From where we were, the Bahu Fort looks an imposing structure across the river and I decided to visit it. The auto guy Rinku took us there and parked right in front of the fort. The Bahu fort is named after king Bahulochan who built the fort.
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| Bahu Fort |
Raja Jambulochan is considered the founder of Jambu or Jammu town, and he is considered to be of the Ikshwaku dynasty. He ascended the throne after his brother Bahulochan who built the fort for Goddess Mahakali who is the patron deity of Jammu. After Jambulochan the Raj, Dhar and Dev dynasties ruled over Jammu.
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| A more panaromic view |
Somewhere I read that the Parmar Rajputs built this fort but Bahulochan seems to have renovated it. The main thing about the fort is that it is a religious place with a temple of Kali inside called Bawe Wali Mata. It is considered a Shakti temple from the 8th century. We got off the auto and made our way into what looked like a market place that led to the fort and the temple.
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| Bagh-e-Bahu |
The fort is rather small, not as imposing as it looked from far. The main attraction is the temple inside. One has to deposit mobiles and stuff before going in and we did that. Inside the fort there is a complex of temples - the main one being the Kali temple and other smaller shrines around it.
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| More Bagh-e-Bahu |
There was a langar going on and free food was being distributed. Lots of devotees and many tourists thronged the place. Far as the fort is concerned I am not sure there is much to see apart from the walls but the view from the walls would have been nice. However we were short of time and we made it out.
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| To the citizens of Jammu |
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| An interesting cluster of temples |
On the way back we stopped at the Bagh-e-Bahu, a garden next to the Bahu fort. Quite nice. Some school kids and some random people were walking around the park.
I also saw an interesting cluster of temples outside Bagh-e-Bahu. It seems to be the pattern here to have a cluster of shrines. No wonder its called 'City of Temples'.
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