Udaipur, December 3, 2024 - Recently, the Udaipur City Palace came under the spotlight but for all the wrong reasons. Not for any record-breaking visitor figure. Not for any highlights at the Museum. Not for any cultural event at the venue. But for a clash and tense standoff between members of the erstwhile royal family of Mewar!

The City Palace, both complex and Museum, is a hot favourite of tourists who visit Udaipur…both domestic and international. During its opening times, you can see queues of people at the ticket counter as they wait to enter the gates. Inside, within the premises, you can see excited tourists milling around in the complex, browsing through the textile shops and art galleries, sipping coffee at the restaurant near the Museum entrance.

But for three days – from November 26 to 28 - the palace wore a deserted look. Inside and outside. The towering gates were shut, looking down menacingly upon bewildered visitors who questioned why entry was being denied. The road leading to the gates had a dazed look, too, as tourists were turned away from the palace, bitterly disappointed.

This was because the palace gates had been closed to the public following the dispute of the erstwhile royal family of Mewar.

However, this dispute in Udaipur had an impact not only on the administration or the tourists but also the city’s residents. An inner family tussle had spilled onto the streets taking the city by surprise. Not everyone knew that there was something brewing within a family which was, since ages, deeply revered by the whole of Mewar. Now, it was all out! The decades-long property feud among the former Mewar royals was now being played out in full public view.

The Dhuni Darshan Conflict

For readers who may have missed the news, on November 25, BJP MLA from Nathdwara Vishvaraj Singh Mewar was anointed Maharana at a ceremony in Chittor following the demise of his father Maharana Mahendra Singh Mewar. The royal family tradition says that after the coronation, the new Maharana must offer prayers at Eklingi Temple, which is around 20 kms from the city, and also perform darshan at the Dhuni Mata temple which is within the City Palace premises.

When the 55-year-old Maharana Vishvaraj Singh Mewar arrived at the palace to perform Dhuni Darshan, he was denied entry into the palace by an order of his estranged uncle Maharana Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar who is the current custodian of the 16th century City Palace.  

The dispute is as such. In 1984, Maharana Bhagwat Singh passed away and his eldest son Mahendra Singh Mewar took over as his successor. However, Arvind Singhji, who was the younger son, disputed the accession and asserted that he was the rightful claimant to the title. His claims were based on a will left by their father. He assumed the title of Maharana and all the other perks that came with the title.

Maharana Mahendra Singh had challenged the claim calling it wrong and since then many legal battles have been fought between the two brothers over several of the dynasty’s palaces, including City Palace and Lake Palace.

Section 163 Imposed

When Maharana Vishvaraj Singh Mewar was denied entry into the City Palace, a clash broke out between supporters of the two factions. Till late into the night of November 25, the situation remained tense around the palace as incidents of stone pelting ensued injuring five people. The administration was on tenterhooks to control the situation. Barricades were put up and hundreds of policemen were deployed at the spot. Officials continued negotiations till late into the night but both parties were unwilling to relent. Finally, Udaipur District Collector Arvind Poswal and Superintendent of Police Yogesh Goyal managed to convince Maharana Vishvaraj Singh to leave on the assurance that things would be sorted out in the morning.

While discussions went on for the next two days, Section 163 was imposed within a 500-meter radius from Jagdish Chowk up to the Rangniwas Tourist Police Station. And the gates of the City Palace continued to stay shut. Finally, on December 28, after much mediation Maharana Vishvaraj Singh Mewar was allowed to enter the palace gates to perform Dhuni Darshan.

But this does not mean all is well that ends well. The legal tussle continues.

What If...?

Now the question remains. What if?

What if Maharana Vishvaraj Singh Mewar had been allowed into the palace for the royal ritual on November 25? Would he have just performed the darshan and left to go back to his royal residence – to his 60-bigha sprawling estate in Samorbagh? Was there a risk that he would have refused to leave the five-acre City Palace? Were there legal tangles because of which his entry was barred? This may be unlikely because he did finally go in and… come out.

How much time and resources were wasted. The administration and the police were totally caught up for the three days trying to maintain law and order in the vicinity while also scuttling between the two families attempting to get them to arrive at an amicable solution. That was certainly the taxpayers’ money being played out.

Tourism Impacted

Tourism took a hit, too, with the City Palace gates shut. Those with a visit to the City Palace on their itinerary were intensely disappointed. For many, there would not be another visit to Udaipur. City Palace Museum visit is a hot favourite among all those who visit the city. No trip to Udaipur can be complete without a visit to the City Palace with its splendid architecture and mesmerising history.

On an annual average more than 8,00,000 visitors come to the City Palace Museum. And it is one of the highlights of their Rajasthan trip.

What if the dispute had been solved amicably between the two without it becoming global news? Leave alone the local media, the international media, too, has had a field day reporting about the royal clash on the streets of Udaipur.

The battles and palace intrigues of a bygone era came alive in a fight for royal legacy.

What is the importance of Dhuni Darshan?

What is Dhuni Darshan which led to the conflict.

The tradition of Dhuni Darshan was started by Maharana Pratap. Located within the palace premise, the Dhuni is a sacred site which symbolises the traditions of the Mewar dynasty and has deep historical and religious significance. It is said that when Maharana Udai Singhji came to Udaipur he met Sadhu Prayag Giri Maharaj doing penance on the hills of the city. The Sadhu advised the Mahrarana that because Chittor was not a safe place as a capital, he should build a palace here in Udaipur. The Sadhu blessed Maharana Udai Singhji who then laid the foundation of the palace on the day of Akshaya Tritiya on April 15, 1553 AD. The spot where Sadhu Prayag Giri Mahraj was doing his penance was preserved as a Dhuni.

Dhuni Mata is said to be the Kuldevi of the Mewar royal family and it has been a tradition among the people of the Mewar royal family that before doing any auspicious work, they visit the Dhuni.

So, every time a new Maharana is anointed, it is customary in Mewar for him to visit the Dhuni following his coronation. The anointment is deemed incomplete if the Maharana does not first visit the Dhuni and then the Eklingji Temple. Only after both darshans do the royal family's grieving come to an end. Currently, the Dhuni Mata Temple is under the control of Maharana Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar, uncle of Maharana Vishvaraj Singh Mewar.