An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kangra Continued Part -II

 An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kangra Part - II

Brief History Continued - Period Between 1528 to 1563 AD :- 

View of Nagarkot fort [ Kangra Fort ]

Raja Ram Chand ruled the state between 1510 to 1528 AD and his elder son Raja Dharam Chand became Raja of Kangra in 1528 AD after Raja Ram Chand .

He ruled the state from 1528 to 1563 A D. 

He was awarded the title of Maharaja by Empror Akbar .

In 1562 AD a poet  named Manik Chand in  The court of Raja Dharam Chand ,wrote a  play named " Dharam Chand " in this Naatak  the narration about Raja Rup Chand and Sultan of Delhi Feroze Shah has been narrated .

Shershah Suri  an Afgan Pathan born in India remained as soldier in the army of Empror Babar later promoted as Army Chief and Governor of Bihar was dreaming to be Empror of Delhi . After the death of Babar his son Humayun became the Empror of Delhi .  In 1537 AD, in the battle of Chausa and later in 1539 A D in the battle of Bilgram and Kanauj Shershah Suri defeated   Humayun very badly  and in 1540 AD established Suri Empire in Northern India  . In 1540 AD Shershah Suri invaded in the hills of Kangra to win Kangra Fort under the leadership of Khawas Khan his army chief and succeeded . Treaty was executed between Raja Dharam Chand and Shershah Suri to maintain peace and accepted to pay tribute to Delhi Saltnat .  Empror Shershah Suri ruled India only five years up to 1545AD and in 1545 he died .

View of Dharamshala district Kangra .

In the battle of Kannauj and Bilgram Humayun left the ground and succeeded in leaving India went to Afghanistan with his family . In the year 1555 Humayun again succeeded in establishing his rule in Delhi . He declared Jalal Uddin Akbar the Empror . After the death of Humayun Bairam Khan crowned the Jalal Uddin Akbar on throne in the age of 14 years in 1556  . 

Bairam Khan or Mohamed Bairam Khan was a well-known worrier and was awarded with a title of Khan- a -Khana . He was  teacher and guardian of Jalal . Empror Jalal Uddin Akbar being minor, was ruling with the help of Bairam Khan 

In the year 1557 Sikander Shah had invaded in Punjab , so Empror Jalal Uddin Akbar sent his army to Punjab to stop and arrest him  but as and when Akbar  aheaded Sikander Shah entered Nurpur [ old name Dhameri ] where Sikander Shah's friend Bhakat Mal was ruler of Dhameri . Both were arrested by Akbar  then  after surrendering Mankot Fort Sikander Shah was sent to Bengal and Bhakat Mal was sent to Lahore , where he was killed by Army Chief Bairam Khan .

View of Nurpur Fort 

In 1556 AD Shahenshah Jalal Uddin Akbar had attempted to win the Nagarkot fort but couldn't succeeded . Later he attempted 52 times to win this Nagarkot fort but he couldn't succeeded in his life time .

Raja Dharam Chand died in 1563 AD

Period Between 1563AD to 1570 AD :-

After the death of Raja Dharam Chand his son Manikya Chand became Raja of Kangra. Raja Manikya Chand ruled Kangra State till 1570 AD . He died in 1570 .

Period Between 1570 AD to 1585 AD :- 

After the death of Raja Manikya Chand  , Jai Chand -v became Raja of Kangra and he ruled the state for fifteen years till 1585 AD . He died in 1585 .

In 1572 AD Akbar deputed his Revenue Minister , Toddar Mal to establish royal property in hilly states . In which 66 villages of Nagarkot and in Chamba , Rihlu ,  Pathiyar  and some areas were included .

During this period Raja Jai Chand came under some doubt then Raja Guler Raja Ram Chand was sent to Nagarkot to arrest Raja Jai Chand. 

Then Bidhi Chand son of Raja Jai Chand  considering his father died , he took the thorne and with the help of Gopi Chand Raja of Jaswan rebelled against Akbar . To suppress this revolt ,  Punjab Viceroy Khan Jahan Hussein Kulin Khan along with very  able Wazir Birbal were sent and they successfully suppressed this revolt .  The area was allocated as Jagir to Birbal . 

