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There's a thing about history, we are never sure what exactly happened because often, the facts get mutated with the ravages of time and travel. Similarly, the story of Rani Padmavati, fondly referred to as Rani Padmini, is wrought in various versions, some claiming her to have been defeated by Ratan Sen in sword fighting that made her marry him, others suggesting that it was her talking parrot that led to the union of the two lovers.
If we talk about the current era of social media, discourses about history are innumerable and untraceable. Nevertheless, there's one thing that runs common in all the versions: she was a woman of unprecedented beauty. And the 'Johar Kund' in Chittorgarh where Rani Padmavati performed 'jauhar' (custom of self-immolation by women) more than seven hundred years ago is a place as significant as, let's say, the Western Wall or the Ka'bah in Mecca.
The jauhar of Rani Padmini has given her a goddess-like stature in the history of the state because it was among the first three major Sakas of Chittorgarh. The antagonist, hence, is Allauddin Khilji who attacked Chittor and led to Ratan Sen's execution.
When history begins informing a theocratic identity, sensitivities of people begins to run mountain high. If anything, even seemingly, threatens or distorts the roots, a sense of anger and victimhood is inevitable. Such sentiments have led to the protest against Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus, 'Padmavati'.
However, it isn't as simple as that. There are many, many versions to the history of Rani Padmini and here we look at all these versions.
It is interesting to note that earlier accounts of Alauddin Khilji's conquest of Chittorgarh make no mention of Rani Padmavati. The first mention that has been made of the queen is in the epic poem written in Awadhi language by Malik Mohammad Jayasi titled 'Padmavat'.
