After having been displaced as heir to Marwar in favour of a younger brother, Ranmal had joined the court of his brother-in-law, Rana Lakha Singh of Mewar.
Ranmal was born in 1392[1] as the only son of Rao Chunda, the Rathore ruler of Marwar, by his wife Suram De Sankhali, daughter of Bisal.
There, he was welcomed and given a place at court by the ruler of the state, Rana Lakha Singh, who was the husband of Ranmal's sister Hansa Bai.
[5][6] Hansa Bai, due to the minority of her young son Mokal Singh, entreated Ranmal to administer the state on behalf of the new Rana.
Seeing an opportunity, Ranmal marched on the capital city, Mandore, at the head of a Mewari army and seized the throne, becoming the new Rao of Marwar.
Further to this, he defeated Hasan Khan, the Pathan ruler of Jalore, and also occupied Nagaur, with the towns of Nadol, Jaitaran and Sojat too being brought under his control.
Ranmal, accompanied by some of his twenty-four sons, returned to Chittor, nominally taking up the position of caretaker to his minor great-nephew, though for all intents and purposes, he became the true power in the kingdom.
The rulers of Bundi, Abu, Bhoola and Basantgarh were crushed and the Sultan of Malwa, Mahmud Khalji, was defeated in the Battle of Sarangpur in 1437.
[14] The murder of Raghadev had a profound impact on public opinion of Ranmal, with both nobles and the general population already being resentful of his domination at court.
Prince Chunda, eldest son and at one-time heir to the late Rana Lakha Singh, was called back to the city to avenge his brother's death.
It took Ranmal's son and successor Jodha (who had barely escaped from Chittor alive himself)[14] several years to reestablish Marwar's former eminence and territory.