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Rani Padmini

This article is about the Queen of Mewar. For the Indian actress, see Rani Padmini (actress). For the Malayalam film, see Rani Padmini (film).

Rani Padmini
Rani of Mewar
An 18th-century painting of Padmini
SpouseRatan Sen
DynastyGuhila (by marriage)
Sinhalese (Sri Lankan) (by birth)
Singoli Princes (as per Amara Kavya Vanshavali) [1]
FatherGandharvasen
MotherChampavati
ReligionHinduism

Padmini, also known as Padmavati, was a 13th–14th century Rani (queen) of the Mewar kingdom of present-day India. Several medieval texts mention her, although these versions are disparate and many modern historians question the extent of their overall authenticity.[2]

The Jayasi text describes her story as follows: Padmavati was an exceptionally beautiful princess of the Sinhalese kingdom (in Sri Lanka).[a] Ratan Sen, the Rajput ruler of Chittor Fort, heard about her beauty from a talking parrot named Hiraman. After an adventurous quest, he won her hand in marriage and brought her to Chittor. Ratan Sen was captured and imprisoned by Alauddin Khalji, the Sultan of Delhi. While Ratan Sen was in prison, the king of Kumbhalner Devapal became enamoured with Padmavati's beauty and proposed to marry her. Ratan Sen returned to Chittor and entered into a duel with Devapal, in which both died. Alauddin Khalji laid siege to Chittor to obtain Padmavati. Facing a defeat against Khalji, before Chittor was captured, she and her companions committed Jauhar (self-immolation) thereby defeating Khalji's aim and protecting their honour. Coupled to the Jauhar, the Rajput men died fighting on the battlefield.

Many other written and oral tradition versions of her life exist in Hindu and Jain traditions. These versions differ from the Sufi poet Jayasi's version. For example, Rani Padmini's husband Ratan Sen dies fighting the siege of Alauddin Khalji, and thereafter she leads a jauhar. In these versions, she is characterised as a Hindu Rajput queen, who defended her honour against a Muslim invader. Over the years she came to be seen as a historical figure and appeared in several novels, plays, television serials and movies.

  1. ^ Ram Vallabh Somani 1976, p. 102.
  2. ^ Ram Vallabh Somani 1976, p. 103: "As regards item no.1, Kr Quanago does not seem to be right in thinking that Jayasi originated the story of Padmini. We have got the following points to disprove the above contention:- (a) Jayasi himself has mentioned that he has taken the story from the poet Bain. (b) We find this story in Chittai Charita composed at Sarangpur (M.P) in 1526 A.D.,a few years earlier to the composition of Padmavat by Jayasi. (c) Hemaratain wrote Gora Badal Chaupai, only a few years after Jayasi, He has mentioned the two names of other poets, namely Hetamadan and Kavimala, whose work he had seen. This proves that during the time of Jayasi, several versions of this story were already known
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference TOI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Padmavati row: Was Padmini a fictional character or a queen who enamoured Khilji?". Hindustan Times. 3 February 2017. Archived from the original on 13 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference TOI_1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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