
As claimed by many and even the government, Bhangarh Fort remains the most haunted place across India. Constructed back in the time of Kings and Queens, this beautiful fort resides near the Aravali Range of hills, with amazing architecture and eye-catching view of the history, Bhangarh Fort holds many haunting stories and is home to spirits of people who probably used to live here before this historic fort met its tragic fate.

The Bhangarh Fort was built in 1631 AD by the Kachwaha ruler of Amber, King Bhagwant Das, for his younger son Madho Singh. Madho Singh’s brother was Sawai Man Singh, who was Akbar’s general at that time.

Bhangarh Fort via WikiMedia Commons

The first thing to notice before you enter the premises of this fort is a warning signboard, placed by the government which says that “The entrance to the fort is prohibited before and after sunrise. Any violation of this will be a subject of criminal offense and necessary actions will be taken against any violator”. Now, this warning is placed just before the huge gate of the Bhangarh Fort, by the Government of India itself.

With lack of enough security and very wide boundaries, it’s easy to trespass Bhangarh Fort, but still, locals say that it will be stupid to do so, since as soon as the sun goes out, the ruins of market, shops and the streets inside Bhangarh gathers all its glory back again, the only difference is that it’s not the people that walk on those streets, but the ghosts and the spirits of people who died here. It is believed that the noise of crowds, music, and everything from a 16th century’s busy street can be heard before the sun rises again.

The ruins of Bhangarh city’s street

Bhangarh fort story

The Bhangarh story has two tales of how the fort became haunted and was left abandoned back in the time, while some of the locals who live in the village near the fort believe in both these stories, but no one is clear which one is truer over the other.

Curse of the Sadhu on the Bhangarh Fort

Bhangarh Fort and the town were built back in the days by the Kachwaah ruler of Amber, King Bhagwant Singh for his beloved younger son Madho Singh in 1573 A.D. His older son Sawai Man Singh I was Emperor Akbar’s general at that time. After the death of Madho Singh, his son Chatr Singh became the ruler of Bhangarh.


A Notice board put up by the Archaeological Survey of India at the entrance. via Wikimedia commons

Surrounded by greenery and Aravali range of hills, it’s hard to believe that this beautiful fort was left abandoned and turned into ruins.

The folklore legends suggest that before the Bhangarh Fort was built, A Sadhu (Hindu ascetic) named Guru Balak Nath lived on the top of the hill where the fort was built later. His only condition for the fort to be built there was that fort should never cast its shadow on his own dwelling. That could only happen if the fort was not built tall enough.

This condition was honored by Bhagwant Singh, by his son Madho Singh, and the next descendent Chhatr Singh. But unfortunately Chhatr’s Singh son Ajab Singh decided not to follow his ancestors and ordered to build the fort further, adding columns to the fort that eventually raised its height enough that its shadow would fall onto ascetic’s house.

Nothing could have stopped the angry Sadhu and he cursed the whole town of Bhangarh along with the fort and the surrounding villages. This led to the unfortunate fate of Bhangarh, it converted into ruins when people abandoned the town as the folklore legend suggests.

It is believed that the Bhangarh Fort was 4 storeys tall, and after Ajab Singh’s order, it was built up to 7 storeys. But after the curse, the Fort crumbled and later only 4 storeys remained over the grounds, everything above it turned into ruins.

Interestingly the only establishment which remains intact and with a roof over it is the ascetic’s house which is also his tomb now (called Tantrik ki Chhatri which translates to “Ascetic’s Roof”).

The Ascetic’s Roof/Tomb (Tantrik Ki Chhatri) at Bhangarh

Curse of the Priest and the Queen

This another story is even more interesting, although similar to the first one, Bhangarh was cursed but differently, which led the town to crumble into ruins and never to be rebuilt.

According to this story, it all started with the princess of Bhangarh, Ratnavati, daughter of Chatr Singh. She was so beautiful that the tales of her beauty spread far and wide and she received a number of marriage proposals.

An imaginative portrait of Ratnavati

A priest named Singhia also fallen in love with Ratnavati, but the priest was not someone who worshiped god, he was the one involved in satanic rituals and practitioner of black magic. Knowing he didn’t stand a chance to win the princess’s heart, he decided to use black magic for his intentions.


He followed Ratnavati into the market and tried to give her a bottle of perfume which he cast a spell on since he knew Ratnavati was fond of scents. But she found about Singhia’s spell on it, and angrily threw it onto a stone, which transformed into a boulder due to the effect of the spell, and rolled onto Singhia crushing him to death, but before he died, he cursed Ratnavati, her people, and whole Bhangarh.

The fort was doomed within no time, the curse made Bhangarh fall onto the grounds, no more establishments could hold a roof over it, people died, and whoever survived left the town.

Nobody knows what happened to Ratnavati after the curse, or she survived it or not and for how long. But it is believed that the ghost of Ratnavati, Singhia, and the people who died here now roam inside the ruins of Bhangarh. The ghosts of Bhangarh are believed to be roaming inside the Bhangarh fort where the most haunted is Ratnavati’s room in which she still roams around hiding from Singhia’s ghost.

The legends of Bhangarh Fort

Many people try to experience the haunted Bhangarh by trespassing its boundaries during the night, some believing it to be haunted and some denying it completely. Since Bhangarh from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan state in India is just around 85km, a lot of people reach there to find the true story of Bhangarh fort. Moreover, a board put up by the Archaeological Survey of India clearly states that it’s prohibited for visitors to enter the Bhangarh premises before the sunrise and after the sunset, legal action will be taken against anybody who does not follow these instructions.

an interior shot of Bhangarh Fort via wikimedia commons

Many people who still successfully spent some time at bhangarh fort at night have a variety of experiences, one of the Facebook user mentioned that he had spent around 6 nights in Bhangarh at different occasions, sometimes experiencing nothing at all, and sometimes there were horrible things happened.

While the locals stay away from the boundaries of Bhangarh, people from around the world are always curious to find the real truth of this hauntingly beautiful place.

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