Rani Durgavati
Queen Regent of Gondwana (1524:-1564)
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Durgavati (Hindi: दुर्गावती) (5 October 1524 – 24 June 1564), popularly known as Durgavati Chandel and Rani Durgavati, was the regent queen of Gondwana during her son Vir Narayan infancy from 1550 to 1564 AD. She married a Kachhwaha King named Dalpat Shah, the adopted son of the Gond King Sangram Shah.[2] She is mainly remembered for her courage and sacrifice against the Mughal invasion of Gondwana.
Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh
Narrai Nala, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
| Durgavati | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Rani Durgavati by a Mughal Artist | |
| Predecessor | Dalpat Shah |
| Successor | Vir Narayan |
| Born | 5 October 1524 Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh |
| Died | 24 June 1564 (aged 39) Narrai Nala, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh |
| Spouse | Dalpat Shah |
| Issue | Vir Narayan |
| House | Chandel |
| Dynasty | Chandelas of Jejakabhukti |
| Father | Salivahan |
| Religion | Hinduism[1] |
Early Life
Birth and Marriage
There is only one contemporary historical source (Akbarnama) about Durgavati, while all others are folklores. According to the contemporary source Akbarnama, Durgavati was a Chandel Rajput princess and the daughter of Salivahan Chandel, possibly one of the last kings of the Later Chandel Empire of Jejakabhukti. She was born at Mahoba on 5 October, 1524 A.D.. Salivahana trained her well and taught her all the traditions of the Chandela martial arts and culture. Later she was married to Dalpat Shah, the Gond king of Garha Mandla. Abu Fazal also describes that Dalpat Shah was not originally a Gond, but was a Rajput of the Kachhwaha clan. He was adopted by Gond king Sangram Shah. Sangram was unable to have children, so he asked his Kachhwaha minister for his newborn son.[3][4][5] After few years of Dalpat and Durgavati's marriage, she gave birth to a son named Veer Narayan in 1545 AD.
Folklores about her birth, early life and marriage
According to local folklores of Gondwana, King Kirat Singh did not have any child, he used to fast on Navratri due to which he finally got a daughter on the day of Durgashtami. Durgavati was born on Durgashtami and hence was named Durgavati by Kirat Singh. She was born at the fortress of Kalinjar and was a daughter of Chandel King Kirat Singh. Dalpat Shah fell in love with Durgavati and wanted the two kingdoms to unite. The Chandela empire had become very small and was on the verge of decline at that time, whereas a huge kingdom of Gondwana had been formed, a new power in Central India. Knowing this, the Gonds thought that the Chandelas would agree to this marriage agreement, so Dalpat Shah sent a letter to the Chandela King. But Kirat Singh refused saying that you belong to a lower caste Gond whereas I am a Chandela Kshatriya, a higher caste. It is well known that during that era the Chandelas were well known as the superior clan among the Kshatriyas and direct descendant of mythological Moon-God, Whereas Gond people are a low caste tribe. The story continues when Durgavati had heard how brave and handsome Dalpat Shah was and sent him a private message, asking him to come and win her hand by defeating her father. Dalpat Shah obliged and invaded kalinjar in 1544 with 50,000 troops. defeated Kirat and won Durgavati's hand in marriage.[6][7] Other stories say that Sangram Shah wanted a high-born Kshatriya and beautiful princess like Durgavati of Chandela clan as a bride for his son, matching his qualities as a part of his rise to high social status as a Kshatriya. Folklores also claims that her father agreed, either because he gained a strong ally or because he was paid a large sum of money.[6]
Early struggles as a regent
King Dalpat Shah died in 1550 CE when his successor Crown Prince Vir Narayan was merely 5 years old. His wife, Queen Durgavati rose to take the reins of the Gondwana kingdom as regent during the new king's minority. Diwan Adhar Kayastha and Minister Man Thakur helped the Queen in looking after the administration successfully and effectively. Queen Durgavati promoted peace, trade, and good will throughout her realm.[8]
