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Article: The Many Lives of a Rajput Queen: Heroic Pasts in India c. 1500-1900.(Book review)
- Article from:
- Canadian Journal of History
- Article date:
- March 22, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Canadian Journal of History. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Many Lives of a Rajput Queen: Heroic Pasts in India c. 1500-1900, by Ramya Sreenivasan. Seattle, University of Washington Press, 2007. viii, 276 pp. $75.00 US (cloth), $24.95 US (paper).
Ramya Sreenivasan's book explores the tale of Padmini, a legendary Rajput queen in fourteenth-century India. Folklore tells us that the Sultan of Delhi, Alauddin Khalji, having heard of Padmini's extraordinary beauty, was so determined to obtain the queen of Mewar for himself that he twice laid siege to the formidable fortress of Chitor in order to capture her from her husband, King Ratansen. When it became evident that Alauddin was certain to prevail, Padmini led the women ...