
Literacy	N/A%
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area; • Elevation	; • 380 metres (1,250 ft)
• Telephone	• +0
• Vehicle	• NA

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Bhangarh (Devanāgarī: भानगढ़) is a ruined town in the Alwar district of the state of Rajasthan, India, famous for its historical ruins. Bhangarh is at the edge of the Sariska Tiger Reserve.

[edit] Description

Bhangarh is a place between Jaipur and Delhi in Rajasthan state of India known for its ruins. Bhangarh is also a pre-historic site.

The most remarkable of its buildings are the temples of Gopinath, Shiva (Someshwar), Mangla Devi, Lavina Devi and Keshava Rai. Other buildings include shops along the main road, several havelis, a mosque, and a palace. The palace was protected by two inner fortifications across the valley. The town is separated from the plain by ramparts with five gates.

The town was established in 1573 (VS 1631) during the rule of Bhagwant Das as the residence of his second son Madho Singh, the younger brother of Emperor Akbar’s general, Man Singh I. Madho Singh participated in many campaigns with his father and brother. The next ruler of Bhangarh was his son Chhatr Singh,^[1] after whose death in 1630^[2] Bhangarh slowly declined. When the Mughal Empire became weaker after the death of Aurangzeb, Jai Singh II attached Bhangarh to his state by force in 1720. After this Bhangarh diminished in population, and since the famine of 1783 (VS 1840) the town has remained uninhabited.^[3]

It is very interesting to note that entry to Bhangarh is legally prohibited between sunset and sunrise. A signboard posted by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India), which is a Government of India organization, specifies the instructions. While the board is written in Hindi, the instructions on it roughly translate into: "Entering the borders of Bhangarh before sunrise and after sunset is strictly prohibited. Legal action would be taken against anybody who does not follow these instructions".^[4] The board further adds to the mystery of the town, known in popular culture as "the ghost town".

[edit] Legends

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Legend states that the city of Bhangarh was cursed by the Guru Balu Nath, who sanctioned the establishment of the town with one condition, saying, "The moment the shadows of your palaces touch me, the city shall be no more!" When a descendant raised the palace to a height that cast a shadow on Balu Nath's forbidden retreat, he cursed the town as prophesied. Balu Nath is said to lie buried there to this day in a small samādhi.

Another myth is that of the Princess of Bhangarh Ratnavati, said to be the jewel of Rajasthan, who on her eighteenth birthday began to get offers of marriage from other regions. In the area lived a tantrik, a magician well versed in the occult, named Singhia, who was in love with the princess but knew that the match was impossible. When one day Singhia saw the princess' maid in the market, he used his black magic on the oil she was purchasing so that upon touching it the princess would surrender herself and run to him. The princess, however, seeing the tantric enchanting the oil, foiled his plan by pouring it on the ground. As the oil struck the ground it turned into a boulder, which crushed Singhia. Dying, the magician cursed the palace with the death of all who dwelt in it. The next year there was a battle between Bhangarh and Ajabgarh in which Princess Ratnavati perished.

[edit] Notes

^ Mandava, Devisinh (2001) Kachhvahon ka itihas. Jodhpur (in Hindi)
^ http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/j/jaipur.html
^ Powlett, Percy William (1878) Gazetteer of Ulwur. London: Trübner & co., Ludgate Hill.
^ "Legal Access To Bhangarh". Travelomy. http://www.travelomy.com/bhangarh. Retrieved 2012-01-31.