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Saints and Poets

Deval Devi of Ranthambore

For that single act of honour, Ranthambore paid a price no fort in Rajasthan had ever paid before.

In the year 1301, on a high red-stone hill in Rajasthan, stood the fort of Ranthambore, ruled by the Chahamana king Hammiradeva, remembered in legend as Hamir Dev Chauhan. For months, his soldiers had held that fort against one of the most powerful armies in India — Sultan Alauddin Khalji's forces, sent to punish Hammira for the one thing he refused to do: hand over the Mongol soldiers who had come to him seeking shelter.

Hammira would not surrender men who had trusted him with their lives. It was a matter of dharma, of a king's word. And for that single act of honour, Ranthambore paid a price no fort in Rajasthan had ever paid before.

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