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Situated adjacent to the public park, its
turrets pointing skywards, Junagarh fort is
a magnificent sight to behold. It was
constructed between 1589 and 1594 by Raja
Rai Singh, a general in the army of the
Mughal emperor Akbar. It was in 1585 that an
old extant Mughal farman (decree) refers to
Rai Singh of Bikaner, upon whom Akbar
conferred the district of Bhatner. It was
the next year that Rai Singh ordered work on
the ‘great jewel of Bikaner’, the Junagarh
fort. Work finally began in 1589 when the
king sent instructions to that effect from
his camp at Burhanpur to his minister Karam
Chand. Finished five years later, its
battlements jutted out proudly, although
they were untested.
¤ The Fort Premises
The fort has a 986 metre long wall,
fortified by a long range of exquisite
pavilions, 37 in all, silhouetted against
the skyline. The palaces inside are
ethereal, and comprise of royal public court
buildings and intimate zenanas (women’s
quarters), for purdah (veil) decreed that
women be hidden from sight of courtiers.
Consequently, women walked behind stone
screens carved by expert artisans of Barmer
and Bikaner. Theirs was a closed world, and
although women played an important part in
the royal household, they played no role in
the administration or politics of Bikaner.
¤ The Interiors of
the Fort
The fort is beautifully embellished with
Rajput paintings, mirror-work, and
lacquer-work. Lines of windows and balconies
impart a harmonious domestic character to
the austere strength of the structure. You
need to take a recce of the fort and feel
the atmosphere to get an idea of the
indolent lifestyle of the Rajput royalty, in
medieval times.The regalia and opulence of
the palaces will take your breath away.
¤ The Picturesque
location
The unique feature of Junagarh fort is that
it is one of the few Rajasthani forts not
constructed on a hilltop, or any raised
surface but on plain land. This provided the
fort with a natural camouflage as it blended
into the sandy desert surrounding it,
enabling it to remain unconquered for close
to 400 years. In the fort you’ll find raised
platforms made of swords, on which the
fakirs of Bikaner would dance. The Viceroy’s
wife, Lady Reading described the scene in
1922: "A wizard walked with bare feet on
swords I could not touch, so sharp were
their points. It was hopelessly uncanny, but
wonderful and gorgeous." The fort also
contains an excellent library of Persian
manuscripts and ancient Sanskrit books and
an impressive armoury. Nearby is a well over
450 feet deep.
¤ The Main Fort
Enterences
The fort has two entrances; the Karan Pol on
the east and the Chand Pol on the west. As
soon as you enter the Karan Pol, you come
across the Sati Sthambs, a gory reminder to
the practice of sati (a widow’s self
immolation on her husband’s funeral pyre)
prevalent among the Rajputs who preferred
‘death before dishonour’. On the vertical
slab which is the Sthamb are imprinted
symbolic hands, a reminder of the royal
ladies who committed sati. Some more sati
symbols are found on the left side of the
next gate, called the Daulat Pol. The
practice of sati was mercifully abolished
during Maharaja Sardar Singh’s reign between
1851 and 1872.
Walking past Daulat Pol you run into Fateh
Pol. Each of these gates provided a strong
defence to the fort. The gates were
fortified with heavy wooden doors with iron
plating. A further precaution was taken to
fit iron spikes into them to prevent an
elephant charge in case of war. Suraj Pol or
the Sun Gate used to be the main entrance
before the other gateways were built. The
Suraj Pol was built in 1593 in front of
which in the courtyard lies the Joramal
Temple. The other gates were constructed as
an extension probably during the rule of
Maharaja Gaj Singh. The Sun Gate is a common
occurrence in Hindu fort architecture, the
concept being to let the first rays of the
sun enter the house. On entering the Suraj
Pol, you come across the statues of Jaimal
and Patta atop elephants, the guardians of
the fort. The two were teenage generals in
the army of Maharana Udai Singh of Mewar who
fought heroically during the seizure of
Chittor fort (see Chittor). The statues
honouring Jaimal Rathore and Rawat Patta
Sisodia were installed at the express
instructions of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, so
impressed was he with their bravado.
 The
palaces within the precincts were all built
by different rulers. The last portions to
the fort were added very recently, when the
new stately staircase was added by Maharaja
Ganga Singh. The stone carvings of the fort
and palaces are indeed exquisite.
Today it is around the fort that the city’s
civil, commercial and social life revolves;
its broadest avenues fronts its entrance,
and its rugged grace overshadows Bikaner’s
gardens and parks, its bazaars, theatres and
buildings.
¤ Daulat Pol also
Known as Sati Pol
The literal meaning of Daulatpol is ‘the
gate of wealth’ but do not waste your time
looking for buried treasure here. The wealth
they refer to is different – it is honour
not money. As Rajput wives preferred death
to dishonour, the practice was to burn
oneself at the funeral pyre of one’s
husband. The practice was called Sati, and
the Daulatpol pays homage to all the sati
wives of Bikaner’s soldiers fell in battle.
The handprints you will see nearby bear a
poignant reminder to this custom which was
fortunately outlawed by the Britisher
William Bentinck in 1829. But sati is still
revered in many areas of rural Rajasthan,
and that can be illustrated by the
glorification of Roop Kanwar, the widow who
committed sati as recently as 1987, at
Deorala in Rajasthan. Clearly some habits
die hard, and the Daulatpol is treated as a
reverential site by many among the local
populace of Bikaner.
¤ Urmul Trust
Inside Junagarh fort you will run into
Bikaner’s well known crafts shop called the
Abhivyakti, which is a handicrafts shop with
a difference. Here you will find remnants of
a dying art. These items are manufactured by
skilled workers residing in 70 villages
around Bikaner. They are helped by a local
charitable organisation called the Urmul
Trust which assists the artisans with
marketing, design consultancy and loans. The
object of the exercise is to eliminate the
middleman, and enable the artisans to reap
the full benefit of their labour.
¤ The Great
Shopping Attractions At Bikaner
The outlet specializes in the traditional
folding chairs of Rajasthan called pidas.
Also available are handloom shawls called
pattus, cushion covers, hand-printed
garments, puppets and lots more. Some of
their products are also exported to Europe
via OXFAM, the British charity organisation.
The profits go straight into their education
and family welfare projects. You can window
shop here without hindrance. Remember if you
are part of a guided group, your guide might
try to deflect you from Urmul Trust to a
shop where he gets his cut. However, it is
worthwhile browsing through Urmul at your
leisure. Abhivyakti is a wonderful concept
that works hard to keep the ancient crafts
of Bikaner alive.
Timings :
Open daily from 10.00 hrs. to 17.00 hrs. |
