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Guhilas and Sisodias of Mewar

From 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.

  1. Guhadityac. 6th century
  2. Bappa Rawalc. 728–753
  3. Rawal Ratan Singhc. 1302–1303
  4. Rana Hammirc. 1326–1364
  5. Rana Lakhac. 1382–1421
  6. Rana Mokalc. 1421–1433
  7. Rana Kumbha1433–1468
  8. +8
Period: c. 6th century–1949 CERegion: Mewar, southern Rajasthan, between the Aravallis and the ChambalCapitals: Nagda, Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Udaipur
Photo: anonymous · Public domain

01Bappa Rawal and Ekalingji

Guhaditya gave the house its name in the sixth century. Bappa Rawal, in the eighth, is remembered as the disciple of the sage Harit Rashi, who served the Shiva of Kailashpuri, Ekalingji, and received Mewar as the deity’s gift. Tradition credits him with taking Chittor and fighting the Arab armies that pushed into Rajasthan in the 730s. Since then every ruler has called himself Ekalingji’s Diwan, and the temple near Nagda is still the household shrine of the Maharanas.

02Three sacks of Chittor

Alauddin Khalji took Chittor in 1303 after a long siege; Rawal Ratan Singh fell, and Mewar remembers the jauhar of Rani Padmini. Hammir of the Sisodia branch won the fort back around 1326 and took the title Rana. Rana Kumbha built Kumbhalgarh and the nine-storey Vijay Stambh in Chittor (completed 1448). Rana Sanga led a Rajput confederacy against Babur and lost at Khanwa in 1527. Bahadur Shah of Gujarat took Chittor in 1535 and Akbar in 1568, each time with a jauhar inside the walls.

Bappa Rawal
Person · 8th century CE (Mewar tradition: c. 728–753)Bappa RawalMewar remembers Bappa Rawal as the founder of its royal house: a disciple of Harita Rishi who received the kingdom from Eklingji, took Chittor and drove the Arabs back. The Guhila line itself is attested in inscriptions from the seventh century; Bappa’s own deeds come to us mostly from later inscriptions and bardic tradition.Read →

03Pratap and after

Udai Singh II founded Udaipur by Lake Pichola in 1559. His son Pratap refused to attend Akbar’s court, fought the Mughal army under Man Singh of Amber at Haldighati on 18 June 1576, and spent twenty years in the hills, winning back most of Mewar except Chittor. Amar Singh I made terms with Jahangir in 1615 that spared him attendance at court. Raj Singh I gave refuge to the image of Shrinathji from Braj in 1672, and it has been worshipped at Nathdwara since. Mewar joined the Indian Union in 1949.

The rulers

  1. 1GuhadityaFounder of the Guhila housec. 6th century
  2. 2Bappa RawalDisciple of Harit Rashi; took Chittorc. 728–753
  3. 3Rawal Ratan SinghFell in the siege of 1303c. 1302–1303
  4. 4Rana HammirRegained Chittor; first Sisodia Ranac. 1326–1364
  5. 5Rana Lakhac. 1382–1421
  6. 6Rana Mokalc. 1421–1433
  7. 7Rana KumbhaKumbhalgarh; Vijay Stambh1433–1468
  8. 8Rana Raimal1473–1508
  9. 9Rana SangaFought Babur at Khanwa1508–1528
  10. 10Udai Singh IIFounded Udaipur, 15591540–1572
  11. 11Maharana PratapHaldighati, 15761572–1597
  12. 12Amar Singh ITreaty with Jahangir, 16151597–1620
  13. 13Jagat Singh IJagdish temple, Udaipur1628–1652
  14. 14Raj Singh ISheltered Shrinathji; Rajsamand lake1652–1680
  15. 15Bhupal SinghJoined the Indian Union1930–1949

What they left

  • Chittorgarh and Kumbhalgarh, part of the UNESCO Hill Forts of Rajasthan
  • Vijay Stambh and Kirti Stambh at Chittor
  • Eklingji temple, Kailashpuri
  • Shrinathji’s haveli at Nathdwara
  • The lakes and palaces of Udaipur, and the Rajsamand lake with its Raj Prashasti carved on 25 slabs

People

Bappa RawalRuler
8th century CE (Mewar tradition: c. 728–753)

Bappa Rawal

Founder-hero of the Guhilas of Mewar

Rana Hammir SinghRuler
reigned c. 1326–1364 CE

Rana Hammir Singh

Recovered Chittor; founder of the Sisodia line

Rani PadminiQueen
Siege of Chittor, 1303 CE

Rani Padmini

Queen of Chittor, remembered for the jauhar

Rana KumbhaRuler
reigned 1433–1468 CE

Rana Kumbha

Builder-king of Mewar, victor of Sarangpur

Rana SangaRuler
1482–1528 CE; reigned 1508–1528

Rana Sanga

Maharana of Mewar, Babur’s foe at Khanwa

Maharana PratapRuler
1540–1597 CE; reigned 1572–1597

Maharana Pratap

Maharana of Mewar who never submitted to Akbar

Places

Nagda (Nagahrada)Ruined
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Nagda (Nagahrada)

The lakeside town north of Udaipur where Mewar began: the boy Bappa grazed cows here and served the sage Harita, and the Guhilas ruled from here before Chittor. Its pair of carved Vishnu temples, the Sas-Bahu, still stand by the water.

ChittorgarhRuined
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Chittorgarh

The hill fortress of Mewar, 180 m above the plain and some 13 km round. It was besieged and taken three times, in 1303, 1535 and 1568, and each time the women chose jauhar. The Vijay Stambh still stands over it.

