A Jaunt to Chittorgarh

The Fort of Chittor, popularly known as Chittorgarh (as the word garh implies fort) sprawls over an area of over 700 acres at 800-900 ft above sea level and is encircled by the divine Aravalli Range. Forged by Chitrangda Mori of the valorous Mori Dhangar clan, it is one of the most monumental forts among the Hill Forts of Rajasthan, and undoubtedly the most magnificent in terms of architecture, fortification, and pulchritude among others. As a long-impending hankering to witness this paragon of Rajputana architecture, I took a day trip to the bodacious city of Chittor on September 15, 2021, wherein lies the masterpiece of human architecture and artwork. One can still descry men wearing traditional paggar turban with mostly unpigmented dhoti-kurta and women adorned with weighty-but-aesthetic ghagra choli coruscating in the sunbeam and bejeweled with archaic trinkets on the roads and in the marketplaces of the historic Chittor city. The 7-8 major pols (gates) leading to the hilltop lie on treacherous roads having an inclination of forty-five-degree at certain points. It bespeaks the defensive architectural style of Rajputana forts, and one can only visualize how counterproductive & deleterious it was for the invaders to invade the fort, given the topography and the heroism of its dwellers. It was besieged thrice but endured the barbarism of Islamic forces and still stands tall in tranquility. It is an eyewitness of the dauntless Mewaris and bestiality of the Muslim invaders, and can never be exterminated by any foreign or domestic power.

Now, I would want to elucidate my jaunt to Chittorgarh amidst mizzle through marvelous snapshots.

In front of the majestic 9-storeyed Vijaya Stambha (height - 122 ft). It was erected by Rana Kumbha in the 15th century to commemorate his stupendous victory over Mahmud Khalji (the Sultan of Malwa) & the forces of Gujarat Sultanate. It took a decade and a sum of over 900,000 Rupees (according to the current value of the Indian currency) to be built. Originally dedicated to Lord Vishnu, it has a fusion of meticulously sculpted Hindu and Jain artwork, manifesting the pluralism & lenity practiced by the doughty Rajputs. The topmost floor gives a panoramic view of Chittor city, but the mini gates were locked owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This fenced area, which we get to see as we descend opposite the Vijaya Stambha, is the Jauhar Kund, where multitudinous Rajput women along with infants & teenagers self-immolated to safeguard their chastity and esteem, whereas men, donned with saffron robes marched to embrace death on the battlefield. The vedi (altar) in the center, which was used to perform yajna before the jauhar, is the only existent attestation to those lionhearted sacrifices. The inferno emanating from this kund might be defunct, but the ensuing pandemonium still reverberates.