KOTA
Kotah on the eastern bank of the Chambal river, was the
capital of the former Kotah State, and once belonged to the
chiefs of the Hara sect of Chauhan Rajputs.
The town is on the broad gauge line of the Western Railway
about 468 km. (291 miles) from Delhi, 917 km. (570 miles)
from Bombay and 239 km. (149 miles) from Jaipur. It is 251
km. (156 miles) from Jaipur by road.
Inside the city, enclosed by massive bastioned walls, are
the old palace and the museum. The latter, housed in the
Saraswati Bhandar, has a valuable collection of several
thousand manuscripts – some of them beautifully written and
illustrated. The fine public gardens, the lake above it with
a charming pavilion and the water-works on the Chambal are
some other interesting sights in Kotah.
Chambal Project
It is, however, the Chambal
River Project that has added to the importance of Kotah in
recent years. The Chambal Valley Development Scheme is a
multi-purpose project designed to benefit the States of
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It involves the construction
of three dams with power stations, transmission lines, a
barrage and a network of canals for irrigation to be
completed in three stages. The Gandhi Sagar Dam in Madhya
Pradesh and the barrage at Kotah are be completed during the
first stage.
Work on the Kotah barrage was initiated in 1953 and is
expected to be completed in 1962. It is located 0.8 km. (½
mile) upstream of Kotah city and is a composite dam built of
earth, masonry and concrete. The barrage will be 600 m.
(1,970 ft.) in length and 36 m. (120 ft.) in height. The
canals taking off from it will irrigate 4.45 million
hectares (11 million acres). The project is estimated to
cost Rs. 255 million.
Around Kotah
There are several places of
archaeological interest in the area around Kotah. The
Bhind-Devara temples at Ramgarh are fine monuments of the
eleventh century. At Atru, a place of considerable
importance in the medieval Hindu period, are the ruins of
buildings and temples. Similar ruins and a fort built during
Muslim rule are to be found at Shergarh. Khanpur has an
unusual underground Jain temple.
A place of great architectural interest is Jhalra Patan, 80
km. (50 miles) from Kotah, on the left bank of a stream
known as Chandrabhaga. The principal remains of the medieval
city of Chandravati sprawl along the northern bank of the
stream and they include some fine temples. The largest and
earliest of these is the temple of Sitaleswar Mahadeva,
which has been decribed as “the most elegant specimen of
columnar architecture.” The temple is said to belong to the
seventh century. The temple of Sat Saheli is another
impressive structure at Patan which has a small museum also.
Baroli
At Baroli, 48 km. (30 miles)
from Kotah, is a group of seven ruined temples of the eighth
century in a wild but picturesque spot. The one dedicated to
Lord Siva is the most remarkable. It from, it is like the
contemporary Orissan temples. But it has a pillared portico
of great elegance, its roof reaching half way up to the
temple. This and the rich sculptured designs make it unlike
any other temple. Some 18 m. (60 ft.) high, its main beauty
lies in its shape and proportions and the profuse and
elegant ornamentation.
In front of the temple is a detached porch, called chaori,
supported by a double row of sculptured columns. The shrines
around the main temple are carved with attractive figures of
Hindu deities and other motifs. The Shesh-Savi, an
outstanding piece of Baroli sculpture–2.4 m. (8 ft.) in
length, 0.6 m. (2 ft.) wide and 0.9 m. (3 ft.) in height –
showing Vishnu, reclining on his couch formed by the coils
of the hydra, with Laxmi in attendance, is now preserved in
the Kotah museum. |
