The Fort of Gwalior or Gwalior Fort is a 6th-century hill fort in Gwalior, India. Mughal Emperor Babur described it as the "pearl amongst the fortresses of Hind and not even the winds could touch its masts" due to its grandeur and magnificence. It was nicknamed the "Gibraltar of India" for its impregnability and defensive structure. The fort dates back to the 5th century, perhaps earlier, making it one of the oldest defence forts in India. Ancient Sanskrit inscriptions record the name of the fort as "Gopgiri".
The current structure has stood since at least the 8th century, and the inscriptions and monuments found within the fort complex indicate that it may have existed as early as the beginning of the 6th century.
The modern-day fort comprises a defensive structure and six palaces, two of which were built by the Tomar ruler Man Singh Tomar (reigned 1486–1516). It has witnessed the changing fortunes of the Kushanas, the Nagas, the Guptas, the Hunas, the Pratiharas, the Kachchhapaghatas, the Tomaras, the Pathans (Sultanate), the Surs, the Mughals, the English, the Jats, and the Scindias.
The present-day fort includes several notable palaces, including Man Mandir, Vikram Mandir, Karn Palace, Shah Jahan Palace, Jehangir Palace, and Gurjari Mahal. Gurjari Mahal was commissioned by Man Singh Tomar, for his ninth wife, Mrignayani, who belonged to the Gurjar community.
A stone inscription found engraved in the walls of Chaturbhuj Temple (famously known as Zero Temple) close to the top of the fort contains the second-oldest known record (after the Bakhshali manuscript) of the numeral zero with a place value, as used in decimal notation. The inscription is around 1,500 years old.You Can Visit the World's Oldest Zero at a Temple in India , Smithsonian magazine.
Etymology
The construction of the fort is associated with a local legend, and the exact date of its construction is therefore unknown. According to this legend, a local king named Suraj Sen ruled the region around the 3rd century CE. He suffered from leprosy, which at the time was incurable.Fodor E. et al. "Fodor's India." D. McKay 1971. p. 293. Accessed at Google Books 30 November 2013.] One day, while hunting at Gopgiri (Gop mountain), he met a sage named Gwalipa or Galav, who miraculously cured the disease by asking him to drink water from a sacred pond. When the king was cured, he decided to build a wall around the pond, later known as Suraj Kund, and constructed the fort on the Gop Hill and named it "Gwalior" meaning "abode of Saint Gwalipa". Subsequently, a bustling city developed around the fort.William Curtis, Fodor, Eugene, 1905 Fodor's India D. McKay., 1971 However, historical Sanskrit inscriptions and Gupta period records refer to the site as Gop Parvat (Gop Mountain), Gopachala Durg, Gopgiri, and Gopadiri, all of which mean "cowherd's hill".
Topography
The rock formations of the Gwalior range consist of ochre-coloured Vindhyan sandstone overlain by basalt. Gwalior Fort is built atop a long, thin, solitary ridge called Gopachal. It is a horizontal stratum which rises to at its highest point, extending roughly in length, with an average width of about . It has a near-perpendicular precipice. A small river, the Swarnrekha, flows close by.Oldham R. D. "A manual of the geology of India." Cambridge University Press 2011. p. 65 Accessed at Google Books 30 November 2013.
History
The inscriptions and monuments found within what is now the fort campus indicate that it may have existed as early as the beginning of the 6th century. The inscription of Mihirakula describes a sun temple built during the reign of the Huna emperor Mihirakula in the 6th century.
The fort definitely existed by the 8th century, when it is first mentioned in the historical records. From the 11th century onwards, Muslim dynasties attacked the fort. In 1022, Mahmud of Ghazni besieged the fort for four days. According to Tabaqat-i-Akbari, he lifted the siege in return for a tribute of 35 elephants. Bahauddin Tourghil, a senior slave of the Ghurid ruler Muhammad of Ghor, captured the fort in 1196 after a long siege. The Delhi Sultanate lost the fort for a short period before it was recaptured by Iltutmish in 1232. In 1398, the fort came under the control of the Tomars. The most distinguished of the Tomar rulers was Maan Singh, who commissioned several monuments within the fort. The Delhi Sultan Sikander Lodi tried to capture the fort in 1505 but was unsuccessful. Another attack, by his son Ibrahim Lodi in 1516, resulted in Maan Singh's death. The Tomars ultimately surrendered the fort to the Delhi Sultanate after a year-long siege.
Within a decade, the Mughal Emperor Babur captured the fort from the Delhi Sultanate. The Mughals lost the fort to Sher Shah Suri in 1542. Afterwards, the fort was captured and used by Hemu, the Hindu general and, later, the last Hindu ruler of Delhi, as his base for his many campaigns, but Babur's grandson Akbar recaptured it in 1558. Akbar made the fort a prison for political prisoners. For example, Abu'l-Kasim, son of Kamran and Akbar's first cousin, was held and executed at the fort. The last Tomar king of Gwalior was Maharaja Ramshah Tanwar, who took refuge in Mewar and fought at the Battle of Haldighati, in which he and his three sons (which included Shalivahan Singh Tomar, the heir-apparent) were killed.
