Jauhar Chittaurgarh

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Jauhar refers to the voluntary deaths of men and women of the Rajput clan. They did this to prevent capture and dishonor by the enemies. Usually Jauhar was committed by the Hindu and Sikh women. The incidence of Jauhar was more during Mughal times. Womenfolk preferred death to being raped, forced into a marriage or get converted or turned into a slave.

Jauhar originally means the voluntary death by queens and royal women on a funeral pyre of their husband. This term is also extended and used to indicate mass suicide carried out in the medieval time.

The Jauhar of Rani Padmini of Chittorgarh is a famous legend. The sultan of Delhi Allah-ud-din Khilji besieged the Chittorgarh fort to see the legendary beauty, Rani Padmini. However, to his dismay; the sultan found the fort defended heavily. Desperate to have a look at the beautiful Padmini, he send a word to King Ratansen. He mentioned that he looked upon the Rani as a sister and wanted to meet her. The unsuspecting king asked Rani Padmini to meet him. However, the Rani was wise and refused to meet the Sultan personally. Therefore, it was decided that the sultan could have a glimpse of Rani in the mirror.

On seeing Rani Padmini, the Mughal Sultan's lust was aroused and he decided to secure her. On the way back, King Ratansen accompanied the sultan for some time. The sultan deceitfully kidnapped the king and took him a prisoner. Rani Padmini was asked to surrender if she wanted her husband alive again.

The Songara Chauhan Rajput generals decided to beat the sultan in his own game. Accordingly, Gora and Badal sent a word that Rani Padmini would be given to the sultan the next morning. On the following day, one hundred and fifty Palaquins (covered cases of the royal women) reached the sultans camp. It was a custom for the Rajputana queen to be accompanied by royal women. The sultan and his men thought that it was the queen and her royal friends and servants. But to their surprise, there were armed soldiers who quickly freed the King and fled. Gora laid down his life while Badal took the Rana safely to the fort. On hearing this, the sultan ordered his army to storm chittor. The fort was strong and could not be broken. A siege was then laid and it was so long that all the supplies in the fort were depleted. Finally, the Rana decided to open the gates of the fort and fight the besieging troops. When the queen heard that the men were going into an unequal struggle with the sultan's army, she was worried. She was aware that they would perish in front of the strong army and get defeated.

The women had no option but to commit Jauhar instead of facing the dishonor at the hands of the enemy. A huge pyre was lit and queen Padmini entered it to save her honor. The other women from Chittor followed their queen. Since the women were dead, the men had nothing to live for. They charged out of the fort and fought furiously until all of them perished (saka).

The sultan and his troops entered the fort to be confronted by the ashes and burnt bones of the brave women. These women still became immortal till date by the bards and songs which glorify their act.