major downfall of Bhangarh fort

If one is to be blamed for the downfall of Bhangarh then its the Chalisa, the great famine of 1783. Due to unusual El Nino events that started in 1780 in Indian Ocean , India was hit by two major droughts in the following years. Southern India, being closer to the ocean, was hit first and suffered the drought of 1782. The following year, Northern India was hit by a even much severe drought. This was later called as Chalisa, which literally means the fortieth, referring to the fact that 1783 was the year 1840 per emperor Vikramaditya's lunar Calendar. The severity of this famine was so high that it actually almost depopulated half of the Northern India. It is said that almost 60% of the villages of uttar pradesh, Rajasthan and areas near Delhi were depopulated and millions of lives were lost. Add this drought to the fact that Bhangarh was located in Rajputana, modern day Rajasthan, where water in old times was as it is scarce and you will get the idea. This was the time when Bhangarh, a small city, near Delhi perished. Lots of people died and those who survived the famine left in search of food and water.

So why the scary stories? Why the air of mystery? 

The answer of simple, because this is the only thing that draws tourists here. If not for the imaginary ghosts, there is nothing that adds charm to Bhangarh. The myths were first created by the locals to attract tourism and then supported by people who managed to gain entry at night and wanted to show off, boast about their supernatural experiences. Whatever experience they gained was because of the noise of wind, dogs, Monkeys, Langoors and other wild animals at night and lose boulders.

Even if it was to be looked from a superstitious point of view, it is believed that animals sense the paranormal presence way before and more than humans. If Bhangarh is indeed so haunted, then how come the entire army of Monkeys and Langoors still stay and not scared off by the ghosts?

another version about the fort

Few years ago, a man fell into the step-well located within the premises of Bhangarh and hurt his head. While he was being rushed to the hospital, the car crashed and the two others died. An unfortunate accident blamed entirely on ghosts. Locals of course completely support the fact that Bhangarh is indeed haunted. They would tell you laughingly that several people die in Bhangarh each year so their spirits and ghosts are bound to stay here. Several people including the children and old ladies of nearby villages will tell you tall tales about how they encountered "Bhoots, chudail, jinn" within the walls of Bhangarh. Official records however are an entirely different story, "there have been no deaths within this ancient fort. People of course get hurt sometimes because of lose boulders or when they try to act macho or mischievous but no one has ever died here.'

As it happens with every superstitious story, some, specially the locals around believe it is true, while others consider it merely as a made up tale. If we look at all the facts rationally, these legends can easily be waived off. While some try to prove the ghost story right, others want to debunk it by visiting the fort after the dusk.

Every story related to Bhangarh is from two prospectives. One is of the locals who live around here and the second point of view of the tourists who come here because of the interesting tales floating around on the web. One visit and you can easily tell that this place is no more than ruins and fallen walls now. Even though the fact cant not be denied that once in its prime, it was a beautiful fort, a majestic example of medieval architecture. But all that is now gone. Though restoration work is now in full swing, due to lack of care in past years, the beauty of this place has long faded. If a person is interested in old forts and palaces than there are other places in Rajasthan itself that are 100 times better than this. There is nothing to learn about ancient architecture at Bhangarh. Whatever was there has long collapsed and what now stands is work of ASI restoration department, not from several hundred years ago. There is absolutely nothing to see here except for a couple of temples but if you want to visit ancient temples, there are options way better than this.

Agreed that the place is located between the majestic hills of Aravali but again if it is hills that interest you then why come here? Why not travel towards Himalayas? Why not visit the several other beautiful hill stations located in Uttaranchal, Himachal and Kashmir? This place is still located in Rajasthan which means that it heats up like an oven for at least 8 months of the year. There is no reason to come here if you want to go up in the hills and beat the heat, or even if you want to view the natural beauty of hill stations. There is none of that here.

