HISTORY
Veer Singh Dev’s relationship with the emperor began when he was a young prince named Salim. When the young prince Salim was at odds with his father, Mughal Emperor Akbar, Veer Singh Dev helped Salim assume the throne and consolidate his power.
Veer Singh Dev laid the groundwork for the Datiya Mahal in 1614.
This mansion’s enormous splendor is as terrible as its history. There was no room for the monarch who erected it or the emperor for whom it was built. Historians believe that after the palace was completed, Veer Singh Dev gracefully declined the emperor’s invitation. The palace was finally lost due to time constraints.
Datia Palace was never inhabited by a king. It is a palace where no member of the royal family has ever lived. The palace was not inhabited by any ruler, including Bir Singh Deo. Even though the palace was built to commemorate Emperor Jehangir’s arrival, he never came.
When Salim Mughal took the throne, he bestowed the title of ‘Maharaja’ (Great King) on Veer Singh Dev.
STYLE
During the reign of Vir Singh Deo (1602-1628), Bundela links with the Mughal court and relations with Rajput lords affected their indigenous style, known as Chandeli in the local language, culminating in the “Bundela Style” in architecture and Bundeli Kalam, a similar wall-painting style.
This “Indo-Aryan style” shares structural and decorative characteristics with Fatehpur-Sîkrî and Agra‘s “Indo-Saracenic” styles. According to the builder, the distinction is incorrect. The Persianized entrance gateway and the “Saracenic” arches of the windows behind the balconies, which the seventeenth-century Rajput builder had made his own and used indiscriminately, whether his employer was Hindu or Musulmân.
Bîr Singh built another great palace at Orchâ, which is no less interesting architecturally than the other and certainly ranks higher than most of the effeminate palatial structures of Jahângîr and Shah Jahân, which owe their charm to consummate craftsmanship and exquisiteness of decorative detail rather than greatness of architectonic conception.
The largest units of these above floors, which are positioned at the four corners and in the middle of each of the main building’s four sides, are crowned with domes, and Hindu iconography clusters four kiosks with cupolas around them. The comparable panch-ratna set of domes of the private apartments joins the others to form a dramatic skyline, rising in the quadrangle’s center to around 140 feet above the basement.
Among the aesthetic factors that contribute to the romantic charm is the skill with which the outer walls are treated architecturally, without the self-conscious striving after “effect” that is characteristic of modern architectural stylistic creations, and the harmonious grouping of the buildings collected at the foot of the palace walls, which contributes to the impression of a spontaneous organic growth rather than a conscious mental effort on the part of the designer.
CONSTRUCTION
The palace took nine years and 35 lakh rupees to build. It is located on a separate rock on the western outskirts of Datiya. It combines Mughal and Rajput architectural styles. It is the largest and most famous of King Birising Dev’s 52 palaces, and it can also be viewed from afar.
Raja Bir Singh Deo’s seven-story palace, built completely of stone and brick in 1614, is regarded as one of the finest specimens of Bundela architecture in the country.
The 17th-century Vir Singh Deo’s palace at Datia is a three-layered structure, 80 meters square and roughly 40 meters high, with a ‘palace-tower’ in the center, a middle ring of halls, and a fortified outside layer.
ELEMENTS
This palace, which has roughly 400 rooms, retains the splendor with which it was created. Visitors may still see complex features of the architectural designs that were meticulously planned and presented. Horses and riders, royal court nobility, Hindu deities, and floral motifs adorn the front-facing spandrels and recesses. There is proof of the artisans’ design and architectural skills at the period. The façade is adorned with intricate bracketed balconies. At each corner of the palace, four octagonal towers rise above the surrounding areas, providing a beautiful view of the fort ramparts and the Karna Sagar Lake below.
The palace’s interior is tinged with floral colors, and the ceilings are embellished with gorgeous designs in the form of a Persian carpet that would captivate everyone. The royal complex also contains the amazing Bundela School artifacts. The floor is made entirely of stones and bricks, with no use of wood, iron, or cement, a testament to the expertise of the Rajmis who toiled tirelessly on this monumental project for nine years.
‘This structure, which resembles the ‘Swastika’ sign, emphasises a traditional symmetrical plan.
Datiya Mahal stands as a mute witness to the passage of time and the ebb and flow of history as the sun sets over the horizon, throwing a soothing glow upon the old stones.
The Datia Palace, located on a lower hill in the city of Datia, about an hour from Gwalior, is one of Madhya Pradesh‘s architectural highlights. This majestic palace, also known as Govind Mahal, Satkhanda Palace, Old Mahal, and Veer Singh Ji Dev Palace, exemplifies the Indo-Islamic (Mugal and Rajput) style of architecture.
REFERENCES
- Datia Palace – a stunning testimony to friendship (no date) Datia Palace – A Stunning Testimony To Friendship | Madhya Pradesh Tourism. Available at: https://www.mptourism.com/datia-palace-a-stunning-testimony-to-friendship.html (Accessed: 22 August 2023).
- Travel Hippies (2017) Datia 9, Travel Hippies. Available at: https://www.travelhippies.in/datia-offbeat-architecture-madhya-pradesh-orchha/datia-9/ (Accessed: 22 August 2023).
- Writer, G. (2021) Datia Palace: A palace where no one lived, Travel Xamp. Available at: https://www.travelxamp.com/datia-palace-a-palace-where-no-one-lived/ (Accessed: 23 August 2023).
- Kevinstandagehotography et al. (2021) Datia Palace, Kevin Standage. Available at: https://kevinstandagephotography.wordpress.com/2018/04/23/datia-palace-bir-singh-govind-mahal/ (Accessed: 23 August 2023).
- Datia Palace (2023) Discover India. Available at: https://mytrip.guide/datia-palace/ (Accessed: 24 August 2023).
- Travel Hippies (2019) Must see places in Madhya Pradesh Archives, Travel Hippies. Available at: https://www.travelhippies.in/tag/must-see-places-in-madhya-pradesh/ (Accessed: 25 August 2023).