In the meantime Punjab Viceroy Khan Jahan Husssin Kulin Khan along with other noble army personals  were sent to win the Nagarkot fort  via way of Pathankot and Dhameri . Then first  they invaded Kotla fort which was  forcefully possessed by Raja Kangra  from Raja Guler and succeeded in snatching from Raja Kangra . The Kotla fort was returned to Raja Ram Chand , Raja of Guler state. Now it became easy to invade towards Nagarkot fort but in the mean time a news reached that  Ibrahim Hossain Mirza  and Masood Mirza relatives of Akbar had invaded Punjab .  So on this event they returned to Punjab to fight against them and left the Nagarkot Fort mission .In 1585 Raja  Jai Chand died and his son Bidhi Chand seated on the Seat .

Period Between 1585AD to 1607 AD :- 

After the death of Raja Jai Chand , Raja Bidhi Chand seated on the thorne of Kangra State in 1585 AD . He ruled the state till his death in 1607 A D.

When Raja Bidhi Chand seated on thorne the states between Jammu and  Nagarkot formed an organisation  . In 1588 -89 this states organization revolted and Shehnshah Akbar sent  Zen Khan Kokka to suppress this revolt and did it successfully .  Raja Bidhi Chand surrendered before Shehnshah Akbar  , his son Trilok Chand was imprisoned in Akbar 's court .

View of Kangra hills 

In the year 1794 -95 one another revolt took place  against Mughal Empire under the leadership of Raja Jasrota but Raja Bidhi Chand of Nagarkot and Raja Basu of Dhameri did not participated . This revolt was successfully suppressed by Mirza Rustam Kandhari and Shekh Farid .   Akbar the great who was born on 15 October 1542 AD in Umarkot  in Sindh died in Fatehpur Sikri on 27 October 1605 A D and his son Jahangir became Empror . After the death of Raja Bidhi Chand his son Trilok Chand became Raja of Nagarkot in 1607 A D 

Period Between 1607AD to 1612 AD :-  

Raja Trilok Chand became Raja of Kangra in 1607 after the death of Raja Bidhi Chand .He ruled the state till 1612 A D 

Period Between 1612AD to 1627 AD  :-  

After Raja Trilok Chand , Raja Hari Chand - II became Raja of Nagarkot in 1612 and ruled the state till 1627 AD . At that time Empror Jahangir was in power .

View of Dhauladhar Kangra 

During his reign in 1615 AD Empror Jahangir made a plan to win Nagarkot fort  and to achieve his Target he sent  Raja Dhameri , Suraj Mal and Shekh Farid or Murtza Khan  . But  due to some differences a dispute arose between them . After the death of Farid , Murtza Khan Raja Suraj Mal was called back and in 1616AD he was sent to Deccan  to help prince Shahjahan . Thus the plan was kept. Pending .

In one another attempt Raja Man Singh of Jaipur Rajasthan was sent to achieve Nagarkot fort but  he was killed by a hill Jamidar  Sangram .

In year 1617 AD Empror Jahangir again tried to possess Nagarkot fort , he sent Raja Suraj Mal king of Dhameri and Shah Kulin Khan Takki  for this purpose .

Again the same story was repeated  , dispute arose between them due to which Shah Kulin Khan Takki was called back by Jahangir .

View of Fort Gate .

Now Raja Suraj Mal started revolt against Mughals. To suppress this revolt Jahangir deputed a competent King Reyan Sunder Dass . This time Raja Suraj Mal ran away to Mankot fort , then to  Dhameri Fort and  from there he fled away to Taragarh fort Chamba where he died in 1619 A D .

In 1620 AD after a very long struggle of 14 months with the help of younger brother of Raja Suraj Mal whose name was Raja Jagat Singh and another Raja Bikramjeet  [ Rayan Sunder Dass] Jahangir succeeded to win the Nagarkot fort . Navab Ali Khan was made 1st. Mughal Kiledar, 

Kiladar was a title for governor of the fort at that time .

Empror Jahangir received the news of victory on the fort on 20 th November 1620 AD.

In 1622 A D  Empror Jahangir came to Nagarkot via Siba Guler  . He built a Mosque in the fort and a Gate and kept the name of gate as Jahangiri Gate and carved the date of Victory on that gate .

Kangra Fort Architecture 

Empror Jahangir returned via Dhameri , Pathankot , he stayed at Dhameri and changed the name of Dhameri after the name of Nurjahan Begum as Nurpur .

