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Chitaur, Chitaurgarh: see CHITTORGARH.
Chitor, Chitorgarh: see CHITTORGARH.
Chitrakoot, Chitrakut, former name of CHITTORGARH.
Chitrang Mori (Chitrangada Mori, Chittering Mori), a chieftain of the ancient PARAMARA (Puar; Mauryan or Mori) dynasty, a Rajput clan that ruled Chittorgarh before BAPPA RAWAL established the Mewar Dynasty here in AD 734.
Chitrang Mori Palace, Chittorgarh. The ruins are said to be the palace of CHITRANG MORI, the ancient PARAMARA Rajput lord of Chittor whom BAPPA RAWAL defeated to establish the Mewar Dynasty (734). It has been so altered, remodelled, and ruined that its original form is unrecognisable.
Chitrang Tank (Lake), Chittorgarh; an ancient tank (reservoir) south of PADMINI'S PALACE and BADSHA'S BHAKSI. Constructed by CHITRANG MORI, the interior sides of the tank are divided into tasteful sculpted compartments. Nearby is a ruin said to be the palace of the Paramara rulers: see CHITRANG MORI PALACE.
Chitrangada Mori: see CHITRANG MORI.
Chittaur, Chittaurgarh: see CHITTORGARH.
Chittering Mori: see CHITRANG MORI.
Chittoor: see CHITTORGARH.
Chittor (Chittorgarh) Fort (also spelled Chitor, Chitaur, Chittaur, Chitaurgarh, Chittaurgarh, and Chittoor), the extensive mountaintop fortress (garh means fort), the largest in Rajasthan; situated 122 km. east of Udaipur in the Chittorgarh District at the northern end of the Aravallis. It is a formidable, isolated rocky plateau rising steeply from the plains. Its height from the surrounding country is 165 m., and 609 m. above sea level. The mesa, reminiscent of the shape of a whale or the deck of a ship, extends 5.6 km. north to south, its width averaging about .75 km., lessening towards the southern end. It is encircled by wide stone ramparts, which follow the contours of the tableland in a perimeter of about 4.5 km. The circumference at the base of the hill is 813 km., about 2 km. long and 155 m. wide. Its surface is uneven but the inward tendency of the summit has assured inexhaustible water supply to the fort. Although formerly known as Chitra Durga or Chitrakuta, nothing authentic is known about the founder of the fort or when the fort was constructed. According to legend, BHIM, a Pandava hero of the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, built the fortress in mythical times (see CHITTOR, LEGENDARY FOUNDING OF). Historically, it is considered that Chittor was built by the Rajput Maurya dynasty in the 7th century AD. It was then named Chitrakut after Chitrang Mori, a Rajput chieftain as inscribed on ancient Mewari coins. Traditional accounts say that the Mori dynasty was in possession of the fort when Bappa Rawal seized it in 734 AD. Chittor was one of the most contested seats of power in India. It is famous in the annals of the Mewar Dynasty as its first capital (prior to this, the Guhilots, forerunners of the Mewar Dynasty, ruled from Idar, Bhomat, and Nagda), and renowned in India's long struggle for freedom. By tradition, it remained the Mewar capital for 834 years. With the following interruptions, the fort has always remained in possession of the Sisodias: 1. Subjugation for about 300 years by the Paramaras of Malwa (see MEWAR'S LOST GENERATIONS). 2. Capture by Ala-ud-Din Khilji in 1307. 3. Capture by Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1536. 4. Capture by Akbar in 1568. At the time of every one of these captures the Rajput garrison opened the gates and died to the last man when further defence was found hopeless. At the same time the Rajput ladies burnt themselves to death to escape capture. This deed of self-immolation is remembered in history as Jauhar.
History. Being the most important bastion of Rajput power, its occupation was the primary objective of any would-be ruler. From here, the Rajputs offered a prolonged and determined resistance against mainly Muslim invaders from Afghanistan, and the Delhi Sultanates and Mughal Empire of North India. It was already the capital of the Mewar kingdom when BAPPA RAWAL of the Guhilot family captured it and was crowned Rawal of Mewar in AD 734. It remained in the hands of the Mewar Dynasty during the reigns of the next eight rulers until a Paramara force from neighbouring Malwa drove out Rawal ALLAT (951-953), and the ancient southern city of AHAR became the new capital of Mewar until Rawal JAITRA SINGH (1213-1253). In that period, Chittor was conquered and ruled by the Paramaras (Pariharars) of Gujarat and Malwa in the 9th and 10th centuries with Rajas Bhoj and Munja building some important monuments. Over the following two centuries, Solanki Jaya Singh (Sidhraj) of Gujarat defeated Yashovarman of Malwa and took Chittor from him; Kumarpal, the Chalukya ruler of Gujarat visited the fort in 1150 after his victory over the Chauhan ruler, Anaji of Amber (now Jaipur); Vigrahraj IV became ruler; and, in 1207, Chittor again came under rule of Chalukyas, until Jaitra Singh's redemption of the Mewar capital. It remained with the Mewar Dynasty, suffering three devastating sacks-by Sultan ALA-UD-DIN KHILJI of Delhi in 1303, BAHADUR SHAH of Gujarat in 1534, and Mughal emperor AKBAR in 1567-1568. With Chittor in the possession of the Mughals, Maharana UDAI SINGH II (1537-1572) abandoned Chittor forever and established his capital at his new city, UDAIPUR. Although Udai's son, the great freedom fighter Maharana PRATAP SINGH I (1572-1597) dreamt of recapturing the fort, his dream was never realised. It was returned to Mewar as one of the terms of the 1615 peace treaty signed between Emperor Jahangir and Pratap's son, Maharana AMAR SINGH I (1597-1620).
