Page:The Imperial Durbar Album of the Indian princes, chiefs and zamindars.djvu/49

 (Mewar) Udaipur.

THE Maharanas of Mewar rank foremost among the Rajput Chiefs of India and trace back their descent to Kush, the elder son of Rama, the King of Ayodhya, and the hero of the Ramayan.

Little is known of the earlier rulers of the Mewar dynasty. With Rahup's accession at the close of the 12th- century A.D. the records become clearer and more authentic. In the time of Karan Singh I, Mewar was invaded by Mokal Singh, the Parihar Rana of Mandar, the old capital of Mewar. Mahup the eldest son of Karan Singh marched against him but was himself defeated, and it was Rahup the younger son who conquered Parihar and brought him back as prisoner. This exploit led to the younger son being declared heir-apparent, and won for him the title of 'Maharana' ever since held by his descendants ; while the elder brother left the State and conquered the territory now known as Dongarpur where he ruled as Rawal. The honor of being the first Maharana of Mewar thus fell to Rahup, who changed the name of his clan from Gohlad to Sesodia, an appellation derived from Sesodia the village where he lived. Ninth in descent from him was Rana Lakhamsi whose reign is memorable for the famous sack of Chitor by Alla^ud'din Khilji in 1303 A. D., to gain the beautiful Padmini, when ' johur ' or sacrifice of women was for the first time performed preparatory to valiantly leading, against the enemy, those who had been seized with desperation. Several attempts were made during the succeeding reigns to recapture the fort of Chitor until Rana Bhavan Singh succeeded in recovering it, but it was almost immediately retaken by Mahomed Tughlak during the time of Rana Lachman Sing.

Rana Hamir gave a crushing defeat to Mahomed Tughlak, took him prisoner, and did not release him till the latter bought his freedom by a ransom of fifty lacs of rupees, one hundred elephants, and the cession of several districts. Rana Hamir during a reign of 64 years retrieved the fortunes of his family, and died in 1364 A.D. The power and prosperity of Mewar continued to steadily increase during the next century and a half, and at the battle of Bakrol, Rana Khait Singh successfully defied the power of the Emperor of Delhi. Still more notable were the military achievements of Rana Kumbha. He erected a pillar (jayastambha) at Chitor, on which all his glorious deeds are recorded. He strengthened the defences of the kingdom by the construction of numerous forts, the chief of them being Kumbhalgarh. He was succeeded by Rana Raimal (1473-1508 A.D. )

Mewar attained the zenith of its prosperity under Rana Sangram Singh or Sangh, and according to Col. Tod, the historian of Rajasthan, 80,000 horses, seven Rajas of the highest rank, nine Raos, and 100 chiefs bearing the title of Rawal, with 500 war-elephants, marched under his standard into the field. He won eighteen decisive battles over the rulers of Marwar and Delhi, before he was called on to contend with the house of Timur, and successfully stormed the almost impregnable forts of Runkumbha and Kandhar ( now belonging to Jaipur. ) He was defeated by Babar, the Mogul Emperor, in 1527 A.D. at the battle of Kanna, in which many Hindu Princes who had acknowledged the suzerainty of the Rana were slain. He was