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

Tower of Victory, Chitor.
(Kirtisthambha.)

Maharana Kumbha.
TOWER OF VICTORY.
Kumbha's Jaya Sthambha (Tower of Vic-
tory), also called the Kīrtisthambha (Tower of
Fame) in Chitorgarh is another monument of
his genius and a great ornament to that far-
famed fortress.
This celebrated Tower of Victory was
erected to commemorate the victory which
Maharana Kumbha had obtained over Sultan
Mahmud Khilji I of Mandu in 1438 A.D., when
Mandu was conquered, and its Sultan brought
captive, and kept a prisoner in Chitor for 6
months.
An inscription¹ in the perforated window
in the second storey of the Tower of Victory
offering the obeisance of the architect Jaitra
and his two sons, Nāpā and Puñjā, to god
Samaddhishwar dated Phālgun Sud 5th, V. S.
1499 (A.D. 1442) shows that the second storey
was completed in that year. The Tower was
completed in A.D. 1449 ; for the consecration
ceremony of the Tower of Victory, as recorded
¹ Report for 1921 A. D. of the Rajputana Museum,
Ajmer, p. 4.
139

Maharana Kumbha.
in the 186th verse of the Prasasti of the Jaya
Sthambha took place on Magh Sud, 10th,
Pushya Nakshatra V. S. 1505 (A.D. 1449).¹
As it took 6 years to complete the building
from the third to the topmost storey it may
fairly be inferred that the foundations of the
Jaya Sthambha must have been laid 2 years
before the completion of the second storey i.e.
in 1440 A.D.
Describing it, Mr. Fergusson says : “A
pillar of victory like that of Trajan at Rome,
but in infinitely better taste as an architec-
tural object than the Roman example.”²
Colonel James Tod³ thus describes it :
“The only thing in India to compare with
this is the Kootab Minar at Delhi, but though
much higher, it is of a very inferior character.
This column is one hundred and twenty feet
in height; the breadth of each face at the base
is thirty-five feet, and at the summit, immedi-
ately under the cupola, seventeen feet and a
half. It stands on an ample terrace, forty-
¹ Kirtisthambha (Tower of Victory) Inscription, V. 185,
² History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, page 253.
³ Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. II., page 761.
140

Maharana Kumbha.
two feet square. It has nine distinct storeys,
with openings at every face of each storey,
and all these doors have colonnaded porticos."
Each storey is lighted by trellis windows,
and the angles and recesses not intersected by
steps are utilised for statues and ornaments.
The exterior surface is broken up into nine
principal divisions each furnished with its
windows, balustrades, eaves or Chhajjas
and emphasized by columns, pilasters and
numberless horizontal bands and cornices. A
stair passes up the tower though its nine
storeys but the peculiarity consists in its
winding alternately through a central well and
a gallery formed round it. The two upper
storeys are open and more ornamental than those
below. The whole of the lower is covered with
architectural ornaments and sculptures to such
an extent as to leave no plain parts, while at
the same time, this mass of decoration is kept
so subdued that it in no way interferes either
with the outline or the general effect of the
pillar. It is built chiefly of compact lime-
stone and the quartz rock on which it stands,
which takes the highest polish : indeed there
are portions possessing the hardness, and ex-
141

Maharana Kumbha.

hibiting the fracture, of Jasper. It is one
mass of sculpture; of which a better idea can-
not be conveyed than in the remark of those
who dwell about it, that it contains every
object known to their mythology.
The ninth khand or 'storey' which, as I have
stated, is seventeen feet and a half square, has
numerous columns supporting a vault in which
is sculptured Kanaya (Krishna) in the Rasman-
dala (celestial sphere), surrounded by the
gopis, or muses, each, holding a musical
instrument, and in a dancing attitude. Be-
neath this is a richly-carved scroll fringed
with the sarus, the phenicopteros of ornitho-
logy. Around this chamber had been arrang-
ed, on black marble tablets,¹ the whole

¹ A copy of this and the Kumbhalgarh Inscription of
Rana Kumbha was taken by a pandit on Phagun Vadi 7th,
S 1735 (A.D. 1679), when five tablets of this, and one of the
Kumbhalgarh Inscriptions were in existence. Unfortunately
only two tablets of this former inscription are now to be
found, but two more tablets and a fragment of the third of
the Kumbhalgarh Inscription have been recovered. The
Kumbhalgarh Inscription originally consisted of five tablets
and the Chitorgarh of seven or more. The Chitorgarh In-
scription states that it was completed on Monday the Margshir
Vadi 5th, S 1517 and Saka year 1382 (A.D. 1460). The author
of the inscription was a Brahman named Atri, who was well
versed in Logic, Vedanta, Veda, Mimansa and Sahitya. He
was the son of Keshava, called Jhoting, and grandson of
Narahari and great grandson of Somanath of the Bhrigu
family. Atri having died, the inscription was completed by his
son Mahesh, a poet. The Maharana gave him as reward, two
elephants, two chanwars with gold handles, and a white
umbrella (छत्र).

