The legend of Rani Padmini or Padmavati and her act of committing "Jauhar", ritual death by burning is well known. It does not matter that Padmavati was a real person or not but the concept is important and this is what I am going to discuss here. The Rani is venerated among the higher caste Hindus inRajasthan as an example of the glory and chastity of a Hindu woman. It is a sad day that a woman burning herself to death is celebrated, for the act of Jauhar by itself was a negative act and thankfully it died a natural death. But
the legend remains and many glorify it. Harsh facts are however different.The Sultan of Delhi Allauddin was the scourge of his subjects who happened to be Hindus. He was also a great warrior, though not invincible because he had been checkmated by the Mongols in the North of India. He was also a lecherous man who liked lovely women. He also loved a male slave and this is recorded in history.
As per legend Allauddin heard of the beauty of Padmavati and desired her for his harem. Frankly, there is nothing untoward in this and the Ruler of Chittor was aware of it. As per the tale, Allauddin attacked Chittor and the Rana was killed and to avoid capture the queen Padmavati committed suicide. This tale has some awkward questions
- firstly why did the Rana show his wife in the mirror to
Allauddin? This is a universal story, and true or not shows an attempt to placate a marauder. It is a defeatist act and should never have happened.- Secondly, why did not the Rana go forward and attack when Allauddin was advancing on Chittor. He could have met the Delhi Sultan much earlier. This shows he was a poor general and was in reality in awe of Allauddin. One can sum up that he followed the "durg " mentality and just waited inside the fort. This was a sure shot recipe for defeat and disaster.
The Rana could have shown some more strategic sense in battling Allauddin. Unfortunately, his sitting inside the fortress of Chittor was his undoing. Another point is that other Rajput princes did not join him in the battle against the Sultan of Delhi.
The rani's death by burning was awesome but a bad example for modern India. Why should it be glorified? There are some who say the Rani Padmavati never existed. Good, all the more reason for this tale not to be glorified. It is not an example for a modern India.
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