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

Maharana Kumbha. xxii
with the daughter of the Raja of Kishengarh who had
been previously betrothed to Emperor Aurangzeb are
then described. Further on, a description of the lake, its
construction, its measurements, and other things are
given. A full account of the visits of the Maharaja
of Jodhpur, Jaipur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Bundi, Rewa
and others who came as guests at the consecration
ceremony, which cost 7 lakh, is then given. Aurangzeb's
invasion of Mewar is described. The inscription
describes the sack of Badnagar, Ahmadnagar, Begam-
pur and Bhangora by the Maharana, and the defeat
of the Imperial army under Prince Akbar at the
hands of Maharana's heir apparant Kunwar Jai Singh.
The inscription mentions that prince Bhim Singh
destroyed one big and thirty small mosques at Ahmeda-
bad. It gives an account of the overtures of peace
made by Emperor Aurangzeb, and describes how
peace was actually made with an exchange of precious
ceremonial gifts.
10. An inscription in Hinglu Vava, near Amberi,
7 miles from Udaipur, of the time of Rana Mokal of Mewar.
It is engraved on a large slab containing 35 lines. The
upper right-hand portion of the inscription is broken
off. It is dated the 5th day of the bright half of
Jyeshtha, Samvat 1487 (16 May, 1431 A.D.) and Shaka
1352. It gives an account of the family of Surpala,
a Gauda Brahman of Hariyana and his descendants,
one of whom, Vidyadhar, built a well in Maharana
Mokal's time. The inscription has now been removed
to Udaipur.

xxiii BIBLIOGRAPHY
11. A Copper Plate Inscription of V.S. 1462 (A.D.
1405) in the possession of Champalal suthar (architect)
at Udaipur. It states that the architect Mandana had
been especially called from Gujrat by Maharana Mokal.
INSCRIPTIONS OF MAHARANA KUMBHA'S TIME.
(These inscriptions are fully described in Chapter XV
of this book, pp 167-187.)
12. An inscription, dated Kartik Sud 2, V. S 1491
(A. D. 1434) with Yati Khemsagar in the village
Delwara (Udaipur State). See p. 170.
13. A copper plate inscription, dated Asadh Vad Ama-
vasya, V S. 1494 (A.D. 1437) found in the village Nandia,
now kept in the Rajputana Museum, Ajmer. See p. 170.
14. An inscription dated Magh Sud 11, V. S.
1494 (A. D. 1437) on the image of Shantinath in
the temple of Adabadanathji in the town of Nagda.
See pp. 170-71.
15. Ranpur Temple Inscription of A.D. 1439. See
p. 171. The complete text of this inscription is
published in the Appendix.
16. An inscription, dated Magh Sud 5, V. S. 1500
(25 January, A. D. 1444) fixed in a wall in a temple
near the village of Kadiyān. See p. 173.
17. Rupaheli Inscription, dated Asadh Bad 1st, V.S.
1505 (A. D. 1448) in a Jain temple. See p. 174.
18-21. Four Inscriptions, dated Magsar Sud 15th,
V. S. 1505 (A.D. 1448) on the images of Shridhara,

Maharana Kumbha. xxiv
Krishna Rukmani, Rama Lakshman and Madhava Tulsi,
in the Chitor Kumbhaswami temple. See p. 174.
22. Singar Chanvri Inscription at Chitor, dated
A.D. 1448). See p. 175.
23. Abu Dilwara Temple Inscription, dated Asadh
Sud 2, V. S. 1506 (A. D. 1849) See p. 175.
24. An Inscription on a perforated stone window in
the second story of the Kirtisthambha at Chitor, dated
Phagun Sud 5, V.S. 1499 (A.D. 1443). See p. 176.
25. Vasantgarh Jain Temple Inscription, dated
Magh Sud 11, V. S. 1507 (A. D. 1450). See p. 176.
26-29. Four Inscriptions on images in Kumbhalgarh,
dated Asoj Sud 3rd, V. S. 1516 (A.D. 1459). See p. 177.
30. The Kumbhalgarh Inscription, dated Magsar
Bad 5, V. S. 1517 (A. D. 1460) found in the Mama-
deva Temple, now kept in the Udaipur Museum. See
pp. 177-181.
31. The Chitor Kirtisthambha Inscription, dated
Magsar Bad 5th, V.S. 1517 (A.D. 1460) See pp. 181-186.
(The verses of the above two inscriptions—the
Kumbhalgarh and the Kirtisthambha inscriptions—to
which references have been made in the book are quoted
in original in the Appendix, pp. 205-224.)
32. The Second Kumbhalgarh Inscription dated
Magsar Bad 5th, V. S. 1517 (A.D. 1460). See p. 186.
33. Achalgarh Jain Temple Inscription, dated
Vaisakh Sud 4th, S. 1518 (A. D. 1461). See p. 187.

