Umade Bhattiyani (d. 1562; other names ''Umadeo, Uma Devi'') was the wife of

Maldeo Rathore Rao Maldeo Rathore (5 December 1511 – 7 November 1562) was a king of the Marwar from the Rathore dynasty, who ruled the kingdom of Marwar in present day state of Rajasthan. Maldeo ascended the throne in 1531 CE, inheriting a small ancestral p ...

, the renowned

Rathore The Rathore is a Rajput clan found in Northern India. Subclans Jodhana, Vadhel, Jaitawat, Kumpawat, Champawat, Meratiya, Udawat, Karamsot etc. are the branches or subclans of Rathore Rajputs. Coverage This article discusses the "Kanauj ...

ruler of

Marwar Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. The word 'maru' is Sanskrit for desert. In Rajasthani languages, "wad" means a particular area. English tran ...

(r. 1532 – 1562). She earned the epithet of Roothi Rani — the Irate or Aggrieved Queen, or 'the Queen-who-Sulked' due to her strained relationship with her husband.

Family

Umade was a princess of the

Bhati Bhati is a clan of Rajputs History The Bhatis reportedly originated in Mathura through a common ancestor named Bhati, who was a descendant of Pradyumn. According to the seventeenth-century Nainsi ri Khyat, the Bhatis after losing Mathura ...

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

clan of

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contain ...

and was the daughter of Rawal Lunkaran Bhati, the ruler of Jaisalmer (r. 1530 - 1551).

Marriage

Maldeo Rathore was expanding his territories westward and besieged Jaisalmer in 1537. Rawal Lunkaran was forced to sue for peace by giving Maldeo his daughter Umade in marriage to him. The marriage was not a happy one. Lunkaran had sent some ''davris'' (maidservants) with his daughter. One of them was called Bharmali who was apparently very beautiful. Maldeo was greatly attracted by her beauty and on the first night of his marriage he delayed visiting Umade because he stayed too long with her maid, Bharmali. Umade felt insulted and decided not to speak to her husband throughout her life. She also refused to have any conjugal relations with him. Her attitude towards Maldeo earned her the title ''Roothi Rani'' (displeased or unhappy queen). Umade decided to leave her husband's main palace in Jodhpur and after living in

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

for a while, relocated to her step-son's residence in

Mewar Mewar or Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasthan, Neemuch and ...

, a mere year after her marriage in 1537. Umade never returned to Jodhpur during Maldeo's lifetime.

Death

When Umade came to know of Maldeo's death in 1562, she immolated herself at Kelva in Mewar. She did so because while Maldeo had been alive she had the status of Rani of Marwar. After her husband's death, her status changed. She also felt that Maldeo's successor,

Chandrasen Rathore Rao Chandrasen Rathore () was a Rathore ruler of Marwar (in the present day Rajasthan state of India). He was a younger son of Rao Maldev Rathore. Chandrasen followed his father's policy and stayed hostile to the ruling foreign powers in Indi ...

, who was the son of another wife of Maldeo, would not accord her the respect due to her, as she had supported the cause of another son of Maldeo instead of Chandrasen. Neither did Umade expect to receive good treatment at the hands of the other wives who had played an important role in creating further differences between her husband Maldeo and her. So, instead of facing possible humiliation, she chose to immolate herself.

In popular culture

*Umade is the titular character of the novella ''Roothi Rani'' written by

Premchand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known by his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer of Hindi and Urdu social fiction. He was one of ...

. *A fictionalized Umade was portrayed by Mreenal Deshraj in

Sony TV Sony Television, Sony TV, or Sony HD may refer to any of the following television-related products from Japanese conglomerate Sony: * Television sets designed and manufactured by Sony Corporation in Japan ** Trinitron, television hardware brand (196 ...

's historical drama ''

Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap ''Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap'' () is an Indian historical fiction series produced by Contiloe Entertainment. It is based on the life of Maharana Pratap, a sixteenth century ruler of Mewar kingdom. It starred Sharad Malhotra, R ...

''.

Of note

There is similar story about another Roothi Rani in Jaisamand area! The Hawa mahal near Dhebar Lake or Jaisamand Lake here is also known as Roothi Rani ka mahal.

References

{{reflist Indian female royalty Indian queen consorts Year of birth missing 16th-century Indian women 16th-century Indian people 1562 deaths Indian princesses Rajput princesses