Rani Durgavati is one among several brave rulers that Bharat has been fortunate to produce. Sadly, we do not know about many of Bharat’s brave sons and daughters because leftist historians have not only distorted history but also ignored the brave Hindu warriors whose stories could inspire people today and in the future. It is our duty to bring these forgotten heroes and heroines into the spotlight.
Birth and marriage of Rani Durgavati
Not only kings but also queens of this land have earned great respect as brave warriors and fair rulers. Bharatvarsha has produced courageous women like Chennamma, Ahilya Devi Holkar, Laxmi Bai, and many others who stood up against authority, ruled wisely, and proved their strength as administrators. Among such great queens was Maharani Durgavati. She was born into the Chandel dynasty and married into the Gond dynasty. She ruled the Gondwana kingdom from 1550 to 1564.
Durgavati was the only child of Chandel Rajput King Keerti Singh. She was born on 5 October 1524, the day of Durgashtami, at Kalinjar Fort. Because she was born on that day, she was named Durgavati. True to her name, she was brave, intelligent, and beautiful. Impressed by her qualities, Maharaja Sangram Shah of Gondwana arranged her marriage to his son, Dalpat Shah.
Sadly, Dalpat Shah died a few years later, leaving Durgavati to care for their infant son Narayan and the Gondwana kingdom. She took charge of the kingdom and, with her wisdom and war skills, brought fame and prosperity to her land. The present-day city of Jabalpur was the center of her kingdom.
Gond-Mughal war
Rani Durgavati had to face fierce enemies like Baz Bahadur and the Mughal emperor Akbar. Baz Bahadur tried to conquer Gondwana, but the brave queen defeated his forces and protected her kingdom. Akbar, on the other hand, desired to have the queen in his harem. To achieve this, he sent requests asking her to give him her favorite white elephant, Sarman, and her loyal commander, Aadhar Singh.
The queen rejected all his demands. Angered, Akbar sent his general Asaf Khan with an army to attack Gondwana. Rani Durgavati defeated Asaf Khan’s army, causing them great embarrassment. However, he later returned with a much larger army and launched a second attack.
In the second battle, the queen’s army was smaller, but she fought fearlessly. Her troops camped at Narai Nala near Jabalpur. Dressed as a man, she led her soldiers from the front. On the first day, though her forces suffered heavy losses, they killed about 3,000 Mughal soldiers. The next day, on 24 June 1564, the Mughals attacked again. Realizing that she could not hold them off for long, the queen sent her son to a safe place and continued fighting.
An arrow struck her arm, but she pulled it out and kept fighting. A second arrow hit her eye; though she removed it, the arrowhead remained. Then a third arrow pierced her throat. Knowing that her end was near, she asked her minister Aadhar Singh to kill her so she would not fall into enemy hands. He refused, so the queen took her own life with her dagger.
Rani Durgavati ruled Gondwana for 15 years. During her reign, she carried out many administrative, welfare, and social projects to ensure her people’s well-being. She built temples, wells, dharamshalas, and step-wells for the public. In 1983, the Government of Madhya Pradesh renamed Jabalpur University as Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya in her honour. On 24 June 1988, the Bharatiya Government issued a postal stamp to commemorate her death. A train between Jabalpur Junction and Jammu Tawi was also named the Durgavati Express in memory of this brave queen.
We must narrate stories of Rani Durgavati, Maa Jijau, Rajmata Ahalyadevi Holkar, Rani Rudramadevi, and several other brave women who stood up for Dharma to our younger generations.
