महाराणा कुम्भा (हरविलास सारदा - मेवाड़ साम्राज्य के अद्वितीय विजेता, निर्माता व विद्वान्)

Maharana Kumbha.
Arriving near Kumbhalgarh, he prepared to
destroy the temple of Bān Mata in the village
Kailwara, at the foot of the hill. This big
temple had a fortified wall round it and
contained some munitions of war. Despairing
of making any impression on the fort of
Kumbhalgarh, the Sultan determined to use
all his resources to seize this temple and
himself led the assault on it. The Maharana's
Sardar, Thakur Dip Singh, who lived in it,
collected his warriors and opposed the Sultan.
For seven days, Dip Singh successfully repulsed
all attempts of the Sultan's army to take
possession of the temple. On the seventh
day, Dip Singh was killed and the temple fell
into the hands of the Sultan. He razed it
to the ground, burnt the stone image of the
Nundi (bull) found in it and used the lime
with betel leaves. Flushed with this small
success, he started for Chitor, and leaving a
part of his army to take the fortress, advanced
to attack the Maharana, sending his father,
Azam Humayun, towards Mandsaur to lay
waste the Maharana's country.
When the Maharana heard of these events,
he left Hárávati to return to his dominions
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Maharana Kumbha.
and came upon the Sultan's army near
Mandalgarh. A battle was fought here
in which the Sultan was defeated, but the
defeat was not decisive.¹ A few days later
the Maharana made a night attack on the
Sultan who was utterly defeated and fled
towards Mandu.² Ferishta says: "The Sultan
returned without molestation to Mandu."—
Vol. IV, p. 210. This is Ferishta's way of
describing a defeat.
To retrieve this fresh disaster, Mahmud
set about preparing another army, and four
years later, on 20th Rajab, H. 850 (Kartik
Bad 6th, S. 1503), 11 October 1446 A.D., he
went towards Mandalgarh with a large army.
Reaching Rampura (now in Indore State)
he appointed Malik Saifuddin as governor
there in place of Bahadur and moved further.
The Maharana's army attacked him while he
was crossing the river Banas,³ and having
¹ Ferishta (Vol. IV, page 210) says that the Maharana
attacked the Sultan on 26th April 1443 A.D. with an army of
12 thousand horse and 6000 infantry but was unsuccessful.
The next day, the Sultan obtained some loot and returned to
Mandu with the intention of attacking Chitor the following
year. The historians of Rajputana say that the Sultan was
defeated, but the defeat was not decisive.
² Vir Vinod of Mahamahopadhyaya Kaviraj Shamaldas
Vol. I, p. 325.
³ Vir Vinod, Vol. I, page 325.
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Maharana Kumbha.
defeated him, drove him back to Mandu.
For about 10 years after this defeat, Mahmud
Khilji did not venture to take the offensive
against the Maharana.
Ferishta, in conformity with the practice
of Persian historians, who ignore or try to
whitewash defeats and unfavourable issues,
says (Vol. IV, p. 210) that the Sultan returned
after taking Nazrana. This is obviously far
from true. For, had the Sultan obtained a
victory and concluded peace after receiving
Nazrana, why should he have, as stated by
Ferishta himself (Vol. IV, p. 215) sent Taj Khan
with eight thousand cavalry and 20 elephants
to attack Chitor without any cause whatever
from Bayana, where he had gone immediately
after his return to Mandu. Had the Sultan
achieved a victory, we should not have found
him (as will be seen later) asking the King of
Gujrat for help, and proposing to him when that
Sultan too had been defeated by the Maharana,
an offensive alliance against the Maharana.
In 1454 A.D., however, Sultan Mahmud
Khilji made another attempt to attack Chitor,
but the Maharana attacked him before he
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Maharana Kumbha.
came near Chitor and inflicted a severe defeat
on him which compelled him to return to
Mandu. Ferishta says (Vol. IV, page 222)
that the Sultan sent Prince Gayasuddin to
take Ranthambhor and himself started to
attack Chitor, and that leaving Mansur-ul-Mulk
to lay waste the district of Mandsaur, himself
advanced and threatened to appoint his own
governor there and found a town and
named it Khiljipur. Thereupon the'Maharana
tendered submission, and the Sultan seeing the
approach of the rainy weather, returned to
Mandu with some gold. Instead of saying
that the Sultan returned discomfited and
defeated, Ferishta puts it nicely and says that
Sultan owing to the approach of the rains
returned after taking some gold!
