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Labri Khan, a Turkish soldier with the invading army of Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat during the second sack of Chittorgarh; he exploded a mine against Chittor's western wall, at the place known as BIKA KHOH (Beeka Rock), which blew up 45 cubits of the rampart, including a bastion, killing the Prince of Bundi and five hundred of his Hara warriors. lac: see LAKH. Lake Palace Hotel: See JAG NIWAS. Lake Palace Hotels and Motels Ltd., part of the Commercial Division of the MAHARANA MEWAR INSTITUTION TRUST. See also HISTORIC RESORT HOTELS. Lake Palace Road, Udaipur; the access to Sajjan Niwas Garden, Shiv Niwas Palace, and the boat for the Lake Palace. Lake Palace Travels Pvt. Ltd., part of the Commercial Division of the MAHARANA MEWAR INSTITUTION TRUST. Lake Pichola: See PICHOLA LAKE. Lake Shore Palace Hotel Pvt. Ltd., part of the Commercial Division of the MAHARANA MEWAR INSTITUTION TRUST; operates Shiv Niwas Palace. Lakes and Tanks in Mewar: see NATURAL FEATURES OF MEWAR. Lakes in Udaipur (see individual entries for details): Amar Sagar, Badi (Jana Sagar), Bagada, Banjara, Doodh Talai, Fateh Sagar, Jaisamand, Kumharia Talab, Pichola, Rajsamand, Rang Sagar, Swaroop Sagar (Kumharia Talab), Udai Sagar. Lakh (lac): (Hindi) one hundred thousand; one lakh rupees = Rs. 100,000/-. Lakha, Maharana, forty-fifth ruler of the Mewar Dynasty (r. 1382-1421); succeeded his father, Maharana KSHETRA SINGH; ruled for thirty-nine years from Chittor. His sons were (Crown Prince) CHOONDA, Raghudeo, Ajja, Dulha, Dungar, Gaj Singh, Loona, MOKAL (later Maharana), and Bagh Singh. Fate smiled upon Maharana Lakha: when he came to the throne, he had the bequest of a strong kingdom, which he strengthened further. Also, he began his reign just before the Mongol barbarian Timur invaded North India. With the Sultanate distracted by this intrusion, and the widespread anarchy it caused, Lakha found little resistance as he pursued Mewar's policy of regaining lost territories. He re-annexed crucial frontier strongholds, such as Jahajpur and Badnor in the mountainous region of Merwara, held by the MERS, and destroyed its chief stronghold, Bairatgarh. There, he established the town of Badnor. He maintained the traditional hostility towards the Delhi Sultanate (the Tughluq dynasty was in power during his reign). Next he turned to upgrading Mewar. One of his most important achievements was swelling his Treasury's wealth by developing the mining of minerals-an abundance of zinc, tin, copper, lead, antimony, and some silver-at ZAWAR (Jawara), about 26 km. south of modern Udaipur. Using the income wisely, Lakha embarked upon an impressive programme of excavating many lakes and reservoirs (e.g., Banjara Dam), and rebuilding palaces, forts, and temples destroyed by Ala-ud-Din Khilji in 1303. The new wealth also allowed him to become a patron of the Arts. It is thought that, during his reign, a wealthy Banjara (member of an itinerant merchant tribe) dammed the Sisarma River, which is fed by the surrounding hills, to create an artificial lake near the village of Picholi. About two hundred years later, this lake (now known as Pichola Lake) became the site of Maharana Udai Singh's new capital of Udaipur. However, life was not all a bed roses for Maharana Lakha. He was getting on in years when Rao Ranmal, the Rathore king of Marwar, needing a political alliance, sent a proposal of marriage between his sister and Crown Prince Choonda. Choonda refused to marry the girl and Maharana Lakha had to marry her himself, stating that a son born of the union would be his heir instead of Choonda (see CHOONDA, PRINCE). Eventually, Lakha had his new son, Mokal. A few years later, Lakha, who had always been a brave and gallant fighter, set out on a campaign to help drive the Muslims from the Hindu holy city