Dhar is an important district of Malwa - Madhya Pradesh.
And has vast historical significance in Indian Subcontinent.
Dhar is a city located in the Dhar district of the Malwa region in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of the Dhar district. Before Indian independence from Great Britain, it was the capital of the Dhar princely state.
Dhar district has special significance from the point of view of tourism. Dhar has a rich historical tradition and hosts many places of historical importance
Subsequently the Third Anglo-Maratha War of 1818, Dhar fell under British rule.
The Dhar State was chosen as a princely state of British India, in the Bhopawar Agency of the Central India Agency. It included several Rajputs and Bhils feudatories This state was confiscated by the British after the Revolt of 1857.
In 1860, it was re-established to Raja Anand Rao III Pawar, then a minor, except for the detached district of Bairusia which was granted to the Begum of Bhopal. Anand Rao, who received the personal title Maharaja and the KCSI in 1877, died in 1898; he was succeeded by Udaji Rao II Pawar.
Thikanas of Dhar
In 1921 a separate department whose purpose was to superintend Thakurs and Bhumias, called the "Department of Thakurans, Bhumians, and Thikanejat", was established. At the time there were 22 such estates in Dhar state.
The jagir lands of the nobles of Dhar (feudatory estates), all of whom paid tribute to the Darbar, were divided between Thakurs and Bhumias.
The Thakurs, with a few exceptions, were Rajput landholders whose estates were located in the north of the state. Locally, the Thakurs were called Talukdars and their holdings were called Kothari. By caste, there were 8 Rathore Rajputs, one Pawar, and one Kayasth.
The Bhumias, or "Allodial" Chiefs, were all Bhilalas, a clan claiming to be of mixed Bhil and Rajput (Chauhan) descent. Their grants were originally obtained from the Darbar on the understanding that they would keep the peace among the Bhils and other hill tribes. They paid yearly tribute to the Darbar, in turn receiving cash allowances (Bhet-Ghugri), an ancient feudal custom.
The Parmars, the ancestors of the last ruling family, was established in Dhar long before the Christian era. The celebrated Rajas Vikramaditya and Bhoj are said to have reigned in Dhar.
Vikramaditya transferred his capital from Ujjain to Dhar.
The present Dhar dynasty was founded in 1729 by Udaji Rao Puar, a distinguished Maratha general who received the territory as a grant from the Chatrapati.
During the Pindhari raids, the state's territory was whittled away, until it was restored in size on 10 January 1819, when it signed a Subsidiary alliance agreement with the British East India Company and became a major Princely state, enjoying indirect rule under the British protectorate.
Bhojshala, Dhar Fort, Rajwada, Dhareshwar Temple, Kalika Temple, Anandeshwar Temple, Laat Masjid, etc. are situated here.
Mandav of Dhar district is a world-famous historical tourist destination, that thousands of foreign tourists visit every year. Jahaj Mahal, Rani Rupmati Mahal, Hindola Mahal, Jami Masjid, Nilkantheshwar Mahadev Temple, Shriram Temple, Hathi Darwaja, etc. are the major tourist attractions of Mandav. Dinosaur eggs and archaeological remains have been collected in Ashmdha Fossil Park near Mandav. The Buddhist carpeted caves in the Bagh are a testimony to the rich historical heritage of the district. A fossil sanctuary has been established in the Bagh, in which fossils of ancient trees and dinosaurs have been collected. Apart from this, the temples and ghat built along the Narmada River in Koteshwar (Nisarpur), Jal Mahal of Sadalpur, the fort of Amzera and Amka Jhamka Temple, Mohankhera Jain Tirtha, Temple of Shantinathji located in Bhopawar, Ganga Mahadev, Oriya Temple of Badnawar, etc. are important tourist places.
Emperors of Dhar
Udaji Rao Puar
The present Dhar dynasty was founded in 1729 by Udaji Rao Puar, an eminent Maratha general who received the territory as a grant from the Chatrapati.
Sultan Mahmud Tughlaq of Delhi
The fort of the town, attributed to Sultan Mahmud Tughlaq of Delhi is a rectangular construction of red sandstone. It was constructed in 1344 A.D. when Mahmud was on his campaign of conquest in the Deccan. It contains some ruins of buildings of the 15th and 16th Centuries.
The northwestern portion of the district lies in the watershed of the Mahi River and its tributaries, while the northeastern part of the district lies in the watershed of the Chambal River, which drains into the Ganges via the Yamuna River.
Historical Marvels
Bagh Caves
These extraordinary and stimulating rock-cut shrines and monasteries are situated in the Narmada valley among the southern hills of the Vindhya hill in Kukshi.
These are 82 km by road from the nearest railway station Meghnagar.
These caves belong to the Buddhist belief and it is not certain how and when these caves began to be called Bagh Gupha.
In modern times these caves were first discovered in 1818. It seems that after the extinction of Buddhism in Central India in the 10th Century A.D. these caves continued effaced from human memory.
During the intervening centuries, the caves often became the abode of Tigers (Bagh) and this association of tigers with the caves gave them the present name.
The caves were excavated on a small hill in front of which runs a small river called Bagheshwari. Of the nine caves except four (no. II to V) all have suffered severely at the hand of time. Of the four better-preserved caves no. II locally called Gonsai Gupha or Pandavon ki Gupha is the most elaborate plan. This rock temple has a large monastic hall at the center.
An imposing six-pillared portico adorned its front. A large recessed cell enshrining a stupa stands at the backside in the center which gave monks much-needed privacy and an atmosphere for sacred meditation. The central hall having the support of massive pillars decorated with spiral fluting served the purpose of the prayer hall. Here the Buddhist monks assembled for prayers and religious discourses. The cave was a combination of a chaitya and a vihara.
