Udai Singh II (4 August 1522 – 28 February 1572) was the Maharana of

Mewar Mewar or Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasthan, Neemuch and ...

and the founder of the city of

Udaipur Udaipur () ( ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic ...

in the present-day

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

state of India. He was the 12th ruler of the

Kingdom of Mewar Kingdom of Mewar, sometimes known as Udaipur State, was ruled by the Sisodia dynasty. It was an independent kingdom in Rajputana region of India. It was established around the 7th century as minor rulers of the Nagada-Ahar region of Udaipur a ...

. He was the fourth son of

Rana Sanga Sangram Singh I (IAST: Rāṇā Saṅgrāma Siṃha; c. 1482 – 1528 CE), popularly known as Rana Sanga or Maharana Sanga, was an Indian ruler from the Sisodia dynasty. He ruled Mewar, the traditional territory of Guhilas (Sisodias) in presen ...

Tod, James (1829, reprint 2002). ''Annals & Antiquities of Rajasthan'', Vol.I, Rupa, New Delhi, , p.240-52 and Rani Karnavati, a princess of Bundi.

Early life

Udai Singh was born in Chittor in August 1522. After the death of his father,

, Ratan Singh II was crowned King. Ratan Singh II was assassinated in 1531. He was succeeded by his brother Maharana Vikramaditya Singh. During the reign of Vikramaditya, when the Muzaffarid Sultan of Gujarat Bahadur Shah sacked Chittor in 1535, Udai Singh was sent to Bundi for safety. In 1537,

Banvir Banvir, also known as Banbeer (died 1540) was the ruler of Mewar Kingdom between 1536 and 1540. He was nephew of Rana Sanga, born to his brother Prithviraj and his cocunbine. Banvir, succeeded to the throne of Mewar in the age of political un ...

killed Vikramaditya and usurped the throne. He tried to kill Udai Singh as well, but Udai's nurse Panna Dai sacrificed her own son Chandan to save him from his uncle Banvir and took him to

Kumbhalgarh Kumbhalgarh (literally "Kumbhal fort") also known as the Great Wall of India is a Mewar fortress on the westerly range of Aravalli Hills, just about 48 km from Rajsamand city in the Rajsamand district of the Rajasthan state in western India. I ...

. He lived secretly in Kumbhalgarh for two years, disguised as a nephew of the governor Asha Shah Depura (Maheshwari Majahan).

Personal life

Udai Singh had 24 sons. His second wife, Sajjabai Solankini gave birth to his sons, Shakti Singh, and Vikram Dev Singh. Dheerbai Bhattiyani was his favourite wife and was the mother of his sons, Jagmal Singh, Kunwar Agar Singh, Kunwar Pachyad Singh. Dheerbai also bore Uday Singh two daughters. Rani Veerbai Jhaala was the mother of Kunwar Sagar Singh and Kunwar Rai Singh.

Reign

In 1540, he was crowned in Kumbhalgarh by the nobles of Mewar. His eldest son Maharana Pratap from his first wife, Maharani Jaivantabai Songara (daughter of Akheiraj Songara of Jalore), was born in the same year.Tod, James (1829, reprint 2002). ''Annals & Antiquities of Rajasthan'', Vol.I, Rupa, New Delhi, , p.252-64 In 1544

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...

invaded Marwar after defeating Maldev at Sammel. Udai Singh had just dealt with the civil war in Mewar and did not have the resources to fight the Sur Empire, he thus surrendered Chittor to

on the terms that Sher Shah does not harm the people of

. Sher Shah also accepted the terms as he knew that the siege would be long and costly. Udai Singh and his council felt that Chittor was too vulnerable and thus planned to shift Mewar's capital to a safer location. In 1559 work started in the Girwa portion of Mewar and in the same year a man-made lake was made to promote cultivation. The lake was completed in 1562 and the new capital soon came to be known as

. In 1557, Udai was defeated by Maldev Rathore at the Battle of Harmada and lost Merta to him. In 1562, Udai gave refuge to

Baz Bahadur Bayazid Baz Bahadur Khan was the last Sultan of Malwa Sultanate, who reigned from 1555 to 1562. He succeeded his father, Shuja'at Khan. He is known for his romantic liaison with Roopmati. Baz Bahadur as sultan did not bother to look after hi ...

, the last ruler of the

Malwa Sultanate The Malwa Sultanate ( fa, ) (Pashto: ; ''lit: Mālwā Salṭanat'') was a late medieval Islamic sultanate in the Malwa region, covering the present day Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and south-eastern Rajasthan from 1392 to 1562. It was f ...

, whose kingdom had been annexed by

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

into the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. In September 1567, his son Shakti Singh came to him from Dhaulpur and told him of Akbar's plan to capture Chittor. According to

Kaviraj Shyamaldas Mahamahopadhayaya Kaviraja Shyamaldas Dadhivadia (1836-1893), popularly referred to as ''Kaviraja'' (Hindi:king of poets) Shyamaldas was one of the early writers involved in documenting the history and culture of the Rajasthan region of India. ...

, Udai Singh called a council of war. The nobles advised him to take refuge along with the princes in the hills, leaving a garrison at Chittor. On 23 October 1567

formed his camp near Chittor. Udai Singh retired to Gogunda (which later became his temporary capital) leaving Chittor in the hands of his loyal chieftains Rao Jaimal and Patta. Akbar captured Chittor after a four-month-long siege on 23 February 1568; the siege culminated in a brutal sacking of the city, leaving Chittor's garrison and 25-40,000 civilians dead.Chandra, Satish (2001). ''Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part I''. Har-Anand Publications.

ISBN The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. An ISBN is assigned to each separate edition a ...

81-241-0522-7. p. 107. With Chittor lost to the Mughals, Udai would later shift his capital to Udaipur. He died in 1572 in Gogunda. After his death, Jagmal tried to seize the throne but the nobles of Mewar prevented Jagmal from succeeding and placed Maharana Pratap Singh on the throne on 1 March 1572.

In popular culture

* In the 2008 romance drama film

Jodhaa Akbar ''Jodhaa Akbar'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language epic historical romantic drama film directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. It stars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the titular roles. Set in the 16th century, the film shows the life and ...

, a partly fictionalized version of Udai Singh II is portrayed by actor

Surendra Pal Surendrapal Singh (born 25 September 1953) is an Indian film and television character actor who works in Hindi films and TV series. He is best known for his roles of Dronacharya in '' Mahabharat'', Amatya Rakshas in ''Chanakya'', Tamraj Kilvi ...

. * In the 2013 television serial,

Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap ''Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap'' () is an Indian historical fiction series produced by Contiloe Entertainment. It is based on the life of Maharana Pratap, a sixteenth century ruler of Mewar kingdom. It starred Sharad Malhotra, Ra ...

, Udai Singh II was portrayed by

Shakti Anand Shakti Anand (born 23 September 1975) is an Indian television actor. He appeared in various television shows like Tenali Rama (TV series), '' Saara Akaash'', '' Sambhav Asambhav'' and ''Ek Ladki Anjaani Si''. The actor also hosted the first se ...

References

External links

Mewar Encyclopedia
eternalmewar.in. Accessed 30 November 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh II, Udai Mewar dynasty Maharana Pratap 1522 births 1572 deaths Indian city founders Rajput rulers History of Udaipur 16th-century Indian monarchs