Orchcha Fort - 2 / 2

Orchcha is a small historical town in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh and was capital of Bundela kings. From Jhansi it is 15 km, from Khajuraho 175 km & from Gwalior 124 km. First Bundela King Rudra Pratap Singh who ruled from 1501 to 1531, made Orchcha his capital & got the fort construction started. There were several additions & modifications subsequently by later kings Bharati Chandra, Madhukar Shah and Veer Singh Dev.  
You can click & see Orchcha Fort - 1 / 2. 

2. About the origin of Suryavanshi Rajput Bundelas a poet named Lal Kavi has in 1700, given a mythical & poetical account. His poems inter-alia state that Bundelas are descendents from gods ( with gaps of several generations between some of them ) as under: 
Vishnu > Brahma > Vihagaraja > Kiratdeva > Virbhadra > Jagdas > Arjunpal > Sohanpal > Rudra Pratap Singh. 

3. Jagdas was son of Virbhadra from a junior queen and was denied share in Kashi kingdom by sons from chief queen. He came to the shrine of Vindhyavasini and sat down in Tapasya. After a long while nothing happened & out of desperation he decided to sacrifice his head to Vindhyavasini. As soon as a drop of his blood fell on ground Vindhyavasini appeared and said that his son shall be born from this drop - 'बूँद of his blood to become future ruler. Future rulers were thus called Bundelas - बुन्देला. Bundelas worship Vindhyavasini as their family deity or Kuldevi. 

 4. Bundelas ruled the area named Bundelkhand with Orchcha as capital for over 250 years. Some of the famous Bundela kings are Rudra Pratap Singh, Bharati Chandra, Madhukar Shah who ruled during 1594-1591 & built Raja Mahal and Chatrasal. King Veer Singh Dev who ruled during 1605-1627 built Jahangir Mahal. Within Bundelkhand area there were several smaller states such as Orchcha, Datia, Panna, Ajaigarh, Bijawar, Charkhari. They fought with Mughals & at times there were fights within these smaller states which were taken advantage of by Mughals.   

5. Forts, palaces, memorials & temples in & around Orchcha have beautiful and distinct style. River Betwa passing through the rocks adds to the beauty of the place. Boating & rafting can be enjoyed in Betwa. Noons are hot here with bare rocks getting roasted in the sun, take care. With a little better tourist infra and maintanance of monuments tourism can improve. All the monuments are within walking distance otherewise conveyance is also easily available. Some snaps:

1. Orchcha Fort Complex & river Betwa

2.Entry bridge to Sheesh Mahal, Jahangir Mahal , Raja Mahal

3. You may come across many sadhus looking for alms

4. Security measures

5. Welcome in

6. Beautiful carvings on pillars, ceiling & walls

The place has a small museum also. Stone sculpture in museum - Ram, Janaki  and Lakshman 

Eleventh century sand stone sculpture in museum - Sheshashai Vishnu

Latticed windows served as air inlets & to keep eye on visitors

Well constructed balconies & parapets 

View from the first floor balcony 

Rai Praveen Palace. Constructed in 1618 by King Indrajit Singh in honour of a courtesan Rai Praveen who was a beautiful singer. Her fame reached Emperor Akbar who summoned her in 1602. It was clear that she won't ever come back. Rai Praveen wriggled out of the situation and came back by telling Akbar "विनति राय प्रवीण की, सुनिए शाह सुजान, जूठी पातर भकत हैं बारी, बायस, स्वान ".  that is a 'used one' is not meant for an Emporer

तानसेन

संगीत सम्राट तानसेन का जन्म ग्वालियर से 45 किमी दूर एक गाँव बेहट में 1506 में हुआ था. तानसेन के पिता का नाम मकरंद पाल था जिन्होने अपने बेटे का नाम रामतन्नु पाल रखा. इन्टरनेट पर देखें तो पिता का नाम मकरंद पांडे या मुकुंद पांडे या मुकुंद मिश्रा भी लिखा मिलता है. और तानसेन का नाम तन्नु पाण्डे या तन्नु मिश्र या तनसुख या त्रिलोचन भी दिया हुआ है. कुछ लोगों का कहना है की 'तानसेन' एक नाम नहीं था बल्कि एक उपाधि थी. इसी तरह से तानसेन के जन्म / मृत्यु वर्ष में भी अंतर है. 

तानसेन ने संगीत की शिक्षा वृन्दावन के स्वामी हरिदास से और ग्वालियर के सूफी संत मोहम्मद गौस से ली. पहले तो तानसेन ग्वालियर के संगीत प्रेमी राजा मन सिंह तोमर के दरबार में रहे. राजा मान सिंह तोमर की मृत्यु के बाद संगीत मण्डली बिखर गई और तानसेन वृन्दावन चले गए. उसके बाद तानसेन कुछ समय दौलत खां पुत्र शेरशाह सूरी के दरबार में रहे. वहां से वे बांधव गढ़, रीवा के राजा रामचंद्र के दरबार में पहुँच गए जहां उनका बहुत सम्मान हुआ. इस दरबार से तानसेन की शानदार गायकी की खबर मुग़ल सम्राट अकबर के दरबार में पहुंची. अकबर ने तानसेन को अपने दरबार में बुला लिया और मियां और नवरत्न की पदवी दी.

तानसेन की शादी ग्वालियर की रानी मृगनयनी की दासी हुसैनी से हुई थी. तानसेन के चार पुत्र हुए - सुरतसेन, शरतसेन, तरंगसेन और विलास खान. एक पुत्री थी जिसका नाम सरस्वती था. तानसेन कवि भी थे और उन्होंने  तीन ग्रन्थ भी लिखे - संगीतसार, रागमाला और श्रीगणेश स्तोत्र.  तानसेन ने कई राग रागिनियों की रचना भी की - मियां का मल्हार, दरबारी कान्हड़ा और गुजरी तोड़ी / मियाँ की तोड़ी. तानसेन की मृत्यु अस्सी साल की आयु में हुई. उनकी इच्छा के अनुसार उन्हें उनके गुरु मोहम्मद गौस की समाधि के पास दफनाया गया जहां अब हर साल दिसम्बर में संगीत महोत्सव मनाया जाता है.

