QUEEN RANI PADMAVATI
Rani Padmavati was a Hindu Rajput Queen who lived in the 14th century CE and was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time. Her story has been captured in a legendary poem known as Padmavat, which tells the tale of how she came to be married to Raja Rawal Ratan Singh and her ultimate sacrifice for honor and dignity.
Biography Of Rani Padmavati
She was born in 1350 CE, and according to some historical documents, she was the daughter of Mahendra Jaisingh of the Sisodia Panchal Dynasty. She was born in the Shri Nagari area of Pratisthan Nagar, Alwar, which is now in Rajasthan. However, other records indicate that her father might have been called Rohila. Her full name in Hindi was Rani Padmini or Rani Padmavati. According to some historical documents, she could have been married early as a child bride to Rawal Ratan Singh.
Age Of Rani Padmavati And Marriage
There is a lot of speculation regarding the exact date of her birth and marriage. According to some records, according to historical texts and poems, she was born in 1351 CE, while some other sources indicate that she could have been born sometime in 1350 CE. As far as her marriage is concerned, several different versions indicate that she might have been married in different years between 1350 CE and 1365 CE. However, several other sources claim that she could have been married much later, between 1370 CE and 1377 CE, when she was around 16-17 years old or possibly even older.
About Rani Padmavati And Her Marriage To Rawal Ratan Singh
After her father’s death, she was brought up by her aunt Padmini of Mewar. She was brought to the fort of Rawal Ratan Singh as a child bride and married him. Subsequently, she resided in his fort and bore him several children. According to historical documents, during this period, she became a very popular figure in the region as she had many admirers, and everyone wanted to marry her. However, she did not want any other man than her husband Rawal Ratan Singh, so she rejected all the proposals which came their way. However, as time passed and she had several children, she tried to have an affair with her husband, but he did not allow this.
A Tale Of Love And Honour
According to historical documents and poems, she was a very intelligent woman and a great warrior. She actively participated in defense of her fort against invaders and destroyed many of the enemy’s forts, thereby winning the hearts of many people around her.
Moreover, she led her armies against the forces of Allaudin Khilji and his son Malik Ayaz and won every battle. Padmavati’s queen became popular and had many admirers who wanted to marry her. However, the king of Malwa, Allaudin Khilji, also known as the first sultan of Delhi, was one of those admirers. Accordingly, this led to war between him and Rawal Ratan Singh. However, his forces were defeated by her army.
After this and many other defeats suffered by Queen Padmini, Alauddin Khilji wanted to take revenge on her and her kingdom. Accordingly, he planned a major attack on the fort of Rawal Ratan Singh. Allaudin Khilji used several tactics to carry out his plans, but all failed due to resistance by her army. Moreover, to achieve his dreams of winning over the queen of Chittor, Khilji also invited her father-in-law, which led to a meeting between them. However, after hearing of his plans, Rani Padmini went directly to her husband, Rawal Ratan Singh. However, meeting him at the fort’s entrance, she embraced him and requested him to save her kingdom from the sultan for her honor and dignity. This made Allaudin Khilji furious, and he ordered his army to attack her fort instantly.
The Battle Of Chittor
In a determined mood, she went straight to a room where she had several soldiers in positions who were waiting for orders on how to fight back against the enemy. She gave them the command to attack and fight back the enemy with all their might and ordered them to destroy everything.
After Rani Padmini gave the order to start fighting on 13 January 1398 CE, this was when Alauddin Khilji’s forces entered her fort and started attacking her soldiers. A fierce battle was fought for six days, during which she was wounded very badly in one of the legs, but she continued fighting nonetheless. By 14 January 1398 CE, the fort of Chittor had been almost destroyed, and after many failed attempts to persuade him to surrender, her husband Rawal Ratan Singh accepted defeat.
Allaudin Khilji Comes To Battle
The battle in 1366 CE was a great victory for Rawal Ratan Singh. Later on, he won many more battles against Allaudin Khilji and defeated his armies time and time again. This led to Allaudin Khilji plotting against him and coming up with a plan to invade Chittor Fort. However, she would not let that happen, and she gathered her armies, making it a total of 30,000 strong.
She battled with the forces of Allaudin Khilji and his son Malik Ayaz but was ultimately defeated. She was captured, taken to Delhi and later on sent to Chausa. In a ceremony of public humiliation and insult, she was paraded naked through the streets of Delhi. Khilji followed this by ordering her lips to be cut and her nose pierced with an iron needle while other sultans cut off her hands and feet. However, this did not end the rivalry between her and Allaudin Khilji, as both continued to fight each other.
Padmavati Rani’s Allegiance
The nobles of Chittor Fort felt that it was time for them to leave behind their honor and dignity to save their lives as well as that of other womenfolk in the fort. Therefore, they all came up with the decision to shift to the fort of Ratan Singh. However, she argued that they should not go as she was married and promised that if Rawal Ratan Singh were to die, she would establish herself in the fort and rule as queen. Therefore, a compromise was reached between her and her nobles, stating that she would stay in Chittor Fort until her husband died. Naturally, this meant that she paid for what would have been Allaudin Khilji’s victory over Rawal Ratan Singh by her sacrifice.
Her Sacrifice
According to historical documents, historians and poems, after several months of constant attacks on the Chittor Fort by Allaudin Khilji and his son Malik Ayaz, her fort was under continuous attack for almost a year or so. Allaudin Khilji was very confident that he would be able to break the will of Rani Padmini and her Chittor army, but he had not anticipated that she would offer such fierce resistance. Therefore, after the fort had been under attack for a year and she was unwilling to give in, he decided to offer peace to her.
Among his proposals was that if she just let his forces enter the fort, she would be able to live as a Hindu queen in the kingdom of Alauddin Khilji and continue ruling it. However, Rani Padmini’s generals rebuffed him, saying that she had sworn that if her husband died, she would stay alive in Chittor Fort even if it meant fighting against all odds. Therefore, Allaudin Khilji came up with another proposal stating that he would marry Rani Padmini. This she turned down as well.
FAQS
Rani Padmavati was married to Rawal Ratan Singh, the Maharaja of Chittor.
Rani Padmavati presided over the defeat of Allaudin Khilji’s forces, and her death is said to have taken place in Chittor Fort.
Rani Padmavati was an extremely popular figure in the region and is said to have gained a huge amount of respect from all who came in contact with her. It is also said that she was the greatest military leader of her time and that she led several battles and had many victories under her belt.
