Beyond Padmavati

The Bollywood film Padmavati has led to some significant uproar from certain quarters in India. It has become a controversial film – not least since it is based on uncertain, dubious and conflicting accounts of a Rajput princess and Sultan Alauddin Khilji at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries.

Given that ongoing discussion and the passions it has aroused, it might be useful to look at a true story: about another Rajput princess in the reign of this same Sultan. This story, that of the princess Deval Devi, is significantly more authentic: given that it has been recorded in a nearly uniform manner by multiple contemporary sources.

First a little background to the tale. For about a hundred years from the time of Sultan Iltutmish in the early 13th century until Alauddin Khilji at the turn of the next century, the Delhi Sultanate encompassed Punjab, Sindh and Delhi. Among various strategic challenges, the Sultanate remained occupied in a successful effort aimed at repulsing the Mongol incursions into India.

Within India, the boundaries of the Sultanate during this time clashed with those of Rajput principalities that resisted the expansion of Muslim rule into their lands. The Rajputs were a noble warrior people; valiant in the field, disciplined in battle and tenacious in combat. Their personal conduct had a reputation for being steadfast and reliable to a fault – and has often been compared to the treacherous invaders from amongst Afghans and Turks, who couldn’t trust their own brothers or sons. Arguably, they were the only indigenous rulers in whom the Central Asian invaders found their match. Popular perceptions of the Rajput rulers are coloured by the following image: rather than succumb to the invaders, the women often committed ‘johar’ – suicide to ‘defend their honour’ by self immolation. This could involve drowning in wells or driving a knife through their heart or across their throat.

The Turkic and Afghan rulers of Delhi developed something of an infatuation for the gallant Rajputs. Later on, the influence of Rajputs in the Mughal court was very great and they can even be regarded as co-rulers during that time. Their men were frequently appointed commanders of field armies and ministers of royal courts. Many Sultans and Emperors married Rajput princesses, an honour rarely extended women of other local clans or ethnicities – who could probably find themselves taken as slave girls.

I have relied on the Tarikh-i-Firishta, the Masnavi “Deval Rani Khizr Khan” by Amir Khusrau, The Khilji Dynasty by VD Mahajan and some other reliable sources. It may be noted that Amir Khusrau was residing in Delhi during Alauddin Khilji’s reign and was an eyewitness to many of the events.

The mother was jubilant on being reunited with her daughter. Unfortunately, the daughter's adversities were about to get much worse

When Alauddin Khilji became Sultan, Gujarat was ruled by the valiant Raja Kiran Dev of the Vaghela dynasty, who was to become the last Hindu ruler of the state. In 1299, Alauddin Khilji, having repulsed three consecutive Mongol attacks in the previous two years, sent an army to ransack the Gujarat region. His general Nusrat Khan attacked from Delhi whilst the Sultan’s brother Ulugh Khan approached from Sindh. Karan Dev was no match for the combined Delhi forces that went on to plunder several major cities of Gujarat, including Anahilavada (Patan), Khambhat, Surat and Somnath. Khilji armies massacred the local population and looted a very large quantity of gold and precious stones, besides enslaving thousand of women and children. Malik Kafur, who later became the favoured Abyssinian slave-general of Alauddin, was also captured during this raid.

Raja Kiran Dev himself made good his escape to the South, carrying with him his two daughters. His beautiful wife Kamla Devi, however, was captured by the Khilji forces. She was sent to Alauddin Khilji – who married her as his third wife. He is reported to have been enamoured by her wit, wisdom and beauty: to the extent that she soon became his favourite wife. Kamla Devi would often complain that she missed her daughters. In the next year or two, she learnt that one of the daughters had died due to illness and started insisting that Alauddin reunite her with her surviving daughter, Deval Devi.

In 1308, after a decade of separation of Deval Devi from her mother, Alauddin, having recently defeated a Mongol invading force, dispatched an army under Malik Kafur and Ulugh Khan to find and fetch the lost princess. In 1304, Kiran Dev had been defeated once again by Khilji forces, resulting in the annexation of Gujrat. The unrelenting Raja had fled south towards the Deccan and sought refuge with Raja Ram Dev, the ruler of a small principality.

The son and heir of Ram Dev, prince Shankal Dev, had fallen in love with Deval Devi and desired to get married to her. However, her father was against this union between a Maratha-Yadav prince of ‘inferior’ caste and a Rajput princess. In the meantime, Khilji forces were routing Kiran Dev and chasing him from one place to another. To safeguard his daughter from going into Muslim hands, Kiran Dev agreed to the betrothal of his daughter with Shankal Dev. When Ulugh Khan was informed of this development, he lost hope of finding the princess but here, according to Firishta’s history, luck favoured the Khilji forces.

Ulugh Khan was encamped on the banks of the Waghera River in the vicinity of the famed Ellora Caves. A part of his army, numbering about 4,000, decided to visit the caves. En route to the caves, the troops sighted a Maratha force in the distance. Having made short work of them, the Khilji forces found a girl accompanied by some maids. They learnt that this was Deval Devi, who was being escorted by Bhim Dev, a brother of Shankal Dev, to some safe location. The princess was brought to Ulugh Khan who promptly sent her off to Delhi.

