Mastani Mahal
-Rohit Kumar Parmar [1]
Pic Mast01 Entrance (facing north) to Mastani Mahal
Mastani Mahal located in the same compound, next to, and with the same entrance as the Chhatrasal Mahal [2] (now housing a Museum), Dhubela, Chattarpur, Madhya Pradesh was built by Maharaja Chhatrasal, founder of Panna State, [3] for his beautiful and brave daughter Mastani (29 August 1699 to 28 April 1740 AD), daughter of Maharaja Chhatrasal and Begum Ruhani Bai, a Persian lady.
Maharaja Chhatrasal Bundela (04 May 1649 to 20 December 1731) was an Indian warrior and ruler from the Bundela Rajput clan, who fought against the Mughal Empire, and established the Bundelkhand kingdom during the 17-18 centuries. The district of Chattarpur and several Chhatrasal stadiums, [4] including in Delhi (Model town) are named after him.
Pic Mast02 Inside view of north facing entrance from the main courtyard, Mastani Mahal
Maharaja Chhatrasal trained under Chhatrapati Shivaji and had good relations with the Marathas. Maharaja Chhatrasal acknowledging the help of Baji Rao I, the Peshwa [5] of Marathas, married his daughter to him, as part of a political alignment, which included three parts of the kingdom - Jhansi, Kalpi and Sagar, which helped the Marathas gain access to Central and North India.
Pic Mast03 Main courtyard and rooms coloured pink on the south side, Mastani Mahal
Mastani Mahal was the palace home, where Mastani lived before her marriage to Baji Rao I. [6] Mastani Mahal a grand palace, with a majestic entrance, climbing a ramp, had several rooms and a large courtyard. It also had access to the main palace (Chhatrasal Mahal). Today, there are damaged walls, floor, stairs, however, none of which appear to be falling and/or a risk to the visitor. Even though damaged over time and needing immediate repair and preservation, the palace displays grandeur.
Pic Mast04 View from Jharokas of the majestic entrance, Mastani Mahal
The tall two storied, arched gate façade, climbing a ramp, entrance to Mastani Mahal has several jharokas (viewing galleries) from where residents could get a view of a private garden and natural surroundings. The balconies are large and can allow several residents to sit and engage in activities.
A safe passage from the majestic entrance leads to a large courtyard, pink colour of which is reasonably well preserved even after 300 years.
Pic Mast05 Inside view of the façade and the safe entrance, Mastani Mahal
The rooms on the north (main entrance and façade) are covered, possibly for security and privacy, except one, which serves as an entrance to the group of rooms.
Pic Mast06 Main courtyard and rooms in pink on the west, Mastani Mahal
The courtyard has rooms on all sides and on the east side (as you enter), a staircase leads to the upper floor/s. The rooms on the south side are the best preserved, while those on the east are the most damaged.
Mastani’s relationship within the Maratha Brahmin family has been subject of both admiration and controversy and well adapted in Indian novels and cinema.
Novel
1972 - Rau, a Marathi novel by Nagnath S. Inamdar featuring a fictionalized love story between Baji Rao I and Mastani.
Films
1955 - Mastana directed by Dhirubhai Desai, starring Nigar Sultana, Manher Desai, Shahu Modak and Agha,
1971- Veer Chhatrasal a historical film about the king by Harsukh Jagneshwar Bhatt, starring Ajit in the titular role
2015 - Bajirao Mastani directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Television
1990 – Rau, a Marathi TV series based on the novel `Rau’. Ahwini Bhave plays the role of Mastani,
2015 - Shrimant Peshwa Bajirao Mastani, a Marathi TV serial broadcast,
2017 - Peshwa Bajirao, a Hindi TV series,
2021 - Chhatrasal, web series starring Jitin Gulati in the titular role of Maharaja Chhatrasal.
Pic Mast07 Main courtyard and rooms on the east, Mastani Mahal
The roofs of the rooms are made of wooden beams with stone slabs thrown across, and are in reasonably good condition, but requiring repair and preservation.
Pic Mast08 Wooden beams and stone slabs of the roof, Mastani Mahal
The rooms in the courtyards have beautifully carved space for lighting lamps. The walls are in disrepair, worsened by the graffiti of visitors, done over several decades. There is a need to add a chapter in all text books, educating students, that such graffiti causes irreparable damage to historical monuments and should not be done.
