Munger Fort

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Munger Fort
Part of
Fort
Site information
Controlled byGovernment of Bihar
ConditionRuins
Site history
Built14th century
Built byMohhemadan kings of India
MaterialsGranite Stones and lime mortar

The Munger Fort, located at

ad valorem duty of 9 percent, against an Indian merchant's duty of 40%. The fort became a place of considerable importance to the British in Bengal till 1947 (Indian independence).[2][3][4][5]

The fort houses a number of religious and historic monuments such as the Tomb of Pir Shah Nufa (died 1497), Palace of Shah Suja, Tomb of Mulla Muhammad Said (died 1704 CE), the Kashtaharini Ghat on the Ganges River, Chandisthana (an ancient temple) and an 18th-century British cemetery. In recent times, a famous School of Yoga was established here.[1][5]

Etymology

The etymology of the word Munger prefixed to the fort and to the town also called by the same name is Mudgagiri with links to the

Muni).[6][7] During British rule it was often spelt Monghyr or Monghir.[8]

History

See also: The Kannauj Triangle wars

The Fort's history has been traced from 1330 AD onwards, under the rule of

Chandra Gupta Maurya (4th century BC), (after whom it was initially called Gupta Garhis) and later dated to the kingdom of Anga, the capital of which was at Champa near Bhagalpur, and the Pala kings in the 9th century AD.[5][6]

Medieval period

Munger, which was under the rule of the Karnataka dynasty of

Gyasuddin Khalji.[7]

Muslim rule

For a brief period, it came under the control of Sultan of Bengal between 1301 CE and 1322 CE, following a peace treaty with Khaljis. This was followed by annexation of the area to Delhi by Muhammad bin Tughluq, during 1342 CE.[7]

Inscriptions reveal that repairs were carried out to the fort during the reign of

Sufi saint Shah Nafah within the south gate of the fort, in 1497 AD.[7]

Suri rule

In 1534 CE, in a battle which took place in the plains of

Mughals. Sher Shah won and the Mughal rule was substituted by Afghan rule.[6][7]

In 1590, the importance of the fort was enhanced by making it the headquarters of Bihar army of the rulers of Gaur under their general named Kutub Khan. Nasrat Shah had succeeded Hussain Shah in Bengal and his brother-in-law, Makhdun Alam, was given control of the Munger fort, which he, in turn, passed on to his general Kutub Khan.[6][7]

Mughal rule

From the time of the reign of

Murad and Aurangzeb, and under the treaty of 1658 Munger was added to Shuja's reign. Shuja built a palace on the west side of the fort, which has been described as " very large house where the king (Suja) lived, walled next to the river, for about one and half Kos with bricks and stones, with a wall fifteen yards high".[1][7]

However, in 1745, Mustafa Khan, a rebel leader under General Alivardi Khan took control of the fort when its defences had weakened. After a few days of stay in the fort, he continued his campaign towards Patna with lots of guns and ammunition taken from the fort.[7]

In the 4th

Orissa was running away after the Battle of Plassey. In July 1757, the British attempted an attack on the fort. Eyre Coote, the British officer (heading the British force) reached Munger in pursuit of Jean Low. But he could not enter the well-fortified fort. He did not dare to attack the fort because the fort garrison had lined up "the ramparts with their matches held near the cannons." But the Governor of the fort provided him boats.[5][7]

In February 1760, Major Caillaud of the Nawab of Bengal and his supporters defeated the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II (1728–1806). The Emperor and his army moved out not only from the fort but also from the district.[7] With this victory, the rule of Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal began with Johan Stables, in charge of Munger fort, launching a successful attack on the Raja of Kharagpur who had opposed the Nawab of Bengal.[7]

Nawab of Bengal's rule

Monghyr was thus occupied by

British India, had built a country house here.[1][3][6][7][9][10]

