The Rani Mahal, the palace of Rani Lakshmibai, has now been converted into a museum. Her horses included Sarangi, Pavan and Badal according to tradition she rode Badal when escaping from the fort in 1858. Rani Lakshmibai was accustomed to ride on horseback accompanied by a small escort between the palace and the temple though sometimes she was carried by palanquin. 60,000 and ordered to leave the palace and the fort. In March 1854, Lakshmibai was given a pension of Rs. After the death of the Maharaja in November 1853, because Damodar Rao was adopted, the British East India Company, under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie, applied the Doctrine of Lapse, rejecting Damodar Rao's claim to the throne and annexing the state to its territories. The adoption was in the presence of the British political officer who was given a letter from the Maharaja instructing that the child be treated with respect and that the government of Jhansi should be given to his widow for her lifetime. The Maharaja adopted a child called Anand Rao, the son of Gangadhar Rao's cousin, who was renamed Damodar Rao, on the day before the Maharaja died.

She gave birth to a boy, later named Damodar Rao, in 1851, who died when four months old. Manikarnika was married to the Maharaja of Jhansi, Raja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, in 1842 and was afterwards called Lakshmibai (or Laxmibai) in honour of the goddess Lakshmi. She was educated at home and was more independent in her childhood than others of her age her studies included shooting, horsemanship, and fencing. The Peshwa called her 'Chhabili', which means 'playful'. Her father worked for a court Peshwa of Bithoor district who brought Manikarnika up like his own daughter. Her father was Moropant Tambe and her mother Bhagirathi Sapre (Bhagirathi Bai). She was named Manikarnika and was nicknamed Manu. Lakshmibai was born probably on 19 November 1828 in the holy town of Varanasi into a Maratha Brahman family.

Rani by jaishree misra