Rani Durgavati moved her capital from Singorgarh fort to Chauragarh fort. It was a fort of strategic importance situated on the Satpura hill range.[4]
Conflict with Malwa Sultanate
After the death of Sher Shah Suri, Shuja Khan captured Malwa and was succeeded by his son Baz Bahadur in 1556.[9] After ascending to the throne, Baz invaded Rani Durgavati's Gondwana but the invasion was repulsed with heavy losses for the former earning the latter a lot of prestige.[10]
Mughal Invasion
In 1562, Akbar vanquished the Malwa ruler Baz Bahadur and conquered Malwa, making it a Mughal dominion. Consequently, the state boundary of the Rani touched the Mughal Empire. Rani's contemporary was a Mughal general, Khwaja Abdul Majid Asaf Khan who defeated Ramchandra Singh, the raja of Rewa. He desired the Queen Durgavati and the wealth of Gondwana. He led the Mughal invasion of the Rani's realm after gaining permission from emperor Akbar.[citation needed]
When the Rani heard about the invasions by Asaf Khan she decided to defend her kingdom with all her might although her Diwan, Beohar Adhar Simha (Adhar Kayastha)[citation needed] warned about the strength of the invading Mughal forces. The Rani maintained her motto that it was better to die respectfully than to live a disgraceful life.[citation needed]
To fight a defensive battle, she went to Narrai, situated between a hilly range on one side and two rivers Gaur and Narmada on the other side. It was an unequal battle with trained soldiers and modern weapons like muskets and cannons in multitude on the invading Mughal side and a few untrained soldiers with older weapons on the side of Rani Durgavati. Her Faujdar, Arjun Das was killed in the battle. The Rani then decided to lead the defense herself. As the enemy entered the valley, the soldiers of the Rani attacked them. Both sides lost some men but the Rani lost more.[11]
The Rani's domains were very federal, much more decentralised than an average non-tribal kingdom. There were fortress districts, which were administrative units and were controlled either directly by the monarch or through subordinate feudal lords (jagirdars) and junior rajas. Around half of the villages were in the hands of feudal lords. These local rajas recruited and contributed much of the soldiers, and also contributed arms to their sovereign during the times of war. The recruitment standards, training and equipment of these soldiers were not uniform, and were often substandard. Also, the feudal lords held much sway over sections of the army during a war. This decentralized structure created disadvantages during the war against the invading Mughals.[12]
At this stage, the Rani reviewed her strategy with her counselors. She wanted to continue with guerilla attacks on the invading Mughal forces in the night, but her chiefs discouraged her and insisted that she wanted to take on the invading forces in open combat in the nightlight. But by the next morning, Asaf Khan summoned the big guns. The Rani rode on her elephant Sarman and came for the battle. Her son, the Crown Prince Vir Narayan also took part. He forced the invading Mughal army to move back three times but at last, he got wounded and had to retire to a safe place. In the course of the battle,the Rani also got injured badly near her ear with an arrow. Another arrow pierced her neck and she lost consciousness. On regaining consciousness she perceived that defeat was imminent. Her mahout advised her to leave the battlefield but she refused and took out her dagger and killed herself on 24 June 1564. Her martyrdom day (24 June 1564) is commemorated as "Balidan Diwas".[11]
Legacy
The Madan Mahal Fort in Jabalpur is famous for its association with the Queen Durgavati and her son, the Crown Prince Vir Narayan.[citation needed]
In 1983, the government of Madhya Pradesh renamed the university of Jabalpur as Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya in her memory.[citation needed]
The Government of India issued a postal stamp commemorating her death, on 24 June 1988.[13]
The train between Jabalpur Junction and Jammutawi was named Durgavati Express (11449/11450) in her honor.[citation needed]
The Indian Coast Guard on 14 July 2018 commissioned ICGS Rani Durgavati, the third Inshore Patrol Vessel (IPV) of its kind.[14]
