Udaipur, Palaces and Lakes!

The Sisodias, one of the seniormost family of Rajputs, rulers of Udaipur, and the bane of all Muslim conquerors of India- no region put up more fierce resistance of these invaders than Mewar/Chittor/Udaipur.

The ruling family, known as the House of Mewar, "trace" their ancestry to the gods! The origin of the dynasty starts with ADITYA NARAYAN, before creation of the Universe- the second in line being BRAHMA, the Creator and progenitor of the world(!!!) From then on, Marichi the great Rishi, wise man, and then Kashyap, then Vivaswat, (the Iranian Viwanghat- the Iranian Aryans and Indian Aryans being cousins), then Manu, the great law-giver(Iranian Manuschir), then Ishvaku, considered the founder of the Suryavanshi dynasty of Udaipur; then a galaxy of rulers descending from him, Puranjaya who conquers the daityas (the dasyus, original inhabitants of India?), then Anena and Prithu the Righteous Ruler, and later,Purukutsa, to whom the Puranas (that come after the Vedas, ancient scriptures) are revealed. Then Raja Harishchandra, founder of Bharatvarsh, the idea of Bharat-India. The epic Mahabharata states he is raised to highest heaven for his piety and righteousness!!

Still later, Sanger, king of Ayodhya, ancestor of Ram, and mentioned in Valmiki's Ramayana, then Bhagirath, whose devotion brings down the river Ganga!!(An apparant reference the Aryans have reached the Ganges plain?) From Bhagirath-Shruth-Nabh-Sindhudeep-Autayu-Ritupern-Sarvkam-Saudash- Mitrasa (so close to the Iranian name Mithra)-then further 10 generations later, Ram, the greatest hero of Indian epic and beliefs! Ram left his kingdom and roamed the forests of India on one word from his father. Ram is the great vanquisher of evil, personified in Ravana of Sri Lanka (apparantly the Aryans have reached there?) Ram's son Kush and Luv are founders of the Kosala kingdom. Their descendants rule in continious lineage to the great Brahadbal, who takes part in the epic war mentioned in Mahabharata, and Kosala and Magadha are triumphant.

Their descendants, several generations in unbroken line, also rule in Kapilavastu, where GAUTAMA BUDDHA is born into the royal family.

But the royal line continues with Langal, and other famous kings, Gautama's descendants; Sumitra, last king of Ayodhya, is witness to the decline of Greeks in the north-west, the invasions of the Scythians and their slow settlement in Kutch, Kathiawar.

Sumitra's descendant Kanaksen migrates to Saurashtra(!) and finally we have Grahasen, in this long line of Suryavanshi kings. IN 566 AD GUHADITYA, descendant from Grahasen, FOUNDS THE KINGDOM OF MEWAR. Kalbhoj Bappa, 734-753 AD gives fierce opposition to the first wave of Muslim invaders.............

and for several centuries this will be the fate of Mewar/Udaipur....massive battles of valour, and sacrifice, against the Muslims.

Khuman in 753 AD, then Khuman II 823-853 AD, then Khesham Singh 1168-1172 continue their fierce battles against Muslims, and Chittor is the legend of great battles, full scale Jouhar(self immolation by Rajput ladies rather than capture by Muslims) and valour of its rulers.

In 1303 AD Rawal Ratan Singh defends Chittor from Allauddin Khilji, who also covets his beautiful queen Padmini, and after defeat all the women of Chittor, with Padmini, commit Jauhar rather than face dishonour!!

His one descendant Sajjan Singh shifts to the south and is the ancestor of SHIVAJI, founder of the Mahratta kingdom, later the Mahratta Empire.

In Rajasthan, Rana Kumbha 1433-1468 AD is a great builder, the Kubhalgarh fort with 36 klms of ramparts. He again defends Mewar against Sultan Mahmud of Malwa, and is himself a prolific writer and artist. His elder son Ratan Singh and his son, Rana Vikramaditya again face the wrath of the Sultan of Gujarat(1535AD), this time some 13,000 women commit jowhar; fortuanately one prince UDAI is spirited away and he founds the city of UDAIPUR . In 1567 AKBAR sacks CHITTOR AND LAYS IT IN RUINS and the focus of Mewar shifts to UDAIPUR

Legend has it that Maharana Udai Singh came upon a hermit while hunting in the foothills of the Aravalli Range. The hermit blessed the king and asked him to build a palace on the spot and it would be well protected. Udai Singh established a residence there. In 1567/68 the Mughal emperor Akbar captured Chittor, and Udai Singh moved the capital to the site of his residence, which became the city of Udaipur. As the Mughal empire weakened, the Sisodia ranas, and later Maharanas, reasserted their independence and recaptured most of Mewar.

..........................this link gives the full lineage of the Udaipur kings. and this link more on this unique royal line.

more information on Udaipur link

the magnificent panorama of palaces pictured above can be best viewed by staying at the Lake Palace (Hotel,) if you can afford the rates; there are some hotels on the opposite shore of the Pichola lake, and this would be a superb choice to book a hotel room facing the palaces, the lake and the Lake Palace. Tourists who stay elsewhere in the city and visit the City Palace Museum get to view the lake and the Lake Palace from ancient balconies or windows, a limited view somehow! The Maharaja's car collection is a must see, I somehow sneaked inside the south end of the palace complex and "bribed" my way to have a good look; its easy for those who stay at the Shiv Niwas Palace Hotel and other hotels inside this palace complex. I was lucky to catch a glimpse of Prince Arvind Singh, driving his own Jeep, on his way to a forest lodge; he hosts afternoon Tea for his hotel guests. Arvind Singh "shares" the title of Maharana with his elder brother, Mahendra Singh.

The Fateh Sagar lake, north of the Pichola lake (City Palace and Lake palace site), has some superb views of the hills on the other side, and cheap but good eateries lining the shore.

more info here

Udaipur:getting there

100 kms west of Udaipur, at Mt. Abu, the Dilwara temples are a must -link and see my post below on these superb temples in marble. 60 kms north of Udaipur, Ranakpur also boasts of a beautiful Jain temple carved in marble: link