महाराणा सांगा: द हिन्दूपत (हरविलास सारदा - मेवाड़ साम्राज्य एवं खानवा महायुद्ध इतिहास)

Maharana Sāngā.
By this victory all that part of Malwa
which had been usurped by Muhammad Shah
(Sahib Khan), younger brother of Sultan
Mahmud Khilji II of Mandu, during his
rebellion against his brother, and had subse-
quently been taken possession of by Sultan
Sikander Lodi, father of Sultan Ibrahim,
now fell into the hands of the Maharana.
Chanderi was one of the many places
which fell into the hands of the Maha-
rana,¹ who bestowed it on Medni Rai.
his elephants were visible, and that after the
battle he sent a message reproaching Mian Maruf,
saying : "It is a hundred pities that 30,000 horse-
men should have been defeated by so few Hindus"
(Elliot's History of India, Vol. V, page 19). It further
states that while the Maharana's army was rejoicing
and amusing itself after the victory, Mian Husein,
now joined by Mian Maruf, prefidiously fell upon
it and routed it. The Tarikhi Daudi and Wakiat
Mushtaki, however, make no mention of this treache-
rous attack, which in view of the fact that
these men had only a small following of their own,
can hardly be believed to have taken place. The
fact that the Maharana obtained as a result of the
war a large part of Malwa and tracts up to Byana,
belies this second attack. And the fact that Sultan
Ibrahim Lodi had Mian Husein assassinated shortly
after at Chanderi and gave rewards to the assassins,
further negatives the attack.
¹ Erskine's History of India, Vol. I, page 480.
62

CHAPTER VII.
CAPTURE OF MALWA AND SULTAN
MAHMUD KHILJI II.
IN Malwa, developments were taking place
which soon brought about the downfall
of the Pathan monarchy of that country.
Though Sultan Mahmud Khilji II was
on the throne, the real power was in
the hands of a clique of Mussalman
nobles who wished to keep Mahmud a
puppet in their hands. Their domineering¹
conduct towards the king made him fear
for his life, and when they began openly to
defy him, he fled from Mandu. This was
the signal for an open revolt. The nobles
headed by Mahafiz Khan, placed the crown
on the head of his brother prince, Sahib
Khan, and proclaimed him Sultan of
Malwa. Raja Medni Rai, a powerful Rajput
chieftain of Malwa, came to the Sultan's
¹ Brigg's Ferishta, Vol. IV, p. 246.
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Maharana Sāngā.
assistance. He was followed by others.
The king owed his life and his throne
to the fidelity and chivalry of Medni
Rai, who now became the Sultan's com-
mander-in-chief. When Sultan Mahmud
marched towards the capital, he was opposed
by the rebel forces, headed by Prince Sahib
Khan. “The fate of the action,” says
Ferishta, “was eventually decided¹ by the
gallant conduct of Medni Rai and the
Rajput infantry, who preserved a compact
phalanx, and with spears and daggers broke
the enemy.” Medni Rai is said to have
raised a force of forty thousand Rajputs²
to help the Sultan. The Sultan regained
his kingdom with the assistance of
Medni Rai, who now became Prime
Minister of Malwa. He not only reduced
the rebel nobles to submission but estab-
lished the authority of the king through-
out the kingdom. Some of these dis-
affected persons, jealous of his increasing
power and prestige, and resenting the

¹ Brigg’s Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 248.
² Bayley’s Gujarāt, page 247, footnote.
64

Maharana Sāngā.
restraint, the subordinate position to which
they had now been reduced, imposed on
them, began to intrigue against Medni
Rai, and appealed to Sultan Sikander Lodi
of Delhi and Sultan Muzaffar Shah II
of Gujarāt for help, representing to them
that Malwa had been dominated by the
Hindus, and that the Sultan was such
only in name. Bohjat Khan, the governor
of Chanderi, revolted and invited Sahib
Khan, the rebel brother of Sultan Mahmud
II, to Chanderi to head the rebellion. On
reaching Chanderi, Sahib Khan was met
by Bohjat Khan and Mansur Khan, an-
other rebel noble of Malwa, and was
crowned King of Malwa, under the title
of Sultan Muhammad, Bohjat Khan
becoming his minister. In response to
the rebels' appeal, Sultan Sikander Lodi
sent a force of 12,000 cavalry,¹ under
the command of Imadul Mulk and Sayeed
Khan, to help Sahib Khan to the throne
of Malwa. Sultan Muzaffar Shah of
Gujarāt also started to help the rebels.
¹ Brigg's Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 253.
65