British rule

History also records

Lord Clive. The mutiny broke out over the reduction of an extra monthly payment called bhatta to soldiers on active duty. After the suppression of the mutiny, a small garrison was thereafter stationed at the fort. Over the years, the maintenance of the fort was neglected.[1][5][7]

Structure

Fort of munger

Under the Mughal rule, the fort was substantially expanded as a strong military fortification. The fort was an impressive structure with massive gates, one of which had been a strong fortification with square towers, with a deep moat. The moat was 175 feet (53 m) in width, surrounding the land side of the fort, thus making it strategically formidable. It opens to the Ganges river (which is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) wide here, but crossed only by boats) at either end thus enhancing the fort's security.[1][11][12]

The fort is spread over an area of 222 acres (90 ha) over rocky hills with a peripheral length of2.5 miles (4.0 km). The fort has 4 feet (1.2 m) thick inner walls while the outer walls are 12 feet (3.7 m) thick forming the fortification, which is 30 feet (9.1 m) thick. The intervening space of 14 feet (4.3 m) between the inner and outer walls is filled with earth. The Ganges river hugs the fort walls on the west and partly in the north. On the landward side, there is a 175 feet (53 m) wide moat, which acts as a defence to the fortifications. There are four entry gates, within the octagonal fortress, with ramparts. The main gateway, called the Lal Darwaza, is still in good shape, even though the rest of the fort is mostly in ruins. This gate has a carved stone, which is said to belong to a

Buddhist structure.[1][5]

Other monuments in the fort

A view within the fort of Munger

The famous monuments located within the fort are:

Tomb of Pir Shah Nufa

Pir Shah Nufa, originally of Persin origin, was a

Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer. His tomb dating his death to A.H. 596 (1177 AD) is located near a rampart in the fort close to the southern gate. It was built over an area of 100 feet (30 m) square with retaining walls supporting all round, on a 25 feet (7.6 m) high heap of earth . The carved stones of these ancient ruins were pitted by holes and depressions, with the belief that such disfiguring would cure certain diseases of children. The domed tomb chamber, 16 feet (4.9 m) square with circular turrets, also encloses a prayer room and a restroom.[1]

Palace of Shah Shuja
The old Shuja palace buildings within the Munger Fort

Though locally known as the 'Palace of Shuja', the

Armoury (made of 10–15 feet (3.0–4.6 m) thick walls) (now a dormitory). There was also a mosque on the west side of the palace, now in ruins, but used as storehouse. There was a Turkish bath (hammam) and a dressing room to the west of the present day jailer's office. An interesting feature noted below the floor of the mosque is a dry well or pit of 10–12 feet (3.0–3.7 m) depth, which leads to several tunnels running in different directions. The well was, in earlier times, connected to the river through an opening, which has since been shored up. The Khas Mahal of the palace and the Public Audience Hall inside the fort, which are now seen mostly in ruins, are used as a jail and a school for the convicts.[1][13]

Tomb of Mulla Muhammed Said

Tomb of

Zebunnisa Begum. He was also under the employment of Azim Shah, grandson of Aurangzeb, and who was the viceroy of Bihar. The Mullah, while on his way from Bengal to Mecca, died at Munger fort in 1704 and his tomb existed inside the fort.[1][5][7]

The Kashtaharini Ghat on the Ganges
River front view of Munger with the ghats

The Ganges river that flows in front of Munger fort takes a turn in its flow direction towards the north ('Uttara vahini' in

Buddhist doctrine; preserved now in the Indian Museum at Kolkata). Hence, this location is venerated by the Hindus.[1][5]

Chandisthana

Chandisthana (meaning: place of goddess Chandi) is the location of a shrine, which is a village deity of

shakti peethas (a tantric cultural centre) in India. It is depicted in the form of a hole in a rock dated to the rule of king Karna Vikrama. The conjecture that it could be part of an ancient temple that existed here is yet to be established by archaeologists by exploration of the area.[1][5]

