Rani Durgavati

RANI DURGAVATI

SCENE 1

Narrator: Durgavati was the daughter of the Rajput chief if Mahoba, a powerful kingdom. They were of the Chandela Dynasty. From her childhood she learned the art of archery from her father.= She was a good shot and often went hunting with her father. Father and daughter were very close, and often discussed matters of state. One day, as they were out riding, Durgavati asked her father about the brave Dalpat Shah, who she had heard about.

Durgavati: Father, who is = this Dalpat Shah? I have been hearing about his exploits l= ately.

Father: He is the son of Sangram<= /span> Singh, the Gond ruler of G= arh.

Durgavati: Is he a prince?=

Father: Yes, but he is of low birth. His ancestor Jadurai was in the service of the Raja of Garh. He advanced himself by marrying the daughter of= a Gond chieftain, and thus attained power and status.

Durgavati: Father, it is n= ot easy to rise to power from humble beginnings. One must admire such people. The <= span class=3DSpellE>Gonds must be a brave and powerful race.

Father: I am surprised that you are asking about this.= Have you heard anything?

Durgavati: Such as what?

Father: Sangram Singh has = heard of your bravery and, courage and beauty, and has asked for your hand in marria= ge for his son.

Durgavati: What was you re= ply?

Father: It may be a big honor for him, but it would be= a disgrace for the daughter of the great Chandela dynasty to marry a mere Gond prince. I refused = his offer.

SCENE 2

(Durgavati is sitting in h= er chamber. Her friend comes running in.)

Urmila: Your father has re= fused your hand in marriage to the Gond prince Dalpat Singh. Not only that, he was very rude. He sai= d he had been insulted by the Gond king. I hear that= Dalpat Singh is upset at his curt reply.

Durgavati: My father is wr= ong. A man should be judged by his deeds, not by his birth. It is better to marry a brave, low-born hero than a spineless high-born fool. Go take this letter t= o Dalpat Singh. Tell him to persist in his efforts to w= in my hand. But be discreet.

Urmila: Do not worry, you = can trust me.

Narrator: Meanwhile, in Garh, Dalpat Singh was humiliated that his father had demea= ned himself by asking for Durgavati’s hand. <= /p>

Dalpat: (to himself) Fathe= r, why did you have to demean yourself like this? Were there no other girls left in our own race?

(enter Urmila)

Urmila: Forgive me sir, bu= t I have come with a message for you from Rani Durgavati.

Dalpat: (Reading the lette= r) Your Rani is no ordinary person. I will do as she wishes. = I will win her hand at any cost. Go back to your Rani = and tell her to await my coming.

Urmila: I will do so.

(Enter Sangram Singh)

Dalpat: Father, I have dec= ided to win the hand of Durgavati by any means. I will = take an army and go to Mahoba.

Sangram: I am very happy t= o hear you say so. You have my blessing.

SCENE 3

Narrator: Dalpat Singh too= k his men and got ready to march into Mahoba. When Durgavat= i’s father learned of his daughter’s wishes, he decided to give into his daughter, and welcomed the Gond army at his gat= es. The marriage of Durgavati with Dalpat Singh was performed with great pomp and rejoicing.

Raja Dalpat Singh and Rani Durgavati returned t= o Garh and ruled the kingdom happily. Soon Durgavati gave birth to a son named Bir Narayan. But when Bir Narayan was three years old, Dal= pat Singh succumbed to an illness and died.

Durgavati ascended the thr= one in her son’s name, and soon proved a very just and capable leader. One day...

Guard: Rani!Rani! Baz Bahadur has attacked = again.

Durgavati: What? Again? I = thought when I defeated him last time, he had learned his lesson. We will have to c= hase him away again. We have 20,000 cavalry and 1000 elephants. Get ready for battle. Get my suit of armor.

Narrator: The battle was a fierce one, but the Rani and her troops emerged victorious. Many kingdoms, thinking Garh was ruled by a weak woman, attack= ed, but the Rani defeated every one of them. Howeve= r, all these wars took a heavy toll on the land.

Treasurer: Rani, the coffe= rs are empty. All these wars have cost us a great deal.

