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

Maharana Kumbha.
when the Charan got up and confronting the
Maharana, recited the following Chhappaya
(short poem).
जद घर पर जोवती दीठ नागोर धरंती ।
गायत्री संग्रहण देख मन मांहीं डरंती ॥
सुरकोटी तेतीस आण नीरंता चारो ।
नहिं चरंत पीवंत मनह करती हंकारो ॥
कुंभेण राण हणिया कलम, आजस उर डर उतरिय ।
तिण दीह द्वार शंकर तणैं, कामधेनु तंडव करिय ॥ १ ॥
"Seeing that cows were killed in Nagor,
gāyatri (cow) was in great fright. Thirty
three crores of gods used to bring grass and
water for her, but she neither ate nor drank
anything. When Rana Kumbha after killing
Mussalmans (conquering Nagor) has given
protection to the cows, then the cow has
became delighted and dances with joy at the
door of Shankar (Mahadeva)."
The Maharana on hearing the recitation,
said to the reciter: "You are no Rajput: you
are a Charan, but we are very pleased with
you." The man confessed that he was a
Charan, and interceding for his brethren,
begged the Maharana to permit their return
109

Maharana Kumbha.

to Mewar and to restore their lands.
The Maharana granted the request.¹ The
Maharana, from that day, gave up repeating
those words; but his mind had been affected,
and he was sometimes incoherent in his talk.
While he was in this state of mind, and was
one day seated on the edge of a masonry
tank near the temple of Mamadeva (Kumbha-
swami) to the north east of Katargarh in
Kumbhalmer, which he had built ten years
before, his eldest son Udai Singh, stole up
to him and treacherously stabbed him to
death.²

The motive for this wicked deed might
be the fear that the banished prince Rai Mal
might be restored to favour and possibly block
the miscreant's way to the throne; or, Kumbhá's
enemies, unable to overcome him by force, put
up his son to do the wicked deed, promising
him assistance to get the throne, as was done
in the case of Maharaja Ajit Singh of Marwar
in the 18th century, when his son, Abhay
Singh, was persuaded to get his father mur-

¹ Vir Vinod, Vol. I, p. 333.
² Vir Vinod, Vol. I, p. 333.
110

Maharana Kumbha.
dered. Udai Karan is known in history as
“Udo the Hatiáro.”
Maharana Kumbha left eleven¹ sons:
Udai Singh, Rai Mal, Nagraj, Gopal Singh,
Askarana, Amar Singh, Govin Das, Jait Singh,
Mahrāwan, Khshetra Singh and Achaldas.
One of his daughters, Ramābai, was married
to the Yadava Raja Mandlik of Sorath.²
The Kumbhalgarh Inscription, verse 251,
shows that Maharana Kumbha had married
several queens. Two of them, Kumbhaldevi
and Apurvadevi, are mentioned in the Chitor
Kirtisthambha Inscription, as well as in
Rasikpriya—Kumbha’s commentary on Gita
Govind.
Thus, after a reign of 35 years—a reign
full of glory and splendour—Kumbhá de-
parted from this world, leaving behind him, a
name which is honoured in history, and
remembered to this day as that of one of
the greatest sovereigns who ever ruled in
¹ Vir Vinod, Vol. I, p. 335. Mehta Nainsi gives the names
of only five.
² Jāwar Inscription of the Temple of Ramaswami of
V. S. 1554 (A.D. 1497).
111

Maharana Kumbha.
India. The Kumbhalgarh Inscription says:—
“He was the root of the tree of righteous-
ness, home of virtue and purity, support of
wealth, birthplace of truth, abode of prowess,
limit of constancy and fortitude, and a represen-
tative of Kalpadruma (the tree in Heaven
which grants all desires). His charities
were greater than those of the famous
Rájá Bhoj and Kaṛan.”
112