Navab Abdulla Khan and Koch Kulin Khan were two  main governors of the Nagarkot . Koch Kulin Khan had served as a governor of Fort for seventeen years .

Twenty two young  hill Princes  who were arrested in Mughal court at the time of Akbar, had been awarded the title of Miyan by Empror Jahangir .

Mughal Empror Jahangir was very found of painting art . His  period is called  golden age of painting art .

Empror Jahangir was using wine and opium in his last days which was causing illness to him .

On 28 October 1627 when Empror Jahangir was returning from Kashmir  , he died near Bhimwar  and buried on the bank of river Ravi at Shahdara near Lahore ,

 Tomb of Empror Jahangir . Raja Hari Chand -II also died in 1627 A D

The many hill areas were given jagir to Itimaad -Ul -Daula who was father of Begum Noorjahan .

Period Between 1627 AD Onwards will be covered in the next Post .

Beautiful View of tea gardens Kangra Himachal Pradesh 

An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kangra Part I

 An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kangra Part -I

View of Nagarkot Fort 

District Kangra is a very beautiful district of Himachal Pradesh which shares it's boundaries with district Kullu and Mandi in the East , district Hamirpur and Una in South , district Chamba and district Lahaul & Spiti in the North and  Gurdaspur district of Punjab in the West. 

View of Shivalik and Dhauladhar mountain ranges of Kangra district.

In the Southern  escarpment of Himalayas the Shivalik range , Dhauladhar mountain range and Himalayas from South West to North East  which covers the entire Kangra district and has altitude varying between 500 metres to 5000 metres above mean sea level .

The district Kangra was the largest district of composite Punjab  before 1st November 1966 having six Tehsils Namely :-  1. Kangra  2. Nurpur 3. Palampur 4. Dehr Gopipur 5. Hamirpur and 6. Una .

On 1st November 1966 the hilly areas of Punjab were merged in Himachal Pradesh thus Vishal Himachal Pradesh was made  and Kangra was merged in Himachal Pradesh .

On 1st September 1972 the present Kangra district came into existence when re - organization of districts was executed by the Government of Himachal Pradesh along with  district Hamirpur and Una .

At one time Lahul and Spiti were  separate Waziries of Kullu sub divisions and was a part of Kangra district of Punjab . Kullu was a tehsil of Kangra till 1962 and Lahaul and Spiti which was created a district in 1960 was also a part of Kangra district .

Population wise , district Kangra is a largest district  in Himachal Pradesh having 15 Assembly constituencies and it's headquarter is at Dharmshala 25 Km from Kangra town . The geographical area of Kangra is 5739 square Kilometres having 3906 villages . The name of the district is on  the name of its Kangra town .

In the ancient times the name of Kangra was Nagarkot and was the part of Trigarta Empire, the geographical territory  of Trigarta was between Satluj  ,Beas and Ravi rivers .  Trigarta was a Northern Indian region of Indian subcontinent  with its capital at Prasthatla  [ Present Jalandhar ] , Multan and  Kangra.  The  founder of Trigarta was Vrishni Dynasty  and was ruled by this dynasty .

View of Kangra Fort 

Tehsils in district Kangra  :- 

To have a better administration and development in the district as population wise district is large at present the Tehsils in district Kangra are :-

1. Kangra 2. Dehra Gopipur , 3. Nurpur 4.Jawali, 5. Indora, 6.Shahpur ,7. Baroh, 8.Khundian , 9. Dadasiba ,10. Jaswan , 11.Rakkar ,12. Fatehpur ,13. Baijnath ,14. Jaisinghpur , 15. Thural , 16. Dharmshala , 17. Multhan ,18. Palampur ,19. Jawalamukhi and 20 . Nagrota Bagwan .

Sub Tehsils :-

Following are sub Tehsils in the district:-

1.Dheera ,2. Nagrota Surian , 3. Kotla  ,4. Gangath ,5. Haripur ,6. Panchrukhi ,7. Chadhiar ,8. Harchakian , 9. Almpur ,10. Darini ,11. Manjheen ,12 . Bhawarna , 13. Lagru , 14. Pragpur and 15 .Sullah .

View of Nagarkot [Kangra ]

Development Blocks :- 

To ensure proper development following development Blocks are functioning in the district .

