History
Early History of the Fort
Because the fort's construction is linked to a mythology, the exact date of its construction is unknown. Suraj Sen, a native king, is said to have governed this region in 3 CE, according to tradition. The monarch contracted leprosy, a fatal condition that could not be healed at the time. When the king's hopes had run out, a wise man named Gwalipa came to his aid and magically cured the ailment by requesting the king to drink water from a sacred pond (it is believed that the present pond inside the fort is the same pond that helped the king). When the king was healed, he decided to build a fort to honour the sage and also named the city Gwalior after him. The sage bestowed the title of 'Pal,' which means protector, on the king and guaranteed that his descendants would rule over the fort as long as they wore the title. Many descendants of Suraj Sen Pal ruled over the fort after this tragedy, but his 84th successor, Tej Karan, lost control of the fort.
There are no historical records or evidences to back up the fort's claim to be centuries old. Though inscriptions within the fort suggest that it has stood here since the 6th century, there is no strong evidence to back this up. Certain evidences, however, point to the fort's existence as early as the late 9th century. The survival of the 'Teli ka Mandir,' a Hindu temple alleged to have been built by the Gurjara-Pratiharas, is one such example. The fort was presided over by the Kachchhapaghata dynasty from the 10th century onwards.