Bhangarh city and its fort is located 118 km from Jaipur. This is one of the scariest places in the country. This fort was built in the 17th century by Raja Madho Singh, younger brother of the Mughal commander Mansingh of Amer. However, now this place is deserted. The remains of mansions, temples and deserted markets stand in ruins in the fort complex. No one goes here in the evening after sunset.
It is said that paranormal activities take place here in the dark. Despite this, tourists come to see this beautiful fort. The strangest thing about the fort that you will be surprised to see is that none of the houses built here have a roof. The entire structure of the house is built, but none of it has a roof. Local people say that the houses do not have roofs because whenever they are built, they fall down. Every child here knows that there is a curse of Balunath.
So many stories that even historians are surprised
Historian Dr. Reema Ahuja spoke in the show ‘Ekant’ released on OTT platform Discovery Plus. He said that there are so many stories, so many legends about Bhangarh that it is difficult for common people to say where the history begins and ends. There is a problem for historians also. She tells that some stories are very old. There are some ghost stories. Someone has cursed a king or princess. Reema says that many times we see that people are more curious about these things. For this reason such stories are in vogue. However, no one knows the whole truth.
Story of Saint Balunath and Maharaja
Maharaj Madho Singh of Bhangarh was a devotee of Saint Balunath. Balunath asked Maharaj to build a cave for penance. Maharaj immediately got ready and built a cave. Balunath went to that cave to do penance. But the court priests became jealous after seeing the relationship between Maharaj and Saint Balunath. The priests planned to separate the two. He killed a cat and threw it inside the cave. After two-three days, when the foul smell started spreading from the dead body of the cat, the priests informed the king that Saint Balunath had died in the cave.
Then the saint cursed him with destruction
Maharaja Madho Singh was very sad after receiving this information. He went near the cave, but did not go inside because of the foul smell. He ordered the cave to be closed. On the other hand, when Saint Balunath completed his penance, he saw that his exit was blocked. After this, Saint Balunath got angry and cursed that Bhangarh would be completely destroyed. No one knows what happened next, but Bhangarh was completely destroyed. The roofs of the houses collapsed. Local people say that whenever you build a roof on Ahar houses, it collapses.
The saint’s tomb is situated in the forest.
- After realizing his mistake, the king got the saint’s mausoleum built.
- Balunath’s Samadhi still remains in the forests behind the fort.
- Historians do not confirm the existence of any saint of this name.
- Historians believe that there is a saint named Balaknath.
- However, it is not known which period, which region he belonged to.
Many temples here are built in urban style
Let us now know a little about the architecture of the fort. Apart from the main gate, the fort has Lahori Gate, Ajmeri Gate, Phulbari Gate and Delhi Gate. There are many temples at the main gate of the fort, the major ones being Gopinath Temple, Someshwar Temple, Keshav Rai Temple, Mangala Devi Temple and Ganesh Temple. Built in Nagara style, these temples are excellent examples of 17th century architecture and craftsmanship. It is said that the palace had seven floors, but now only four floors survive.
Story of Princess Ratnavati and Tantrik
Now let me tell you another story related to the fort. This is the story of Princess Ratnavati, which is very popular here. It is said that Ratnavati was so beautiful that she was talked about throughout Rajputana and every prince was fascinated by her beauty.
At that time a Tantrik named Scindia also wanted to marry the princess. He made an oil to control the princess, as soon as she touched it, Ratnavati got attracted towards the Tantrik. However, the princess came to know about this. So he threw the oil bottle on a stone. It is said that after this the stone turned into a big rock and fell directly on the Tantrik.
Tantrik cursed before dying
Before dying, the Tantrik cursed that Bhangarh would be destroyed and no one would be able to live around it. Local people say that after this a storm came and Bhangarh was completely destroyed. Some people say that the Mughal army attacked the kingdom heavily. During this time the fort suffered a lot of damage and people present in the fort including Princess Ratnavati were killed. However, there is no mention of this in history. No one knows whose daughter Princess Ratnavati was, whose wife she was or what period this story is from.
A woman’s scream is heard
Some people claim that sounds of women screaming, bangles breaking and crying come from this fort. Some people say that the voices of spirits can also be heard by listening to the walls of the fort. Some people believe that while walking around the fort, they feel as if a shadow is following them. If you also want to realize this or you think that these are fabricated things then you will have to come to Bhangarh to know this.