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Chitaurgarh ((ヒンディー語:चित्तौड़गढ़)) (also Chittor, Chittaur, or Chittorgarh) is a city and a municipality in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgharh District and a former capital of the Sisodia Dynasty of Mewar. The city of Chittaurgarh is located on the banks of river Gambhiri and Berach. The district was bifurcated and a new district namely Pratap Garh was created with certain portion taken from Udaipur district in the newly created district of Pratap Garh. Fiercely independent, the fort of Chittor was under siege thrice and each time they fought bravely and thrice Jauhar was committed by the ladies and children, first led by Rani Padmini, and later by Rani Karnavati. The famous warriors Gora and Badal, in the war against Allaudin Khalji (1303 AD), have become legendary. The sacrifice of Rao Jaimal and Patta, two brave army chieftains of Mewar, in the war against the Mughals (1568 AD) was so great that the Mughal Emperor Akbar installed their statues in the fort of Agra. It has also been a land of worship for Meera.〔http://www.saigan.com/heritage/states/rajasthan/chittor.html〕 Chittorgarh is home to the Chittorgarh Fort, the largest fort in India. ==History== Chittorgarh is the epitome of Chattari Rajput (a Hindu Kshatriya (Warrior) caste) pride, romance and spirit, for people of Chittor always chose death before surrendering against anyone. It reverberates with history of heroism and sacrifice that is evident from the tales still sung by the bards of Rajasthan. Though it can now be called a ruined citadel there is much more to this huge fort. It is a symbol of all that was brave, true and noble in the glorious Rajput tradition. It was named Chitrakut after Chitrangada Mori, a Rajput chieftain as inscribed on ancient Mewari coins. The fort is surrounded by a circular wall which has seven huge gates before one can enter the main fort area. Some accounts say that the Mori dynasty was in possession of the fort when Bappa Rawal the founder of the kingdom of Mewar seized ''Chittor garh'' (Chittor fort) and made it his capital in 734 AD. Some other accounts say Bappa Rawal received it as a part of the dowry after marriage with the last Solanki princess. After that date his descendants ruled Mewar, which stretched from Gujarat to Ajmer, until the 16th century. Chittor was one of the most contested seats of power in India with probably some of the most glorious battles being fought over its possession. It is famous in the annals of the Mewar Dynasty as its first capital (prior to this, the Guhilots, forerunners of the Mewar Dynasty, ruled from Idar, Bhomat, and Nagda), and renowned in India's long struggle for freedom. By tradition, it remained the Mewar capital for 834 years. With only brief interruptions, the fort has always remained in possession of the Sisodias of the Guhilot (or Gehlot/Guhila) clan of Rajputs, who descended from Bappa Rawal. The first attack was by Alauddin Khilji in 1303 AD, who was enamoured by the beauty of Padmini of which he had only heard. Rani Padmini preferred death to abduction and dishonour and committed jauhar (an act of self-immolation by leaping into a large fire) along with all the other ladies of the fort.〔 All the men left the fort in saffron robes to fight the enemy unto death. Chittorgarh was captured in 1303 AD by Ala ud din Khilji, Sultan of Delhi who led a huge army. Elderly people then had the responsibility to raise the children. It was recaptured in 1326 by the young Hammir Singh, a scion of the same Gehlot clan. The dynasty (and clan) fathered by him came to be known by the name Sisodia after the village where he was born. Rana Kumbha (1433–68) was a versatile man, a brilliant poet, and musician. He built Mewar up to a position of unassailable military strength, building a chain of thirty forts that girdled the kingdom. But, perhaps more important Rana Kumbha was a patron of the arts to rival Lorenzo de' Medici, and he made Chittorgarh a dazzling cultural center whose fame spread across Hindustan. By the 16th century, Mewar had become the leading Rajput state. Rana Sanga of Mewar led the combined Rajput forces against the Mughal emperor Babur in 1527, but was defeated at the Battle of Khanua. Later in 1535 Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat, besieged the fort, causing immense carnage. It is said that again, as in the case of Jauhar led by Padmini in 1303, all 32,000 men then living in the fort donned the saffron robes of martyrdom and rode out to face certain death in the war, and their women folk committed Jauhar led