(05) Madhya Pradesh: Raja Mahal at Orchha

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Dr. Bharatkumar Bhate is M.S. General Surgeon (Gold Medalist) by qualification with an experience of 30,000+ operations and is based at Rajkot, Gujarat. He is an avid reader and a passionate writer. In this blog, he shares his travel experiences and creative writings.

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M.P. Tour : Chapter 5: Orchha

Orchha has a large number of ancient monuments like palaces, temples and other edifices. I have already written about Jehangir Mahal. Today, I am writing about other monuments.

One of such nice buildings is the Raj Mahal. It ranks amongst the most ancient historical monuments in the Orchha fort. It was built by Raja Madhukar Shah during his reign from 1554 to 1591.

The Raja Mahal is a palace where the kings and the queens had resided till 1783. As soon as you enter the palace, you find a large square. Raja Madhukar Shah had six queens and hence there are six rooms of queens, and one room for the king. The exterior is simple and unembellished, but the interior chambers of the palace are elaborately royal in their architectural design. It is decorated with murals (wall paintings) of social and religious themes of Gods, mythical animals and people. The domes and walls have beautiful paintings which have faded with time, but still worth the appreciation. One painting shows ducks in a row, with monkeys disrupting them. Paintings are done from natural pigments. This reminded me of paintings on walls of Ellora caves. In the upper floor of the palace, there are traces of mirrors in the ceilings and walls. Its windows, arcaded passages, and layout plan are designed in such a way that the sunlight and shadow create areas of different moods and temperatures throughout the day.

Watch videos of the Raja Mahal paintings at below links:

(1) https://www.facebook.com/100055686072340/videos/872967583698756/

(2) https://www.facebook.com/100055686072340/videos/460481466151252/

(3) https://www.facebook.com/100055686072340/videos/872746664161407/

The Raja Mahal has several secret passages for emergency exit.

A part of this Mahal was converted into a temple and named Ram Raja Temple in honour of the god Ram.

Ram Raja temple, which is a very famous temple in Orchha was earlier a Palace of Rani Ganeshkuwar (Ramadevi), wife of Raja Madhukar Shah.

There is an interesting history explaining why the palace of the Queen was transformed into a temple.

According to a local legend, the Queen was a devotee of Lord Ram. She was said to be mother Kaushalya of Ram in the Ramayan era. She had a dream in which her son Ram directed her to build a temple for him. Her husband Raja Madhukar Shah was however a devotee of Krishna (Banke Bihari). So the King decided to build a temple for God Krishna. On strong demand by the Queen, the King agreed, but asked the Queen to bring God Ram in his childhood form.

The queen went to Ayodhya and did a very 'Hard Tapsya' on Laxman Ghat. God Ram was ultimately pleased and agreed to come to Orchha as a child but put three conditions:

(1) that he will be a ruler of Orchha

(2) He will come in Pukh Nakshatra, walking from Ayodhya to Orchha

(3) He will be permanently enshrined wherever placed once

The queen obtained an image of Lord Ram from Saryu river. When she came back from Ayodhya with the idol of Ram in childhood form, the temple was still under construction. The construction was delayed due to war with the enemy in which one Prince of Orchha was killed. Therefore, she kept the idol in her Rani Mahal. She was, however, unaware of an injunction that the image to be deified in a temple could not be kept in a Palace. Once the temple construction was completed and the idol of the Lord had to be moved for installation at the new temple, it refused to be shifted from the palace. Hence, Rama's idol remained in the palace whereas the new temple remained without an idol in its sanctum. As Rama was worshiped in the palace, it was converted into the Ram Raja Temple. This is the only place where Rama is worshipped as a king and not a God.

The new temple was later enshrined with an idol of Lord Vishnu having four hands and so the temple became popular as Chatrabhuj temple.

Ram Raja temple has an excellent large square courtyard, tiled with marble and the temple in pink and yellow colors, gives a bright look. It looks fantastic from the top balcony of adjoining Chatrabhuj temple.

Hundreds of local people and tourists visit it every day. On festival days like Ramnavmi, several thousands pilgrims visit the temple. 'Pan' is a unique type of 'prasad' offered here. Photography inside of the temple is not allowed.

Friends, please wait for the description of the famous Chatrabhuj temple and other monuments in my upcoming blog. Till then, have a nice time.

- Dr. Bharat Bhate