Indian Heritage and Monuments

The Chisti order in India was established by Khwaja Moin-ud-din-Chisti in 1192 shortly after the death of Prithviraj Chauhan. Khwaja Moin-ud-din-Chisti died in 1236. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq visited the tomb and later it came under State Management during Akbar's reign.

Nizam-ud-din Auliya was one of the most famous Sufi Saints also known as Hazrat Nizam-ud-din. He adopted Yogic breathing exercises so much so that Yogis called him 'Perfect' or 'Sidh'. His Dargah is located in Delhi. It was constructed by Muhammad Bin Tughlaq.

Forts have an important place among material sources. Some of the major types of forts are hill forts, forest forts, sea forts and forts on plains. Forts were constructed for strategic purposes. These helped in defending the territories from outsider attack and also acted as shelter during war times.

Shivaji Maharaj built many impenetrable forts on the ridge of plateaus in the Sahyadri mountain range, in many places from Karnataka up to Baglan. In the Rayari fort, Raje Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj remained on the forefront among all the Kings and was victorius.

A sea fort called Padmadurga was built in front of Rajapuri in order to counter the siddi power. Maharaj has said in a letter that by constructing Padmadurga, he had set up 'another Rajapuri to overshadow the Rajapuri of the Siddi.

Stala-Puranas are texts or legends associated with specific sacred sites or temples in India, detailing their history and mythological significance.

Mehrgarh is a Neolithic site located near the Bolan Pass on the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan, Pakistan. Early evidence has been found suggesting that a Civilization existed in Mehrgarh as early as 7000 BCE which is 3500 years before the Indus Civilization.  Archaeological digs have unearthed some of the earliest evidence of farming and husbandry in that region.

• Mysuru is nicknamed as the 'City of Palaces'.

• Pratapgarh is a large fort located in Satara district in the state of Maharashtra.

The Rajarajeshvara temple was built in 1010 A.D. It was built by Parashurama, Rajaraja Chola in the '10th century' in Thanjavur. 

Shore temple is the first architecture of Pallava kingdom. It is named so as it overlooks Bay of Bengal at Mahabalipuram, a village south of Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is dated back to 8th century AD. Shore temple is a complex of three temples, one large and two small. It was constructed by the Pallava king Narsimhavarman II, who is also known famously as Rajasimha.

The Kandariya Mahadeva temple dedicated to Shiva was constructed in 999 AD by King Dhangadeva. Around 900 sculptures are carved into this sandstone temple which is built on granite foundation.

The most impressive remain of Vijayanagara, the Mahanavami Dibba is a very high platform, of 55feet that is as tall as a five floor building, and 11000 feet in area. Its height was increased at least three times during two hundred years. It did not have a complete building on the top. The platform was covered by cloth shamiana or pandal supported by wooden pillars. On this platform the Vijayanagara kings held their Navaratri Puja and held their Dussera court in which all their subordinate chiefs, nayakas and officers paid their tributes to the Emperor.

The Rajarajeshvara temple at Thanjavur had the tallest shikhara amongst temples of its time. Constructing it was not easy because there were no cranes in those days and the 90 tonne stone for the top of the shikhara was too heavy to lift manually. So the architects built an inclined path to the top of the temple, placed the boulder on rollers and rolled it all the way to the top. The path started more than four kilometres away so that it would not be too steep. The path was dismantled after the temple was constructed.

The Kakatiya capital city of Orugallu was so designed as to have the temple of Svayambhu Shiva at the centre. This was built by the Kakatiyas to proclaim their power and status as independent kings.