Mandore Gardens Jodhpur

Mandore Gardens of Jodhpur. Be it your taxi driver or your host. Although, we are really not sure why. Because as we stepped into the Mandore Gardens of Jodhpur on the second day of our 2 days in Jodhpur, towards the evening and explored it’s premises, we were really happy. Happy to have come to the right spot towards the end of the day. For one, the Mandore Gardens of Jodhpur transports it’s visitors to an altogether different world with it’s unique features. And next, it resembles so many other beautiful places from around the world – giving you the deja vu. If anything, this garden is very underrated amongst the places to visit in Jodhpur.

History Mandore is an ancient town, and was the seat of the Pratiharas of Mandavyapura, who ruled the region in the 6th century CE. The rulers of this dynasty probably became vassals of the imperial Gurjara-Pratiharas. After the disintegration of the Gurjara-Pratihara empire, one branch of Pratiharas continued to rule at Mandore. In 1395 CE, a princess of this branch married Rao Chunda of Rathore clan. Rao Chunda received the Junagarh fort in Mandore in dowry, and moved his capital to the site. The town remained the Rathore capital until 1459 CE, when Rao Jodha shifted his capital to the newly founded city of Jodhpur.
Rao Rinmal Rathore secured the throne of Mandore in 1427. In addition to ruling Mandore, Rao Rinmal also became the administrator of Mewar to assist Maharana Mokal (father of Rana Kumbha). After the assassination of Maharana Mokal in 1433, Rinmal continued as administrator of Mewar at the side of Rana Kumbha. In 1438, Rana Kumbha decided to end the power sharing arrangement and had Rao Rinmal assassinated in Chittor and captured Mandore. Rao Jodha, son of Rao Rinmal, escaped towards Marwar. Approximately 700 horsemen accompanied Rao Jodha as he escaped from Chittor. Fighting near Chittor and a valiant attempt to bar the pursuers at Someshwar Pass resulted in heavy losses amongst Jodha's warriors. When Jodha reached Mandore he had only seven people accompanying him. Jodha collected whatever forces he could, abandoned Mandore and pressed on towards Jangalu. Jodha barely managed to reach safety at Kahuni (a village near present day Bikaner). For 15 years Jodha tried in vain to recapture Mandore. Jodha's opportunity to strike finally came in 1453 with Rana Kumbha facing simultaneous attacks by the Sultans of Malwa and Gujarat. Jodha made a surprise attack on Mandore. Jodha's forces overwhelmed the defenders and captured Mandore with relative ease. Jodha and Kumbha eventually settled their differences in order to face their common enemies, the Muslim rulers of Malwa and Gujarat.