Jaiwanta Bai Songara (), also known as Maharani Jaiwanta Bai, was the queen of the

Kingdom of Mewar The Kingdom of Mewar was an independent Hindu kingdom that existed in the Rajputana region of the Indian subcontinent and later became a dominant state in medieval India. The kingdom was initially founded and ruled by the Guhila dynasty, foll ...

. She was the chief consort and first wife of

Udai Singh II Udai Singh II (4 August 1522 – 28 February 1572) was the List of Ranas of Mewar, 12th Maharana of the Kingdom of Mewar and the founder of the city of Udaipur in the present-day state of Rajasthan, India. He was the fourth son of Rana SangaTo ...

, and the mother of

Maharana Pratap Pratap Singh I (9 May 1540 – 19 January 1597), popularly known as Maharana Pratap (), was king of the Kingdom of Mewar, in north-western India in the present-day state of Rajasthan, from 1572 until his death in 1597. He is notable for leadi ...

Early life

Jaiwanta Bai was born in

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

Jalore Jalore () (ISO 15919 : ''Jālora'' ), also known as Granite City, is a city in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the administrative headquarters of Jalore District. It has a river known as Jawai Nadi. Jalore lies to south of Sukri ...

into the family of Chauhans of Jalore. Her father, Akheraj Chauhan Songara was the Songara chief of Jalore.

Marriage to Udai Singh

Jaiwanta Bai was married to

, the 12th Rana of Mewar. She was his first wife and chief consort. Jaiwanta Bai gave birth to her son,

on 9 May 1540 at

Kumbhalgarh Kumbhalgarh (lit. "Kumbhal fort"), also known as the Great Wall of India, is a fortress on the westerly range of Aravalli Hills in Kumbhalgarh in the Rajsamand district of the Rajasthan state in India. Situated approximately from Rajsamand c ...

. She trained him in warfare and embedded values in him through the teachings of ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

'' and ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

''. After the death of Udai Singh in 1572, Dheer Bai wanted her son Jagmal to succeed him but senior courtiers preferred Pratap, as the eldest son, to be their king. The desire of the nobles prevailed and Pratap ascended the throne as the 54th ruler of

Mewar Mewar, also spelled as 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 Rajasth ...

in the line of the Sisodia Rajputs. Jaiwanta Bai became the queen mother of Mewar.

Maharani of Mewar

Jaiwanta Bai was known to be a

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

devotee. As the Maharani of Mewar, she built the Badla Wali Sarai and Panghat Baori, in Mewar.

In popular culture

* In the 2015 series, ''

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, R ...

'', Jaiwanta Bai was portrayed by Rajshree Thakur.

References

External links

Official Website for the Royal Family of Udaipur
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bai, Jaiwanta Queens consort of Mewar Indian Hindus Chahamanas of Jalor