Jabalpur Trip 3
Madhya Pradesh
19/12/2022
Dam: Bargi Dam
River: Narmada
- Learn about the life of Rani Durgavati and her death
- Balancing Rock
- A brief on Madan Mahal
Rani Durgavati
Born: 5th October, 1524
(in the fortress of Kalinjar, which is in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh)
(in the family of the Chandelas)
Father: Salbaham (ruler of the Mahoba kingdom)
In 1542, she married Dalpat Shah, who was the eldest son of Sangram Shah and 49th ruler of the Garha Kingdom. They had a son, whose name was Vir Narayan.
Vir Narayan was just 5 years old, when Dalpat Shah died, in 1550. So, Vir Narayan became the crowned prince and Rani Durgavati became the queen regent. During her rule, she moved her capital from Singorgah Fort (in Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh) to Chauragarh fort (in Narsinghpur district in Madhya Pradesh).
During her rule, Rani Durgavati faced many battles, especially from Baz Bahadur and Akbar (the Mughal Emperor).
In 1564, when Akbar tried to invade her kingdom, he was obstructed by Rani Durgavati and a battle was fought between the two.
Many say that, Rani Durgavati was warned about the strength of the Mughals. But, she loved to die respectfully than living a disgraceful life.
It was an unequal battle between the well-trained armies and modern weapons of the Mughals (on one side) and few untrained soldiers and old weapons of Rani Durgavati (on another side). This is because, at that time, the kingdom of Rani Durgavati was filled with fortress districs and villages, most of which were administered by subordinate feudal lords and junior rajas. Thus, the recruitment of the soldiers and their equipments were never uniform and mostly substandard.
But, Rani Durgavati, along with her soldiers, rode her elephant Sarman, and faught bravely against the Mughal armies, led by general Asaf Khan. This battle even took the life of her faujdar (military commander), Arjun Das.
Vir Narayan, who took part in this battle, pushed the Mughal army around 3 times. But, he was injured and taken to a safe place. Even Rani Durgavati was badly injured near her ear with an arrow. Another arrow pierced her neck, which made her unconcious. When Rani Durgavati gained conciousness, she found out that her defeat was at hand. It is said that that her mahout asked her to leave the battlefield, but she refuse. She took her dagger and stabbed herself to death on 24th June, 1564.
Rani Durgavati was cremated in a narrow mountain pass and her memorial stands at Nariya Nala, near Barela, on the Jabalpur-Mandla Road. Today, 24th June, 1564 is commemorated as Balidan Diwas.