Search for BHANGARH FORT, and you will get multiple postings, with the most boasting of Bhangarh as one of India’s most haunted, if not the most haunted and cursed places.
TRIP TO BHANGARD.
Recently, I visited Bhangarh Fort. Like everyone else, I, too, was charged with the stories and mentions of Bhangarh –the most haunted status.
The number of tourists on Sunday at this isolated site points to two things. The ‘Haunted’ tag is a marketing success. Second, people believe in haunted places ( like me) and make efforts to make such trips out of curiosity. It is possible to make a same-day trip from Jaipur or Delhi. And if you go for it- don’t forget to visit Abhaneri Stepwell nearby.
BHANGARH –THE MOST HAUNTED.
Every tourist at Bhangarh has only one question for the guide. They repeat the question at the ticket counter and cross-check with the guards. Simple enough- Is the place really haunted? And what they want to hear is YES.
The board on the site and the guards inform that the fort’s gates are shut at 6 PM, and the last entry is allowed by 5 PM. No one can be within the fort between sunset and sunrise. However, one did not see the often quoted and commented upon signpost, ‘No entry between sunset and sunrise’.
The internet will, however, love you to believe that the Bhangarh Fort is haunted. The spirits and ghosts wander around the area after sunset, and people cannot stay inside the fort wall perimeter after sunset. Moreover, the posts will claim that people who have tried staying overnight have lost their minds, have died soon after, or have just disappeared. Enough reasons for Bhangarh Fort to stake the claim for being the most haunted place in India.
THE BANGARH FORT
Raja Bhagwant Das, a Kachhwaha ruler of Amber, built Bhangarh – a majestic palace (now in ruins) in the 16th century for his younger son Madho Singh. The location is at the edge of the Sariska Tiger Reserve and the Aravalli range of mountains in the Alwar district. Just under 100 Km from Jaipur, it is a decent two-hour drive, and it is just 235 Km from Delhi.
It is built on the slopes of a mountain. Additionally, it has mountains on three sides, strategically making it very defensible.
Today, the tourist enters the ruined fort city of Bhangarh from the Hanuman Gate. In addition, four more gates (Lahori Gate, Ajmeri Gate, Phulbari Gate, and Delhi Gate) are on the protective wall surrounding the town.
THE GUIDE ADDS TO THE FLAVOUR OF BHANGARH.
I recommend you take a guide who will add more story ( half history) to the experience. So, you will find the Purohitji Ki Haveli, where the Royal Priest lived; Nachan Ki Haveli – where the dancer lived; the Raj Vaid ki Kuitya– the Royal doctor’s house; and Jauhari Bazar -the marketplace.
He will tell you much more while escorting you through the 350 meters of a ruined market. He will tell you that the market used to have more than 1000 shops selling Bangles and other artifacts. The shops had residential parts at the back. And you marvel if this was the bangle market where is the city- and he will point to partially visible ruins and tell you- still under the soil.
And that is also the explanation of why the ruins are the way they are. None of these shops have a roof. The whole market was buried under sand and mud- and was excavated at a later date – hence, no roof. Many other old properties, the Kutia– the haveli, and the palace have their roof and structures in better shape.
Like every haunted place and palace, there are stories associated with Bhangarh.
THE STORY OF RISING SHADOW.
The first legend is that of a sadhu named Baba Balau Nath. When the township and the fort were being built, Baba Balau Nath had just one instruction / request that there be no house taller than his house, and if there was such a house, its shadow should not fall on it, or the town would be destroyed. When later columns were added to the fort and the defensive wall heights were raised, their shadow fell on Baba’s house, and as a result of the curse, the fort and the surrounding town were destroyed.
THE STORY OF THE LUSTY EYES OF THE TANTRIK.
Ratnavati, the princess of Bhangarh, was extremely beautiful. (Some historians believe she was the queen of Bhangarh married to Madho Singh). When she turned 18, she started getting marriage proposals from all over the region. Meanwhile, a wicked tantric Singhia Sevra, who lived on the hilltop near the palace, saw her, and he also wanted to marry her.