CHAPTER XII.
————
Kumbha's Achievements.
Maharana Kumbha's military achievements,
of which any sovereign might be proud, have
not often been surpassed in India. His high
moral culture prevented him from emulating
the deeds of a Timur or an Alla-ud-din Khilji,
and carrying fire and sword from one end of
the country to the other. The elevated
spiritual plane on which he lived, made it
repugnant to him to engage in aggressive
wars with his neighbours. His genius was
equal to achieving far greater feats of military
glory than what he accomplished, but his
heart, susceptible to the finer feelings of
humanity, abhorred all unnecessary bloodshed,
ruin and destruction, and he undertook only
such military operations as were absolutely
necessary for the protection of his country,
or, as duty enjoined, to punish evil-doers.
Fortune constantly smiled on him: he was
ever victorious in war. Inscriptions found in
Chitor, Kumbhalgarh, Ránpur and Abu show
113

Maharana Kumbha.

that he defeated all his enemies, reduced some
of them to be his vassals and incorporated
portions of the territories of others with his
own. He captured Bundi,¹ Bamaodá² and
conquered the whole of Haraváti³ (country
of the Hara Rajputs.)

He captured and incorporated with his
dominions (Mewar) the towns of Mandalgarh,⁴
Shatpur⁵ (now called Khatkar), Khatoo,⁶
Jana⁷ and Chatsoo,⁸ and wrested from its
Muslim rulers, the whole of the district of
Toda⁹ and Ajmer.¹⁰

¹ Ranpur Temple Inscription in the Archæological Sur-
vey of India : Annual Report for 1907-08, pp. 214-17.
² Kumbhalgarh Inscription (unpublished) in the Udai-
pur Museum, verse 262.
³ Kaviraj Shyamaldas' Vir Vinod, p. 335. Also Kum-
bhalgarh Inscription, Verse 264.
⁴ Kumbhalgarh Inscription in the Udaipur Museum, V.
263. The inscription calls the place Mandalkar. It was taken
from the Hara Rajputs of Bambaodā.
⁵ Kumbhalgarh Inscription, V. 264.
⁶ Ranpur Temple Inscription. The town of Khatoo is
now in the Jaipur State. It is famous for its red stone quarries.
⁷ Ranpur Temple Inscription. Jana is unidentifiable.
⁸ Ibid. Chatsoo is also in the Jaipur State now.
⁹ Eklinga Mahatmya, Sloka 157.
¹⁰ Ranpur Temple Inscription. Ajmer was taken by the
Maharana from the Sultan of Gujrat.

114

Maharana Kumbha.
He annexed the Sapādalaksha¹ country
including Sambhar, and imposed a tax on the
salt produced there. He also levied a tax on
the "salt mines" at Didvāna,² and conquered
the city of Naraina.³ He conquered
Naradiyanagar (Narwar)⁴ and reduced to
submission the ruler of Shodhyanagari,⁵
Yagnapur⁶ (Jahazpur in Mewar), Malpura,
Yoginipur⁷ (Jawar) and Dungarpur, driving
out from the last place, Rao Gopal.⁸ He
burnt down Vrandāvatipur (Bundi)⁹ and
captured the hill fort of Gargarāt.¹⁰ He
"burnt down Mallaranyapur, Sinhapur and
Ratnpur and destroyed several kings."¹¹
"He killed the enemy and took Mandawar
(Mandor) ¹²" He conquered Amradadri¹³
¹ Chitor Tower of Victory Inscription, Verse 5. A
part of the inscription is published in Cunningham's Archæo-
logical Survey Report, Vol. XXIII. Also Kumbhalgarh
Inscription, V. 261.
² Ibid, V. 6.
³ Ibid, V. 6. Naraina is in Jaipur territory and is the
headquarters of the Dadupanthi sect of the Hindus.
⁴ Kumbhalgarh Inscription, V. 246. ⁵ Ibid, V. 248.
⁶ Ibid, V. 253. ⁷ Kumbhalgarh Inscription, Verse 247.
⁸ Ibid, V. 266–67. ⁹ Kumbhalgarh Inscription, V. 264.
¹⁰ Ibid, V. 259. Also Ranpur Temple Inscription.
¹¹ Ibid, V. 260. ¹² Kumbhalgarh Inscription, V. 249.
¹³ Ibid, V. 262.
115