FOREWORD.
The first edition of this book was published in
1917 A.D. The present work is practically a new book:
many new chapters have been added, and old chapters
have been re-written and enlarged.
The accounts of the life and times of Maharana
Kumbhakarana of Mewar and his immediate predeces-
sors given in this book, are based principally on old ins-
criptions and contemporary records.
The more important of the inscriptions of Maharana
Kumbha's time are described in Chapter XV; but
for facility of reference, I have given in the Appendix
(pp. 205-224) the full text of the Ranpur Chaumukha
Temple Inscription, and all portions of (a) the Kumbhal-
garh, (b) the Chitorgah Kirtisthambha, (c) the Shringi-
rishi, (d) the Eklingji Temple and (e) the Samiddeshwar
Temple Inscriptions, and (f) the Eklinga Mahatmya,
to which references have been made in the various
chapters of the book. Many of these are being published
for the first time.
In writing this book, I have left untapped no source
of information available at the present time. I have
examined, in the light of inscriptions, coins and contem-
porary records, the accounts given in the Persian and
Hindi histories of the events that occurred during the
period with which the book deals. The following pages
give an accurate account of the life of Maharana
Kumbha as disclosed by these sources of information.

Maharana Kumbha. xxvi
Colonel James Tod's monumental work, The Annals
and Antiquities of Rajasthan, published in 1829-32 A.D.,
was written at a time when the history of Rajputana
was practically a sealed book to the public. A century
has since passed, yet such are the intrinsic merits of
"that wonderful work," that it still remains the chief
source in the English language, to which a student of
Rajput history has to turn for enlightenment and know-
ledge. It is a book which should be read by every one
who belongs to Rajputana or who has Rajput blood in
his veins. It should be taught to the students of the
Mayo College, Ajmer, and in schools in the Rajput
States. Copies of it should be freely given as prize books.
Rajputana has produced several remarkable men,
who, by their character and achievements, have made the
name Rajput, a synonym of chivalry and heroism, and
the history of this province the brightest page in the
history of Mediæval India. Their heroic lives and
chivalrous deeds are a source of perennial inspiration
and interest to Indians.
My sincere obligations are due to Mahamahopadhyaya
Pandit Gauri Shankar Ojha, whose unique knowledge of
Indian History and vast collection of epigraphic finds
have always been available to me. I have received most
valuable assistance from him in preparing the Appendix.
The illustration of Maharana Kumbha which appears
as Frontispiece to this book is from a photographic copy
of an old portrait taken away from Mewar and deposi-
ted in the British Museum, London.
AJMER,
1st October, 1932. HAR BILAS SARDA.

CHAPTER I.
———
THE GUHILOT FAMILY OF MEWAR.
MAHARANA KUMBHAKARANA or Kumbhá, as
he is popularly called, was one of the greatest
of the sovereigns who have ruled in Rajputana.
The Surya Vamsha is the most famous of
the ruling families of India, and the most
celebrated of its many branches is the Guhilot
family, which has ruled Mewar without a
break for nearly fourteen centuries. It has
produced some of the greatest and most
powerful kings that have made the name of
Rajputana resplendent in the annals of India.
Inspired by the highest patriotism, ever up-
holding Dharma though surrounded by power-
ful foes and faced with almost insuperable
difficulties, enduring without flinching untold
suffering, and overcoming all by a self-sacri-
fice and heroism which have wrung the
highest praise from their bitterest foes, they
have made the pages of history a continuous
record of high inspiration and noble purpose.
1

