Hadi Rani

I got to know more about the local legend of Salumbar by visiting the Palace of Hadi Rani and learning the legend of this local hero. You can see this hero in the picture below. 

Statue of Rao Ratan Singh at the Hadi Rani palace, Salumbar

The person the story is about is not the sad looking fellow riding the horse. Neither is the legend about the servant walking beside the rider. And definitely you are not going to hear a story of the warhorse in the picture. If you click on the image to see it bigger you can see the main character of the story on the platter carried by the servant – or at least her severed head.

Palace of Hadi Rani

The tale of princess Hadi Rani is a gruesome indeed. It is a tale about love, war and devotion. Above all it is a tale of sacrifice. It starts in the 17th century when Chundanwat leader Rao Ratan Singh finally conquered his love Hadi Rani and married her. However, the newlyweds didn’t have that much time for their honeymoon since Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor  had his eye on the Rajput lands and the beautiful princess of Roop Nagar, Prabhavati. Maharana Raj Singh I opposed Aurangzeb plans and asked Rao Ratan Singh to join him in the battlefield to stop the Mughal conqueror.

Palace area

Since Rao Ratan Singh had just married he was hesitant to join Raj Singh in the battlefield. However, his new wife Hadi Rani was the one to say that he should go and fight, not hide like a coward. Rajput honour was something not to be taken lightly. Hesitantly Rao Ratan Singh finally accepted Raj Singh's call to arms because her bride had told him so.

Palace of Hadi Rani

While her husban joined forces, Hadi Rani was still not convinced on him. As Hadi Rani felt that she was restricting her husband from doing his responsibilities on the battlefield, she decided to make sure he would not be restrained by his newlywed wife. On horseback, ready to ride and see the enemy, Rao Ratan Singh was waiting for Hadi Rani to give him a good luck charm to the battlefield. When a soldier finally brought the gift from the palace it was something else the husband had expected. It was his wife's head.

Hadi Rani had cut off her own head to uphold the Rajput honour. While she saw that her husband was not going to the battle with all his heart Hadi Rani made sure that he would. After this ultimate sacrifice shocked Rao Ratan Singh did like Hadi Rani had expected. He rode to the battle without any thoughts of retreating or giving room to the enemy after his wife had sacrificed herself to show him about Rajput honour.

Rao Ratan Singh fought bravely alongside Raj Singh I but his heart was empty. The grief for his bride made him lose the will to live and after the battle he succumbed to his wounds. The battle was not lost even though the Chundawat leader and his wife were.

View from the palace window