Place · abandoned Paliwal village · India
Kuldhara
Also known as Kuldhara Village
The abandoned Paliwal Brahmin village of Kuldhara in Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan, 25 kilometres from Jaisalmer. Founded in 1291 CE by Paliwal Brahmin settlers, the village and 83 surrounding Paliwal settlements were allegedly abandoned overnight around 1825 during one of the three traditional dates (c.1690, 1766 or 1825) after conflict with the Jaisalmer state's Salim Singh, the then diwan who was said to have threatened the headman's daughter. The village's sudden abandonment, with the Paliwals' curse that no one else could ever settle on the land, has made Kuldhara one of India's most famous 'ghost villages'. The 410 stone houses, Krishna temple, bawli stepwell and the Paliwal grid-plan survive. ASI protection since 2010.
- Function
- Social reform & movement
- Patron dynasty
- Jaisalmer princely state
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 26.842, 70.648
Connections (2)
- Site adjacencyJaisalmer Fort
Kuldhara sits 25 kilometres west of Jaisalmer Fort, within the broader Jaisalmer princely-state desert geography. The abandoned Paliwal Brahmin village was one of 83 Paliwal settlements across the Jaisalmer-Barmer belt that were allegedly abandoned overnight after conflict with the Jaisalmer state's diwan Salim Singh Mehta. The village sits in the Thar desert in Jaisalmer district and is part of the Jaisalmer fort-and-village tourism circuit.
- FolkloreSalim Singh ki Haveli, Jaisalmer
Kuldhara and Salim Singh ki Haveli in Jaisalmer are historically and legendarily linked through Salim Singh Mehta (1769-1824), the oppressive Diwan of the Jaisalmer princely state whose alleged pursuit of the Paliwal village headman's daughter around 1825 is said to have triggered the overnight abandonment of Kuldhara and 83 surrounding Paliwal settlements. Before leaving, the Paliwal elders are said to have cursed the land so no one else could ever settle there. Salim Singh himself was assassinated in 1824 by Rajput nobles resentful of his autocratic rule and extraction of forced tribute. His haveli at Jaisalmer, with its peacock-shaped upper storeys and 38 jharokhas, is the architectural reminder of the diwan whose oppression emptied the Paliwal desert settlements.
Sources
Standard reference; district gazetteer and Wikipedia.
Open Kuldhara in the repository →