The State of Jhalawar was officially created on 8th April, 1838, out of Kota territory. It was a result of a treaty between the English rulers, the United State of Kota and the State of Malwa. Zalim Singh became the ruler of the new Kingdom of Jhalawar. The City of Jhalawar was founded in 1791 AD by the then Dewan of Kota State, Jhala Zalim Singh.
The story of Jhalawar and its ruler Zalim Singh goes back much further. In 1766 AD, Guman Singh ascended the throne of Kota, but did not rule for long. He fell ill and on his death bed in 1771 AD, passed on the throne to his ten year old son Umed along with Zalim Singh, his brother-in-law, as Umed’s guardian. Zalim Singh was quick to seize control even while the titular `King’ ruled officially.
The main town of Jhalawar, also known as Patan or Jhalrapatan, was founded by Zalim Singh in 1796 by the side of an artificial lake. The walled Jhalrapatan is a Jhalawar suburb, and its name is derived from the town’s numerous temples and their bells. It is believed that Jhalrapatan originally had 108 temples built over a few centuries, but today the finest amongst them is the 11th century Surya Temple, similar to the Sun Temple in Konarak, Orissa.
The Gagron Fort, 12 km from Jhalawar was founded in the 7th century and fully completed in the 14th century. It is called a Jala Durg (protected by water) because the Fort is surrounded by waters of the Ahu and Kali Sindh rivers on three sides. On the fourth side there used to be a deep moat completing its defenses. The Fort is now in ruins.
Mughal Emperor Akbar, captured Gagron in 1561 AD and the Mughals held it until 1715 AD when it was gifted back to Bhim Singh, one of the descendents of the ruling Jhala Rajputs. This was possible only after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 AD.
1 Comments:
Great post on Jhalawar.
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