Gagron Fort is situated in Jhalawar district of Rajasthan, in the Hadoti region of India. It is an example of a hill and water fort. The Fort is one of six forts of Rajasthan were included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013.
Snuggling in impressive isolation, is the fortress of Gagron. It is one of the popular places near Kota, which are visited by a good number of tourists every year. The wonderfully sculptured Jain temples lie in a serene valley of Aravalis in Ranakpur. The main temple is devoted to Tirthankara Adinath and has 29 halls maintained by 1444 pillars. This impregnable fort was the Capital of Khichi Chauhans and has a glorious history of valour and sacrifice. The foundation of this magnificent for t was laid in or around 7th or 8th century AD Tourist Places Rajasthan.
It is surrounded on three sides by the water of the Ahu and Kali Sindh Rivers and is an ideal example of a Jaldurg. Outside the fort is the mausoleum of a Sufi saint, Mitte Shah, where a fair is held every year during the Islamic month of Ramjan.
History
Even though the scenery, location and everything is beautiful, the history of the place can give you chills. The fort belonged to the Royal Rajput families and several battles have been fought over that place centuries ago. One of those battles is the ‘Battle of Gagron’ which was fought between The Rajput King Rana Sanga and the Malwa Sultan MahmoodKhilji in the year 1591. Sultan Mahmood Khilji was trying to intrude in a matter between RanaSanga and MediniRai therefore Rana Sanga attacked on Sultan Khilji to teach him a lesson and hence the battle was fought.
In this battle The Rajput King Rana Sanga completely defeated the Sultan Mahmood Khilji, but the reason of the battle was not capturing a kingdom or territory. Therefore, Rana Sanga treated him with respect and released him after imprisonment of some time. He not only released him but also restored Sultan Mahmood Khilji his kingdom back. Sultan Mahmood Khilji had an auspicious crown and a belt which was passed on from generation to generation in his family starting from Sultan Hoshang Shah, as a gift Sultan Mahmood Khilji gave that crown and the Belt to Maharana Sanga. Maharana Sanga released Sultan Mahmood Khilji but kept his son as hostage.
Along with the Battles, the place has witnessed the act of “Jauhar” twice. Jauhar is a ritual which used to be performed by Indian ladies in antient times. In this ritual all the ladies used to dress in their wedding outfits, light up a huge fire and then put themselves in the fire. There was a reason for doing this. This ritual used to be performed when the kingdom was losing a war and the opponents were coming to take over the kingdom. According to Indian culture and traditions respect and dignity are more important things for women than their lives. If they won’t perform the Jauhar ritual then they may be slaved, captured or raped by the opponents.
So, to prevent that from happening they used to perform this ritual and thus burning themselves up in the fire was the way of protecting their dignity and saving themselves from the upcoming torture of life. Not only the ladies but also their daughters, even the pregnant women used to do this. The spot where this ritual was performed twice called the JauharKund is still there somewhere in the Gagron Fort. The place is even considered to be haunted by some locals Rajasthan Budget Tours.
Unique Architecture
Surrounded by Ahu, Kali and Sindh rivers on three sides, Gagron fort is the only hill and water fort of rajasthan. Built without foundation, this fort is one of its kind and is also called as ‘jaladurga’.
The fort has two main entrances, one leading to the waterfront, the other to the hills.
Gagron Fort holds a number of beautiful sites in its premises, including deewan-khaas, deewan-e-aam, Madhusudan mandir and Rang Mahal along with temples of Lord Shiva, Ganesh and Siren Durga.
Where is Gagron Fort?
The Jal Durg of Gargron is situated 14 Kms from Jhalawar City. Kota is 88 Kms from Jhalawar.
How to Reach
By Air: The closest airport is Indore that is 240 kilometers away, and Jaipur Airport is at a distance of 345kms
By Road: Jhalawar lies on Highway No. 12 and is connected by bus to many cities in Rajasthan.
By Rail: Jhalawar has a newly-constructed railway station that is 2 kilometers from Jhalawar city.