Bhangarh got attacked by ajabgarh

Bhangarh was attacked by the neighboring kingdom of Ajabgarh. There was a fierce battle which Bhangarh lost and Rani Ratnavati herself died in the battle. The town has been uninhabited ever since.

Another version is that when Ratnavati threw the oil away and as the oil struck the ground it turned into a boulder, which crushed Singhia. Dying, the magician cursed the palace with the death of all who dwelt in it.

Some even say that the princess Ratnavati has taken birth somewhere else and that the fort and the empire of Bhangarh is waiting for her return to put an end to the curse.

There remains to be however another version of this story wherever Ratnavati herself is blamed for the doom of this town. In the first version of this lore, Ratnavati before marriage was in love with a poor man in her father's kingdom. They both knew that their marriage was out of question as Ratnavati was a princess and her lover was just a poor farmer but still could not help but falling madly in love with each other. As it is often shown in the movie, Ratnavati would sneak out of the palace when no one was looking to spend time with the poor boy. On one such instance, they were both caught red-handed by Ratnavati's father, the king. Sensing that her lover would probably be hanged for the crime that he committed by falling in love with a princess, Ratnavati made a pact with her father that she would marry as per his wishes only as long as he forgives the boy and grants him his life. Her father agreed and she was married off to the King of Bhangarh but she always remained in loved with the same boy and could never give her heart to her husband. The boy too did not back out and followed Ratnavati to Bhangarh dressed as a poor beggar and Tantrik. Ratnavati too found out about his presence in Bhangarh and they started meeting each other again. As it happened before, they were again caught by the king, this time Ratnavati's husband who doomed them both to death. Watching her beloved getting beheaded right in front of her eyes, Ratnavati cursed the king and town of Bhangarh to perish right after her death.

Second version of this story is that Ratnavati was in love with Jai Singh of Jaipur and because of this love affair, he kept attacking the town of Bhangarh until it was in ruins. His sole intention was to kill the king, win over Bhangarh as a part of his kingdom and Ratnavati as his wife in which he finally succeeded but at the cost of Bhangarh.

history about Bhangarh fort

It is said that before the fort at Bhangarh was built, a monk or Guru by the name of Balu Nath used to live here alone. He was a sanyasi who had given up all worldly belongings and went to forest to be away from people, common man's desires and dedicate his life to god. He was against the idea of building a town because that would mean a lot of people around , a great amount of disturbance in his daily prayers and will beat the very purpose of him living there to be away from people. However though, after much persuasion by King Bhagwant Das he agreed on one condition that the shadow of the king's palace should never touch Balu Nath or his residence or the city will perish. Bhagwant Das agreed to the condition and so began the construction of Bhangarh Fort. Interesting fact around this is that King's palace only consisted of 3 or 4 floors initially, in order to honor Balu Nath's Condition that the shadow should never reach his residence.

Years passed and the city prospered. Slowly over the time, Balu Nath's warning was forgotten and one of the later kings, Ajab Singh, re-built the palace to a new height by adding 3 more floors to the existing 4. This proved fatal as it caused the palace's shadow to reach the place where Balu Nath lived. Hence what was once a warning turned into a curse and the city doomed. How it happened is something no one can tell. Whether everyone left, or died because of the curse remains a mystery.

Another version of this story is that Balu Nath did not literally mean what he said that the shadow of the palace should never touch him. He merely used it as a metaphor to warn king that he should be left alone and not bothered by people of the town. As time passed, population of Bhangarh grow and Balu Nath's warning was forgotten. When his sanyasi life started to get disturbed by people around, Balu Nath cursed the city to perish.

Interesting thing about this tale is that Balu Nath seems to be an immortal. He laid his condition before the city was built, post which it was ruled by several kings which means that it must have been a long time but Balu Nath somehow managed to survive all those years. He lived and lived until he saw the city doom but what happened to him after the town was deserted is another mystery. Some people believe that his samadhi is still located within the fort from where he rises every night to haunt the palace.

