Since Prithvi Shah was still a child, Rani Karnavati assumed control of the kingdom.
Famously known as the Nak-Kati Rani, or the queen who would cut noses, Rani Karnavati of the former Garhwal kingdom (now in Uttarakhand) was a fearless leader who took on the powerful Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's army.
Rani Karnavati was the wife of Mahipat Shah, the king of Garhwal, who passed away in 1631, leaving behind their seven-year-old son, Prithvi Shah, as the heir. Since Prithvi Shah was still a child, Rani Karnavati took charge of the kingdom.
The Himalayan kingdom of Garhwa was rich in precious metal mines and was targeted by local rulers and the Mughal army. In 1640, General Najabat Khan led the Mughal army in an attempt to invade Garhwal. Although they managed to enter the kingdom, the unfamiliar terrain forced them to halt the invasion and seek peace, which the queen refused. Niccolao Manucci, who documented the Mughal court during Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb's reigns, noted that Queen Karnavati ordered captured Mughal soldiers to choose between chopping off their noses or dying.
Archana Garodia Gupta's book, "The Women Who Ruled India: Leaders. Warriors. Icons," recounts, "The soldiers threw down their weapons and left one by one, leaving their noses behind. Shah Jahan gave the order that ever afterwards she should be spoken of as the 'Nak-Kati' Rani..." Manucci also wrote, "The general, Najabat Khan, who could not endure coming back with his nose cut off, took poison and put an end to his life."
The Mughal army returned humiliated, with the noses of the soldiers cut off. Shah Jahan, unable to tolerate the embarrassment, ordered further attacks on Srinagar, the capital of Garhwal (present-day Srinagar in Pauri Garhwal district, Uttarakhand). However, the difficult terrain thwarted each attack, leading to a peace treaty between the Mughals and Rani Karnavati.
Additionally, Rani Karnavati was instrumental in constructing the Rajpur Canal in Dehradun.
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