Here Are the Real Photos of the 'Padmini Palace' in Chittorgarh

There is always a debate on the authenticity of the tale of Queen Padmini, or fondly known as 'Padmavati', as there is hardly any written record of her existence, except for a famous folklore written by Awadhi poet named Malik Muhammad Jayasi.

The women echoed praises for their brave men fighting at war, and together they jumped into the fire—Queen Padmini being the first one to jump into the Kund.

Inside the Chittor fort, Queen Padmini and all the other consorts of Maharawal Ratan Singh, accompanied by the wives of army men and every woman present in the state, escaped down the secret tunnel passage linked from Chittor fort into the 'Jauhar Kund'.

It is said that by the time Khilji entered the fortress along with his army to capture the royal treasury and prey on the women. But all that welcomed them was the wailing sounds reverberating around the palace, and the eerie silence coming from the Jauhar Kund.

Legend has it that the heat and sounds echoing from the Kund were so haunting, that Alauddin Khilji could not tolerate it and ordered the passage to be closed permanently, which was re-opened some hundred years ago by  one of the Kings of Chittor to honour the women who sacrificed themselves back then.