Showing posts with label qila rai pithora. Show all posts
Showing posts with label qila rai pithora. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Hauz-i-Shamsi, Mehrauli

Hauz-i-Shamsi is a water storage reservoir or tank built by Iltumish of the Slave Dynasty in 1230 AD. It is said that the location was revealed to him in a dream by the Prophet Muhammad. 


It is said that when Iltumish inspected the site the day after his dream, he reported to have found a hoof print of Prophet Muhammad's horse. He then erected a pavilion to mark the sacred location and excavated a large tank  around the pavilion to harvest rain water.




Another version of the legend says that the Holy Prophet appeared in a dream not only to Iltumish but also to the sufi saint Khawaja indicating the same location where the hoof print of Prophet's horse was imprinted. 








Since drinking water supply was acute in the newly founded capital of Iltumish (the first medieval city of Qila Rai Pithora ) a tank was dug at the location indicated in the dream, which resulted in water jetting out from a spring source. 


It was, thereafter, named as Hauz-i-Shamsi, and Khawaja, the saint who divined it, came to be known as Hazrat Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki or simply 'Kaki'. The name Kaki was attributed to him by virtue of this keramat (miracle). 


Jahaz Mahal was built on the eastern edge of the same reservoir during the Lodi dynasty period in the 16th century as a retreat or Inn for use by the pilgrims. 








Also at the edge of Hauz is the tomb of 17th century Persian writer in the Mughal court,Abdul-Haqq Dehlavi. 

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Qila Rai Pithora

The Chauhan prince of Sakambhari, Vigraharaja IV captured Delhi from the Tomar Rajputs in the latter half of the 12th century. The grandson of Vigraharaja IV, Prithviraja Chauhan III, built Qila Rai Pithora, the first city of Delhi, by extending the  Lal Kot.


The city derived its name from the title of Prithviraja Chauhan and thus came to be known as Qila Rai Pithora, with Lal Kot as its southwestern base.



At present the ruins of Qila Rai Pithora have been conserved in a 20-acre DDA Conservation Park at Mehrauli.

The ruins of Qila Rai Pithora can be reached by taking the IIT-Mehrauli road just past the Adhchini village. The ruins of the ramparts of the extended city are rubble-built and are 5 to 6 meters in thickness, with a height of 18 meters on some sides and are surrounded by a wide moat from the outside.

Out of the 13 gates, 3 gates remain. The Badaun Gate, Hauz-Rani and Barka gates.