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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{More citations needed|date = January 2015}}
{{Infobox royalty
{{Infobox person
| name        = Udaipuri Mahal
| name        = Udaipuri Mahal
| image        =
| image        =
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| title        =  
| title        =  
| reign        =
| reign        =
| spouse      =  
| house        = [[Timurid dynasty|Timurid]] (by marriage)
| children    = [[Muhammad Kam Bakhsh]]
| spouse      = [[Aurangzeb]]  
| partner      = [[Aurangzeb]]
| issue    = [[Muhammad Kam Bakhsh]]
| birth_date  =
| birth_date  =
| birth_place  =  
| birth_place  =  
| death_date  = 8 June 1707
| death_date  = July 1707
| death_place  = [[Gwalior]], [[Madhya Pradesh]]
| death_place  = [[Gwalior]], [[Mughal Empire]]
| burial_place = Shrine of Qutb-al Aqtab, [[Delhi]]
| place of burial = Shrine of Qutb-al Aqtab, [[Delhi]]
| burial_date  =
| burial_date  =
| signature    =
}}
}}
[[File:A portrait of Prince Kam Baksh, son of Aurangzeb.JPG|180px|thumb|right|The son of Udaipuri Mahal, Muhammad Kam Bakhsh]]


'''Udaipuri Mahal''' (died shortly after 8 June 1707{{cn|date=June 2020}}) was Georgian  slave girl, who was a [[concubine]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mehta |first1=Jl |title=Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India |date=1986 |publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd |isbn=9788120710153 |page=480 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-TsMl0vSc0gC&q=udaipuri+mahal+concubine |language=en}}</ref> of the Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb]]. She is thought to be the most favourite begum of the emperor during his old age.
'''Udaipuri Mahal''' ({{lang-fa|اودی‌پوری محل}}; meaning "Full of Joy";<ref>{{cite book|first=Niccolò|last=Manucci|title=Storia Do Mogor: Or, Mogul India, 1653-1708 - Volume 2|url=https://archive.org/details/storiadomogororm02manuuoft/page/332/mode/1up?view=theater&q=Mahal|publisher=J. Murray|year=1907|pages=333}}</ref> died July 1707) was a [[concubine]] of the Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mehta |first1=Jl |title=Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India |date=1986 |publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd |isbn=9788120710153 |page=480}}</ref>


==Biography==
==Life==
Udaipuri Mahal was a slave girl, who was initially brought in as a concubine for Aurangzeb's older brother, [[Dara Shikoh]].  When her son [[Muhammad Kam Bakhsh]] intrigued with the enemy at the siege of Jinji, Aurangzeb angrily remarked, — 'A slave-girl's son comes to no good. The contemporary Venetian traveler Manucci speaks of her as a [[Georgians|Georgian]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chandra|first1=Satish|title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II|date=2005|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|isbn=9788124110669|page=274}}</ref> slave-girl of Dara Shikoh's harem, who, on the downfall of her first master, became the concubine of his victorious rival. She seems to have been a very young woman at the time, as she first became a mother in 1667, when Aurangzeb was verging on fifty. She retained her youth and influence over the Emperor till his death, and was the darling of his old age. Under the spell of her beauty he pardoned the many faults of Kam Bakhsh and overlooked her freaks of drunkenness, which must have shocked so pious a Muslim.
Described as 'the darling of Aurangzeb's old age',<ref name="Awan1994">{{cite book | author = Muhammad Tariq Awan | date = 1994 | title = History of India and Pakistan: pt. 1. Great Mughals | publisher = Ferozsons | pages = 461}}</ref> Udaipuri Mahal had been a slave girl in the harem of Prince [[Dara Shikoh]],<ref name="Chandra2005">{{cite book | author = Satish Chandra | date = 2005 | title = Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II | publisher = Har-Anand Publications | pages = 274 | isbn = 9788124110669}}</ref> and before entering his harem, she had been a dancing girl.<ref name="Irvine1971">{{cite book | author = William Irvine | date = 1971 | title = Later Mughal | publisher = Atlantic Publishers & Distri | pages = 54, 58}}</ref> She was either from Kashmir, or from nearby Udaipur, or a Christian from Georgia,<ref name="Latif2010">{{cite book | author = Bilkees I. Latif | date = 2010 | title = Forgotten | publisher = Penguin Books India | pages = 34 | isbn = 978-0-14-306454-1}}</ref> or Armenia,<ref name="Krieger-Krynicki2005">{{cite book | author = Annie Krieger-Krynicki | date = 2005 | title = Captive Princess: Zebunissa, Daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb | publisher = Oxford University Press | pages = 103, 175 | isbn = 978-0-19-579837-1}}</ref> or Circassia.<ref name="Sarkar 1912 p. 26">{{cite book | last=Sarkar | first=J. | title=Anecdotes of Aurangzib: Translated Into English with Notes and Historical Essays | publisher=M.C. Sarkar & Sons | year=1912 | page=26}}</ref> Ever since from the reign of Emperor [[Akbar]], it had been ordained that the names of the women of the imperial harem should not be mentioned in public, they should be designated by some epithet, derived either from the place of their birth or the city or country where they had entered the imperial harem.<ref>{{cite book|first=Abraham|last=Eraly|title=The Mughal World: Life in India's Last Golden Age|publisher=Penguin Book India|date=January 1, 2007|pages=126|isbn=978-0-143-10262-5}}</ref>


