GWALIOR

EXPLORING RAJPUTANA ARCHITCTURE

GWALIOR FORT
CONSTRUCTED BY SURAJ SEN IN 3 C.E ON GOPACHAL PARVAT
The entire area of Gwalior fort is divided into five groups namely
 Urvahi,
 North
 West,
 North East,
 South West
 South East areas.
 In the Urvahi area 24 idols of Tirthankar in
the padmasana posture, 40 in the kayotsarga posture and
around 840 idols carved on the walls and pillars are present.
The largest idol is a 58 feet 4 inches high idol
of Adinatha outside the Urvahi gate and a 35 feet high idol
of Suparshvanatha in the Padmasana in Paththar-ki
bavadi (stone tank) area.[18]
 1022 C.E 1196
kaKACHCHHAPAGHATAS kaCHANDELAS MAHMUD OF QUTB AL-DIN
GHAZNI AIBAKka

1398 1516
1232 TOMARS IBRAHIM LODI
IILTUTMISH a MAN SINGH a DELHI SULTANATE

1542
1516 1526
SHER SHAH SURI
IBRAHIM LODI BABUR
DELHI SULTANATE MUGHAL

1558 BRITISH EAST INDIA

AKBAR MAHADAJI SHINDE
COMPANY
MUGHAL (SCINDIA)
(1780)
 The palace’s exterior
is decorated with
blue and yellow tiles
on bronze walls.
Also, there are
lattice-screens,
mosaics with floral
and geometrical
patterns, cornices,
and pendants.
The grand palace
houses many rooms,
underground
passages, corridors,
and courtyards.

MAN SINGH PALACE BY Man Singh Tomar during his rule from 1486 to 1516
In the interior, there are vast
chambers - Man Mandir and
Vikram Mandir, which were
used as music halls, where
behind the fine lattice-work
screens, royal ladies used to
learn music from the great
masters of the day.
 The Man Singh Palace which forms the entrance to the Gwalior Fort is a
beautiful building with tiled and painted decoration of ducks, elephants
and peacocks.
 The palace was built by Raja Man Singh between 1486 and 1516 A.D.
 It is described as a remarkable and interesting example of Hindu
architecture of the medieval India.
 It has two storeys above and two below the ground level in the eastern
part of the palace.
 It is built on the edge of the cliff, with a series of towers and domed
cupolas originally covered with gilt copper.
 The pillars of the gateways of Man Mandir are massive and a line of
brackets support the corrugated eaves.
 GURJARI MAHAL
BUILT FOR MRIGANAYANI

The palace was

later converted
into an
Archaeological
Museum, which
remains open
from 9:00 am to
5:00 pm. The
museum has a
wide collection of
sculptures,
artefacts,
weapons, pottery,
and coins.
GOPACHAL HILL
15 TH CENTURY BUILT
 Gopachal hill inside
the fort premises
houses 1500 idols.
 The stunning
sculptures of Jain
Tirthankaras were
carved on the face
of the cliff during
the 15th century.
 The size of these
idols ranges from 6
inches to 57 feet.
 The largest idol is of
Bhawan Parsvanath
(42 feet H and 30
feet W).
TELI KA MANDIR BY GURJARA PRATHIHARA IN 8 TH CENTURY

 It is said that the temple

was built either in the
8th or the 11th century,
which was renovated in
the 19th century.

 The design of Teli Ka

Mandir is a fine
amalgamation of north
and south Indian
architectures
SHASHTRA BAHU TEMPLE
BY KING MAHIPAL OF KACHCHHAPAGHATA DYNASTY IN 8 TH CENTURY

Built by King Mahipal of Kachchhapaghata

dynasty, the Sas Bahu temple is also known
as Sahastrabahu temple. Vishnu in his
Padmanabha form is worshipped in this
temple. As per the folklore, the wife of
Mahipal was a worshipper of Lord Vishnu and
her daughter-in-law of Lord Shiva so a new
temple was built for her.
TOMB OF MOHAMMED GHAUS
BY BABUR OF MUGHAL DYNASTY IN 16 TH CENTURY

Ghaus Mohammed's Tomb - The tomb of Mohammed Ghaus, a 16" century Sufi Saint and teacher, is setin a garden in
the old town of Hazira. The story goes that he was an Afghan prince who had become a Sufi Saint and helped Babur
in the annexation of the Gwalior Fort.

