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A Royal Hunting
Reserve of Jaipur Maharajas
The Park was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1955 and as
a National Park in 1980, seven years after the launch of
Project Tiger. In 1984, the southern and northeast forests
were declared as Sawai Man Singh and Keladevi sanctuaries.
Before Independence, the forests of Ranthambhore were the
preserve of the maharajas of Jaipur who frequently hunted
here, and royal hunts go back to the 12th century AD.
These forests were the favorite hunting grounds of
Prithviraj Chauhana, a Rajput ruler whose hunting zeal
took him into other ruler’s lands and consequently into
battle! In recent times, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and
Prince Philip were Maharaja Man Singh’s special guests in
1960.
The Erstwhile People of Ranthambhore
Valmik Thapar in his book The Tiger's Destiny talks of the
inhabitants of Ranthambhore fort as people who lived
freely and easily in the forest. They revered the sun and
the moon and were great worshippers of Vaghdeo, the tiger
god who propitiated throughout the forest as lord of the
area. They believed in a world of ghosts and spirits and
wore a variety of charms and amulets to ward off evil
ones. Even today, some of the villagers around
Ranthambhore still have a bhopa (medicine man). The older
generations remember their worship of the tiger and some
cattle herders still ask for the blessings of the tiger
god before taking their cattle to graze in the forests.
The indigenous residents of the Ranthambhore forests were
a people called the Minas. It was their custom to mark the
forehead of a new ruler with the blood taken from the
thumb or toe of a member of a particular family in the
tribe. This seems to have been an expression of their
right to accept or reject their ruler.
Flora & Fauna
The Vegetation In Ranthambhore
Ranthambhore forest is dry deciduous with dhok (Anogeissus
pendula) trees as the main vegetation which is an
important fodder tree for animals. Kulu (Sterculia urens),
ronj (Acacia leucophloea), ber (Zizyphus maudrentiana),
khimi (Manilkara hexandra), tendu (Diospyrous melanoxylon),
polas (Butea monosperma), peepal, mango and banyan are
prevalent in Ranthambhore. But perhaps the most
spectacular is the flame of the forest which blooms in
April, enveloping the forest in a spectacular fiery red
aura. The four lakes in Ranthambhore are surrounded by a
numerous species of trees like salar (Boswellia serrata),
gurjan (Lannea coromandelica) and gum (Sterculia urens).
The Attractions of Age Old Banyan Trees
Among the more fascinating features of Ranthambhore are
the banyan trees, some of which are known to be at least a
800 years old and are mentioned in ancient texts.
Ranthambhore can also boasts of the superb specimen of the
banyan tree that casts its magnificent canopy behind Jogi
Mahal, the old hunting lodge by the lake built in the
latter part on the last century by the Maharaja of Jaipur. |
