Mukand Singh. There were a couple of leading members of clans who had this name. They came from Bambori (Paramara), and Peeladhar (Sisodia).

Mukund, the architect who, with his father, Banna, designed and built Udaipur's famous JAGDISH TEMPLE in 1651.

Mukunddarra Pass, situated about 87 km. east of Udaipur, which opens on to the plains of what was once the kingdom of Malwa. 'Darra' is a Persian word meaning 'a pass', similar to the Sanskrit 'dara', and is a corruption of 'dwar', a 'barrier', 'pass', 'outlet', or 'portal'. Mukund is one of the names of Lord Krishna ('the giver of liberation'), as is Kanath, thus Mukunddarra and Dwarkanath are synonymous - the pass and portal of the deity. The area was once the domain of the BHILS whose local chief exacted a toll from all who used the pass.

Mullah, a Muslim priest.

Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of SHAH JAHAN for nineteen years (the final four as his queen, his having succeeded to the Mughal throne in 1627). When Mumtaz's husband (then known as Prince Khurram) was fleeing from his father, Mughal Emperor Jahangir, he called upon Maharana Karan Singh II (1620-1628) for assistance, their having become close friends when Karan (as a young prince) spent some time at the Mughal Court. At the time, the Maharana was building JAG MANDIR, and gave the family refuge there. Shortly after, Emperor Jahangir died, and Khurram took the Mughal throne as Shah Jahan. Mumtaz Mahal accompanied him on all of his military expeditions, and it was at Burhanpur in 1631, while giving birth to their fourteenth child, that Mumtaz died. Later that year her grieving husband brought her body to Agra, where he built her mausoleum in white marble, the Taj Mahal, on the banks of the Yamuna River, which remains one of the world's most remarkable buildings.

muni, a saint of the Jain religion who covers his mouth with a white cloth, practising the Jain belief that all life is to be respected, even minute airborne life.

Municipal Council Town Hall (M.L. Sukhadia Rang Munch), Udaipur, available for conferences, live performances, etc.

Munja and the Royal Ladies. Following the third sack of Chittor and the death of Rawal RATAN SINGH I, Kunwar AJAI SINGH became the caretaker ruler of Mewar with instructions to crown his nephew, the teenage HAMIR SINGH upon his reaching his majority. While they were in exile at Kelwara, the local bandit chief, MUNJA BALICHA caused them considerable trouble. Try as he may, Ajai Singh was unable to capture the miscreant. Finally, the bandit chief literally lost his head because of a bevy of ladies, elderly ladies at that. One of Munja's moneymaking ploys was to harass unfortunate travellers and demand an illegal toll tax. A group of senior ladies from Kelwara travelled on a pilgrimage to Dwarka in Gujarat, 700 km. south of present-day Udaipur. As the ladies were returning through the valley in which Udaipur is now located, they were accosted by Munja and his gang who demanded they pay the illegal toll.

"We are members of the Rana family of Sisodia," the ladies informed him succinctly. "We don't have to pay any toll tax." Unimpressed, Munja forced them to part with their money and valuables. Upon reaching Kelwara, they reported the incident to Ajai Singh. The prince was furious and knew Munja had to be stopped once and for all. Ajai asked his son, Sajjan, to bring him the head of the outlaw Munja, but Sajjan refused the onerous task. Hamir accepted the challenge, promising to return successfully.

"And if you fail?" asked one of Ajai's sons sarcastically.

"Then you will never see me again, will you, cousin?" Hamir added, "I fear failure, but not death. Either I will win the day, or my body will lie dead upon the battlefield."

"A true Rajput," praised Ajai Singh, scowling at his own sons. Hamir rode out of Kelwara, tall and straight in his saddle, at the head of a hand-picked force. Less than a week had passed, when the raiding party galloped back into the village. Not one of them was missing. Young Hamir strode into the makeshift, mud-brick palace of his uncle. He was carrying something wrapped in a dark-stained cloth. "Behold, uncle! Your enemy!" He cast the still bleeding head of Munja Balicha from its cloth covering. It rolled across the floor to Ajai's feet. The guardian embraced his nephew, and turned to the assembled nobles.

He announced proudly, "My father was right in choosing this boy to be the next king of Mewar." Ajai knelt and dipped a finger in the blood on the floor, then made the TIKA on Hamir's forehead. "Fate has stamped empire on your forehead. Strong in war, you will retrieve our kingdom and revive the glory of Chittor. Though still a youth, you have already proved yourself to be a man." This, of course, decided the fate of Ajai's sons: Ajam died at Kelwara; Sajjan, who might have executed a vengeful civil war, was ordered to leave Mewar. He migrated south to settle in what is now Maharashtra. (His descendant, thirteen generations later, was the famous Maratha leader, SHIVAJI.)

Munja Balicha, dacoit leader: see MUNJA AND THE ROYAL LADIES.

Muroli (Bhati), a town 160 km. from Udaipur, near Rashmi in Chittor District; jagir of the descendants of the Bhati, Amar Singh, who came from Jaisalmer.

Genealogy: Amar Singh; Kesri Singh; Bharat Singh; Kishan Singh; Madhav Singh; Shiv Singh; Sumer Singh; Shivnath Singh; Mohan Singh.

Museums in Udaipur (see individual entries for details): Archaeological Museum; Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal (Folk Museum); B.L. Sharma's Traditional Art Gallery; City Palace Museum and Government of Rajasthan Museum (within the City Palace); Nehru Museum; Shilp Gram (ethnic museum); and Tribal Research Institute.

Music Concerts, part of the Commercial Division of the MAHARANA MEWAR INSTITUTION TRUST.

Muzaffar, Bahadur, Sultan of Gujarat: see BAHADUR SHAH, SULTAN.