Karnachaura

A natural rocky hillock dated to the ancient Raja

Swami Satyananda Saraswati founder of the Yoga School has renamed it as 'Ganga Darshan'. The Yoga School is now renowned as a world centre for modern yogic/tantric renaissance. An old platform near the hill, in front of the bungalow, is also linked to the period of King Karna and his wife.[1][5]

Rectangular mound
People walking about within the fort near Shuja palace grounds

The second famous rock hillock (no specific name is given to this) within the fort is, in fact, an artificial rectangular raised platform where a citadel of the fort probably existed in the past. An old building called as 'Damdama Kothi' ('kothi' means "house"), conjectured to have been built by

Muslim rulers or even earlier Hindu kings that existed here, was destroyed by the British to build the 'Collector's Bangalow'. When this strong Kothi (a masonry structure) was demolished by blasting, underground rooms were found. In addition, in a well in the compound of the bungalow, two arched passages were found; one lead to the house and the other in an opposite direction to the Shuja palace (now a prison). Stone carvings and sculptures were seen in exposed masonry of the Kothi, during Buchanan's archaeological explorations.[1][5]

Bihar School of Yoga

The

Swami Satyananda Saraswati in 1964 to impart traditional yoga teachings to the world is headquartered inside the Munger fort. Apart from providing spiritual instruction to candidates, the school undertakes yoga projects and medical research in association with other agencies. It is the World's first Yoga University and a deemed university. It attracts students from all over the world. Around 400 Australians, Americans and others register for the yoga course every year, with this figure rising continuously.[14][15]

Visitor information

Munger fort and the Munger town are well connected by road, rail and air communications through Patna, the capital city of Bihar. Patna is connected by air to all major cities in India. It has a very good network of rail and road links with all major cities in the country. The road distance from Patna to Munger is 173 kilometres (107 mi).[14]

The Ganges river, which has been declared as the National Waterway 1 flows to the south bank of the Munger town. It extends from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Kolkata in West Bengal. En route, the towns covered are Bhagalpur, Munger, Patna and Buxar. A tourist cruise service authorised under a Memorandum of understanding with Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has been launched recently to cover this navigational route to visit several tourist destinations, including Munger fort.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Munger Fort". Directorate of Archaeology, Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  2. ^ Jyoti, Shubra (1990). Munger, a land of tradition and dream. Gayatri Krishna Publication. pp. 9, 15 and 26. Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2009. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ^ a b "Munger (Monghyr)". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  4. ^ "A View of the Fort of Mongheer, upon the banks of the River Ganges". British Library On Line gallery. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "The Former Glory of Bihar, Munger and Ganga-Darshan". Munger in Focus. Yoga magazine. 1983. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Munger". Retrieved 14 October 2009. [dead link]
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "MUNGER – Historical Pointers". National Informatics Centre. Archived from the original on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ For example in chapter XIV of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days: "Monghir, a more than European town, for it is as English as Manchester or Birmingham, with its iron foundries, edgetool factories, and high chimneys puffing clouds of black smoke heavenward."
  9. ^ "'West view of Monghir'. The river front, with buildings of the old palace surmounting the semi-circular bastions. Aquatint, drawn and engraved by James Moffat, published Calcutta 1804". British Library On-Line gallery. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  10. ^ "A view within the fort of Monghyr". British Library On-Line gallery. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  11. ^ "A View of the Fort of Mongheer, upon the banks of the River Ganges". British Library On Line gallery. Retrieved 12 October 2009. [dead link]
  12. ^ "PANDAW RIVER CRUISES, India" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
  13. ^ Outlook magazine. Outlook. 14 January 2008. p. 121. Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2009. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  14. ^ a b "Bihar School of Yoga". Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  15. ^ "Munger". National Informatics Centre. Archived from the original on 23 April 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  16. ^ "Pandaw Cruises India to embark on maiden trip in Sept 2009". Archived from the original on 2 December 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2009.

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