Drove into Orchha in the afternoon from Jhansi.
Orchha was founded in the 15th century AD by the Bundela
chief, Rudra Pratap Singh, who became the first King of Orchha.
History confronts you at every step from the minute you
enter Orchha. Stay anywhere and you are bound to sight some palace or the other
either from you room or from the roof top.
The first palace that we visited was the Raja Mahal. This
palace was built by Rudra Pratap Singh.
It has beautiful paintings on the ceiling and murals on the
walls. Fortunately these paintings can still be seen in
its original colours!
Then we visited the Jahangir Mahal. The Jahangir Mahal was
constructed after Vir Singh Deo of Bundela Rajputs revolted against the Mughal
Emperor Akbar.
It was completed in 1598 by the victorious Mughal Prince Salem
(later known as the Mughal Emperor
Jahangir) after defeating Vir Singh Deo of
Bundela, a sworn enemy of the Mughals.
By the time we were through visiting these palaces it was
evening and we were advised by our guide to go
over the bridge over river Betwa
to view a fabulous sunset against the Chhatris or Memorials built to honour
the
rulers of Orchha.
Next morning it was time to visit the Chhaturbhuj temple
dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It was built in 875,
during the reign of imperial
Gurjara Pratihara dynasty.
Adjacent to that is the Ram Raja temple. Both, the
Chaturbhuj temple and the RamRaja temple have a fascinating myth. The King of
Orchha, King Madhukar Shah Ju Dev was a devotee of Lord Krishna while his wife Kamla
Devi, was a devotee of Lord Ram. One day both of them went to Lord Krishna’s
temple but the temple had closed by that time. They decided to join a group of devotees who were
singing and dancing in the praise of lord Krishna outside the temple. Lord
Krishna and Radha were so pleased that they too danced with them. After that
incident, the King asked the Queen to accompany him to Mathura, the land of
lord Krishna, but the Queen wanted to go Ayodhya , the land of Lord Rama.
The queen left the palace and started the long journey to
Ayodhya (Rama's birthplace) on foot to bring Lord Ram with her to Orchha. She didn’t
tell the King before leaving but she ordered her servants to start building a
temple (Chaturbhuj Temple) for Lord Rama.
After reaching Ayodhya the Queen started praying to Lord Ram
close to Laxman Fort near Sarayu river.. The queen fasted and prayed for about
a month but Lord Ram did not appear, so eventually in despair the queen decided
to jump in the Sarayu river. Just then something magical happened, Lord Ram
appeared in child form in Queen’s lap.
The queen was ecstatic and began to cry. Lord Ram told the
queen that he was happy with her prayers and she could ask for a boon, at which
the queen asked Ram to come with her in child form to Orchha. Ram agreed to go
but he put forth three conditions: 1) I will travel only in Pukh Nakshatra,
when Pukh Nakshatra will end I will stop and resume only when Pukh Nakshtra
sets in again. In this manner I will travel from Ayodhya to Orchha on foot
along with a group of sages. 2) Once I reach Orchha, I will be the King of
Orchha and not your husband. 3) Since child form of Ram would travel in Queen’s
lap, the first place where you seat me will be my final place of stay and will
be famous by the name of Ramraj".
The Queen agreed and started her journey to Orchha with baby
Ram in her lap. Since the queen traveled only in Pukh Nakshtra it took them 8
months and 27 days to reach Orchha from Ayodhya on foot (between 1574 to 1575).
King Madhukar Shah meanwhile had a dream where Lord Krishna scolded him on
discriminating between Lord Ram and himselfand reminded the King that Lord Ram
and he are one and the same, there is no difference. The King was very
apologetic when he woke up and found out that the queen was returning from Ayodhya.
The King went to receive the queen with horses, elephants, servants, food, etc.
and apologized to the queen. The queen did not accept king’s apology and
refused the comforts offered to her by the King. The Queen claimed that she now
possessed everything one could ever ask for (Lord Ram in child form).
On returning to Orchha the queen went back to her palace
with baby Ram and retired in her room for the night thinking she would take
Lord Ram to the Chaturbhuj temple the next day. But according to Lord Ram’s
conditions he took the first place where he was seated hence Lord Ram
transformed into an idol and got transfixed in the queens palace itself. To
this day the Ram Raja Temple is in the Queen’s palace and not in the Chaturbhuj
Temple which is right next to the palace.
Orchha is geared to cater to all tastes. It has a wide range
of restaurants listed in Lonely Planet and these restaurants display that fact.
How to reach:
By Rail: Jhansi railway station, 16 km away from Orchha, is
the nearest railway station. Jhansi is situated on the major rail route and
there are regular train services to the major cities in India.
By Air: Gwalior is the nearest airport to Orchha (116 km)
and is well connected to all major Indian cities.
By Road: Many private and Government Transport bus services
are available to reach Orchha from Jhansi (16 km). Orchha is well connected by
buses with Bhopal, Delhi, Varanasi, Khajuraho and Gwalior.
