World’s Most Haunted Place Bhangarh Fort, Rajasthan
Bhangarh Fort is a site identified by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and is located in Rajasthan, between Delhi and Jaipur. The fort is strategically constructed with a number of temples, mosques, palace, shopping complexes, and inner fortifications to protect the main fort building. The town of Bhangarh has five main gates that separate the fort with other cities. The architectural marvel of the fort is recognized for its intricate carvings and strategic planning.
Son of Akbar’s general, Man Singh used to reside in the fort during the late 16th century. His son Chhatra Singh had crowned Prince of the fort but was killed in 1630. Thereafter, the Mughal Empire reined this fort and due to the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire came to an end.
In 1720, Raja Jai Singh II carried out expeditions and forcibly conquered the fort but a drastic famine struck the city in 1783 due to which people started isolating the place which finally resulted in no-body opting to stay here.
Bhangarh fort ghost stories
The legends speak about the haunting story prevalent in the town. Guru Balu apparently cursed the King stating that when the fort is raised to such a height when the shadows touch the Guru, the town will be demolished. And so it happened when out of sheer pride, the prevalent King raised the structure of pillars in the Fort to such a height that its shadows started falling upon the residence of the Guru. The curse immediately came true leading to famine and untold difficulties to the residents. The body of Guru Balu was cremated in the fort premises and it is believed that Guru Balu still haunts the fort premises.
There is another myth surrounding the story of Bhangarh Fort. One of the Tantriks in the city was charmed with the beauty of Princess Ratnavati and designed a plan to get her love. On reaching the age of marriage, she was getting proposals from various suitors, but the Tantrik had plans to spoil the marriage proposals so that the King will marry off his daughter to Tantrik only. He tried to mix magical oil which will force the person touching to surrender to the Tantrik. The princess got to know of this plan and intelligently spills the oil on the floor which turns into a boulder and becomes the reason for Tantrik’s death. On death bed, the Tantrik cursed the peril of Fort and so it happened within a year. During the Great War between Raja of Jaipur and Ajabgarh, the fort was conquered, King was killed brutally and Ratnavati instead of surrendering to the enemy King killed herself. It is believed that her ghost moves in the Fort looking for solace. The legends also believe that Princess Ratnavati will take birth again in this material world and come back to the fort to restore its past glory.
Bhangarh fort warning board –
This is one of the forts, which has legal prohibition to enter after sunset. The instruction hoardings are inscribed in Hindi which reads that entry into the fort or grazing of cattle after sunset is an offense. People believe that the fort is dwelled by ghosts and so the entry is prohibited before sunrise. The Archaeological Survey of India has legally vetted the stories of ghosts in the fort and hence the prohibition was initiated.