Legend The word
Bhadrajun is directly linked to the
Mahabharata epic. Bhadrajun is made up of two words, the name of '
Subhadra', sister of
Lord Krishna, plus '
Arjuna', the third among the five
Pandava brothers of Mahabharata. Initially, it was called "Subhdr-arjun" but over the years it was changed to the colloquial usage of the single word "Bhadrajun". The legend linked to this name is a story of romance. Arjuna, in disguise of a saint, fled from Dwarka with Subhadra in a chariot, in full view of Krishna and Vasudeva and the family members. After an arduous journey of three days and two nights, through mostly uninhabited forest area, they reached the valley near Bhadrajun where they decided to get married, before proceeding to
Indraprastha, their capital. The marriage was conducted by a local
Brahmin priest.
Indra with
Sachi came down to perform the wedding rituals. The Brahmin priest was given an
earring (
vali in local language) by Subhadra and a
conch-shell by Arjuna as fee for performing their marriage. The village of the Brahmin was named thereafter as
Sankhwali (in the word "sankavali", ‘sankh’ means ‘conch-shell’ and ‘vali’ means "ear ring"). It is also said that Balarama, though furious initially with Arjuna did not chase him to stop the marriage. He was persuaded by Krishna and Vasudeva to forgive Arjuna and Subhadra, given that they were in love with each other. Convinced of this fact, Balarama later sent gifts to his sister - gifts of jewellery, elephants, chariots, horses, servants and maidservants. Following this blessed marriage, Bhadrajun grew in population. A small temple in the name of Subhadra, popularly known as the "Dhumbda Mata", exists even now in a nearby mountain.
Early history While the mythological history of Bhadrajun is traced to Arjuna and Subhadra who lived in the
Dvapara Yuga, one of the four
Hindu eras of
Mahabharata; the history of Bhadrajun and the Marwar rulers of Jodhpur can only be traced from the 16th century. Several historic wars took place in Bhadrajun, initially against the
Suri dynasty and later against the
Mughal dynasty rulers. In 1543, Ratan Singh fought at Giri-Sumel against the invading army of
Sher Shah Suri (the first ruler of Suri Dynasty), the then Emperor of India. He also fought a second battle at
Merata, when he suffered injuries and was subsequently defeated by Viram Deo. During this war, they could not sustain their army's needs as adequate provisions were not available inside the fort. Also, there was no help forthcoming from outside powers.
Maldev Rathore abandoned the fort and reached Bhadarajun and remained there for seven years. In 1651, Mukan Dasji of Bhadrajun fought against Raja Sawai Sur Singhji of Jodhpur in the battle against the Mughals at Mandavgarh. His bravery was duly rewarded with recognition of Bhadarajun as his
jagir (estate) with a due
patta (document). When Emperor
Aurangzeb's army attacked Jodhpur, Udai Bhanji of Bhadrajun fought for Maharaja Jaswant Singh and saved the Maharaja's life. As a reward, he married the niece of the Maharaja. Subsequently, he went to
Peshawar to fight war against the
Pathan’s. But in 1785, in the battle against the Mughal Emperor of India, he was killed. His wife, Jas Kanwar of Dodiali, committed
Sati ('sati' was an act of self-immolation undertaken by the wife on the pyre of her husband, a practice prevalent then in many parts of India). Subsequent rulers of Bhadrajun were also involved in several battles with the kingdom of Jodhpur and with other feudatories in the region. Finally, Bhadrajun merged with the
Union of India, after India became independent in August 1947. The last
scion of the dynasty, Raja Gopal Singh, now owns the estate and manages it as a heritage hotel. ==Monuments==