RANI PADMINI OF CHITTORE
Chittorgarh remains replete with historic associations and holds a very special place in the hearts of Rajputs, as it was a bastion of the clan at a time when every other stronghold had succumbed to invasion. It is often called as the "Bhakti aur Shakti ki nagari" (land of devotion and strength). The first, Meera Bai, is the most famous female Hindu spiritual poet, whose compositions are still popular throughout North India.The saga of Rani Padmini and her jahur; and the great warrior Maharana Pratap, son of Rana Udai Singh II, is regarded as a personification of the values Rajputs cherish and die for. Whether or not this story as a whole can properly be termed a historical romance, the author, leaves for others to decide. Sultan “Ala-ud-din”, Rani Padmini, her husband had reality.
Chittore was certainly sacked by Sultan and Padmini did immolate herself by fire to avoid falling into his hands. Equally established are the death, in the final phase of siege, of rattan Singh and the escape of Ajey Singh to carry on the royal line. According to Armald Webb there have been difference of opinion about this between Muslim and Rajput versions, as also the mirror scene and the version of Kangra Rani, guardian goddess of Chittore. The author also suspects the poets of invention. Yet the invention, if such it be, is so unimportant historically and so romantically colourful, that any writer might be excused for clinging to it. Rajputana in its polity, its customs and its outlook has changed so little through the centuries, that anyone can recapture the past from the present.
The author feels he can safely say with Montaigne, “I have only made anosegay of culled flowers, and have brought little of my own but the thread which bins then together.” Armald Webb, born in 1898 was then a well known literary figure and historian. This book was edited by Dr S K Bhatia in 2005 and published by Gita Enterprises.
Padmini, also known as Padmavati or Rani Padmavati, was a 13th–14th century queen of the Kingdom of Mewar in India.[2] Several medieval texts mention her, although these versions are disparate and many modern historians question the extent of their overall authenticity.[3]
The Jayasi text describes her story as follows: Padmavati was an exceptionally beautiful princess of the Sinhalese kingdom (in Sri Lanka).[a] Ratan Sen, the Rajput ruler of Chittor Fort, heard about her beauty from a talking parrot named Hiraman. After an adventurous quest, he won her hand in marriage and brought her to Chittor. Ratan Sen was captured and imprisoned by Alauddin Khalji, the Sultan of Delhi. While Ratan Sen was in prison, the king of Kumbhalner Devapal became enamoured with Padmavati's beauty and proposed to marry her. Ratan Sen returned to Chittor and entered into a duel with Devapal, in which both died. Alauddin Khalji laid siege to Chittor to obtain Padmavati. Facing a defeat against Khalji, before Chittor was captured, she and her companions committed Jauhar (self-immolation) thereby defeating Khalji's aim and protecting their honour. Coupled to the Jauhar, the Rajput men died fighting on the battlefield.
Many other written and oral tradition versions of her life exist in Hindu and Jain traditions. These versions differ from the Sufi poet Jayasi's version. For example, Rani Padmini's husband Ratan Sen dies fighting the siege of Alauddin Khalji, and thereafter she leads a jauhar. In these versions, she is characterised as a Hindu Rajput queen, who defended her honour against a Muslim invader. Over the years she came to be seen as a historical figure and appeared in several novels, plays, television serials and movies.
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