Garhmukteshwar - History

History

At Talawdi when there was war between Muhammad Ghori and Prithvi Raj, Jats attacked the army of Mughals but they did not support Prithvi Raj because he had captured their state. Even one Jat warrior Sanjeev Bhandari from Garhwal clan became General of the Army of Malkhan. Malkhan had become popular due to support of Puran Singh.

When Sanjeev Bhandari Garhwals lost Garhmukteshwar, they came to Rajasthan and occupied Ker, Bhatiwar, Chhawsari etc. near Jhunjhunu in 13th century. As per their bards when these people came to this place, Johiya, Mohiya Rajputs were the rulers of this area. Bhats have mentioned them as Tomars. When Muslim influence increased in this area they had wars with them as a result they moved from here to there. One of these groups moved to Kuloth, which was ruled by Chauhans. After a war they occupied Kuloth. Sardar Kurdaram who was a descendant of Garhwals of Kuloth had been tehsildar of Nawalgarh.

Garhmukteshwar is also mentioned in the Bhagvat Purana and the Mahabharata. It is said that it was a part of the ancient city of Hastinapur (the capital of the Kauravas). The place once boasted off a very ancient fort that is said to be built by later Pandavas, brothers of Kaurvas. A Maratha general, Mir Bhawan, repaired this fort during the Anglo-Maratha war. It is said that the Fort was in so good a condition when the British took possession of the place that it was found possible to locate the District Administration in it without incurring much expense on alteration. Sadly, not much remains of that Fort now and one can only trace some ruins that hardly signify the much-talked glory. The name of the place is derived from the great temple of Mukteshwar Mahadeva, dedicated to the goddess Ganga who is worshipped here in four temples, two situated on a high cliff and two below it. One of them is situated alongside Meerut road. The place is famous for its 80 Sati Pillars. These pillars mark the spots where Hindu widows are said to have committed sati. The town also boasts of a mosque built by Gays-ud-din Balban that bears an inscription in Arabic dating to 682 Hijri or 1283 A.D.

There is a colourful description of day to day life in Garhmukteshwar and the neighbouring Brij Ghat in Malachi O'Doherty's book, I Was A Teenage Catholic. O'Doherty lived there for three years in the 1970s with Swami Paramananda Saraswati.