Access to
Mandu
Air - the nearest airport is Indore, about 100 km away,
which is connected to Delhi, Bombay, Gwalior, and Bhopal.
Rail - convenient railhead is Ratlam (124 km) and Indore
(94 km) on the Delhi-Bombay mainline.
Road - regular bus service connect Mandu with Indore,
Dhar, Mhow, Ratlam, Ujjain, and Bhopal.
Accommodation
- Tourist cottages (MPT)
- Travellers lodge (MPT)
- Taveli Mahal Rest House (ASI)
- SADA Rest House
- Jain Dharamshala
- PWD and Forest Rest Houses
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ATTRACTIONS :
The Darwazas
The 45 km parapet of walls that encircle Mandu
are punctuated by 12 gateways. Most notable of these is Delhi Darwaza,
the main entrance to the fortress city, for which the approach is
through a series of gateways well fortified with walled enclosures
and strengthened by bastions such as the Alamgir and Bhangi Darwaza,
through which the present road passes. Rampol Darwaza, Jehangir
Gate and Tarapur Gate are some of the other main gateways.
The Royal Enclave
Jahaz Mahal
This 120 mt long "ship palace" built between
the two artificial lakes, Munj Talao and Kapur Talao is an elegant
two storeyed palace. Probably it was built by Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din-Khilji
for his large harem. With its open pavilions, balconies overhanging
the water and open terrace, Jahaz Mahal is an imaginative recreation
in stone of a royal pleasure craft. Viewed on moonlit nights from
the adjoining Taveli Mahal, the silhouette of the building, with
the tiny domes and turrets of the pavilion gracefully perched on
the terrace, presents an unforgettable spectacle.
Hindola Mahal
An audience
hall, also belonging to Ghiyas-ud-din's reign, it derives its name
of "swinging palace" from its sloping sidewalls. Superb and innovative
techniques are also evident in its ornamental facade, delicate trellis
work in sand-stone and beautifully moulded columns.
To the West
of Hindola Mahal there are several unidentified buildings which
still bear traces of their past grandeur. Amidst these is an elaborately
constructed well called Champa Baoli, which is connected with underground
vaulted rooms where arrangements for cold and hot water were made.
Other places of interest in this enclave are Dilawar Khan's Mosque,
the Nahar Jharokha (tiger balcony), Taveli Mahal, the two large
wells called the Ujali (bright) and Andheri (dark) Baolis and Gada
Shah's Shop and House, all worth a visit.
The
Central Group
Hoshang Shah's Tomb
India's first marble edifice,
it is one of the most refined examples of Afghan architecture.
Its unique features are the magnificently proportioned dome,
marble lattice work of remarkable delicacy and porticoed courts
and towers to mark the four corners of the rectangle. Shah Jehan
sent four of his great architects to study the design of and
draw inspiration from the Tomb. Among them was Ustad Hamid,
who was also associated with the construction of Taj Mahal |
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Jami Masjid
Inspired by the great mosque of Damascus, the Jami Masjid was conceived
on a grand scale, with a high plinth and a huge domed porch projecting
in the centre, the background dominated by similar imposing domes
with the intervening space filled up by innumerable domes. One is
struck by the huge proportions and the stern simplicity of its construction.
The great court of the mosque is enclosed on all sides by huge colonnades
with a rich and pleasing variety in the arrangement of arches, pillars,
number of bays, and in the rows of domes above.
More details
about administrative approach under Mandu Development Plan
Amjhera
Village Amjhera lying in the south-east corner of Sardarpur Tahsil
is about 23 km. from Sardarpur and about 40 km. to the north-west
of Dhar. All the three places are connected by road on which buses
ply.
The village appears to have been of some importance in old days
as it has a number of temples of Shiva and Vaishnava sects, tanks,
Chhatris, satistones, wells a mosque and a fort with palaces
inside.
As many as five Shiva temples dedicated to Mahadeva, Chamunda and
Ambika and two Vaishnava temples of Lakshmi-Narayana and Chhturbhujanatha
are in the village.
