Posted on: 25 March 2010

General view from the west of the Jahangir Mandir and Raj Mandir Palaces, Orchha - 1885.
Photograph of the Jahangir Mandir and Raj Mandir in Orchha, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections, taken by Edmund William Smith in the 1880s. Orchha was founded in 1501 by the Bundela Rajput Raja Rudra Pratap (r.1501-1531) on an island of rock beside the Betwa River that is approached by a bridge. The city reached the height of its political power with its greatest architectural achievements during the reign of Raja Bir Singh Deo (r.1605-1627). Its fortunes later declined and it was eventually abandoned in 1783.
The Jahangir Mandir was built in c.1605 by Bir Singh Deo and named after his imperial patron, the Mughal emperor Jahangir (r.1628-58). The palace is one of the finest examples of mediaeval fortification in India from the period of the Bundela Rajputs. The building is square and is crowned by domes with rounded angle bastions capped by open pavilions. There are eight domes and a number of small chattris.
The Raj Mandir was built by Madhukar Shah between 1554 and 1591. The palace is square with a central open courtyard. The centre of each side is projected outwards. The roof is flat but on the top of the outer wall there is a line of small chattris.


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awestruck..wow!

I went there around 10 years back and it was EXACTLY in same condition as in the photo. Orchha is very beautiful and pristine.

beautiful...

There is much behind the friendship between Raja Bir Singh Deo and his patron Emperor Jahangir. As Prince Salim, he plotted with the Raja to assassinate Abul Fazal, a chief advisor to Emperor Jalaluddin Akbar, and the author of the famous book 'Ain-i-Akbari'. The conservative Muslim mullahs were unhappy at Abul Fazal for "misleading" Akbar by his intellect and scholarship, and decided to get rid of him. For this, they got Prince Salim on their side. Akbar had sent Abul Fazal on a military expedition to the South, but had to recall him to Agra for some reason. Abul Fazal was on his way back through Orchha (near Jhansi) when he went far ahead of his troops with a small party. There they were ambushed by Raja Bir Deo, who was waiting, and killed. When Akbar heard the news of Abul Fazal's assassination, he was extremely sad, ate nothing for a week, but could do nothing to the Prince. After Salim took over as the Emperor, he returned the favor to the Raja by permitting him to build a grand temple at Mathura.