Maharana Sāngā.
Sikander Khan, governor of Bhilsa, joined
the rebellion¹ and began to plunder the
country.
With consummate ability, Raja Medni
Rai overcame all opposition, vanquished
the combination of the Sultans of Gujarāt
and Delhi and extricated Malwa from
the difficulties that thus surrounded it.
Directing Malik Lado to oppose Sikander of
Bhilsa, Medni Rai marched, accompanied
by Sultan Mahmud, against the forces
of Gujarāt, which had arrived not very far
from Mandu. Muzaffar Shah was attacked
and defeated with great slaughter, and
fled to Ahmadabad.² The Sultan of Gujarāt
being thus disposed of, Medni Rai advanced
to attack the Chanderi confederates. His
diplomacy no less than his generalship
eventually defeated the designs of the
rebels. "Hearing of the advance of
the Malwa troops, Sultan Sikander Lodi,
unable to spare more troops at the time,
¹ Brigg's Ferishta, Vol IV, page 254.
² Brigg's Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 254.
66

Maharana Sāngā.
ordered his contingent to fall back on Delhi.
Prince Sahib Khan's forces, under Muhafiz
Khan and Khwaja Jahan, marched by
a circuitous route to invest Mandu.
Medni Rai sent a large force of Rajputs
to oppose it. A battle took place near
Nalchā, in which Muhafiz Khan was killed
and the rebels were completely defeated."¹
Bhojat Khan and Sahib Khan now sued
for peace, which was granted. Raisen,
Bhilsa and Dhamoni were given to
Sahib Khan for maintenance. To relieve
his immediate wants, a sum of ten lakhs
of tunkas² was sent to the prince, which,
however, was embezzled by Bohjat Khan.
This occasioned an open quarrel between
the prince and his minister, and Bohjat
Khan was forced to flee to the Delhi
Court. Prince Sahib Khan dying soon
after, his minor son was taken away
to Delhi by Sultan Sikander Lodi, who
sent his officers to take up the adminis-
¹ Brigg's Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 256.
² Brigg's Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 256. The
Muntakhabul Tawarikh says that 11 lakhs were sent.
67

Maharana Sāngā.
tration of the province of Chanderi¹ under
the Delhi Government. Medni Rai thus
vanquished the enemies of Sultan Mahmud
Khilji and secured for him undisputed
supremacy in Malwa.²
The disappointed and defeated nobles now
began to sow distrust in the mind of Sultan
Mahmud himself and to poison his mind
against Medni Rai. They succeeded so far as
to persuade that weak and incapable ruler to
embark on the assassination of his benefactor
and chief support to his throne. The Sultan
made the attempt but failed to achieve
his object. Medni Rai escaped wounded
to his residence. The army called upon
Medni Rai to depose the king, but Medni
Rai not only forgave Sultan Mahmud
¹ Erskine's History of India, Vol. I, page 480.
² Mr. Erskine says: “Medni Rai was a
very distinguished personage in his time. He had
been the means of placing and confirming the
reigning king, Sultan Mahmud Khilji, on the throne
of Mandu; and supported by his Rajputs, had
defeated various pretenders to the crown, in bloody
battles.”—History of India, Vol. I, page 480.
68

Maharana Sāngā.
but offered to continue to serve him.¹
The weak Sultan, however, left Mandu²
and fled towards Gujarāt. With the help
of a Rajput named Kishna, he reached
the village of Bhakorah, on the frontiers
of Gujarāt, where the Gujarāt governor
of Dohud received him hospitably and
reported the matter to Sultan Muzaffar
Shah at Ahmadabad. The latter sent
Mahmud "the white canopy and the
scarlet pavilion," signs of royalty, and
a considerable body of troops. In a few
days, Sultan Muzaffar himself followed
with his army to reinstate Mahmud on
his throne. Medni Rai expressed his
sorrow at the folly of Mahmud in
thus compromising the honour³ of Malwa,
¹ Brigg's Ferishta, Vol., IV, page 259.
² Ibid, page 259. Ferishta calls the Sultan
"a fool in the cabinet."
³ The Mirati Sikandari says that though
Mahmud fled, Medni Rai made no difference what-
ever in the expenses of Mahmud's harem. Provisions
and clothes, perfumes and money were supplied
as before, and eunuchs attended to it as usual.
Medni Rai declared in open Durbar that he had done
nothing disloyal, and that they should write to the
Sultan to return and assume care of the country and
appoint another Vazier.—Bayley's Gujarāt, pp. 262-263.
69

