History of the Old Fort

• The Purana Qila is a timeless monument that stands on the South Eastern part of the present city of New Delhi. Delhi’s history is often spoken of in terms of its seven cities. These were fortified settlements, established by various rulers between the 11th and 17th centuries, now swallowed by the sprawling city of today.

• Humayun, son of Babur and second Mughal ruler of India built Old Fort as a part of his new city of Dinpanah, the sixth Delhi in the 16th century.

• It is an age-old belief that the area in which the Purana Qila stands today is the site of Indraprastha, the capital of the Pandavas of the great epic Mahabharata. It is for the same reason that the Purana Qila is often called the "Pandavon ka Qila".

• The site is originally known in the Mahabharata by the name of Khandavprastha- a distant and little-known tract of land on the western bank of the river Yamuna that was allotted to the Pandavas. The Aravallis were situated on the western side of this land and acted as a natural defensive barrier. The Pandavas are said to have converted this barren piece of land into a prosperous capital city with the more grandiloquent title "Indraprastha" or the "City of Gods".

The Old Fort’s complex includes:

• The Bada Darwaza- It acts as the main and only point of entry to the fort today. It is a robust structure flanked by two massive bastions.

• The Humayun Darwaza- It is the southern entry to the fort complex. This gateway is divided into two storeys with a high arch in the middle.

• The Talaqi Darwaza or the Forbidden Gate- It is located on the northern side of the complex.