Construction
fort in Rajsamand District, Rajasthan, India
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Kumbhalgarh also known as the Great Wall of India, is a fortress located on the western range of the Aravalli Hills in Kumbhalgarh, Rajsamand district, Rajasthan, India. Located approximately 48 km (30 mi) from Rajsamand and 84 km (52 mi) from Udaipur, the fort was constructed in the 15th century by Rana Kumbha. The wall of Kumbhalgarh is one of the longest continuous walls in the world, spanning 36 kilometers. It is also the birthplace of great king and military leader Maharana Pratap of Mewar.
In 2013, at the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Kumbhalgarh Fort, along with five other forts of Rajasthan, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the group Hill Forts of Rajasthan.
The name Kumbhalgarh derives from Rana Kumbha (r. 1433–1468), the Mewar ruler who commissioned the construction of the fort in the 15th century. The suffix "-garh" is a common Indo-Aryan term meaning "fort" (from Sanskrit gṛha or durga), hence "Kumbhalgarh" literally means "Kumbha's Fort". The region around the fort gradually adopted the same name due to the prominence of the structure and its founder.
Rana Lakha won this entire area and plains of Godwar from Chauhan Rajputs of Nadol in late 14th century.
Kumbhalgarh fort was built by Mandan who was the chief architect of the Kingdom of Mewar. Rana Kumbha ordered for the construction of the fort in 1448 AD according to the Kumbhalgarh inscription. The fort served as Rana Kumbha's second most favoured capital. Rana Kumbha's kingdom of Mewar stretched from Ranthambore to Gwalior and included large tracts of what is now Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Out of the 84 forts in his dominion, Rana Kumbha is said to have built 32 of them, of which Kumbhalgarh is the largest and most elaborate.
Ahmad Shah II of Gujarat attacked the fort in 1457, but found the effort futile. There was a local belief then that the Banmata deity in the fort protected it and hence he destroyed the temple. There were further attempts in 1458–59 and 1467 by Mahmud Khalji, but it also proved futile. Akbar's general, Shahbaz Khan, attacked this fort in October 1577 and after the siege of 6 months, he was able to capture the fort in April 1578. But it was recaptured by Maharana Pratap in 1583. In 1818, an armed band of sanyasis formed a garrison to protect the fort, but was convinced by James Tod and the fort was taken over by the British and later returned to Udaipur State. There were additions made by Maharanas of Mewar, but the original structure built by Maharana Kumbha remains. The residential buildings and temples are well-preserved. The fort is also known to be the birthplace of Maharana Pratap.
The chief architect who built this fort was Mandan, who documented his style of work in his text, Rajvallabh. Built on a hilltop 1,100 m (3,600 ft) above sea level on the Aravalli range, the fort of Kumbhalgarh has perimeter walls that extend 36 km (22 mi), making it among the longest walls in the world. The frontal walls are 4.5 m (15 ft). Kumbhalgarh has seven fortified gateways. There are over 360 temples within the fort, both Jain and Hindu Temples. From the palace top, it is possible to see Kilometres into the Aravalli Range.
Aaret Pol was the first entry gate of the fort. Halla Pol is on the downward slope from the entrance. Just after Halla Pol is Badshahi Bavdi, a stepped tank, built after the invasion of Shahbaz Khan in 1578, the general of Mughal emperor Akbar to provide water to the troops.
Hanuman Pol, the next gate is half a KM away from Halla Pol. Hanuman Pol is a double-storeyed gate with octagonal bastions. The gate got its name from the stone image of Hanuman located in front of the gate, which was brought by Maharana Kumbha.
Ram Pol is the main entrance of the fort, there is another entrance towards the east, called Vijay Pol.
There are five more gates between Ram Pol to Badal Mahal, the Palace built on the highest point of the fort. Names of these gates are Bhairon Pol, Nimboo Pol, Chaugan Pol, Pagda Pol and Ganesh Pol.
The Rajasthan Tourism Department organises a three-day annual festival in the fort in remembrance of the passion of Maharana Kumbha towards art and architecture. Sound and light shows are organised with the fort as the background. Various concerts and dance events are also organised to commemorate the function. The other events during the festival are Heritage Fort Walk, turban tying, tug-of war and mehendi mandana among others.
Six forts of Rajasthan, namely, Amber Fort, Chittor Fort, Gagron Fort, Jaisalmer Fort, Kumbhalgarh and Ranthambore Fort were included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list during the 37th meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh during June 2013. They were recognized as a serial cultural property and examples of Rajput military hill architecture.
This fort (Kumbhalgarh) is previously described as The Fortress of Bowrie, in Rajpootana., as painted by William Westall with an engraving in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1836
Text from the Wikipedia article “Kumbhalgarh”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.