Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 Profile picture
Aug 14, 2022 14 tweets 9 min read Read on X
#ChanderiChronicles #thread The beautiful town of Chanderi, surrounded by the Vindhyachala ranges is one of the best kept secrets of @MPTourism. The town sits low below a ridge that is crowned by the magnificent #Chanderi fort.
When we say #Chanderi, most of us textile enthusiasts think of the diaphanous, light-as-air Chanderi sarees, a fabric known for its subtle jari motifs and gossamer thin translucence that made Chanderi the favourite of erstwhile royal families of Rajasthan, MP and Maharashtra
But there is so much more to #Chanderi. Once known as Chandrapuri and Chedi Nagri, the town of Chanderi and the countryside around it formed a part of the Chedi kingdom. Chandrapuri is believed to be the capital of Vakradanta, the father of Shishupal mentioned in the Mahabharat.
Today, #Chanderi holds on to its glorious past in the form of several historical monuments like ancient cave paintings, Jain and Hindu temples and monasteries and high forts and palaces. @MPTourism
Credit to developing modern Chanderi goes to Gurjara Pratihara king Kirtipal. He built the massive fort that looms over the town of Chanderi. He was a great devotee of Mata Jageshwari, who resides in a cave halfway up the hill on which the Chanderi fort is situated. @MPTourism
Sadly, between 13th century CE to 18th century, Chanderi bore the brunt of repeated attacks from Islamic invaders. The town was successively captured by the Khiljis, Tughlaqs, Malwa sultans and Mughals, resulting in massive destruction of its temples and monasteries. @MPTourism
Today, every ancient Hindu and Jain temple in the vicinity of Chanderi lies in ruins, with the Murtis defaced, garbhagriha desecrated and temple shikhara destroyed! But even what remains after the destruction has the power to wow you with its sublime beauty. @MPTourism
Everyone knows about the famous Jauhars of Chittaudgarh, but how many Indians know that Chanderi fort endured one of the largest mass self-immolations by Hindu women who preferred death over sexual slavery of the marauding Muzlim armies? @MPTourism
Smarting from the heavy losses his forces incurred at the hands of Rana Sangha in the battle of Khanwa, Babar laid siege to chanderi fort in 1528. He first offered Raja Medini Rai, the then king of Malwa the city of Shamshabad as a gift, to entice him to support him @MPTourism
Medini Rai treated Rana Sangha as his Dharm Pita and refused Babar’s offer. Enraged, Babar laid seige to the Chanderi fort that lasted for days. When the valiant troops of Raja Medina Rai realised that they were trapped they did #Kesariya, the final fight to death @MPTourism
Hindu women committed #Jauhar in the Chanderi fort. The Jauhar is said to have been led by Queen Manimala, the wife of Medini Rai. It is estimated that more than 1500 women jumped into the pyre to escape sexual slavery of the Islamists, a fate worse than death. Pic -krantidoot.in
It is recorded that so high were the flames of the pyre into which the brave Hindu women of Chanderi fort had thrown themselves that the fire could be seen from a distance of 5 miles.
Babar’s own chronicler records that the Hindu men when they finally faced him were without clothes as they had used up even their clothes to feed the fire of Jauhar! Babar felt no remorse seeing this dance of death. Rather, he ordered a tower of skulls to be built as a memorial!
Today, a Jauhar memorial stands inside the Chanderi fort, a mute reminder of the sacrifice of the Rajput women. Sati’s hand with bangles stands flanked between the sun and and the moon, signifying that this act of valour shall be remembered till eternity. @MPTourism

