death, Mughal emperor Babar

took control of the fort. But with

his son Humayun's defeat at
the hands of Sher Shah Suri,
the fort came under the reign of
the Suri dynasty. After Sher
Shah Suri's death in 1540, his
son Islam Shah shifted his
capital from Delhi to Gwalior as
it was considered safe from the
frequent attacks from west. In
the year 1553, when Islam
Shah died his incumbent Adil
Shah Suri appointed the Hindu
warrior Hemu also known as
Hem Chandra Vikramaditya as
the Prime Minister-cum-Chief of
Army of his kingdom. Adil Shah
himself moved to Chunar as it
was considered still safer. Hemu
mounted several attacks from
this fort to quell the rebellion in
various parts of North India
against the weak Adil Shah
regime. The fort remained very
active during 1553-56 as Hemu
had fought and won 22 battles
continuously, without losing any
from this fort. After defeating
Akbar's forces at Agra and Delhi
in 1556, Hemu established
'Hindu Raj' as a 'Vikramaditya'
king, in North India and had his
'Rajyabhishake' or coronation at
Purana Quila in Delhi as 'Samrat
Hem Chandra Vikramaditya on
7 Oct. 1556. The capital was
shifted from Gwalior to Delhi
once again and was operational
from Purana Quila.

GWALIOR FACTS

122 km south Agra

Suraj Sen, a prince of the
Kachhwaha clan of the eighth
century lost his way in the
jungle. On a secluded hill, he
met an old man, the sage
Gwalipa. Upon asking the sage
for some drinking water, he was
led to a pond, where the waters
not only quenched his thirst but
cured him of leprosy. Out of
gratitude, the prince wished to
offer the sage something in
return, and the sage asked him
to build a wall on the hill in
order to protect the other sages
from wild animals which often
disturbed their pujas. Suraj Sen
later built a palace inside the
fort, which was named
"Gwalior" after the sage, and
eventually the city took the
same name.

History

Pratihar rulers at Gwalior

till 942 AD
Kacchawaha Pal Dynasty till
1196AD
Turkic Conquest - In 1023 AD
Mahmud of Ghazni attacked to
capture the fort but was
repulsed. In 1196 AD, after a
long siege, Qutubuddin Aibak.
the first Turkic Sultan of Delhi
Sultanate took over the fort but
he lost it in 1211 AD. It was
reconquered in 1231 AD by
Sultan Iltumish, the Turkic slave
dynasty ruler of Delhi
Sultanate.
Tomar Rulers - ruled Gwalior
from 1398 to 1505 when they
were defeated by Ibrahim lodhi.
The best known of them was
Man Singh (1486-1516)who
built the Man Mandir palace.
Medieval History of Fort -It was
only in 1519 that Ibrahim Lodi
of the Lodi Dynasty won control
of the fort. Subsequent to his

Then Akbar captured the fort

and made it a special prison for
important prisoners - Akbar
confining his first cousin
Kamran here and subsequently
putting him to death;
Aurangzeb imprisoning his
brother Murad and later killing
him; similarly Aurangzeb had
his brother Dara Shikoh's sons,
Suleman and Sepher Sheko,
executed here. 6th.Guru of
Sikhs, Guru Hargobind Sahib
Ji,by Jahangir in memory of

which Gurudwara (Sikh Temple)

Data Bandi Chodd is situated in
the Gwalior Fort.

Rana Jat Rulers - The Jat people

also briefly ruled at Gwalior
Fort. Following the decline of
Mughal Empire, the Gwalior Fort
was usurped by Gohad dynasty
by a Jat Rana King.[7] The Jat
rulers Maharaja Bhim Singh
Rana (17071756) and
Maharaja Chhatar Singh Rana
(17571782) occupied the
Gwalior Fort thrice:

1740 to 1756 by Maharaja Bhim

Singh Rana, 1761 to 1767 by
Maharaja Chhatra Singh Rana,
1780 to 1783 by Maharaja
Chhatra Singh Rana.

