Mandalgarh and the Banas: Kumbha against Mahmud Khalji

01Two accounts

The Malwa chronicles, followed by Firishta, describe Mahmud’s attacks on Mandalgarh and fighting near the Banas in which the Rana was worsted and agreed to pay tribute. The Mewar side, in the Kumbhalgarh and Chittor inscriptions of Kumbha’s reign, says Kumbha defeated the Malwa sultan repeatedly. The plain facts are that Mandalgarh did not fall in this campaign and that Mahmud returned to Malwa; he came back several times over the next two decades.

02The towers of victory

Kumbha commemorated his wars against Malwa and Gujarat with the Vijay Stambha at Chittor, the nine-storeyed tower dedicated to Bhagwan Vishnu and covered with images of the gods, completed in 1448. Mahmud Khalji built his own victory tower at Mandu. Kumbha also built the great fort of Kumbhalgarh and some thirty other forts, and Mewar remained unconquered through his reign. He was also a scholar, author of a commentary on the Gita Govinda and of works on music.

Dynasty · c. 6th century–1949 CEGuhilas and Sisodias of MewarFrom Bappa Rawal to Maharana Pratap, the house of Mewar held its hills against every power that came from Delhi. It is among the longest-ruling royal lines in the world.Read →