Bijolia: Her Home

Bijolia is situated in the current Bhilwara district of the state of Rajasthan, 55KMs from Bundi town and 105 km from Chittorgarh on the Bundi-Chittor Road. Previously, a part of Mewar this small town has its own history and tales. For a start, it was ruled by the Punwars or Parmer Rajputs from the 11th to the 13th Century. In the 13th Century, it went under the rule of the Chauhan dynasty who made a fort at Bhilwara and thus the capital of Bijolia shifted from Bijolia town to Bhilwara fort. The Punwars sought refuge in Mewar. The Chauhan rule ended soon and Rana Kumbha brought Bijolia under Mewar's rule. The Parmers served as Rao in Bijolia as a representative of the Mewar Royals.

The Bijolia Inscriptions are equally famous but sadly the town is not a tourist site especially if you travel by bus or car. The Jain Temples that are made around the 14th and 15th centuries are an example of Mewar's rich architecture.

There is no good place to stay in Bijolia. A few hotels and guest houses are there and bus services from Udaipur and Bhilwara connect the town to the cities. However, one doesn't need to stay in the town to explore it.

The first thing I would like to mention is the road trip from Bundi to Bijolia. Once you leave the rough terrains of Bundi and cross a range of the Aravallis into the road leading to Chittorgarh, there is a 2km long tunnel through the Aravallis.

The next thing one notices is the change of scenic beauty, from the rough terrains one finds greenery and the forests of Mewar arrive soon. The road is narrow and passes through many villages. The car stops at a flock of goats or Buffalos on the way many times. The main feature of these villages is that they still carry the names traditions and heritage of the 600 Year old Mewar. People still take the name of queens with respect and as the Signboard reads " Welcome to Bhilwara" the natives here talk of Maharana Pratap Singh like he was a god-sent angel. Some villages I found along the way to Bijolia were Rampur, Balwantpura, Kelwa, etc that we find mentioned in the history of Mewar.

The forest today is not as deep as it was 600 years ago but yes it is very beautiful. An old wall rebuilt still marks the border of Bundi and Mewar some KMs away from Bijolia fort. Another importance of Bijolia is that the border of Mewar and Bundi is reached only via this place so it was a resting place for most travellers.

The border of Mewar and Bundi in the Forest

The Roads Via Villages are like this

View from the top of the hill separating Bijolia and Bundi, The water body below is the water supply of Bundi Town while the rough terrains also have a few mines of silver ores.

The first place the car stopped was the forest leading to the beautiful waterfall of Bhimlat. Legend says Bhim, the second of the Pandavas had in his frustration to find water, punched the ground here from where the Bhimlat rises. The waterfalls are truly magnificent and grand, there is not a human in sight and the peace and quiet of the forest can be felt and loved. Such is the silence that one can hear his own breathing, and yes am not kidding, I felt like sitting there all day but unfortunately couldn't.

Bhimlat Waterfalls that marked the Border of Bundi and Mewar

A few steps from the Bhimlat Falls leads to the Bhimlat Mahadev temple. The Mahadev Linga in this one is kept in such a way, that even when the Bhimlat dries up in winter, the rocks above the Mahadev continue to pour water on the Linga throughout the year. No one knows how old this temple is, or who kept the Mahadev there.

The Bijolia area has a few villages under it as well as the town. The first sign that you have entered Bijolia is that you are welcomed by the large Bijolia Jheel. Locals here call it a river, Bijolia Nadi they say but it is actually a pretty large lake. The lake is surrounded by forests and legends have it that a 15-year-old Kunwar Pratap used to roam these borders and learn administrative work when his father asked him to leave the Mahals at Chittorgarh. Legend also has it that at a popular Animal fair near this very place he had found his horse Chetak. The villagers believe the Bijolia Jheel was a popular resting place for the royals. True or not, the jheel was Indeed grand and beautiful with crystal clear water.

Bijolia Jheel

The next thing we see is a town at a distance and you know you are in Bijolia. A small but clean town it is but this is the new Bijolia settled recently and not the original old town. A left turn from the new settlement we leave it behind for about 2KMs and you can see the temples of old Bijolia at a distance.

