The Cursed Fort City of Bhangarh

Bhangarh is a prehistoric site which was established in 1573 (VS 1631) during the rule of Bhagwant Das as the residence of his second son Madho Singh, the younger brother of Emperor Akbar’s general, Man Singh I. It is situated between Jaipur and Delhi in Rajasthan state of India. 

Royal Palace Bhangarh. Image credit: Wikipedia

According to local legend, the city of Bhangarh was cursed by the Guru Balu. He had sanctioned the construction of the town on one condition, "The moment the shadows of your palaces touch me, the city shall be no more!" When a descendant prince raised the palace to a height that cast a shadow on Balu Nath's forbidden retreat, he cursed the town. Balu Nath is said to be buried there to this day in a small samādhi.
 

Another myth tells a legend of the Princess of Bhangarh, called Ratnavati, the jewel of Rajasthan. On her eighteenth birthday she began to get offers of marriage from other regions/kingdoms. In the area lived a magician (tantric), called Singhia, who was in love with the princess but knew that the match was impossible. One day Singhia saw the princess's maid in the market. He used his black magic on the oil she was purchasing so that upon touching it the princess would surrender herself to him. However, the princess, foiled his plan by pouring it on the ground after seeing the tantric enchanting the oil.

As the oil struck the ground it turned into a boulder, that crushed Singhia. Dying, the tantric cursed the palace with the death of all who dwelt in it. The next year there was a battle between Bhangarh and Ajabgarh in which Princess Ratnavati perished. Legends says that there are ghosts in Bhangarh and that is why entry is prohibited for tourists in the fort after sunset and before sunrise.

While other myth also tells a similar legend of Ratnavati, but she was proposed by a King of Sindh. Desperately, he tried to trap her in his magical ploy, and failed every time, as the queen herself was a master in the tantric art. The last battle took place in the day when the queen losing eventually her temper, transformed a glass bottle containing the massaging oil into a big rock and hurled it towards the hill-top and the rock started rolling towards the wicked tantric. Sensing his looming death, the King of Sindh concentrated all his powers and spatted his dying curse: “I die! But you too, you Ratnavati shall not live here anymore. Neither you, nor your kin and these walls of the city, none shall see the morning sun!” It is believed that the entire city was destroyed overnight after the king of Sindh died cursing the city and its people.

The locals believe that the princess Ratnavati has taken birth somewhere else and that the fort and the empire of Bhangarh is waiting for her return to put an end to the curse.

The Archeological survey of India (ASI) has put up a sign board at Bhangarh stating (among others): 

“Entering the borders of Bhangarh before sunrise and after sunset is strictly prohibited.” Lot of tourists who visit Bhangarh affirms that there is a strange feeling in the atmosphere of Bhangarh, which causes symptoms of anxiety and restlessness. There is a saying that the restless spirit of the tantric roam around there and if anyone stays there after sunset, he/she didn't come back alive.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhangarh;
http://www.traveldudes.org/travel-tips/ruins-bhangarh-haunted-village-rajasthan-india/14777;
http://bhangarh.org/

Pic Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blank_Map_Rajasthan_state_and_districts.png