Motorcycling to Malhargarh,Koshak Mahal and Thubon monastery

      Hi There 

         Happy Independence Day 

         Today's ride was to an forgotten fort of Malhargarh in Mungaoli,in Ashok Nagar district of MP, Koshak Mahal of Chanderi and Thubon  Monastery.

          

         Route                 Jhansi-Pichhore-Chanderi-Mungaoli-Malhargarh Fort-Koshak Mahal-                                      Thubon-Chanderi-pichhore-Jhansi.Total 423 Km.

        Condition of Road    Excellent road ,fit for all types of Bikes.Except road from Mungaoli                                           to Malhargarh is single lane and broken at few places.

        Road Side Assitance  Available .

        Eating Joints        Quite a number of Dhabas mostly veg,I haven't tried any.

      The best part about motorcycling is ,it offers a kaleidoscope of nature in such a way that one soaks into it ,one can halt at any place and enjoy the raw nature.

Lovely Road

 

Beautiful Rugged surrondings

                                                     Malhargarh Fort

     This fort was earlier a Gond fort ,later on captured by Malwa Sultans and in 1740 it was  captured by Malharrao Holkar when he was on expansion mode.He further repaired and added to the beauty of the fort.The fort came into possession of Scindias,the fort lost its prominence as the trade route shifted to more central part.It remained occupied till Independence,thereafter it lost  its grandeur as the last occupant moved out.

  

Malhargarh Fort

    The Entry to the fort is through a small gate on the road through which one can easily enter with bike .The fort has outer wall  which is intact. While inside all buildings are in ruins.One of the main reasons of it is, theft by locals for massive wooden slippers used in construction of fort ,also buildings have been teared down to search for a hidden treasure and off course thick growth of trees have added to destruction.

    The buildings inside were 4 storeys with one storey underground .The Cupolas of the 

fort were also 3 storey .Each Cupola was divided into the top portion on which gun was mounted,the second storey which was rest room for the guards and the ground storey.There are about 7/8 cannons in the fort complex.

                                                                                   

   Entry to Cupola and ground floor

   

Second Floor

Top floor

Beautiful carving on the gun

      The massive water tank inside surrounded by beautiful walls ,a reminder of its grandeur past.

  

Koshak Mahal

   This simple yet imposing building, located on the Isagarh road at a distance of 4 kilometres from Chanderi, was built in 1445 as a victory monument. Chronicler Mohammad Kasim ‘Farishta’ in his Tarikh-e-Farishta mentions that the palace was built by the Sultan of Malwa, Mehmood Shah Khilji, to commemorate his victory over Sultan Mehmood Sharki in the battle of Jaunpur.

   The building is square in plan and at the centre of each of the four sides of the first storey are tall, arched doorways. Initially planned as a seven-storeyed structure, as suggested by its original name, Kushk-e-Haft Manzil or ‘the edifice with seven-storeys’, at present it shows only three complete storeys and a part of the fourth.  

     Once the first storey was completed, the builders were faced with the problem of raising the heavy stone blocks to the second level. This was resolved by burying the first storey under dirt to create a slope on which the blocks could be carried uphill. Each storey was similarly constructed and finally the dirt was cleared away to uncover the entire structure.

    The present day structure was restored in 1923.

     It is build  like a Greek cross  so  as to provide wide open passage in the middle of each side running across the whole length, the two E-W and N-S bisecting each other at right angles, thus leaving three storeyed mansions at the four corners. In other words, Koshak mahal is a complex of four palaces of equal dimensions standing at equal distance from one another on the sides of passages which connect them as well as  separate them.                 Entirely built of  local sandstone, all the four mansions of Koshak Mahal are identical. There is carving and jail work. 

Thubon Monastery

    It is located at a distance of 25 kms from Chanderi on Chaderi-Isagarh road.On this road passing through beautiful wheat fields on both sides, after travelling for about 18 odd kms one has to take a left turn for Ashok nagar .From the turn, Thubon is just 7kms. The Thubon temple complex starts the moment you enter Thubon village.

First temple as you enter the village

 Main temple Monastery under restoration

The archaeological potential of the site has still not properly been probed. Around 15 of these Mandapika temples are still standing, some of which are Shaiva and others Vaishnava in affiliation; their time periods vary from the 10th to the 12th centuries.

The style of temples is reminiscent of the Gupta temple architecture which continued to flourish alongside the fully evolved "sikhara" type of temples of the Nagara style during the early medieval period.

Most of the idols have been disfigured by purpose by invading Mughals,there by destroying a masterpiece of stone architecture,which was impossible to build in later years.

If you are on Chanderi visit this complex should be on the bucket list.

Restoration work under progress

Meditation chambers

   As the sun turned crimson and nip in air increased it was time to call off a  fantastic day .Sometimes I feel there is so much to see in our country,so many undiscovered places,one life time may not be enough.So lets ride and keep exploring.