Mandore

For the musical instrument, see Mandore (instrument).

Mandore
—  town  —
Mandore Location of Mandore in Rajasthan and India
Coordinates	26°21′13″N 73°01′59″E
Country	India
State	Rajasthan
District(s)	Rajasthan
Nearest city	Jodhpur
Parliamentary constituency	Jodhpur
Assembly constituency	Sardarpura
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)

Mandore (Hindi: मंडोर), is a town located 9 km north of Jodhpur city, in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

History

Mandore is an ancient town, and was the seat of the Mandorva branch of the Parihar (Gurjara Pratihara) dynasty which ruled the region in the 6th century AD by King Nahar Rao Parihar. In 1395 AD, a Mohil princess of the Parihar rulers of Mandore married Chundaji, scion of the Rathore clan of Rajputs. This was during the era of rapid ascendency of the Rathore clan, and Chundaji received Mandore in dowry. The town remained the seat of the Rathore clan until 1459 AD, when Rao Jodha, a Rathore chief who united the surrounding region under his rule, shifted his capital to the newly founded city of Jodhpur.

Monuments

The Royal Cenotaph (Deval) At Mandore Garden. Photo by Dr. Chetan S. Parihar, July 2005.

The historic town boasts several monuments. The now ruined Mandore fort, with its thick walls and substantial size, was built in several stages and was once a fine piece of architecture. A huge, now ruined temple is a highlight of the fort. The outer wall of the temple depicts finely carved botanical designs, birds, animals and planets.

The Ek Thamba Mahal At Mandore Garden. Photo by Dr. Chetan S. Parihar, July 2005.

The 'Mandore gardens', with its charming collection of temples and memorials, and its high rock terraces, is another major attraction. The gardens house the Chhatris (cenotaphs) of many rulers of the erstwhile princely state of Marwar. Prominent among them is the chhatri of Maharaja Ajit Singh, built in 1793.

The Mandore Gardens also house a government museum, a 'Hall of Heroes' and a temple to 33 crore Gods. Various artefacts and statues found in the area are housed at the museum. The 'Hall of Heroes' commemorates popular folk heroes of the region. It contains 16 figures carved out of a single rock. Next door is a larger hall called "The temple of 33 crore Gods" which houses images of various Hindu Gods.

Fairs and festivals

• The Rao Festival
• Hariyali Amavasya
• Naag Panchami

Notable people from Mandore

The Mandorva Rajput, Late Thakur Shri Sher Singh ji Gehlot.

• Late Thakur Shri Sher Singh Gehlot of Mandore 1935 , Ex-Sarpanch of Mandore.
• Hon'ble Justice Shri Kan Singh Parihar [1]
• Hon'ble Shri Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan and a leader of Indian National Congress party.
• Padma Shri Kailash Sankhala (The Tiger Man) [2]
• Late Shri Santokh Singh Kachwaha, Ex-MLA
• Late Shri Narsingh Kachwaha, Ex-Cabinet Minister Govt. of Rajasthan (Congress Party)
• Late Shri Anand Singh Kachwaha, Ex-MLA (Congress Party).
• Late Shri Mangal Singh Kachwaha, Ex-MLA (Congress Party)
• Shri Madho Singh Kachwaha, Ex-MLA (BJP)
• Shri Man Singh Deora, Ex-MLA and leader of Indian National Congress party.
• Shri Rajender Gehlot, Ex-MLA and Ex-State Minister Govt. of Rajasthan, leader of BJP.
• Late Shri Balvir Singh Kachwaha (BJP Leader).
• Late Dr. Om Dut Bhati, ex-MLA (Leader of Jansangh, later known as BJP).
• Shri Dilip Singh Kachwaha, Ex-Chaiman & Managing Director of RCF, Bombay, India.
• Shri Bhagwan Singh Parihar, industrialist and social worker.
• Late Shri Shivram Ji Tak (The founder of Shivram Ji Nathu Ji Tak Charitable Hospital, Mandore)

See also

• Rajput
• Rajput clans
• History of Rajputs
• The Sainik Kshatriyas Rajput Clans of Mandore (The Mandorva Rajputs) Major Mandorva Rajputs Surnames are - Kachwaha, Bhati, Parihar (Pratihara), Gehlot, Tak, Deora, Chauhan, Parmar (Panwar), Solanki, Tanwar, Sankhla, Rathore etc.

External links

• Entry on the Rajasthan Tourism website
• The Historic Mandore [3]