Chanderi Fort’s Kaala Darwaza (Madhya Pradesh)

India has a history so diverse and architecture so amusing that a monument has multiple identities and stories linked to it. One of such places is Chanderi Fort. Among the many forts in Madhya Pradesh, Chanderi Fort is a consistent tourist attraction, but it is also a symbol of forgotten history, struggle, and sacrifice.

Located at a height in the Chanderi city, the Chanderi Fort is known for the landscape views of hills and the Betwa River, architectural gems like Hawa Mahal, Nizamuddin Shrine, and Badal Mahal, treks, cultural heritage, and much more. But the gate of the fort, Kaala Darwaza, holds an untold tale that only locals are aware of. This is the story of the courage of the women of Chanderi City, their refusal to back down, and Jauhar.

A gate is often expected at the beginning of a fort, but Kaala Darwaala is located deep into the Chanderi Fort Madhya Pradesh. It was never built to protect the armies but to safeguard the inner palace, the zenana, and the most private locations of the fort. Constructed from basalt, the gate absorbs light and feels heavier at night, ensuring better protection when the sun sets.

Evident from the name, the gate is black. However, the locals have a story to account for this colour. They believe that the colour is a result of a fire that lasted long, the fire that was born when women of the Chanderi city sacrificed themselves to escape from the Mughal brutality.

Desperate to expand his empire in the North of India, Babur, Timurid conqueror and founder of the Mughal Empire in India, attacked the Mewar King Rana Sanga. The two forces met at Khanwa in the west of Agra. While for Babur, the land was just a conquest, Sanga and his allies were fighting for the dream of the Hindu kingdom, protection of the Mewar and Rajput heritage and culture, and safety of the people.

The battle began, but the Rajput army was not fighting a simplified Mughal Army. They were battling against gunpowder, cannons, and the effective Tulughma (encircling) strategy. The battle was dominated by the tactics and artillery of the Mughal, causing the defeat of the Rajour forces, shattering the dream of a united Hindu front against Babur, who had just won the battle of Panipat against Ibrahim Lodhi.

The Mughal Army rushed to the Chanderi Fort after the victory, but the Rajpur Ruler of the Chanderi City, Medini Rai, refused to surrender. While the Chanderi Fort Madhya Pradesh survived many rulers and many wars, this battle resulted in an alteration of its meaning. After Sanga’s defeat, the army of Babur surrounded the fort in the Chanderi city, forcing the women inside the Chanderi fort to choose the inevitable – Jauhar.

This story was never of the loss or defeat of the women of Chanderi but their refusal to accept a Mughal army touch their souls or even their bodies, which was a very common treatment that the women of the defeated empire or kingdom were subjected to.

Local stories and legends often mention Queen Manimala. She was the queen or the leader who led the women of Chanderi Fort to Jauhar. Records have wiped her existence off, but she lives on through multiple stories that are still recited in the streets of Chanderi city.

Draped in red with a torch in hand, Queen Manimala guided women and little children towards the pyres lit beyond the Kaala Darwaaza of the Chanderi Fort.

But the stories do not end here. They are not limited to the legends of Juahar, but the famous folklore says that not every woman reached the famous Kaala Darwaaza of the Chanderi Fort Madhya Pradesh. Some of these women disappeared at the gate with no screams and no bodies left to be found. There were bangles at the threshold, and veils lay there stuck in the stone corners.

There are many ancient forts in India with diverse stories, but Chanderi Fort exists with a belief that women who committed Jauhar were not burnt alive; they vanished.

The legend of the vanishing women during Johar runs so deep in the city of Chanderi that the locals have tried to explain it. Others believe the gate judged who could pass and who could not. Many people believe that they turned into smoke. While official histories record Jauhar, the locals often believe their stories and associate them with every sound they come across near the Kaala Darwaaza. Many feel that the Kaala Darwaaza of the Chanderi Fort Madhya Pradesh is haunted.

The weaving communities of Chandeti have folk songs that recite stories of women, dressed in bridal red, often appearing at the gates of Chanderi. These songs talk about women calling softly, probably to talk about their truth or just haunt – a truth we may never know.

A walk through the Kaala Darwaza of the Chanderi Fort might seem just an architectural and historical pathway, but the truth is that among Ancient Indian Forts, Chanderi Fort Madhya Pradesh, stands out, not because of the haunting stories but due to the stories of valour, sacrifice, and the choice of disappearance over possession. The women of Chanderi did not vanish into nothing. They vanished into the story.