महाराणा कुम्भा (हरविलास सारदा - मेवाड़ साम्राज्य के अद्वितीय विजेता, निर्माता व विद्वान्)

Maharana Kumbha. century¹ of the Christian era. Kumbha began the construction of the fort in S. 1500 (1443 A. D.), and it was completed on the 13th of the dark half of Chaitra, S. 1515 (A.D. 1458).² It was designed and built by Kumbha's architect Mandana. Kumbhalgarh is defended by a series of walls with battlements and bastions built on the slopes of a hill, and contains a domed palace and buildings which are reached though several gateways along a winding approach. The palace in it built by Kumbha and rebuilt by the late Maharana Fateh Singh stands 3,568 feet above sea level, and commands a fine panoramic view of the wild and rugged scenery of the Aravallis³ and the sandy plains of Marwar. Below this peak, on every side and enlosed within a high battlemented wall, so thick as to allow 8 horsemen to ride abreast, ¹ Samprati was the second son of Emperor Asoka who died in 236 or 237 B. C. His eldest son Kunal reigned for 8 years and was succeeded by Samprati who also reigned for 8 years. ² Chitorgarh Inscription, Cunningham's Archæological Survey Report, Vol. XXIII, plate 21. ³ The names of several neighbouring hills are given in the Chitorgarh Inscription as Nila, Shweta, Hemkut, Himvat, Nishad, Gandhamadan. 128