Dhar - Historic Places and Monuments

Historic Places and Monuments

Ramparts and Circular City. The most ancient parts of Dhār presently visible are the massive earthen ramparts which are best preserved on the western and southern sides of the town. These were probably built beginning in the ninth century and show that the city was circular in plan and surrounded by a series of tanks and moats. The layout is similar to the circular city of Warangal in the Deccan. The circular ramparts of Dhār, unique in north India and an important legacy of the Paramāras, is presently being destroyed by brick-makers and others using the material for construction purposes. On the north-east side of the town, the rampart and moat have disappeared beneath modern homes and other buildings.

Fort. The historic parts of the town are dominated by an impressive sandstone fortress on a small hill. It is thought to have been built by Muhammad bin Tughluq, the Sultan of Delhi, probably on the site of the ancient Dhārāgiri mentioned in early sources. One of the gateways, added at a later time, dates to 1684-85 in the time of 'Ālamgīr. Inside the fort is a deep rock-cut cistern, of great age, and a later palace of the Mahārāja of Dhār incorporating an elegant pillared porch of the Mughal period that probably belongs to the mid-seventeenth century. In the palace area is an outdoor museum with a small collection of temple fragments and images dating to medieval times.

Tomb of Shaykh Changāl. On the overgrown ramparts of the medieval city, overlooking the old moat, is the tomb of Shaykh ‘Abdullah Shāh Changāl, a warrior saint. He perhaps hailed from Changal in central Asia. The tomb has been rebuilt, but the inscription, now incorporated into the compound gate, is written in Persian and dated 1455. A record of historical interest, it recounts the Shaykh's arrival in Dhār in the 13th century and his conversion of Bhoja to Islām after the local people had committed an atrocity against the small community of Muslims who had settled in the city. The story is referred by some to Bhoja II, the last Paramāra king who ruled around 1285.

Lāṭ Masjid. The Lāṭ Masjid or 'Pillar Mosque', to the south of the town like the tomb of Shaykh Changāl, was built as the Jami' Mosque by Dilāwar Khān in 1405. It derives its name from a pillar (lāṭ) made of iron which is supposed to have been set up in the 11th century. The pillar, which was nearly 13.2 m high according to the most recent assessment, is fallen and broken; the three surviving parts are displayed on a small platform outside the mosque. It carries a later inscription recording a visit of the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1598 while on campaign towards the Deccan. The pillar's original stone footing is also displayed nearby.

Kamāl Maula Campus. The Kamāl Maula is a spacious enclosure containing four tombs, the most notable being that of Shaykh Kamāl Maulavi or Kamāl al-Dīn (circa 1238-1330). He was a follower of Farīd al-Dīn Gaṅj-i Shakar (circa 1173-1266, see Fariduddin Ganjshakar) and the famous Chishti saint Nizamuddin Auliya (1238–1325). Some details about Kamāl al-Dīn are recorded in Muḥammad Ghauthi's Azkar-i Abrar, a reliable hagiography of Sufi saints composed in 1613. The cloak presented to Kamāl al-Dīn by Nizam al-Dīn is still displayed inside the tomb. The custodians of Kamāl al-Dīn’s tomb have served in an unbroken lineage for 700 years and are still resident.

Bhoj Shala. The hypostyle hall immediately next the tomb of Kamāl Maula is made of re-cycled temple columns and other architectural parts except for the Mihrab and Minbar which were purpose-built for the monument. It is similar to the Lāṭ Masjid though earlier in date as an inscription of A.H. 795/C.E. 1392 found nearby records repairs by Dilāwar Khān. A Sanskrit and Prakrit inscription from the time of Arjunavarman (circa 1210-15) was found in the walls of the building in 1903 by K. K. Lele, Superintendent of Education in the Princely State of Dhār. The inscription, which is engraved with exceptional beauty, is displayed inside the entrance. The text includes part of a drama called Vijayaśrīnāṭikā composed by Madana, the king's preceptor who also bore the title 'Bālasarasvatī'. The other inscribed tablets recovered by Lele, among them a serpentine inscription giving grammatical rules of the Sanskrit language. The finds, particularly of the grammatical inscription, prompted Lele to describe the building as the Bhoj Shala or 'Hall of Bhoja', because King Bhoja (circa 1000-55) was the author of a number of works on poetics and grammar, among them the Sarasvatīkaṇṭhābharaṇa or 'Necklace of Sarasvatī'. The term 'Bhoj Shala' was first published by Luard in 1908. The subsequent controversy surrounding the building and its identity is discussed under Bhoj Shala.

Cenotaphs and Old City Palace. The old city palace of the Parmar Rājputs at Dhār, now used as a school, is a modest building put up in the late 19th century. A marble statue of the Jain goddess Ambikā, found in 1875 on the site of the city palace is now in the British Museum. Of the same period as the palace are a collection of domed cenotaphs of the Pawar rulers on the edge of the large tank known as Muñj Talab. The name of the tank probably derives from Vākpati Muñja (circa 895-920), the Paramāra king who first entered Mālwa and made Ujjain his main seat.

Museum. A number of sculptures and antiquities from Dhār and its neighborhood are kept in the local museum, a utilitarian stone building in the British style of the late 19th century. The most important pieces from the collection have been moved to Mandu where the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Archives has created a new museum with a wide range of displays.

Jheera Bagh. Outside the town, off the road to Māṇḍū, the Maratha clan 'Pawars' built a palace at Hazīra Bāgh from the 1860s. Known as the Jheera Bāgh Palace and presently run as a heritage hotel, the complex was renovated by Mahārāja Anand Rao Pawar IV in the 1940s. Graciously designed in an unpretentious art deco style, it is one of the most elegant and forward-looking examples of early modern architecture in north India.