Maharana Kumbha.
(Amber) and won the battle of Kotra¹ and
took the city of Champāvati.²
He conquered Sarangpur,³ taking “num-
berless Turk women prisoners and humbled
the pride of Mahmud (Khilji), its ruler, who
had slain his master and become king of the
place.”
He conquered Hammirpur, captured its king,
Randhir Vicrama,⁴ and married his daughter.
He captured the hilly country of Vardhaman⁵
(Badnor) from the Mers; took Amrdachal and
conquered the Jankachal⁶ hill from the king of
Malwa and built a fort on it. He captured and
occupied a part of the territory of the Sultan
of Delhi.⁷ He also conquered the Gokrana
Mountain and subjugated the kingdom of
Abu,⁸ and built Achalgarh⁹ on the top of it,
and made the Deora Chief (of Sirohi) his
¹ Kumbhalgarh Inscription, 262. ² Ibid, V. 258.
³ Kumbhalgarh Inscription, V. 268. It was in this
battle that Sultan Mahmud Khilji of Mandu was taken prisoner
by the Maharana.
⁴ Kumbhalgarh Inscription, V. 250.
⁵ Kumbhalgarh Inscription, V. 254. ⁶ Ibid, verses 256-7.
⁷ Ranpur Temple Inscription.
⁸ Chitor Tower of Victory Inscription, Verses 8 to 11.
⁹ Ibid, V 12.
116

Maharana Kumbha.
vassal.¹ He conquered Gagroon² (now in
Kotah territory), destroyed Visalpur³ and
raised to the ground the city of Dhanya-
nagar.⁴ He destroyed Khandela⁵ and Vyas-
pur.⁶ He conquered the famous fortress of
Ranthambhor.⁷ He took away the whole of
the wealth and kingdom of Muzaffar⁸ (King
of Gujrat) and humbled his pride (V. 7);
conquered Nagor⁹ (in Marwar) and plundered
Jāngaladesa¹⁰ (country to the north west of
Ajmer). He repeatedly defeated the kings of
Malwa and Gujrat first singly and then com-
bined, when their allied armies invaded Mewar.¹¹
¹ Eklinga Mahatmya. ² Ranpur Temple Inscription.
³ Kumbhalgarh Inscription, V. 265.
⁴ Chitor Tower of Victory Inscription, V. 25. ⁵ Ibid, V. 253
⁶ Eklinga Mahatmya.
⁷ Kumbhalgarh Inscription, V. 261.
⁸ Chitor Tower of Victory Inscription, V. 7.
⁹ Chitorgarh Kirtisthambha Inscription. For invasions of
Nagor, see Chapter X supra.
¹⁰ For a full account of Jāngaladesa, see my paper on Jangal-
desa, published in the Proceedings of the First Oriental Con-
ference, Poona, 1921 A. D.
¹¹ Chitorgarh Kirtisthambha Inscription, a part of which
is given in Cunningham's A.S. Reports Vol. XXIII.
The Kirtisthambha Inscription (verse 17) says that he burnt
Gujrat, conquered the ruler of Malwa (Mahmud) and destroyed
his pride. Further on (verse 171) Kumbha is styled Agastya-
muni (swallower) of the armies of the Sultans of Gujrat and
Malwa.
117

Maharana Kumbha.
The Ranpur Temple Inscription, line 27,
says that his “Title as the Hindu Sultan was
proclaimed by the Umbrella of Royalty given
(him) by the Sultans protecting Gujrat
and the territory of Delhi, which were occupied
by his great exploits.”¹
The Chitorgarh Kirtisthambha Inscription,
V. 146, calls Maharana Kumbha, the chief
ornament of the kings of the North, East
and West.
TITLES OF MAHARANA KUMBHA.
The great achievements of Maharana
Kumbha in peace as well as in war—in arms
as well as in arts—gained him many titles.

