In the 15th century, the then Mughal emperor Akbar was rapidly expanding the empire across India, but it was not easy for him to conquer the Gondwana kingdom of central India because Queen Durgavati stood like a rock in his way.
Image Credit source: Medium
When the Mughals started their rule in India, they went on capturing the princely states one after the other. He got the advantage of being a big army. As his status increased, he kept spreading fear. Some easily handed over their kingdom to him, but there were some warriors who did not bow down before him. Rani Durgavati was also among those heroines who challenged the Mughals with fearlessness and fearlessness.
In the 15th century, the then Mughal emperor Akbar was rapidly expanding the empire across India, but it was not easy for him to conquer the Gondwana kingdom of central India because Queen Durgavati stood like a rock in his way.
Hence the name Rani Durgavati
Rani Durgavati was born on October 5, 1524 in the house of Raja Kirtisingh Chandel of Kalinjar in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh. That day was Durgashtami, that’s why she was named Durga. She was the only daughter of her father. She had attachment to her people since childhood and fought for their self-respect. The Chandela dynasty in which Rani Durgavati was born, the same Chandelas had worked to stop Mahmud of Ghazni in India. In the male dominated society, Rani Durgavati broke the traditions and registered her name in history as a heroine.
when the empire took over
At the age of 18, she was married to Dalpat Shah, son of Gond Raja Sangram Shah of Garha-Katanga. In 1545, Queen Durgavati gave birth to a son and named him Veer Narayan. After five years i.e. in 1548, her husband Dalpat Shah died. Now Rani Durgavati had the responsibilities of handling the empire and raising the son.
Queen Durgavati put Veer Narayan on the throne and took charge of the empire herself. The kingdom became so prosperous under his leadership that people started paying taxes in gold coins and elephants. Rani Durgavati built reservoirs like Ranital, Cherital and Adhartal. He strengthened the boundaries of the state. He had 20,000 horsemen, 1,000 war elephants and a large infantry.
When the Mughals were challenged
In the Persian document ‘Tarikh-e-Farishta’, it is told how Rani Durgavati challenged the Mughals. In 1562, Akbar merged Malwa with the Mughal Empire. This was the period when Akbar was rapidly expanding his sultanate. Now Akbar’s eyes were also on Gondwana. In 1564, Mughal governor Asaf Khan attacked Gondwana. Rani Durgavati took the front despite having a small army against the Mughals. Attacked the enemies under his strategy and forced them to retreat.
The real objective of Mughal governor Asaf Khan was to gather information about his army and treasury through spies. Soon he started raiding the border villages and finally invaded his kingdom completely in 1564. Rani Durgavati fought thrice with the Mughals. After all, while chasing the Mughals in the war, he got hit by an arrow. When he felt that it was not possible to win now, he asked his minister to take his life. When the minister did not do so, he took out a dagger and put it in his chest. On June 24, 1564, she attained Veergati.
Read more – Story of knowledge
: Language Inputs