by Rani Karnawati. The ultimate sacrifice for freedom, Jauhar was again performed for the third time after the Mughal Emperor Akbar captured Chittorgarh in 1568. Then, the capital was moved west to Udaipur, in the foothills of the Aravalli Range, where Rana Udai Singh II (the young heir apparent) had established a residence in 1559. Udaipur remained the capital of Mewar until it acceded to the union of India in 1947, and Chittorgarh gradually lost its political importance. Chittorgarh is also associated with two very widely known historical figures of India. The first, Meera Bai, is the most famous female Hindu spiritual poetess, whose compositions are still popular throughout North India. Her poems follow the Bhakti tradition and she is considered to be most passionate worshipper of lord Krishna. Folklore says that her love for Krishna was epitomized by her final disappearance in the temple of Krishna in Dwarka. She is believed to have entered the sanctum of the temple in a state of singing ecstasy after which the sanctum doors are believed to have closed on their own. When they were later opened, the sari of Mirabai was seen enwrapped around the idol of Lord Krishna, symbolizing the culmination of her union with her Lord. The great Maharana Pratap, son of Rana Udai Singh II, is regarded as a personification of the values Rajputs cherish and die for. He took an oath to spend his life living in the jungles and fighting until he could realize his dream of reconquering Chittorgarh from Akbar (and thus reclaiming the glory of Mewar). It was the dream greatly cherished by Maharana Pratap, and he spent all his life to achieve this goal. He underwent hardships and a life of eating breads made of grass while fighting his lifelong battle. Maharana Pratap is the greatest hero in the eyes of the Rajputs of Mewar. In the absolute dark era of Rajput history, Maharana Pratap alone stood firmly for his honour and dignity, never compromising his honour for safety. With the reputation of a brave man of great character even among his enemies, he died free in 1597. Chittorgarh remains replete with historic associations and holds a very special place in the hearts of Rajputs, as it was a bastion of the clan at a time when every other stronghold had succumbed to invasion. It is often called as the "Bhakti aur Shakti ki nagari" (land of devotion and strength). The fort and the city of Chittorgarh also hosts the biggest Rajput festival "Jauhar Mela". It takes place annually on the anniversary of one of the jauhars, not the one by Padmini which is most famous. This festival is to commemorate the bravery of Rajput ancestors and all three Jauhars which happened at Chittorgarh. A huge number of Rajputs which include the descendants of most of the princely families do a procession to celebrate the Jauhar. The fort at Chittorgarh also contains the ancient and beautiful temple to Goddess Kali called the Kalika Mata Temple. Ancient About Chittorgarh: The antiquity of chittorgarh is difficult to trace, but it’s believed that Bhim the legendary figure of the Mahabharata, visited this plade to learn the secrets of immortality and became the disciple of a sage, but his impatience to perform all the rites deprived him of his goal, and out of sheer angerhe stamped on the ground creating a water reservoir, this reservoir is called as BhimLat.It’s believed that Bappa Rawal the legendary founder of Sisodia clan, received Chittorgarh in the middle of 8th century, as a part of the dowry after marriage with Ist Solanki princess, after that his descendants ruled Mewar which stretched from Gujrat to Ajmer, up to the 16th century. Siege of Chittorgarh(year 1303): Ala ud din Khilji, Sultan of Delhi, rallied his forces against Mewar, in 1303 AD. The Chittorgarh fort was till then considered impregnable and grand, atop a natural hill. But his immediate reason for invading the fort was his obsessive desire to capture Rani Padmini, the unrivalled beautiful queen of Rana Ratan Singh. The Rana, out of politeness, allowed the Khilji to view Padmini through a set of mirrors. But this viewing of Padmini further fired Khilji’s desire to possess her. After the viewing, as a gesture of courtesy, when the Rana accompanied the Sultan to the outer gate, he was treacherously captured. Khilji conveyed to the queen that the Rana would be released only if she agreed to join his harem. But the queen had other plans. She agreed to go to his camp if permitted to go in a Royal style with an entourage, in strict secrecy. Instead of her going, she sent 700 well armed soldiers disguised in litters and they rescued the