Krishna Kumari (1794 – 21 July 1810) was a Rajput princess of the Udaipur State in the Mewar region of India. A daughter of Bhim Singh of Udaipur, she was engaged to Bhim Singh of Jodhpur at a young age. After the premature death of the groom-to-be in 1803, she was sought by multiple suitors, including Man Singh of Jodhpur and Jagat Singh of Jaipur. The rivalry between her suitors ultimately escalated into a war involving the Rajput rulers of Udaipur, Jodhpur, and Jaipur; as well as Daulat Rao Sindhia of Gwalior, Yashwant Rao Holkar of Indore and Amir Khan Pindari of Tonk. In 1810, when Amir Khan Pindari attacked Udaipur on behalf of Man Singh, 16-year old Krishna agreed to be poisoned to death, to put an end to the war.
Early life Krishna Kumari was one of the several daughters of Bhim Singh, the Rajput ruler of the Udaipur princely state in the Mewar region. In 1799, at the age of 5, she was engaged to Bhim Singh, the Rajput ruler of the Jodhpur State in the Marwar region. However, the groom-to-be died prematurely in 1803.
Conflict among suitors After the death of Bhim Singh of Jodhpur, his cousin Man Singh succeeded him on the throne. Man Singh revoked an appanage that his predecessor had granted to Kishan Singh, a relative of Krishna's father Bhim Singh. This annoyed Krishna's father, Bhim Singh of Udaipur. Krishna's father arranged her engagement with Jagat Singh, the Rajput ruler of the Jaipur State. Jagat Singh had become an adversary of Man Singh by supporting a rival claim to the throne of Jodhpur. Man Singh argued that Krishna was engaged to the ruler of Jodhpur, and therefore, should be married to him instead of Jagat Singh. Krishna's father rejected Man Singh's demand, and sent representatives to Jaipur to finalize her engagement with Jagat Singh.
Sindhia's intervention Man Singh then threatened to invade Mewar, and enlisted the support of Daulat Rao Sindhia, the Maratha ruler of the Gwalior State, by paying a tribute. With help of Sindhia's commander Sarjerao Ghatge, Man Singh threatened Amar Singh of Shahpura, a feudatory of Bhim Singh of Udaipur. At this time Bhim Singh's representatives were passing through Shahpura on their way to Jaipur, and Man Singh forced Amar Singh to send them back to Udaipur. Subsequently, Sindhia personally intervened in the dispute, hoping to play an active role in the Rajput politics. He advised Krishna's father Bhim Singh to give one of his daughters in marriage to Man Singh of Jodhpur and another to Jagat Singh of Jaipur. Sindhia also recommended that if the two suitors rejected this proposal, the dispute be resolved by involving the neighbouring rulers as arbitrators. By this time, Jagat Singh's forces had reached Udaipur, which emboldened Bhim Singh into rejecting Sindhia's proposal. Sindhia then invaded the Udaipur kingdom, and forced Bhim Singh into signing a treaty at Nathdwara on 7 May 1806. At one point, Sindhia himself offered to marry Krishna, but the Rajputs disapproved of this proposal. Baiza Bai, one of Sindhia's wives, also opposed the proposal, arguing that the Rajputs would not agree to such a marriage without warfare. Sindhia later withdrew his proposal to marry Krishna. Yashwant Rao Holkar, the Maratha ruler of the Indore State and a rival of Sindhia, also decided to take advantage of this conflict to demand tributes from the Rajputs. This irked Krishna's father Bhim Singh, who refused to pay tribute to either of the Maratha rulers. Sindhia retreated from the Udaipur kingdom, fearing hostility from the Rajputs as well as Holkar.
Holkar's intervention After Sindhia's retreat, Holkar offered to arbitrate the dispute. He advised that Krishna Kumari be married to someone other than Man Singh and Jagat Singh, but with the consent of these two rulers; in addition, Jagat Singh would marry a sister of Man Singh. However, Jagat Singh rejected this proposal, and insisted on marrying Krishna. Subsequently, he signed an agreement with Holkar, who promised not to object to his marriage to Krishna, and to support Jaipur against a possible attack from Sindhia. Later, Jagat Singh also won Sindhia over to his side by promising him 1 million rupees. In addition, he enlisted the support of Surat Singh of Bikaner State and Amir Khan Pindari of Tonk State. Man Singh tried to win over Holkar to his side, but Holkar decided to remain neutral.
Outbreak of war The dispute over Krishna was being closely monitored by the East India Company. The company's Accountant General Henry St George Tucker, in a March 1806 letter to George Robinson, had mentioned that the Rajput kings were about to "take up arms for the purpose of deciding their claims to the fair hand of the Princess". Tucker expressed the possibility of a conflict involving the Rajput states, as well as Sindhia and Holkar, which would "make a very desirable diversion" in the favour of the company. As predicted by Tucker, the conflict between Krishna's suitors ultimately escalated into a full-fledged war. Jagat Singh marched against Jodhpur, and declared Bhim Singh's posthumous son Dhonkal Singh as the rightful ruler of Jodhpur. He also convinced Holkar to remain neutral by offering a payment of 1 million rupees. Although Jagat Singh suffered some initial reverses, his army ultimately besieged Jodhpur in May 1807. Man Singh escaped to Jalore, and unsuccessfully tried to form an alliance with the East India Company. Soon after this, Jagat Singh's army was forced to leave Jodhpur because of scarcity of water, and because of defections by several Rathores, Sarjerao Ghatge and Amir Khan. In January 1808, Jagat Singh's pro-Holkar minister Ratan Lal tried to secure Holkar's support by offering a tribute of 1 million rupees, but Holkar declined the offer. Under his influence, Jagat Singh refused to pay a tribute to Sindhia, which prompted Sindhia to invade Jaipur and extract a heavy tribute. Sindhia also attacked Udaipur, and defeated the forces of Krishna's father Bhim Singh.
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