18 December 2014

Chittorgarh


26/4/09  Chittorgarh, another lovely welcome


Chittorgarh Fort is seated on a 180 metre hill, covering an expanse of 700 acres. It was constructed by the Mauryans in the 7th century AD. There are seven gates before reaching the fort and there were many attacks on the fort. Legend has it that it was because of the beautiful Rani Padmini that Chittorgarh was attacked the first time. Rani Padmini was the wife of Rana Rattan Singh the ruler of Chittorgarh. When Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji, the ruler of Delhi, heard of Padmini’s beauty, he requested a glimpse of her. However, the Sultan was permitted to see only the reflection of the queen from a mirror that overlooked the palace. Ala-ud-din is said to have been so carried away by Padmini’s beauty that he attacked Chittorgarh  in order to possess her. This led to the first bitter and bloody siege of the Chittorgarh fort.


Victory Tower.
Inside the staircase is made up of short square flights around a central core. Despite a very good view from the top I couldn’t face all those steps in the soaring heat. Whilst we were standing around listening to our guide we were joined by a pretty young calf, some wild boar and lots of monkeys. I wasn’t concerned about the calf but I didn’t like being that close to boars or monkeys, and when they kicked off over an argument about food we swiftly moved away!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...