Rajsamand & Nathdwara - Rajasthan - India

Rajasthan, the combination of two Hindi words (1) King (2) Place, means Place of Kings. Before becoming Rajasthan, it was scattered in many small states ruled by different kings of their time. All these states were united by Mewar's Rana's and turned it into a whole big state of India as Rajputana (Rajasthan).

There are so many haritage sites and places which you would like to visit.

A. RajSamand:

• The city is named due to Rajsamand Lake, an artificial lake created in the 17th century (1660) by Rana Raj Singh of Mewar.  It is Located 66 kms in the north of Udaipur, Rajsamand Lake lies between Rajnagar and Kankroli. Noticing the dimension of the lake, the lake Spreads to the length of 12 kilo meters and 5.25 kilo meters in width. The lake has the approximate depth of 5 Meters.

• Kumbhalgarh Fort:
                   Built during the course of the 15th century by Rana Kumbha and enlarged through the 19th century. Occupied until the late 19th century, the fort is now open to the public and is spectacularly lit for a few minutes each evening. Kumbhalgarh is situated 82 km northwest of Udaipur by road. It is the most important fort in Mewar after Chittaurgarh.
                   Build on a hill top of 1100 meters above sea level, the fort of Kumbhalgarh is having a perimeter walls 36000 Meters long. The second longest wall in the world after Great wall of China. The width of the wall in 15 feets. It has seven fortified gateways. There are over 360 Temples in the fort and out of them about 300 temples are Jain temples. From the top of the palace, many kilometers of Aravali Mountain Range can be viewed Easily. Its the Birth place of legendary warrior "Brave Son of India, Maharana Pratap" & Coronation Place of Rana Udai Singh. So high that highly protected from all sides , a type of Giri Durg (Hill Forts).

B. Nathdwara:

        Nathdwara is located in the Aravalli hills, on the banks of the Banas river in the rajsamand district, 48 kilometres north-east of Udaipur. This town is famous for its temple of Krishna which houses the idol of Shrinathji, a 14th-century, 7-year-old "infant" incarnation of Krishna. The idol was originally worshipped at JATIPURA Mathura and was shifted in the 1672 from Govardhan hill, near Mathura along holy river Yamuna after being retained at Agra for almost six months, in order to protect it from anti-Hindu fanatic iconoclastic Islamic policies of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb’s. Literally, Nathdwara means ‘Gateway to Shrinathji’. Nathdwara is a significant Vaishnavite shrine pertaining to the Pushti Marg or the Vallabh Sampradaya or the Shuddha Advaita founded by Vallabha Acharya, revered mainly by people of Gujarat and Rajasthan, among others. Vitthal Nathji, son of Vallabhacharya institutionalised the worship of Shrinathji at Nathdwara. Nathdwara town itself is popularly referred to as ‘Shrinathji’, after the presiding deity.

Shrinathji Temple:

As per the religious beliefs, the shrine at Nathdwara was built in the 17th century at the spot as exactly ordained by Shrinathji himself. The idol of the Lord Krishna was being transferred to a safer place from Vrindaban to protect it from the anti-Hindu, iconoclastic and barbarian destruction of the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. When the idol reached the spot at village Sihad or Sinhad, the wheels of bullock cart in which the idol was being transported sank axle-deep in mud and could not be moved any farther. The accompanying priests realised that the particular place was the Lord's chosen spot and accordingly, a temple was built there under the rule and protection of the then Maharana Raj Singh of Mewar. Shrinathji Temple is also known as 'Haveli of Shrinathji’ (mansion).