Kheda, 20 km. north of Lava Sandargarh; the estate (jagir) of a grandson of Maharana LAKHA (1382-1421).

Kheeva (Kshem Singh), Kunwar, a son of Maharana MOKAL (1421-1433).

Kher, a town in the Barmer District (Jodhpur), near JASOL. It was the capital of the Rathore ruler of MEHWO, Rawal Mallinath.

Kherabad (Khairabad), a town 130 km. north of Udaipur, near Mangrop in Bhilwara District; jagir of Maharana Udai Singh II’s third son, Veeramdeo; the title is ‘Baba’. Veeramdeo’s great-grandson, Sangram Singh fought against Ranbai Khan with Maharana Sangram Singh II.

Genealogy: Veeramdeo; Isridas; Sabal Singh; Sangram Singh; Bharat Singh; Shakti Singh; Mokham Singh; Salim Singh; Ajit Singh; Laxman Singh; Kishore Singh; Jodh Singh; Bagh Singh.

Kheri, a district 5.6 km. from Dhareswar, north of Chittor comprised of the Chaurasi (eight townships). The chief of Begun, Rawat Megh Singh II, one of the sixteen chief nobles of Maharana ARI SINGH II (1761-1773), lost this jewel in the Mewar crown, for he seized the Chaurasi lands which adjoined his own estate. To expel him, the Maharana called on the Maratha, Mahadaji SINDHIA, who was successful in his mission. To pay off this war-contribution Ari Singh assigned the Chaurasi to Sindhia (1772), who not only took the Chaurasi but Begun itself. Megh Singh of Begun had to mortgage forty of his best villages (half of his fief) to pay the fine for his treachery. Unfortunately, Sindhia then gave the lands to his son-in-law, Berji Tap, and they remained alienated from Mewar.

Kheroda, town in Mewar on the highway between Udaipur and Chittor; it has a fortress with double ditches which could be filled at pleasure from the river. Kheroda was always a bone of contention in Mewar's civil wars. It was in the hands of Rawat Jai Singh of Lawa, one of the great leaders of the 1691 battles against the Mughal invaders during the reign of Maharana JAI SINGH (1680-1698). Being originally a fiscal possession and, from its strategic position, not to be trusted in the hands of any of the feudal chiefs, it was restored to the Maharana. This upset Jai Singh of Lawa because the property had been purchased with the blood of his kinsmen.

khet, (Hindi) fields around a village.

Khet (Kheta) Singh, Maharana: see KSHETRA SINGH, MAHARANA.

Khijrabad and Khijra Khan: see KHIZRABAD and KHIZRA KHAN.

Khilji, a dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. They came to the throne in 1289 with Firoz Shah as the first sultan. Real trouble began for Mewar and Rajputana when Firoz Shah's successor, ALA-UD-DIN KHILJI came to power.

khillat, (Hindi) a robe of honour.

Khizra Khan, eldest son of Sultan Ala-ud-Din Khilji who was given the position of governor at Chittor following its first sack in 1303. The fort was renamed Khizrabad after him. (Also spelled Khijra.)

Khizrabad, the name that ALA-UD-DIN KHILJI gave to Chittorgarh after he captured it (1303), renaming it after his young son Khizr Khan, whom he left in command of the fort. (Also spelled Khijrabad.) See CHITTOR, 1^ST SACK.

Khuman I, Rawal, ninth ruler of Mewar (r. 753-773); son and successor of BAPPA RAWAL, founder of the Mewar Dynasty. He ruled from his father's new capital, Chittorgarh, subsequently defending it against Islamic invaders, and facing Khalipa of Baghdad. Relatively little is known of his reign. Khuman I's son, MATTAT, succeeded him.

Khuman II, Rawal, thirteenth ruler of Mewar (r. 828-853); succeeded his father Rawal SINHA. Khuman II ruled for twenty-five years from Chittorgarh, and gained the nickname of Mighty Warrior after repelling a Muslim force that attacked the capital. It is believed that, during Khuman's reign, a formidable Islamic force of the Arab Caliph of Baghdad, Al-Mamun, the second son of Harun-al-Rashid raided Chittor. (The caliph’s forces were finally halted in the east at the walls of Chittor and, in the west, at Tours, in the heart of France, where they had been defeated by Charles Martel in 732 during the reign of Bappa Rawal). In all, Khuman II fought twenty-four great battles against these invaders, and Chittor became a rallying point for Hindus, Mewar gaining the honourable reputation as the guardian of Hinduism. After Khumann’s great struggle there followed fifteen generations of kings at Chittor who were engaged in intermittent warfare against new waves of Muslim invaders. A younger son, Mangal Raj, killed Khuman II in an effort to gain the throne, however his elder son, MAHAYAK, succeeded him.

Khuman III, Rawal, fifteenth ruler of Mewar (r. 878-942); succeeded Rawal MAHAYAK, and ruled for sixty-four years from Chittorgarh. Little is known of his reign. His son, BHERT PATT (II), succeeded him.

Khuman Raeso (Raesa), the mainly fictional story of Rawals KHUMAN I, II and III. This ancient, though not too authentic chronicle of Mewar was written in 1715 during the reign of Maharana Sangram Singh II. It devotes much space to the first sack of Chittor by ALA-UD-DIN KHILJI, and carries the narrative down through the wars of Maharana Pratap Singh I with Emperor Akbar, to the construction of Rajsamand Lake by Maharana Raj Singh I (1653-1680). It has been translated into Hindi from Rajasthani, but not into English as yet.

Khuman Singh. Apart from Rawals Khuman Singh I, II and III, there were several leading members of clans who had this name. They came from Bambora (Choondawat); Delwara (Jhala Rajput); Dharyavad (Sisodia); Kelwa (Jaitmal Rathore); Lasani (Choondawat); Salumbar (Choondawat); Semari (Saktawat); Taloli (Choondawat), and Thana (Choondawat).

khunjuree, a small tambourine played upon with the fingers.

Khurd (Hindi), a revenue terminology. If there are two villages of the same name, one would incorporate the word Khurd ('small'), meaning it was the smaller of the two; the other would contain the word Kalan ('big').

Khurram, Prince: see SHAH JAHAN.

Khurram’s Palace, Udaipur: see JAG MANDIR.

Khurram's Turban, the turban (Hindi: pag) that Prince Khurram gave to Maharana Karan Singh II (1620-1628) after the prince's refuge in Jag Mandir (1623). The headpiece is now on show in the State Government Museum, Udaipur, within the City Palace Museum complex, but now under State Government control. See KARAN SINGH II, MAHARANA.

Khushal Singh. There were a couple of leading members of clans who had this name. They came from Begun (Choondawat), and Bhindar (Saktawat).