Rani Durgavati (1524-1564)
"The rani, whom all contemporary historians describe as most beautiful – ‘a lady of great loveliness and grace’, writes Badauni – was also the most powerful ruler in Garha-Katanga, a region of ‘populous cities and towns’ measuring 150 by 80 kos (or about 675 by 360 kilometres), south of Panna and north of the Deccan, inhabited mostly by Gonds. Of the people Abul Fazl is less admiring than of their country; he says ‘the people of India despise them’. The historian feels no need to investigate this contempt; indeed, he seems to share it [...].
No such scorn, however, attaches to their queen. Daughter of a raja in Bundelkhand, Durgavati had been married to the king of Garha, Raja Dalpat, who was socially her inferior but financially better off. As happens even to kings, Durgavati’s father had fallen ‘on hard times’.
Little is known of Raja Dalpat, except that he lived long enough to produce an heir, then died. Their son Bir Sah being only five years old, the rani took charge of the realm, and managed it exceptionally well.
Garha-Katanga was divided into several small kingdoms, writes Abul Fazl, but such was the rani’s ‘courage, counsel and munificence’ that she brought ‘the whole of that country under her sway’. Of its 70,000 villages, one-third were hers, and the rest ‘were subordinate ... their headmen ... under her control’. [She successfully repelled the invasion of Baz Bahadur, the ruler of Malwa, who had attacked her kingdom between 1555 and 1560]. Her courage and skill, Abul Fazl continues, was paramount; her intelligence enabled her to do ‘great things’; she could shoot arrows or bullets with equal ease; and she had a passion – in common with Akbar – for hunting. So much so, says Abul Fazl, that should a lion be sighted anywhere in her terrain, she would not drink water until she’d shot it down.
And, of course, as her father had intended, she was rich. It was the rani’s ‘abundant ... treasure’, writes Abul Fazl, getting to the rub, that inspired Asaf Khan’s ‘desire of lordship’ over her land. The eager commander began with ‘coquetry and toying, and put out his hand to touch the ... mole of the beauty’ of Gondwana – Abul Fazl’s fondness for metaphor makes it difficult to tell if Asaf Khan actually flirted with the idea of marrying his fortune rather than conquering it – but then, in 1564, Akbar made the decision for him: he sent word for Asaf Khan to march upon the queen.
Rani Durgavati’s reputation for valour rests on the war that followed. In brief, the story is that the rani, mounted on her best elephant, a ‘lofty and swift’ animal called Sarman, fought bravely until, on the cusp of defeat, her neck bleeding from an arrow wound, the queen of the Gonds drew out her own dagger and took her own life.