1. The Kumbhalgarh Inscription of
   1460 A.D. verse 232, mentions the titles of
   Maharaja Dhiraj; Rai Rāyan; Rānē Rao;
   and Maharana.
2. The Kirtisthambha Inscription of
   A.D. 1460, verse 148, mentions his titles of
   Rājguru, Dānguru, Shailguru and Param-
   ¹ See Ranpur Inscription of A.D. 1439, in Archæological
   Survey of India, Annual Report for 1907–8, p. 216.
   118

Maharana Kumbha.
guru. Rajguru means the Master of kings
or Rajahs. Danguru means the king or the
greatest of the givers. Shailguru means Master
of the mountains. Paramguru, according to
the inscription, is the highest preceptor of
Rajas or kings.
3. The commentary on Gita Govind
contains Kumbha's titles of Chāpguru, Todar-
mal and Abhinava Bharatāchārya. Chapguru
means master of the science of war.
4. Rasikpriya says that Maharana
Kumbha was called Todarmal, as he destroyed
like a मल्ल (a giant) great Rajas who
were Rulers of men (नरपती) Masters of Cavalry
(अश्वपती) and Masters of elephants (गजपती)
The Kirtisthambha Inscription, verse 177,
also calls Kumbha, Todarmal.
119

CHAPTER XIII.
KUMBHA'S MONUMENTS.
KUMBA was a great commander and a great
sovereign. He not only greatly extended the
boundaries of Mewar but immensely strength-
ened its defences and adorned it with works
of art. Colonel Tod says: "He triumphed
over the enemies of his race, fortified his
country with strongholds, embellished it with
temples, and with the superstructure of her
fame laid the foundations of his own."¹ He
repopulated Vasantapur, and built seven
lakes near it in the vicinity of Anhalkund of
Vashishta² in Sirohi (near Abu).
FORTS.
"Of the 84 fortresses constructed for the
defence of Mewar, 32 were built³ by Kumbha.
He fortified the passes between the Western
¹ Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. I, p. 290.
² Chitorgarh Kirtisthambha Inscription, verses 8 and 9.
³ Vir Vinod, Vol. I, p. 334. Also Tod's Rajasthan,
Vol. I, p. 289.
120

Maharana Kumbha:
frontier of Mewar and Abu and erected
the fort of Vasanti near Sirohi. He built
the fort of Machan to defend the Shera
Nullá and Devagarh against the Mers of
Aravalli." He built the fort of Kolana, near
Amba Bhawani, and the fort of Vairat near
Badnor, and rebuilt the fort of Ahore (in
Mewar), which had been first built by his
ancestor Karan Singh, and named it Kailash
Meru. "He built various other forts to
overawe the Bhumiá Bhils of Jarole and
Panora, and defined the boundaries of Mewar
and Marwar."¹
ACHALGARH.
He constructed in 1452 A.D. (S. 1509,
Magh Sudi 15th) a citadel on a peak of Mount
Abu, since well known as Achalagarh² within
the ruined fortress of the ancient Parmār
kings of that country, where he often resided.
The traveller would find the ruined towers
of Achalgarh buried in the dense masses of
¹ Tod's Rajasthan, Vol. I, p. 289.
² Eklinga Mahatmya, Sl. 64. And the Chitorgarh Ins-
cription, Plate XXI, Cunningham's A.S.R., Vol. XXIII.
121

Maharana Kumbha.
clouds that surround him. The first pol (gate)
of this ancient fortress is the Hanuman Pol,
"which is composed of two noble towers built
with huge blocks of granite, black with the
rude blasts of some 1,000 winters. The
towers had been connected at the top by the
guard room, and the gate served as the
entrance to the lower fort, whose dilapidated
walls are discernable up the irregular ascent.
Another portal called the Champa Pol, from a
noble Champa tree close to it, which was
formerly denominated the "Gate of Wisdom,"
conducts to the inner fortress. The first
object that strikes the view on passing the
latter gate is the Jain temple to Paraswanath,
erected at the sole expense of a banker of
Māndu. Its columns are of the same charac-
ter as those of the ancient shrine of Ajmer.
"The upper fortress is attributed to
Kumbha. But he probably only repaired this,
the Donjon of Achalgarh, which with the
interior works, is of the most remote antiquity.
There are the ruins of a granary, the Bhandar
of Kumbha Rana, coated within with a very
strong cement. Close on the left, is the palace
122

