Kuldhara is an abandoned village in the Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan, India. Established around the 13th century, it was once a prosperous village inhabited by Paliwal Brahmins. It was abandoned by the early 19th century for unknown reasons, possibly because of dwindling water supply, an earthquake, or as a local legend claims, because of the atrocities by the Jaisalmer State's minister Salim Singh.
Over the years, Kuldhara has acquired a reputation as a haunted site, and the Government of Rajasthan decided to develop it as a tourist spot in the 2010s.
Geography
The former village site is located about 18 km south-west of the Jaisalmer city. The village was located on an 861 m x 261 m rectangular site aligned in the north-south direction. The township was centred around a temple of the mother goddess. It had three longitudinal roads, which were cut through by a number of latitudinal narrow lanes.
The remains of a city wall can be seen on the north and the south sides of the site. The eastern side of the town faces the dry-river bed of the small Kakni river. The western side was protected by the back-walls of man-made structures.
Establishment
The Kuldhara village was originally settled by Brahmins who had migrated from Pali to Jaisalmer region. These migrants originating from Pali were called Paliwals. Tawarikh-i-Jaisalmer, an 1899 history book written by Lakshmi Chand, states that a Paliwal Brahmin named Kadhan was the first person to settle in the Kuldhara village. He excavated a pond called Udhansar in the village.
The ruins of the village include 3 cremation grounds, with several devalis (memorial stones or cenotaphs). The village was settled by the early 13th century, as indicated by two devali inscriptions. These inscriptions are dated in the Bhattik Samvat (a calendar era starting in 623 CE), and record the deaths of two residents in 1235 CE and 1238 CE respectively.
Demographics
Population
Ruins of 410 buildings can be seen in the former village. Another 200 buildings were located in the lower township on the outskirts of the village.
Lakshmi Chand's Tawarikh-i-Jaisalmer (1899) provides statistics about Paliwal population and households of several villages. Using the figure of 3.97 persons per household based on these statistics, and considering the number of ruined houses as 400, S. A. N. Rezavi estimated the 17th-18th century population of Kuldhara as 1,588. The British officer James Tod recorded the 1815 population of Kuldhara as 800 (in 200 households), based on information from "the best informed natives". By this time, the Paliwals had already started deserting the village. By 1890, the population of the village had declined to 37 people; the number of houses was recorded as 117.
Social Groups
There are several other devali inscriptions at the site. These inscriptions do not mention the term "Paliwal"; they only describe the inhabitants as Brahmin ("Vrahman" or "Vaman"). Several inscriptions mention the caste of the residents as "Kuldhar" or "Kaldhar". It appears that Kuldhara was a caste group among Paliwal Brahmins, and the village was named after this caste.
Some inscriptions also mention the jati (sub-caste) and gotra (clan) of the residents. The various jatis mentioned in the inscriptions include Harjal, Harjalu, Harjaluni, Mudgal, Jisutiya, Loharthi, Lahthi, Lakhar, Saharan, Jag, Kalsar, and Mahajalar. The gotras mentioned include Asamar, Sutdhana, Gargvi and Gago. One inscription also mentions the kula (family lineage) of a Brahmin as Gonali. Apart from the Paliwal Brahmins, the inscriptions also mention two sutradhars (architects) named Dhanmag and Sujo Gopalna. The inscriptions indicate that the Brahmin residents married within the Brahmin community, although the jatis or sub-castes were exogamous.
Culture
Religion
The residents of the village were Vaishnavites. The main temple of the village had sculptures of Vishnu and Mahishasura Mardini. Most of the inscriptions start with an invocation to Ganesha, whose miniature sculptures also appear on the gateways. The villagers also worshiped bull and a local horse-riding deity.
Fashion
If the idols on the devalis are considered as representatives of the contemporary fashion, it appears that the men of Kuldhara wore Mughal-style turbans and jamas (tunic-like garment) with kamarband (a type of waist belt). They generally sported a beard, wore a necklace and carried a khanjar (dagger). The women wore tunics or lehengas, and some of them wore necklaces.
Economy
The villagers were mostly agricultural traders, bankers and farmers. They used ornamented pottery made of fine clay.