Kam Baksh is also called 'a dancing-girl's son'. Orme speaks of her as a [[Circassians|Circassian]], evidently on the authority of Manucci.
She was a lovely woman with magnificent red hair. She truly captivated Aurangzeb, and loved him deeply.<ref name="Latif2010"/> This made Aurangzeb's other wives jealous of her.<ref name="Jahan">{{cite book | last=Jahan | first=I. | title=Socio-Cultural life in Medieval History | publisher=Lulu.com | isbn=978-0-359-22280-3 | page=79}}</ref> She gave birth to their son Prince [[Muhammad Kam Bakhsh]] on 24 February 1667.<ref name="Sarkar1912">{{cite book | editor = Sir Jadunath Sarkar | author = Sir Jadunath Sarkar | date = 1912 | title = Anecdotes of Aurangzib: Translated Into English with Notes and Historical Essays | publisher = M.C. Sarkar & Sons | pages = 79}}</ref> She was an alcoholic.<ref name="Krieger-Krynicki2005"/> In 1678, she accompanied Aurangzeb to a war against the Rana of Chittor and the Raja of Marwar.<ref name="Kausar1992">{{cite book | author = Zinat Kausar | date = 1992 | title = Muslim Women in Medieval India | publisher = Janaki Prakashan | pages = 201 | isbn = 9788185078748}}</ref> In 1686, she was in Aurangabad or Ahmadnagar with Aurangzeb in his camp.<ref name="Agrawal2001">{{cite book | editor = C. M. Agrawal | date = 2001 | title = Indian Woman, Volume 1 | publisher = Indian Publishers Distributors | pages = 244 | isbn = 9788173412127}}</ref>


In a letter written by Aurangzeb on his death-bed to Kam Bakhsh, he says "Udaipuri, your mother, who has been with me during my illness, wishes to accompany [me in death]." From this expression Tod infers, "Her desire to burn shows her to have been a Rajput."
Udaipuri Mahal was an influential woman.<ref name="Department of History, Ranchi University.2001">{{cite book | date = 2001 | title = Journal of Historical Research, Volume 39, Issue 1 | publisher = Department of History, Ranchi University. | pages = 63}}</ref> She continued to influence Aurangzeb till his death and it was the result of her influence that he pardoned many faults of his son Kam Bakhsh.<ref name="Srivastava1978">{{cite book | author = M. P. Srivastava | date = 1978 | title = Social Life Under the Great Mughals, 1526-1700 A.D. | publisher = Chugh Publications | pages = 101}}</ref> Following the transfer of most of Aurangzeb's sons and grandsons, she continued to cultivate ties to Khidmatgar Khan, his successor Khwaja Ambar (who was also titled Khidmatgar Khan after 1704), and other imperial eunuchs.<ref name="Faruqui2012">{{cite book | author = Munis D. Faruqui | date = 27 August 2012 | title = The Princes of the Mughal Empire, 1504–1719 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | pages = 240 | isbn = 978-1-139-53675-2}}</ref>


When Aurangzeb died she grieved deeply{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} and died within four months at [[Gwalior]], in July 1707. [[Bahadur Shah I]] carried out her dying wishes with regard to her household and forwarded her remains for burial in a grove close to the shrine of Qutb-al Aqtab, Delhi.
In a letter written by Aurangzeb in 1707 on his death-bed to Kam Bakhsh, he says "Udaipuri, your mother, who has been with me during my illness, wishes to accompany [me in death]."<ref>{{cite book | author = Sudha Sharma | title = The Status of Muslim Women in Medieval India | publisher = SAGE Publications India | isbn = 9789351505679 | date = March 21, 2016 |page=69}}</ref> When Aurangzeb died, she grieved deeply, and died within four months<ref name="Latif2010"/> at [[Gwalior]],<ref name="Irvine1971"/> in July 1707. [[Bahadur Shah I]] carried out her dying wishes with regard to her household and forwarded her remains for burial in a grave close to the shrine of Qutb-al Aqtab, Delhi.<ref name="Irvine1971"/>


==References==
==References==
<references />
{{Reflist}}
 


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[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:1707 deaths]]
[[Category:1707 deaths]]
[[Category:Mughal nobility]]
[[Category:Mughal royal consorts]]
[[Category:Women of the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:Indian female royalty]]
[[Category:Indian people of Georgian descent]]
[[Category:Indian people of Georgian descent]]
[[Category:Wives of Aurangzeb]]
[[Category:Wives of Aurangzeb]]
[[Category:18th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:18th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:18th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:Indian slaves]]
[[Category:Indian slaves]]
[[Category:Slave concubines]]
[[Category:Slave concubines]]
{{India-bio-stub}}

