Mandore Town
Distance : 8km north of
Jodhpur
¤ Mondore Attractions
Mandore was the earlier capital of Marwar before Rao Jodha shifted
base to Jodhpur deeming it to be more secure. Mandore was the capital
of the Marwar area from the 6th to the 14th century and went under the
name of Mandavyapur at that time. It was Rao Chanda who married a
Parihar princess and settled here and the rulers were called the
Parihar Rajputs. While the Mandore fort today is in ruins and does not
even have a boundary wall, the Mandore Gardens over which the old
capital of Marwar was situated are still delightfully exquisite. Built
around the royal cenotaphs of the Rathore rulers, the gardens have
beautiful trees all around, and are further decorated with shrubs
pruned in all shapes and sizes along with fountains which dot the
landscape.
Royal Cenotaphs
of all the royal chhatris or cenotaphs which were constructed out of
dark-red sandstone, six stand out. The oldest ones belong to Raja
Maldeo and Udai Singh constructed in the 16th century to
the later ones of Sur Singh, Gaj Singh and Jaswant Singh I all built
in the 17th century. However it is Ajit Singh’s cenotaph which
was built circa 1724 which is the largest along with Jaswant Singh’s
which was built around two score years earlier in 1681. Ajit Singh’s
cenotaph in particular is a magnificent monument built as it is
close-grained freestone.
Ek Thamba Mahal
The Ek Thamba Mahal was built by Raja Ajit Singh during his reign
from 1707-24. This pleasure palace was quite possibly his retreat away
from Jodhpur when he wanted to get away from it all. The palace
amongst other things also houses a zenana (women’s quarters),
signifying that the royal women accompanied him during his trips here.
It also has a small but picturesque garden and the entrance to the
palace via the Ajit Pol.
Hall of Heroes
is a huge hall with magnificent pillars and houses enormous figures
of gods and the heroes of Jodhpur. It is also called the Shrine of 300
Million Gods.
Ravan ki Chanvari
A very interesting stone,which hascarved panels with an idol of
Ganpati or Lord Ganesh (the god with an elephant-head son of Shiva the
destroyer). Legend has it that Ravan, the demon-god who carried off
Sita, the consort of Lord Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana got married
to a local girl from Mandore called Mandodri. The stone panel is a
commemoration of the wedding. It also has an image of the sun god
Surya. A stepwell nearby has an inscription 742 A.D. which was when it
was built by Madh, the son of a Brahmin.
Panch Kund Mein Chhatri
These are some of the minor cenotaphs located a short distance
away from the Mandore gardens. The Panch Kund also contains the
cenotaphs of the ruling dynasty before the founding of the city of
Jodhpur in 1459, when Mandore was the capital of Marwar. Not as
impressive as the cenotaphs located at Mandore gardens, they are
unmarked, yet they are worth visiting for those with a keen interest
in the history of the place.
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