Karan Singh II

Maharana Karan Singh II (7 January 1584 – March 1628) was a Sisodia Rajput Rana (ruler) of the Kingdom of Mewar (r. 1620 – 1628). He was the eldest son of Maharana Amar Singh I and the grandson of Maharana Pratap. He was succeeded by his son Jagat Singh I.

Reign Karan Singh made several administrative and economic reforms after ascending the throne. He divided his kingdom into Parganas and appointed Patels, Patwari, Chawkidars for village administration. He arranged charity, especially for the homeless people to re-establish them in Mewar after decades of conflicts. The Rana also have emphasised on the agricultural and commercial prosperity in the kingdom.

Also, the palaces were upgraded and defenses strengthened by the Rana. He presided in relatively peaceful times and Mewar prospered under his rule. He also renovated the Ranakpur Jain temple in 1621. A lot of construction activities are known to have taken place during Karan Singh's reign. He constructed water ditches that ran all along the walls of the Lake Pichola .These ditches received stormwater and overflow from lake Pichola and conveyed it to lake Udai Sagar from where the stored water was used for irrigation. In Udaipur city, he built the Gol Mahal and dome at Jagmandir Island Palace, along with a tank in Krishna Niwas. Relations with the Mughals The relations between the Mughal Empire and the Kingdom of Mewar have been peaceful during the reign of Karan Singh II. He had close ties with Prince Khurram (later, Shah Jahan) which grew due to Khurram's rebellion against his father, Mughal emperor Jahangir. The emperor ordered Khurram to defend the frontier at Kandahar in 1620, when the Mughal garrison was defeated by the Safavids. But the prince disinclined the order and raised a banner of revolt against his father due to some succession disputes of the Mughal throne. First he invaded and plundered the town of Agra in this rebellion, but was defeated by the imperial forces at Bilochpur in 1623. As a result, Khurram retreated to Mandu and subsequently pleaded to the Rana of Mewar to seek shelter. Rana Karan Singh provided him shelter at Delwara house and then Jagmandir Palace.