Hinglajgarh

Hinglajgarh (हिंगलाजगढ़) or Hinglaj Fort is an ancient fort situated near village Navali in Bhanpura tehsil of Mandsaur district in Madhya Pradesh. Its coordinates are Latitude 25°30' N and Longitude 65°31' E. It is situated at a distance of 165 km from Mandsaur town and 26 km from Bhanpura town in Madhya Pradesh. [Rajendra Verma:Mandsaur District Gazetteer, p. 289] This fort has been at its peak of grandeur during Parmara rule. [Ramlal Kanwal:Prachin Malwa mein Vastukala, p. 185] There are many artistic sculptures of various periods in this fort. The "Nandi" and "Uma-Maheshwar" sculptures were sent from here to France and Washington for display in India festivals and left a mark at International levels. [Usha Agarwal:Mandsaur Zile Ke Puratatvik samarakon ki paryatan ki drishti se sansadhaniyata - Ek Adhyayan, Chirag Prakashan Udaipur, 2007, p. 38] The Hinglajgarh had been centre of excellence in craftmanship of sculptures for about 800 years. The statues recovered from this fort are from Guptas period to Parmara period. The most ancient statues are from 4-5th century AD. [Usha Agarwal:Mandsaur Zile Ke Puratatvik samarakon ki paryatan ki drishti se sansadhaniyata - Ek Adhyayan, Chirag Prakashan Udaipur, 2007, p. 42]

Origin of name

Hinglajgarh gets name after the goddess Hinglaj, the "kuldevi" of Kshatriyas. Hinglaj Mata temple is situated in the Hinglajgarh. [L.D.Dhariwal (Ed): Indore State Gazetteer, Vol. 2, p. 24] Originally Hinglaj (Urdu: ﮨنگلاج ) is an important Hindu pilgrimage place in Balochistan, Pakistan. It is situated in Balochistan province about 250km north-west of Karachi [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/07/south_asia_hindus_in_pakistan/html/1.stm Hindus in Pakistan - BBC News] ] . The Kshatriyas in ancient times had movements between baluchistan and India. The Mauri rulers founded the temple of Hinglaj Mata as she was their kuladevi. Initially this area was known as 'Hinglaj Tekri' but later the Mauri rulers built a fort here and this came to be known as Hinglajgarh or Hinglaj Fort. [Usha Agarwal:Mandsaur Zile Ke Puratatvik samarakon ki paryatan ki drishti se sansadhaniyata - Ek Adhyayan, Chirag Prakashan Udaipur, 2007, p. 38] [Puran Sahgal:Dashpur Janapad mein Arawali ke Sudrarh Durg Prachir, Shodh Patra, Sangoshthi, Mandsaur, 1991, p. 104]

History

The ancient inscriptions in the Pali Buddhist character have been discovered in various parts of Rajasthan of the race of Taxak or Tak, relating to the tribe Mori and Parmara are their descendants. Taxak Mori was the lord of Chittor from very early period. [James Tod, Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, p.126] [Dr Naval Viyogi: Nagas – The Ancient Rulers of India, Their Origins and History (The History of the Indigenous people of India Vol. 2), Published by Originals (an imprint of Low Price Publications), Delhi, 2002, ISBN 81-7536-287-1, p.171]

The Huna Kingdom of Sialkot (of Mihir Kula 515-540 AD), destroyed by Yashodharman, was subsequently seized by a new dynasty of kshatriyas called Tak or Taxaka. The Taxak Mori as being lords of Chittor from very early period and few generations after the Guhilots supplanted the Moris, this palladium of Hindu liberty was assailed by the arms of Islam. (725-35) we find amongst the numerous defenders who appear to have considered the cause of Chittor their own the Tak from Asirgarh. This race appears to have retained possession of Asirgarh for at least two centuries after this event as its chieftain was one of the most conspicuous leaders in the array of Prithvi Raj. In the poems of Chandar he is called the "Standard, bearer, Tak of Asir." [Dr Naval Viyogi: Nagas – The Ancient Rulers of India, Their Origins and History (The History of the Indigenous people of India Vol. 2), Published by Originals (an imprint of Low Price Publications), Delhi, 2002, ISBN 81-7536-287-1, p.148]

Hinglaj Fort became very strategic during the Parmara rule and they strengthen it. In 1281 the Hada ruler halu occupied it, and later it came under Chandrawat rulers. Mention of Haveli of Gopal Singh, a Chandrawat ruler, is found in the "patnama" of Chandrawats. [News Letter Published by Intec No. 1, Nimach Hinglajgarh Chapter, March April 1991, p. 10] In 1773 the Holkar Queen Ahilya Bai defeated Laxman Singh Chandrawat and occupied it. The fort was renovated during Holkar rule along with Hinglaj Mata Temple, Rama Temple, and Shiva Temple. Though various dynasties occupied the fort but it was never used as a permanent capital. It was mainly used as a shelter by various rulers. This is the reason why there are not many palaces here. [Usha Agarwal:Mandsaur Zile Ke Puratatvik samarakon ki paryatan ki drishti se sansadhaniyata - Ek Adhyayan, Chirag Prakashan Udaipur, 2007, p. 39]

The Hinglaj Fort has four gates namely Patanpol, Surajpol, Katrapol and Mandaleshwaripol. The first three gates ("pol") are east facing where as last , Mandaleshwaripol, is west facing. There is storage of water in a grand tank known as "Surajkund". Local tradtion goes that Gotri Bhil was killed here, therefor the smarak built here is worshiped by Bhils. [Usha Agarwal:Mandsaur Zile Ke Puratatvik samarakon ki paryatan ki drishti se sansadhaniyata - Ek Adhyayan, Chirag Prakashan Udaipur, 2007, p. 39]

In the southern part of the Hinglaj Fort is situated Hinglaj Mata temple, Rama-Hanuman Temple, Darbar Kaksha (Kachhari), Rani Mahal and Shiva Temple. There is a big Burj here known as Fateh Burj. [Usha Agarwal:Mandsaur Zile Ke Puratatvik samarakon ki paryatan ki drishti se sansadhaniyata - Ek Adhyayan, Chirag Prakashan Udaipur, 2007, p. 40] There are also two towers called Tirtham, which used to be used as means of communication with distant places through light.

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