Travel deeper into Jodhpur, through its human stories.

Mehrangarh Fort

• Immortal martyr of the walls
• A siege over a princess

In this story, you’ll discover

Chapter 1

A Hermit on the Mountain of Birds

The founder was Rao Jodha, and Jodhpur simply means Jodha's city. He had good reason to want a stronger fort. His family ruled from Mandore, about nine kilometres to the north. When he was a young man, his father was murdered at the court of the neighbouring kingdom of Mewar, and Mewar's army took Mandore. Jodha spent some fifteen years gathering men before he took it back. A few years later, in 1459, he began building here, on a higher, steeper rock that was far easier to defend. Across Rajasthan, kings built their strongholds the same way, on ridges and rocky hills where the steep rock itself was the first line of defence. Six of them were listed together by UNESCO in 2013 as the Hill Forts of Rajasthan, and Mehrangarh, though not on that list, was built on the same idea. The ridge was known as the mountain of birds, and a hermit called Cheeria Nathji, the lord of birds, lived on it. The story goes that Jodha asked him to leave, and he refused, again and again. Jodha turned for help to Karni Mata, a holy woman the Rathores revered as a goddess, and only then did the hermit agree to go. As he left, he laid a curse on the place: may your fort never have enough water. His cave now lay inside the new walls, and to make peace with him, Jodha built a house and a temple in his honour right beside it. Believe the curse or not, Jodhpur sits at the edge of the Thar Desert, and droughts have always been common here.

A reflection for you

Legend says Rajaram agreed to be buried beneath Mehrangarh if the king would protect his family. His descendants still live on the land they were given. A promise between two men became a home for people neither would ever meet. Is there anything in your life that began with someone's care before you were even born?

Mehrangarh Fort

• Immortal martyr of the walls
• A siege over a princess

In this story, you’ll discover

Chapter 1

A Hermit on the Mountain of Birds

The founder was Rao Jodha, and Jodhpur simply means Jodha's city. He had good reason to want a stronger fort. His family ruled from Mandore, about nine kilometres to the north. When he was a young man, his father was murdered at the court of the neighbouring kingdom of Mewar, and Mewar's army took Mandore. Jodha spent some fifteen years gathering men before he took it back. A few years later, in 1459, he began building here, on a higher, steeper rock that was far easier to defend. Across Rajasthan, kings built their strongholds the same way, on ridges and rocky hills where the steep rock itself was the first line of defence. Six of them were listed together by UNESCO in 2013 as the Hill Forts of Rajasthan, and Mehrangarh, though not on that list, was built on the same idea. The ridge was known as the mountain of birds, and a hermit called Cheeria Nathji, the lord of birds, lived on it. The story goes that Jodha asked him to leave, and he refused, again and again. Jodha turned for help to Karni Mata, a holy woman the Rathores revered as a goddess, and only then did the hermit agree to go. As he left, he laid a curse on the place: may your fort never have enough water. His cave now lay inside the new walls, and to make peace with him, Jodha built a house and a temple in his honour right beside it. Believe the curse or not, Jodhpur sits at the edge of the Thar Desert, and droughts have always been common here.

A reflection for you

Legend says Rajaram agreed to be buried beneath Mehrangarh if the king would protect his family. His descendants still live on the land they were given. A promise between two men became a home for people neither would ever meet. Is there anything in your life that began with someone's care before you were even born?

Mehrangarh Fort

• Immortal martyr of the walls
• A siege over a princess

In this story, you’ll discover

Chapter 1

A Hermit on the Mountain of Birds

The founder was Rao Jodha, and Jodhpur simply means Jodha's city. He had good reason to want a stronger fort. His family ruled from Mandore, about nine kilometres to the north. When he was a young man, his father was murdered at the court of the neighbouring kingdom of Mewar, and Mewar's army took Mandore. Jodha spent some fifteen years gathering men before he took it back. A few years later, in 1459, he began building here, on a higher, steeper rock that was far easier to defend. Across Rajasthan, kings built their strongholds the same way, on ridges and rocky hills where the steep rock itself was the first line of defence. Six of them were listed together by UNESCO in 2013 as the Hill Forts of Rajasthan, and Mehrangarh, though not on that list, was built on the same idea. The ridge was known as the mountain of birds, and a hermit called Cheeria Nathji, the lord of birds, lived on it. The story goes that Jodha asked him to leave, and he refused, again and again. Jodha turned for help to Karni Mata, a holy woman the Rathores revered as a goddess, and only then did the hermit agree to go. As he left, he laid a curse on the place: may your fort never have enough water. His cave now lay inside the new walls, and to make peace with him, Jodha built a house and a temple in his honour right beside it. Believe the curse or not, Jodhpur sits at the edge of the Thar Desert, and droughts have always been common here.

A reflection for you

Legend says Rajaram agreed to be buried beneath Mehrangarh if the king would protect his family. His descendants still live on the land they were given. A promise between two men became a home for people neither would ever meet. Is there anything in your life that began with someone's care before you were even born?