Rana Kumbha Introduction-:

Rana Kumbha, the 48^th Maharana of the Indian state of Mewar was Kumbhakarna Singh, also known as Maharana Kumbha, who reigned from 1433 until 1468 CE. He was a descendant of the Rajput Sisodia dynasty. The legendary warrior and patron of the arts, Rana Kumbha, is remembered for his victories in battle over many sultanates.

Maharana Kumbha was born in Madariya, and he was the eldest son of Maharana Mokal, and his queen, Sobhagya Devi. After his father was assassinated, he took over as emperor. In 1433 C.E., he succeeded Maharana Mokal Singh as ruler of Mewar. Maharana Kumbha becomes the 48th Rana of Mewar. He reigned over Mewar for 35 years, an era commonly referred to as “the golden time of Mewar” by historians.

 

Rana Kumbha: The Patron of Art and Literature

Rana Kumbha was an accomplished harp (veena) player who encouraged creative scholars like artists and musicians in his court. Aside from the explanation of Chandisatkam, he penned a commentary on Jaidev’s Gita Govinda. “Sangeet raj,” “Sangeet mimansa,” “Sangeet ratnakar,” and “Shudprabandha” are all musical treatises he authored. He wrote four plays in the indigenous Rajasthani, Sanskrit, and Prakrit languages. The Prashashti on the Vijaya Stambha was written during his reign by the scholars Mahesa, Atri’s son, and Atri himself. He possessed excellent knowledge of the Vedas, Upanishads, and Vyakrana.

Rana Kumbha: The Great Rajput Warrior and Strategist

There are many reasons why people revere this courageous Mewar emperor. Despite his legendary status as a victorious warrior, the people of India honour him more for being the only independent Hindu ruler of his era, while the rest of India was dominated by foreign invaders.

Liberation war against the Sultan of Malwa and Gujarat-:  

Battle of Sarangpur which is also known as The Battle of Mandavgarh–

Chach and Mera, two brothers, along with Mahpa Panwar, murdered Maharana Mokal Singh, Rana Kumbha’s father, so that they could take over Mewar. As a result of this lack of support, Chacha and Mera were compelled to escape from Mewar, and Rana Kumbha was able to succeed to the throne. Sometime afterwards, the Sultan of Mandu gave shelter to the exiled Mahpa Panwar.

Rana Kumbha & Sultan Mahmud Khilji clashed at the Battle of Sarangpur. The Sultan of Mandu provided shelter to Mahpa Panwar, one of the conspirators who killed Rana Mokal.

Rana Kumbha demanded the handover of Mahpa Panwar, but Sultan Mahmud Khilji refused to hand over Mahpa Panwar. This paved the way for war. Rana Kumbha’s army was moving forward in preparation for the attack on Mandu. The Sultan led his vast army into battle against Kumbha.

In 1437 AD, the two forces clashed, and the Sultan’s army was soundly defeated. The Sultan took shelter in his fortress of Mandu. Following the victory, Rana’s army besieged Mandu. The Sultan was under such pressure that he informed Mahpa Panwar that he could no longer protect him. Hence, Mahpa fled to Gujarat. Kumbha launched an assault and successfully seized control of the fort.

The Conflict at Mandalgarh and Banas

The Demolition of the Shrine of Bana Mata:

Rana Kumbha departed Chittor in 1442 to conquered the neighboring kingdom of Haraoti. Mahmud Khilji, Sultan of Malwa, attacked Mewar after finding it undefended, driven by an intense desire for vengeance and the desire to erase the humiliation of his failure in the Battle of Sarangpur in 1437.

When the Sultan finally arrived in the area around Kumbhalmer, he made plans to demolish the shrine of Bana Mata in Kelwara. A Rajput commander by the name of Deep Singh gathered his troops to confront the Sultan. For seven days, Deep Singh thwarted every attempt by the Sultan’s soldiers to seize the temple. 

