Chittorgarh: The Devoted Fort

The Chambhuja dedicated to Rana Kumbha in front of the Kumbha Shyaam Temple

Chittorgarh is known for its sacrifices and wars. But that's not all. Chittorgarh had seen secular harmony and religious wonders too. Here, we see numerous, abandoned, broken and intact temples, Talabs, Kunds and Temple complexes that were meant for the religious rituals of the people of Chittorgarh.

A structure near the Meera Temple

Meera Bai, the saint poetess, and Princess of Merta was married to Rana Sanga's eldest son Bhoj Raj, in 1513 AD, at the age of 14. She had as a child had one day seen a wedding procession and was eager to know who the groom was. She constantly bugged her mother about who was her groom and her mother pointed to the Krishna Idol saying " Ve rahe apka Vaar." The child took each word seriously as she stayed all day with her idol, talking to him, feeding him and bathing him, calling him her husband. At first, people thought it to be a child's play. Until one day, attracted by the sound of music from the Bhajans of a nomadic group, Meera walked out of her palace in Merta, barefoot and in a trance. Tragedy followed as she lost her mother at the age of nine, and was shifted to the care of her grandfather Rao Dudha of Jodhpur. Her aunt, mother to elder brother Jaimal (not the one who died in Chittor) was miffed by her madness and decided it would all stop once she is married.

Twelve-year-old Meera couldn't understand, her mother had already given her a groom, why did she need another? Rana Sangram Singh was a friend to Rao Dudha and his first son Bhojraj of marriageable age. Being the heir apparent and a suitable groom, and also a lover of music and poetry, he seemed to be a perfect match.

As Meera became friends with Bhojraj after their marriage she found a protector. While they both had lost their mothers at a young age, Karnavati, his stepmother loved Meera. Protests came in the name of his own sibling, sister and his brother Vikramaditya who called Meera mad. Bhojraj protected and defended her devotion as an act of faith. He encouraged her Bhajans, and writings and even allowed her to go to the religious gatherings at the Kumbha Shyaam Temple complex at midnight. All was well until one day at war in 1526 AD Bhojraj died. Rana Sanga protected the young widow of his son and even set up the Krishna Temple now known as Meera Temple for her. She spends all day praying and singing there with her Sakhi Lolita.

Architecture at the Meera Temple

Vikramaditya succeeded Sangram Singh after his second son Ratan Singh II also perished fighting Babar. Once on the throne, the alcoholic and lustful Vikramaditya had his eyes on Meera and wanted to marry her. Karnavati decided that it was time for Meera needed to leave Chittor. At the death of the night, She led her daughter-in-law out of the Suraj Pol. Meera left her Girdhaar, gifted to her by her mother, in Karnavati's care and moved to Merta and finally to Vrindavan. When Rana Udai Singh became king, he went to take her back to Chittor thrice in 1541, after his son was born, in 1543 and lastly in 1547. On the last visit, Meera couldn't refuse her brother like Rana so she decided to end her worldly attachments once and for all as the dawn arrived with only Meera's saree wrapped around her Girdhar and no sign of the lady. People believed she became one with her Lord.

Meera Bai's Original Girdhar

Her devotion became Chittor's message of love to the world. With her, Chittor's fortune seemed to go as a siege followed Karnavati's Jauhar, then Banbir killed Vikramaditya and finally, the Afghans took over Udai Singh's Chittor. Wars with Bundi Marwar and the Mughals followed until the final siege by Akbar within two decades of Meera's demise.

The Kumbha Shyaam Temple is a temple that was initially dedicated to Vishnu and later to Krishna under Meera Bai's influence on Vaishnavism. Rana Kumbha made this temple dedicated to his Aradhya, Lord Vishnu. The architecture of this temple is very delicate and detailed and describes many stories of the Puranas. The Queens of Chittorgarh used to pay their daily respects to the lord here. The Kumbha Shyaam Temple even today has devotees pouring in to offer prayers.

Pillars of the Kumbha Shyaam Temple

The Talabs and Kunds of Chittorgarh have stories attached to them from both mythologies as well as history. None of the Kunds today is clean like they used to be and many have even dried up. The Mandakini Kund, Bhimlat Kund and Surya Kund are famous. Kings used to bathe in the Surya Talab, and Queens used to offer their prayers in the Mandakini Kund. The Vishnu Talab is also very famous. The Gaumukh Kund, now the largest surviving reservoir, was named so as the water enters the Kund from a Cow's head-shaped structure.

Vishnu Talab

Gaumukh Kund

The Gaumukh Kund is near the Samadhiswara Shiva temple. This ancient temple has its roots traced back to the time of the Mahabharat when both Bheem and Arjun, Shiva devotees, paid their respect to the Lord here. It is also believed that Princess Krishna, later Draupadi also used to come here. This temple was reconstructed by Rana Kumbha nearly a hundred years after Allauddin Khilji destroyed it during his siege of Chittorgarh. There are numerous temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati in the region, the most famous being Kalika Mata Temple and Amba Devi Temple.

