The Ghost Village of Kuldhara
Kuldhara is an abandoned village in the Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan, India. Established around the 13th century, it was once a prosperous village inhabited by Paliwal Brahmins. It was abandoned by the early 19th century for unknown reasons, possibly because of dwindling water supply, or as a local legend claims, because of persecution by the Jaisalmer State’s minister Salim Singh. A 2017 study suggestd that Kuldhara and other neighbouring villages were abandoned because of an earthquake.
Kuldhara is located in Jaisalmer district. In state of Rajasthan. The elevation of Kuldhara is 266 m (873 ft).
The former village site is located about 18 km south-west of the Jaisalmer city. The village was located on an 861 m x 261 m rectangular site aligned in the north-south direction. The township was centred around a temple of the mother goddess. It had three longitudinal roads, Which were cut through by a number of latitudinal narrow lanes.
The remaining of city wall can be seen on the north and the south sides of the site. The eastern side of the town faces the dry-river bed of the small Kakni river. The western side was protected by the back-walls of man-made structures.
The Kuldhara village was settled by Brahmins. They were migrated from Pali to Jaisalmer region. These migrants originating from Pali were called Paliwals. Tawarikh-i-Jaisalmer, an 1899 history book written by Lakshmi Chand, states that a Paliwal Brahmin named Kadhan was the first person to settle in the Kuldhara village. He excavated a pond called Udhansar in the village.
The ruins of the village include 3 cremation grounds, with several devalis. The village was settled by the early 13th century, as indicated by two devalis inscriptions. These inscriptions are dated in the Bhattik Samvat, and record the deaths of two residents in 1235 CE and 1238 CE respectively.
Ghost village hold a charm very different from the ruins of castles and fortresses, mostly because they give us a chance to peep out in to the lives of the people who once inhabited them. Being a desert region, Rajasthan has no dearth of the ghost village but few of them have got as much attention as Bhangarh and Kuldhara, perhaps due to the legends associated with them. While we were in Jaisalmer, it was quite natural for us to desire a visit to Kuldhara, and so we did. Kuldhara lies 17km to 20km west of Jaisalmer, Kuldhara has a story. Some 300 years ago, it used to be a prosperous village of Paliwal Brahmins under the state of Jaisalmer. According to the legend, the evil eyes of Salim Sigh, the powerful and debauched prime minister of the state.
He get attracted on the daughter of the village head and he desired to marry her by force.
He threatened the village with grave consequences if they did not adhere to his wish. Instead of submitting to the order of the tyrant, the Paliwals held a council and people of 85 villages left their ancestral homes and vanished. But this was not all; before leaving, they put a curse on Kuldhara that no one will ever be able to settle in their village thereafter. To this date, the village remains barren; left almost the same as its inhabitants had left it centuries ago. It is also said that people who have tried to stay there at night have been chased away by strange paranormal phenomenon.
Another, more plausible reason can be that Salim Singh raised the taxes to such an extent that it became unviable for the local community to survive in the Village; and they thus decided to migrate to greener pastures.
However, people love the former story; after all, who doesn’t want a romance and mystery in their tales! While coming back towards Jaisalmer, we took a turn to right at some point and went on another straight dusty road in the middle of nothing for a few kilometres, before the ruins showed up. Kuldhara is protected monument and is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). there are row mud houses, there roofs in broken down, and ruined walls.The landscape is dry and dusty, it could be struggle to live there. The temperature there is also too high. There was also a big problem of Drinking Water. The center of village there are some houses in good conditions. From the top of the roofs of this houses we can see whole village.
I image about until that one fatal night, when all its 1500 residents left the village without a trace. No one knows exactly why by the legends, they left the village to escape from the evil ruler Salim Singh and his unjust taxes, and while leaving. they left a curse on the area. It is also said that anyone who tries to stay in the village dies a brutal death and, till date, Kuldhara remains uninhabited.
I had just find out some good videos on youtube. But I can’t give the link right know on my blog so if you want the links of the videos on Kuldhara village comment me below.
Really guys Rajasthan is very good place to visit in your holiday’s. My view is once a man should visit Rajasthan in life. It has many different cultures, festivals, and many more mysterious places.
Let me know guys if you want to know more about mysterious of Rajasthan just comment below.
My name is Ritesh Desai. This is my blog on Myterious Things. In Mystery Blog we create information on mysterious stories, Real stories, Ghost stories, and many more. Keep in touch friends.Thanks :)
Originally published at https://mysteriousthings07.blogspot.com.
