Lodhruva

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Lodhruva (also spelled Laudrava or Lodurva) was the former capital of the Rajput Bhatti kingdom. King Dusai appointed his son Vijayrai as his successor sometime in the 12th century. When Vijayrai ascended the throne, he expelled his older brother Rawal Jaisal. The latter formed an army and waged a war against Lodhruva, in which he killed his brother, destroyed the capital, and declared himself the new king. He then founded Jaisalmer as his new capital city and left Lodhruva in ruins. Larger and smaller remains of the ancient city are scattered out in an area around 10km north of Jaisalmer, but these are interesting only to archaeologists.

There is a small desert village, also named Lodhruva, consisting of mud huts with straw roofs near the ruins, but the main point of interest is the nice Parshvanath Jain temple nearby. The Jain religion is related to Hinduism and Buddhism and focuses on non-violence against any living creature, truth, non-possession, chastity, and not stealing. The temple complex is made of yellow sandstone with beautiful carvings, very characteristic for this region. It was constructed in the 16th century on the location of an ancient temple. An important object placed outside is the Kalpataru, or tree of wish fulfilment. After the real tree died, it was replaced by the current strange wrought-iron tree-like structure. Entrance fee to the complex is Rs 10 (ten rupees). Photography is forbidden inside.

About halfway between Jaisalmer and Lodhruva is another major attraction of this region, namely Bada Bagh. The name means literally "Big Garden". A descendant of Jaisal and maharaja of Jaisalamer, Jai Singh II, commissioned a dam to create a water tank during his reign in the 18th century. This created a lake, making the desert green in this area. After his death, his son Lunkaran built a beautiful garden next to the lake and a chhatri (Hindi for cenotaph) for his father on a hill next to the lake. Later on, many more cenotaphs were constructed here for Lunkaran and other Bhattis. The last chhatri, meant for maharaja Jawahar Singh, dates from the 20th century and remains unfinished after Indian independence. The gardens are largely neglected, but the hill with the cenotaphs is still quite an interesting sight.

There is no public transport to Lodhruva, but for Bada Bagh you could take the irregular bus to Ramgarh and ask the driver to stop, although you might have trouble going back to Jaisalmer unless you walk the 5km. Best way to see these sights is either with an organized tour from Jaisalmer (mostly including a day or more in the wonderful Thar Desert) or you can go with a rickshaw or taxi for below Rs 200 (two hundred rupees).

[edit] References

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