Hiranyakashyap Palace Jawar - Holika was burnt here along with Prahlad, it tells about the Hiranyakashyap palace along with Holika Dahan place.
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Do you want to see the place where Lord Vishnu in the incarnation of Narasimha killed Hiranyakashyap? Do you want to see the holy place from where Holi burning started?
You might not be able to believe what we are saying, but you will be shocked to see what we are going to show you next.
Today we will show you the fort of Hiranyakashyap in which many mythological events took place. All the tribal people living around this fort also call it the palace of Hiranyakashyap.
Here we will show you the palaces of Hiranyakashyap as well as the place with the fire pit where Hiranyakashyap's sister Holika tried to kill Prahlad by burning him by making him sit in her lap.
Inside this fort, there is also the door of the palace where Lord Vishnu in the incarnation of Narasimha killed Hiranyakashyap.
Tour and Specialty of Hiranyakashyap Mahal
The fort of Hiranyakashyap is built on top of the mountain in the tribal area amidst the dense forest in the hills of Jawar. This fort is so huge that it is a bit difficult to see the entire fort in one day.
There is a dense forest around the fort in which wild animals like panthers are present. All the people of this tribal area also claim that there are lions in the forest, but according to the government, there are many panthers here.
This fort is built on top of the mountain and to reach here you have to walk on rough stones amidst thorny bushes.
In these bushes, there are plants of Kiwanch or Kemach beans planted at many places, which have to be avoided. If any part of the body comes in contact with them, there is severe itching at that place.
We spent about five hours in this fort but still could not see much except a few important places.
This thousands of years old fort has now turned into ruins but still some gates, towers, remains of the boundary walls of the palace and huge ramparts are still visible.
It seems as if these ruins of the fort are proving the truth of the saying that it is said from the ruins how tall this building must have been.
For the protection of the fort, a thick wall has been built around it. The walls of the ramparts are very wide and appear strong.
There is a temple of Hanuman ji at the main gate of the fort on top of the mountain. This main gate is quite huge, strong and artistic.
While going up, we saw two more such gates but it is difficult to tell how many gates are there in total in the fort.
At a distance of about three to four hundred meters from the main gate, near the ramparts, is the place where Hiranyakashyap's sister Holika was killed.
This place is worshiped as a temple. An ancient statue of Lord Vishnu is also installed in it.
Right in front of the statue of Vishnu is the Havan Kund, which is said to be the same Havan Kund in whose fire Holika was sitting with Prahlad in her lap.
By the grace of Lord Vishnu, devotee Prahlad was saved from getting burnt in the fire and Holika, who was blessed with the boon of never getting burnt in the fire, got burnt to ashes.
It is said about this place that after that incident, the ritual of burning Holi started from here which with time started being celebrated as a festival all over India.
Even today, Holi is lit in this entire area only when Holi is lit here first. Only after seeing the flames of this Holi, the ritual of burning Holi at another place starts.
On the day of Holi, along with local people, people from far off states come to this place and people keep coming to this place throughout the night.
Some caves are also present near this place of Holika Dahan. Local people say that these caves are very long and spread far and wide.
When seen from outside, their width is very less but it is said that inside many of these places are so wide that 50 people can sit together.
We went only till outside the cave because the local people who were with us told that going inside could be risky as there could be some wild animal inside.
To reach the other part of the fort from this place we had to cross some doors of the fort. Remains of the palace were visible everywhere.
Even in this part of the fort, remains of carved stones are visible all around. Seeing so many stones, it seems that this fort must have been very huge and grand indeed.
In this part of the fort, the long and wide rampart wall is still safe. We went ahead for about two to three hundred meters on this rampart wall. The ruins of the palace were visible below inside the ramparts.
Here, the natural beauty all around was visible from the wall of the fort. At this place, this place seems very mythological and similar to the Satyayuga period.
From here we returned because the path ahead was a bit difficult and risky.
Is there any historical evidence of Hiranyakashyap's palace?
Actually, Hiranyakashyap is linked to many places like Multan in Pakistan, Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh, Hindaun in Rajasthan etc. Now Jawar's name has also been added to this list.
These claims about Hiranyakashipu's palace are known only from legends and stories passed down in the society for thousands of years. No one has the historical facts about where this palace is.
Places to see near Hiranyakashyap Fort
Jawar town is a historical town situated in the middle of the mountains which is full of many temples and natural beauty.
Here there is Jawar Mata temple, Baidhnath Mahadev temple in front of it, Jawar fort, Ramnath temple and many Jain temples along with its stepwell.
How to reach Hiranyakashipu's palace?
This palace of Hiranyakashyap is built on the hills of Jawar village, about 40 kilometers from Udaipur.
Jawar village is famous for zinc mines all over India, there are many zinc mines here.
To reach here, train has also been started on Udaipur Ahmedabad route, but it is still the initial phase, hence it is better if you go by road rather than by train.
To reach here from Udaipur, you have to turn from Tidi turn on Udaipur Ahmedabad Highway and go to Jawar village. There is North Baroi Mines on the main road here.
There is a footpath like path next to this North Baroi Mines, you have to go up the mountain on foot through this path.
You should go up only if you are ready to walk three to four kilometers up the hill.
The flag of Hanumanji's temple located on the mountain is visible from the road below. The fort starts from this temple.
The routes to the fort are known only to the people visiting here, hence take a local person with you as a guide so that you can easily see the fort.
Wild animals also live in this area, hence one should avoid going here in the evening.
We would just like to tell you that if you have a little adventure, a little faith and a little interest in tourism, then you should definitely go here.
Map Location of Hiranyakashyap Fort
Photos of Hiranyakashyap Fort
Writer
Ramesh Sharma {M Pharm, MSc (Computer Science), PGDCA, MA (History), CHMS}
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