New Town Of Bijolia

Within a few minutes a broken yet magnificent fort wall welcomes you. I was a little taken aback as I expected a ruined palace but this was a proper fort wall. The driver who is also a local villager explained that since Bijolia was Mewar's border and also within the attacking areas of the Afghans and Bhils, Rana Kumbha wanted to secure the town from impending dangers and hence built a fort around the existing town. Most of the fort wall is broken and blocked now, and only a side entrance remains into the old town where the houses and temples are equally old and the roads too narrow for cars. Locals said there is the Bijolia Palace inside. They proudly call their town " Maharana Pratap ka Sasural" and the Samant's daughter Ajabdeh Punwar, his first wife, Rajkumarisa. Folktales suggest that it is here that a 16-year-old Kunwar Pratap fell in love with his first wife the 14-year-old Ajabdeh Punwar and got married against his father's wishes in 1557. She was the queen mother to Rana Amar Singh as well.

Bijolia Fort wall

Road in old Bijolia

Wall of Fort in Bijolia in ruins

The most intact things you find in Bijolia are the temples beside the fort and at Menal. The huge complex of the Bijolia Temples is a pleasure to the eyes. The Mandakini Bawri stands in between the Royal temple and the common one, as a witness to the many Gangaurs and Diwalis the Royals of the Panwars or Punwars used to celebrate there. Gangaur is still a very important festival in Mewar as well as Bijolia.

The Magnificent carvings at the temples of Bijolia

The Mahakal Shiva temple is still a place of Worship for the Villagers

Interiors Of The Royal Temple of Bijolia

The Royal Temple exteriors

These elephants and people depict war scenes from the epics of India

A Vishnu statue was now broken

The smallest temple in the complex

The Mandakini Bawri, water here arrives from the Mandakini Kund nearby.

The Mahakal and Other Temples Bijolia were built between the 11th and 13Th century by the rulers and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Three temples form a complex, the bigger temple is newer and is still worshipped by the villagers while the smaller temple is older and was meant for the Royal Family of Mewar.

The Bijolia complex made me feel like I have travelled to the time of Maharana Pratap and Maharanisa. The locals said that the Bijolia fort was his stay during his expeditions to Bhilwara where he had befriended the Bhills.

A few KMs from Bijolia is the temple complexes of Menal, or Mahanal also a part of Bhilwara and Bijolia. These temples were built during the 11th century and witnessed the plunder of a general of Aurangzeb who broke down the Shiva temple during the time of Maharana Raj Singh, Grandson of Maharana Amar Singh. Raj Singh had given shelter to many Vrindavan priests and also was the lover of Hira Bai who was Aurangzeb's choice of a bride. Mewar and Mughals were always age-old enemies and that prompted Aurangzeb's actions. However, Raj Singh like his forefathers answered with the sword as a triple alliance with Jaipur and Jodhpur against the Mughals. Aurangzeb faced defeat and hence Raj Singh married Hira Bai. Raj Singh had then stated that finally by defeating the Mughals he had paid homage to the souls of Chittorgarh who did Jauhar and Saka in Akbar's seige and also to Maharana Pratap. Unlike his father Karan Singh who was a friend to Shah Jahan, he didn't consider Mughals as friends. The broken temples stand witness to the turmoils during Aurangzeb's time when Rana Raj Singh of Mewar constantly opposed the Mughal emperor. Another story suggests that Menal was actually a part of the then-Mughal ally state of Bundi and hence needed to pay taxes to the Mughal court. Upon refusal of the same by the local chieftain who supported Rana Raj Singh the place was attacked and taken over.

Menal Temple Complex

The temple was broken by Aurangzeb

From Menal starts the Highway to Chittorgarh and the Bhilwara Jungles. If one wants to travel to Bhilwara as well one can spend a day there separately and see the remains of the Chauhan fort but from what the villagers said its not a tourist site. The small town of Baasi comes on this road. It was the area of Rawal Chundawat that was later given to Shakti by Maharana Pratap when he was made the Rawa in 1578 AD. People say Shakti Singh Chundawat's decedents still stay there. Next stop was, Chittorgarh, the land of Bravehearts.

Bhilwara Forests

Aravallis at a distance

Since Bijolia was a very deserted area as per tourism goes you will not find it on any tour plans but Taxi services take you there and the people are friendly enough to show you around. The Bijolia town is surrounded by the dense Bhil forests and the Aravallis. As for the food we only had tea and poha at a dhaba there where a man told me that the ruin of the palace only has the outer walls and base and also that Bijolia Fort gates were built such that no one could spot the main entrance easily in the Jungle. Bijolia Fort had survived a few attacks from the Afghans but nothing was recorded as such, they only remain in the local folktales. One person also said that the Royal weddings happened in the Bijolia Temple complexes only but in Chittorgarh I came to know that the crown prince's first marriages were held in the Mewar Sisodia's Palaces only.