When Arjuna was going to Dwarika with all Gopis during Mahabharata period, he was passing through the present Bhilwara region. There was a war between Arjuna and Bhils. Local tradition reveals that it came to be known as Bhilwara because it was mostly inhabited by Bhil tribes in old days. These Bhils were eventually driven away towards the hilly tracts and interior places of less importance by the ancestors of the peasant settlers. It is said to have come up in the middle of the 11th century when a Bhil tribal, supposedly one of the first settlers, built a Shiva temple on the site of the existing Bada Mandir or Jataun ka Mandir. This is in the area called Purana Bhilwara or Bhilwara Gaon, the oldest part of the town. If we are to believe this, the town is more than 900 years old.
Ironically enough, now very few Bhils live in this area. Another version recounts that the present Bhilwara city had a mint where coins known as 'bhiladi' were minted and from this denomination was derived the name of the district. A town near the city named Mandal is assumed to be the base of the Mughals when they attacked Chittor Garh, the Mughal forces camped near the "talab" of the town of Mandal, ruins of the camp can still be seen there. A tower that served as a lighthouse was built on a small hill in Mandal. Now known as Mandara (minar) this small hill houses a Devi temple.
Bhilwara's history can be traced back to prehistoric period when neolithic culture was flourishing at Bagore village. A pillar said to be of first century BC at Nandsa village is evidence of Vedic rituals and culture. Classical 'Nagar' style of temple architecture can be seen at temples of Menaal (Mahanaleshwer), Gurlan, Gadarmala, Momi,Kanpura and Mandalgarh places. Another notable landmark is the Badnore Fort some 70 km from Bhilwara. It is a seven-storey fort on the top of a hill and built in medieval Indian military style.
Bhilwara is known as "the city of cloth."<--! Soniyana is
