Dinpanah (Shergarh) (1538 A.D.) - The Legacy of Delhi Vol 7

(In this edition of Delhi-iteful Tuesdays I am bringing to you the seventh edition of this historical series The Legacy of Delhi.) 

Introduction - 
                               The location on which the city of Dinpanah was established by 'Humayun' the second emperor of the Mughal Dynasty is said to have been consistently inhabited since 1000 B.C.  So when Emperor Humayun decided to built his capital city here it was not much of a surprise despite the fact that, the locations of Dinpanah was completely different as compared to the locations of most of the capital cities of Delhi built earlier.
                              A look through the Archaeological Museum located inside the fort will reveal you how rich this place was in terms of artifacts which were discovered by archaeologists during excavations conducted by them in 1955 and again from 1969 to 1973.  

                               

 A view of the Humayun gate (or the South Gate) from inside the fort

Physical Map of Delhi depicting the location of Dinpanah (Shergarh)

History -  
              
                 The second Mughal Emperor Humayun in the year 1533 A.D. founded the city of Dinpanah (Refuge of the Pious). This he did after holding consultations with various learned men and various scholars.  The city was also located in very close proximity to the shrine of Delhi`s most revered saint, Nizam ud Din Auliya. The belief of local Hindu populace that the mythological city of Indraprastha existed on that very spot also could have contributed to the decision to build the city where it was made.
                  Today only the inner citadel of this city which is popularly known as Purana Qila stands. There were a number of villages in and around the citadel like the villages of Indrapat(located in the fort itself), Raisina and Malcha (located where Lutyens Delhi stands today) which were uprooted by the Britishers during the construction of New Delhi in 1913 A.D.           
                 When emperor Humayun lost the throne of Dinpanah (Delhi) and Sher Shah Suri took over, he brought down the portions of the city constructed by Humayun and rebuilt it himself, and re-named the city as Shergarh.

 

View of the Fort ramparts from the moat (now called the Old Fort Lake)

Architecture -

                               Its high walls of rubble masonry with a slight batter, 4 m. thick and as much as 21 m. high in places, have a battlemented parapet above the row of arrow-slits, behind which all along the circumference are built a series of chambers in a two-aisle depth. There are massive bastions on the four corners, in addition to five bastions in the western wall, and three gates, all double-storeyed, one on each side except on the east. The gates have a veneer of red and buff sandstones, with an ornamental use of white and black marble and coloured tiles. 

                              The three main gates of the fort were Bara Darwaza, (Big Gate) facing west, which is still in use today, The South Gate, popularly known as the Humayun Gate (either because it was constructed by Humayun, or because Humayun's Tomb is visible from there) and the Talaqi Gate, often known as the "forbidden gate".

                              Despite the immense exterior, few of interior structures have survived except the Qila i Kuhna Mosque and the Sher Mandal, both of which were said to be constructed Sher Shah Suri.

Decline -

                 After Emperor Akbar took over the Mughal Empire he shifted his capital 195 kms south to Agra and from there to Fatehpur Sikri. The spotlight moved away from the Old Fort gradually althught it continued to function as a military garrison for quite a while.

The No-Nonsense Travel Advice
Name of the City	Dinpanah (or Shergarh) (Today it is commonly called as Old Fort or Purana Qila)
Constructed By	Sher Shah Suri and Humayun
Year of Completion	1538 A.D.
Location	On Mathura Road (near Delhi Zoo), New Delhi
How to Reach	. The Old Fort is approximately 2 kms/1.24 miles from Pragati Maidan Metro Rail Station (on the Blue Line).  You could either walk the short distance or take an auto from there. . The correct Auto Fare is only Rs 20 (as per the government issued fare chart) so there is a good chance of either the auto driver fleecing you or not wanting to go at all.
Entrance Fee	. Citizens of India and visitors from Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives, Afghanistan, Thailand and Myanmar - Rs. 5 per head . Visitors from other countries - US $ 2 or Indian Rs. 100/- per head . (Free entry to children up to 15 years) . There is an archaeological museum inside the fort as well.  The ticket price is Rs 2 for Indians.

