The legend of Queen Padmini (or Padmavati) and King Ratansen (Ratan Sen) remains one of the most enduring tales in Indian folklore, capturing the romantic essence of medieval Rajput chivalry, honour, and cultural splendour. Set against the backdrop of Mewar, a historic kingdom in present-day Rajasthan, the story unfolds during the early 14th century, aligning with the siege of Chittorgarh by Sultan Alauddin Khilji in 1303. However, the narrative mainly originates from indigenous sources, particularly Malik Muhammad Jayasi's epic poem Padmavat (1540), written in Awadhi with Sufi undertones. An attempt is made to critically examine how indigenous sources portray Mewar's cultural vibrancy during this period, while questioning the historicity of the legend, its allegorical layers, and its implications for gender, nationalism, and cultural identity.
Madhav Hada's Rani Padmini: Itihas aur Deshaj Aakhyan is the twenty-first-century interpretation of the Padmini-Ratansen episode. On the request of Madhav Hada, the present translation is an abridged, revised and edited version. Here, the indigenous historical poetic narratives have not been translated, and Chapter Seven of the Hindi original has also been excluded. The attempt made through this translation is to enliven the flavours, inhale the sounds, and explore sensitive nuances of every word, before searching for rhythm in translation.
MADHAV HADA (Author), formerly Head and Professor in the Department of Hindi at Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur is a Literary critic and academician. He is a columnist with Hindi dailies and to his credit there are number of books, papers, articles, and reviews on literature, media, culture and history. He has written several monographs on contemporary poets and has conducted extensive research on Meera, a medieval bhakti poetess. He is also a General Council member of Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi and its Hindi Advisory Board. He is the recipient of Bharatendu Harishchandra Puruskar for Media Studies, for 2014, Devraj Upadhyayay Literary Critics Award of Rajasthan Sahitya Academy, Bihari Puruskar for Pachrang Chola Peher Sakhi Ri, and Sukhdev Singh Samman. He is engaged in his ongoing research on a prominent orientalist, Muni Jinvijay.
PRADEEP TRIKНА (Translator) is Professor of English (Retired) and a Visiting Professor,
Department of British Studies, University of Münster, Germany. His well-received books include Delphic Intimations: Interviews with Australian Creative Writers & Critics (2006). Celebrating Multiplicity in the Plays of Girish Karnad and Literature, Nation and Revolution: Celebrating 150th year of 1857 (Ed.), Dynamics of Cultural Diversity: Australia & India, Meera v/s Meera. His latest book is Mediations on Memory: Poetics of Remembering and Forgetting.
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