Rao Jodha founded Jodhpur in 1459. Rao Jodha was the son of Maharaja Ram Mal and was the 15th Rathore ruler. Previously Rao Jodha ruled from the fort of Mandore but due to lack of security, he shifted his capital to Jodhpur. Rao Jodha laid the foundation of the fort on Bhaucheeria hill, 9km away from Mandore, with the help of Rao Nara.
Rao Jodha
The foundation of the fort was laid by Shri Karni Mata daughter of sage of Charan caste. As the main deity of the Rathores was Sun god so the fort was named as Mehrangarh where Mehran means Sun and Garh means fort.
The foundation of the fort was laid during the reign of Rao Jodha and was continued by many rulers. Maldeo ruled from 1531 to 1562 and built some structures inside the fort. Then Maharaja Ajit Singh who ruled from 1707 to 1724 built some structures. After him the next king who built the fort further was Maharaja Takhat Singh who ruled from 1843 to 1872. The last ruler was Maharaja Hanwant Singh who ruled from 1947 to 1952. Rao Jodha spent around Rs. nine lakhs to build the fort.
Death of various kings and royal people
There were many instances where either the kings or the royal people were killed. Jaswant Singh, who ruled from1873 to 1895, killed his mistress by throwing her out of the window. She was killed because she belonged to Jaswant Singh’s father and entered his room.
Maharaja Man Singh, who ruled from 1803 to 1843, killed his prime minister by throwing him who fall 400m down. Maharaja Ajit Singh, who ruled from 1678 to 1724 was killed by his son. Rao Ganga, who ruled from 1515 to 1532 fell down from the window and died while he was enjoying the breeze. It is also said that Maldeo pushed Rao Ganga from the window.
Legend regarding the Construction
In order to construct the fort, Rao Jodha forcefully shifted a sage named Cheeria Nath ji who cursed the king that the fort will suffer from draught. Rao Jodha pleased the hermit by making a temple and a house for him.
When the construction was started, it was destroyed the next day. This happened due to the curse of the sage. The king requested him to take back the curse but the hermit said that the words cannot be taken back. The hermit told that if he buries a man alive then the curse will be cancelled. So the king buried a man named Raja Ram Meghwal alive in the foundation and promised him that Rathores will look after his family. Due to this the current generation of Raja Ram Meghwal is living in Raja Ram Meghwal garden.