1. Kangra ,2. Nagrota Bagwan ,3. Rait , 4. Baijnath,5. Dehra, 6. Bhawarna , 7. Fatehpur, 8. Indora ,9. Lamba Gaon , 10. Nurpur ,11. Panchrukhi ,12. Sullah , 13. Pragpur ,14. Nagrota Surian, 15. Dharmshala ,17. Baroh , 18. Palampur , 19 Khundian and 20. Dadasiba .

Kangra Fort 

Brief History :-

As per Mahabharata the Trigarta had been established  before the battle of Mahabharata and it was founded by King Bhumi Chand. The 234 th king Shusharma had taken part in the battle of Mahabharata from The side of Kauravas . King Shusharma was the king of Trigarta .

As mentioned in Rajtrangini  Raja of Kashmir in 470 Shrestha sen and  Raja Pravar sen in 520 AD  had attack on Trigarta and got succeeded . 

Heunsang a Chinese traveler scholar  visited India during the  regime of King Harshvardhan from 629 to 644  B. C. He wrote in his book about the  administrators of India . Heunsang had been the guest of king Utitas in Kangra hills in Trigarta (Kangra ) and  on his return journey he had been stayed at Jalandhar during 643 A. D . At that time the king of Trigarta and Kashmir were paying tribute to King Harshvardhan .  It means King Harshvardhan had established his suzerainty on these kingdoms.

Beautiful View of Kangra 

Kangra Fort was built by Rajas of Katoch dynasty and they had  proved themselves the descendants of King Shusharma who had favoured Kauravas in Mahabharata battle . Traditionally the Kangra fort is said to be founded by King Shusharma .

In 883 to 903 AD Raja Prithvi Chand I had fought against Shankar Verman the king of Kashmir .

Mehmud Gazanwi made three expedition to India but during fourth expedition 1009 he  succeeded  and captured the Kangra Fort and he looted the fort , Brajeshwari temple  the fort remained under him till 1043 A. D.

During this period Raja Jagdish Chand the 202th descendant of king Shusharma was the king of Nagarkot.   Mahipal Tomer king of Dehli defeated Mehmud Gazanwi and fort was liberated in 1043 A.D 

In 1051 - 52 A.D. the Nagarkot fort was again lost , A son of Mehmud Abdul Rashid appointed Hastagin Hajib as governor of Punjab .

In 1060 A .D . Raja Kangra again recaptured the Nagarkot fort . Thus Nagarkot fort had suffered many attacks .

In 1170 Trigarta  was being ruled by Raja Padam Chand when his younger brother got annoyed with him and established Jaswan as a new state with Rajpur as capital of Jaswan state .

In 1330A.D. Raja Prithvi Chand  was ruling the Nagarkot and during his reign, Mohammad Bin Tuglak  made an expedition to Nagarkot and captured in Kangra Fort in 1337 A.D .

Period of 1360 A.D.  -- 1375 A.D.  :- 

Raja Rup Chand was the king of Kangra in power  and he was taking part in revengeful expeditions against central authority and plundered the plains up to Dehli . When he was returning  suffered an encounter with  Sultan of Kashmir and lost all wealth to Shahab -Ud - din

Raja Rup Chand was against the central authority so Feroze Shah Tughlaq invaded the Kangra fort to teach a lesson to Raja Rup and besieged the fort with his army in 1365 A.D. as per " Tarikh - i -Feroze  -Farishta " and " Tarikh -i - Feroze - Shahi ."

 Raja Rup Chand and Feroze Shah came to an agreement and accepted the suzerainty of Feroze Shah Tuglaq later .

Later  Firoz Shah came to Jawalamukhi and took 1300 books  written in Sanskrit with him and got translated in Persian language through Ajjudin Khalid Khani . These books were treasure of Philosophy , Astrology and Divination . This translated book was named as " Dalai- i- Firozshahi ."

View of Railway Bridge 

Period Between 1375 to 1390 A.D. :-

During this period Raja Sangar Chand ruled the Nagarkot. After Raja Rup Chand his son Sangar Chand became Raja of Nagarkot and he ruled the state till 1390 A . D . During this period in 1389 AD ,Son of Mohammad Tuglaq Nasiruddin remained refugee in Kangra hills  and was called to Delhi in 1390 .

