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Gwalior
Sasbahu temple from the 10th century
Karna Mahal
Jal Jauhar Kund
As we descent from the Urwahi Gate, we stopped by the Jain statues, carved in the rock about 1300 years ago, right beside the road. They are more than 20 statues, with several sizes and figures and they were under recuperation when we saw them, what turned moving along them even more difficult.
The 15th century Gujari Mahal is a monument to the love of Raja Mansingh for his Gujar queen, Mrignayani. Today Gujari Mahal has one of the finest museums of sculptures dating back to 1st century AD even though many of them have been defaced by the Mughals, their perfection of form has survived the ravage of time. Particularly worth seeing is the statue of Shalbhanjika from Gyraspur, the tree goddess, epitome of perfection in miniature. The statue is kept in the custody of the museum's curator and can be seen on request (timing of this museum is from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm daily except Monday).
Within the grounds of the ruined palaces lies the Jauhar Kund which is a large and very deep tank. It was here that Rajput women of the harem committed jauhar (ritual mass suicide by immolation) when Iltutmish the slave king of Delhi besieged the fort and defeated the Parihar ruler in 1232.
Gwalior fort is also home to one of India's poshest schools. These are schoolboys from the Scindia School which was founded by the late Maharaja Madhavrao Jayaji Rao Scindia of Gwalior in 1897. Fee's are said to be Rs15,000 a month. Some of the boys were walking along the road and didn't give me a blind bit of attention which just shows you the difference between them and non fee paying school children.
The State Archaeological Museum is located in the 15th century Gujari Mahal at the foot of the hill on which the fort is situated. The museum houses mostly Hindu, Buddhist and Jain stone sculptures that date back to the 1st century AD as well as coins, miniature paintings, and weapons and armoury held in what looked like an underground bunker. More pictures can be found in one of my travelogues.
Open: 10am-5pm Tue-Sun. Closed Mondays. Admission: Rs30 for foreigners & Rs20 for stills camera.
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