In the heart of Rajasthan, stands the immortal fort of Chittorgarh, a glaring example of bravery, courage, devotion to motherland and whatnot. Founded by the rulers of Sisodia clan as their capital, the fort remained an epitome of Hindu resistance led by its legendary kings known as Maharanas of Mewar.
There are numerous accounts associated with the iconic place ranging from the sacrifice of “Panna Dhai” who sacrificed her own son to save the legal heir of the throne of Mewar to Meera Bai, a princess who later become one of the most revered devotee of Bhagwan Krishna to Rana Pratap Singh or Maharana Pratap who refused to bow down and led a crusade against the then mighty Mughal ruler Akbar till death.
Other than the aforementioned legends the very place has also witnessed the sacred “Saka and Jauhar”, a war time tradition prevalent among the Rajput kingdoms of Rajasthan in the medieval Bharat for thrice.
“Saka and Jauhar”
According to the legends, both Saka and Jauhar refers to a war time practice followed by the Rajput kings and their queens along with the common masses when defeat in the battle field seems inevitable.
It was when the men were certain of their martyrdom in the battlefield given outnumbered by enemy troops or any other reasons contributing to the plausible fall of fort, the women inside the fort led by the queen were supposed to commence preparation for Jauhar, a sacred tradition of self-immolation to deprive the enemy a chance to dishonor them.
As per the historical accounts, a fire was lit up in the heart of the fort in a massive firepit and then the women dressed up like brides used to march towards the sacred fire led by the queen herself only to jump in the flames one after another.
Having witness the heart-wrenching episode, the men used to prepare themselves for ‘Saka’, a final assault on the enemies in the morning. At the crack of the dawn men wearing saffron Safa (a kind of turban) march towards their final objective i.e. martyrdom in the battlefield.
The legendry queen of Chittorgarh, Rani Padmini
Although the fort of Chittorgarh is said to has witnessed three incidents of Jauhar and Saka, the one led by Rani Padmini remain to be the most famous and most debated among the masses.
There are various variable accounts of the famous Jauhar that according to some took place on August 25-26, 1303 after a heroic resistance of months from the Rajputs led by the king Rawal Ratan Singh against Allaudin Khilji, a ruler of the Khilji dynasty.
According to the volume 6 of the History and Culture and Indian People, published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Khilji launched a campaign against the Mewar by laying a seize of its capital Chittorgarh, in January 1303. The Hindu king of Mewar, Rawal Ratan Singh displayed a heroic resistance and held its ground for seven months before the Jauhar and surrender of the fort on August 26, 1303.
A few of the other accounts though referred that the campaign launched by Khilji was inspired by his attraction towards the legendry queen Rani Padmini stemming out of accounts told to him by Raghav Chetana, a musician in the court of Rawal Ratan Singh who was later removed by the king for his misconduct. Though, those who disagree with the theory believed that an individual like Khilji hardly need any other reason to attack Chittor given his expansionist policy.
Leaving the contradiction aside, it is evident that after months of resistance, the fort of Chittorgarh had ultimately fallen to the troops led by Khilji though only after the Jauhar by queen Padmini and other women who followed suit. Centuries later what remain significance is the saga of supreme sacrifice made by the legendry queen who chose self-immolation to save her honor in line with the glorious traditions of Mewar, an inspiration to the masses till day.