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More from @ShefVaidya

May 23
Even as the Jewish state of #Israel is in a state of turmoil following the brutal terr0r attacks by #Hamas in October last year, I sat inside the cool, quiet interiors of the #pardesisynagogue of Kochi and thought about the Jewish kingdom that existed in Bharat for centuries in peace, in Cranganore near Kochi. @danielocarmon @KobbiShoshani #AmIsraelChaiImage
2000 years of Jewish history in Kerala has been depicted in ten paintings displayed at the #kochi synagogue, that talk about how the Jews landed in Bharat soon after the destruction of their second temple by the Romans. While the exact date is open to debate, Jewish historians believe that Jewish people landed in Bharat as early as in 72 CE!Image
The Jewish kingdom of Cranganore, also known as Shingly, holds a remarkable place in the history of the Jewish diaspora. Cranganore (modern-day Kodungallur) served as an important Jewish settlement for close to a 1000 years! The Hindu Chera kings welcomed the Jewish refugees as honoured citizens.Image
Read 8 tweets
Dec 27, 2022
#thread on ‘inter-faith’ murders that were reported in India over the last ONE MONTH. 1) The case we all know - #AftabPoonawalla kiIIing his live-in partner #ShraddhaWalkar and cutting her body into 35 parts! This happened after two years of physical abuse and threats to murder.
Within a week of #ShraddhaWalkar’s murder, #NidhiGupta was pushed from a 4th floor terrace to her death by her ‘stalker’ Mohd Sufiyan because she refused to convert for him. Nidhi was only 19!
22 year old #Rabita, a tribal girl from a very small mountain tribe in Jharkhand was chopped into 50 parts by her husband Dildar and his family, within 10 days of her ‘marriage’. Dildar was already married.
Read 7 tweets
Apr 23, 2022
#Thread Idi0t’s Guide to #NoBindiNoBusiness, for the trolls who deliberately misinterpret the hashtag n the thought behind it. Repeat after me, #No_Bindi_No_Business is about CHOICE. It is not a compulsion, it is not a law. It is about the right of the ordinary Hindu to say NO!
When brands advertise for Hindu festivals like #AkshayaTritiya #Ugadi #Deepavali #GaneshChaturthi it is a reasonable expectation that they should respect the consumer’s culture, traditions, symbols. A bindi/Tilak/sindoor is one of the prominent Hindu symbols #NoBindiNoBusiness
If a brand wants Hindu money, the brand HAS to respect Hindu sentiments. The ads have to reflect the Hinduness, the joy, the spiritual significance of the festival. You want Hindus to buy gold from you for #AkshayaTritiya then show respect to Hindu culture. #NoBindiNoBusiness
Read 7 tweets
Apr 22, 2022
#Thread This is for the outrage brigade who froth at the mouth 24/7 abusing RSS/VHP/BJP/Modi, everyone, while pretending to be ‘Hindu activists’. If you are a @BJP4India voter, you have every right to question/criticise this govt. But why the tirade against @RSSorg?
As the name suggests, RSS is a volunteer driven org. They don’t owe anyone anything. They work on ground. They have different Sewa projects from orphanages to old age homes to #gharwapsi programmes to intervening in #lovejihad cases. Do you support them in any way?
Do you give your money/time/contacts to any of these causes? Do you at least provide intellectual cover to the parivar organisations that work on the ground for Hindus? Do you write articles covering their Sewa work? Do you defend them when they are attacked by the left?
Read 5 tweets
Jan 26, 2022
The responses to this thread were phenomenal. Collating them all together in replies to this tweet. Do check them out. #OurTrueHistory. It made this #RepublicDay very special for me. Congratulations to all the winners and participants. Watch out for the next context on 15th Aug.
A thread by @MumukshuSavitri on Vijayanagara empire and the role of women.
A wonderful thread on the brick temple of Bhitargaon, one of the earliest Hindu temples of India #OurTrueHistory
Read 8 tweets
Jan 5, 2022
#Thread Did you know that there are 7 temples in Tamil Nadu around Thiruvarur that are known as Sapta Vitankas because they have 7 images of Somaskanda that are believed to be divinely created without a chisel? (Vi-Tanka). These were sacred to Saint Thiagaraja. #TamizhTales
Each of these shrines is associated with a certain form of dance. The Sapta Vitankas have been glorified by the Tevaram verses of Nayanmars or Saivite saints of TN from 1st millennium CE. The first one is at Thiruvarur and is known as Thyagaraja Swamy Kovil #TamizhTales
Next is the Tirunallar temple that has a shrine dedicated to the planet Saturn. This is one of the Navagraha temples as well. King Nala from Mahabharat is said to have worshipped here. #TamizhTales
Read 8 tweets

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