Establishing architectural typology of eighteenth-century Bundeli gardens — characteristics and extent, with reference to the gardens of Rajnagar/Khajuraho

Bundelkhand is a region in central India, its identification based on its peculiar socio-cultural values. During the sixteenth to nineteenth century Bundelkhand was under the reign of Bundela kings. The architectural edifices of Bundela rulers lie in all parts of Bundelkhand including popular places like Orchha, Datia and Khajuraho. Other than the palaces, forts and temples, Bundelkhand has a number of gardens created by the Bundela rulers. These gardens are an important link to the socio-cultural history of Bundelkhand, but they lie neglected. Rajnagar is a small village, only 3 km north of the World Heritage Site of Khajuraho, in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. The village was a prominent political centre during the eighteenth to nineteenth century, under the Chhatarpur princely state. As many as sixteen Bundeli gardens exist in Rajnagar! Similar gardens were found all over Bundelkhand during research visits by the authors. There is no previous research available about the typology and characteristics of these gardens, and the current research paper is a first attempt to describe the architecture of the Bundeli gardens and its extent in the region, citing examples in the Chhatarpur district. The research paper aims to establish the typology, including the period of construction of these eighteenth-century Bundeli gardens, based on architectural analysis.