Chunar Fort

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Chunar Fort
Part of
Fort
CodeCAR
Height280 feet (85 m)
Site information
Controlled byArchaeological Survey of India Ministry of Tourism
Open to
the public		Yes
Site history
BuiltEleventh century and improvements in sixteenth century
Built byKing Sahadeo in 1029
MaterialsChunar sandstone

The Chunar Fort (also known as Chandrakanta Chunargarh and Charanadri) is located in

Howrah–Delhi main line
.

Geography

Chunar Fort is approached by road from

Calcutta is 437 miles (703 km) away and is 14 miles (23 km) south west of Varanasi.[3]
The structure is located in the Mirzapur district, 14 miles (23 km) south west of Varanasi, and lies between Varanasi and Mirzapur. The town of the same name is part of the fort's administration.

Painting of the fort (1803).

The fort stands on a rock, a detached part of the

Ganges River, near the Kaimur Hills. The approach to Chunar Hill is marked by a chain of low hills, running parallel to the river on its right bank, which is covered by plantations and bungalows. The fort is located on a rock which rises abruptly from the plain, and encroaches into the river for some distance.[5] The southeastern part of the fort is on the rocky bank by the Ganges River, which is navigable for 50- to 60-ton boats. The batteries in the fort command the river reach. The rocky bluff rising from the river on which the fort has been built raises to a height of 104 feet (32 m). Another 200 feet (61 m) further away, the elevation of the rocky hillock is 280 feet (85 m).[3][6]

The rocky face of the fort is impregnable because of its steep slope. Many crude cylinders were stored in the fort that defenders could roll down onto any enemy soldiers attacking the fort. Most of the enclosed fort area consists of plains overgrown with grass and a few trees.

Legends

There are many legends linking the fort to divine aspects. One such is the story of

King Bali. God, known in these parts as Bawan Bhagwan, appeared before Bali, disguised as a Brahmin, and begged for three feet of land. The generous king agreed. God placed his first step on the hill of Chunar Fort and left his foot mark there. Since then it is known as "Charanadri", which over the years took the short form of "Chunar".[2][1]

The second legend is king

Goraknath, built a house for his brother to live in. The black stone where the saint Bhatinath lived and prayed is worshiped even now, as it is believed that Bhatinath is seated in the fort area in an invisible form.[2][1]

A third legend linked the fort to the well known king of Rajasthan.

Bahelia, and gave them titles as hazari (meaning "governors of the fort"), and also conferred a jagir. It is said that the Bahelia family were in possession of the land holdings till the fort was finally ceded to the British in 1772.[2]

History

Sher Khan, notable in the history of Chunar Fort, later known as Sher Shah Suri

Settlements have been recorded here since 56 BC, from the time of Vikramāditya of Ujjain.

Son River) during his campaign to win Bengal.[3][8] When Emperor Humayun attacked the fort and held it in siege for four months, he had proposed to Sher Khan that he would not claim Chunar and Jaunpur and any other place of his choice, provided he gave up Bengal, which Sher Khan had won. Humayun also demanded from Suri the surrender of his treasure which he had taken to Bengal and a precious (chattar) umbrella and throne, and also to agree to be under the protection of the Mughal Empire.[8] He finally succumbed to pressure and signed a deal with Humayun. However, Sher Khan recaptured it when he Humayun marched towards Bengal. After Sher Shah's death in 1545 it remained under his son Islam Shah until 1553. The last of Suris dynasty Adil Shah remained confined to the fort till 1556 handing over the entire administration and military powers to the Hindu Prime Minister Hemu. Hemu launched many attacks from this fort winning several battles across north India and even captured Delhi after the Battle of Tughlaqabad in 1556 and declared independence from the Sur Empire
and crowned himself as king. Adil Shah remained in this fort, who lost life in an attack by king of Bengal in 1557. Fort came under the control of the Mughals in 1575.

Mughal Emperor Akbar

Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor, had visited Chunar for

nazim. During the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb, his appointee for Governor of the fort, Mirza Bairam Khan, constructed a mosque here in 1663, near the Bharion Burj.[2]
In 1804, Marathas ceded all their territories in Bundelkhand to East India Company following their defeat in the second Anglo-Maratha war. The
Chait Singh of Benares
had taken possession of the fort temporarily but was evicted. In 1857, he raised a rebellion in Varanasi and near the villages around the fort.

