- Deval Rani
- Love of Deval Rani, a Hindu princess, for a prince of the Delhi sultanate, Khizr Khan, is celebrated in Khusrau's famous ver-sified story Deval Rani-Khizr Khan ishqia (Love Story of Deval Rani and Khizr Khan). Deval Rani was the daughter of Rai Karan Vaghela, ruler of Gujarat, by his wife, Kamla Devi who was captured by 'Ala al-Din Khalji and taken as wife in 1299. In 1306, 'Ala al-Din's forces invaded Gujarat again, this time making a demand for the surrender of Deval Rani. This demand was made on the insistence of Deval Rani's mother who evidently had, by then, come to exercise some influence on 'Ala al-Din. To avoid handing over Deval Rani to 'Ala al-Din's of-ficers, Rai Karan sent his daughter to Ram Chandra of Deogir, but she was pursued into the Yadava principality and captured by Alp Khan, deputed by the sultan for this purpose. She was brought to Delhi and given to the care of her mother. During her stay in the sultan's harem with her mother, Deval Rani fell in love with Khizr Khan, the eldest son and heir apparent of 'Ala al-Din. They were married in 1307. From this time until Khizr Khan's imprisonment and execution in 1316, De-val Rani remained with him through thick and thin. After Khizr Khan's execution, she was taken as wife by 'Ala al-Din's successor, Qutb al-Din Mubarak Khalji (1316-1320).
Historical dictionary of Medieval India. Iqtidar Alam Khan. 2011.