Maharana Kumbha.
Their immortal deeds, their chivalrous charac-
ter, their high ideals, their elevated and noble
patriotism have placed them at the head of the
Hindu nation and earned for them the title of
Hindua Suraj, "the Sun of the Hindus."
"It has rarely occurred in any country,"
says Col. Tod, "to have possessed successively
so many energetic princes as ruled Mewar
through several centuries."¹ Jaitra Singh,
Hammir, Kumbhá, Sángá, Pratáp, Ráj Singh
are names that will shine bright throughout the
ages, and will be revered so long as chivalry
is not despised, patriotism not discarded, and
valour not condemned.
Maharana Kumbha ascended the throne
of Mewar² in A.D. 1433 in the renowned
fortress of Chitor, and ruled till A.D. 1468, a
period of nearly 35 years, which is one of the
most prosperous and important in the history
¹ Tod's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. I,
p. 286.
² Colonel Tod, in his Annals and Antiquities of Rajas-
than, Vol. I, p. 286, gives S. 1475 (A.D. 1419) as the year of
Kumbha's accession to the throne. This is incorrect. The
Chitor Samiddheshwar Temple Inscription of Mágh Sud 3rd,
S. 1485 (A.D 1429) says that Maharana Mokal renovated that
temple in 1429 A.D. See Infra p. 13. Barva Devidan's bahi
gives 1433 A.D. as the year of Kumbha's accession to the
throne.
2

Maharana Kumbha.
of Mewar. His character and achievements are
thus summed up in a sentence by Colonel
Tod. He says : "All that was wanting to
augment her (Mewar's) resources against the
storms which were collecting on the brows of
Caucasus and the shores of Oxus, and were
destined to burst on the head of his grandson,
Sángá, was effected by Kumbha, who with
Hammir's energy, Lakha's taste for arts, and
a genius comprehensive as either and more
fortunate, succeeded in all his undertakings,
and once more raised the crimson banner of
Mewar upon the banks of the Caggar, the
scene of Samarsi's defeat." ¹
Kumbhá was the eldest son of Ráná Mokal
by his Parmár Queen, Sobhágya Devi, ² daughter
of Rájá son of Jaitmál Sánkhla, ³ and thus
united in himself the fine qualities of these
two of the royal races of India, the culture of
the one and the chivalry of the other.
¹ Tod's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. I,
p. 287.
² Chitorgarh Kirtisthambha Inscription, verse 179. Also
Kumbhalgarh Inscription of Kumbha. As a girl she was
called Maya Kanwar.
³ See Kaviraj Bankey Das' Historical Miscellany : No. 450
& 1340. He was ruler of Rūnkot in Marwar.
3

CHAPTER II.
—·—
RANA KHSHETRA SINGH & LAKHSH SINGH.
MAHARANA KUMBHA'S great grandfather
Rana Khshetra Singh, who ruled Mewar from
A.D. 1364 to 1382, was the eldest son and
successor of the celebrated Ráná Hammir.
Hammir died in A.D 1364 leaving 4 sons,¹
Khshetra Singh, Luna, Khangār and Aerisal.
Khshetra Singh popularly called Kheta,²
during his 18 years of reign was constantly
engaged in warfare. He greatly enlarged
the kingdom of Mewar. He captured Ajmer,
Jahāzpur, Mandsaur, and annexed Chhappan³
to Mewar. He conquered Hārāvati, the
territory of the Hārās, the principal branch
of the Chauhān Rajputs, and took possession
of their important fortress Māndalgarh.
¹ Mehta Nainsi's Khyat.
² Khshetra Singh was popularly called Khetá, as his son
Lakhsh Singh was called Lākha. Maharana Kumbhakaran
was popularly called Kumbha and Rana Jaitra Singh was
called Jaitā.
³ Tod's Rajasthan, Vol. 1, p. 42. The southern portion of
Mewar is called Chhappan. It formerly belonged to Rathods.
4

