Location of Mehrangarh Fort, History of Mehrangarh Fort, Architecture of Mehrangarh Fort.
Location of Mehrangarh Fort:
This massive Fort is located on a high hill about 120 meters above City level in Jodhpur City, District Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
History & Architecture of Mehrangarh Fort:
Its foundation stone was laid in 1459 A.D. by Rao Jodha when he decided to shift his Capital from 1000 years old Mandore Fort to Jodhpur. It is spread over an area of 5 Km. with high rampart walls rising to a height of 6 to 36 meters and having thickness from 3 to 21 meters. These walls enclose a 457 meters long and 228 meters wide space at its widest part, which is almost completely covered by buildings like palaces, barracks and magazines. It has two main entrances one at the Northeast corner, while the other is at the Southwest corner.
The rampart wall on the East and Southeast sides has wide ramparts for placing artillery, while on the other sides the wall is surmounted by a complete chain of battlements, with towers here and there to support heavy guns. It is a very strong Fort with walls of the Fort and the Palace made of heavy cut stone, well cemented and sometimes pinned together with iron spikes.
Many Temples, Palaces and courtyards were built inside this Fort by the later generations of Rathore rulers, but still each building resembles the original architecture.
About 2/3rd space of the Palaces was occupied by the ladies. The major Zenana Mahal (the palace of ladies) is known as Moti Mahal Chowk whose North, East and South wings are adorned with numerous Jharokhas carved from sandstone and painted white and filled with Jali screens and capped by ‘bangaldar’ eaves. To the South of Moti Mahal Chowk, another Zenana Court is located whose cloister of each wing is raised at a slightly higher plinth level. To the East of these two Courts, another Zenana Mahal is located which includes the ranges around Shringar Chowk. The lower storeys of this Mahal are plain and white painted, while the upper storeys are richly adorned with red sandstone with its facades forming a continuous perforated screen to enable the women to watch the proceedings in Shringar Chowk.
The Moti Mahal is a magnificent hall, with ceiling decorated with mirror work and all other interiors covered with lustrous Chunam. The one open front of the hall has wood work which is a 19th Century addition. The important Darbars were held here by Maharaja to discuss matters of State. The Sheesh Mahal is a fine example of the typical Rajput Sheesh Mahal style. It is adorned with mirror work of large regular pieces and over the mirror work brightly painted figural designs in plaster are superimposed. This Mahal gives passage to long balconies of this type.
The Phul Mahal was made during the reign of Maharaja Abhai Singh (1724-49 A.D.). This Mahal has Jali screens made of stone and is adorned with murals depicting the thirty six musical modes. The Takhat Vilas was built during the reign of Maharaja Takhat Singh (1843-73 A.D.). Its murals depict dancing girls, scenes from the Krishna-Lila, and the ballad Dhola Maru. Its ceiling is supported by enormous wooden beams resting on corbels. Other notable structures are Sileh Khana and Daulat Khana.
Now, the Palaces and other rooms of the Fort have been converted into Mehrangarh Museum.
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