Heritage
The ruling dynasty of Mewar had been founded, supposedly in 734 AD, by Bappa Rawal, a semi-legendary figure; the family had ruled its portion of southern Rajasthan from the fort of Chittor ever since. After many uneventful centuries, Chittor was besieged in 1303 AD by the marauding army of Alauddin Khilji, sultan of Delhi, who is said to have coveted Padmini, Rani of Chittor, a legendary beauty of her day. The famous Jauhar followed, wherein Rani Padmini, consort of Rawal Ratan Singh (the then ruler of Mewar), led the ladies of the fort into death by self-immolation, "to find security from dishonour in the devouring element" in the words of James Tod. The next morning, the menfolk of Chittor rode out to face certain death on the field of honour.
After the Jauhar took place and Chittor was lost, an extremely distant kinsman of Rawal Ratan Singh, by name 'Laksha' or Lakshman Singh, proclaimed himself Rana-in-exile. Laksha was descended in direct patrilineage from Bappa Rawal, and hence belonged to the Gehlot clan, but his claim to the throne was tenuous in the extreme: he was an eighth cousin twice removed of Rawal Ratan Singh. Laksha hailed from the village of Sisoda near the town of Nathdwara and hence his descendants came to be known as 'Sisodia'. Laksha was the father of nine sons, of whom the eldest, Ari, married Urmila, a lady from the nearby village of Unnava, who hailed from an impoverished rajput family belonging to the Chandana clan. Hammir was the only child of this couple.
Read more about this topic: Hamir Of Mewar
Famous quotes containing the word heritage:
“Flowers ... that are so pathetic in their beauty, frail as the clouds, and in their colouring as gorgeous as the heavens, had through thousands of years been the heritage of children—honoured as the jewellery of God only by them—when suddenly the voice of Christianity, counter-signing the voice of infancy, raised them to a grandeur transcending the Hebrew throne, although founded by God himself, and pronounced Solomon in all his glory not to be arrayed like one of these.”
—Thomas De Quincey (1785–1859)
“It seems to me that upbringings have themes. The parents set the theme, either explicitly or implicitly, and the children pick it up, sometimes accurately and sometimes not so accurately.... The theme may be “Our family has a distinguished heritage that you must live up to” or “No matter what happens, we are fortunate to be together in this lovely corner of the earth” or “We have worked hard so that you can have the opportunities we didn’t have.””
—Calvin Trillin (20th century)