THE LESSER KNOWN MAHARANA OF MEWAR:RANA KUMBHA
Kumbalgarh Fort is one of most spectacular sites of India,atop a hill abt 3600ft above sea lvl in the https://t.co/LkjmzzBhE2's second largest wall is surrounding it.A fort wall second only to Great wall of China,still not so famous.

This longest wall of India stretches to almost 36Km and encompasses a few hills, many step wells and over 360 temples and palaces. Birth place of the Great Maharana Pratap, this fort is named after another Great Maharana of Mewar, who is not given his due in the History.
Builder of many architectural marvels like the Kumbhalgarh Fort, an erudite scholar, a patron of arts, music, culture & a great warrior was the Great Maharana Kumbha. Yet we don't know much about him. Let's get to know him a little.
Maharana Kumbha was the undefeated King of Mewar from 1433-1468CE.He never lost any battles &kept Mewar out of the reach of Islamic Invaders till the time he was alive. Born on Makar Sakranti to Maharana Mokal & Saubhagya Devi, Rana Kumbha was only 13 when he ascended the throne.
His father was killed by his own relatives in a political conspiracy. He was a powerful King about 8ft tall &charismatic personality,a hardcore Hindu Rajput who could shed his life for Hindu honour without thinking twice.He was an ardent skillful warrior who never lost a battle.
Rana Kumbha defeated Mahmud Khilji in the Battle of Mandalgarh when he first attacked Mewar in 1442. In 1443, Rana Kumbha attacked Khilji and forced him to retreat when he conquered some parts of Pangarh & Chaumaha. Khilji again gathered courage for another attack in 1446..
..but what he got was another defeat. After this battle of 1446, Khilji did not dare to attack Mewar for another decade.
'Vijay Stambha' , a nine storeyed, 37m high victory tower was built by Rana Kumbha to commemorate his glorious victory over Khilji.
'Vijay Stambha' was one of the many architectural marvels those were built by Rana Kumbha and it was completed in 1448CE. He was conferred with the title of,'Hindu Suratrana'for his unimaginable victory over Khilji.
Due to the Military Strategic capabilities of Maharana Kumbha, he was able to stall the plan of Qutabuddin & Khilji to capture Abu. Rana won many battles against the combined forces of Khilji and kept Kumbhalmer and nearby kingdoms of Chittor, Mandore etc safe during his reign.
Mewar soon became a huge kingdom under Maharana Kumbha. By 1439CE, the boundaries of Mewar stretched from Gagraon in the east to Nagaur in the west, from Pokhran in the north to Gujarat in the south. Such was the might of this mighty Rana of Mewar.
Rana Kumbha was not only a fierce warrior and an art & culture patron, he was a great Hindu patriot king who is also acredited with building many architectural wonders. Of 84 fortresses that form the defence of Mewar, 32 were build by Rana Kumbha alone.
Besides these,Achalgarh &Basantgarh forts of Abu &many temples were built by Rana Kumbha.He was a multi-faceted efficient ruler,well versed in Vedas,Upanishads &Smritis.A proficient Veena player &a composer of many literary marvels such as Sangeetraj, Rasik Priya to name a few.
Most of what we see today at the renowned Chittorgarh Fort was rebuilt during Rana Kumbha's reign after it was destroyed by Alaudin Khilji. Such an epitome of greatness in truly each and every aspect of being a King, he still didn't get the fame and recognition that he deserved.
The Great Maharana Kumbha met a tragic end when he was assassinated in 1468CE by his own son Udai Singh on a fateful morning while he was offering his prayers at Mahadev Temple in Kumbalgarh. No king in Rajputana thereafter respected Udai Singh &called him a treacherous murderer.
If you visit Rajasthan today, you can feel proud of the magnificent and marvellous legacy that Rana Kumbha has left behind and get mesmerised by the shear grandeur and beauty of it.

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प्राचीन काल में गाधि नामक एक राजा थे।उनकी सत्यवती नाम की एक पुत्री थी।राजा गाधि ने अपनी पुत्री का विवाह महर्षि भृगु के पुत्र से करवा दिया।महर्षि भृगु इस विवाह से बहुत प्रसन्न हुए और उन्होने अपनी पुत्रवधु को आशीर्वाद देकर उसे कोई भी वर मांगने को कहा।


सत्यवती ने महर्षि भृगु से अपने तथा अपनी माता के लिए पुत्र का वरदान मांगा।ये जानकर महर्षि भृगु ने यज्ञ किया और तत्पश्चात सत्यवती और उसकी माता को अलग-अलग प्रकार के दो चरू (यज्ञ के लिए पकाया हुआ अन्न) दिए और कहा कि ऋतु स्नान के बाद तुम्हारी माता पुत्र की इच्छा लेकर पीपल का आलिंगन...

...करें और तुम भी पुत्र की इच्छा लेकर गूलर वृक्ष का आलिंगन करना। आलिंगन करने के बाद चरू का सेवन करना, इससे तुम दोनो को पुत्र प्राप्ति होगी।परंतु मां बेटी के चरू आपस में बदल जाते हैं और ये महर्षि भृगु अपनी दिव्य दृष्टि से देख लेते हैं।

भृगु ऋषि सत्यवती से कहते हैं,"पुत्री तुम्हारा और तुम्हारी माता ने एक दुसरे के चरू खा लिए हैं।इस कारण तुम्हारा पुत्र ब्राह्मण होते हुए भी क्षत्रिय सा आचरण करेगा और तुम्हारी माता का पुत्र क्षत्रिय होकर भी ब्राह्मण सा आचरण करेगा।"
इस पर सत्यवती ने भृगु ऋषि से बड़ी विनती की।


सत्यवती ने कहा,"मुझे आशीर्वाद दें कि मेरा पुत्र ब्राह्मण सा ही आचरण करे।"तब महर्षि ने उसे ये आशीर्वाद दे दिया कि उसका पुत्र ब्राह्मण सा ही आचरण करेगा किन्तु उसका पौत्र क्षत्रियों सा व्यवहार करेगा। सत्यवती का एक पुत्र हुआ जिसका नाम जम्दाग्नि था जो सप्त ऋषियों में से एक हैं।

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