Today, Chittor, now a prominent tourist attraction, remains the largest fortress in Rajasthan. Throughout the fort are memorials, reminders of the self-sacrifice of Chittor's heroic defenders. In Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book, Mowgli visits the snake-infested "Cold Lairs". It is thought the author modelled the location on the ruins of Chittor. Over the centuries of the Mewar Dynasty, Chittor presented an unprecedented stronghold of chivalry, loyalty, and sacrifice. It is as famous as its long list of heroes and heroines, such as BAPPA RAWAL, PADMINI, HAMIR SINGH I, KUMBHA, SANGRAM SINGH I, RANI KARMAVATI, UDAI SINGH II, the nursemaid PANNA DHAI, mystic poetess MIRA BAI, and many, many others, including the unsung champions who defended it again and again, and the women and children who perished in the flames of JAUHAR rather than submit to the enemy. No one has described the honour of Chittor more eloquently than Dr. Annie Besant:
Chittor is one of the cities that seem to have been doomed to continual struggle, and gateway after gateway on her winding ascent is marked with stones that tell how a hero fought and died. She sits on her mountain-top, though discrowned, and gazes over the plains that she has often seen glittering with lance points, quivering under the hoops of charging squadrons.
There is a renowned epigram about its possible invincibility: "Gadh to Chittorgarh aur sab Gadhiya." ("In the whole world, if there is any fort, it is Chittorgarh; the rest are small fortifications.") The truth of that saying was shattered with the fort's final destruction in 1568 (see CHITTOR, 3RD SACK). Mulla Ahmad described Chittor in Akbar's time:
The castle is situated in the midst of a level plain which has no other hills. The mountain is 12 miles round at the base, and nearly 6 at the summit. On the east and north it is faced with hard stone, and the garrison had no fears on those sides, nor could guns, swivels, stone-slings or mangonels do much damage on the other sides, if they managed to reach them. Travellers do not mention any fortress like this in all the world. The whole summit was crowded with buildings, some several storeys high, and the battlements were strongly guarded and the magazines full.
From the KHUMAN RAESO (the story of Rawal Khuman):
Chitrakoot is the chief amongst eighty-four castles, renowned for strength; the hill on which it stands, rising out of the level plain beneath, the tilak on the foreheads of Avani (the earth). It is within the grasp of no foe, nor can the vassals of its chief know the sentiment of fear ... so intricate are its paths of ascent, that though you might find entrance, there would be no hope of return. Its towers of defence are planted on the rock, nor can their inmates even in sleep know alarm. Its Kothars (granaries) are well filled, and its reservoirs, fountains, and wells are overflowing ... There are eighty-four bazaars, many schools for children, and colleges for every kind of learning; many scribes, and the eighteen varieties of artisans. Of all, the Guhilot is sovereign, served by numerous troops, both horse and foot, and by all the 'thirty-six tribes of Rajputs', of which he is the ornament.
According to James TOD in his Annals, the poet had not exaggerated: Of all the royal bodes of India, none could compete with Chittor.
A Tour of Chittor (taking the anti-clockwise road around the fort; see individual entries for a more detailed description). The western entrance is a zigzag ascent, 1.5 km. long that leads through seven gateways to the main gate, the Ram Pol. On the ascent you pass two chhatris, memorials marking spots where Jaimal and Kalla, heroes of the 1568 siege, fell during the struggle against Akbar. Another chhatri, further up hill, marks the spot where Patta fell. (The main gate on the eastern side of the fort, Suraj Pol, was the original main entrance.) Entering the fort and turning right, you come upon the ruins of Kumbha's Palace, which also contains elephant and horse stables and a Shiva temple. Across from the palace is a much more modern palace built by Maharana FATEH SINGH, which houses an interesting museum with statues found in various buildings in the fort. Nearby are the Archaeological Office and the Treasury Building or Nau Lakha Bhandar. Continuing south, anti-clockwise, you come to the Tower of Victory or Vijaya Stambh. Close to it is the Mahasati, the royal cremation area, with the Sammidheshwar Temple adjoining. Beside this, down several flights of steps is Gaumukh Reservoir at the very edge of the cliff face. A spring feeds the tank from a carved cow's mouth for which the reservoir was named. A little further south, on the left, is Padmini's Palace that overlooks a large pool with a pavilion in the centre. Legend relates that Padmini stood on the pavilion's steps where Ala-ud-Din Khilji was permitted to see her reflection in a mirror in the palace. Opposite the palace is the Kalika Mata Temple, an 8th century Surya or Sun God temple later converted to a temple dedicated to the goddess Kali. At the southern end of the fort are a Deer Park, the Bhimlat Tank, and a small opening from which criminals and traitors were hurled into the abyss. Heading north along the eastern ramparts are the Neelkanth Mahadev Jain temple, the Tower of Fame (Kirti Stambh), and Mira Bai's Temple with the Kumbh Shyam or Temple of Vriji, a larger temple in the same compound. Nearby are the Sringar Chavri Temple and Suraj Pol Gate (Gate of the Sun). At the northern tip of the fort is another gate, Lakhota Bari and the modern residences of New Town.
Today, the once-impenetrable fortress of Chittorgarh is a magnificent, haunted landscape of ruins, a walled memory bank of treasured tales about heroic resistance and the wilful, almost incomprehensible courage of its men and women.
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