About this time (1454 A.D.) the state of
affairs at Ajmer drew the Sultan's attention to
it. This important city—"the heart of Raj-
putana"—is a place of the greatest strategical
importance in Upper India. It stands at the
summit of the plateau which marks the highest
elevation on the plains of Hindustan. Its politi-
cal importance is proved by the fact that every
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Maharana Kumbha.
power aspiring to dominate the country has
first taken possession of it and used it as a
ladder to mount to political supremacy in
India. Its religious importance is due to the
existence of Pushkar, the King of Hindu
places of pilgrimage in its environs, and the
mausoleum of Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti
in the town. The death of Swami Dayanand
Saraswati at Ajmer, invests the place with
peculiar importance in the eyes of Reformed
Hinduism.¹
During the reign of Maharana Mokal,
Ráo Ran Mal of Mandor had wrested this
stronghold from the Sultans of Delhi and
restored it to Mewar. Acting on the advice of
pancholi Khemsi, Ran Mal sent him with a
picked force of Rathods to take Ajmer. Under
the pretence of conveying a daughter to the
Viceroy of Ajmer, he introduced his men into
that renowned fortress, the ancient stronghold
of the Chauháns, putting the Delhi garrison to
the sword. Salim Shah, the King of Multan,
who had gone on pilgrimage to Ajmer after
killing Chondá, father of Rao Ran Mal at
¹ See my "Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive" p. 23
90

Maharana Kumbha.
Nagor was also killed by the Rájputs. Khemsi
was rewarded with the grant of the township
of Khatoo, then lately captured from the
Káimkhanees.¹
In A. D. 1454, Mahmud Khilji having
received representations that all Muhammadan
religious practices had been forbidden in
Ajmer² by the Hindu governor of the place,
and receiving promises of help from its
Mussalman residents, undertook an expedition
against that city. Ajmer was in the posses-
sion of the Maharana and the Sultan did not
venture openly to invade it. He had recourse
to a ruse. Sending the bulk of his army
against Mandsaur to keep the Maharana's forces
engaged, he advanced and attacked Ajmer.
Gajádhar Singh, the governor of the fort of
Ajmer, defended the fort for four days, and
then, despising the foe's forces, he came out
and attacked the Sultan's army. He was
killed after performing deeds of valour and
slaying numbers of the enemy. As his men
were retiring into the fort, the Sultan's men
¹ The Jodhpur Khyat.
² Brigg's Ferishta, Vol. IV., page 222.
91

Maharana Kumbha.
mixed themselves among the Rajputs and
entered it. The Sultan thus obtained posses-
sion of the fort but "not without sustaining
severe loss."¹ He appointed Khwaja Naimat-
ullah as governor of the fort, with the title of
Saif Khan, and himself went towards
Mandalgarh.
As he approached the river Banas, the
Maharana's army came out of the fort and
fell upon the Sultan, who sustained a severe
defeat and fled to Mandu.
Ferishta says: "Rana Kumbha, at the
head of a body of Rajputs, attacked one flank
of the king's army under Taj Khan and sent
another body to attack that under Ali Khan.
A severe engagement ensued in consequence,
when the retreat was mutually sounded. On
the following morning, the Malwa officers
persuaded the Sultan of the necessity of his
army retiring into quarters, both on account
of the reduced numbers and the wretched
state of the camp equipment, now rendered
almost useless, which circumstances, together
with the approach of the rainy season, induced
¹ Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 222.
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Maharana Kumbha.
Sultan Mahmud to return to Mandu."—Brigg's
English translation of Ferishta, Vol. IV, p. 223.
Mr. Briggs in a footnote says : "The drawn
battle mentioned by the Malwa historians
must be deemed a defeat."
An attack on Mandalgarh made by the
Sultan¹ in A.D. 1456 also failed and the
Sultan had to return to Mandu discomfited.
Altogether five attempts were made by the
Sultan to wipe out his disgrace of 1437 A.D.,
but every time he was defeated by the
Maharana.