On 24 June 1606, Guru Hargobind (age 11) was crowned as the sixth Sikh Guru.Louis E. Fenech, Martyrdom in the Sikh Tradition, Oxford University Press, pages 118–121HS Singha (2009), Sikh Studies, Book 7, Hemkunt Press, , pages 18–19 At his succession ceremony, he put on two swords: one indicated his spiritual authority (piri) and the other, his temporal authority (miri).HS Syan (2013), Sikh Militancy in the Seventeenth Century, IB Tauris, , pages 48–55 Because of the execution of Guru Arjan by Mughal Emperor Jahangir, Guru Hargobind from the very start was a dedicated enemy of the Mughal rule. He advised the Sikhs to arm themselves and fight. The death of his father at the hands of Jahangir prompted him to emphasise the military dimension of the Sikh community. Jahangir responded by jailing the 14-year-old Guru Hargobind at Gwalior Fort in 1609, on the pretext that the fine imposed on Guru Arjan had not been paid by the Sikhs and Guru Hargobind. It is not clear as to how much time he spent as a prisoner. The year of his release appears to have been either 1611 or 1612, when Guru Hargobind was about 16 years old. Persian records, such as Dabistan i Mazahib suggest he was kept in jail for twelve years, including over 1617–1619 in Gwalior, after which he and his camp were kept under Muslim army's surveillance by Jahangir. According to Sikh tradition, Guru Hargobind was released from the bondage of prison on Diwali. This important event in Sikh history is now termed the Bandi Chhor Divas festival.
Aurangzeb's brother, Murad Bakhsh and nephew Sulaiman Shikoh were also executed at the fort. The killings took place in the Man Mandir palace. Sipihr Shikoh was imprisoned at Gwalior Fort from 1659 to 1675. Aurangzeb's son, Muhammad Sultan was imprisoned at the fort from January 1661 to December 1672. After the death of Aurangzeb, the ruler of Gohad, Bhim Singh Rana seized the Gwalior Fort in the Battle of Gwalior (1740). The Marathas had captured many territories held by the declining Mughal Empire in Northern and Central India after the death of Aurangzeb. The Maratha incursions into North India were raids by the Peshwa Bajirao. in 1755–1756, the Marathas led by Scindias took over Gwalior fort by defeating the ruler of Gohad.Torton E. "A gazetteer of the territories under the government of the East-India company, and of the native states on the continent of India, Volume 2" W. H. Allen & Co. 1854. The Maratha general Mahadaji Scindia captured the fort from the Gohad Rana Chhatar Singh, but later lost it to the British East India Company. On 3 August 1780, a Company force under Captains Popham and Bruce captured the fort in a nighttime raid, scaling the walls with 12 grenadiers and 30 sepoys. Both sides suffered fewer than 20 wounded total. In 1780, the British governor Warren Hastings restored the fort to the Ranas of Gohad. The Marathas recaptured the fort four years later, and this time the British did not intervene because the Ranas of Gohad had become hostile to them. Daulat Rao Sindhia lost the fort to the British during the Second Anglo-Maratha War.
There were frequent changes in the control of the fort between the Scindias and the British between 1808 and 1844. In January 1844, after the Battle of Maharajpura, the fort was occupied by the Gwalior State ruled by Scindia Dynasty, as a protectorate of the British government. During the 1857 uprising, around 6500 sepoys stationed at Gwalior rebelled against the Company rule, although the company's vassal ruler Jayajirao Scindia remained loyal to the British. The British took control of the fort in June 1858. They rewarded Jayajirao with some territory but retained control of the Gwalior Fort. By 1886, the British were in complete control of India, and the fort no longer had any strategic importance to them. Therefore, they handed over the fort to the Scindias. The Scindias continued to rule Gwalior until the independence of India in 1947 and built several monuments including the Jai Vilas Palace.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
In 2025, the Government of Madhya Pradesh participated in heritage and tourism investment initiatives that included proposals for conservation and development linked to Gwalior Fort and the wider cultural network of the region. At a state tourism conclave, investment proposals of around ₹3,500 crore were discussed, with plans including heritage works and infrastructure improvements benefitting historic sites such as Gwalior Fort and surrounding monuments.
Structures
The fort and its premises are well maintained and house many historic monuments including palaces, temples and water tanks. There are also a number of palaces (mahal) including the Man mandir palace, the Gujari mahal, the Jahangir palace, the Karan palace, the Vikram mahal and the Shah Jahan palace."Temples of Gwalior" Kamat's Potpourri Webpage. Accessed 1 December 2013.
The fort covers an area of and rises above the surrounding terrain. Its ramparts are built around the edge of the hill and are connected by six bastions or towers. The fort has an irregular profile due to the undulating ground beneath it.
There are two gates: one on the northeast side with a long access ramp and the other on the southwest. The main entrance is the ornate Elephant gate (Hathi Pol). The other is the Badalgarh Gate. The Man Mandir palace or citadel is located at the northeast end of the fort. It was built in the 15th century and refurbished in 1648. The water tanks or reservoirs of the fort could provide water to a 15,000 strong garrison, the number required to secure the fort.
The second oldest record of "zero" in the world was found in a small temple (the stone inscription has the second-oldest record of the numeric zero symbol having a place value as in the modern decimal notation), which is located on the way to the top. The inscription is around 1500 years old.
Major monuments Jain temples
Siddhanchal Jain Rock Cut Caves were built in the 15th century. There are eleven Jain temples inside Gwalior fort dedicated to the Jain Tirthankaras. On the southern side are 21 temples cut into the rock with intricately carved of the tirthankaras. Tallest Idol is image of Rishabhanatha or Adinatha, the 1st Tirthankara, is high.
Main Temple
Urvahi Valley