The mother was extremely jubilant on being reunited with her daughter. Unfortunately, the daughter’s adversities were about to get much worse.

Khizr Khan was the eldest son of Alauddin from his chief wife Mallika Jahan, the daughter of Jalaluddin Khilji, predecessor and uncle of Alauddin, and the progenitor of Khilji dynasty. Khizr is first mentioned in the chronicles on the occasion of Alauddin’s conquest of Chittorgarh in 1303, when the place is renamed as Khizrabad and its rule conferred upon the prince.

A few days after the arrival of Deval Devi at Delhi, the prince became enamoured of her beauty and they fell in love with each other. The love seems to be have been mutual, as narrated by the authoritative Amir Khusrau in his long love poem titled “Deval Rani - Khizr Khan” popularly known as Ishqia (Love Affair). The Sultan approved of the union but Mallika Jahan, mother of the prince, objected since she wished to marry him to one of her nieces. She took aggressive steps to separate them. The two lovers were placed in different apartments, though they managed to sneak their way to each other occasionally. The queen mother was furious about these meetings and decided to send Deval Devi to the Red Palace of Siri fort in Delhi. Khizr Khan became distressed, “tore off his clothes and exhibited other signs of frantic grief.” The queen mother, however, remained determined to send Deval Devi to the Red Palace. On her way to detention, Deval Devi met Khizr Khan, who presented her with a lock of his hair to remember him by. She gave him her ring.

The queen mother now married Khizr Khan to the daughter of a noble, Alp Khan. However, seeing her son in deep distress, she finally gave her consent to his second marriage with Deval Devi, which was formalised in 1312.

The next four years were a period of tranquillity and happiness for the couple, with Khizr enjoying high positions and commanding armies as heir apparent.

Towards the end of his reign, Alauddin became ill-tempered and suspicious. He fell under the influence of his favourite Malik Kafur and placed the government entirely into his hands. Malik Kafur had long aspired to the throne and began his schemes for the destruction of Sultan’s family.

In 1312, when the Sultan was taken extremely ill, the prince took an oath that if God should spare the life of his father, he would proceed barefooted on a pilgrimage to the holy men of Delhi. When he heard that his father’s health had begun to recover, he fulfilled his vow and set out for Delhi barefooted. During this pilgrimage the prince’s feet got blistered and he was persuaded by his attendants to proceed on horseback. Malik Kafur acted craftily and represented that this non-fulfilment of his vow was a personal insult to the Sultan.

Malik Kafur induced the Sultan to send orders to the prince to go to Amroha, telling him not to return to his presence without orders. In great agitation, the prince wrote to his father that he had never committed any breach of trust which could cause the Sultan to be so angry with him. Thereafter he returned to Delhi without summons. Malik Kafur instigated the Sultan to imprison Khizr Khan and his full brother Shadi Khan in the fort of Gwalior. When the prince was taken to Gwalior, Malik Kafur told the commander of the fortress not to treat Khizr Khan well on account of being the Sultan’s son, but to keep him in custody like the greatest enemy of the Sultan. At the prison, Deval Devi became “the companion and solace of his miserable imprisonment.”

On her way to detention, Deval Devi met Khizr Khan, who presented her with a lock of his hair to remember him by. She gave him her ring

When the Sultan’s illness grew worse, he told Malik Kafur to bring over his son Khizr Khan, so that he may be declared the heir-apparent. Malik Kafur delayed the matter until the Sultan died.

After the death of Alauddin Khilji, Malik Kafur placed the Sultan’s youngest son Shahab-ud-din Umar, a child of seven years, upon the throne and himself became his regent. He married the prince’s mother, who was Alauddin’s third wife, to legitimise his regency. He also had Khizr Khan and Shadi Khan blinded. Malik Kafur had intended to blind Alauddin’s third son too, the 20-year-old Mubarak Shah, but didn’t succeed.

Malik Kafur was murdered by Alauddin’s guards a few months later. They released Mubarak from prison and appointed him as the regent of Umar. Mubarak Shah (1316-1321) then ascended the throne, displacing his brother.

Mubarak was known to be a depraved youth. The stories of his harem are best left not narrated in this space. Soon after ascending the throne, he demanded of his brother Khizr Khan to hand over Deval Devi for the royal harem. Khizr Khan, however, refused. Mubarak Shah finally decided to get rid of all his rivals and had his brothers Khizr Khan, Shadi Khan and Umar murdered. Amir Khusrau states that, “the devoted Deval Rani, in clinging to the body of her husband, was wounded in the face and had her hands cut off by the assassins.”

According to the histories by Firishta and Badauni, Deval Devi was then brought to Sultan Mubarak’s harem and resided therein in an environment of abysmal debauchery for the next four years. Mubarak was murdered in 1320 by his lover Khusrau Khan, who also took possession of Mubarak’s harem – including Deval Devi. Within the same year, the governor of Dipalpur, Ghazi Malik, toppled and beheaded Khusrau and laid the foundations of the Tughlaq dynasty as Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, putting an end to Khilji rule.

However nothing is heard of the unfortunate Deval Devi thereafter.

Parvez Mahmood retired as a Group Captain from PAF and is now a software engineer. He lives in Islamabad and can be reached at parvezmahmood53@gmail.com