01The queen’s vow
Orchha’s Raja Madhukar Shah was a devotee of Krishna; his queen Ganesh Kunwari worshipped Rama. The katha told in Orchha is that she went to Ayodhya and sat in tapas on the bank of the Sarayu until Rama came to her as a child. He agreed to go with her on three conditions: that they would travel only in Pushya nakshatra, that he would be king of Orchha, and that wherever she first set him down he would stay. She reached Orchha and placed him in her palace while the great Chaturbhuj temple was built for him. When it was ready he could not be moved.
02A king’s salute
So the queen’s palace is the temple, and Rama holds court there with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman, seated as a king with sword and shield. Twice a day, at the morning and evening arati, armed Madhya Pradesh police present a guard of honour to Ram Raja. Locals say the king of Orchha is Rama, and the Bundela rulers moved their own seat to Tikamgarh. The empty Chaturbhuj temple, its tall spires facing the palace window, still stands next door.
The life of this place
- 1531 CERudra Pratap Singh Bundela founds Orchha.
- 1574 CERani Ganesh Kunwari brings Rama’s murti from Ayodhya, by tradition.
16 km from Jhansi. Be at the morning or evening arati to see the police salute; the Betwa ghats and chhatris are a short walk.
