A valiant sentinel in the desert, on the eastern fringe
of the Thar desert has the distinction of neither
being a part of the Thar desert nor out of it. At
best it is a doorway to the wonderland of sand dunes
and shrubs, rocky terrain and thorny trees. The home
of the Rathroes - the awesome princely state of Rajasthan
They conquered Marwar or Maroodesh, land of the sand
after the fall of Delhi and Kannauj. In 1459 AD, Rao
Jodha, chief of Rathore clan of Rajputs, who claimed
descent from Rama, the epic here of the Ramayana, laid
the foundation of Jodhpur. A high stone wall protects
the well-fortified city.
The wall is nearly 10km in length and has eight gates
facing various directions. Within, stands an imposing
fort on a low range of sandstone hills, about 125m above
the surrounding plains. Invincible! And dauntless in
its league with time! The city lies at the foot of the
hills.
The clear distinction between the old and the new city
is visible from the ramparts of the fort. On the other
side of the city, facing the fort is the Umaid Bhawan
Palace.
One of the most spacious, sprawling and well-planned
palaces in India. And from here, as you look at fort,
a tantalizing view rises before your eyes at sunset.
The peculiar slant of the sunset lends the desert landscape
an awe-inspiring glow and the people, a chivalry undaunted
.
This bustling desert city is the second largest city
in Rajasthan after Jaipur and has landscape dominated
by the massive Meherangarh Fort topping a sheer rocky
ridge. The old city is fenced by 10 km long wall with
eight Gates leading out of it. The new city is outside
the walled city. Rao Jodha, a chief of the Rathore clan,
founded the city in 1459 and it is named after him.
The old city is fenced by 10 km long wall with eight
Gates leading out of it. The new city is outside the
walled city. Rao Jodha, a chief of the Rathore clan,
founded the city in 1459 and it is named after him.
The Afghans drove the Rathores out of their original
homeland Kaunaj and they fled to this region around
Pali a short distance from present day Jodhpur.
A manoeuvre lead to marriage between Rathore Siahaji
and the sister of a local prince that helped the Rathores
to establish and strengthen themselves in this region.
In fact they flourished so well that managed to oust
the Pratiharas of Mandore, just 9 km of present day
Jodhpur. By 1459 a need for more secured capital lead
to the founding of Meherangarh Fort on its rocky perch
and Jodhpur was thus founded by Rao Jodha.
The Rathores enjoyed good relations with the Mughals
and Maharaja Jaswant Singh (1678) supported Shah Jahan
in the latter's struggle for war of succession. Only
problematic relationship they had was with Aurangzeb.
After Auranzeb's death Maharaja Ajit Singh drove out
Mughals from Ajmer and added it to Marwar. In the reign
of Maharaja Umed Singh Jodhpur grew into a fine modern
city.
The quintessence of Jodhpur was its valour and equestrian
skill. Polo has been the traditional sport of the Jodhpur
nobility since medieval times. Jodhpur has two railway
stations, City and Rai ka Bagh both are outside the
walled city. The bus stand is right outside the Rai
ka Bagh Station.
The High Court is a while from the bus stand after the
Umed Gardens, after which is located the tourist reception
centre and RTDC Hotel Ghoomer. Ahead is the main market
and entry in to the wall from Sojati Gate. This area
also has many hotels. Jodhpur is also military and air
force station and has a large cantonment and airbase.
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