 Period Between 1390 to 1405 :- 

In 1390, after Raja Sangar Chand , Raja Magh Chand became Raja of Nagarkot and ruled the state till 1405 . During this period Taimurlung  looted  the Shivalik hills in 1398 A. D. and when he was returning in 1399 he also looted Dhameri  , the name of Dhameri was later kept Nurpur on the name of Begum Noorjahan. Raja Hindoor helped him  . Now the name of Hindoor is now Nalagarh which is in district Solan . At that time Raja Alam Chand was the king of Hindoor .In the 14 th. century Taimurlung was powerful ruler  whose Empire was spread over western Asia  , middle Asia up to India . He was born on 8th . April 1336 in Samarkand and died on 18 th. February 1405 . Though he was lame but this  never came in his way in his life .

Period Between 1405 to 1528 AD. : -

In 1405 AD , after  Raja Megh Chand , Hari Chand -I became Raja of Kangra . During this year when  he was on hunting in forests of Hadsar [Guler ]  he fell down in well and got missed  from his hunting troup, search was made but  they can't find the King  . So considering him dead ,his younger brother Karan Chand  II was made the King of Kangra .

After 21 days a marchant pedestrian passed by  that route and found king Hari Chand -I. When Raja Hari Chand -I came to know that his younger brother Karan Chand - II had been declared King , he didn't returned to Kangra and founded Guler as his new state in 1415 with Haripur its capital . The Guler state annexed by British in 1813 AD 

Raja Karan Chand ruled Kangra till 1430 and he was granted the title ," Bada Raja."  

Then Sansar Chand - I , the son of Karan Chand became Raja of Kangra in 1430 AD. 

Raja Sansar Chand - I  ruled the state till 1450 .

 Raja Sansar Chand I had two sons  , Devangga Chand and Narendra Chand .

In 1450 AD.  Devangga Chand became Raja of Kangra and ruled the state till 1465 AD .

In 1465 A D,  Narendra Chand became Raja of Kangra and ruled the state till 1480 A.D.

From 1480 to 1490  the son of Raja Narendra Chand   , Suvira Chand became Raja of Kangra and ruled the state till 1490 AD.

Period 1490 to 1510 AD.

During this period after Raja Suvira Chand his son  Raja Prayag Chand became Raja of Kangra and ruled the state from 1490 to 1510 AD.

Period 1510 to 1528 AD.

The son of Raja Prayag Chand , Raja Ram Chand became Raja of Kangra in 1510 and ruled the state till 1528 

Beautiful View Of Kangra 

The history of Nagarkot , the present Kangra  from 1528AD onwards will be covered in the next Post .

 

Veer Bal Diwas

 Veer Bal Diwas 

Veer Bal Diwas a tribute to the greatest sacrifice of Baba Joravar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh , Sons of 10 th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh Ji on 26 th December 1705 .

A day ," Veer Bal Diwas" is celebrated on 26 th of December to remember and Salute to the Baba Joravar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh ji both  sons of Guru Gobind Singh , the tenth Guru of Sikhs, who were laid alive in the wall at Fatehgarh Sahib when they refused to accept Islam religion as  ordered by  Empror Aurangzeb on 26th December 1705 .

On January 9 th 2022 Guru Gobind Singh Jayantee  the  Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi had announced that 26 th December will be celebrated as Veer Bal Diwas to remember and Salute to the great sacrifice of Sons of 10 th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji .

The younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh Ji Baba Joravar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh ji were laid alive in the wall at Fatehgarh Sahib on 26 December 1705 when they refused to change their Hindu religion  as ordered by Empror Aurangzeb .  This unhuman order was complied by Navab Wazir Khan .

So the first Veer Bal Diwas has been celebrated on 26 December 2022 in Major Dhyan Chand stadium New Delhi and Hon'ble Prime Minister Mr . Narendra Modi has also attended the Veer Bal Diwas ceremony .  

Christmas , " A Festival of Love , Forgiveness and Kindness ."

 Christmas a Festival of Love, Forgiveness and Kindness  :-

Christmas a Festival celebrated to express the happiness and input the basic Mantras of life in our daily life on the holy birth of Jesus Christ . 

The Christmas day is celebrated on 25 th  of December every year . It is celebrated among billions of people around the world .

The Christmas spreading the tht massage of Love , service of mankind , forgiveness and kindness in this world which are the basic Mantras of life .