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Indraprastha (1400 B.C.) - The Legacy of Delhi Vol 2

(In this edition of Delhi-iteful Tuesdays I am bringing to you the third part of this historical series The Legacy of Delhi.) 

Around 1400 B.C. there existed besides the banks of the River Yamuna (as per the ancient Indian text or epic 'The Mahabharata') the magnificent city of Indraprastha. It was the capital city of the kingdom of Pandava brothers and ruled by Yudhishthir(the eldest Pandava). It is next to the location of this fabled city that the current city of New Delhi stands.

Legends and Facts -
                                              Although there is not much physical evidence about the city but locals did claim that there existed a huge mound (which could have contained the remains of the city) upon which the Mughals built the Purana Qila or the Old Fort (which was the inner citadel of the city of Dinpanah). Until the year 1913 AD, a village called Indrapat did exist within the fort walls of Purana Qila (Old Fort). Also painted Grey Ware were excavated from this site which dated back to the times of 1500-1000 B.C.

Purana Qila (Old Fort)

Ramparts of Purana Qila (Old Fort ) as seen from its moat.

 Raisina Hill (with the Rashtrapati Bhawan at its backdrop)

There is another theory which suggests that the mound which might have contained the ruins of Indraprastha was not the one upon which the Purana Qila was built but the one upon which the current Rashtrapati Bhawan (Presidential Palace) of India stands. That hill is popularly known as the Raisina Hill. This hill, which could also have been confused with a large mound was visible from the Purana Qila and vice-versa.

Physical Map of Delhi with the location of 'Indraprastha' depicted on it.

History -
                   As per the 'The Mahabharata' the Demon Maya, who was said to be the best architect of his time, built the city and the palace of Indraprastha for the Pandavas after their Uncle King Dhritarashtra partitioned the Kingdom of Hastinapur (which was rightfully Yudhishtir's) into two in order to stem the rivalry between the Pandava brothers (see picture below) and the Kauravas (their cousins). The area for the palace was created by clearing the forests of Khandava by Arjuna and Lord Krishna (his friend and teacher). The palace built by Maya was said to be so magnificent that it invoked the jealousy of Pandavas cousin brother Duryodhana (Kaurava, eldest son of Dhritarashtra).

Here you see the five Pandava princes (heroes of the epic Mahabharata) with their shared wife-in-common Draupadi. The central figure is Yudhishthir. The two to his left are Bhima and Arjuna . Nakula and Sahadeva , the twins, are to his right. Their wife, at far right, is Draupadi .

(Picture by Bob King, sourced from Wikipedia)

 Krishna and Arjuna on the chariot

When Pandavas defeated the Kauravas in the great battle of Kurukshetra, and king Yudhisthir ascended the throne of Hastinapur, his brother Arjuna stayed at Indraprastha, with Lord Krishna, and looked after the borders of the kingdom. Yuyutsu - son of King Dhritarashtra (Kauravas), who switched sides to join the Pandavas right before the battle commenced, was installed as the king of Indraprastha after the battle.

Decline -
                   What happened to the physical remains of the city (if it existed) after the Mahabharata, is not clear as much of the ancient history of India is blurred.

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The Legacy of Delhi Vol 1 - An Introduction

(Begining from now, the bi-monthly editions of Delhi-iteful Tuesdays are going to present a new and extremely informative insight into the treasures of the city of Delhi, it's seven former capital cities, in the series The Legacy of Delhi. Read and Enjoy.)

