16. Rana Kumbha became king after the patricide of his father at the hands of his brothers, before being murdered by his own son
Kumbhakarn (b. date unknown), popularly known as Rana Kumbha, was the son of Rana Mokal Singh and the ruler of the Mewar kingdom of western India between 1433 and 1468 of the Common Era. Ascending to the Mewar throne after the assassination of his father by two of his brothers, Chacha and Mera, Kumbha’s reign is widely depicted as being a successful one despite being surrounded by regional enemies.
Triumphantly defending his territory from Muslim invasion in 1443 CE, achieving victory at the Battle of Mandalgarh and Banas, Kumbha also defeated the combined armies of Malwa and Gujarat and expanded his holdings at the expense of the Nagaur and Marwar kingdoms. Not only a military strategist, erecting 32 of the kingdom’s 84 fortresses, Kumbha was also an advocate of artistic developments, presiding over a period of celebrated cultural accomplishments.
In 1468 CE, Rana Kumbha was himself the victim of both patricide and regicide at the hands of his son Udai, later Udai Singh I of Mewar. Undoing the great successes of his father, under the reign of Udai much of Mewar territory was captured by its rivals, including by his brother Raimal during a civil war. After just five years as king, in 1473 CE Udai was killed by a lightning strike in Dehli as he sought to marry his daughter to the Sultan as part of a political alliance; many commentators of the age believed this unfortunate demise was a karmic act of revenge for his crimes and poor leadership.