An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Hamirpur , Part - III Continued - Tourist Places. Nadaun.

 An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Hamirpur Part III continued -Tourist Places  :- 

Nadaun  :- 

Panoramic view of Beas river near Nadaun .

Nadaun is one another beautiful town in district Hamirpur which is situated on the left bank of river Beas at a distance of about 28 Kms from Hamirpur at an elevation of 508 metres above mean sea level on Hamirpur Nadaun Jawala ji Kangra National Highway i.e. NH No 3 and NH No 303.

View of Gurdwara on the bank of river Beas at Nadaun.

The beautiful landscapes with lush green forests and panoramic views of Shivalik hills are the charm to the eyes  of visitors.

The the town is 12 Kms from famous Shakti Peeth Jawala ji temple towards Hamirpur side . The town is also connected with  Jalandhar which is about 113 Kms from Nadaun town .

Nadaun is a sub-divisional and tehsil headquarter and comes under Nagar Panchayat Nadaun . Here we can visit many places like historical Gurdwara , Amtar fort ,Bilkaleshwar Mahadev Temple  , Palace  ,Dhayanu Bhagat Samadhi ,Amtar cricket stadium and panoramic views of nature along river Beas .

Amtar cricket stadium :- 

It is a very beautiful site situated at a distance of about 2  Kms from Nadaun town . A link road connects the stadium with the main road .  

Part View of Aatal Bihari Vajpayee  Cricket Stadium Nadaun .

The stadium is constructed by Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association and is named after the name of our former Hon'ble Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee . It also called Amtar cricket ground .  The first match played in this ground was Ranji Trophy match between Himachal and Services in 2004 - 05 . 

Historical Gurdwara  : -

Nadaun which at present is a tehsil and sub division of the district Hamirpur in olden days was a part of princely state Kangra.

View of Gurdwara Daswin Patshahi Nadaun , district Hamirpur Himachal Pradesh.

This historical Gurdwara is located on the bank of river Beas in the West of the town and is dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh Daswin Patshahi . Guru Gobind Singh had fought the Nadaun battle against Mughal  General Alif Khan in support of Raja Bheem Chand of Kehlur and some other hill chiefs. The Alif Khan had been sent by Governor of Jammu Mairi Khan for the collection of arrears of tribute to help Aurangzeb in the battle against Marathas .

This battle was fought on 20 th March 1691 and Mughal General was routed out and was forced retreating in the river bed leaving back his weapons , ammunition and horses  and other valuable contents . Guru Gobind Singh  asked his Sikhs to bring the weapons , ammunition , horses and other minerals  and used it for training of Sikh Army .

View of Gurudwara Nadaun 

Guru Gobind Singh Ji spent 8 days at Nadaun after the battle . So this Gurudwara  Daswin Patshahi was established in his memory by Rai Bahadur Washakha  in 1929. From 1935 SGPC had taken over this Gurudwara and Local committee is managing this historic Gurudwara .

View of Nadaun Bridges over River Beas .

The  site is very beautiful and thousands of people visit  this historic Gurudwara .

Nadaun Fort [ Amtar Fort  ] :- 

View of Amtar Nadaun Fort 

At one time Nadaun was under the rule of Maharaja Sansar Chand  who was a famous  king of Kangra princely state  of Katoch dynasty and ruled the state from  1775 to 1823.

View of the Historic Building 

Maharaja Sansar Chand is known  for his contribution  to provide protection to Kangra style painting art .

Paintings on the walls of Fort 

Nadaun Fort which is also named Amtar Nadaun Fort is located on a hill top about 2 Kms from Nadaun town was a Royal residence of Maharaja Sansar Chand . The Fort today is in dilapidated condition but the frescoes and paintings on the walls say a lot about the royal history of Maharaja Sansar Chand of Katoch dynasty .

The frescoes and Paintings on walls of the royal fort .

Even today the visitors come to see the  Royal Amtar Nadaun Fort .

Bilkaleshwar Mahadev temple :- 

Very famous temple , Bilkaleshwar Mahadev temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati  is situated at a distance of about 7 Kms from Nadaun on Nadaun Sujanpur road .

It is said that this temple was built by Pandavas during Mahabharata period  when they were on   Gupt vas for one year   . Before completing the construction they had to leave this place because  Pandavas had been recognised by the people . The remaining work was completed by Katoach dynasty .