Rana and took him to the fort. But Khilji chased them to the fort where a fierce battle ensued at the outer gate of the fort in which the Rajput soldiers were overpowered and the Rana was killed. Khilji won the battle on August 26, 1303. Soon thereafter, instead of surrendering to the Sultan, the royal Rajput ladies led by Rani Padmini preferred to die through the Rajput’s ultimate tragic rite of Jauhar (self immolation on a pyre). In revenge, Khilji killed thirty thousand Hindus. He entrusted the fort to his son Khizr Khan to rule and renamed the fort as 'Khizrabad'.Khizr Khan’s rule at the fort lasted till 1311 AD and due to the pressure of Rajputs he was forced to entrust power to the Sonigra chief Maldeva who held the fort for 7 years Hammir Singh, usurped control of the fort from Maldeva by “treachery and intrigue” and Chittor once again regained its past glory. Siege of Chittorgarh(year 1534): Bahadur Shah who came to the throne in 1526 AD as the Sultan of Gujarat besieged the Chittorgarh fort in 1534.The fort was sacked and, once again the medieval dictates of chivalry determined the outcome. Following the defeat of the Rana, it is said 13,000 Rajput women committed jauhar (self immolation on the funeral pyre) and 3,200 Rajput warriors rushed out of the fort to fight and die. Siege of Chittorgarh(year 1567): In October 1567, the Mughal forces of approximately 5,000 men led by Akbar surrounded and besieged 8,000 Hindu Rajputs in Chittorgarh Fort and within a few months Akbar’s ranks expanded to over 50,000 men and possibly more than 60,000 troops during the late phases of the siege, which ended in a decisive victory of the Mughals. The Rajput began to emerge as a dominant power after the defeat of the Lodi dynasty. a dominant power after the defeat of the Lodi dynasty. The Rajputs were utterly opposed to the rise of the Mughal Empire and they often supported Akbar’s fellow Muslim rivals including Baz Bahadur causing much tension in the region. Akbar set out on a series of campaigns against the Rajputs. In the year 1567 he fought many battles against the Rajputs and realized that the Rajput owned Chittorgarh Fort must be eliminated because it was used as a bastion for those who opposed him. On 23 October 1567,Akbar arrived and setup encampments he raised green flags of the Mughal Empire.His personal presence in the battlefield was a message for the Rajput flanks inside the fort that the siege was not a temporal affair. The next day Akbar unleashed his powerful cannons, but within a few days of the siege it was evident that his mortars needed higher elevation. Akbar then ordered his men to build the Mohur Margi (Mohur Hill, also known as: Coin HillAfter an arduous siege Akbar ordered his men to lift baskets of earth during both day and night, in order to create a hill right in front of the fort by which the Mughal Cannons could be placed, when the hill was completed Akbar placed his cannons and mortars near its tip, but cannons were too slow to breach the thick stone walls of Chittorgarh Fort. The Mughal Emperor Akbar believed that the only way to achieve victory and break the deadlock was to blow a hole underneath Chittorgarh Fort. Akbar then organized his sappers to dig two tunnels and to plant two separate mines under the heavy stone walls of the fortress of Chittor.More than 5000 Mughals then dug their way through a secret tunnel that neared the gates of Chittorgarh Fort,but one of the mines exploded prematurely during a military assault killing about a hundred Mughal Sowars. The casualties on the Mughal side had risen to almost 200 men a day due to Rajput muskets and archers. As the Siege of Chittorgarh commenced a massive Mughal Army of nearly 60,000 gathered for battle and in this situation, Akbar had prayed for help for achieving victory and vowed to visit the tomb of the Sufi Khwaja at Ajmer if he was victorious. As the bombardment and the continuous assaults on Chittorgarh Fort continued, during one particular assault it is believed that a shot from Akbar’s own Matchlock wounded or killed the commander of the already demoralized Hindu Rajputs. It was only when almost all the Rajput women committed Jauhar(self immolation of women) did The Mughals realize that the condition inside the fort was now out of control and the total victory was within grasp. The fortress of Chittor finally fell on February 1568 after a siege of four months when it stormed by the Mughal forces. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chittorgarh」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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