142

Maharana Kumbha.
genealogy of the Ranas of Chitor; but the
Goths have broken or defaced all save one slab.
"I gazed," says Colonel Tod,¹ until the
sun's last beam fell upon this ringlet of
Chitor illuminating its glory and griefworn
aspect, like a lambent gleam lighting up the
face of sorrow. Who could look, on this love-
ly, this majestic column, which tells in
language more easy of interpretation than the
tablets within, of
'...........deeds which should not pass away,
And names which must not wither,'
and withold a sigh for its departed glories ? "
Colonel Tod further says : "The view
from this elevated spot was superb, extend-
ing far into the plains of Malwa. The light-
ning struck and injured the dome² some years
ago, but generally there is no semblance of
decay, though some shoots of peepul have
rooted themselves.where the bolt of Indra fell.
It is said to have cost ninety lakhs of
¹ Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. II, p. 756.
² The old injured dome was removed and the present
bulbous dome constructed by Maharana Swarup Singh after
A.D. 1839.
*
143

Maharana Kumbha.
rupees, or near a million sterling, and this is
only one of the many magnificent works of
Maharana Kumbha within Chitor, the temples
to Krishna, the lake called Cooram Sagar, the
temple¹ and fountain to Kookgreoo (Kukresh-
war), Mahadeva having been erected by
him."
TEMPLES.
Maharana Kumbha built many grand
temples in Mewar. In each of the two
celebrated forts of Mewar,—Chitor and
Kumbhalgarh—as also in Abu, Maharana
Kumbha built a Kumbhaswami temple.
KUMBHASWAMI TEMPLE.
Of the three, the magnificent Kumbha-
swami temple at Chitor "which was like the
crown of the world,²" appears to have been
built in V. S. 1505 (A.D. 1448); for we find
inscriptions dated the V. S. 1505 (A.D. 1448)
¹ This temple was originally built by Raja Kukreshwar,
who excavated the fountain in A.D. 755 (Magh Sud 5th, S. 811
(Thursday).—Archæological Survey Report, Vol. XXIII,
p. 113.
² Kumbha's Commentary on Gita Govind, Sloka 63.
144

Maharana Kumbha.
of Maharana Kumbha on the pedestals of
some of the images in the niches of the
Sabhāmandap (domed hall) in front of the
temple proper. This temple of Kumbhaswami
dedicated to Lord Krishna, is said to have been
constructed with the materials brought from
the ruins of the ancient shrines at Nagari,¹
situated 7 miles from Chitor. It consists of
a large square porch supporting a low pyrami-
dal roof on massive pillars in front of a
sanctuary with a stately Sikra, majestic both
in outline and size. Over the front entrance
is a sculptured stone figure of a man wearing
ornaments which may be intended for
Maharana Kumbha himself.
To the west of the temple are two
reservoirs, 125 feet long, 50 feet wide,
and 50 feet deep, of large blocks of stone
built it is said early in the fifteenth century
A. D. to commemorate the marriage of
the daughter of Rana Mokul called the
¹ For a full account of this city of remote antiquity, see
Archæological Survey of India, Vol. VI, for 1872-73 A.D.
pp. 196-226 and Col. Erskine's Gazetteer of Udaipur. Some
very ancient coins were found at Nagara or Nagari which are
unique in type and many date several centuries B.C.,
145

Maharana Kumbha.
"Lal Bai (or Ruby of Mewar) with Achil
Singh Kheechi of Gagroon. These reservoirs,
which were filled with ghi and oil for
distribution to the guests at the wedding, are
still known by the names of "Ghi Baori"
and "Tel Baori."
This temple has carvings in parts of its
exterior walls and roofs which are generally
found in "Buddhist buildings."
This temple stands to the south of Badal
Mahal and is described as the temple of
Govind Shyama by Abul Fazal in his
Akbarnama. It was built by Maharana Kumbha
in Sambat 1505 (A.D. 1448). By its side,
Maharana Kumbha built the temple of Adi
Varāh¹ which is now wrongly called Miran-
bai's temple.
RANPUR TEMPLE.
Though the temple of Kumbha Shyām at
Chitorgarh is a noteworthy one, yet of all the
temples erected or resuscitated in Kumbha's
¹ Chitor Kirtisthambha Inscription, V. 31.
146

This page is blank and contains no readable text (only minor scanning artifacts/specks).

