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 heritage sites and places which you would like to visit.
Bikaner:
Bikaner, Prior to the mid 15th century, the region was a barren wilderness called Jangladesh. Rao Bika established the city of Bikaner in 1488.
According to James Tod, the spot which Bika selected for his capital,
was the birthright of a Nehra Jat, who would only concede it for this
purpose on the condition that his name should be linked in perpetuity
with its surrender. Naira, or Nera, was the name of the proprietor,
which Bika added to his own, thus composing that of the future capital,
Bikaner.
Rao Bika was the first son of Maharaja Rao Jodha of the Rathor clan, the founder of Jodhpur and
conquered the largely arid country in the north of Rajasthan. As the
first son of Jodha he wanted to have his own kindom not inheriting
Jodhpur from his father or the title of Maharaja. He therefore decided
to build his own kingdom in what is now the state of Bikaner in the area
of Jungladesh. Though it was in the Thar Desert, Bikaner was considered an oasis on the trade route between Central Asia and the Gujarat coast
as it had adequate spring water. Bika’s name was attached to the city
he built and to the state of Bikaner (“the settlement of Bika”) that he
established. Bika built a fort in 1478, which is now in ruins, and a
hundred years later a new fort was built about 1.5 km from the city
centre, known as the Junagarh Fort.
- Junagarh Fort:
Around 1578, this fort was constructed by successors of Rao Bika. The Fort was called Chintamani and was renamed Junagarh or "Old Fort" in the early 20th century when the ruling family moved to Lalgarh Palace outside
the fort limits. It is one of the few major forts in Rajasthan which is
not built on a hilltop. The modern city of Bikaner has developed around
the fort.
The
fort complex was built under the supervision of Karan Chand, the Prime
Minister of Raja Rai Singh, the sixth ruler of Bikaner, who ruled from
1571 to 1611 AD. Construction of the walls and associated moat commenced
in 1589 and was completed in 1594. It was built outside the original
fort of the city, about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from the city centre.
Some remnants of the old fort are preserved near the Lakshmi Narayan
temple.
Historical
records reveal that despite the repeated attacks by enemies to capture
the fort, it was not taken, except for a lone one-day occupation
by Kamran Mirza. Kamran was the second son of the Mughal
Emperor Babur who attacked Bikaner in 1534, which was then ruled by Rao
Jait Singh. In the battle, the Mughals were defeated by Rathors. Kamran
then returned to Lahore.
The 5.28 hectares large fort precinct is studded with palaces, temples and pavilions. These buildings depict a composite culture, manifest in the mix of architectural styles
- Lalgarh Palace:
The palace was built between 1902 and 1926 according to Rajput, Mughal and European architectural styles, being largely in the Indo-Saracenic style. The building was commissioned by the British-controlled regency for
Maharaja Ganga Singh (1881–1942) while he was still in his minority as
they considered the existing Junagarh Palace unsuitable for a modern
monarch. Ganga Singh decided that the palace should be named in memory
of his father Maharaja Lall Singh.
In 1972, Karni Singh, M.P., the Maharaja of Bikaner,
established the Ganga Singhji Charitable Trust. The Maharaja endowed a
part of Lallgarh Palace to be used in service of the trust. Two wings
were converted into independent hotels with the income from The Lallgarh
Palace Hotel, a heritage hotel used to support the trust. Currently,
Lallgarh Palace is owned, and the hotel is run, by his
daughter Princess Rajyashree Kumari.
- Camel Safari:
Camel is the ship of Desert because it can survive in desert
for many days even without drinking water and where human being cannot
walk in sand (Hot Sand), this camel walks so easily as its running of
soft and cool land. So camel a camel ride is also enjoyable in this
desert specially at the time of sunset.
- Gajner Palace:
- Gajner Wild Life Sanctuary:
Sanctuary is located at a distance of 32 Km from Bikaner. In former times it was a hunting ground for the Maharajah of Bikaner.
There is a lake in this sanctuary and a variety of animals come here to
quench their thirst in summer. This is one of the proposed forests for Cheetah reintroduction in India. The lake in this wildlife sanctuary draws a variety of avian species. The residential species include wildfowl, deer, antelope, nilgai, chinkara, black buck, desert fox and wild boar
- Ganga Golden Jubilee Museum:
- Sadul Singh Museum :
- Jain Temple:
Jain temples are collection of art and architecture in the
whole country and they are really worth to see/visit. Either you visit
to Ranakpur In Pali aur visit Dilwara's Jain temples in Mt. Abu
(Sirohi), every one is unique and view-able.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
