Category:Kalinjar Fort

Kalinjar Fort 

An Indian fort
Upload media
Wikipedia  Wikiquote
Instance of	citadel
Location	Banda district, Chitrakoot division, Uttar Pradesh, India
Operator	Government of Uttar Pradesh
Heritage designation	Monument of National Importance
24° 59′ 58.92″ N, 80° 29′ 06.72″ E
Authority file  Q3630997 Library of Congress authority ID: sh2016001932 J9U ID: 987007398303505171 Reasonator Scholia Wikidocumentaries PetScan statistics WikiMap Locator tool KML file WikiShootMe OpenStreetMap Search depicted

The Kalinjar fort, also referred to as the Kalanjar fort, was originally a 10th-century Hindu fort built by the Chandela dynasty in Vindhyan mountain range, in Uttar Pradesh (near Madhya Pradesh border). It was reinforced in the 11th-century. The site is more ancient as it is mentioned as a Shiva-related Taposthan (place of meditation and austerities) in pre-5th century Hindu texts. Archaeological studies have shown that the site was already active, with Shiva reliefs and structures for Hindu pilgrimage by the Gupta era (5th-century, e.g. Gupta era Ekamukha found in Kalinjar, Source: Hans Bakker, The World of the Skandapurana).

The fort is described by many Muslim historians from the 12th century onwards as "one of the strongest, highest", or "among the best" of Hindustan. Its walls extend over 7.5 kilometers, on 25 to 30 meter wide foundations. It was built from granite supplemented with sandstone for artwork, some sealed with lime mortar. The architects and shilpins included the Rajputs, who brought ideas they evolved over the Rajasthan forts.

Mahmud of Gazni invaded Kalinjar-Panna region and attacked the Kalinjar fort in 1023 CE. It remained a target for Islamic armies till it fell to the control of Qutb-ud-din Aibak in 1202. Bundelas recaptured it in the 14th century. The political fortunes of Kalinjar fort drifted between Hindu and Muslim rulers. The Mughal forces of Emperor Humayun attacked it in the 16th century many times over 15 years. Sher Shah Suri led a war of seven months to capture it, then died capturing it. It came under the Mughal Empire and then again the Bundellas. The colonial era British forces occupied it in 1812 CE. This complex history has left the fort with numerous ruins, various styles of Hindu and Islamic architecture, with some mosques and Islamic structures built from ruins of Hindu and Jain temples that existed here before the 13th-century.

The Kalinjar fort and nearby area have many monuments. Many of these have beautiful artwork, though defaced, beheaded and mutilated. Some notable monuments here include:

• Gates and guard towers for the fort: Ganesh Darwaza, Chandi Darwaza, Hanuman Darwaza, Alam Darwaza (named after Alamgir, Aurangzeb), Bada Darwaza, Budhbhadra Darwaza, Lal Darwaza, Panna Gate, Katra Gate
• Temples (ruins): Neelakanth temple (Shiva), Venkat Bihari temple (Vishnu), Sita Sej (Shakti), Ram Janaki temple, Patal Ganga, Manduka Bhairava, Koti Tirth, many kunds
• Mosques and Tombs (ruins): Patthar Mahal Masjid (Islam Shah mosque), Qanati mosque
• Palaces: Aman Singh Mahal (now the site museum), Rani Mahal, Moti Mahal, Rang Mahal, Chaube Mahal
• Others: near the fort walls are several Chhatris and additional ruined temples