Chittaurgarh-The town of the brave, known for its massive fort atop a hill,
which can be singled out for its glorious past.
The fort has checkered history, it has witnessed some of the bloodiest
battles iln history, three great Sakas and some of the most heroic deeds of
valor, which are still sung by the local musicians. The antiquity of
Chittaurgarh is difficult to trace, but it is believed that Bhim the
legendary figure of the Mahabharta, visited this place to learn the secrets
of immortality and became the disciple of a sage, but his impatience to
perform all the rites deprived him of his goal, and out of sheer anger he
stamped on ground creating water reservoir, this reservoir is called as Bhim
Lat. Later on, it came under the Mauryas or Muri Rajputs, there are
different opinions as to when ilt came under the Mewar ruler, but it
remained the capital of Mewar till 1568, when it was shifted to Udaipur.
It is believed that Bappa Rawal the legendary founder of the Sisodia clan,
received Chittaur in the middle of 8th century, as a part of the dowry after
marriage with the last Solanki princess, after that his descendants ruled
Mewar which stretched from Gujarat to Ajmer, upto the 16th century.
History of Chittorgarh
Chittorgarh is one of the most fiercely contested seats of power in
India.About 72 miles (115 km) east of Udaipur, stands Chittor. With its
formidable fortifications,Bappa Rawal, the legendary founder of the Sisodia
dynasty, received Chittor in the middle of the eighth century, as part of
the last Solanki princess's dowry. It crowns a seven-mile- long hill,
covering 700 acres (280 hectares), with its fortifications, temples, towers
and palaces.
From the eighth to the 16th century, Bappa Rawal's descendants ruled over
an important kingdom called Mewar stretching from Gujarat to Ajmer. But
during these eight centuries the seemingly impregnable Chittor was
surrounded, overrun, and sacked three times.
Sacks of Chittor: In 1303 Allauddin khilji, Sultan of Delhi, intrigued by
tales of the matchless beauty of Padmini, Rani of Chittor, of her wit and
charm, decided to verify this himself. His armies surrounded Chittor, and
the sultan sent a message to Rana Rattan Singh, Padmini's husband, to say
that he would spare the city if he could meet its famous queen. The
compromise finally reached was that the sultan could look upon Padmini's
reflection if he came unarmed into the fort. Accordingly, the sultan went up
the hill and glimpsed a reflection of the beautiful Padmini standing by a
lotus pool. He thanked his host who courteously escorted Allauddin down to
the outer gate-where the sultan's men waited in ambush to take the rana
hostage.
There was consternation in Chittor until Padmini devised a plan. A
messenger informed the sultan that the rani would come to him. Dozens of
curtained palanquins set off down the hill, each carried by six humble
bearers. Once inside the Sultan's camp, four well-armed Rajput warriors
leaped out of each palanquin and each lowly palanquin bearer drew a sword.In
the ensuing battle, Rana Rattan Singh was rescued-but 7,000 Rajput warriors
died. The sultan now attacked Chittor with renewed vigor. Having lost 7,000
of its best warriors, Chittor could not hold out. Surrender was unthinkable.
The rani and her entire entourage of women, the wives of generals and
soldiers, sent their children into hiding with loyal retainers. They then
dressed their wedding fine , slid their farewells, and singing ancient
hymns, boldly entered the mahal and performed jauhar.
The men, watching with expressionless faces, then donned saffron robes,
smeared the holy ashes of their women on their foreheads, flung open the
gates of the fort and thundered down the hill into the enemy ranks, to fight
to the death.The second sack or shake (sacrifice) of Chittor, by which
Rajputs still swear when pledging their word, occurred in 1535, when Sultan
Bahadur Shan Of Gujarat attacked the fort.
Rana Kumbha: Rana Kumbha (1433-68) was a versatile man a brilliant, poet
and musician. He built mewar upto a position of assailable military strength
building a chain of thirty forts that girdled the kingdom But, perhaps more
important was a patron of the arts to rival Lorenzo de Medici, and he made
Chittorgarh a dazzling cultural center whose fame spread right across
Hindustan.
Rana Sanga: Rana Sanga (reigned 1509-27) was a warrior and a man of great
chivalry and honor reign was marked by a series of continual battles, in
course of which he is said to have lost one arm and had been crippled in one
leg and received eighty-four wounds on his body. The last of his battles was
again Mughal invader, Babur, in 1527. Deserted by one ofgenerals, Rana Sanga
was wounded in the battle and shortly after.
places-to-see:-
The Chittaurgarh Fort
The trip to this fascinating city began with a visit to the Chittorgarh
Fort, which was perched on a height of 180m high hill. I approached the fort
on the back of an elephant, which was an exhilarating experience. The main
gates to enter into the fort were Padal Pol, Bhairon Pol, Hanuman Pol and
Ram Pol. Inside the Chittaurgarh Fort there were exquisitely carved chhatris
and tablets that reminded me the Rajput heroism.
Vijay Stambh, Chittaurgarh
While driving towards the next destination I came across the magnificent
Vijay Stambh. Though I had no plans to visit this but it was such a glorious
monument that I decided to pay a short visit. The imposing 37 meter high
structure was covered with exquisite sculpture of Hindu deities and
depicting episodes from the two great epics- Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Rana Kumbha's Palace
Driving through the colorful street of the city, I reached at Rana Kumbha
Palace where Rani Padmini and other women committed Jauhar. It was the most
massive monument in the fort of Chittaur.
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