It is also said that

Sepoy Mutiny of 1857–58, the fort was the safe ground of the artillery and infantry company of the European invalid Battalion and all also to the officers and European residents of the district. The Bhartri Nath's shrine here was also used for some time as the civil treasury. After 1890, troops were withdrawn from the fort. The building's complex within the fort became the property of the civil administration who used this place as a convalescent jail. Subsequently, it became a religious centre.[2][3]

In 1849, Maharaja Ranjit Singh's wife, Rani Jind Kaur was incarcerated in Fort Chunar after the British usurped the Sikh kingdom. She escaped from the fort in the disguise of a maid servant and went to Kathmandu where she was granted political asylum.[11][12]

Chunar Fort was on the hit list of the

armoury. Hence, the state government has directed the police to give particular care to protect the fort and the facilities within it.[13]

There is also a paranormal history connected with Chunar Fort i.e. the King of Chunar had buried his rich treasure because he knew that the British people would take it from them. Also he connected aatma with it.[citation needed]

The History of Chunar For is beautifully summarised in Sanjeev Sanyal's book Land of Seven Rivers: History of India's Geography in the following words:[14]

"It was once said that he who controlled Chunar fort also controlled the destiny of India. A walk through the fort is a walk through Indian history. The walls resonate with tales of the legendary King Vikramaditya, the Mughals, Sher Shah Suri and Governor-General Warren Hastings. There are remains here from each era including an eighteenth-century sundial. Do not miss the neglected British graves below the walls. Their headstones make for interesting reading. Just south-west of the fort are the quarries that, in the third century BC, supplied the stone used by the Mauyans to carve the lions of Sarnath"

Walls and gates

The impregnable citadel is built with huge

Maurya period
, were used in building the fort, and skilled masons were available locally. The external walls of the fort were not strong and hence it was breached when British forces attacked the fort with a battering train. The area bounded by the fort covers a length of 750 yards (690 m) in the north–south direction, with a maximum width of 300 yards (270 m) on the northern face, close to the river bank. The peripheral length of the fort is 1,850 yards (1,690 m). The ramparts of the fort have towers built at regular intervals with heights varying from 10–20 feet (3.0–6.1 m).

Entrance to the main compound of the fort

Of all the gates, only the fort's west gate has inscriptions, which ascribe to its construction during Akabar's period by Muhammad Sharif Khan, who is presumed to be the son of an artist. He is said to have served under Munim Khan who was granted the fort and the surrounding lands since it yielded a lot of revenue, in 1567. Munim Khan died here in 1575. The west gate has the least ornamentation but has calligraphy engraved slabs. Other gates of the fort have carved panels and brackets.

Buildings

The Citadel which is the main structure of the fort, in its northeastern part, was mounted with many

potable. There is an underground dungeon
, which is used as a storeroom now.

Sonwa Mandap

A pavilion, dating to 1538, was used as the gatehouse.

peepal tree
, where according to the local legend, God is seated for 9 hours during the day and the rest of 3 hours of the day shifts to Varanasi, and further mentions that during the absence of God, the fort can be captured only between 6 AM and 9 AM.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chunar Fort.
  1. ^ a b c d Datta, Rangan (2 January 2024). "Exploring Chunar's timeless tales in the heart of its architectural heritage". The Telegraph. My Kolkata. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Mirzapur". Official web site of the district by National Informatics Center. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Thornton, Edward (1858). A Gazetteer of the Territories Under the Government of the East India Company and of the Native States on the Continent of India (Public domain ed.). W. H. Allen. pp. 215–216. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  4. ISBN 978-81-7156-817-8
    . Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  5. ^ "The Fort, Chunar (U.P.). 12 September 1803". Online Gallery of British Library. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  6. ^ "North view of the fort of Chunargarh on the Ganges from across the river". Online Gallery of British Library. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d "Chunar Fort on the Ganges (U.P.). 3 August 1822". Online Gallery of British Library. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  8. ^
    ISBN 9780141001432
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 9780521267281
    .
  10. ^ "Chunar:History". National Informatic Center. Archived from the original on 23 October 2004. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  11. ^ All About Sikhs – The Annexation of the Punjab
  12. ^ Singh, Harbans (2002). Encyclopedia of Sikhism (2002 ed.). Punjabi University.
  13. ^ "Chunar Fort, district jail on Naxal hit list". Hindustan Times. 1 January 2001. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  14. ^ Land of Seven Rivers: History of India's Geography, Sanjeev Sanyal
  15. ISBN 978-81-87780-04-5
    . Retrieved 11 November 2012.
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