https://travelindiathroughmyeyes.com/datia-a-pleasant-surprise-of-bundelkhand/
An unknown gem of Bundelkhand
The above lines written in my handwriting define me as a traveller & explorer !!
I bet you haven’t heard of a place called ‘Datia’
unless you have toured around the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh.
I would never have expected that the nondescript, dusty town of Datia
(75 Kms from Gwalior, 30 Kms from Jhansi and 49 kms from Orchha) would
boast of a palace that in my opinion could easily rate among the most
imposing, grand & magnificent buildings of India !!
Datia is an
ancient town and finds mention in Mahabharat as ‘Daityavakra’. I have
gone from Nasik to New Delhi and Haridwar by train a couple of times and
every time I had seen this monument from the train as it passed through
Datia station and was left wondering as to what it was ?? I always do a
preliminary research before I plan to tour a region and so when I
decided to visit Jhansi & Orchha after visiting Gwalior in the first
week of March of 2017, the name of Datia and its majestic palace
cropped up. So I decided to spend a day there and my decision proved to
be rewarding indeed !
Brief history: The princely State of Datia was established in 1626 by Bhagwan Rao, son of Bir Singh Deo of Orchha. The States of Datia & Baroni were given to Bhagwan Rao by his father to be managed independently and he ruled for 30 years till 1656. The Rulers of Datia maintained very friendly relations with the Mughals. Due to protection provided by the Mughals, Datia remained unharmed even after attacks from Marathas and other neighbouring States. As peace prevailed in the State, the Rulers patronized Art, Architecture and Music. Datia became a centre for Miniature Painting and Classical Music. After the Treaty of Bassein was signed in 1802 as per agreement with the Peshwas, the Bundelkand region including Datia came under British rule. Datia was a walled city with a massive fort which is almost in ruins today. Several temples were built in the town under the patronage of the Rulers.
BIR SINGH DEO PALACE
The seven storeyed beautiful palace known as Bir Singh Deo Palace
or Govind Mandir Palace or Nrising Dev Palace was built on a rocky
mount in the year 1620 by Bundela King Raja Bir Singh Deo. It is
believed to have taken 8 years to complete and cost 35 lakhs then!! It
is built only with bricks & stones with absolutely no use of iron or
wood. It is said that it was built to welcome the Mughal Emperor
Jahangir to Bundelkhand and was meant to be used as a Royal guest house.
One
of the finest representations of Bundela architecture, this palace can
be seen as combining the best of Mughal & Rajput styles of
architectures!! The symmetrical structure of the Palace based on the
Hindu symbol of swastika impresses the visitor, the intricate jalis,
murals & frescoes in vibrant colours are attractive. It is square in
plan having four octagonal towers, one at each corner and it is
ornamented by numerous chattris crowned with ribbed domes.
The first
floor of the palace is divided into dark, barrack like rooms, evidently
meant to keep prisoners. The second floor was meant to house army
personnel & guards while the third floor was meant for entertainment
and the fourth floor contained beautifully painted rooms for use by
royal guests. On the fifth floor was Diwan-i-Aam where the king would
hold court. The sixth floor was used for holding secret meetings while
the seventh floor was used as watchtower to keep track of enemy
movements and of course the seventh floor provided some of the most
stunning views of the surrounding countryside.
Today the visitor is
allowed to climb only up to the 4th floor. There is a large pond /lake
on two sides of the Palace. The caretaker cum guide Gopal who took me
around the palace told me that hardly 50 to 80 visitors come daily. At
that hour I was the only visitor so expecting a good tip from me (and I
didn’t disappoint him), he opened a locked room for me that contained
beautiful paintings & frescos. This room is usually kept closed to
prevent the unsocial elements from writing on the walls and defacing the
frescos. The masterpiece was a beautiful circular mural on the ceiling
in clay red, orange and white that depicted men & women dancing in a
circle holding hands on the beats of musical instruments played by some
men standing at intervals. I literally had to lie down on the floor
below the painted ceiling to capture it but still couldn’t get the full
circle in the frame !!
One has to make his/her way through winding
alleys to reach the palace. The residents of Datia town go about their
daily chores oblivious to the fact that a wonderful piece of Indian art
& architecture stands tall in their midst!!
A town of temples, kothis & havelis
Datia is an intriguing place and if you happen to be a solo
traveller, a place like Datia can be delightful place for exploration.