The other caves were more or less identical in plan except for certain minor modifications as visible in cave no. III which is purely a vihara or monastery locally called ‘Hathi Khana’. It was also very decoratively carved and designed.
The fourth cave is the largest one of the series. The local people have given the name Rangmahal to it. In many respect, it is the most extraordinary cave. It has three entrances and two windows. The main door is most attractive and well-finished. The roof of the hall has the support of twenty-eight pillars which are square at the base and change to octagons and then polygons again change to octagons at the summit. Cave V was neither a chaitya nor a vihara. It was by its shape and arrangement a lecture hall locally called Pathashala. It has no aisles, cells, stupa, or image and is completely plain and devoid of any ornament.
Dhar Fort
The fort of the town, attributed to Sultan Mahmud Tughlaq of Delhi is a rectangular construction of red sandstone. It was constructed in 1344 A.D. when Mahmud was on his campaign of conquest in the Deccan. It contains some ruins of buildings of the 15-16th Century.
The only event of historical importance about the fort is that the Peshwa Bajirao II was born here in 1775. The fort was occupied by the Rohillas and others who revolted against British power in 1857, which was recaptured after a bombardment that lasted for six days. On the third gate of the fort, there is an inscription recording its construction during the reign of Aurangzeb and under the administration of Ashur Beg, the foster brother of Shah Jahan.
Kharbuja Mahal
A 'kharbuja' is a melon and the citadel got its name from its domes which looked like large melons. Apart from their artistic appeal and conforming to a typical Islamic architectural mode, they also kept their buildings cool, allowing hot air from the rooms to rise inside the dome and away from the living spaces. There it would be radiated away from the surface of the dome. This is a double-storeyed building with seven rooms on the lower floor, apparently used for the more formal encounters and four private rooms on the upper floor. Mughal royalty stayed here and it was probably built in the 16th century, the Mughal period.
On the Marathas following the Mughals, this place was plastered and decorated with murals. When the Maratha general, Raghoba Dadoo, escaped from Pune, in 1778, he hid here. He was an uncle of the Peshwa ruler Mahadev Rao I. His wife, Anandi Bai gave birth to a boy who, later on, became Peshwa Baji Rao II. Though constructed in Mughal style, the Kharbuja Mahal contains Rajput influences which are seen in the niches and windows. From the battlements of the Fort, there are superb views of the town spreading at the feet of its forbidding walls. One gets the distinct impression that the town clustered around the fort like chickens gathered around a mother hen!
Jheera Bagh
Jheera Bagh Palace of Dhar was custom-built by Anand Rao Puar the Third, the Maharaja of Dhar during the 19th century. It was originally a British guest house for the VIPs who visited the state. It has been an accommodation option for various dignitaries like Lord Curzon, Governor General during the British Raj, and Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. In 1943, Gregson, Batley & King have designed the new architecture on the lines of the art-Deco and Bauhaus School a new building after which the property got its new sophisticated look.
Tomb of Shaykh Changāl
On the overgrown ramparts of the medieval city, supervising the old moat, is the tomb of Shaykh Abdullah Shāh Changāl, a warrior saint. The tomb has been rebuilt, with its original inscription now incorporated into the compound gate. The inscription is written in Persian and has been dated to 1455. As a record of historical interest, it recounts Shaykh's arrival in Dhar and his conversion of Bhoja to Islām after locals committed an atrocity against the small Muslim community who had settled in the city.
The story does not so much refer to King Bhoja but to a rising interest in Bhoja's biography in the 15th century and the attempts made at that time to appropriate his legacy in Sanskrit and Persian literature.
Bhoj Shala
Except for the Mihrab and Minbar, which were purpose-built for the monument, the hypostyle hall immediately next to the tomb of Kamāl Maula is made of recycled temple columns and other architectural parts. It is similar to the Lāṭ Masjid but was built earlier, as an inscription from 1392 described records of repairs by Dilāwar Khān.
In 1903, a Sanskrit and Prakrit inscription from the time of Arjunavarman (circa 1210-15) was found in the walls of the building by K. K. Lele, Superintendent of Education in the Princely State of Dhar.
Old City Palace and Cenotaphs
Sculpture of goddess Ambikā found on the site of the Old City Palace, the British Museum.
The old city palace of the Puar (Pawar) clan, a branch of the Marathas, is now used as a school. It is a plain, medium-sized building built around 1875. A marble statue of the Jain goddess Ambikā, discovered on the site of the palace in 1875, is now in the British Museum.
At the same period as the palace a collection of domed cenotaphs of the Pawar rulers on the edge of the large tank known as Muñj Talab.
The name of the tank was probably derived from Vākpati Muñja (10th century), the first Paramāra king that entered Mālwa and made Ujjain his main administrative seat
Interesting facts
Dhar has 1625 Revenue villages having 1326 Patwari halkas having more than 700 Gram Panchayats.
Dhar is ruled by different dynasties, however, the dynasty of Parmar King Bhoj was the most popular and it ruled the region for a very long.
Dhar is located 559 m above sea level and is surrounded by lakes and hills
The people of Dhar have a great interest in arts, paintings, sculpture, music, and dance, due to its rich cultural past.
Bagh Caves of Dhar are well-known for their cave paintings, which are believed to be thousands of years old from the Gupta period.
Many ancient buildings in the city speak about the love story of Baaz Bahadur and Roopmati, who were very much in love. There are forts, buildings, and even dance forms and music, inspired by these two lovers.
So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked.
– Mark Twain