welcome to bandhavgarh

INTRODUCTION

At the heart of India is Madhya Pradesh – home to the Vindhyas and the Satpuras, to forested plateaus and winding rivers. It is home, too, to a fifth of the world’s tiger population. Bandhavgarh National Park is tiger country at its best: 448 sq km of deciduous forest and grasslands, laced through with perennial streams and springs. The great cat roams freely among the sal and bamboo, with 22 different mammals and over 250 species of birds as company.

The park spreads out around Bandhavgarh Fort, the seat of the Bhaghel rulers until they shifted to Rewa in the seventeenth century. It is an imposing presence that bears witness to a long history, with inscriptions and carvings in caves that are said to date back to between 129 and 168 AD. The Fort houses a spectacular assortment of monolithic statues of Lord Vishnu in his many incarnations.

Until it was declared a national park in 1965, the forest was the game preserve of the Maharaja of Rewa. In 1980, K. K. Singh, a member of the Churhat royal family, converted the Maharaja’s hunting lodge into Bandhavgarh Jungle Camp. He was moved by a passion for forest and wildlife preservation, developed over more than a decade spent studying wild animals in their habitat.

The camp was one of the first of its kind and became a base for wildlife enthusiasts, filmmakers and naturalists. Many of the friends who gathered at Bandhavgarh Jungle Camp are today the leading experts on Indian wildlife and nature-based tourism. K. K. Singh believed that the future of forest and wildlife conservation lay in raising public awareness and involvement. From that first camp to Churhat Kothi and now Anant Van, that spirit and belief that has pervaded our every effort.

HISTORY OF BANDHAVGARH

Bandhavgarh Fort

Bandhogarh an ancient fort in the Vindhaya hills is regarded as the ancestral citadel of the Bhagela's of Rewa. The antiquity of the site goes back to the second and third century AD. the age of the Maghaís, who have left a series of nine inscribed caves. A group of temples in the fort is assignable to the latter half of the eighth century. More than a dozen ornate pillars from other ruined temples were utilised for fort structures. These Rucaka pillars bear typical early ninth century carvings of Ghatapallavas, Grasamukha, Ardhapadma, vertical patravalli and palmette brackets

Survey of India Temple Architecture, by Krishna Deva

Bhaghel period:

In 1177AD. Shri Vyaghra Deo Solanki, a warrior of very high order, came to this region from Gujrat and established his role over Gahora near Chitrakut after conquering the same. His eldest son Karan Deo was married with Padma Kumari the daughter of Som Datta Karchuli who was the then ruler of Bandhavgarh. The fort with its surrounding areas was given as dowry to Karan Deo who established his rule there. The principal gate of the fort was named after him.

In 1617 A.D. Maharaja Vikram Adittya Singh who was the ruler then for many political reasons shifted his capital to Rewa from Bandhavgarh and this was the turning point in the history of Bandhavgarh. Residents of the area gradually migrated to places of their convenience leaving Bandhavgarh and its neighbouring habitation deserted and in ruins.

Succeeding rulers of Rewa though continued to take interest in the affairs of Bandhavgarh fort but the fort could never regain its lost glory and importance, the result today is that the ruins of one time prosperous habitation are overgrown with dense forests and inhabited by wild animals who are now preserved as the residents of the national park.

By Jagannath Prasad Misra, I.A.S. (1970)

GEOGRAPHY

Geography:

Bandhavgarh National park lies between lat. 23(36í30î and 23(42í30î North and long. 80(57í30î and 81(6í15î East. The area consists of many hills of varying sizes, ranging in altitude from 440 mts in the valleys to 811.40 mts on the highest ridge top. The hills are interspersed with a number of valleys. The central mountain is largest with 281.25 hectares flat plateau. The sides of this mountain are practically vertical and difficult to climb, making the mountain a natural fort which until recently was under the control of the Maharaja of Rewa. The lower portions of the valleys are grass meadows locally called Bah. Most of these Bhaís are marshy with seepage from underground.