One day, while the princess went to the temple, the tantric followed her and offered her a love potion. It was a powerful Love Potion. It would have pulled her into the Tantric’s arms if she were to drink it. She could not have controlled falling in love. However, the princess refused to drink it and threw it onto a large rock – the rock under the spell rolled onto the Tantric and crushed him to death. But before dying, the tantric cursed the entire village, condemning it to destruction and desolation.
THE OTHER STORY – RARELY TOLD AND SHARED.
It is said that the Bhangarh Fort was abandoned in the late 18th century after facing repeated attacks from the Marathas. Around that time, an earthquake further damaged the town’s structures and palace, leading people to abandon the town. However, there is no listing of a major earthquake around that time.
It is said that the following year after the death of the tantric, the Bhangarh army suffered defeat at the hands of an enemy. The entire military was wiped out, and citizens of the fort city were massacred. It is said that their spirit roams at night, and their voices can still be heard at night. The princess’s fate is unknown, but her spirit is believed to wander around the fort area.
THE VILLAGERS QUESTION BHANGRAH’s HAUNTED TAG.
The current gate to the ruined city has a Hanuman temple, and the fort has a Hanuman temple. In both these temples, pooja is offered. Moreover, other temples are in the area, such as the Gopinath Temple, Someshwar Temple, Keshav Rai Temple, Mangla Devi Temple, and Ganesh Temple.
Now, the question. Hanumanjee is supposed to protect against the spirit. If there is a temple of Hanumanjee, how can there be a ghost? ‘Bhoot Pret Nikat na aayeh Mahavir jab naam Sunaway’– no evil spirit or ghost can come near when Mahavir’s ( Hanuman ) name is taken.
BHANGARH FORT – THE MOST HUANTED?
As no one is allowed inside between sunset and sunrise (valid for many structures under the Archaeology Survey of India), Bhangarh takes on the history and legend of being a haunted town. This additional information and grand marketing of the place suggestively make people feel the chill and feel watched.
The guards at the site also deny any signs of paranormal experience, whereas, on YouTube, you would find many ghosthunters and YouTubers sneaking in to stay the night and use various instruments to capture paranormal activity. A lot of YouTubers have stayed in and come out alive.
It all depends on whether you believe in it.
It could result from subjective suggestions that make people hear strange noises and read too much into the claim to believe that anyone who enters the fort at night will not be able to return in the morning.
There are stories to support the claim of it being haunted. People who have tried staying at night have gone missing or were not able to explain their experiences and timelines coherently. One can say no to one’s imagination and hallucinating mind, but the reports exist- claims exist.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AT BHANGARH FORT.
I enjoyed my visit but did not feel like I was being watched. However, I was cautious not to do anything that may upset any spirits living there. However, at one place, I did feel a chill, and it was 3:30 in the afternoon. I did not share it with my colleague, who does not believe in these things. At another place, I got a very peculiar smell, which the guide explained was the smell of bats.
Net Net- Bhangarh the Most haunted.
Whether the Bhangarh palace is haunted is open to debate. The theory is that it is closed after sunset to protect people from animals from the nearby forest, which seems plausible enough. However, one does not want to doubt its haunted status, which may anger the spirits, if any.
My experience says NO, but I must not discount what others have experienced. And if it helps tourism, let it remain haunted because dropping from that list will be a death nail on prospective tourism.
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TRIVIA: Karan Arjun (1995) was shot in the town, including in the Bhangarh ruins. Another horror-thriller film, Trip to Bhangarh: Asia’s Most Haunted Place (2014), was also shot here.
NEXT IN BUCKET LIST: KULDHARA, where villagers of the nearby 83 villages vanished in the dark in 1825. Here, again, is a story of lust. Salim Singh, the evil prime minister, set his eyes upon the daughter of the village head and declared he would marry her, with or without her consent. And the villagers, instead of accepting his demand, decided to leave the villages overnight.
