Ratlam (State)
RATLAM
Official blazon
Or seme of poppyheads, Hanuman statant armed with a mace and katar proper, a chief paly of five, tenne, argent, gules, or and vert.
CREST: A hand holding a katar imbrued proper.
SUPPORTERS: Falcons.
MOTTO: Ratan Singh's exploit is the family's glory.
Origin/meaning
The crest and the figure of Hanuman allude to a tale of boyish bravery. When Ratan the founder of the house was 15, he was a courtier to the mugal emperor, Shah Jehan in 1631. An elephant attacked him, but he stood his ground and wounding it, put it to flight with his katar. In admiration, the emperor made him Raja of a jaghir in Malwar with an income of 50 lacs. Hanuman is the Hindu's symbol of self-reliance, and quick decision. The State obtains a large revenue from its poppylands.
The five colours are the Panchranga, see Jodhpur (State).
Literature : Image from Wikimedia Commons; Pereira, 1964