"Sawai Madhopur" To see tigers and to hear them roar, come to Ranthambhor National Park. Sawai Madhopur, just 12 kms away on the Delhi-Mumbai railway line, is the gateway to this tiger territory. But before tigers making a mark on this land, Ranthambhor was a part of Rajasthan’s history. It was a witness to raging battles, to death and turmoil and to the rise and fall of many monarchs.
It was in the 13th century that A.D., Govinda, the grandson of Prithviraj Chauhan took over as a ruler of this land. Later his son and the natural heir, Vagbhatta, beautified the city and built the Ganesha temple here.
Then in the middle of the 15th century, A.D. Rana Kumbha captured the fort and gifted it to his son. Still later, the fort was once again captured, this time by the Hada Rajputs of Bundi and the Mughal Emperors Akbar and Aurangzeb. It so happens that in 1754, Mughal Emperor Shah Alam gifted Ronthambhor to Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh I of Jaipur and since then, it was maintained as a hunting reserve. Two of the most famous dignitaries who have stayed here as a part of hunting parties were none other than Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. Today, the Ranthambhor fort is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. |