Maharana Kumbha.
The Khumbhalgarh Inscription of A.D.
1460, verse 198, and the Eklingji ¹ Temple
Inscription of A.D. 1488, sl. 131, both say
that Khshetra Singh invaded the land of the
Harās, broke and reduced to submission the
fortress of Mandalgarh, which according to the
Shringirishi Inscription of A.D. 1428, even
Allauddin Khilji was unable to touch.
Khshetra Singh attacked and defeated the
Sultans of Malwa and Gujrat. He defeated
Dilawar Khan Ghori, the first Sultan of Malwa
in a battle fought at Bakrole ² and destroyed
his army. Amin Shah ³ was the original
name of Sultan Dilawar Khan Ghori of
Malwa, vide. Rizaqulla Mushtaqi's Wakiat
Mushtaqi ⁴ and Roger's Tuzaki Jahangiri ⁵
Dilawar Khan's son's name before he succeeded
his father as Sultan of Malwa under the title
of Hoshang, was Alpkhan.
¹ Bhavanagar Inscriptions, p. 119.
² Bakrole was given by Rana Ari Singh as Jagir to Dhiraj
Singh, who named the place Hammirgarh, after Rana Ari
Singh's successor, Hammir Singh.
³ Some historians have been misled by Amin Shah
having become Humayun Shah in some manuscripts. This
explains Colonel Tod's statement that the Maharana defeated
Emperor Humayun at Bakrole.
⁴ Elliot's History of India, Vol., IV, p. 552.
⁵ Vol. I, p. 407.
5

Maharana Kumbha.
The Kumbhalgarh Inscription of A.D. 1460,
verse 200, says that the "Mussalman king of
Malwa received such a chastisement from Rana
Khshetra Singh that he constantly sees him
in his dreams." "The Rana captured Amin
Shah as a serpent captures a toad," v. 202.
The Eklingji Temple Inscription,¹ v. 119, of
A.D. 1488, says : "He who burnt down the
poison of the pride of the great serpent
Amin Shah, was the great Rana Khshetra
Singh of Chitor."
The Shringirishi Inscription of 1428 A.D.
(unpublished) verse 6, says that Khshetra Singh
"by the strength of his sword defeated Amin
Shah² and killed all the Muslims (of his army)
and captured his treasure and countless horses
and brought them to Chitor." The Eklinga
Mahatamya, Sloka 156, and Kumbha's
Kirtisthambha Inscription of 1460 A.D. also
mention this fact.
¹ Bhavanagar Inscriptions, p. 119.
² A couplet in a popular Rupak says :—
एतलो कटक अमीशाह को, खेतल भंजै खङ्गवल ।
अइवेग चलन्तो दीठ में, रहस तरोवर एक तल ॥
—Naiṅsi's khyat, p. 22.
6

Maharana Kumbha.
The Chitor Kiritisthambha Inscription,
verse 23, of A.D. 1460, says that Khshetra
Singh conquered Idar and imprisoned its
valorous ruler Raja Ran Mal, who had com-
pletely defeated Zafar Khan, the first indepen-
dent Sultan of Gujrat.¹ The Kumbhalgarh
Inscription, verse 196, says "Raja Ran Mal
had broken the power of Zafar Khan, who had
imprisoned many Rajas. That Ran Mal (Raja
of Idar) who had made large numbers of
Muslim women widows, had to remain without
a bed in Khshetra Singh's prison, when a
hundred Rajas were imprisoned."
The Eklingji Temple Inscription, v. 119,
of 1485 A.D., says that the Maharana took
away the State treasure of Idar and placed
Ran Mal's son on the throne of that kingdom.
The Kumbhalgarh Inscription, v. 119,
says that Khshetra Singh conquered Toda,
defeating its ruler Satal.²
Rana Khshetra Singh died in A.D. 1382,
leaving 7 sons, of whom the eldest Lakhsh
Singh succeeded him. Only one inscription
¹ Lane Poole's Muhammadan Dynasties of India, p. 312.
² For an account of Todā, see Archæological Survey
Report for 1872-73, Vol; VI, p. 124.
7

Maharana Kumbha.
of the time of Khshetra Singh has so far come
to light. It is engraved on the door of the
Seetla Mata temple in Gogandā and is dated
the Asoj Vad 13, V. S. 1423 (A.D. 1366).
RANA LAKHSH SINGH.
Lakhsh Singh or Lakha,¹ as he was
popularly called, was one of the most
successful of the Maharanas of Mewar, and
reigned from 1382 to 1397 A.D. In his
father Rana Khshetra Singh's time, while he
was heir apparent to the throne, Lakhā led an
expedition against the fortress of Joga² and
conquered it.
He extended his dominions by the subju-
gation of Merwārā. He destroyed the chief
stronghold of the Mérs, Beratgarh, on the
ruins of which he founded Badnor.³ The
Kumbhalgarh Inscription of S. 1460, V. 212,
and the Chitorgarh Tower of Victory Inscrip-
tion, verse 36, mention this conquest. It
was during his reign that the tin and silver
¹ Also called Lākhan.
² Eklingji Temple Inscription, V. 35, published in
Bhavanagar Inscriptions, p. 119.
³ Tod's Rajasthan, Vol. 1, p. 274.
8

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Jug Mandir Palaces—Pichola Lake, Udaipur.