Maharana Sāngā.
but finding that Mahmud was incorri-
gible, he left a garrison in Mandu for the
defence of the fort and himself went
to Chitor to appeal to the Maharana
for aid. The Maharana only promised
to march to his frontiers and await
developments and to see that no harm
was done to Medni Rai. He reached
Sarangpur, but hearing that Mandu had
fallen and that Mahmud had again assumed
government he returned with Medni Rai
to Chitor, as there was nothing further
to be done. He, however, bestowed on
Medni Rai the pargannahs of Gagrone,
Chanderi and some others. Medni Rai's
son, Bhimraj,¹ took up his residence at
Gagrone. Sultan Muzaffar Shah also
returned to Gujarāt, leaving a strong force
under Asaf Khan in Malwa to support
Mahmud Khilji.
Sultan Mahmud was a prince not
only weak and incapable but devoid of
¹ Mehta Nainsi in his Chronicles, says that
Maharana Sāngā had conquered Chanderi from Baghela
Mukand of Bardhwa.
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Maharana Sāngā.
common sense, political foresight and
judgment. Encouraged by the presence of
troops left for his protection by the
Sultan of Gujarāt, he determined to
invade the territory of Medni Rai, and
in S. 1575 (H. 925 = A. D. 1519) marched
against Gagrone. As Medni Rai held
this district along with others as a fief
from Maharana Sāngā, the latter resolved
to punish Sultan Mahmud for this
temerity : for, while the latter’s conduct
towards Medui Rai gave evidence of his
ungratefulness and want of sense, this
attack on Gagrone showed that he was
incapable of appreciating the forbearance
and restraint of the Maharana, and was
quite unmindful of the rights of peaceful
neighbours. Maharana Sāngā advanced
with a large army from Chitor reinforced
by the Rathors of Merta under Rao
Viramdeva, and met Sultan Mahmud
Khilji, accompanied by the Gujarāt auxilia-
ries under Asaf Khan. The Sultan’s forces
fought bravely but could not withstand
the furious onslaught of the Rajputs and
sustained a complete defeat. Most of
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Maharana Sāngā.
his officers were killed and the army was
nearly annihilated. Asaf Khan's son was
killed, and Asaf Khan himself sought safety
in flight. Sultan Mahmud was taken
prisoner, wounded and bleeding. The
noble Maharana had him removed with
care to his own camp, where his wounds
were carefully dressed and properly treated.
He was then removed to Chitor, where
he remained a prisoner for three months.
Every comfort was provided for him, and
when his wounds were healed up and
he was restored to health, the high-souled
Maharana, with a magnanimity unique in
the annals of warfare, not only set him
free¹ but restored his dominions to him,
and sent him to Mandu with a strong
Rajput escort.
The Maharana used to treat Sultan
Mahmud with great courtesy and friendship,
so far at times as to make him sit on a
¹ A poet says :—
राहां पकड़ छोड़बो सांगा थारे हांसां खेल हमीरह‌रा.
"Sāngā, descendant of Hammir, to capture and set
free kings is a joke and play for thee.
72

Maharana Sāngā.
portion of his own gaddi in the Darbār.
One day while the Sultan was so seated,
some flowers were brought up, and the
Maharana taking up, a turra (bunch) was
about to give it to the Sultan, when the
latter said that there were two ways of
giving a thing, either to hold your hand up
and bestow it on an inferior or to keep your
hand low and tender it to a superior. The
latter course, continued the Sultan, was
out of the question, he being the Maharana's
prisoner. Nevertheless the Maharana might
remember that it was not for him (Sultan)
to extend his palm like a suppliant merely
for a bunch of flowers. The Chief of the
Hindus was pleased to hear this from the
Sultan and generously said that half the
kingdom of Malwa went with the bunch of
flowers.¹ The Sultan was filled with joy at
this condescension of the Maharana, and
gladly extended his palm and took the
flowers. The third day the Maharana bade
farewell to the Sultan and sent him with
an escort to Mandu and seated him on
¹ Mehta Nainsi's Chronicles.
73