Besides the Bir Singh Palace, Datia town is home to many other forts,
palaces, kothis, havelis and ancient temples. In fact there are so many
temples of various gods that the local residents call this place as
‘chota’ or ‘laghu’ Vrindavan.
With my back pack and on my two feet, I
hopped from one temple to another, from fort to palaces & kothis
and over three and half hours I covered the length & breadth of the
entire town stopping in between to have road side yummy sabji kachodi,
jalebi and lassi !! The locals are very helpful and more than willing to
welcome you and take you around the place.
It is sad that today
most of these heritage buildings are lying in a state of neglect &
disarray probably because of paucity of funds and apathy of the owners
who have migrated to the larger cities in search of greener pastures!!
Peetambhara Peeth:
Peetambhara Peeth & Ashram is one of the most popular temples of Datia that attract devotees from far & wide specially on Saturdays and other festival days. It is believed to be a Shakti Peeth. There are several temples within the complex. The temples of ‘Bagla Mukhi Devi’ and ‘Dhumawati Devi’ were established one hundred years ago in 1920 by Shri Golokwasi Swamiji Maharaj. These two devis are said to be two of the ten Mahavidyas.
It is believed this site was the ‘tapasthali’ of many mythological people and also many saints. Within the complex is the Vankhandeshwar Shiva temple whose Shivling is supposed to have been worshipped by the Pandavas. It is said that ASI has certified that the shivling is at least two millennium old !!
The complex also has temples of Parshuram, Hanuman & Kal Bhairav. The complex also contains a library of Sanskrit Books.
Golakwasi Swamiji Maharaj, popularly called ‘Swamiji’ or “Maharajji” was a great devotee of Peethambara devi and had good knowledge of Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, English, Urdu, Persian & Arabic. He was fond of classical music and maestros such as Pundit Gundai Maharaj, Rajan & Sajan Mishra, Dagar Bandhu and Siyaram Tiwari have performed at the Ashram.
I spent about an hour at the temple complex – there was a queue for darshan as it happened to be a Saturday ! Unfortunately, the pics clicked at the temple complex were not saved while transferring the data from cellphone to laptop and I deleted them from my cellphone.
Sonagir or Sonagiri
In the evening I hired an auto rickshaw to take me to Sonagir or
Sonagiri about 15 kms from Datia town off the highway to Gwalior.
Sonagiri literally means ‘golden hill’ and it is a hill dotted with
white Jain temples and attracts attention from quite a distance. It is a
sacred place for Digambar Jain sect and is associated with the 8th
Tirthankar Chandranatha. The ancient name of this place was Swarnagiri
or Shravangiri. There are 77 temples in total, many of them marble-clad,
dedicated to the various Tirthankars. Built on the slopes of the
hillock they present a beautiful spectacle. The most ancient temple at
the base of the hillock belongs to 9th -10th Century while many of the
temples on the hill have been added in the 17th Century.
A majority
of the Jain holy places are located in the hills and they are oasis of
absolute peace & tranquility. Sonagiri is no different. A climb up
the hill was an exhilarating experience. The temples were shining in the
golden glow of the setting sun !!The ancient temple at the base has a
collection of some priceless statues made in sphatik & jade. The
glass inlay work in the sanctum is amazing and has earned this temple
the name ‘Kanch ka Mandir’. I spent an hour and half at Sonagir and
returned to Datia by the same auto rickshaw.
Jains are a prosperous community in India. They contribute a lot for charity without yearning for publicity. A visit to their holy temples always act as a soothing balm and gives solace to the mind & the soul !!
Summing up: Being on the highway that connects Jhansi with Gwalior and also being on the rail route, Datia today is an important trade centre for grains & cotton. It has a population of over 1 lakh (0.1 million). I was a bit apprehensive about finding a good place to stay but the Hotel Pitambara Palace (opened just a month ago in February 2017!) where I was booked turned out to be decent one with an attached spacious bathroom and AC. The food provided by the hotel was tolerable.
Datia is on the main railway route connecting North & South and also some trains from Mumbai take this route to New Delhi. Other than the Superfast trains, other trains make a brief halt at Datia.
The best time to visit Datia is the winter or monsoon season. The options for stay are limited. If one is travelling by road from Jhansi to Orchha, one can leave in the morning and can cover Sonagir & Datia on the way and reach Orchha by evening.
Datia may not be a place that warrants a visit solely on the merit of its own attractions but it’s definitely worth adding it to your itinerary if you were planning a trip to Gwalior, Jhansi & Orchha.
I am sure you enjoyed taking a virtual tour of Datia. Please do comment below.
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