Oct 27, 20202 min read

Majestic Fort of Chittorgarh

Updated: Oct 17, 2021

Chittorgarh is located in the Indian state of Rajasthan and still remains one of the lesser explored marvels of India.

I visited Chittorgarh alone and was very excited to have a look of majestic fort. Without planning I just went to the station bought the ticket and came here.

I traveled overnight in a train from Lucknow and reached early morning to Kota bus stop. The state buses drop you at the base of the hill and then you need to go up, either by another bus or a shared auto. Luckily my friend Ankur was already there to pick me to hotel, he came from Udaipur on bike to Chittor. The Hotel was in a pretty bad shape and that told me that not many travelers come here and those who come often go back the same day.

As soon as we checked-in we came downstairs to meet Ronak another localite friend from Chittor and we were back on the streets searching for food, and exploring the city and majestic fort.

Built atop a hillock in the 5th century, it oversees the sleepy town and was strengthened by different rulers over a period of time. There are seven gates and over 65 monuments, including four palaces, four memorials and eighteen temples. Victory towers dot the skyline. There was a time when there were over eighty water bodies around the landscape but now you can see over twenty of them.

Chittorgarh is the story of Rani Padmini or Padmavathy, wife of Raja Ratan Singh who was known for her famed beauty. Set in medieval era, Padmavathy was the subject of several ballads, fantasies and poems.

The story is set with talking parrots who speak of the beauty of the queen and even lures the king to woo her. However it is the lust of Alauddin Khilji, the Sultan of Delhi that takes centre stage here. He was allowed a glimpse of her beauty from the reflections of mirrors, but that was enough for him to attack Chittorgarh. While Ratan Singh was killed, Padmini along with other Rajasthani women committed Sati or Jauhar and immolated themselves to avoid capture. While historians refute the story, the siege did happen in the medieval era and Alauddin did capture Chittorgarh in the 14th century.

From reservoirs to step wells, Chittorgarh is surrounded by water bodies that gave the title water fort. I am fascinated by the emerald tinged waters of the Gaumukh. This was like a private bathing pool for the queens and apparently there was an underground tunnel connecting the reservoir and the palaces as well.

Almost every nook and corner of the fort is filled with temples. However if you are running out of time, then do visit the Meera Temple, dedicated to Meerabai, probably one of the few temples dedicated to a human. She was considered a mystic and a devotee of Krishna and was veered as a saint