तानसेन की जीवनी में गायकी की एक घटना बताना जरूरी है. अकबर के जिद करने पर तानसेन ने राग दीपक छेड़ दिया. राग ज्यूँ ज्यूँ राग ऊँचे स्वर में उठता गया, तानसेन का शरीर तपने लगा. आसपास बैठे दरबारी घबरा कर उठ गए. ऐसा लगा कि तानसेन इस तपिश में नहीं बचेंगे तो उनकी पुत्री सरस्वती ने राग मल्हार शुरू किया और तानसेन शांत हुए. बाद में अकबर ने अपनी जिद पर अफ़सोस जाहिर किया.
प्रस्तुत हैं कुछ फोटो:

1. तानसेन का मक़बरा

2. मियां तानसेन का अंतिम पड़ाव 

3. नारायण गाइड तानसेन के बारे में बताते हुए. पीछे है तानसेन के गुरु सूफी संत मोहम्मद गौस की दरगाह 

4. सूफी संत मोहम्मद गौस की दरगाह  

5. दरगाह का पिछला हिस्सा 

6. दरगाह में समाधियाँ 

7. ऊँचे खम्बों वाली छतें और सुंदर जाली का काम 

8. छत पर बने फूल पत्ते 

9. ऊँचे खम्बों पर नक्काशी 

10. दरगाह का एक और दृश्य 

11. सोलहवीं सदी में बनी दरगाह 

12. तानसेन के मकबरे के पास इमली का बूटा जिसके बारे में मशहूर है कि इसके पत्ते चूसने से गला सुरीला हो जाता है 

13. अकबर के दरबार के नवरत्न की यादगार  

Orchcha Fort Complex - 1/2

Orchcha is a small historical town in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh and was capital of Bundela kings. From Jhansi it is 15 km, from Khajuraho 175 km & from Gwalior 124 km. First Bundela King Rudra Pratap Singh who ruled from 1501 to 1531, made Orchcha his capital & got the fort construction started. There were several additions & modifications subsequently by later kings Bharati Chandra, Madhukar Shah and Veer Singh Dev.  

2. About the origin of Suryavanshi Rajput Bundelas a poet named Lal Kavi has in 1700, given a mythical & poetical account. His poems inter-alia state that Bundelas are descendents from gods ( with gaps of several generations between some of them ) as under: 
Vishnu > Brahma > Vihagaraja > Kiratdeva > Virbhadra > Jagdas > Arjunpal > Sohanpal > Rudra Pratap Singh. 

3. Jagdas was son of Virbhadra from a junior queen and was denied share in Kashi kingdom by sons from chief queen. He came to the shrine of Vindhyavasini and sat down in Tapasya. After a long while nothing happened & out of desperation he decided to sacrifice his head to Vindhyavasini. As soon as a drop of his blood fell on ground Vindhyavasini appeared and said that his son shall be born from this drop - 'बूँद of his blood to become future ruler. Future rulers were thus called Bundelas - बुन्देला. Bundelas worship Vindhyavasini as their family deity or Kuldevi. 

 4. Bundelas ruled the area named Bundelkhand with Orchcha as capital for over 250 years. Some of the famous Bundela kings are Rudra Pratap Singh, Bharati Chandra, Madhukar Shah who ruled during 1594-1591 & built Raja Mahal and Chatrasal. King Veer Singh Dev who ruled during 1605-1627 built Jahangir Mahal. Within Bundelkhand area there were several smaller states such as Orchcha, Datia, Panna, Ajaigarh, Bijawar, Charkhari. They fought with Mughals & at times there were fights within these smaller states which were taken advantage of by Mughals.   

5. Forts, palaces, memorials & temples in & around Orchcha have beautiful and distinct style. River Betwa passing through the rocks adds to the beauty of the place. Boating & rafting can be enjoyed in Betwa. Noons are hot here with bare rocks getting roasted in the sun, take care. With a little better tourist infra and maintanance of monuments tourism can improve. All the monuments are within walking distance otherewise conveyance is also easily available. Some snaps:

1. Raja Mahal 

2. Pillars and arches 

3. Arches & balcony of Raja Mahal

4. Plumbline perfect. From top of dome to the corner of the platform a straight line can be drawn

5. Cool pool in courtyard to beat the heat

6. Observation post

7. Top floor of Jahangir Mahal

8. Beautiful arches

9. High ceilings on pillars kept the place cool & also let the air & light in 

10. Painted walls & ceilings with women horse riders. No purdah system here for the ladies 

11. Jungle, war & shikar scenes. Polo style games are also seen 

12. Bedroom of the Raja has this latticed window through which he could see the Ram Raja Temple as he got up in the morning

13. This is what Raja saw from his window. High rise building is Chaturbhuj Temple built for installing statue of Lord Ram to be brought from Ayodhya. However it remains empty. The queen who brought the statue from Ayodhya inadvertantly placed the statue in a kitchen. It could not be lifted from there and white building became Ram Raja Temple. Lord Rama is reverred here as a Raja

14. A small balcony used by Raja to address Darbar. Over this balcony are small 108 elephants

15. Mahal as seen from outside the enclosure wall

16. Sheesh Mahal which now is a hotel / restaurant 

17. Jahangir Mahal constructed in 17th century in honour of Mughal Emperor Jahangir by king Vir Singh Deo. Jahangir stayed here for a night