महाराणा कुम्भा (हरविलास सारदा - मेवाड़ साम्राज्य के अद्वितीय विजेता, निर्माता व विद्वान्)

Maharana Kumbha.
century¹ of the Christian era. Kumbha began
the construction of the fort in S. 1500 (1443
A. D.), and it was completed on the 13th of
the dark half of Chaitra, S. 1515 (A.D. 1458).²
It was designed and built by Kumbha's
architect Mandana.
Kumbhalgarh is defended by a series of
walls with battlements and bastions built on
the slopes of a hill, and contains a domed
palace and buildings which are reached though
several gateways along a winding approach.
The palace in it built by Kumbha and rebuilt
by the late Maharana Fateh Singh stands
3,568 feet above sea level, and commands a
fine panoramic view of the wild and rugged
scenery of the Aravallis³ and the sandy plains
of Marwar. Below this peak, on every side
and enlosed within a high battlemented wall,
so thick as to allow 8 horsemen to ride abreast,
¹ Samprati was the second son of Emperor Asoka who
died in 236 or 237 B. C. His eldest son Kunal reigned for
8 years and was succeeded by Samprati who also reigned
for 8 years.
² Chitorgarh Inscription, Cunningham's Archæological
Survey Report, Vol. XXIII, plate 21.
³ The names of several neighbouring hills are given in
the Chitorgarh Inscription as Nila, Shweta, Hemkut, Himvat,
Nishad, Gandhamadan.
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