Garh Kundaris a small village situated in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh.
It has been named so after the splendid fort of Kundar located here. ‘Garh’ means ‘fort’.
Origin of Name : The name ‘Kundar’ is derived from ‘Kundarka’
near the
temple of ‘Gajanan Maa’
The Garh Kundar fort is located on a high hill,
surrounded by picturesque hills and forests. Besides the main fort the
remains of various ancient structures can be seen here. These isolated
remains seem to quietly narrate the tale of their splendid past. There
is an ancient decaying temple of Gajanan Maa (an epithet of Goddess
Durga, considered to be ‘Kula Devi’ by Khangars), built by Maharaja Khet
Singh Khangar. There is also a temple of ‘Giddha Vahini’ Devi located
here.
The fort has a complex built around a large and spacious courtyard. A
few rock and pillar inscriptions have been found in the fort. Among the
rough and overgrown stones, boulders and fallen masonry have been found
the beautiful pillars of sun and moon. The granite flooring of the fort
is said to have been renovated by the Bundela kings during Mughal
period.
Kundar came into prominence after a chief of Khangars
Khet Singh decided to build his capital here, in 1180s AD. He captured
the fortress of Jinagarh from Chandelas, which was located here, and
established his own state. After his death his grandson Maharaja Khet
Singh Khangar built a splendid fort in place of Jinagarh fortress and
named it ‘Garh Kundar’.
Garh Kundar remained as the capital of Khangar kings till its capture by
Mohammad Tughlaq’s army in 1347 A.D. Later it was handed over to
Bundelas, who were feudatories of Mughals.
Besides the main fort the remains of various ancient structures can be
seen here. These isolated remains seem to quietly narrate the tale of
the splendid past of Khangar kshtriyas. It is in the large and spacious
courtyard of the fort, princess Kesar De (daughter of last Khangar king
Maharaja Maan Singh) committed ‘jauhar’ (a ritual of voluntary
immolation by jumping into a pool of fire, undertaken in medieval times
by the kshatriya queens and princesses to save their honour from the
invading enemy). A few rock and pillar inscriptions have been found in
the fort, which tell us the story of Kesar De’s sacrifice.
The chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh announced a sum of rupees two crore
forty three lakhs for the conservation of historical fort of Kundar
during 3-day festival called "Virasat" held at the fort in December
2006.
The fort was built by Khet Singh Khangar in the
first half of the 12th century A.D. but Chandela ruler Parmardidev
captured it in 1182 A.D. and appointed Shila Paramara as its Kiledar.
After the downfall of the Chandelas, Khoob Singh Khangar occupied the
fort. In 1257 A.D. Sohanpal Bundela defeated Hurmat Singh Khangar and
occupied the fort. It became the first capitial of the Bundela dynasty.
The Bundela rulers included Sohanpal, Sahajendra, Nanakdev,
Prithviraj, Ran Singh, Ramchandra Medini Pal, Arjun Dev, Malkhan Singh
and Rudra Pratap. In 1531 A.D. Rudra Pratap shifted the capital to
Orchha.
There exists a three-storeyed palace on the top of a hillock surrounded
by the rampart of the fort. It was built by the Bundelas in three
phases. The first phase was built in the 13 century A.D. and the last
phase in the 17 century A.D. Built on a square plan the palace has a
spacious courtyard over the basement surrounded by rectangular rooms
and a verandah. The brackets, arches and Hindola arches of this palace
are of Rajput style while dome-shaped small chhatris and palanquin
shaped roofs represent the Bundela architecture of the 17 century A.D.
Many portions of fort and the stone screens inside the palace had
collapsed. Badly damaged wall plaster and chhajja (sunshades) stones
were other problems. To prevent further damage or deterioration the
department took up a restoration drive continuously for two years, by
executing the works considered necessary. Restoration of partly
collapsed fortification wall by R.R.masonry with lime pointing,
restoration of huge main entrance gateway by stone masonry work
including pillars, lintels and facia finished with decorative plaster
and repairing of steps was undertaken. Approach road to fort by cutting
and filling, consolidation with stones and top cast with murum,
watering and ramming was also accomplished.