Two tanks known as Brahma Kund and Surya Kund and located in one
group near the village. A group of three cenotaphs, built in memory
of former Rajput Chiefs, is also situated close to the village.
Of five cenotaphs of another group two are built in stone and the
rest in bricks.
Sati-stones, 25 in number, are seen in one group at the
locality. The date of these monuments is not known. Amjhera was
the head-quarters of a Mahal under Sarkar Mandu
during the reign of Akbar.
The fort of Amjhera built of rubble stones and bricks in lime was
probably constructed by Raja Ram Singh Rathor of Jodhpur in the
18-19the Century A.D. The fort has three old palaces all of the
same period. Of these three only the Rang-Mahal deserves mention
as it contains mural paintings depicting court life. The fort was
held by Raja Bakhtawar Singh in 1857. This Raja boldly revolted
against the British rule whose officers caught and hanged him to
death at Indore during the days of the great revolt of 1857. Thus
the Raja immortalised the village Amjhera by sacrificing his life
at the altar of Independence of India. Confiscating his estate the
British Government made it over to the Sindhia.
The village was populated by 4298 persons in 1971 as against 3,392
in 1961.
Badnawar
This headquarters town of a tahsil of the same name lies about 50
km. north-west of Dhar, the district headquarters town with which
it is connected by a road on which buses play. Badnawar might be
a corrupt form of Wardhanpur or Hatnawat named after King Hastin.
The place is evidently an old one as it has yielded old monuments,
the earliest of which is of the 11-12th Century A.D. and it has
a magnificent Shiva temple repaired later on. Besides this, there
are three other temples of a later period including one called Udanya
temple. A few images have been found here bearing dates Vikram Samvat
1219, 1229 and 1336 corresponding to A.D. 1162, 1172 and 1279, respectively.
The town has an old mosque constructed in A.D. 1688 and the remains
of the fortress or garhi mentioned by Abul Fazi.
During the reign of Akbar Badnawar was the headquarters of a
Mahal in Ujjain Sarkar of Malwa Subah.
According to the Census of 1971 the town was populated by 9,130
persons as against 2,661 in 1901.
Bagh Caves
These remarkable and interesting rock-cut shrines and monasteries
are situated in the Narmada valley among the southern slopes of
the Vindhya hill in Kukshi Tahsil of Dhar District. These are about
152 km. by road from the nearest railway station Mhow, on Ajmer-Khandwa
narrow gauge section of the Western Railway. Buses play on the road
and taxis are available at Indore and Mhow to reach the caves. From
Dhar these are about 108 km. to the south-west and from Kukshi about
18 km. to the north.
These caves belong to the Buddhist faith and it is not certain as
to how and when these caves began to be called Bagh Gumpha. In modern
times these caves were first discovered in 1818. It seems that after
the extinction of Buddhism in Central India by the 10th Century
A.D. these caves remained effaced from human memory. During the
intervening centuries the caves often became the abode of tigers
(Bagh) and this association of tigers with the caves gave then the
present name. The village situated at a distance of about 8 km.
and the river flowing nearby the cave came to be known as Bagh village
and Bagh river. The other view states otherwise. It believed that
either the name of the river or of the village has given its name
to others.
Until recently these caves were roughly assigned to the Seventh
Century from the style of architecture and painting but a copper-plate
grant inscription since discovered pushes back the date of at least
some of them to the 4th or 5th Century A.D.
Paintings
Bagh caves are mostly important and famous for its paintings. Here
we can see the traces of the fully matured pictorial art of the
country which have their parallels only at Ajanta in Maharashtra.
Bagh caves will for ever be remembered for the famished glory of
the painting which has left its shadows traces on the walls and
ceilings of these caves. Their colours are faded and subject matters
are disfigured. The visitor who pauses, ponders over and dives deep
into significance with patience and imagination, looks upon these
wall-paintings as the highest achievements in the world of art of
that time.
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