Ranpur Temple.

Maharana Kumbha.
time, the Chaumukha Temple of Ranpur is the
most important. It was erected in the Sadri
Pass leading from the western descent of the
highlands of Mewar, and is dedicated to
Rishabnath or Rishabdeva, the first of the
Jaina Tirthankaras. It is situated in a spot
evidently selected for its natural beauties.
Ranpur lies in the Desuri district of the
Marwar State. Originally it was a part of
Mewar, when Godwar was incorporated with
it. When, however, Godwar was ceded in the
18th century to Marwar; Desuri, and with it
Ranpur, ceased to be a part of the Maharana's
dominions. Ranpur is a village lying 6 miles
to the south of Sādari, the chief town of
Desuri. It is situated in a valley piercing the
western flank of Adābāla hills which name has
been corrupted into Aravalli¹. A more lovely
spot is not to be found in the whole of Marwar.
Ranpur contains several temples, the most
celebrated of which is the Chaumukha Temple
dedicated to the first Jaina Tirthankara
Adinath or Rishabdeva, and because of it,
¹ Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar's article in the Annual Report
of the Archæological Survey of India, 1907-8, p. 205.
147

Maharāṇa Kumbha.
Ranpur is one of the five sacred places in
Marwar. Streams of Jain pilgrims visit it all
the year round. It was built by Maharana
Kumbha's favourite, Dhāranaka, in V. S. 1496
(A.D. 1439), and was designed by the architect
Dipaka. It is four storeys high including the
underground vault and is supported by nu-
merous columns of granite upwards of forty
feet high. The interior is inlaid with mosaics
of cornelian and agate.
The temple is called Chaumukha because
the principal figure is a group of four images
placed on a pedestal back to back so as to
face the four cardinal directions. The images
are of white marble, and all of Rishabdeva.
"The upper storey also contains a similar shrine
accessible by four doors opening from the
terraced roofs of the building. The lower and
principal shrine has no door, as is very often
the case with Jain temples, but only a small
porch called Mukhamanadapa. Further, on a
lower level, is a Sabhā-Mandapa or open
assembly hall, on each side approached by a
nāl or flight of stairs. Outside this flight of
stairs is an open porch, and above, a closed
148

Maharana Kumbha.
one popularly known as Nāl-Mandapa. Each
one of the open porches is accessible by another
flight of stairs ; but of the latter, that facing
the west, contains far more stairs than the
others and consequently the entrance on the
west is considered to be the principal one.
Facing the sides of each of the Mukhamanda-
pas of the principal or Chaumukha shrine is
a mādar or larger subsidiary shrine; and
facing each Sabhamandapa is a smaller subsi-
diary shrine or Khūnt-ra Mandar, so called
because they stand exactly on the nāsaks or
angles formed by lines drawn through the
centres of the Sabhamandapas. The sides
of the temple, between the mādars and the
entrances are occupied by bhāmtis or ranges
of cells for images, each with a pyramidal
roof of its own but without any partitioning
walls. They contain inscriptions belonging
to the first half of the 16th Century and
recording the erection of devakulikās or cells
by Jain devotees, most of whom were Oswals,
hailing from Pātan, Cambay and other
places "¹
¹ Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar's article in the Annual Report
of the Archæological Survey of India for 1907-8, p. 211.
149

Maharana Kumbha.
Mr. Fergusson says that Maharana Kum-
bha, "during his long and prosperous reign
filled his country with beautiful buildings, both
civil and ecclesiastical. Amongst others he
built this temple of Ranpur,¹ situated in a
lonely and deserted glen, running into the
western slope of the hills below his favourite
fort of Kumbhalgarh. Notwithstanding long
neglect, it is still nearly perfect, and is the
most complicated and extensive Jaina temple,
I have myself ever had an opportunity of
inspecting."²
"From the plan it would be perceived that
it is nearly a square, 200 ft. by 225 ft.,
exclusive of the projections on each face.
In the centre stands the great shrine, not,
however, occupied, as usual, by one cell, but
by four; or rather four great niches, in each of
which is placed a statue of Adinatha, or
Rishabdeva, the first and greatest of the
Jaina Tirthankars. Above this are four other
¹ "It is one of the largest edifices existing, and cost
upwards of a million sterling, towards which Kumbha contri-
buted eighty thousand pounds"—Tod's Rajasthan, Vol. I.,
p. 289.
² History of Indian and Eastern Architecture.
150