Second legend is even more interesting, a story of one sided love that turned into obsession, the tale of Rani Ratnavati whose beauty, it is said, was unmatchable in whole of Rajasthan. While some believe that she was a princess of Bhangarh, it is also said that she was in fact herself the queen, married to the King.

When the princess turned 18, she started getting marriage proposals from princes of other states. Being a very beautiful woman, she had numerous admirers within Bhangarh as well and one such admirer was Singhia, a tantrik. He was desperately in love with the princess and desired for her even though he knew that she was way out of his league. People like him weren't even allowed to see the princess, let alone the thought of marrying her.

It is said that once the princess along with her maids and friends went visiting the market to buy some scented oils. Singhia spotted her at a shop and he got an idea by which he could meet the princess. He used his black magic and put a love spell on the oil which would hypnotize the princess by her merely touching the oil, and she would surrender herself. The princess foiled this plan though. She had seen the tantrik enchanting the oil, and she therefore threw it away, whereupon the flagon rolled over a stone. As soon as the oil touched the stone, it started rolling towards the wicked tantrik and crushed him. While dying, Singhia cursed the palace with the death of all who dwelt in it, without any rebirth in their destinies.

The Hauntings Of Bhangarh - Reality Or Myth?

Located around 220 kms from Delhi is a place that is often named as one of the most haunted places in India. A place that has so many spooky stories around it that it arouses one's interest immediately. This is the city of Bhangarh, once glorious now feared. A fort standing in ruins, in desperate need of restoration, stones that were once put together to form walls now crumbling down, remains of what were once shops and houses, surrounded by mountains on 3 sides, huge trees in the campus, a temple at the main gate, a notice outside the main gate by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) that reads,

"Entering the borders of Bhangarh before sunrise and after sunset is strictly prohibited. Legal action would be taken against anybody who does not follow these instructions"

A place whose only inhabitants now are only an army of Monkeys and Langoors.

In ancient times, Unlike other forts in India, it was not merely a king's residence in there. It was, as a matter of fact, an entire town behind those grand walls which now stand shattered. A main market area, lined with ruins of shops from old times, houses and residences of other common and important people and at the far corner the king's palace built at some height and overlooking the entire town.

Now what really happened here, no one knows for certain. There is very little information about this place in history books and almost next to no information about the kings who ruled here. The little significance that this place holds in history is because of Man Singh, general of Emperor Akbar. If one is to believe historians, it was because of Jai Singh II’s repeated attacks that forced the people to escape. Other historians believe that it was the famine of 1783 that forced people to leave here in search of food elsewhere and they just never returned.

It is also believed by some historians that Bhangarh was inhabited for centuries before it was built into a royal city in 1573. It is said that it was a wealthy town where over 10,000 residents lived in prosperity. Even today it can not be denied that this small town once had grand palaces, well maintained gardens, and beautiful temples.

Whatever happened here in the hills, why this town was deserted is both fascinating and frustrating because of the lack of any robust information. Whatever information is available are mere speculations and beliefs.

But if one is to believe the local myths and legends, the story is both interesting and spooky.

scary pics of Bhangarh fort

Bhangarh fort Alwar Rajasthan

As children we have heard a lot many scary ghost stories. These haunted stories still scare us in our dreams. If this is not enough to digest then let us brief you about some best haunted places on earth that would really give you that real jolt. Drowse yourself in a pure hair raising experience on most haunted places in world.

As per a legend there was a black magic sorcerer who cursed the residents of the palace that they all would die an unnatural death and their spirits will stay there for centuries to haunt the fort / kila forever. This fort would really freak any living mortal. One can seldom find a temporary household in the close periphery of this fort. Let us reveal you one more fact about this place. The village households found here are without roofs as there persists a popular belief and experience that the moment a rooftop is built on a house it collapses. This is said to be the most haunted place in India and amongst world's most haunted places. People are not allowed to spend the night in the fort, for obvious reasons. Believe us it is also said that anybody who has been to this place after dusk never comes back !