buildings-and-structures-in-india

"The entrance to the outer court passes under an arched gateway, remarkable only for its preposterous height; and one of the exhibitions with which you are indulged during a visit to the tomb is to be mounted on the top of this archway by a flight of steps so steep and narrow as to be really frightful to one not accustomed to them..."

"Close to the eastern or Bangalore gate stood formerly a Hindu temple with a prakara wall and a verandah running around. It was very probably a structure of the early eighteenthcentury and was not of great architectural importance. It is said to have been dedicated to Hanuman or Anjaneya. Near it, in the field, Tipu is said to have played in his younger days when his father was yet a rising young officer in the Mysore army. One day a Fakir told the boy that he would some day become very prosperous and directed him to convert the temple into a mosque when he became a great man. When he became king, Tipu compelled the Hindus to remove the image from the temple, filled up the ground floor and on the top of the temple got erected the Jumma Masjid, the hall of which has numerous foil arches and a Mihrab on the west in the form of a small room. On the walls of the hall are found stone inscriptions with quotations from the Quran, etc. One of them gives the date of its construction corresponding to 1787 A.D. The main points of interest in the mosque are its two great and beautiful minars which combine majesty with grace. Their shafts are ornamented with cornices and floral bands while near the top are narrow terraces with ornamental parapets. From there a visitor gets a panoramic view of the neighbourhood. At the crown of the minars are large masonry kalashas placed upon flowers and fully ornamented. Above are small metallic kalashas of the Hindu type."

"Kirmani writes: [The Fakir said:] ‘Fortunate child, at a future time thou wilt be the king of this country, and when time comes, remember my words: take this temple and destroy it, and build a Musjid in its place, and for ages it will remain a memorial of thee.’ The Sultan smiled and in reply told him, ‘That whenever, by his blessing, he should become a Padishah, or king, he would do as he [the fakir] directed.’ When, therefore, after a short time his father became a prince, the possessor of wealth and territory, he remembered his promise, and after his return from the Nuggur and Gorial Bunder [Mangalore], he purchased the temple from the adorers of the image in it (which after all was nothing but the figure of a bull, made of brick and mortar) and with their goodwill and the Brahmins, therefore taking away their image, placed it in the Deorai Peenth [Gunjam gate], and the temple was pulled down, and the foundations of a new Musjid raised on the site, agreeably to a plan of the mosque, built by Ali Adil Shah, at Beejapoor, and brought from thence."

"…there stood a Hindu temple, the area or space round which was large. The Sultan, therefore, in his infancy being like all children fond of play, and as in that space boys of Kinhiri Brahmin castes assembled to amuse themselves, was accustomed to quit the house to see them play, or play with them. It happened one day that a Fakir (a religious mendicant) a man of saint-like mind passed that way, and seeing the Sultan gave him a life bestowing benediction, saying to him, 'Fortunate child, at a future time thou will be the king of this country, and whey thy time comes, remember my words-take this temple and destroy it, and build a Masjid in its place, and for ages it will remain a memorial of thee.' The Sultan smiled, and in reply told him, 'that whenever, by his blessing, he should become a Padishah, or king, he would do as he (the Fakir) directed.' When, therefore, after a short time his father became a prince, the possessor of wealth and territory, he remembered his promise, and after his return from Nagar and Gorial Bundar, he purchased the temple from the adorers of the image in it (which after all was nothing but the figure of a bull, made of brick and mortar) with their goodwill, and the Brahmins, therefore, taking away their image, placed it in the Deorhi Peenth, and the temple was pulled down, and the foundations of a new Masjid raised on the site, agreeably to a plan of the Mosque built by Ali Adil Shah, at Bijapur, and brought thence."

"Far away in fortresses of unbaked bricks"

"Forts are the bedrock of swarajya."

"It is true that the Rigveda does not provide us details of the inner layout of these forts, but surely the text was not meant to be a treatise on Vastusastra. May it be remembered that it is essentially a compilation of prayers to gods and should be looked at as such. All the evidence that it provides regarding the material culture of the then people is only incidental."

"For Divodasa, him who brought oblations, Indra overthrew A hundred fortresses of stone."

"And, irresistible, be thou a mighty iron fort to us, With hundred walls for man’s defence."

". . . stitch ye [oh gods] the coats of armour, wide and many; make iron forts, secure from all assailants."

"…Sooltan Mahmood now attacked one of the forts in the Koombulmere district, defended by Beny Ray, the deputy of Rana Koombho of Chittor. In front of the gateway was a large temple which commanded the lower works. This building was strongly fortified, and employed by the enemy as a magazine. Sooltan Mahmood, aware of its importance, determined to take possession of it at all hazards; and having stormed it in person, carried it, but not without heavy loss; after which, the fort fell into his hands, and many Rajpoots were put to death. The temple was now filled with wood, and being set on fire, cold water was thrown on the, stone images, which causing them to break, the pieces were given to the butchers of the camp, in order to be used as weights in selling meat. One large figure in particular, representing a ram, and formed of solid marble, being consumed, the Rajpoots were compelled to eat the calcined parts with pan, in order that it might be said that they were made to eat their gods…"

"Expansive, breathtaking, majestic and spectacular—these are some of the adjectives that come to mind when one tries to capture the vision of the stonewalls of this famed fort that embraces the arid, westerly edges of the Aravalli Hills in Rajasthan."

"Sultãn Mahmûd started again in AH 863 (AD 1458-59) for punishing the Rajpûts. When he halted at ÃhãD, Prince Ghiyãsu’d-Dîn and Fidan Khãn were sent towards Kîlwãrã and Dîlwãrã in order to lay waste those lands. They destroyed those lands and attacked the environs of Kumbhalmîr....“When they came to the presence of the Sultãn and praised the fort of Kumbhalmîr, the Sultãn started for Kumbhalmîr next day and went ahead destroying temples on the way. When he halted near that fort, he mounted his horse and went up a hill which was to the east of the fort in order to survey the city. He said, ‘It is not possible to capture this fort without a siege lasting for several years’…159"

"…Sultãn Qutbu’d-Dîn felt insulted and he attacked the fort of Kumbhalmîr in AH 860 (AD 1455-56)… When he reached near Sirohî, the Rãjã of that place offered battle but was defeated....“From that place the Sultãn entered the kingdom of RãNã Kumbhã and he sent armies in all directions for invading the country and destroying the temples…166"

"When he halted near Kumbhalmîr which was a very big fort of that province, and well-known for its strength all over Hindustãn, Devã the Vakîl of the Governor of Kumbhã took shelter in the fort and started fighting. It so happened that a magnificent temple had been erected in front of that fort and surrounded by ramparts on all sides. That temple had been filled with weapons of war and other stores. Sultãn Mahmûd planned to storm the ramparts and captured it [the temple] in a week. A large number of Rajpûts were made prisoners and slaughtered. About the edifices of the temple, he ordered that they should be stocked with wood and fired, and water and vinegar was sprinkled on the walls. That magnificent mansion which it had taken many years to raise, was destroyed in a few moments. He got the idols broken and they were handed over to the butchers for being used as weights while selling meat. The biggest idol which had the form of a ram was reduced to powder which was put in betel-leaves to be given to the Rajpûts so that they could eat their god."

"Sooltan Mahmood, in the year AH 863 (AD 1485), again marched against the Rajpoots. On arriving at the town of Dhar, he detached Gheias-ood-Deen to lay waste the country of the Kolies and Bheels. In this excursion the Prince penetrated to the hills of Koombulmere, and on his return, having given the King some description of that fortress, Sooltan Mahmood resolved to march thither. On the next day he moved for that purpose, destroying all the temples on the road…"