| Predecessor: | Dalpat Shah |
| Birth Place: | Kalinjar Fort |
| Death Place: | Narrai Nala, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh |
| Spouse: | Dalpat Shah |
| Issue: | Vir Narayan |
| Successor: | Vir Narayan |
| Father: | Salbaham |
| Religion: | Hinduism[1] |
Rani Durgavati (5 October 1524 – 24 June 1564) was the queen regent of Gondwana in 1550–1564 AD. She married King Dalpat Shah, the son of King Sangram Shah of Gondwana. She served as regent of Gondwana during the minority of her son, Vir Narayan, from 1550 until 1564. She is chiefly remembered for defending Gondwana against the Mughal Empire.
Durgavati was born on 5 October 1524 at the fortress of Kalinjar. She was born in the family of the Chandela Rajput king Shalbaham, who ruled the Mahoba kingdom.[2]
In 1542, she wed Dalpat Shah, the eldest son of the king Sangram Shah of the Garha Kingdom.[3] [2] The Chandelas of Mahoba and Rajgonds of Garha-Mandla dynasties became allies through this marriage.[4]
King Dalpat Shah died in 1550 CE when his successor Crown Prince Vir Narayan was merely 5 years old. His wife, Queen Durgavati rose to take the reins of the Gondwana kingdom as regent during the new king's minority. Diwan Adhar Kayastha and Minister Man Thakur helped the Queen in looking after the administration successfully and effectively. Queen Durgavati promoted peace, trade, and good will throughout her realm.[5]
Rani Durgavati moved her capital from Singorgarh fort to Chauragarh fort. It was a fort of strategic importance situated on the Satpura hill range.[2]
After the death of Sher Shah Suri, Shuja Khan captured Malwa and was succeeded by his son Baz Bahadur in 1556.[6] After ascending to the throne, Baz invaded Rani Durgavati's Gondwana but the invasion was repulsed with heavy losses for the former earning the latter a lot of prestige.[7]
In 1562, Akbar vanquished the Malwa ruler Baz Bahadur and conquered Malwa, made it a Mughal dominion. Consequently, the state boundary of the Rani touched the Mughal Empire. Rani's contemporary was a Mughal General, Khwaja Abdul Majid Asaf Khan who defeated King Ramchandra Singh, the Monarch of Rewa. He desired the Queen Durgavati and the wealth of Gondwana. He led the Mughal invasion of the Rani's realm after gaining permission from Mughal emperor Akbar.
When the Rani heard about the invasion by Mughal General Asaf Khan she decided to defend her kingdom with all her might although her Diwan, Beohar Adhar Simha (Adhar Kayastha) warned about the strength of the invading Mughal forces. The Rani maintained that it was better to die respectfully than to live a disgraceful life.
To fight a defensive battle, she went to Narrai, situated between a hilly range on one side and two rivers Gaur and Narmada on the other side. It was an unequal battle with trained soldiers and modern weapons in multitude on the invading Mughal side and a few untrained soldiers with older weapons on the side of Rani Durgavati. Her Faujdar, Arjun Das was killed in the battle. The Rani then decided to lead the defense herself. As the enemy entered the valley, the soldiers of the Rani attacked them. Both sides lost some men but the Rani lost more.
The Rani's domains were very federal, much more decentralised than an average non-tribal kingdom. There were fortress districts, which were administrative units and were controlled either directly by the monarch or through subordinate feudal lords (jagirdars) and junior rajas. Around half of the villages were in the hands of feudal lords. These local rajas recruited and contributed much of the soldiers, and also contributed arms to their sovereign during the times of war. The recruitment standards, training and equipment of these soldiers were not uniform, and were often substandard. Also, the feudal lords held much sway over sections of the army during a war. This decentralized structure created disadvantages during the war against the invading Mughals.[8]
At this stage, the Rani reviewed her strategy with her counselors. She wanted to continue with guerilla attacks on the invading Mughal forces in the night, but her chiefs discouraged her and insisted that she took on the invading forces in open combat in nightlight. But by the next morning, the Mughal general Asaf Khan summoned the big guns. The Rani rode on her elephant Sarman and came for the battle. Her son, the Crown Prince Vir Narayan also took part in this battle. He forced the invading Mughal army to move back three times but at last, he got wounded and had to retire to a safe place. In the course of the battle,the Rani also got injured badly near her ear with an arrow. Another arrow pierced her neck and she lost consciousness. On regaining consciousness she perceived that defeat was imminent. Her mahout advised her to leave the battlefield but she refused and took out her dagger and killed herself on 24 June 1564. Her martyrdom day (24 June 1564) is commemorated as "Balidan Diwas".[9]
The Madan Mahal Fort in Jabalpur is famous for its association with the Queen Durgavati and her son, the Crown Prince Vir Narayan.
In 1983, the government of Madhya Pradesh renamed the university of Jabalpur as Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya in her memory.
The Government of India issued a postal stamp commemorating her death, on 24 June 1988.[10]
The train between Jabalpur Junction and Jammutawi was named Durgavati Express (11449/11450) in her honor.
The Indian Coast Guard on 14 July 2018 commissioned ICGS Rani Durgavati, the third Inshore Patrol Vessel (IPV) of its kind.[11]