Nandi at Shiva temple

Samaddhiswara Temple

The thousands of smaller temples of Chittorgarh were broken by the various invaders with time. Akbar, during the last, siege is believed to have destroyed 56 temples in Chittorgarh constructed by the Royals of the Sisodia Family.

Temple was destroyed by Akbar

The Queen of Mewar

There have been many versions, folktales and local stories in Rajputana on their Kings and Queens. None of these versions is, however, historical as history only mentions her as wife to Maharana Pratap, his consort and Queen Mother to Amar Singh. She was busy making a garland when Ratnawati rushed inside, hardly able to breathe. Concerned, the elder sister stopped her work and looked at her panting young sibling. " What is it? What's wrong?" "Jija maa sa is not letting me go to the haat mela alone. Please come with me, I need to buy some bangles." The spoiled younger one pleaded. " Wait, let me do my aarti first, then we can go." The reluctant Ratnawati sat down impatiently. In another room, their mother was helping their father get ready for the day. He was the Samant of Bijolia, the representative of the Rana of Mewar. Throughout the day he had to deal with administrative problems in Bijolia and give people justice, but today he had something...

Jauhar: All You Need to Know

“We have no Knowledge of the beginning and end of the world, the first and last of this ancient book has fallen out” Abu Talib Karim Rightly said by the poet laureate of Emperor Shah Jahan above, we do not actually know the beginning and end of anything in the universe, be it the traditions, culture or human race, or the world. What we know are fragments of the past we extract out of evidence. It is in vain to try and determine the first and last of something. For the past few months owing to some media hype on Jauhar, many of you had asked me questions. I tried to answer most of them. However, a lot remained unsaid and unwritten. Mostly because some things are impossible to put into words. But here I try my best. Today is a very significant day in history. On the 23 rd of February 1568, the world saw the last “Jauhar” of Chittorgarh, recorded in the medieval history of India. Akbar had invaded Mewar and the siege of four months ended in the Saka. There was no better day for...

The Queen Mother of Mewar

Let me start by saying, this is a representation of history and folklore in my own words, trying to show how great a soul this lady was. And let me start with a line here. “Naari Ki Balidaano Ko Sadev Bhulta Aya hai Itihas.” Yes, most women lay forgotten in the pages of history, only alive through the folklore and local tales that fail to reach the pages of books due to a lack of historical evidence. Their names don’t remain, but their haunting hand prints on the fort walls before Jauhar, their names on inscriptions as daughter, wife and mother, often make us wonder, who were they, how were they and how were their lives! Historically, the only thing we know about Maharani Jaivanta Bai Songara, princess of Jallore and queen of Mewar is that she was the first queen of Rana Udai Singh II, the mother of most probably her only son Maharana Pratap and daughter of ally of Rana Sanga, Akshay Raj of Jallore. Apart from that her entire life has no historical existence and is spun on ...

The Warrior Bride

Kelwa/Kailwa is a small village situated around two hours away from Chittorgarh and an hour from Lake Pichola. It was mainly inhabited by the Rathores and ruled by the Chundawat clan, who were once the rulers of Mewar. One chief of Kelwa, was Rawat Sihaji Singh Chundawat. He was a very close ally of Rana Sanga. His son Jaga Singhji too died fighting for Rana Udai Singhji in one war with the Afghans in 1555 AD. Kelwa’s heir was the minor child of Jaga Singhji and his widow Sajjan Bai Songara Chauhan. Being from the clan of the Chauhan Rajputs, she was a warrior at heart. From the early age of about four, her only son was brought up under his uncle Naga Singhji, to fight for his motherland and serve it like all other Mewaris. Fatta (Patta), as fondly called by everyone was a deft warrior even before he reached his teens. His name and bravery spread across the land, to Rana Udai Singh’s ears in Chittorgarh. He was also the nephew to Ranaji’s close aide Rawat Chundawatji. Upon the order of...

Teeja Saka Chittor Ra

23rd February 1568. The sun rose on the eastern horizon, not with the hope of a new day. But, with the horror of what was to follow. The first rays of the Sun God were met by the chants of “Jai Bhavani!” that echoed in the air of Chittorgarh. The Mewaris knew it was time. Four months back, when the Mughals camped at the base of the fort, a helpless Chittorgarh had watched. Rana Udai Singh had left with his closest aides to make the new city westwards, his capital. If rumours were to be believed, he had left behind a cavalry of 8000 soldiers, under Rao Jaimal of Merta and Rawat Patta of Kelwa to look over the fort. He had also left behind some of his lesser queens and infant princes, as an assurance to the people that Chittorgarh was invincible. Their safety and hope had lived in Kunwar Pratap. Truth be said, they had already taken the crown Prince as their King. Ever since Ranisa had left with him till he became the Senapati, he had time and again proved to be a better lead...