Maharana Sāngā.
the throne. As a mark of subjection,
the Sultan yielded to the Maharana as
nazrana the jewelled crown and belt
left as a family heirloom by Sultan
Hoshang, the first king of Malwa.
The Maharana also kept at Chitor a son
of the Sultan as hostage for his future
good conduct.
It is difficult to characterise this
clemency of the Maharana as a piece of
sound policy. Though the historian Abul
Fazal gives unstinted praise to the Maha-
rana, and Nizam-ud-din Ahmad, the bigoted
author of Tabqati Akbari, extols this act
as an act of unprecedented munificence and
magnanimity, yet, judged by its political
results, the act has proved injurious to
the national cause of the Rajputs. A true
Rajput, however, is ordinarily incapable of
taking a coldly political view of things.
He is a hero, not a politician. Chivalry
is his profession. His ideal is "to die
well in battle," not "to win it." The one
aim of a true Rajput is "to make his
mother's milk resplendent," to perform
74

Maharana Sāngā.
deeds of valour and "die a glorious
death," not to win a battle by skill,
strategy or scheming. A true khshtriya
(Hindu warrior) never hits below the belt or
behind the back, and he warns the enemy
before he attacks him. The ideals that
nurture his soul are spiritual, not material;
not "of the earth, earthy"; they are
higher, nobler than those which animate
other races or nations. They produce men
of sublime character but not successful
men of business. "To spare a prostrate
foe is the creed of the Hindu cavalier,"
says Colonel Tod, "and he carries all such
maxims to excess." He recks not of the
grave consequences which follow an act
of political indiscretion. He displays when-
ever occasion occurs, generosity, magna-
nimity and charity to match his heroism
in war, exhibiting an utter disregard
of self, hoping thereby to leave an example
of a life nobly ended, to be admired by
posterity.
Generosity towards a foe whose enmity
is implacable, whose hatred is unquenchable,
75

Maharana Sāngā.
whose ideals are low, whose one aim is
to destroy all who oppose him, to whom
destruction of an alien is enjoined by
his faith, is an act of folly, suicidal in
its effect, and fatal to the cause of the
nation. But the latter-day Hindu judges
an act not by its consequences but only
by its theoretical character. This fatal
defect in the character of the Hindus
led to their political subjection to people
of much inferior moral calibre and much
lower civilization, such as those that came
from the north-west. This feature of
his character finds illustration through-
out history. If the cruel Hun invader,
Mihirgula, had not been set free and
sent home after his defeat and capture
by King Bālāditya of Magadha, about 528
A. D.; if Shahbuddin Ghori, (Muhammad
Bin Sām) had not been liberated after
his defeat and capture by the chivalrous
emperor Prithviraj, in the nineties of the
twelfth century; if Mahmud Khilji I of
Mandu had not been set free by Maharana
Kumbha, about 1440 A. D.; if Mahmud
Khilji II had not been liberated and
76

Maharana Sāngā.
escorted back to the throne of Mandu
after his defeat and capture, in A. D.
1519; if the chivalrous Maharana Raj
Singh had not spared Aurangzeb when
he was completely surrounded by the
Rajputs; and if Aurangzeb's son, Prince
Muazzam, had not been permitted to depart
unmolested when at the absolute mercy
of the heir of Mewar (Jai Singh) during
Aurangzeb's thirty years' war with the
Rajputs, the history of India would in all
probability have taken a different course.
"But for repeated instances of an ill-judged
humanity," says Colonel Tod, "the throne
of the Moghuls might have been completely
overturned." ¹
¹ Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. I,
page 379.
77