The Bilkaleshwar Mahadev temple is situated on the confluence of river Beas and Kunah Khad  is a centre of faith for people of this region .

Dhayanu Bhagat Samadhi  at Nadaun :- 

This is one another holy place for Hindus situated at Nadaun . Dhayanu Bhagat was a great devotee of Mata Jawala ji . Once in sixteenth century Bhagat Dhayanu was going to Nagarkot Kangra to visit the Darbar of Maa Brajeshwari and Jawala ji with his one thousand  devotees of Bhagwati Brajeshwari and Jawala ji .

When Empror Akbar came to know about this , Empror called Bhagat Dhayanu and asked about his journey . On this Dhayanu Bhagat told that At Jawala ji a continuous flame is burning and is dedicated to Maa Bhagwati Brajeshwari and Jawala Mata  and Maa fullfills all the wishes of devotees who pray with true heart .

On this Empror said if you have so faith on your Bhagwati then I will cut the head of your horse and you pray  for life your horse and let us see, can  Bhagwati Brajeshwari give life to your horse ?

Dhayanu Bhagat said certainly Maa will give life to my horse . On listening Dhayanu Bhagat 's answer , Empror cut the head of horse . Dhayanu Bhagat came to the temple and  did Jagran for the night and in the morning he prayed before Mas Brajeshwari to save his face by giving life to his horse other wise he himself will cut his head and offer in the feet of Maa Brajeshwari. 

When the Bhagwati did not replied , he took Khanda and cut his head and  sacrificed in the feet of Maa Brajeshwari. 

On this Maa Brajeshwari appeared and gave life to Dhayanu Bhagat and told that your horse had also been given life . When Empror saw that horse re gained the life , he himself came to Jawala ji and diverted a water canal to lit off the flame of Jawala ji but flame appeared on the water , then Empror Akbar came on barefooted and  offered a golden Chhater to Mata but it turned to other unknown metal  and Akbar bowed his head before  Maa Jawala ji and Brajeshwari and returned back . Even that Chhater  is  lying in Jawala ji temple today . So Dhayanu Bhagat was a great devotee of Mata Brajeshwari and Jawala ji.

Dhayanu Bhagat spent last 20 years of his life at Nadaun and daily used to go to Jawalamukhi temple to worship Mata Jawala ji on his horse . So where Bhagat Dhayanu spent last days of life in Thana Nath Matth at Nadaun,  his Samadhi was established in Nadaun Thana Nath Matth . The Samadhi sthal is in need of its proper   care and Management by the Dhayanu Bhagat trust or Jawala ji temple trust  . 

Panoramic views of nature along river Beas at Nadaun  :-

View of river Beas 

Just have a attention on these lines  :-

" Kunjana jayee  rahiyan Nadaun , Thande Paani  de bagde Naun , Pal bhar Bayee Lena ."

Scenic beauty of Nature at Nadaun.

These lines describe that Nadaun is such a beautiful place where birds enhance the beauty of nature , the cool water flowing in the water resources  ,  so  to enjoy such beautiful nature , every one wants to rest a while  at Nadaun .

View of Nadaun .

The lush green forests and panoramic views of Beas river is also attractions for tourists  at this beautiful town ..

An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Hamirpur Part III continued, Tourists places

 An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Hamirpur Part III continued  :-

Tourist places  :-

Sujanpur Tihra :- 

Sujanpur Tihra Fort 

A beautiful town Sujanpur Tihra is about 22 Km from Hamirpur district headquarters  and about 61  Km from Kangra located on the left bank of river Beas on Hamirpur Palampur Kangra road . 

The town  comes under Sujanpur Tihra Nagar Panchayat. At present Sujanpur Tihra is a sub division , Tehsil and Development Block headquarters .

At one time Sujanpur Tihra was the capital of Katoch dynasty . The palace and Sujanpur Tihra fort are historical monument of that time . The Sujanpur Tihra was founded by Maharaja Abhey Chand in 1748 A.D.

As per Jawalamukhi Treaty  on 20 th July 1809 between Maharaja Sansar Chand II and Maharaja Ranjit Singh the Empror of Lahore Maharaja Ranjit y took over Kangra Fort  then Maharaja Sansar Chand made his capital at Sujanpur Tihra .

