The walled fortress of Uparkot,
witnessed every change in the lifestyle
of Junagadh from monastic Buddhism,
Aryan Hinduism, pious Jainism, Islamic
invasions, British colonisation,
the Nawabi spendour and finally,
the victory of democracy which forced
the Nawab to vacate his throne after
he was heavily out-voted in the
elections. Like the acrpolises of
ancient Greek cities, the Uparkot
is built on the defences of rocky
hills and the entire modern city
sprawls around it. It was an important
city during Mauryan rule, became
the capital of the Kshtrapas after
the fall of the Mauryan empire in
the 2nd-4th century AD period, was
rebuilt by the Chudasama Rajputs
in the 9th century and finally fell
to Sultan Muhamad Bhegada. In all,
the fort is said to have been subjected
to 16 seiges, including one which
lasted 12 years over a beautiful
daughter of a potter. The girl was
coveted by a neighbouring prince,
and came for refuge to the ruler
of Junagadh, who promptly married
herIn the war that followed, the
chivalrous prince of Junagadh was
killed in 1094 AD, and the girl
committed Sati on his funereal pyre.
Uparkot fort
Inside
the massive battlemented walls of the Uparkot,
as opposed to other forts where you would
expect to see it outside, is a huge moat,
said to be around 300 ft deep which not
only prevented enemies who successfully
scaled the high walls from entering the
citadel, but was also said to be a sort
of death chamber with crocodiles for throwing
convicts and captured enemy warriors. Beyond
the moat, is the Buddhist cave, which goes
down some 3 storeys and is dated by archaelogists
to around 2nd century AD- much younger than
the Baba Pyara and Khapra cave complexes-because
of the delectable carvings on the 6 pillars,
though it is difficult to judge if the actual
excavations were earlier and the carvings
done later.
SAKKARBAGH
Junagadh museum in Sakkarbagh, has a memorable
collection of of pre-historic and proto-historic
implements made from stone and bone, stone
sculpture including a 9th century Vishnu,
bronze sculpture of the medival period,
copper inscriptions and manuscripts, consorting
with an average collection of silverware,
glass, porcelain, wood carvings, traditional
textiles, folk art and unimpressive miniature
paintings.
Around
the museum is the Sakkarbagh zoological
park, one of the few places in the world
where the pure bred Asiatic lion is breeding
successfully. Here you find a sizable collection
of mammals, birds and reptiles from Indian
species.
JETPUR
An interesting excursion on the Rajkot-Junagadh
road for those interested in textiles is
Jetpur, approximately 30 kms from Junagadh,
which is one of the largest centres in India
for screen and block printed textiles. Here
you can visit workshops which specialise
in screen printing of textiles, artisans
who work on the highly intricate process
of printing fabrics using wooden blocks
and yarn dyeing centres. Buddhist relics
can be seen here too.
A
little beyond Uparkot's Buddhist cave is
the Adi Charan Vav, which comes as a real
surprise, with a spectacular staircase of
120 steps going down to the bottom. The
well is said to date from the 11th century
and is named for 2 slave girls who fetched
water from it. The Navghan Kuva is another
spectacular stepwell, dated from 1060 Ad
and named for Navghan, the Rajput ruler
of Junagadh at that time, with 7 flights
of spiralling steps taking you down 120
feet to the water source through a 10 ft
wide passage. The only standing structure
in Uparkot other than the walls is the Ranak
Devi palace, with it's carved jarok has
and huge pillars, which Sultan Muhammad
Bhegada tried to convert into a mosque but
could not complete the work. In a corner
of the fort are 2 monumental canons-the
Nilam canon whose bronze inscriptions in
Arabic state that "the canon was cast
in 1531 AD to fight the incursive Potugese
who are infedal enemies of state and religion"
and the smaller Ottoman canon which was
brought here after Diu was lost to the Portugese
and only mentions the name of it's caster.
Between the canons and Willingdon dam, which
is still an important water supply for Junagadh,
is the lovely garden laid out by the Archaelogical
survey of India.
Besides
the main cave in Uparkot, there are a number
of Buddhist caves hewn into the soft rocks
behind the fort. The Khapara Kodhia cave
complex is a fascinating hermitage, though
badly damaged and without it's first storey,
with monastic cells and water sources. The
Baba Pyara cave complex is more atmospheric
and has 13 monastic caves with carvings
of Buddhist symbols.
Around Baroda are many
recreation spots-Ajwa lake, Nimeta park,
Water park, Ajwa fun world. You can experience
history at Dabhoi and Champaner, take a
cable car ride or pilgrimage to Pawagadh
over Champaner, or visit spots of the river
Narmada for boating, picnic.
GETTING THERE
Convenient overnight
trains
PLACES
TO STAY
-
LUXURY
Riverside
palace/Orchard palace, Gondal(60 kms),
Taj group’s Gir lodge(60 kms),
Maneland jungle lodge(60 kms).
