Rani Laxmi Bai of Jhansi

Born in November 1835, Rani Laxmi Bai is the bravest soldier of First War of Indian Independence. Even in her childhood she was known for her bravery. Even though not from royal family she was well versed in horse riding, sword fighting and archery.

At a very young age she was married to Raja Gangadhar Rao, the Maharaja of Jhansi. After the death of her husband, she adopted a son and appointed him as a successor of Jhansi. But on the pretext that adopted son is not entitled to throne the British annexed Jhansi from her. Rani was not ready to give up Jhansi to Britishers which rightfully belonged to her.

In March 1858, the Britishers attacked Jhansi. With her trusted warriors Rani Laxmi Bai fought for about two weeks against the British. However, after this great war, Jhansi fell to the British forces. When the situation was not in control, Rani of Jhansi with some of her warriors departed from Jhansi. But regrouped her warriors and she captured Gwalior, which was under the control of British then. Again a fierce battle took place. Rani Laxmi Bai fought with deathless patriotism and martyrdom. However on the second day of battle,on 18th June of 1858 she lost her life at the very young age of 22.

Tomb of Tansen, Gwalior

Tansen is the father of Hindustani classical music. He was an extraordinarily gifted vocalist, known for a large number of compositions. He was born in the small village near Gwalior. The great Mian Tansen, one of the 'Nine Jewels' of Emperor Akbar's court. At some point, he was disciple for some time to Swami Haridas and later Muhammad Ghaus was spiritual leader. (Click on all the images for bigger picture)

The tomb of Tansen is built in the early Mughal architectural style and is surrounded by lush gardens in typical Mughal style. It is built very next to the tomb of Muhammad Ghaus. When compared with other architectural wonders in this place it is very simple.

Every year a national level music festival is organized here in November/December.

Next day morning we proceeded from Gwalior to our next destination Shivpuri.

Distance: Gwalior ---> Shivpuri 114 kms

Tomb of Ghous Mohammed, Gwalior

In the 16th century Ghous Mohammed was a Afghan Prince who later turned into a sufi saint. He had helped Babur to win the Gwalior fort. (Click on all the images for bigger picture)

In Gwalior there is mausoleum built for him in the typical Mughal architecture.

Here the interesting aspect are hexagonal pillars and screens using pierced stone technique. The marvelous stone works coupled with an excellent architecture, the tomb looks gorgeous.

Gujari Mahal, Gwalior

Gujari Mahal is a palace inside the Gwalior Fort. This palace is at a lower region near the base of the fort. It was built by Tomar ruler Man Singh in 1486-1516 for his queen Mrignayani. Rectangular in shape, it measures 71m x 60m. There is a courtyard surrounded by 28 rectangular rooms. On all four corners there are cenotaphs. Entire palace is decorated with color tiles. (Click on the image for bigger picture)

In 1920, the palace is converted int0 a museum. The galleries of the museum display the archeological heritage of the period from B.C. to 17th A.D. The exhibits include stone idols, bronze idols, inscriptions, miniature paintings, terracotta figures, coins and arms and armories.

Timing of this museum is from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm daily except Monday.

Sun Temple, Gwalior

Actually we started the sight seeing at Gwalior by first visiting this temple and then moved on to see the heritage sites in and around the city. (Click on all the images for bigger picture)

It is located 5 kms from city center. This is a very new temple and was constructed in 1988. It is inspired by architecture of the famous Konark Temple in Orissa.

The exterior of temple uses red stone while the interior uses white marble. There is a beautiful sculpture of Lord Surya in the temple. The carvings on the exterior of the temple depict various Hindu Gods and they have been carved beautifully.

Even though this temple is pretty new it attracts lot of visitors. The temple premises has a beautiful garden and is a nice place to relax.

To see other ruby participants at: Ruby Tuesday

Teli Ka Mandir, Gwalior

This is the most impressive of all the temples in the Gwalior fort. This temple dates back to the 9th century, and is constructed by the Pratihar Kings. (Click on all the images for bigger picture)

front portion

This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Inside the fort this is one of the tallest structure and its height is 100ft. This temple architecture is a combination of the Dravidian (from South India) and the Indo-Aryan (North Indian). The roof is typically Dravidian but the sculptures and embellishing inside are Indo Aryan in nature.

one of the sides

Man Mandir Palace, Gwalior

This magnificent palace inside the Gwalior Fort was built by Raja Man Singh of the Tomar dynasty between 1486 and 1516. The palace can be reached by north eastern fort entrance. Because of the richly tiled and painted decorations with elephants and peacocks, and the exceptional fresco with the ducks paddling in turquoise waters, it is also known as Chit Mandir or Painted Palace. (Click on all the images for bigger picture)

This palace has four levels, two of them are underground. Six rounded towers crowned with cupolas relieve this 80 feet high structure. The beauty is further enhanced by blue ceramic mosaic and petite trellis work.

It consists of two open courts surrounded by apartments with carved stones, pillars. There are various rooms serving different purpose such as affairs of state, relaxation, decorated ornately with beautiful paintings, different figures of human beings, carved animals and flowers. The walls of these halls were decorated with triangular friezes.

