When Eesul got to know that Jaiswal
was descendent of Yaduvanshi clan, he
narrated a muth to the latter, according
to which, Lord Krishna had made a
prophecy stating that one day a
descendent of his clan would establish a
kingdom here. Encouraged by this,
Rawal Jaiswal established a kingdom
here, which eventually came to be
known as Jaisalmer (which means "The
Hill Fort of Jaisal").
Jaisalmer became a prime spot because
of its location. It fell in between the
major trade routes which connected
India with Persia, Egypt and Africa. In
the medieval times, when the Bhattis
raided a caravan of Allauddin Khilji, it
resulted in a siege conducted by the
latter on Jaisalmer, which lasted for
eight long years. Eventually, when it
became certain that the Bhattis would
be defeated, about 24,000 women of
Jaisalmer committed Jauhar. Jaisalmer
was finally reoccupied by the Bhattis in
the 15th century.
SHOPPING IN JAISALMER
Jaisalmer is extremely popular for the curious that
it offers. A trip to Jaisalmer would mean
a compulsory trip to its famous "bazaars". This
beautiful city has a wide range of products to offer
like carpets, blankets, garments and bangles
embroidered with mirrors, stonework products, oil
lamps, and most importantly, silver jewellery !
"Sadar Bazaar", being the most popular market of
Jaisalmer, offers a mouth-watering variety of
shawls, dupattas with mirror work, jewellery, and
products of stonework.
Other such markets are "Manek Chowk", "Seema
Gram" (has all of the government shops like "Khadi
Gramodyog Bhandar", which will save you a lot of
money as the products are sold at government
approved rates), "Pansari Bazaar" (the oldest
bazaar of Jaisalmer which specialises in the selling
of puppets), and "Bhatia Bazaar". If you are looking
for delightful jewellery shopping experience, the
best place to visit is "Sonaron ka Baas". As the
name suggests, this market offers a wide variety of
jewellery in gold and silver, as well as semi-
precious stones. So, Jaisalmer is surely a place to
whet the appetite of all the shopaholics (and
definitely the non-shopaholics as well !)