New Delhi (28°36′36″N 77°13′48″E) is the capital of India. It's total area is 1484 square kms or 573 sq miles and within this area seven capital cities (of the kingdoms of their time) and other numerous military garrisons (which also served as capitals of the kingdoms of their time) were established.
What made successive rulers choose the location (where Delhi stands today) millennium after millennium to choose the same spot to build their capitals ? What were those capitals like ? Did they serve their Purpose ? Do their ruins still remain and Can we still see them ? It is questions like these and more which will be answered in this special series called 'The Legacy of Delhi'. Read On..

The Genesis -
                               Since the Sun first dawned over the Indian Subcontinent ( which includes countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal e.t.c.) people started to move in to this part of Earth, which is separated from the rest of Asia by a continuous mountain system, to make this place their own. Initially there was area for everybody. So people worked, traded and dwelled in peace (for example The Indus Valley Civilization). They established relations with civilizations beyond the subcontinent (like the Mesopotamians).

The Indus Valley Civilization (the biggest urban centers of the Indus valley are underlined in Red while the location of the city of Delhi, which was uninhabited then, is highlighted in Green)

But as time kept flowing by, more and more people (e.g. Aryan tribes) migrated, from Central Asia, into the subcontinent to make this land their own and therefore the space or the land available began to lessen. As a result conflicts arose and when conflicts arose the need for establishing supremacy came up. When the societies and the manner of governance in the Indian Subcontinent became more organized kingdoms began to be formed and the rulers started to expand their dominions across the subcontinent.

Gradually, the concept of having large kingdoms arose when rulers began to emerge with large powerful armies and good administrative skills. For example,the Mauryan Empire under the rule of Chandragupta Maurya, Bimbisara and Asoka the Great started to expand their empires successfully until it encompassed the entire subcontinent.

A replica of Ashoka's major rock Edict at Girnar, Gujarat, India

Through these edicts, which were placed across the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal), Emperor Ashoka proclaimed his beliefs in the Buddhist concept of dharma and his efforts to develop the dharma throughout his kingdom. Although Buddhism and the Buddha are mentioned, the edicts focus on majorly over social and moral precepts of Buddhism.

Now, with the advent of large empires the need for greater coordination amongst the armed forces in the event of an attack by an invading force was felt. Also in order to smoothen the process of tax collection the capital of the empire had to be located in a particular location from where the coordination of the armed forces and that of the administration could take place smoothly. So when large empires began to be setup in north India especially by invaders from Central Asia the search for the ideal capital led them to Delhi.

The naming of Delhi - 

                                                    There are various theories which suggest how the city got his name, all of them interesting to read, but the first reference about the name(of the location) Delhi seems to have been made when Raja Dhilu built a city nearby in the 1st century B.C.
                                                    Vibudh Shridhar (an accomplished writer of his times) in his book Pasanah Chariu (The Conduct of Parshva) provides the first 'written' historical reference to the name 'Dhilli' (it is pronounced in the same manner as Delhi would be pronounced in Hindi). 

                                                    As per the lines written in his book - 'There are countless villages in Haryana (look at the map below) country. The villagers there work hard. They don't accept domination of others, and are experts in making the blood of their enemies flow. Indra himself praises this country. The capital of this country is 'Dhilli'

Physical Map of Delhi

Geographical Location - Once you observe the location of Delhi in the Indian Subcontinent on the map above it would reveal to you how advantageous the position of Delhi must have been to the former rulers keeping in mind the fact that Afghanistan(from where the majority of invasions took place) is neither too far nor too close to the capital. This locations was not in an aggressive location nor in a very defensive location which is why the city either ended up being ransacked by the invading army or the armies of the ruler of Delhi would take the battle against the enemy right into Afghanistan.

One other reason for rulers(Hindu) to choose Delhi as capital was because Delhi is said to be located in the very spot where the fabled city of Pandavas (of Mahabharata), Indraprastha once stood.

This was the first post in the series of The Legacy of Delhi. Next post would be over Indraprastha (The fabled city of the Pandavas)

Co-Written by Traveler Fahad and R Yamuna

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Please Note:- The geographical map has been sourced from vidiani.com under the  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Licence.

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