The Princess of Marwar

Historically we know nothing about Phool Bai Rathore except that she was the daughter of Ram Singh Rathore, granddaughter of Raja Maldeo Rathore and fifth wife of Maharana Pratap. There is no historical evidence of Akbar's alliance with her in particular however Maldeo did give his granddaughters in a marriage alliance with Mughals and other major dynasties. Phool Kanwar's cousin Maanwati Bai (Better known as Jodha Bai or Jagat Gossain) married Salim, Akbar's son and later emperor Jahangir. The Princess was in her chambers. The Mehrgarh Fort was in a quiet dark state and everyone feared what lay ahead. The men of the Rathore clan had gone to ally with the Mughal emperor Akbar. Rao Maldeo had decided that it was the only way to save Marwar's future. His second son Udai and youngest one Chandrasen supported his decision to save the country. But his heir and firstborn Ram Singh Rathore was a rebel. He was not going to bow down before the Mughals and lose his dignity. A...

Maharana Pratap: The Sun of Mewar

Many of you have read my fan fiction as well as historical representations of the life and times of Maharana Pratap Singh of Mewar. I provided small details of his life in many articles. But never have I ever made a separate historical post on him. It is very difficult to put together his life without the help of folklore because historical evidence is scarce. This one was requested and hence here it goes. Needless to say, this one is very special. This is a blend of history and folklore. Leave your love. ❤️ Background and Birth: The year was 1540. Mewar was under a cloud of uncertainty. Banbir, their ruler for four years now, was a very incompetent ruler who always spent his time in luxury, drinking and dancing with girls. The crown prince Udai Singh was rumoured to be killed by him. Chittorgarh was in darkness. Around March 1540, Mewar once again saw hope as some trusted generals along Mewar with Kunwar Udai Singh attacked Chittorgarh taking Banbir by surprise. He was soon to re...

Charumati's Love

T his is written based on folklore. This is a representative work of fiction and not claiming any historical happening in the conversations. This is to show the spirit of the women of Rajputana. The year 1657. Shah Jahan had taken ill and was rumoured to be dying in Agra Fort. He was about eighty and the pressure of having an empire had taken a toll on his body. The seat of power was slowly shifting from Agra to Delhi since the prominence of the Laal Quila had increased and if the news spread was to be believed his sons were in a battle for the throne already. It was time each king chose sides once again. Dara Sikhoh was the eldest and the righteous Heir to the throne. He was believed to be a man who held high morals and was hence respected by the enemies and alliances as well. Aurangzeb was his sibling and the youngest of the brothers. Short tempered and cunning he was always dreaded by the court. As Shah Jahan took ill, Aurangzeb took this as a golden opportunity to wage ...

Kalbhoj: The Legend of Bappa Rawal

The Historical fiction is woven mainly from folklore from James Todd's semi-historical book. However, a very vague historical presence is found in Bhojraj the first king of Mewar. The year was 713AD. The Maurya decedents, Moris ruled over the Chitrakut area of west Rajasthan. The areas around Chitrakoot were ruled by many small Chieftains. One of them was Rawal Mahendra II a Guhilot descendent. (The decendent of Guha and Nagaditya) As most power struggles suggest, one of his ministers betrayed and killed him and made himself Rawal. Once, Kalbhoj was in the forests near Nagda close to the borders of the Solanki ruler, looking after his herds. The youngest Solankhini princess was out in the forest playing with her Sakhis. They were making failed attempts to make a Jhula on a banyan tree. Kalbhoj was watching them try when one of the Sakhis spotted him. Witty and charming he always grabbed everyone's attention. Mahendra II had two wives, his first being a Paramara princess from Mt...

The Navroz Incident

This popular folklore has been recreated from Col, James Todd's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan. Names I have added, from my own historical research. This one is especially for Garima to thank her for the books and love! Yet another Veer Gatha from the dessert! Ps. This is folklore with no evidence of history, please remember that Bikaner, lying in the western part of the Thar, was a small yet independent state ruled by a clan of Marwari Rathores until Raja Kalyanmal surrendered to Akbar's Rajput Policies in 1571. His fourth son Prithviraj Rathore, being a great warrior and poet was respected as one of the "Nine Gems" in Emperor Akbar's court. Prithviraj, was the son of Kalyanmal's first wife and queen Rani Songaribai Rainawati, a cousin of Maharani Jaiwanta Bai of Mewar. Hence he was cousin to the valiant Pratap Singh of Mewar. He was also married to one of Rana Udai Singh of Mewar's daughters from his other wives, sister to Kunwar Pratap, Baisa Ja...

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