Maharana Kumbha.
mines of Jāwar in the hilly district of
Mewar were discovered. With the revenues
thus augmented, he rebuilt the palaces and
temples which had been destroyed by Sultan
Allauddin Khilji of Delhi. He excavated
many reservoirs and lakes, raised immense
ramparts to dam their waters and constructed
a number of forts.¹
Tradition has it that during Rana Lakha’s
reign, a rich Banjara constructed the famous
Picholā lake, on the bank of which the city of
Udaipur was built later. This beautiful
lake containing the celebrated island palaces
of Jagmandir and Jagniwas, is 2½ miles
long by 1½ miles wide. It was in one of
the Jagmandir palaces that Shahjahan, then
Prince Khurram, was given shelter by Maha-
rana Karan Singh when the former rebelled
against his father Emperor Jahāngir in 1622
A.D. The Maharana built a domed building
for the prince, the interior being decorated
with mosaics in onyx cornelian jaspers and
agates while a chapel was built near by to a
Muslim saint to keep the Prince 'in the odour
¹Vir Vinod, Vol. 1, p. 308.
9

Maharana Kumbha.
of sanctity. May be that Shah Jahan here
got the idea of marble mosaics for the famous
Taj Bibi ka Roza or Taj Mahal that he built
at Agra.
Inscriptions of the time of Maharana Lakha
show that Ghanérao, Nānā and Ḳot Solankian
had become incorporated with Mewar. The
inscription dated V. S. 1468 (1411 A.D.)
engraved on the magnificent steel trisula in
the Achaleshwar temple at Abu, says that the
trisula had been manufactured in Ghanérao
in Maharana Lakha's time. Another inscrip-
tion of V. S. 1475 (A.D. 1419) found in Kot
Solankian says that the Jain temple in the
Asalpur fort was renovated in Maharana
Lākhā's time, Vide Muni Jin Vijai's Prāchin
Lekh Sangrah, Part II, p. 221, Inscription
no. 370. These two inscriptions show that the
rich province of Godwar had passed into
the Maharana's possession either in Lakha's
time or before it.
Rana Lakha conquered the Sankhlā Rajputs
of Shekhāwāti (Nagarchal¹ territory), and like
his father, defeated the royal army of the
¹ Vir Vinod, p. 306. Also Tod's Rajasthan, Vol. 1, p. 274.
10

Pichola Lake and Udaipur.

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Maharana Kumbha.
Sultan of Delhi at Badnor, and the Sultan
of Gujrat at Mandalgarh.¹ He liberated
Tristhali² (Benares, Allahabad and Gaya)
from the Mussalmans and the hill fort of
Vardhan³ from the Meds (Mers). Col. Tod
says: "He carried the war to Gaya, and in
driving the barbarian from this sacred place,
lost his life."⁴
It was about this time, the close of the
fourteenth century A.D., that the Rathods,
who under their leader Sihaji, had come in
the thirteenth century A.D., from the United
Provinces, and settled in Pali (Marwar), began
to take root in the congenial soil of this
hospitable region, and throw out ramifications
all round. One branch had settled in Mālāni,
where the famous warrior, Mallinath ruled.
¹ Ferishta (Vol. IV, p. 6) says that Sultan Muzaffar Shah
of Gujrat invaded Mandalgarh in A.D. 1396, but returned with-
out conquering it, as he was given gold and jewels. The Mussal-
man historians generally describe defeats of Mussalman kings
by saying that the Sultan returned owing to the rainy season
having set in, or, because he was given gold and jewels.
Gujrat histories make no mention of this expedition against
Mandalgarh. The Mirati Sikandari mentions Māndu by mis-
take for Mandalgarh—Bayley's Gujrat, p. 77.
² Maharana Kumbha's Kumbhalgarh Inscription, V. 207
(Also Chitorgarh Kirtisthambha Inscription, V. 3).
³ Ibid, V. 36.
⁴ Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. 1, p. 275.
11