Rajbunga Fort Raja's Garhi Fort is located in Champawat city of Uttarakhand. Champawat city is a major city of Champawat district located in the eastern part of Uttarakhand, which is situated on the banks of Champawati river, hence the name of this city was Champawat. Kumaon kings ruled in Champawat for many years and made Champawat their capital. Even today, the remains of forts built by the Chand rulers of Kumaon are seen in Champawat city, of which Rajbunga Fort is a famous fort.
History Rajbunga Kila
Rajbunga Fort is a fort of historical importance. Rajbunga Fort is also known as Raja Ki Garhi and Raj Budda Fort. The identity of the Chand dynasty Rajbunga Fort presents the heroic saga of the Chand dynasty. This fort was built by Raja Somchand after the establishment of the Chand dynasty. Rajbunga Fort was built about 1300 years ago.
The kings of the Chand dynasty ruled Kumaon till 1790 AD. In 1790, the Gorkhas defeated the Chand kings and established their authority over Kumaon. After this, in 1815 AD, the British army defeated the Gurkhas and took it under their control and they established a tehsil inside this fort. Even now this fort is in use only as a tehsil of Champawat.
Jinn Kila Champawat
Rajbunga Fort was built 1300 years ago. This fort is also known as the fort of Jinn. According to the stories related to the Rajbunga fort, the boundary wall of this fort was built by a genie in a single night and for this reason it also came to be known as the fort of the genie.
It is also believed that at that time Suryavanshi Katyuri king Brahmadev of Kali Kumaon came to Champawat from Allahabad and was greatly influenced by Chand dynasty king Somchandra. After meeting Somchand, King Brahmadev married his daughter to Somchand and also gave some land to her as dowry. Somchand built his fort on this land, which was named Rajbunga Fort.
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Architecture Rajbunga Kila
Rajbunga Fort is in an oval shape. This fort is built on a high mound. The stones of the fort walls have been joined with the help of iron nails. The wall of this fort is about 3.50 meters thick. The entrance gate of the Rajbunga fort is in the south direction while the exit gate of the fort is in the north direction.
The two entrances of Rajbunga Fort are reached by stairs. The main gate of this fort is of golden colour. Statues are seen at the main gate of the fort, out of which one statue is of a laughing lion and the statue on the other side seems to be of a crying lion. For this reason it is also called Singhdwar, the gate of lions.
The wood used in the construction of the gate 1300 years ago is still visible in a very good condition. The length of the lion gate is about 2 meters, the height is about 3 meters and the width is about 4. 8 meters. There are two chambers on both sides of the entrance of the fort. It is believed that these rooms would have been built for the gatekeepers at that time. The entrance has wooden doors of about 3 inch thickness which are golden in color.
Seeing the walls of the fort, it is difficult to estimate its height at that time, because today this Rajbunga fort has reached a very bad condition. The families of the guards/soldiers who work for the protection of the fort still live around the fort. The number of families of these sentinels/soldiers is between 40 to 50. These families are referred as Prahari which means the Soldiers of Security.
Stories related to Rajbunga Kila
There is a temple near the main gate of Rajbunga Fort, which is called the temple of Nagnath Baba, the presiding deity of Chand rulers. There is a story behind this too. It is believed that the pillars which were being prepared at the time of construction of the fort were not able to stand properly. The pillars used to fall even after making them again and again. At that time it was said that Nagnath resides here. On hearing this, King Somchand himself got Nagnath worshipped. It is said that after this the pillars were made and the king got the temple built inside the fort. The king used to visit this temple to worship Nagnath.
Even today a festival is organized here on the occasion of Janmashtami. There is also a Durga Devi temple in the middle of the fort.
Water Management in Rajbunga Kila
It is believed that water was supplied to the fort through clay pipes from the forests of Lalu Vapani. A secret door also emerges from here, which meets a path by going through the back gate of the fort. A big water source was arranged at the back side of the fort. Which was called Naula. It is said that this place was used by the queens for their bath but today it is in a very dilapidated condition. This Naula has been converted into a drain today.
The beauty of Champawat city is visible from the main gate of the fort, from where the Himalayan valleys can also be seen. The natural beauty of Panchachuli mountain can also be seen from here.
Strategic Importnace of Rajbunga Kila
Rajbunga Fort has been of strategic importance for Chand Dynesty. Whenever there was a possibility of a war, first of all there used to be sound of drums from Rajbunga fort, listening to which the representatives from all the directions used to come to Rajbunga with their own army.
Rajbunga Kila at present
At present, Rajbunga Fort is suffering from lack of maintenance. Although this fort has been converted into a tehsil and all administrative work is done from here, but still this fort is in a dilapidated condition.
In view of the historical importance of the fort, the tourism department has also proposed to organize a light and sound show here. If this happens then Rajbunga Fort will again get a new identity and it will help attracting tourists and then we will be able to save this heritage of ours.
How to reach Rajbunga Kila
Champawat city is well connected to major cities and towns of Uttarakhand. It can also be reached by road, by air or by rail. By Air Pantnagar Airport is the nearest airport to Champawat. Taxis are also available from this airport to Champawat. Tanakpur is the nearest railway station to Champawat by rail. Facilities are easily available from the railway station to Champawat.
Facilities are also available for Tanakpur from big cities like Agra and Delhi. State transport and private tourist bus services are available from Delhi ISBT and Anand Vihar to Tanakpur.
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