The Rural Entrada
Bundi is spectraly embraced by hills, the capital of the Hada
Rajputs who established their craggy stronghold in these forested hills, but
fate and the forces of power created Kotah, a breakaway part of Bundi that
went on to become larger and more powerful than its parent state.
Bundi - Kota
Bundi
This
picturesque little town in Rajasthan, the atmosphere of which more or less
remains, fills a narrow valley in the oldest hills in India : the Aravallis.
This walled town, 37 km north of Kota, lies in the north of the former
Hadaoti state, shielded on the north, east and west by jagged outcrops of
the Vindhya range. Bundi, renown for its intricate paintings and murals,
made a perfect capital of a major princely state during the heyday of the
Rajputs.
Bundi is 36 km from Kota is and is one of the unexplored cities with a rich
historical wealth. Once a part of Kota, it was ruled by the Had Chauhans- an
offshoots of the famous Chauhan clan who ruled Delhi and Ajmer.
Kota
The
city of Kota (previously spelt as Kotah) is situated at the center of the
southeastern region of Rajasthan, a very region widely known as Hadaoli the
land of the Hadas. The also Hadas are a major branch of the great Chauhan
clan of the Agnikula (fire dynasty) Rajputs. They had settled in the hilly
terrain of Mewar near Bijolianat Bambaoda in the 12th century A.D.and soon
extended their rule, conquering Bundi in 1241 and Kota in 1264 (some writers
date both these events exactly 100 years later). Originally, all this formed
the Hada state of Bundi dire with Kota as the Jaghir (land grant) of Bundi.
Kota later became a separate state in 1624.
The kingdom of Kota was carved out of Bundi in 1579 by a ruler of Bundi as
a gift for a favourite younger prince, Rao Madho Singh , who is said to have
proven himself as a successful and courageous general at the tender age of
fourteen.