Deep Singh was killed after seven days, and the Sultan took over the temple. He burned it down and destroyed the temple’s stone deities. The Sultan was so overjoyed by his victory that he immediately set off for Chittor, where he left a portion of his army to capture the stronghold before moving on to fight Rana Kumbha and sent his father, Azam Humayun, to Mandsaur to ravage the Rana’s territory.

Conflict of Mandalgarh-:

The news of these atrocities spurred Rana Kumbha to proceed to his kingdom from Haraoti, where he launched an assault on the Sultan’s forces at Mandalgarh. The outcome of the battle fought here was inconclusive. After a few days, the Rana launched another assault against the Sultan, who once again was completely crushed and fled in the direction of Mandu.

Battle of Banas:

To recover from this humiliation, Mahmud assembled another massive army, and four years later, on October 11–12, 1446 AD, he marched on Mandalgarh with his army. Rana Kumbha ambushed him while he was attempting to cross the Banas River, and he eventually defeated him and forced him to retreat to Mandu. 

Rana Kumbha repeatedly humiliated and defeated Mahmud Khilji. As a result of these setbacks, Mahmud Khilji refrained from attacking Rana Kumbha for the next decade.

Battle of Nagaur (Maharana Kumbha fought against Gujarat and the Nagaur Sultanate)-:

Betrayal marks the beginning of the battle of Nagaur. There was a dispute between two brothers regarding the throne of Nagaur.

Nagaur Sultan Firoz Khan belonged to the family of the Gujarat Sultanate. Feroze Khan passed away in 1455. He had two sons; the elder son’s name was Shams, and the younger son’s name was Mujahid.

After the death of Feroze Khan, the elder son, Shams Khan, became the successor of Nagaur, but Mujahid rebelled and plotted his assassination.

After Mujahid defeated him, Shams had no choice but to leave Nagaur and seek refuge to Maharana Kumbha.

Rana Kumbha had long-drawn plans to conquer Nagaur. He decided that the chance to conquer Nagaur ultimately arrived, he gladly accepted this opportunity to fulfill them decided to install Shams Khan as king in exchange he demanded from Shams to destroy the Nagaur fort’s defensive ramparts, a symbolic gesture meant to demonstrate that he accepted the suzerainty of Rana Kumbha.

Rana Kumbha marched towards Nagaur with a large army of infantry and cavalry and vanquished Mujahid, the Sultan of Nagaur, who fled to Gujarat to save his life. Rana Kumbha placed Shams Khan on the throne of Nagaur and ordered him to fulfilled the treaty.

But Shams Khan meekly requested the Maharana not to destroy the ramparts of the fort, or else his rebellious nobles would assassinate him after the Maharana went back to Mewar. He assured Maharana Kumbha that he would himself demolish the defensive ramparts of the fort later. Maharana accepted this plea and went back to Mewar.

Rana Kumbha received information from his spies that Shams Khan had started strengthening the defensive ramparts of Nagaur rather than bolstering them while Maharana Kumbha was still en route to Kumbhalgarh. Maharana Kumbha got angry after receiving this information and again attacked Nagaur with a large army. Kumbha defeated Shams Khan, drove him out of Nagaur, and took Nagaur under his control. The Maharana demolished the defensive fortifications of Nagaur and finally achieved his long-held plan of Nagaur conquest.

War with Gujarat Sultan Ahmad Shah II-:

Shams Khan took his daughter with him when he fled to Ahmedabad; he married his daughter to Sultan Ahmad Shah II. After that, the Sultan supported his cause and sent a sizable force led by Rai Ram Chandra and Malik Gadday to regain Nagaur. After letting the Sultanate’s army gets close to Nagaur, Rana Kumbha appeared and led his forces to a decisive victory against the Gujarat Sultanate.  Consequently, Mewar’s army wiped out the Sultanate army. The few surviving soldiers of the Gujarat Sultanate managed to escape to Ahmedabad and inform the Sultan that Rana Kumbha had soundly defeated them.

