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Udaipur, Mewar - Indian Princely State

image by Jarig Bakker

I've reconstructed the flag of Udaipur-Mewar according to Ziggioto (1998). He also has a princely flag: same design, but the sun is bigger with a human face a 24 rays (small stripes), and the house has changed color: light blue and lies vertically and has fallen down. I left out the finial (there seems to be some confusion).
Jarig Bakker, 17 January 2001

Links to Flag information
About Udaipur-Mewar

See also:

Links to Flag information

Information about the House of Mewar can be found at this site. In particular, the Nishan (standard) is described here together with a history of the coat of arms introduced for British ceremonial occasions. These arms were used on a banner of some sort. The current version of the coat of arms can be found here. Links contributed by Olivier Touzeau, 25 August 2001.

Not to be confused with Udaipur, Eastern States Agency (Madhya Pradesh).
Chrystian Kretowicz, 15 January 2003

About Udaipur-Mewar

THE STATE OF UDAIPUR - MEWAR
Princely States of Rajputana - Rajasthan, Rajasthan Residency
19 Gun Salute
Area: 33, 517 sq.km
Acceded to the Union of India on April 7, 1948

The genealogy of the Mewar Rajput rulers started in 566 AD with Raja Gohil. His descendant, Rana Hamir Singh (1326-64), was the first ruler to use the title Maharana. The Maharana of Udaipur - Mewar is recognized by all Hindus as the most prestigious of all the Princes. He is declared a direct descendant of God Rama, one of the two main heroes of the epic 'Ramayama'.

Flag:
"The flag of the State of Udaipur - Mewar is triangular and of dark purple color. On it are displayed: the sun, the katar and the crescent moon, all of it gold (yellow). The flag is finished at its sharpest point in the fly with the single fringe (a finial) in the shape of teardrop, purple like the flag, containing small, white disc in its center.
Chrystian Kretowicz, 17 January 2003

A webpage entitled The House of Mewar: The Udaipur Coat of Arms" states that the Katar is a type of dagger. Furthermore, it describes the standard of Mewar (called the Nishan) as the "crimson flag", but then states it is a saffron flag on a red staff. An illustration is shown on the page.
Ned Smith, 18 January 2003

The flag presented by Jarig (reported in both books - Filcher, 1984 and Ziggioto, 1998) is supposed to be a STATE flag. Filcher describes its color as "pourpre-grenat" Also, Filcher (and I presume Ziggotto, too) describes the flag reported by Ned. Filcher clearly states it is a PERSONAL STANDARD of the Maharana in time of war and peace. And, he names the color of it (the Nishan) as "cramoisi" (crimson).
Chrystian Kretowicz, 18 January 2003

An image on the web at http://www.mewarindia.com/coat/indexcoat1.html?http://www.mewarindia.com/coat/coat.html is slightly different from that shown above. The flag is also pictured in the old arms from Taylor http://www.mewarindia.com/images/coat/coatold.jpg. Mewar is distinguished by its 'crimson' flag. In times of war and peace, this Standard or 'Nishan' as it is called, was always flying high. The image of the flaming sun and the katar are the distinguishing features of this famous awe-inspiring Nishan, a frequent mention of which is found in Col. James Todd's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan. Robert Taylor of the Bengal Civil Service records in his book, The Princely Armory, "...for eight centuries a golden sun in a crimson field has floated over the head of the Rana at feast and fray,
and is conspicuous in the ornament of his palace..."

The Maharanas of Mewar, as the Diwans of Eklingji, administer and serve the state of Mewar in the name of its Ruler Parameshwaraji Maharaj Shri Eklingji. Hence, the Nishan of the State of Mewar was devoid of any coat of arms. Till the late 19th century, it retained this simple form and was acknowledged as the symbol of might and independence.

On the top of the mast is the face of the Sun, embossed in gold. On the triangular Nishan the human face is embroidered in gold depicting the Sun. It has a gold tassel at the end. A katar (a type of dagger) with silver threads on the Nishan completes this simple design. The Sun signifies that the Nishan is of the "Surya Vansi" (Sun Dynasty) Maharanas of Mewar. The Katar is the emblem of Independence for the defender of Hinduism. All the Hindus address the Maharanas as the "Sun of Hindus", the light and protection of the Hindus. This still continues to be a form of address. The colour of the Nishan is Saffron and the mast is Red.
Jaume Ollé, 19 January 2002