Even the ceilings in each room had different designs carved out as below:

This is one of the few architecture marvel in the fort that has withstood the test of time.

Sahastrabahu Temple, Gwalior

The two graceful temples dating between 9th and 11th century stands close to the eastern wall of the Gwalior Fort. (Click on all the images for bigger picture)

Similar in style but different in sizes adjoining each other are dedicated to Lord Vishnu or Sahastrabahu.

The bigger temple was built by Mahipala, a Kachhwaha Rajput Prince of Gwalior in 1093 A.D. Unique feature of this temple is that even though it is several stories high, it is balanced solely with the help of beams and pillars without arches.


In the above shot, the beams inside the temple can be seen through the main entrance sculptured doorway. The doorways, ceilings and four huge pillars are sculpted with graceful figures and intricate patterns. The temple has an ornately carved base and the ceiling is an impressively carved dome.

The smaller temple is more elegant in appearance than the bigger temple and consists of an open-sided porch with a pyramidal roof. This temple is built on a platform, where as the bigger temple is not. This temple has a single level unlike the bigger temple.

Gwalior Fort

Back from Mitavali in Gwalior we went straight to Gwalior Fort after covering Jai Vilas Palace. (Click on all the images for bigger picture)

The magnificent Gwalior Fort is built by rulers of Tomar Dynasty in the 15th century on a sandstone cliff, which is 2.8km long from the North to the South and 200-850m wide from east to west and 91 m above the surrounding plains. A majority portions of the fort was built during the reign of Raja Man Singh. The fort walls which are 35ft high and two miles in length, has been influenced by both Hindu and Muslim architecture.

This awe-inspiring fort with two main entrances, encloses three complexes, six palaces, temples and a number of water tanks. Inside the fort there are some wonders of medieval architecture. On the eastern side the fort can be approached from Eastern Gate known as Gwalior Gate which leads pedestrian path while on the western side is Urbai Gate which is the motor able way.

The northern end has Jhangir Palace (5), Shah Jahan Palace, Karna Mahal, Vikram Mahal and Jal Johar Kund. These structures without the proper maintenance are sadly getting ruined. Gurdwara Data Bandi Chhod (6) is the new addition to the fort and has been constructed very recently. Near the Eastern Gate is Man Mandir Palace and it has been maintained quite well. Other structures that are maintained well are the temples. In the next sections we will cover the following in some detail:

1. Man Mandir Palace
2. Sahastrabahu Temple
3. Teli-Ka Mandir
4. Gujari Mahal

Scindia Museum, Gwalior

In Gwalior we first visited Jai Vilas Palace also known as Scindia Museum. Built in 1809, as many as 35 rooms of this palace is converted into museum. (Click on all the images for bigger picture)

In the museum on display are several belongings of the Royal family. The palace has various rooms each one decorated in its own way with different colors and exquisite furniture.


There is a weapon room displaying some of the weapons used by the Kings and his army. In this room the weapons ranging from swords to guns are on display.



There are two dining rooms in the palace. One is in a traditional style where people sit on the floor and have the food. Other is the western style where food is served on the table. Here there is a silver train with cut glass wagons which served the guests drinks as it chugged long the table on miniature rails.

Dining room

Most fascinating place in the palace is the Durbar Hall. Here ceilings have glittering paintings, heavy draperies and tapestries, fine Persian carpets. In this room there are antique furnitures from France and Italy. There are two central chandeliers, weighing a couple of tonnes. They were hung only after ten elephants had tested the strength of the roof.

Durbar Hall

That covers the tour of the palace/museum.

Next we shall discover the places nearby Gwalior to start with Padavali.

Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalior

From Bhopal after touring Bhojpur and Bhimbetka we reached Gwalior overnight. In Gwalior we first visited nearby destinations like Padavali and Mitavali. Some time in the afternoon we visited this magnificent palace before visiting the fort. This palace is located in the city outside the premises of the fort. (Click on all the images for bigger picture)

Jai Vilas Palace, is an Italianate structure combining the Tuscan and Corinthian architectural modes. This palace was designed by Lt. Col. Sir Michael Filose and was built in 1809. The part of the palace is occupied by the Royal Scindia family.

About 35 of the rooms have been converted into the Scindia Museum. A splendor of a different kind exists in this palace. These rooms, are so expressive the royal lifestyle, the past comes alive. The museum provides a glimpse of the rich culture and lifestyle of the royal India.

The palace has various rooms each one decorated in its own way with different colors and exquisite furniture. One such room is shown below. The furniture in this are made of crystal.

Room with crystal furniture

In the museum on display are several belongings of the Royal family. Some of the antiques are glass cradle from Italy used for the baby Krishna on each Janmashtami celebrations, and swords that were once worn by Emperors Aurangzeb and Shah Jahan.

golden footwear

These are, besides, personal mementos of past members of the Scindia family: the jeweled slippers that belonged to Chinkoo Rani, four-poster beds, gifts from practically every country in the world, hunting trophies and portraits.

In the next section we will discover other rooms of this beautiful palace.