Rana Kumbha took control of the vast hoard of gold, jewels, and other valuables of Shams Khan’s treasury. He took the gates of the castle along with him, a sculpture of Hanuman from Nagaur. He installed the sculpture of Hanuman at the main gate of the stronghold at Kumbalgarh, which he named the Hanuman Pol.

In the year 1456, when Kumbha had captured Nagaur in the north, the Sultan of Gujarat invaded Mewar intended to take Kumbhalgarh, he was unsuccessful in both of these endeavors. In 1456, Mahmud Khalji took control of Mandalgarh, and the next year, he invaded Ajmer. Kumbha was preoccupied with other matters, and Rao Jodha Rathore (son of Ranmal Rathore) made use of this circumstance and occupied the Mandore. Efficiently defending his kingdom against this invasion from many directions speaks volumes about the skill of Rana Kumbha. The death of Ahmad Shah II in 1458 sparked a battle between the new king of Gujarat, Mahmud Begada, and his predecessor, Mahmud Khalji, which Rana Kumbha took advantage of to incorporate back into Mewar.

Rana Kumbha had powerful enemies like Mahmud Khalji of Malwa, Ahmed Shah II of the Gujarat Sultanate, Mahmud Begada of Gujarat, Shams and Mujahid Khan of Nagaur, and Rao Jodha Rathor of Marwar. Rana Kumbha was able to protect Mewar and expand his empire. 

The Art and Architecture of Mewar under Rana Kumbha:

Rana Kumbha’s notable constructions-

The Mewar fortification of Kumbhalgarh, popularly referred to as the “Great Wall of India,” is located on the western range of the Aravalli Hills, around 48 kilometers from the district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. Among the hill forts of Rajasthan, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Rana Kumbha started the construction of the structure in the 15th century.

Rana Kumbha commissioned the construction of Kumbhalgarh in its present form. By consulting the renowned architect of the time, “Mandan,” Rana Kumbha was able to improve his kingdom’s infrastructure. Mandan, the fort’s primary architect, wrote a book called Rajvallabh in which he described his methods and techniques.

The Kumbhalgarh Fort’s Architectural Design:

Kumbhalgarh Fort is located on a mountain peak in the Aravalli Range, 1,100 meters above sea level. After the Great Wall of China, it has walls that are 22 miles long, making it one of the longest walls in the world. 

The thickness of the outer walls is 15 feet. Seven defensive gateways surround Kumbhalgarh. Inside the confines of the fort’s walls are seventy Hindu temples.

The palace’s highest point offers a breathtaking view of the Aravalli Mountains.

Maharana Kumbha built Vijay Stambh as a tribute to his victory:

The Vijay Stambh is a magnificent, intricately carved victory monument of the Chittor Fort in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan. This monument was buil by Rana Kumbha, the Rajput monarch of Mewar, in 1448. This tower stands as a symbol of Rana Kumbha’s victory over the ruler Mahmud Khalji of Malwa in the 15th century.

Rana Kumbha built this tower after he crushed the forces of Gujarat and Malwa, which at the time were two of the most powerful kingdoms in India. The Vijaya Stambha is dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

Rana Kumbha constructed Chittor’s majestic 37-meter tower with 9 storeys tower.

The tower, called the “Tower of Victory”  (Vijay Stambha), was built between 1458 and 1468, some sources claim that it was finished in 1448.

Kumbha-era inscriptions adorn the stambha:

Verse 21: He freed 12 lakh cattle from sultan’s control and made Nagaur a safe haven for them. He established the Brahmanas’ authority over Nagaur and ensured the safety of the cows and Brahmanas living in this territory.

Verse 22: The city of Nagaur was the epicenter of the Malechhas. Kumbha destroyed this demonic tree, along with its limbs and leaves. 

Verse 20: He eliminated the other Maleccha kings. He root out the Malecchas out of Nagaur soil.

Rana Kumbha built several temples, notably Chittorgarh’s Adivaraha and Kumbhashyam temples.

References of Books:

1. Maharana Kumbha: sovereign, soldier, scholar
2. Asia and Oceania: International Dictionary of Historic Places

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