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INTRODUCTION affairs of Nagor again involved him in a fight with Qutub-ud-din of Gujarat who after this adventure suddenly died in A. D. 1459 ... (May 25, Sarda, p. 104).
x x x x x So for we have reviewed the career of Kumbhā as a warrior and general and as a consolidator of his vast dominion. His claim to grcatness, however, does not depend upon his military achicvcnicnts. and inartial spirit only. He was also a great buildcr-builder of: fortresses and temples, one who raised the great Javastambha, Tower . of Victory, at Chitor. What is, however, remarkable about him is " that he is credited with the authorship of several works in Sanskrit.' There was no doubt that he was a great patron of learning. I
We shall, first, briefly notice the monuments that he built and encouraged also the prosperous Jain community of his kingdom to build.
Col. Tod, relying probably on some current tradition, says, "OF eighty four fortresses for the defence of Mewar thirty two werc. erected by Kumbha" (p. 336, Vol. I). We cannot sav how far this tradition of thirty two is right, but we get definite information about .. three forts from inscriptions and references in literary works. For example, the pras'astis at the end of each Ullāsa of N. R. K. nicntion two forts—Kumbhala-meru and Chitrakūta (Chitod). .
The first he almost built anew and therefore Kumbhā is described as 'Srimat-Kumbhalameru-navina-nirmita-parājita-Su-meruņā (p. 107) . one who has defeated the excellent Meru mountain by the new construction of resplendent Kumbhalaineru'. Naturally the fort was. named after him and it has remained famous in tradition and history as Kumbhala-gadha or Kumbhalamer. According to tradition the original fort was built by the Jain king Samprati the grand son of Asoka Maurya. Considering the tradition about Mauris or Mauryas in Mewari there may be some truth in this. There is no doubt, however, that as Tod says, it was 'on the site of a more ancient fortress' (p. 336). Its natural position and the works that Kumbhā:.... raised made it impregnable. That Kumba saw its great strategical importance in those times of constant warfare, particularly, with Mohamadan rulers who were spreading their power around him, shows bis insight as a general.
Kumbbā started the construction of the fortress in V.S. 1500, A.D. 1443-44. It was completed on the 13th of the dark half of Chaitra V. S. ISIS, A.D. 1458–59. The architect of Kumbhalameru. was Mandana--that famous writer on Vāstu-Šāstra ---Science of architecture Sarada, p. 128).
1. See Tod's Annals of Rajasthan, Vol., I, p. 265. History of Rajputana, Vol.I.
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