History of Barmer

The name Barmer is derived from the ruler Bahada Rao Parmar (Panwar) or Bar Rao Parmar (Panwar). Imperial Gazetteer of India tells us that that the present town is said to have been founded in the 13th century, by Raja Bahada and to have been called after him Bahadamer meaning “The Hill Fort of Bahada”. It is substantially built on the side of a rocky hill, on the summit of which is remains of an old fort.

Kiradu is a site of Shiva tempe in tahsil Ramsar in District Barmer in Rajasthan. The Kiradu group of temples is situated near the village Hathma about 43 km away from the Barmer region in Rajasthan. The inscriptions dating back to 1161 AD reveal that the ancient name of this place was Kiratakupa and was once the capital of the Panwars. The temples were built around c. 1000 AD and later.

Kiradu Inscription of 1178 AD in the Shiva temple of the period of Maharaja Madanabrahmadeva Chauhan (Shakambhari) reveals that the area was ruled by Tejapala and the wife of Tejapla restablished a new statue when she found that the temple was destroyed by the turuks.

There are number of festivals held in Barmer, the most famous of which is cattle fair held every year at Tilwara village situated on the banks of the Luni river. The fair goes on for a fortnight in the months of March and April. The other major festival is the Barmer Thar Festival, started as a practice to enhance the tourism potential of this town. During the annual Barmer festival in March, the town is at its colourful best and that is the best time to visit Barmer. Siwana fort is a very old fort. it is at about 1000 years old.In local language its name 'Gadh Siwana'.