Maharana Kumbha.
of Oka Rani, his queen, so designated from
being of Oka Mandal, (Kathiawar) near the
Land's End of the Hindus. A small lake in
the keep is called Sāwan Bhādoon, and well
merits the name of the two chief months of
the monsoon; for, in the middle of June it is
yet full of water. On the most elevated knoll
to the east are the remains of an alarm tower
which still bears Kumbha's name. From this
point the eye, occasionally piercing the swift-
scudding clouds, has glimpses of the ruined
altars and palaces of the brave race who on
the spot whence I surveyed them, had fought
and bled in their defence."¹
A blending of all beauties, streams and dells,
Fruit, foliage, crag, wood, cornfield, mountain, vine,
And chiefless castles, breathing stern farewells,
From gray, but leafy walls, where Ruin greenly dwells."
An equestrian statue of Maharana Kumbha
with those of two other Maharanas and a
bigger one of the Purohit or the family priest
of Kumbha in a humble straw shed on the
descent from Achalgarh to Dilwara still
receive divine honours.
¹ Tod's Travels in Western India, p. 94.

• 123

Maharana Kumbha.
Col. Tod describing his visit to Achalgarh,
says:—"As the sun dispelled the watery
darkness which enveloped us, the landscape
of this magic realm was to the last degree
imposing, every change of position unfolding
some new object. First, Jain shrines of
Dilwara (being S. 80° W. six miles distant),
backed by the peak of Arbudha Mātā; the
Guru Sikra (N. 15° E. four miles), with many
other pinnacles scattered over the summit of
this fairy land, each with its name and its
legend. On the descent, I paid my homage to
the representative of one of the worthies of
Mewar, an equestrian brass statue of Rana
Kumbha, who within these walls had often
stood the brunt of war. It was pleasing to
witness the homage still rendered within these
now desecrated walls, to departed worth;
prayers are made, and daily oblations of
saffron brought to the defender of Achalgarh,
and these not by any of his decendants, who
are ignorant of this deed, but by others utter-
ly unconnected with him, actuated by the
traditional record of his glory or greatness.
The humble straw shed which covers these
124

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Kumbhalgarh

Maharana Kumbha.
effigies conveys a finer lesson to the mind
than if they were enshrined in marble."¹
At Abu, Kumbha built the temple of
Kumbhaswámi (which still stands) and a
large tank named, Ramakund, in front of it.²
He excavated four other tanks there.² He
remitted the pilgrim tax levied at Abu.²
KUMBHALGARH.¹
The highest monument of Kumbha's
military and constructive genius, however, is
the wonderful fortress of Kumbhalgarh or
Kumbhalmer, second to none in strategical
importance or historical renown. It was to
this impregnable fortress that the Maharanas
of Mewar always turned their eyes, when
Udaipur became unsafe and Chitor unten-
able. It is to Kumbhalmer that the Maha-
ranas, from Udai Singh to Ráj Singh, sent
the royal households, when the entire might
of the Moghal Empire was used for the des-
truction of their country. It was the ambition
¹ Tod's Travels in Western India, pp. 95-96.
² Kumbha's Chitorgarh Kirtisthambha Inscription (Vs. 12
and 13). Near the Ramakund, stands a statue of the Parmar
king Dhārāvarsha armed with a bow, and three stone buffaloes.
125

Maharana Kumbha.
of Akbar, the greatest of the Moghul Emperors
of India to take it, when his hosts, led by the
greatest of his generals, the renowned Mán
Singh of Amber and supported by the armies
of the Rathods of Marwar and Bikaner, the
Kuchhwahas of Amber (Jaipur) and other
Rajput Chiefs, invaded the country of the
immortal Pratap.
The cunning of Akbar succeeded in
raising against this devoted land most of its
Rajput neighbours, and the fortress fell. It
was, however, soon recovered by Pratap; and
the successors of Akbar—Jahangir with all
his vain glory, and Aurangzeb with all his
craft and cunning—failed to make any im-
pression on this historic fortress. When
Prince Khurram, ennobled with the title of
Shah Jahan (king of the world), with all the
resources that the empire could command,
supported by Emperor Jahangir at the base
of operations, Ajmer, overran the country
of Pratap's noble son, Amra; or when
that destroyer of the Moghal Empire,
Aurangzeb, collecting the Imperial armies
from all parts of the Empire, vainly launched
126