Maratha Rule - In 1736,

Maharaja Bhim Singh Rana, the
Jat king won over Malwa and
the Gwalior fort by defeating
the Marathas and held the fort
from 1740 to 1756. In 1779, it
was won by the Scindia clan of
the Maratha Empire, who
stationed a garrison here. But it
was usurped by the East India
Company. But in August 1780,
the control went to Chhatar
Singh, the Rana of Gohud who
defeated the Marathas. In 1784,
Mahadji Sinde, Commander of
Maratha Empire, once again
recovered the fort. There were
frequent changes in the control
of the fort between the Scindias
and the British between 1808
and 1844. However, in January
1844, after the battle of
Maharajpur, the fort finally
came under the control of the
Scindias, more as protectorate
of the British government.

Approach to City

height, identified as that of

Parswanath, the 23rd Jain
thrithankara escaped
demolition ordered by Babar
since he lost control of the fort.

Gwallior Fort

City Area

Jain Temples

On the approach from the

southern side, intricately carved
rock cut temples of 21 Jain
thirthankaras are seen set deep
into the steep rock faces. One
such statue of 40 feet (12 m)

Built in 8th Century

The fort has two parts - the
main fort and the Palaces
(Gurjari Mahal ,Man Mandir
palace, Jahangir Mahal, the
Karan Palace and the
Shahjahan Mahal.
The Palaces were built by Raja
Man Singh Tomar.
well maintained
7 Hindu and 4 Jain temples
shrines
The fort built on the long,
narrow, precipitous hill called
Gopachal.
Fort spread over an area of 3
square km and 35 feet high
built over massive sandstone
rocks
Irregular appearance due to the
topography of the land
two main access gates - one
from the North East and the
other on the South West.
The fort rampart is laid all along
the periphery of the hill
connected by six towers or
bastions
The main entrance called the
Hathi Pul (means "elephant
gate" as elephants could pass
through this gate), is accessed
after passing through six other
gates.

Another large ornate gate,

known as the Badalgarh Gate.
The water tanks in the precincts
of the fort could provide water
supply to a 15,000 strong
garrison, required to secure the
fort.

The entrance gateway on the

eastern side is a later addition
of the British period, made by
Major Keith in 1881.

Sahastrabahu temple
Sahastrabahu in the fort

Teli Ka mandir

Sas-Bahu temple Small Sas Bahu

temple

Telik Mandir means oil-man's

temple', owes its name to Teli, a
term for an oil grinder or oil
dealer.
The temple bears a close
resemblance to Prathihara
Vishnu temple, and is filled with
images of coiled serpents,
passionate couples, river
goddesses and a flying Garuda
The temple being used for
processing oil before the British
occupied the fort and used the
building, albeit temporarily, as
a coffee shop.
Loftiest temple in Gwalior Fort
with a height of about 30m.
The temple consists of a garba
griha, and an antarala to enter
into the temple.
Barrel vaulted roof
The goddesses from the interior
vanished centuries ago
The architectural style is of 8th
Century.

10th century,decline GurjaraPratihara and rise of a regional

dynasty called the
Kachchhapaghatas started
wielding power.
Kachchhapaghatas built two
temples original name was
Sahastrabahu(Thousand Hands
form of Lord Vishnu) Temple,
one small and one large

Smaller one is more elegant

and better preserved

Initially dedicated to Vishnu.

Inscription record its building

date to 1093 AD.

A unique architectural feature

of these pyramidal shaped
temples built in red sandstone
is that they have been raised
several stories high solely with
the help of beams and pillars,
and with no arches having been
used for the purpose. The main
temple looks dauntingly sturdy.

The stylistic smaller

Sahastrabahu temple is a
replica of the larger temple.

Ghaus's Tomb

Muhammad Ghaus Gwaliyari

was a 16th century Sufi saint of
Gwalior.
He composed 2 spiritual
masterpieces - Jawahir-iKhamsa (The Five Jewels) and
the Bahr al-Hayat (The Ocean of
Life).

Two of his most famous pupils Humayun, and Tansen.

Tansen was a musician in

Akbars court, and is said to be
one of the fountainheads of
Indian classical music.

