Mandala, MP
The old name of Mandala (Madhya Pradesh) was Mahishmati Nagar before 1500AD.It is situated at the bank of holy river Narmada. On observing the ruins of the buildings of Mandala region, it appears this place must be one of the prosperous and religious cities of India. Number of old temples and palaces tells their past on their own.
The old name of Mandala (Madhya Pradesh) was Mahishmati Nagar before 1500AD.It is situated at the bank of holy river Narmada. On observing the ruins of the buildings of Mandala region, it appears this place must be one of the prosperous and religious cities of India. Number of old temples and palaces tells their past on their own.
Private buses are available for Mandala within an interval of every 10 minutes from Right Town Bus Stand, Jabalpur and the bus takes about 3 hours from here to Mandala. On the way, there is a famous temple of Sharda Devi ( Saraswati) in the village Barela, and Rani Durgawati Smarak near the Gour river. In the nearby forest the outdated arms and ammunitions are being destroyed by our Army time to time.There are several tributaries of Narmada fallen from Vargi dam are flowing in the villages of this region. The span of Vergi Dam is up to Mandala. The other main spots on the way are Tikariya and Narayanganj where bus halts for few minutes.
On reaching Mandala Bus station, I took Riksha and reached Sahabhuj Fort. Only one main circular Hall of around 10 meters diameter has been repaired. The office of Archeological Survey of India, in Mandala is in these ruins with a staff of a caretaker and his subordinate. Like in other government offices nowadays, the trend of employing D-group on contractual basis is very common in ASI also. As per my perception this contractual employment is not making them to be responsible for their duty as they do not feel security of job so they keep themselves busy in their supportive job with precautionary motives.
Satkhanda(seven story building) is just near to Sahabhuj palace. However, now, there are three floors only. The ground floor is not in good condition and its maintenance is unsatisfactory and its surroundings are dirtiest.
At as walking distance from here there is old Vyas temple and Sheetla Mata temple. The idols of God and Goddess in these temples are of Archeological importance. Viz.:
In Mandala there are number of Ghats.The most famous Ghats are Rapta and Sahastra Dhara. The Sahastra Dhara Ghat is being developed by Department of Archaeology, of MP Government. Here is an old temple which has been renovated well. On the other side of the bank of the river the view is more pictorial. Number of falls from the bank falling into the river Narmada makes the view beautiful. However, on completion of the development program in hand of the state govt., we hope the view would be more attractive.
On observing the river bed, it appears that a layer of slab of hills has been placed on the muddy base. Here I felt as I was walking on the surface of the moon. It was difficult to walk on it because of the pointed stones.
Ramnagar-Chaugan,is at a distance about 20 Kms. from Mandala city. The Rani Mahel and Dal Badal Mahel at a distance of four Kms. are worth to visit. However the road is in a bad condition.
The palace of the Diwan of the Gond King Hradaya Shah known as Rai Bhagat Ki Kothi at Mandala –Dindori road is in a huge campus.
These forts spell it selves the glory of their own times.
It is a matter of giving attention why tourists visit is so poor to these places. As per my experience the main hurdle is the lack of good means of approachable transport to these sights and bad conditions of roads.
V.N.Sondhi
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