Dulha Rai’s Conquest of Dausa: the Early History of Kachwahas

An informative and interesting read on theife and times of theegendary ‘bridegroom prince’, Dulha Rai. The inception of the kingdom of Dhundhar (later the princely state of Jaipur) is ascribed to Dulha Rai, who is remembered as the progenitor of the Kachwaha dynasty of Rajputana. His career and rise to power is deeplyinked with the district of Dausa and its principal seat of power, the enigmatic Dausa Fort. Details of hisife and achievements (late tenth-eleventh century), however, remain a murky subject, while his family background and its history are also topics which areargely unexplored till date. This is due to theack of first-hand information and understanding of the early medieval period in which the events of hisife transpired. By piecing together various clues and analysing historical records, Maharaj Devraj Singh—the grandson of Jaipur’sast ruling maharaja, Sawai Man Singh II, and his wife, Maharani Gayatri Devi—attempts to narrate the hitherto unknown history of his ancestors in the centuries prior to their move into Rajasthan, during which time they were known as the Kachaphaghatas of Gwalior and Narwar.