Rana Kumbha was the 48th Rana of Mewar and succeeded Rana Mokal Singh in the year 1433 CE as the ruler of Mewar.

When Kumbha ascended the throne, he had inherited whole of Mewar. Kumbha then increased the possessions of Mewarby fighting 56 battles in his whole life in which he was said to have lost none. His conquest included Jangladesha, Sapdalpaksha, Marwar, Sarangpur, Narwar, Haravati, Ranthambore, Visalpur, Abu, Sirohi, Gagraun and the Muslimsultanate of Nagore. He also humbled the Sultans of Malwa and Gujarat many times in Battles of Sarangpur, Nagore, Mandalgarh and Banas.

In the Battle of Sarangpur, Mahmud Khilji’s army was defeated after a severe engagement and Khilji was forced to flee to the fort of Mandu. Following this victory, Rana Kumbha laid siege to the fort of Mandu and captured Khilji. In the coming years, Khilji made several attempts to revenge his defeats in the battle of Mandalgarh and Banas but every time Kumbha defeated him.

Rana Kumbha initiated the conquest of the Nagore Sultanate to counter the harsh treatment of Hindus in the region. Seizing a strategic opportunity, he agreed to help the exiled prince Shams Khan claim the Nagore throne on the condition that Nagore accept Mewar's supremacy. After successfully defeating the reigning Sultan Mujahid and placing Shams Khan in power, the Maharana temporarily spared the fort'sbattlements at the new ruler's request. However, Shams Khan soon betrayed the agreement by reinforcing the fortifications instead of dismantling them. Enraged by this duplicity, Rana Kumbha marched back with a large army, expelled Shams Khan, and took direct control of Nagaur. Shams Khan then fled to Gujarat, marrying his daughter to Sultan Qutb-ud-din Ahmad Shah II to secure a military alliance against Mewar. Rana Kumbha completely annihilated the initialretaliatory army sent by the Gujarat Sultanate, forcing the Gujarat Sultan to personally take the field. The Maharana outmaneuvered the combined strategy of the Gujarat Sultanate by slaughtering their forces at Mount Abu and defending his stronghold of Kumbhalgarh. Recognizing Rana Kumbha's individual victories, the Sultans of Gujarat, Malwa, and Nagore formed a grand coalition to jointly attack and divide Mewar. Despite some initial territorial losses to Malwa, Rana Kumbha's relentless defiance ultimately forced the combined sultanates into retreat, allowing him to successfully recapture all lost Mewar territories.

Kumbha is thus credited with having worked assiduously to build up the state of Mewar. Of 84 fortresses thatformed the defense of Mewar, 32 were erected by Kumbha. The chief citadel of Mewar is the fort of Kumbhalgarh, built during Kumbha’s reign. It is the highest fort in Rajasthan and world’s 2nd largest wall. The walls of the fort of Kumbhalgarh extend over 38 km.

Vijay Stambha was constructed in Chittor during Kumbha’s reign to commemorate his victory over Khilji. It is a 37-metre(121 ft) high, nine-storey tower and covered with sculptures of Hindu gods and goddesses and depicts episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

There are many inscriptions on the Vijay Stambha from the time of Kumbha.

The Ranakpur Trailokya-dipaka Jain temple with its adornments, the Kumbhashyam temple and Adivarsha temples of Chittor and the Shantinatha Jain temple are some of the many other structures built during Rana Kumbha's rule.

Kumbha was himself well versed in veena playing and patronised musicians as well as artists in his court. He himself wrote a commentary on Gita Govinda of Jaidev and an explanation on Chandisatkam. He also wrote treatises on music called "Sangeet raj", "Sangeet mimansa", "Sangeet Ratnakar" and "Shudprabandha". He was the author of four dramas in which he used Sanskrit, Prakrit, and local Rajasthani dialects. He was well versed in Vedas, Upanishad, and Vyakrana.