Chittaurgarh was the home of Princess Padmini, one of the most romantic figures in Indian history. This fortress city was under siege by Muslim forces thrice between the 1300s and 1500s, and on all three occasions the brave Chittaurgarh-wallahs, including the women folk, preferred death to capitulation.
In 1303 it was Alauddin Khilji, the monarch of Delhi, who cast his greedy eyes towards Chittaurgarh. The beauty of Padmini, the wife of Bhim Singh, the ruler's uncle, was famed, both near and far. Khilji wanted her for himself. When she refused, Khilji sent his powerful armies to Chittaurgarh. In a charge, similar to that of Tennyson's hapless light brigade, five-and-a-half centuries later, the brave Rajput army marched into battle, clad in saffron robes, knowing they were doomed. Inside the fort, the women including Padmini committed jauhar. Death before dishonour.
