Vijayraghavgarh Fort, Katni

I got an opportunity to visit the Vijayraghavgarh / Bijeraghogarh Fort on 22nd October 2014. This fort is located in Vijayraghavgarh Town which is 35 kms from the distt headquarter of Katni. Katni district has a history of glorious past and this beautiful fort of katni is being protected by M. P. State Tourism.

 Fort of Vijayraghavgarh

This fort is made on a plain land unlike other forts which are generaly made on some hill tops. In front of the fort is the croweded town of Vijayraghavgarh and on other sides is the lush green jungle. In front of the fort there is a small temple having bright white marble Shivling behind which is located another beautiful Shiva temple. Close to the fort is made the governmant's “Vishram Grih”.

There is a board inside the fort which tells that King Sarju Prasad of Vijaraghavgarh was one of the most heroic figures of the Jabalpur region in 1857 war. He shot dead the tahsildar Subit Ali and captured the dak horses. He once defeated the British troops, but after a few setbacks British again invaded the fort of Vijayraghavgarh with full force making it a place of fiercest battle. It is said that Sardar Rambol's wife “Veer Naini” played a significant role in the defence of fort and gave up her life in the process. King Sarju Prasad escaped but the fort fell in the hands of British.

 

 Lush Green Jungle around the Fort

There is gaurd in the fort 24X7 who provides a register to enter the name and address of each visitor. I talked to the gaurd, Mr. Shivprakash Tamrakar to extract the information about the fort and he told that the building next to the fort is known as Rangmahal and behind it existed a huge tunnel in the past which connected to the town of Maihar.

The walls and ceiling of Rang Mahal are beautifully decorated with COLOURED PAINTINGS. And a 10th century INSCRIPTION, belonging to Kalchuri period, can be seen in the verandah of its Kachahari.

Beautiful Coloured Painting on Rangmahal Ceiling

The fort is dedicated to Lord Shri Ram (Vijayraghav), but the statue from its temple has been lost and only a photo of Lord Shri Ram has been put in its place. This Vijayraghavgarh fort is the top tourist attraction of katni distt and it was recently restored under ACC's patronage.

Other tourist places in Katni:

1. Katai Ghat, a picnic spot (3 kms)
2. Jhinjhri prehistoric rock paintings (3 kms)
3. Vishnu Varah Temple and Kamakandla Fort in Bilahri (12 kms)
4. Roopnath Dham and Kankali Devi Mandir in Bahoriband (35 kms)

There are several places of interest in Vijayraghavgarh town itself like Sharda Devi Mandir, Pachmatha and Mahanadi. A beautiful Kali Devi Mandir made on a green and clean hillock falls on the way to Vijayraghavgarh.