Latest revision as of 04:59, 18 December 2021


Udaipuri Mahal
DiedJuly 1707
Gwalior, Mughal Empire
Burial
Shrine of Qutb-al Aqtab, Delhi
SpouseAurangzeb
IssueMuhammad Kam Bakhsh
HouseTimurid (by marriage)

Udaipuri Mahal (Persian: اودی‌پوری محل‎; meaning "Full of Joy";[1] died July 1707) was a concubine of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.[2]

Life[edit | edit source]

Described as 'the darling of Aurangzeb's old age',[3] Udaipuri Mahal had been a slave girl in the harem of Prince Dara Shikoh,[4] and before entering his harem, she had been a dancing girl.[5] She was either from Kashmir, or from nearby Udaipur, or a Christian from Georgia,[6] or Armenia,[7] or Circassia.[8] Ever since from the reign of Emperor Akbar, it had been ordained that the names of the women of the imperial harem should not be mentioned in public, they should be designated by some epithet, derived either from the place of their birth or the city or country where they had entered the imperial harem.[9]

She was a lovely woman with magnificent red hair. She truly captivated Aurangzeb, and loved him deeply.[6] This made Aurangzeb's other wives jealous of her.[10] She gave birth to their son Prince Muhammad Kam Bakhsh on 24 February 1667.[11] She was an alcoholic.[7] In 1678, she accompanied Aurangzeb to a war against the Rana of Chittor and the Raja of Marwar.[12] In 1686, she was in Aurangabad or Ahmadnagar with Aurangzeb in his camp.[13]

Udaipuri Mahal was an influential woman.[14] She continued to influence Aurangzeb till his death and it was the result of her influence that he pardoned many faults of his son Kam Bakhsh.[15] Following the transfer of most of Aurangzeb's sons and grandsons, she continued to cultivate ties to Khidmatgar Khan, his successor Khwaja Ambar (who was also titled Khidmatgar Khan after 1704), and other imperial eunuchs.[16]

In a letter written by Aurangzeb in 1707 on his death-bed to Kam Bakhsh, he says "Udaipuri, your mother, who has been with me during my illness, wishes to accompany [me in death]."[17] When Aurangzeb died, she grieved deeply, and died within four months[6] at Gwalior,[5] in July 1707. Bahadur Shah I carried out her dying wishes with regard to her household and forwarded her remains for burial in a grave close to the shrine of Qutb-al Aqtab, Delhi.[5]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Manucci, Niccolò (1907). Storia Do Mogor: Or, Mogul India, 1653-1708 - Volume 2. J. Murray. p. 333.
  2. Mehta, Jl (1986). Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 480. ISBN 9788120710153.
  3. Muhammad Tariq Awan (1994). History of India and Pakistan: pt. 1. Great Mughals. Ferozsons. p. 461.
  4. Satish Chandra (2005). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II. Har-Anand Publications. p. 274. ISBN 9788124110669.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 William Irvine (1971). Later Mughal. Atlantic Publishers & Distri. pp. 54, 58.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Bilkees I. Latif (2010). Forgotten. Penguin Books India. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-14-306454-1.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Annie Krieger-Krynicki (2005). Captive Princess: Zebunissa, Daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb. Oxford University Press. pp. 103, 175. ISBN 978-0-19-579837-1.
  8. Sarkar, J. (1912). Anecdotes of Aurangzib: Translated Into English with Notes and Historical Essays. M.C. Sarkar & Sons. p. 26.
  9. Eraly, Abraham (1 January 2007). The Mughal World: Life in India's Last Golden Age. Penguin Book India. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-143-10262-5.
  10. Jahan, I. Socio-Cultural life in Medieval History. Lulu.com. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-359-22280-3.
  11. Sir Jadunath Sarkar (1912). Sir Jadunath Sarkar (ed.). Anecdotes of Aurangzib: Translated Into English with Notes and Historical Essays. M.C. Sarkar & Sons. p. 79.
  12. Zinat Kausar (1992). Muslim Women in Medieval India. Janaki Prakashan. p. 201. ISBN 9788185078748.
  13. C. M. Agrawal, ed. (2001). Indian Woman, Volume 1. Indian Publishers Distributors. p. 244. ISBN 9788173412127.
  14. Journal of Historical Research, Volume 39, Issue 1. Department of History, Ranchi University. 2001. p. 63.
  15. M. P. Srivastava (1978). Social Life Under the Great Mughals, 1526-1700 A.D. Chugh Publications. p. 101.
  16. Munis D. Faruqui (27 August 2012). The Princes of the Mughal Empire, 1504–1719. Cambridge University Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-1-139-53675-2.
  17. Sudha Sharma (21 March 2016). The Status of Muslim Women in Medieval India. SAGE Publications India. p. 69. ISBN 9789351505679.