Durgavati: Hmmm! We must f= ind a way to remedy this situation.

Treasurer: I suggest we raise the tax on the people.

Durgavati: No. Money lost = by war must be won by war. We shall attack the petty chieftains, and claim their wealth. But take care that no citizen should be harmed, and the city should= be left intact.

narrator: In a few months Durgava= ti had succeeded in replenishing her empty treasury.

Commander: Rani, in a few = months you have filled our empty coffers.

Durgavati: We can now atte= nd to the needs of the people. Make sure nobody is suffering.

Narrator: Rani Durgavati ruled her kingdom justly and wisely. The people were very happy under her r= ule. Meanwhile, Bir Narayan had become a young lad, very brave and wise like his mother. The province of Garh soon became famous= , and attracted the attention of the Mughal king Akbar.

Akbar: (in his court) I he= ar a lot about Garh these days. Why haven’t we ann= exed it before?

Minister: Alampanah, it ha= s been very difficult to gain possession of this area in the past. And with Durgavati at its head it is near impossible.

Akbar: What? Garh is ruled by a mere woman? And you say it is impossible to defeat it? Are you all wearing bangles? Send for Asaf Khan!

Minister: Yes your majesty.

(Asaf Khan enters, along w= ith his commander.)

Akbar: I hear Garh is ruled by a woman. Invade it, and bend its Rani into submission.

Asaf Khan: As you command. (leaves)

SCENE 4

Narrator: Meanwhile, in Durgavati= ’s court:

Soldier (comes running in)

Soldier: Rani, the Mughal army in advancing towards us.

Durgavati: Get ready. Prep= are for battle. Get me my suit of armor. Ask Bir Narayan to be ready too.

Commander: But Rani, we ar= e not ready for war. We are at peace, and our army is dispersed.

Rani: How many men do we h= ave ready?

Commander: At this time, we only have a few thousand m= en. It will take at least a week to assemble all the troops from the various parts= of the land.

Durgavati: Then send peopl= e to bring them back. In the meanwhile I will lead the remaining army myself.

Minister: Would it not be wiser to negotiate with the = Mughals first?

Durgavati: No, they will n= ot listen to us. We have no choice but to attack. If we plan carefully we could have the advantage.

Commander: We will have to use strategy, until we can = muster our strength.

Durgavati: We will wait fo= r the Mughals at the narrow gorge. From there we will be ab= le to stop them more easily. The river is almost dry. We can easily cross it and = set up camp on the opposite side. We will have the advantage from there.

(Enter Asaf Khan and his t= roops from the other side)

Soldier: My spies tell me that the Rani has only a thousand soldiers.

Asaf Khan: But I would not underestimate her. Let us be cautious.

Narrator: The battle between the = Rani’s army and the Mughals was fierce. Asaf Khan found her a difficult adversary. By evening, Asaf= Khan’s army had suffered heavy losses. They retreated to their camp.<= /p>

Durgavati: We must plan for tomorrow. We can either return to the enemy camp and make a surprise attack= or remain here till daybreak to renew the battle.

Commander: The men are tired. Let us go back and rest tonight.

Durgavati: If we do, the <= span class=3DSpellE>Mughals will scale the hills by morning and we will h= ave lost our advantage.

Commander: I don’t think they will return.

Soldiers: Let us go back to our camp tonight, so that = we can be refreshed in the morning.

Narrator: The Rani was for= ced to give in to the soldiers. By morning, what she feared had happened. The Mughals had occupied the hills, and were in a vantage point. To make matters worse, it was raining, and the river had risen. The = Rani led her troops courageously, but it was a failing battle. Bir Narayan= was one of the first to be wounded. Many of the Rani’s soldiers lost heart at that, and left the battlefield. Rani Durgavati, despite all odds, continued fighting= , in spite of being mortally wounded.

Mahout: Rani, we cannot cr= oss the river. It has risen and become unfordable. Let = me at least take you to a safe place.

Durgavati: And fall into t= he hands of the enemy? I would rather die in honor than live in disgrace. Jai Bhavani!

(Rani Durgavati pulls out her dagger and stabs herself.)