Rewa Kund Monument

¤ Grand Reservoir

You’ll have to trek about 3.2km south of the monuments around the village to reach this group of buildings. The Rewa Kund is a tank of sacred water from the Rewa, another name for the revered Narmada. This is where the love of the musician-prince Baz Bahadur and Rani Roopmati flowered.

¤ Palace of Baz Bahadur

Perched on the hill is the Palace of Baz Bahadur (1509), once supplied with water from this very kund or tank by a water lift. An interesting blend of Rajput and Mughal styles, it was actually built well before Baz Bahadur came to power.
The main part of the palace is a spacious open court with halls and rooms on all four sides. On the northern side, beyond the colonnade is a projecting octagonal pavilion with arches overlooking an old garden.
On the terrace at the south end are two beautiful baradaris offering a lovely view of the countryside.

¤ Rani Roopmati’s Pavilion

To the south of Baz Bahadur’s Palace, near the edge of the fort are Roopmati’s Pavilions. Built in three different stages, probably early 15th century with extensions later, these pavilions were occupied by Baz Bahadur’s beloved mistress, Rani Roopmati.
It is believed that the pavilion was originally built as an army observation post. It was initially a massive low hall with two rooms at each end and a thick sloping plinth. Subsequently, the building was extended westward alongside the plinth, but it is the latest addition, the pavilions, that made this building special enough to house the love of Baz Bahadur’s life. The pavilions are square in design with hemispherical domes. These pavilions were special to Rani Roopmati too because she could see the Narmada in the valley below. Indeed, the view from here at sunset or by moonlight across to the Narmada valley 305m below is truly sensational.

¤ Love At The Time of Akbara

Baz Bahadur, ever so fond of music, was the last independent ruler of Mandu. Once out hunting (typical setting for a king-meets-peasant-girl love story), Baz Bahadur chanced upon a shepherdess frolicking and singing with her friends. Smitten by both her enchanting beauty and her mellifluous voice, he begged Roopmati to accompany him to his capital. Roopmati agreed to go to Mandu on the condition that she would live in a palace within sight of her beloved and venerated river, Narmada. Thus was built the Rewa Kund at Mandu.

¤ The End of The Love Tale

Unfortunately, the fairytale romance of this Muslim prince and Hindu shepherdess was doomed to failure. The great Mughal Akbar decided to invade Mandu, spurred partially on by the accounts of Roopmati’s bewitching beauty. No match for the great Mughal army, Mandu fell in the hands of Akbar. Baz Bahadur fled the fort while Rani Roopmati stoically poisoned herself. Thus ended this magical love story steeped in music, poetry and beauty.