His mausoleum, a specimen of delicate craftsmanship, is made up of sandstone and is covered on all sides by jaali
worked stone screens. Built during the reign of Akbar, the tomb combines the Lodhi style of architecture with
ornamentation peculiar to Gujarat, as noticed particularly in its perforated screens.
One of the fabulous palaces in Gwalior is Jal Vilas Palace.
It is a magnificent city palace built by Maharaja Jayaji Rao between 1872 and 1874 A.D.
After the first war of independence in 1857 A.D., the Scindias had the privilege of
holding sway over the town of Gwalior.
The Jai Vilas Palace reflects a mixed style of architecture i.e. Tuscan and Corinthian
along with indigenous features.
It’s chief architect Lt. Col. Sir Michael Filose, built the entire palace in a short span of
two years for the forthcoming visit of Prince of Wales.
The main entrances of Jai Vilas Palace are through covered porticos on the east and
west of the centre of the South facade. The Durbar Hall measures 15 m. by 85 m. with
the roof over 12 m. high. It has a pair of huge chandeliers with 248 candles apiece, each
is 42 ft. high and weighs about 3 tons, one of the largest in the world. The glass
furniture, with a lot of gold paint, and a huge dining table with a silver toy train used to
serve drinks to the guests, reflect a synthesis of Italian and Indian craftsmanship. At
present, the palace is the residence of the Scindias. A portion of the palace has been
converted into museum which indicates the royal lifestyle of the rulers and takes us back
down the memory lane.
BATESHWAR TEMPLE
Bateshwar, Morena Bateshwar, Morena is a complex of
 200 ancient Shiva & Vishnu temples.
 These temples were built between 9th and 11th century during the Gurjara-Pratihara
Dynasty, 200 years before Khajuraho.
 KK Muhammed successful in convincing the dacoits to let him restore these temples.
He was able to restore 60 temples during his tenure in the region.
 Garhi Padhavali
Mini khajurao

Guarded by Two Lions

8-10 th century
The hitch is
that the Jat
Ranas rulers of
Gohad in 19th
century had the
superlative
idea of building
the fortress
around the
temple. And
they used the
pieces of the
fallen temple in
raising the
walls.
COLUMN FROM
QUTB COMPLEX
WITH KIRTIMUKH
The sculptured
members in the walls.

So what Qutb-ud-din
did to the temples by
building the Quwwat-
ul-Islam mosque in the
Qutb Complex in Delhi,
the Gohad rulers did
the same here.
The same motifs as
seen in Qutb Complex
pillars are seen here.
It is probably because
all these temples were
built in the same
timeline and therefore
share the designs.
MITAWALI CHAUSAT YOGINI TEMPLE

There are no familiar architectural elements like

mandap, mukhya mandap or shikhar. The outer
walls have regular reliefs of carvings.
CHAUSATH YOGINI TEMPLE

101 COLUMNS
64 ROOMS
RED SAND STONE
9 TH CENTURY
These three temples
were part of an
extensive temple
building exercise
during the rule of
Kachchhapaghatas.
Kachchhapaghatas
who ruled from
Gwalior rose to
prominence in central
India during the last
decade of tenth
century and were
believed to be vassals
of Gurjar-Pratihars
and later Chandellas.
Along with these
temples, they built
temples at Kadwaha,
Surawaya, Mahua,
Terahi (all in Shivpuri
district of MP).
 MITAOLI

CHAUSAT YOGINI TEMPLE PARLIAMENT HOUSE

THANK
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