(Story) Datia: A monument without a cause

Datia: A monument without a cause

We walked through this sad and lonely structure admiring its ornamental ceilings and the few graffiti-scarred murals...

Datia? When we first saw the little settlement with a grand palace framed in the window of our train as it pulled out of Jhansi in Madhya Pradesh, we dismissed it as another of the many gems lost in the vast Indian landscape. However, when a French tourist started to rave about it, we knew that we had to squeeze it into our itinerary which included stops at Gwalior, Shivpuri and Orchha.

And we were thankful we did. Our first clear sighting of Datia was from the banks of a lazy river which fielded the reflections of a seven storey place which dominated a little hillock. From here we drove past forgotten ruins marooned like islands in a sea of green paddy fields, before navigating through a network of small alleyways to the entrance of the palace: a grand monument that by a quirk of fate was built for an emperor who never arrived.

Centuries ago Prince Salim, the eldest son of Mughal Emperor Akbar and later to be known as Emperor Jehangir, had a falling out with his father’s right hand man, General Abul Fazal. So when Abul Fazal was passing through Datia, he leaned on the ruler of the region Raj Bir Singh Deo to eliminate the general. The local ruler duly obliged.

When Salim eventually ascended the throne, Raj Bir Singh Deo invited the newly crowned Mughal emperor to visit his kingdom. But first he built a 400-room palace that embraced Hindu, Islam and Mughal architectural styles to accommodate his royal guest.[..] Read the rest of this story

Courtesy: Sakaaltimes.com

About Datia:  Datia is the District headquarter of the Datia District. The town is 69 Km from Gwalior, 325 Km south of new Delhi and 320 Km north of Bhopal. It is an ancient town, mentioned in the mahabharata as Daityavakra. The town is a market centre for food grains and cotton products. Handloom weaving is an important industry . Datia is a famed for the seven-storied palace built by Raja Bir Singh Deo in 1614. A pilgrimage spot for devotees, Datia has the sidhapeeth of shri peetambhara Devi, Buglamukhi Devi Temple and Gopeshwar temple. About 15 Km from Datia is the Sonagiri, a scared Jain hill. Datia is 34 km from jhansi, Uttar Pradesh and 52 Km from Orchha.The nearest airport is a at Gwalior. Datia railway station is on the Delhi-Chennai main line.

Peetambra peeth is a famous shaktipitha located at the entrance of Datia in Madhya Pradesh. This pilgrimage spot features Buglamukhi Devi Temple. and Dhumavati Mai Temple established by shri Golokwasi Swamiji Maharaj. Vankhandeshwar temple is a Mahabharat period temple of Lord Shiva which is situated at this place. Pitambra peeth is about 1 km from Datia Bus Station and 3 KM from Datia Railway Station . (Source)