• This photo feature includes what to see in Mandala i.e. Gond Palace, Ma Narmada and a brief history of the Gonds, including brave Queen Durgawati, who are known as Scheduled Tribes today.

Mandla is in few tourism brochures but it has a few places which can captivate a tourist like City Palace Udaipur or Bheda Ghat of Jabalpur.

Mandla is known for Ram Nagar Fort, Sahastradhara on river Narmada and Hot Water Pond.  Besides, Kanha National Park is app 35 km away from the city.

The three storey fort was built by Gond Kings (Gondwana kingdom) in the 17^th century (around 1667).  Gonds are considered Scheduled Tribes today.

Today they are also known for their super Paintings.

Gond. Love the look. 

“King Hriday Shah played the most decisive role in moving the capital to Ramnagar in Mandla from Chouragarh, near present-day Jabalpur, which was the capital established by the great King Sangram Shah, one of his predecessors.” Source

According to MP Tourism site, “Apart from Sangram Shah, Queen Durgavati occupies an important place in the annals of the history of the Gondwana Kingdom. She was the wife of Dalpat Shah, the son of Sangram Shah.” 

Raksha wrote in esamskriti, “Durgawati was born on 5/10/1524. She hailed from family of the rulers of Kalinjar fort. They were descendants of Chandella rulers. It was the Chandellas who had prevented the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni and are better known as builders of the world famous Khajuraho temples. Being a descendant of such a family, Rani Durgawati learned horse riding, archery, sword fighting etc. At a young age she was trained to be a fighter. At the age of 18 she was married Gond prince Dalpat Shah.”

Slowly the Gond dynasty’s kingdoms realized the impending Mughal threat. The brave queen fought back when the Mughals marched to Garha Mandala in the year 1564. Her chief was killed but she stood fearlessly and fought to drive away the Mughals. The very next day the Mughals launched a second attack with reinforced artillery. This time Rani Durgawati, with the help of her son, led the troops mounted on her elephant Sarman and fought bravely. She was shot by two arrows. One struck her ear and another got into her neck. Instead of getting captured she stabbed herself to death.”

She is revered in the region. Know about Rani Durgawati University

Rani Durgawati Fort in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.

Mandla remained under the control of the Gonds till about 1781, with the Marathas till about 1818 and the British till 1947. Source

Lakshmi wrote, “Amidst the melee of the colourful market we saw a large banyan tree where 21 freedom fighters were martyred during the 1857 War of Independence against the British. However, a statue of the valiant Rani Avantibai paid a tribute to the courageous queen who led a victorious army against the British around the same era.” We missed seeing.

She also wrote, “Almost every Monday a ritual takes place in this “temple”. There are no deities, mantras or prayers, or priests in this Chougan temple. All there is a stairway to heaven and a ladder believed to be the home of the Goddess Kali.”

Traditional welcome at Moti Mahal by Gond Dancers.  

24 km from Mandla City is Ram Nagar Fort or Mandla Fort.  The fort is surrounded by Narmada River on three sides providing a great defence from enemies.

The Gond Monuments are a UNESCO World Heritage site under Tentative List. According to UNECSO site, “Situated right on the thickly vegetated Narmada river bank, the north facing palace is 80 feet above the river and commands a view of both reaches of the bank. The Moti Mahal is a quadrangle, externally measuring 212 feet in length and 200 feet in breadth. It has a central courtyard measuring 167 feet by 156 feet with a stepped water feature in the middle. 

U see stepped water feature. 

The structure is three storeys tall with long central rooms and small side rooms, connected by steep and narrow stairs. Arched colonnades separate the halls, royal bedrooms, durbar hall, dancing hall and the royal kitchen. A number of river-facing terraces and balconies indicate the visual link planned with the river scape.

Bhurj is at one end of Mandla Fort.  

Moti Mahal. 

The Moti mahal also has a basement with a network of tunnels and passages. It also has an elaborate drainage system, routing storm water into the Narmada. There is also an external courtyard with arched galleries which was used as the horse stable. 

