Crown of Mewar

Rani Karnavati — The Queen Who Stood for Mewar

There was a time when Chittorgarh was not only a fort. It was the heart of Mewar.

In the early sixteenth century, Maharana Sanga ruled Mewar. His wife, Rani Karnavati, was a princess of Bundi and the mother of his sons, Vikramaditya and Udai Singh.

When Sanga died in 1528, the kingdom entered a difficult period.

Karnavati was left to protect a kingdom whose future was uncertain and two young princes whose lives were tied to its future.

She became regent for her son Vikramaditya.

Then came the greatest test.

The Sultan of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, moved against Chittorgarh.

The nobles of Mewar were divided, and the young ruler did not command the same respect that his father had. Karnavati appealed to the chiefs of Mewar to put the honour and safety of the kingdom above their disagreements.

They came together.

Her sons, Vikramaditya and the young Udai Singh, were sent away to safety in Bundi.

Inside Chittorgarh, preparations were made for the siege.

For months, the fort resisted.

But Bahadur Shah’s army had powerful artillery, and eventually the walls of Chittor were breached.

On 8 March 1535, when defeat had become inevitable, Karnavati and the women of the fort chose jauhar, while the Rajput warriors prepared for the final battle.

Karnavati did not live to see the future that awaited her younger son.

Udai Singh survived.

Years later, he would become the founder of Udaipur.

And his son would become the man Rajasthan remembers as Maharana Pratap.

That is why the story of Rani Karnavati is remembered differently from the stories of many queens.

She is not remembered only for how she looked.

She is remembered for what she carried: a kingdom in danger, two young princes, and the responsibility of Mewar.

This painting is inspired by the regal women of Mewar and the memory of Rani Karnavati, one of the queens who stood at the centre of Chittorgarh’s history.

A woman can wear a crown because she was born royal. But sometimes a woman becomes unforgettable because, when everything around her was falling, she stood for her people until the very end.

Rani Karnavati — the strength behind Mewar.