of Gaya in the far northeast. Before he departed Chittor, Lakha appointed Choonda as Regent of his young stepbrother. In 1421, Maharana Lakha died in the Gaya campaign; MOKAL, aged 5, became the new Maharana of Mewar, with Choonda looking after affairs of state until the boy came of age. Lakhota (Lakhoti or Lakhori) Bari, Chittorgarh; a small gate in the northeastern rampart of the fort, near Ratan Singh's palace, and from which an exit can be made from the fort. It is believed that, during the third sack of Chittor, the hero JAIMAL was wounded by Akbar's bullet near this gate. See CHITTOR, 3RD SACK. Laksha Singh, Rana, of Sisoda; son of Jai Singh of Sisoda (the Sisodias were a junior branch of the royal family of Mewar, the Guhilots). Laksha sired nine sons (Ari Singh, Abhai Singh, Nar Singh, Kukkar, Makar, Ozhar, Pethar, Ajai Singh and Anat Singh) all of whom went with him to help their relative, Rawal RATAN SINGH I defend the capital Chittor during the siege by Sultan ALA-UD-DIN KHILJI (1303). To preserve the family line, Laksha sent Ajai and his two sons, Sajjan and Ajam, and HAMIR (I), Ari Singh's young son, to safety at KELWARA. Rawal Ratan Singh, Rana Laksha and seven of his sons, perished in the battle. Only Ajai and Anat survived. Because Rawal Ratan Singh had no heir, when Ajai was subsequently killed in a battle with bandits, the surviving Mewar nobles elected Laksha's grandson, Hamir the next ruler of Mewar. Thus the Sisodia family branch became the ruling family, and Hamir exchanged the traditional Sisoda title of Rawal for his family's title of Rana, extending it to Maharana. Note: Depending on which books one reads, Rana Laksha's name has a variety of spellings: Laksha, Lakha, Lakshman and Laxman among them. When cross-referencing my research, I found this very confusing. At first, I thought they were four different people, as there were also other nobles with one of these names, and there was also Maharana Lakha. Then there were the books that stated that Rana Laksha of Sisoda became the next ruler of Mewar after Rawal Ratan Singh I (not so, as they both died at the 1st sack of Chittor in 1303). These records went on to say that Rana Laksha's son, Ajai also became the ruler of Mewar (again not so: he became the next Rana of Sisoda. Mewar was without a definite ruler until Ajai, in exile at Kelwara, died and young Hamir, upon reaching his majority, was crowned the next ruler of Mewar. For a while, nothing was making sense ... until I discovered all the names were the same. Therefore, for the enlightenment of future scholars and researchers, my co-author, Nahar Singh, and I agreed to use 'Laksha' as the spelling for the Sisoda chieftain.) Lakshman Singh, Rana, of Sisodia: see LAKSHA SINGH, RANA. Lakshmi (Laksmi, Laxmi), the beautiful consort of Vishnu and an important goddess in her own right. She is the Hindu goddess of wealth, good fortune and prosperity, and is often depicted sitting on a lotus holding a lotus blossom, which represents good fortune. Her attendants are two gentle elephants. Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar (b. January 28, 1985), only son of ARVIND SINGH and VIJAYARAJ MEWAR; heir apparent of the Mewar Dynasty. At the time of writing (2001), he is following family tradition by attending Mayo College in Ajmer, and will possibly go to one of the notable finishing colleges in Mumbai, or in Australia. His hobbies include cricket, playing the tabla (a classical Indian drum), and photography. Lakulish Cult, a prominent member of which was the sage HARIT RISHI, a great devotee of Lord SHIVA (EKLINGJI), who was instrumental in teaching BAPPA RAWAL (734-753), actual founder of the Mewar Dynasty. Lakulish, Lord, a Hindu god. Rawal NARWAHAN (971-973) built a temple dedicated to this god within the EKLINGJI TEMPLE complex. |
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