Guhils and Sisodias of Mewar

At a glance

1. 1Sisodias: Hammir, holder of the Sisoda jagir, took Chittor back in 1326, and every later ruler of Mewar was a Sisodia.
2. 2Order: Hammir, Kshetra Singh, Lakha, Mokal, Kumbha, Uda, Raimal, Sanga, Ratan Singh II, Vikramaditya, Udai Singh II, Pratap, Amar Singh I, Karan Singh II, Jagat Singh I, Raj Singh I.
3. 3Exam angle: the painter Sahibdin worked under Jagat Singh I (CET Graduation 2022) and illustrated the Mewar Bhagavat of 1648 (Protection Officer 2024); the painting is on the painting schools page.

Rulers of Mewar

• Bappa RawalEarly Guhil rulerReign734–753Known forTook Chittor from Man Mori; capital Nagda; Eklingji temple at Kailashpuri by tradition
• Jaitra SinghVictor of BhutalaReign1213–1253Known forTook Chittor from the Paramaras and made it his capital; defeated Iltutmish's army at Bhutala in 1227, as told in Hammir Madmardan
• Ratan SinghFall of ChittorReign1302–1303Known forLast ruler of the Rawal branch; lost Chittor to Alauddin Khalji in 1303
• HammirSisodia line beginsReign1326–1364Known forCalled 'Vishamghati Panchanan' in Kumbha's Kirti Stambh prashasti
• LakhaChunda's fatherReign1382–1421Known forSilver mines of Jawar worked in his time
• MokalMurdered in 1433Reign1421–1433Known forSon of Lakha and Hansa Bai
• KumbhaBuilder and scholarReign1433–1468Known forSarangpur 1437; Vijay Stambh; Kumbhalgarh; books on musicFull notes →
• RaimalSanga's fatherReign1473–1509Known forSon of Kumbha; ruled after Uda; father of Sanga
• SangaHindupatReign1509–1528 (1508 by G.N. Sharma and Satish Chandra)Known forKhatoli 1517; lost to Babur at Khanwa in 1527Full notes →
• Udai Singh IIFounder of UdaipurReign1537–1572Known forChittor fell to Akbar in 1568; Udaipur founded in 1559
• PratapResisted AkbarReign1572–1597Known forHaldighati 1576; Dewair; capital at ChavandFull notes →
• Amar Singh ITreaty of 1615Reign1597–1620Known forMade peace with the Mughals in 1615
• Karan Singh IIMughal rank of 5000Reign1620–1628Known forAmar Singh I's son; sent to Jahangir's court in 1615
• Jagat Singh IBuilder at UdaipurReign1628–1652Known forJagdish temple at Udaipur; completed Jag Mandir (temples page)
• Raj Singh IDefied AurangzebReign1652–1680Known forRajsamand lake; Charumati; jizya protest

Guhils, the fall of Chittor and Hammir

• Bappa Rawal: G.H. Ojha takes his real name to be Kalbhoj, Bappa being a title.
• 1303: Alauddin Khalji took Chittor from Ratan Singh; Amir Khusrau, who was with him, described the siege in Khazain-ul-Futuh. Alauddin gave the fort to his son Khizr Khan and named it Khizrabad.
• Padmini: the story of Ratan Singh's queen comes from Malik Muhammad Jayasi's Padmavat (1540); by tradition Gora and Badal died fighting and she led the jauhar. Most modern historians treat it as a later legend, since the earliest records of 1303 do not mention her.
• Hammir: his grandfather Lakshman Singh died fighting Alauddin in 1303. Alauddin later gave Chittor to Maldev Sonigara of Jalore, and Hammir took it from Maldev's family.
• Singoli (Neemuch district, Madhya Pradesh; Banswara in the RBSE book): Hammir defeated a Delhi army of Muhammad bin Tughluq; the Mewar chronicles and Tod add that he took the Sultan prisoner.

Lakha, Chunda and Mokal

• Order: Hammir, his son Kshetra Singh, then Lakha, Mokal and Kumbha.
• Chunda: Lakha's eldest son. Hansa Bai, sister of Ranmal of Marwar, was to marry Chunda but married Lakha on condition that her son would inherit Mewar, so Chunda lost his right.
• Mokal: Chunda guarded the young Mokal's rule, then left for Mandu. In 1433 Chacha and Mera, with Mahpa Panwar, killed Mokal.

Chittor after Sanga, to 1568

• Order after Sanga: his sons Ratan Singh II (1528–1531) and Vikramaditya, then Udai Singh II.
• 1535: Bahadur Shah of Gujarat besieged Chittor in 1533 and again from 1534; the fort fell on 8 March 1535, after Rani Karnavati (Karmavati) and the women performed jauhar.
• Banbir: in 1536 (1535 in the RBSE book) Vikramaditya was killed and Banbir, an illegitimate son of Sanga's brother Prithviraj, took the throne.
• Panna Dhai: by tradition the nurse Panna put her own son Chandan in Udai Singh's bed; Banbir killed the boy, and Udai Singh was taken to Kumbhalgarh.
• Udai Singh II: accepted as ruler at Kumbhalgarh in 1537; defeated Banbir in 1540 and took Chittor.
• Chittor, 1567–68: Akbar reached the fort in October 1567 and took it in February 1568. Udai Singh had gone to the hills, leaving Jaimal and Patta (Fatta) to defend it; both died in the siege.

From Amar Singh I to Raj Singh I

• Before the treaty: Jahangir came to Ajmer in 1613 and sent Prince Khurram (later Shah Jahan) against Mewar.
• Treaty of 1615: the Rana was excused from attending the Mughal court in person, and his son Karan Singh went instead; Chittor was returned on condition that it was not repaired. Mewar was to send 1,000 horsemen by G.N. Sharma's account, 1,500 by Satish Chandra's.
• Chittor again: Raj Singh I began repairing Chittor; Shah Jahan sent Sadullah Khan, whose men pulled the repairs down.
• Raj Singh I and Aurangzeb: he married Charumati of Kishangarh, whom Aurangzeb was to marry (1669 in the RBSE book, 1660 in G.N. Sharma); he opposed the jizya of 1679 and sided with the Rathores after Jaswant Singh's death. He died on 22 October 1680.
• Rajsamand: Raj Singh I dammed the Gomati to make Rajsamand lake, begun in 1662 and completed in 1676; the Raj Prashasti on its bank is on the temples page.

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