Chittaur - the most romantic name in Rajasthan. Chittaur is more than a ruined citadel, it is a symbol. It stands for all that was brave, true and noble in Rajput tradition.
Chittaurgarh (also Chittor, Chittaur or Chittaurgarh) - lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is administrative headquarters of Chittaurgarh District and a former capital o fthe earstwhile kingdom of Mewar.
Chittaur was sacked three times, and each time the rite of Jauhar was performed. First in 1303 when Allauddin Khilji, Sultan of Delhi coveted the famous Rajput beauty Rani Padmini whose face he had seen reflecting on a mirror. Padmini led the Jauhar rathan than submit to dishonour.
Second in 1533 when the Sultan of Gujarat attacked Bikramjeet of Chittaur. Rani Karnavati, a Bundi Princess, lat the jauhar in which many women and children perished. Her own infact son, Udai Singh, was smuggled out of Bundi to preserve the line. Udai Singh returned as a child to Chittaur but his was an adventurous childhood. Udai Singh lived to inherit the throne of Chittaur. But his traumatic childhood had taught him that dicretion was certainly to be preferred to valour.
So in 1567, when Mughal Emperor Akbar besieged Chittaur, Udai Singh escaped leaving its defence to two sixteen-year-old heroes, Jaimal of Bednore and Patta of Kelwa. They died in true Rajput tradition after the jauhar had been proclaimed and Akbar, taking no chances, razed the Fort to rubble. Chittaur was never inhabited again. But it remained the dream - or rater the Holy Grail - of the Rajputs. Udai Singh built his new capital in Udaipur - a beautiful lake city which still flourishes.
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