The Moti Mahal houses a stone inscription (which was previously in the Vishnu temple), considered one of the most important historical sources recording the genealogy of the Gond rulers of Garha Mandla. The inscription places the origin of the family in the beginning of the 7th century and describes the chronological reign of 54 Gond rulers.”

View Moti Mahal. 

Climbing stairs, the tourist can visit numerous halls, rooms of various sizes on upper floors.  These were used by the kings for holding court, meeting guests and for their families.  Many rooms have attached toilets and dressing areas.  On the ground floor there is place where elephants and horses were kept.

View of Narmada from one of the rooms facing the river. 

“The guide said one of the tunnels in Moti Mahal of Mandla leads all the way to the Madan Mahal near Jabalpur, which is more than 100 km away!”

An inscription found on the ground floor has the names of Gond dynasty kings.

Back side Moti Mahal.

Lime, Jaggery, Stones and natural binders like Bilva juice and natural gum were used to construct the palace.

30 meter away from the palace is Vishnu Mandir, constructed as per the desire of Rani Sundari Devi, wife of King Hriday Shah.  Temple has a central dome and four domes on each corner.  “This Hindu temple, which appears to resemble a Mughal tomb or a Bengali Pancha Ratna style temple.” The temple was dedicated to Lord Vishnu and it had murtis of Lord Shiva, Ganesh Ji, Sun God also. It is abandoned now.  

Rai Bhagat ki kothi.

At a little distance from the Palace, is Rai Bhagat Ki Kothi.  King Hriday Shah got this building constructed for his minister Rai Bhagat Singh.  This structure was constructed along with Moti Mahal and it can be said a copy of the main palace albeit on smaller scale.

Another structure 3 km away from the main palace is Rani Mahal, constructed by Hriday Shah for his another wife Chimni Devi.  

Rani Mahal. 

Hriday Shah had interest in music and he had learnt it at various places.  It is said that during such music classes in Delhi, he met Chimni Devi and fell in love and married her.

Sahastradhara

Narmada, one of the sacred rivers of India flows through the city of Madla.  On reaching near Mandla the river flows on rocky bed and it currents are so numerous that the spot is known as Sahstradhara, literally meaning, thousand streams.

“At Sahastradhara, located on the northern outskirts of the city, the river splits into a number of courses, meandering its way through the mighty rocks along the riverbed. During the monsoons, her violent currents completely erase the existence of these very intimidating rocks.” Source   

Narmada is a must see here.

At this place, Narmada River is almost 500-metre-wide and the flows emanating from various rocks are uncountable.  Water dripping from thousands of rocks of magnesium, limestone and basalt creates and amazing grid of flows. A Sahstradhara temple is also located at the spot which goes right in to the river.

Aerial view of temple.

Hot Water Pond

A hot water pond is situated on Mandla-Jabalpur Highway at 18 km milestone. The pond’s water is rich in sulphur, hence remains hot naturally.  It is said that the water of the pond is blessed by Lord Vishnu to cure the people of various ailments.  Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has conducted multiple tests on the pond water and confirmed that the water can help in treating the skin diseases.   The Hot Water Pond is surrounded by lush greenery and is a popular picnic spot for local people.

Distances

Moti Mahal Ramnagar is 112 kms from Jabalpur

Moti Mahal is 17 kms from Mandla.

MP Tourism has a hotel there. Book here

Jabalpur can be your base town. It is well connected by train and air.

To read all articles by author

Close by is Kanha National Park. To see album

Also read

1.Gond Paintings – a mystic world created by dots and lines

2. Marble Rocks at Jabalpur

3. Chausath Yogini Mandir, Jabalpur

4. About 3 hours drive from Jabalpur is Amarkantak, source of Narmada

5. Narmada Parikrama is a journey of the spirit and river

6. A simple travelogue with no pictures

7. Unlocking the Gond Legacy – good

8. Cultural geographies of River Narmada at Mandla

9. Good video of Rocks, Narmada at Sahstadhara  

10. Brief write up on the who ruled Mandla – history

11. TRIBES OF MP – very good write up by Lakshmi