Tired of maintaining its calm demeanour, the Chambal River decides to become playful and hides in a deep ravine. You go looking for her, climbing down endless steep steps cut on the stony wall of a gorge, following lakhs of seekers over many hundred years. You only get a glimpse of the river veering away in to another valley, but you find a waterfall rushing down to meet the river and an ancient shrine to Shiva, the Geparnath Mahadeo. The place has been an important pilgrimage for Shaivities since the 5th – 6th century and a temple was built here in 1569. there is an old inscription in the temple to this effect. The three – step waterfall cascades down in to this narrow gorge among trees and foliage where birds, pilgrims and picnickers wait withopen hearts to drink in the beauty. A taxi to Geparnath, located off the road to Badoli.
Udpuria was a common enough village, with 100-odd households,set around a pond of unremarkable dimensions. It took only a few birds to change all that. For some reason, a group of painted storks adopted this pond more than a decade ago. Now some 200-300 birds come here sometimes every August, flying around, feeding themselves, breeding their young ones next to the pond and departing when the new generation is able to fly. The villagers make sure that no harm is done to them, and have stopped fishing in the pond. But now, they are feeling threatened by the Tourism and the Wildlife Department
Because there are proposals to ban the use of the pond by the people and their cattle.
Keshoraipatan (22km)
Shri keshav Raj Ji is the presiding deity of Hadoti and its Hada rulers.And the residence of t he deity is Keshoraipatan, a medieval temple with fort-like walls on the riverside. The temple stands on a promontory and overlooks a curve of ;the sweeping river running through a vast spread of green cultivated landscape. Occasinally, the temple fills up with
People, especially during t he fair in the month of Kartik (oct-nov),when devotees take a
Dip in the Chambal, seek Lord Krishna’s blessings and enjoy the race between decorated boats.
Garadia Mahadev (20kms)
A short drive from Kota, the small temple on the river heights has little significance in itself. However, it is worth visiting for the panoramic views of the Chambal gorge.
Badoli(45kms)
On the road to Rawatbhata, not far away from the Chambal, there is an ASI enclosure containing an enchanting copse of trees –kadam, mango, jamun, peepal-and underneath them a complex of temples, indicating a jpast Hindu religious site I n a forest. The temples are dated between the 9th and the 12th centuries and the eight big and small temples show a varied degree of preservations, decay and destruction .
The main shrine is dedicated to shiva as Ghateshwara . Outside the sanctum sanctorum, the temple extends into a sabha mandap, beautifully embellished wit h carvings, especially on the columns. Look for Ganga Jamuna as dwarpalas, the trinity of Brahma-Vishnu-Muhesh, and many imags of shiva in ;his different forms. The other two bigger
Temples are to Mahishasurmardini, with a delicately carved pagoda, and to the Trinithy.
The complex has some ruins strewn around and many images show signs jof defacement.
Some of lkthe sculptures from these temples are now in the Government Museum at Kota, including a celebrateds images of shesh-shahi vishnu lying on Ananta, the cobra.
Bhainsrorgarh
A further 10 km from Badoli, on the road to Chittaur across a bridge, is the amazingly located fort called Bhainsrorgarh, audaciously perched on a cliff right above the mightly River Chambal. It’s 200 years old and contains a small village inside it and the principal building here is a private property being converted into a hotel. There are great view of the Chambal from the fort.
Darrah Sanctuary: Spread across 213 sq km, the sanctuary has sloth bear, leopards and panthers. To visit, permission has to be obtained from the local forest office in Kota.
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