Bhangarh, the place beautifully located on the edge of Sariska National Reserve in the district of Alwar, Rajasthan, has been in spotlight for years due to it’s hauntings and the creepy stories behind the walls of Bhangarh fort.
The Bhangarh fort was built in 1583 by the King of Amer ,Bhagwant Das. After the demise of Bhagwant Das, his son Madho Singh made the fort the place of his residence.
The fort has a very magnificent structure , being surrounded by lush green mountains of Aravalli.
The fort has tall walls on it’s premises. There are four main points of entry to the fort namely the Lahori gate, the Phulbari gate, the Delhi gate and the Ajmeri gate. Upon entering, one can see the ruins of a few buildings on it’s right side and remnants of a huge marketplace which was once crowded by people of bhangarh. There are also ruins of temples and palaces and a residence of a priest known as’ purohit ji ki haveli’.
The fort which was once alive by the sounds of people talking, walking on it’s premises and the king living with his family, where joy of happiness surrounded it’s premises, now stand still in the memories of that happy era. The ghosts now surround it’s corridors and the ruins of the palaces.
There are two legends surrounding this place. One of them being the story of a princess Ratnavati whose beauty made a priest admire her. The priest who was a practitioner of black magic tried every attempt to lure the princess to respond back to his feelings. One day, he followed the princess to the marketplace and offered her a vial of love potion to which she refused to take and threw the vial on a huge rock. The rock rolled onto the priest, crushing and killing him. Before the moment of his death, he cursed the entire village that no person will be able to live there in peace. The following year, the princess Ratnavati along with all the villagers died in the battle with the invading Mughals.
Another legend is related to a hermit named Balu nath. The King Madho Singh wanted to expand the area of the fort so he seeked permission from the ascetic. The ascetic said that he would allow the king to expand the fort only if he made a promise that the shadows of the fortress won’t touch his cave and his meditation would not be interrupted , that he shall not be disturbed. But the shadows grew longer and touched his cave to which he cursed the town and it’s people that they would never be able to build roofs on their houses. The buildings in the fort are still roof less.
To this day, the fort has been stated to be a place of paranormal activities. It is even forbidden to go into the premises after the sun sets. As per the Guidelines of the Archaeological Survey of India, no body can enter the fort or stay at the premises after the sunset and before the sun rises. The people who have ignored the warnings, never returned to tell the truth.
Several people have reported about paranormal activities taking place in the fort. Some have also said that during their visit to the fort, they felt a kind of heaviness and anxiety. People have sensed that they are being followed by someone but when they turn around to see, there is no one behind.
However, the famous paranormal investigator Gaurav tiwari dismissed all the stories surrounding the Bhangarh. He said that it’s not haunted. The place has been in a dispute, whether it’s haunted or not. Whatever the truth is, It is still advisable to not go near the fort at night. Nobody has truly solved the case of Bhangarh till now and people who have dared to solve this mystery, never returned.