Maharaja Sansar Chand constructed a very big ground about one square Kilometre called Chaugan in the middle of town , which was the parade ground of his army . Army was trained in this ground .

View of Sujanpur Tihra Ground 

Maharaja Sansar Chand Museum :- 

Maharaja Sansar Chand Museum is run by the royal family of Kangra .

Narmadeshwar Mahadev temple :-

Maharaja Sansar Chand also built many temples in the town with a beautiful blend of Nagra style architecture and Mugal architecture.  

The famous temples are Narmadeshwar Mahadev temple , this temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva . 

Maharani Pransani Devi wife of Maharaja Sansar Chand II built this temple in 1802. The walls of the temple has beautiful paintings of Ramayana and Mahabharata period.

View of Narmadeshwar Mahadev temple , Sujanpur Tihra .

The temple is constructed in Panchayatana layout which means the main shrine is surrounded by four sub shrines . This temple is situated about 4 Km from the town . 

Holi Festival at Sujanpur Tihra  :-

The famous Holi Festival was first started during 1795 by Maharaja Sansar Chand from Radhakrishnan temple . The specially made gulal in the palace was firsty applied to Radha , Krishna idols and used for Holi celebration between Maharaja and his public . From then the festival is being celebrated continuously  in the  Chaugan . Now  Government Administration has taken the place Maharaja in Holi festival  celebration .

Chhinj Competition :- 

During Holi fair a wrestling competition called Chhinj  is also organised  for the entertainment of public  in which the Wrestlers from Punjab , Haryana and Himachal take part . This event is a great charm for the people . Also other Exhibition and  other cultural activities are organised during the Holi fair . 

Murali Manohar Temple  :- 

Murali Manohar Temple at Sujanpur Tihra is the only Temple in world in which Lord Krishna has hold the flute  in opposite direction rather than normal direction .

Murali Manohar Temple Sujanpur Tihra.

The Murli Manohar Temple was built up by Maharaja Sansar Chand in 1785 in the memory of his Mother . The secret about holding the flute in opposite direction is that  , when the idol of Lord Krishna was being established in the temple then Maharaja Sansar Chand asked questions from  priests regarding Lord Krishna but their reply was not satisfactory . So on this Maharaja Sansar Chand ordered to cut their heads.  On this, the priests remained searching the right answer and couldn't sleep that night . In the morning when priests went to temple they were surprised to see that the Lord Krishna 's idol had been holding the flute in opposite direction where as on previous night it was in the right direction .

So on this mysterious  event they satisfied the King that Lord Krishna 's presence is obviously in the idol . The temple is located opposite to the Chaugan . The Murli Manohar Temple is centre of faith from ancient times and continued till today . 

Gaurishankar Temple :- 

Gaurishankar temple is located in the Fort at a distance of about 4 Km from the Sujanpur Tihra town . This beautiful temple was built by Maharaja Sansar Chand II in the memory of his mother in 1793 A.D.

Sainik school Sujanpur Tihra  :-

View of Sainik school Sujanpur Tihra.

Mr. VK Menon in 1961  the then Diffence Minister of India  initiative to establish a series of Sainik schools in the country as feeder institutions for NDA . In this series during 1974 the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi laid the foundation stone of Sainik school Sujanpur Tihra .  The school is situated on one side of the Chaugan .

The school was completed in 1978 and His excellency Shri Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy  the then President of India inagurated the school on November 2nd 1978 . Since then school is in service of the country and has given many officers to the Indian Army .

Sujanpur Tihra a Beautiful Tourist place :-

When we start our journey from Hamirpur to Kangra via Sujanpur Tihra we come across many beautiful locations  , the river Beas flowing on the side of Sujanpur Tihra town gives many panoramic views  . Many developing sites like  Shivdham in adjoining village Bhaled of Darla  panchayat , Lord Krishna Dham in Tihra and Maharaja Sansar Chand Park we can enjoy . These are the beautiful attractions for the tourists .

When ever we see the Shivalik range of hills and the nature with lush green forest , rivers flowing full of neat and clean water , singing birds , cool and clean fresh air , blue sky and the people of this beautiful Himachal Pradesh our heart says ," How beautiful this wonder land is ? We must stay here to enjoy the beauty of this wonder Land ."