Tansen and Muhammad Ghaus

are now buried in the same
tomb complex in Gwalior,
teacher and pupil together.

Gujari Mahal museum

The palace built by Raja Man

Singh for love of his wife
Mrignayani, a Gujar princess.
Because Mrignayani demanded
a separate palace for herself
with regular water supply
through an aqueduct from the
Rai River.

There is a mythological statue

guarding the palace

This mahal is well maintained

snd now converted into an
archeological museum.

The rare artifacts are the Hindu

and Jain sculptures dated to 1st
, nd century BC , miniature
statue of Salabhanjika,
Terracotta articles and replicas
of frescoes seen in Bagh Caves.

Man Mandir palace

The Man Mandir palace or the

citadel is located at the
northeast end of the fort.
construction dated to the 15th
century by Man Singh
,refurbished in 1648.

Scindia Museum

Scindia Museum, also known as

Jivaji Rao
Scindia Museum, is a memorial
dedicated to Jivaji Rao Scindia,
one of the rulers of the Scindia
reign, renowned contribution in
constructing beautiful
structures in and around
Gwalior.
Established in 1964, the
museum is located inside Jai
Vilas Palace and is controlled by
a private trust.
The museum is known for its
wide collection of antiques and
artefacts including weapons,
miniature paintings,
manuscripts, sculpture and
coins.
The museum also showcases
cut glass and crystal
ornaments, Malabar and
Madurai woodwork and Persian
carpets. A mechanical silver
train which was used as drinks
trolley can also be seen here.
Chinese, Japanese and
European art and curios and the
gold painted Durbar Hall are
other things to see.

Jai Vilas palace

The Jai Vilas Mahal (or The Jai

Vilas Palace) is one of India's
most grandiose nineteenthcentury palaces.
It was built in 1875 by H. H.
Maharaja Jayaji Rao Scindia
(Shinde), the Maharaja of
Gwalior and to this day remains
the residence of the former
royal Maratha family The
Scindias (Shindes)
Jai Vilas Mahal is a huge and
beautiful palace constructed in
the European style. The 25
rooms of the palace have been
converted into the museum.
This standing Italianate
structure is a combination of
Tuscan and Corinthian
architectural styles.
Designed by Lt. Col. Sir Michael
Filose, the palace was
constructed by Maharaja Jivaji
Rao Scindia in 1809. The
beautiful palace houses
furniture from Versailles, Italy
and France. Two Belgian
chandeliers weighing several
tonnes are the prominent
attraction of the palace.
The palace also has historic
swords, which were once worn
by Aurangzeb and Shah Jahan
during their ruling period. At
present, some parts of the
palace are occupied by the
Scindia family.

Kala Vithika

Kala Vithika is one of the

prominent museums housing
ancient instruments of the
great Indian masters of history.
The museum also has many
paintings and portraits
displaying the rich culture and
history of the city.
Under the guidance of sarod
maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan,
the ancestral house of the
legendary Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan
has recently been converted
into Sarod Ghar. Constructed by
Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Memorial
Trust, the museum is designed
as per traditional Gwalior
architecture.

Bateshwar temples

Bateshwar, 25 km from Morena

town, is an archaeological site
comprising about 200 ancient
shrines in Morena district in
Madhya Pradesh.
This site is located on the northwestern slope of a range of hills
near Padavali, a village about
30 km from Gwalior.
The shrines of Bateshwar
temple-complex are dedicated
mostly to Shiva and a few to
Vishnu.

The temples are made of

sandstone and belong to the 810th century CE.

They were built during the reign

of Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty,
300 years before Khajuraho
temples were built.

The cluster of temples is spread

over an area of 10 hectares in
the ravines of Chambal.

The Archaeological Survey of

India team led by K.K.
Muhammed started excavation
works in 2005. which are still
continuing. Presently sites of
Padavali or Padawli and Mitaoli
are being excavated, where one
temple each has been
discovered till now. A temple
cluster at Dodamath in the
same place is also being
excavated. The ravages of time
and earthquakes had destroyed
these forgotten temples.