The Fort Chunar is located thirty-two kilometers northwest of the District of Mirzapur, it is located in the town of Chunar.
The fort os situated at a 40 Kim distance to Varanasi and has seen the rise and fall of many dynasties and kingdoms in the region. Akbar age Mughal Emperor visited the fort area while hunting in 1575 and decided to capture the fort, he saw it as a strategic location as the fort was situated on top of a hill, overseeing the Ganges River along with all they major trade routes to Eastern UP.
The fort was attacked by Emperor Humayun in 1532 AD. Sher Shah Suri also took control of the fort for some time. The Chunar Fort was also under the control of Maratha Rulers in the latter part of the 17th century. The fort is also known with the name of Chandrakanta Chunagarh and Charandari.
Chunar Fort
The fort is at an elevation of 250 feet above sea level and one can see the vast expanse of the Ganges River form the fort. One has to pass through the lush green Chunar Hills which run parallel to the river Ganga to get to the fort. This part of the Mirzapur district is heavily dependent on farming and one can see paddy fields and corn plantains all across the hills.
There are many legends that are mystical and magical about the fort and one is of its legendary ruler Vikramaditya. The king’s brother Bharthari decided to live the life of a hermit and started living in the Chunar fort area. Realising that the king Vikramaditya visited the fort and found the whereabouts of his brother through another saint Gorakhnath. He then built a house for his brother to live in. It also believed that the soul of another saint and hermit Bhatinath remains trapped in the fort and roams the fort area formless.
I for one managed to take pictures of a dilapidated area of the fort which had huge Pipal trees with roots falling from the sky. It did remind me of the first scene of the serial Vikram or Betal. It was really eerie and I felt the formless soul of the hermit around me floating up in the air, I almost saw the spirt fly form one tree root to the other.
We managed to get a local guide for Rs 200 who showed us some unique symbols carved on the sandstone walls of the fort.” These are key words like passwords, which were sued to get to the treasures the kings had hidden deep in the walls of the fort.” The guide informed us. One could get the glimpse pf the entire gangs flowing through the region form this fort and that was magnificent.
The most fascinating thing that I saw was the tomb of a great mediator and baba. This was the tomb and samadhi of Raj Yogi Bharat Hari. He was a great hermit and a devotee of the gods a great Sanatana, who lived by Dharma and through worship. I managed to see his samadhi and even meditate in his chamber. The inner room of his Samadhi has walls full of images and photographs of almost all Hindu God’s and Deity, it’s as like a wall of Fame for all Indian and Hindu Gods. The walls of his samadhi had all the images form Krishna, Durga, Ram, Hanuman, Durga, Ganesh, Laxmi and many more. The inner sanctum of the Samadhi housed the idol of Lord Shiva with a huge trident. This was a spiritual place where people could get the holy man’s blessings. I for one really loved the images of all the gods the man was really in love with his maker it seemed to me.
I even managed to take a look at the square holes on the fort walls these were used by archers to shoot arrows, the holes in the wall were made in a zig zag fashion, so that one could shoot arrows but the enemy arrows would not harm the solider protected by the fort walls. There were barracks meant for soldiers and even a jail a dungeon deep inside the fort. The exist where covers so that the prisoners could not get any sunlight and would have to remain in the dark all the time.
It was once said one who rules Chunar Fort will also rule India. There is also a stone slab where shade is provided by the Pipal Tree. It is said that God sits here under the Pipal tree for nine hours in a day and shifts to Varanasi for three hours. There is a Bawdi about 200 feet deep where the queen and their helpers would bathe, and there would be flowing water there at all times. In the lower area of the fort there are Astabal’s which were built to house the king’s horses. It will ate a few hours to see fort completely and observe it intricately.
It took us about one hour to reach the Chunar fort form our hotel, and we did the journey by car, but it was worth it and a learning experience.
