Bhangarh The Haunted Place

Bhangarh, Rajasthan, India (Haunted)

Bhangarh (Hindi: भानगढ़) is a village in India that is famous for its historical ruins. It is in the Rajgarh municipality of the Alwar district in the state of Rajasthan.

The town was established in 1573 (VS 1631) during the rule of Bhagwant Das as the residence of his second son Sawai Madho Singh, the younger brother of Emperor Akbar’s general, Man Singh I. Madho Singh participated in many campaigns with his father and brother. The next ruler of Bhangarh was his son Chhatra Singh after whose death in 1630, Bhangarh slowly declined. When the Mughal Empire became weaker after the death of Aurangzeb, Jai Singh II attached Bhangarh to his state by force in 1720. After this Bhangarh diminished in population, and since the famine of 1783 (VS 1840) the town has remained uninhabited.

Entry to Bhangarh is legally prohibited between sunset and sunrise. A signboard posted by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India), which is a Government of India organization, specifies the instructions. While the board is written in Hindi, the instructions on it roughly translate into: "Entering the borders of Bhangarh before sunrise and after sunset is strictly prohibited. Legal action would be taken against anybody who does not follow these instructions". Some other rules are there according to which no one is allowed to graze their animals after sunset.

According to Legends

The myth is legend of the Princess of Bhangarh, Ratnavati. She is believed to be the jewel of Rajasthan. On her eighteenth birthday she began to get offers of marriage from other regions (i.e. nobility). In the area lived a tantrika (wizard), a magician well versed in the occult, called Singhiya, who was in love with the princess but knew that the match was impossible. One day Singhiya saw the princess's maid in the market, he used his black magic on the scent she was purchasing so that upon touching it the princess would surrender herself to him. The princess, however, seeing the tantrika enchanting the scent, foiled his plan by pouring it on the ground. As the scent struck the ground it turned into a boulder, that crushed Singhiya. Dying, the tantrika cursed the palace with the death of all who dwelt in it. The next year there was a battle between Bhangarh and Ajabgarh in which Princess Ratnavati perished. Legends says that there are ghosts in Bhangarh and that is why entry is prohibited for tourists in the fort after sunset and before sunrise. The locals believe that the princess Ratnavati has taken birth somewhere else and that the fort and the empire of Bhangarh is waiting for her return to put an end to the curse.