Eklingji, KailashpuriRebuilt
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Eklingji, Kailashpuri

The family deity of the rulers of Mewar, 22 km north of Udaipur. The Maharanas never called themselves kings of Mewar: Ekalingji was the king, and they ruled as his Diwan.

Ambika Mata Temple, JagatStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Ambika Mata Temple, Jagat

A small, densely carved Devi temple in a fold of the hills south-east of Udaipur, with an inscription of 961 CE. People call it the Khajuraho of Mewar.

Chaumukha Temple, RanakpurStanding
Sultanates, Vijayanagara and the kingdoms that stood

Chaumukha Temple, Ranakpur

A four-faced Jain temple in a wooded Aravalli valley, built by the merchant Dharna Shah on land given by Rana Kumbha of Mewar. It has 1,444 carved pillars, and tradition says no two are alike.

KumbhalgarhStanding
Sultanates, Vijayanagara and the kingdoms that stood

Kumbhalgarh

Rana Kumbha’s mountain fortress on the Aravalli crest, its wall running some 36 km round the hills. Maharana Pratap was born here in 1540, and the fort was taken only once, in 1578.

Kumbha Shyam and Meera Temples, ChittorgarhStanding
Sultanates, Vijayanagara and the kingdoms that stood

Kumbha Shyam and Meera Temples, Chittorgarh

Two Vishnu temples in one compound on Chittor fort, raised in the reign of Rana Kumbha. The smaller one is known as Meera’s temple, where she sang to Giridhar Gopal.

Vijay Stambha, ChittorgarhStanding
Sultanates, Vijayanagara and the kingdoms that stood

Vijay Stambha, Chittorgarh

The nine-storey tower of victory that Rana Kumbha raised on Chittor hill after beating Mahmud Khalji of Malwa. Every face of it, inside and out, is carved with the gods of Sanatan Dharma, and the stairs climb within to the top.

UdaipurStanding
The Mughal era and the resistance

Udaipur

The lake city of the Sisodia Maharanas of Mewar, founded in 1559 and their capital after Chittor fell to Akbar in 1568. The Maharanas ruled from here as the diwans of Shri Eklingji, the true king of Mewar.

GogundaStanding
The Mughal era and the resistance

Gogunda

A town on a high shoulder of the Aravallis north-west of Udaipur where Maharana Udai Singh II died and Maharana Pratap was crowned in 1572. From here Pratap rode out to Haldighati in 1576.

HaldighatiStanding
The Mughal era and the resistance

Haldighati

A narrow pass of yellow, turmeric-coloured earth between Khamnore and Balicha, about 40 km from Udaipur, where Maharana Pratap met Akbar’s army under Man Singh of Amber on 18 June 1576. Chetak’s chhatri stands where the wounded horse fell.

Chavand, Maharana Pratap’s Last CapitalRuined
The Mughal era and the resistance

Chavand, Maharana Pratap’s Last Capital

The village in the southern Aravallis that Maharana Pratap made his capital around 1585, from which he won back most of Mewar, and where he died on 19 January 1597. The ruins of his palace and the Chamunda temple he built still stand.

Jagdish Temple, UdaipurRebuilt
The Mughal era and the resistance

Jagdish Temple, Udaipur

The largest temple of Udaipur, raised by Maharana Jagat Singh I just below the City Palace and in worship since 1651. Mughal troops attacked it in 1680; it was repaired and its Rath Yatra still fills the old city.

Shrinathji, NathdwaraStanding
The Mughal era and the resistance

Shrinathji, Nathdwara

The chief seat of the Pushti Marg of Shri Vallabhacharya. The swaroop of Shrinathji was carried out of Braj in 1669 to save it from Aurangzeb’s temple demolitions and came to rest in Mewar in 1672.

Battles

The Rajasthan and Gujarat resistance to the Arabs

After Sindh fell, Arab governors raided deep into Rajasthan, Malwa and Gujarat. Within fifteen years the Pratiharas, the Chalukyas of Lata and their allies had thrown them back for good.

c. 725–739 CE

First siege of Chittorgarh

Alauddin Khalji camped below Chittor in January 1303 and took it in August. Amir Khusrau, who was in the camp, says thirty thousand people were killed after the fort surrendered.

January–August 1303 CE

Battle of Khanwa

A year after Panipat, Rana Sanga led the largest Rajput army of the age against Babur. Cannon, matchlocks and Babur’s flanking horse decided the day.

March 1527 CE

Third siege of Chittorgarh

Rana Udai Singh withdrew to the hills and left Chittor in the hands of Jaimal and Patta. Akbar besieged it himself for four months with mines and covered approaches.

October 1567 – 23 February 1568 CE

Battle of Haldighati

Akbar sent Man Singh with a large army to bring Maharana Pratap to submission. They met at the mouth of the yellow-earthed Haldighati pass.

June 1576 CE (18 June by most reckonings)

Evidence

The Mewar RamayanaManuscript
1649–1653 CE

The Mewar Ramayana

Valmiki’s Ramayana in more than four hundred paintings, made at the Sisodia court while Mewar still refused to bow to the Mughals in spirit.

On the timeline

  • 1615 CE

    Mewar makes peace with JahangirPolity

    Worn down by years of war, Maharana Amar Singh I makes terms with Prince Khurram. Mewar keeps its land, and the Maharana is excused from attending the Mughal court in person.