Literature and art
Maharaj Chhatrasal was a patron of literature, and his court had noted poets, with eulogies written by Kavi Bhushan, Lal Kavi, Bakhshi Hansaraj and others, which helped him gain lasting fame. Separately Bundela paintings and architecture are also famous. [7]
Bundela Literature [8] is rich with poems, stories and tales of heroic deeds of Bundela rulers and warriors. There is an ode to Rani Jhansi `Jhansi Ki Rani (झाँसी की रानी) by Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, (लेखिका सुभद्रा कुमारी चौहान). [9] There is also an annual Bundela literature festival .
Pic Mast09 Beautifully carved but damaged wall/space for lighting lamps, inside the rooms, Mastani Mahal
Pic Mast10 Room inside the façade, Mastani Mahal
Pic Mast11 Poorly placed signboard, Mastani Mahal
The poorly placed signboard of Mastani Mahal can be seen only when the visitor reaches the Mahal.
Pic Mast12 Damaged staircase, exposed bricks and damaged plaster on the east, Mastani Mahal
Thin burnt clay bricks, sand and lime were used in the construction of the palace walls. The walls also have lime plaster.
Pic Mast13 Badly damaged plaster, Mastani Mahal
Pic Mast14 Balcony on the first floor, south side with passage to the Chhatrasal Mahal, Mastani Mahal
Monuments in and around Dhubela
Dhubela, the kingdom of Maharaja Chhatrasal is at Mau Saniya (a place between Chhatarpur and Nowgong) on the Orchha- Khajuraho Road near Nowgong (Mau Saniya Village) in Madhya Pradesh. [10]
Dhubela comprises of many historical monuments related to Maharaja Chhatrasal and his family members reflecting the glorious past of the kingdom.
Pic Mast15 Hridayshah Palace across the road to Mastani Mahal
Pic Mast16 Entrance to the closed Hridayshah Palace
Hridayshah, was the son/successor of Chhatrasal and ruled after him. Very close to the Chhatrasal and Mastani mahal is the Hridayshah Palace, a majestic and big building, which is now closed.
Across the Dhubela lake is the Chhatri (Cenotaph) of Maharani Kamlapati, Maharaja Chhatrasal’s first Queen Maharani Kamlapati. It is an octagonal structure on a high platform and a fine example of Bundeli architecture. There are stated to be forty eight petaled lotus flowers spread over seven domes, which are decorated with paintings and the entrance door is also decorated with flower motifs.
Pic Mast17 Distant view of Rani Kamlapati Mahal
[1] Author (Free lance, IES Retd, Former Senior Economic Adviser, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution) has in posts on his website (https://rohitkparmar.wixsite.com/site), YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/@rohitkparmar), twitter (https://twitter.com/rohitkparmar?s=09), facebook (https://www.facebook.com/rohit.parmar.5268750/), Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit-kumar-parmar-841b4724) been writing/ sharing varied topics and can be reached at rohitkparmar@yahoo.com. [2] The MP Archaeological department, responsible for this group of monuments, does not mention the Mastani Mahal. https://archaeology.mp.gov.in/archHome.aspx [3] Panna is located in today’s Madhya Pradesh and is famous for amongst others diamond mines, tiger and nature reserve, and Panna Dai (meaning nurse), a 16th-century nursemaid from the Kheechi Tribe of Rajputs to Udai Singh II, the fourth son of Rana Sanga. She sacrificed her own son's life to save Udai Singh, who later became the ruler of Chittorgarh. [4] Delhi, Khajuraho, Pichore, Sidhi. [5] Peshwa were initially appointed Prime Minister of Marathas, a post which later on became hereditary. [6] This Mahal is different from the Mastani Mahal next to Shaniwar wada, Pune, Maharashtra, built in 1734, by Baji Rao I. [7] The Datia and Orchha Monuments are examples of this. See links below: https://rohitkparmar.wixsite.com/site/post/datia-palace-rohit-kumar-parmar https://rohitkparmar.wixsite.com/site/post/chhatris-cenotaphs-of-orchha-rohit-kumar-parmar https://rohitkparmar.wixsite.com/site/post/paradise-of-murals-rediscovered-laxmi-temple-part-i-rohitkumar-parmar https://rohitkparmar.wixsite.com/site/post/murals-from-laxmi-mandir-a-dedication-on-international-women-s-day-rohit-kumar-parmar [8] Bundeli written in devnagari, is a dialect of Hindi, spoken in the Bundelkhand region. [9]https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0xgnvooK9KWkFtFQRZB9pjW5k6fMDjLsmYf16mFHiAiBEDtWGkjMnoWfDd1aGcwVml&id=100003403253504&mibextid=Nif5oz [10] Sadly, information and access to Dhubela is poor, and has worsened after construction of the touted NH 76 from Jhansi to Khajuraho (which actually ends at Bamitha). The MP Archaeological department website also does not help in accessing monuments in Dhubela.