CHAPTER VIII.
────────
INVASION AND CONQUEST OF GUJARĀT.
OWING to his failure to cope with Rai
Mal, Nasrat-ul-mulk was removed from
the government of Idar by Sultan Muzaffar
Shah, who appointed “in his place, Malik
Husein Bahmani, entitled Nizam-ul-mulk, a
man renowned for bravery.”¹
It is said that one day (1520 A. D.) a
Bhat (minstrel) extolled the bravery and
generosity of Maharana Sāngā in open
Durbar in Nizam-ul-mulk’s presence and
said : “He protects Rai Mal, the Raja of
Idar, and though you may stay a little
while in Idar, it will eventually come
back into the hands of Rai Mal.” This
slap on the face of the governor by a
common minstrel roused his anger and he
exclaimed, “How can Sāngā protect Rai
¹ Bayley’s Gujarāt, p. 264.
78

Maharana Sāngā.
Mal?" adding, "Here I sit : why does he not
come?" The bard replied that he was coming
soon, on which Nizam-ul-mulk used dis-
respectful language towards the Maharana.
When this incident came to the know-
ledge of the Maharana he decided to invade
Gujarāt and punish the impertinent governor
of Idar. Sultan Muzaffar Shah of Gujarāt on
being apprised of the Maharana's invasion,
sent reinforcements under Asad-ul-mulk,
Ghazi Khan, Shuja-ul-mulk and Saif Khan,
to Nizam-ul-mulk. He appointed Qiwam-ul-
mulk, governor of his capital Ahmadabad,
to bear the brunt, and himself retired to
Muhammadabad instead of advancing to
meet the Maharana.
The Maharana started with 40,000 horse
and infantry and soon arrived at Vāgadh,
where Rawal Udai Singh of Dungarpur
joined him with his forces. Rao Ganga of
Jodhpur with 7,000 men, and Rao Viram-
deva of Merta with 5,000 Rajputs, also
joined the Maharana here.² From Vāgadh
² Chaturkula Charitra, p. 25. Rao Viramdeva had
married Rana Rai Mal's daughter—Sanga's sister.
79

Maharana Sāngā.
the Maharana came down swiftly upon
Idar. Nizam-ul-mulk (now entitled Mubariz-
ul-mulk) was alarmed at the news of Sāngā's
advance towards Idar, and forgetting his
vaunt, fled to the safe refuge of the fort of
Ahmadnagar. The Maharana arrived at
Idar the day following Mubariz-ul-mulk's
flight. After reinstating Rai Mal on the
throne of Idar,¹ thus restoring his patri-
mony to him, the Maharana started in
pursuit of Mubariz-ul-mulk and laid siege to
Ahmadnagar. Dunger Singh Chauhan, a
notable Rajput officer of the Maharana's
army² was seriously wounded in the assault.
¹ The Maharana demolished the great mosque at
Idar and built a temple in its place.
मेलैदल सबलकलाधर मोकळ ।
नांम सुणैं सुरताणा नाद ॥
ईडर थकी मजीत ऊथापे ।
पै इडर थपया प्रसाद ॥
(O! powerful Rana Sāngā, following the example
of Mokal, thou subjugateth Sultans and listeneth to their
humble voice. Thou hast demolished the mosque of
Idar and built in its place a temple).
² Mehta Nainsi says that Dungersi was a great
Rajput, and had remained in Vagadh (Dungarpur) for
some time and that Maharana Sāngā conferred Badnor
on him. He adds that his sons and nephews all lost their
lives in the siege of Ahmadnagar.
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Maharana Sāngā.
His son, Kanh Singh, by an act of heroism
and self-sacrifice, paralleled only by the
achievement of Balloo Saktawat during
Maharana Amar Singh’s attack on the fort
of Ontala, then held by the Imperial garrison
in Emperor Jahangir’s reign, earned undying
glory as a Rajput hero. When the moment
for storming the fort came, the elephants
refused to force open the gates, owing to
the long iron spikes upon them. In that
emergency, Kanh Singh rushed to the gate,
covered the spikes with his body and urged the
elephant to force the gates open, himself being
impaled on the spikes. This act of heroism
sent a thrill of enthusiasm through the
Maharana’s army, while it struck terror into
the hearts of the Sultan’s garrison inside the
fort. The Rajputs rushed into the fort, sword
in hand, and slaughtered the garrison,
Mubariz-ul-mulk again fleeing by the back door
of the fort. Just as he was making his exit
from the fort, the same bard as had told him
in open Darbār at Idar that Sanga would
soon come and drive him out of Idar, appear-
ed and taunted him on his flight, and put him
to shame for continually showing the white
81