The Queen of Chittor, Padmini

a poem by Rajendran M

The Rajput, Ratan Singh came to the throne
Of Chittorgarh, the chivalrous land,
When Khilji having all the Northern Kings won
Turned to west to put his foes to the brand.

The Turkish fighters made a blockade of the fort
To catch Padmini, the Mewar’s queen,
And take her to Khilji’s harem, and to distort
The pride of Rajputs who in war weren’t mean.

By war, the besieging Sultan found no end.
“A glance will turn me to Delhi”, he cried.
To cease the fight, the wise chose to lend
Her image arranging her mien to hide.

On the stairs of a structure amidst a lake,
The queen of the martial race was to stand
And the mad Turk from a mirror had to take
The flashed figure of the nymph made by God’s wand

In killing and blinding his kin, Khilji reveled.
He would seize the wives of vanquished kings,
And poison his marshals, who his place levelled.
He marred idols in temples and pulled the strings.

To avoid bloodshed, Ratan agreed to show
A virtual image of the queen to his guest.
But the beard- caressing thief got in to mow,
The image elegant to give his mind rest.

A Scoundrel’s hunger is never appeased.
But within the fort his sword never he drew.
The image fair his blazing heart teased.
When the host came out, engulfed him the vile crew.

Ratan got shut in the camp of the wild tribes
Which fought for zan(money), zenana(women), zamin(land) and gold.
Khilji lolled his tongue not for precious bribes,
But for Padmini, the queen chaste and bold.

The wise queen sent the Sultan, the news to meet
And the bestial Khilji smiled and braced his beard
But fighters in the guise of maids to beat
The Turk, went in palanquins, with valour weird.

Her uncle, Gora ran the blockade and safely freed
The King and fought to his grave with mad dogs.
The frothy beast stormed the fort again with greed
With an added force of looting savage hogs.

The saffron turbaned Rajputs wielded their swords
But their wrath to wreak vengeance went in vain.
And Rani(the queen) braved jouhar(the pyre) in cries of brave words.
Her bewitching frame Khilji’s leer had no gain.

Chaste women with charm and valour stand apart
Whom brutes sans traditions with their hands can’t touch.
All the victories Khilji got fell short
Before her win over the fire so much.