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The Rajputs were a group of brave and disciplined men and women. While the other Hindu Rulers surrendered to the Mughal Emperors and were attacked by the Afghans, they fought to keep their land and forts independent of these rulers. Many wars left their marks on the walls of the Rajputana Forts, and many stories became household tales of bravery in India. The forts of Chittor, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer... The battles of Haldighat, the love of Prithviraj and Sanyukta, and the Bhakti of Meera Bai are all now part of the folklore of India.
Amidst these fairytale-like stories of princes and Princesses, Love and Patriotism, there lie tales of horror. Families lost in wars, kings brutally murdered, jealous step-brothers joining the enemy forces, princesses forced into marriage for political alliances and above all, the horrible scenes of Jauhar.
The ancient tradition of committing Sati in the husband's pyre is very commonly known. Jauhar was a speciality in Rajputana. When the army of the fort is defeated, and the enemies come to seize the fort, the enemy soldiers and Rulers often used force to take pleasure from the unwilling women, teenagers and widows of the lost army. They seemed to be the trophy of winning. To save their honour on hearing of the defeat, the women of the Palace, under the leadership of the Queen Consort, used to jump into a fire lit in a hole inside the Palace Mahal. They committed suicide to save their honour.
The future heirs were moved to safety by secret tunnels and hallways leading out of the fort, somewhere away and safe, by their wet nurses who guarded them and helped them with their lives like their own mothers, so that later they could come back to seek revenge. It was an insult for the Queens and the Royal wives to escape the Palace in fear of the enemy in Rajputana. They accepted the painful deaths of Jauhar rather than escaping to bring up their children.
It was like a slap on the face of the enemies who came to seek desire and found a Fort deserted and full of burnt bodies of Royal wives. Some of the famous Queens who committed Jauhar were:
Rani Padmini, whose beauty led Alauddin Khilji to attack her husband in the desire to have her. After she heard of the death and defeat of her husband, she led all his wives and members of the Royal Family to the Jauhar Kund and died there before the Afghans could arrive at her Palace.
Rani Karnavati, the mother of Rana Uday Singh, gave the infant away to his wet nurse, who escaped with him while she, along with all the other Royal Wives, committed suicide before Gujarat's army could come to attack the Palace. She sent a Rakhi to Humayun, hoping for his help in vain.
Rani Sanjukta committed Jauhar along with her mothers-in-law and other Royal Wives when Prithviraj was killed at the Afghan King's court, and they knew sooner or later Ajmer would fall. She is said to have died taking his name and even sacrificing her newborn with her.
In Jaisalmer, around 24000 women committed Jauhar after suffering defeat at the hands of Alauddin Khilji.
Jauhar was a horrible tradition of putting honour before life, but what it actually reflects is the position of women in society. They were trophies of war meant for pleasure, they were won in Battles, given as a gift of political alliances of their Fathers and even sometimes forced to die in Jauhar, believed to be a pure solution to save their Chastity. Although Royal women enjoyed Respect and Luxury, these were at risk like those of the warriors every time a war threatened the fort. Their Lives were tied to that of the fort, and Jauhar is a tradition reflecting their helpless ways of living.