Maharana Kumbha.
niches, similarly occupied, opening on the terra-
ced roofs of the building. Near the four angles
of the court are four smaller shrines, and around
them, or on each side of them, are 20 domes
supported by about 420 columns; 4 of these
domes—the central ones of each group—are
3 storeys in height, and tower over the
others; and one—that facing the principal
entrance—is supported by the very unusual
number of 16 columns, and is 36 ft. in
diameter, the others being only 24 ft. Light
is admitted to the building by four uncovered
courts, and the whole is surrounded by a
range of cells, many of them now unoccupied,
each of which has a pyramidal roof of its
own. "The internal effect of this forest of
columns may be gathered from the view
taken across one of its courts; but it is
impossible that any view can reproduce the
endless variety of perspective and the play of
light and shade which results from the
disposition of the pillars and of the domes,
and from the mode in which the light is
introduced. A wonderful effect also results
from the number of cells, most of them
containing images of Tirthankars, which
151

Maharana Kumbha.
everywhere meet the view. Besides the
twelve in the central Sikhars, there are
eighty-six cells of very varied form and size
surrounding the interior, and all their facades
more or less adorned with sculpture............
The beauty of detail—no two pillars in the
whole building being exactly alike—the grace
with which they are arranged, the tasteful
mixture of domes of different heights with
flat ceilings and the mode in which the light
is introduced combine to produce an excellent
effect. Indeed, I know of no other building
in India of the same class that leaves so
pleasing an impression or affords so many
hints for the graceful arrangement of columns
in an interior.
“Besides its merits of design, its dimensions
are by no means to be despised; it covers
altogether about 48,000 square ft., or nearly
as much as one of our ordinary mediæval
cathedrals; and, taking the basement into
account, is nearly of equal bulk; while in
amount of labour and of sculptural decorations
it far surpasses any.” ¹
¹ History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, pp. 241-2.
152

Maharāna Kumbha.
An inscription in the temple incised on a
slab of white marble measuring 1'1" broad
by 3 feet 3 inches high, and containing 47
lines of Sanskrit prose built up in a pillar
close to the entrance of the main shrine on
its right, gives a record of the Guhilot dynasty,
and says that the temple is dedicated to
Yugadisvara, another name of Rishabdeva or
Adinath, also called here Chaturmukha and
says that it was built in the time and by order
of Maharana Sri Kumbhakarana by Dhārnaka
who is described as paramarhata, a devout
Jain and ornament of the Prāgvata Vamsa,
which is now known as Porvāda Mahajan
community. His mother's name is given as
Kamala De, and father's as Kurāpal. The
inscription says that a Jaina banker Gunaraj
helped in the erection of the temple, and that
the town of Ranpur was founded and called
after his name by Maharana Kumbhakaran.
The temple was known at the time as
Chaturmukha-Yugadisvara Vihāra i.e., a
temple of four faced Rishabnatha. Line 46 of
the inscription gives the name of the architect
as Dipāka, and mentions that Dharanaka built
153

Maharana Kumbha.
temples at Ajāhari, Sālera and Pindarvataka,
modern Pindavārā. Local tradition has it
that the temple was built by two brothers
Dhanna (corruption of Dharnaka)¹ and Ratna
of the Porvad caste and residents of Nāndiya
in the Sirohi State. They left Nandiya and
settled at Mālgad which was situated to the
south of Ranpur, high upon a hill. They
erected a temple at Mādadá, which came to be
known as Ranpur, because the land occupied
by the temple was purchased by them from
Maharana Kumbha, who stipulated that the
place should bear his name, Ran being an
abbreviation of Rana.
The temple was designed by one Dipaka or
Dipa, a Sompura Brahmin of Mundātā in
the following circumstances. One night at
Maglad, Dhanna saw a celestial car in his
dream. He called several Sompuras (architects)
and gave them a description of it, and asked
them to produce plans thereof. All were reject-
ed except that of Dipa as it was exactly of the
type of the celestial car, Dhanna had seen
¹ A descendant of Ratna, 14 generations removed from
him, named Nath Mal Sah was living in 1907 A D. in Ghanerav,
to which town, Dhanna and Ratna had moved.
154

The provided page contains no text (it is a blank page / contains only scan artifacts).