 Sariska Palace was built as a hunting lodge at the close of the 19th century by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh of Alwar in a calm, quiet and a thickly wooded valley on the threshold of what is now the Sariska National Park. The explorers delving
deep into the jungle spread over nearly 900 square km
can seek answers to shadowy mysteries in the crevices
of the hills, remnants of a bygone age.The Palace is a princely abode, majestic and imposing with luxurious rooms.
The
sanctuary covers an area of 800 sq km (including a core
area of 498 sq km) and has sambar, spotted deer, wild
boar, and above all, tigers. Project Tiger, the project
launched in India to protect and preserve the tiger,
has been in charge of the sanctuary since 1979
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These same forests, ages ago, are supposed to have
sheltered the exiled Pandava brothers, heroes of the
epic Mahabharat. The dense forest and difficult terrain
of Sariska shielded them until they reached the court
at Viratnagar 66 km away and lived there disguised as
servants of the king. Only five boulders now remain
to testify to the presence of the five Pandavas and
their wife, Draupadi.
 Though
the material relics of that age are scarce, the whole
countryside is teeming with evidence of the presence
of the heroic brothers. Bhima, the strongest brother,
smote his scepter in the rock face of a cliff and created
a passage for them through a gorge deep in the sanctuary.
This is the place known as Pandupol, the most commonly
visited spot within the Sariska area. It was here also
that Bhima, who had acquired the strength of many thousand
elephants by drunk from the eight jars of the nagas,
received a setback to his inflated ego by Lord Hanuman.
Hanuman lay across the road disguised as an old monkey
and challenged Bhima to lift him when he was ordered
to clear the way for the Pandavas to pass. Bhima could
not even move his tail and accepted defeat. A temple
here is dedicated to Hanuman in the human form.
Tourists rarely return without a visit to this temple
in which the image is in a reclining position. Busloads
of devotees crowd the route on Tuesdays, the monkey
god's known weekday. On Wednesdays, the inhabitants
of the sanctuary are allowed a rest from the sight of
human invaders and animals are indeed most visible on
these days.
Tourists rarely return without a visit to this temple
in which the image is in a reclining position. Busloads
of devotees crowd the route on Tuesdays, the monkey
god's known weekday. On Wednesdays, the inhabitants
of the sanctuary are allowed a rest from the sight of
human invaders and animals are indeed most visible on
these days.
In September each year, however, they almost disappear
off the track as hordes of worshippers from near and
far, descend on the place for the famous fair which
offers the startling spectacle of persons crawling lengthwise
on the road the entire 48 km distance from Alwar city.
If one is lucky to be present at the right time, the
ear can be treated to the fascinating narration of the
folk epic, the pandun ka kada, a Mewati version of the
Mahabharata, sung by a Muslim jogi for hours at a stretch.
At Bhartrihari, it is the group called Bhartrihari ke
Jogi, who dominate with their powerful music at the
fair in August. For hundreds of years, the place gave
solace and shelter to the legendary sage Bhartrihari,
the author of important Sanskrit works on nitishastra
and epics. A millennium later he is still greatly revered
by the local populace. A temple in the hilly area (35
km) of Sariska is dedicated to this saint. For every
night over a month, a grand musical drama of seven hours
in the style of Parsi theatre is enacted and draws a
massive audience. It narrates the epic story of king
Bhartrihari, renowned for his justices.
At a short distance from Alwar is a persion taking
one past the small fortress of Kushalgarh to Talbraksha
(36 km). The moist palm grove valley transports one
mentally to India's coastal areas and it is difficult
to believe that one is geographically in a desert state.
Langurs compete in numbers with busloads of constantly
arriving pilgrims. Side by side at Talbraksha are hot
and cold springs with immense healing capacities. |