Sultan Mahmud Khilji, now convinced
that it was impossible to cope with Maharana
Kumbha single handed, resolved to ask the
Sultan of Gujrat to combine with him and,
thus united, attack the Maharana. For this
purpose, he sent his prime minister Taj Khan
to Gujrat.
About this time, Sultan Mahmud Khilji's
son Prince Umar Khan, owing to disagree-
ment with his father fled to Ahmedabad, but
¹ Ferishta says that the Sultan failed to take the fort itself
but after 11 months' seige was able to take the lower fort and,
then retired to Mandu after receiving some money.—Brigg's
Ferishta, Vol. IV, p. 223.
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Maharana Kumbha.
mixed themselves among the Rajputs and
entered it. The Sultan thus obtained posses-
sion of the fort but "not without sustaining
severe loss."¹ He appointed Khwaja Naimat-
ullah as governor of the fort, with the title of
Saif Khan, and himself went towards
Mandalgarh.
As he approached the river Banas, the
Maharana's army came out of the fort and
fell upon the Sultan, who sustained a severe
defeat and fled to Mandu.
Ferishta says : "Rana Kumbha, at the
head of a body of Rajputs, attacked one flank
of the king's army under Taj Khan and sent
another body to attack that under Ali Khan.
A severe engagement ensued in consequence,
when the retreat was mutually sounded. On
the following morning, the Malwa officers
persuaded the Sultan of the necessity of his
army retiring into quarters, both on account
of the reduced numbers and the wretched
state of the camp equipment, now rendered
almost useless, which circumstances, together
with the approach of the rainy season, induced
¹ Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 222.
92

Maharana Kumbha.
Sultan Mahmud to return to Mandu."—Brigg's
English translation of Ferishta, Vol. IV, p. 223.
Mr. Briggs in a footnote says: "The drawn
battle mentioned by the Malwa historians
must be deemed a defeat."
An attack on Mandalgarh made by the
Sultan¹ in A.D. 1456 also failed and the
Sultan had to return to Mandu discomfited.
Altogether five attempts were made by the
Sultan to wipe out his disgrace of 1437 A.D.,
but every time he was defeated by the
Maharana.
Sultan Mahmud Khilji, now convinced
that it was impossible to cope with Maharana
Kumbha single handed, resolved to ask the
Sultan of Gujrat to combine with him and,
thus united, attack the Maharana. For this
purpose, he sent his prime minister Taj Khan
to Gujrat.
About this time, Sultan Mahmud Khilji's
son Prince Umar Khan, owing to disagree-
ment with his father fled to Ahmedabad, but
¹ Ferishta says that the Sultan failed to take the fort itself
but after 11 months' seige was able to take the lower fort and,
then retired to Mandu after receiving some money.—Brigg's
Ferishta, Vol. IV, p. 223.
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Mahāraṇa Kumbha.
finding no support there came to Maharana
Kumbha, who gave him shelter and kept him
in Chitor for a long time. Later, he was
killed in an encounter with the Sultan at
Chanderi.¹
The same year (Hijra 860 = A.D. 1454)
Firoz Khan, Khan of Nagor, died.² He
belonged to the family of the Sultans of
Gujrat. His father Shams Khan had obtained
from his elder brother Muzaffar Shah, the first
Sultan of Gujrat, the province of Nagor.
On Firoz Khan's death, his elder son, Shams
Khan so named after his grand father, succeed-
ed him, but Firoz Khan's younger brother,
Mujahid Khan, deposed him and prepared to
take his life Shams Khan fled to Maharana
Kumbha for shelter and help.³ Kumbhá,
who had long had designs on Nagor, gladly
embraced this opportunity of carrying them out,
and agreed to place Shams Khan on the throne
of Nagor on the condition that he acknowledged
Maharana Kumbha's supremacy by demo-
lishing a part of the battlements of the fort of
¹ Vir Vinod, Vol. I, page 327.
² Ferishta, Vol. IV. p. 40 (Cal. Edition of 1910)
³ Bayley's Gujrat, page 148.
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Maharana Kumbha.
that place.¹ Shams Khan accepted the terms.²
The Maharana marched with a large army to
Nagor, defeated Mujahidkhan, who fled towards
Gujrat, and placed Shams Khan on the gádi of
Nagor, and demanded of him the fulfilment of
the condition. As preparations were being
made for the demolition of the battlements,
one of the old Pathan officers of Shams Khan
cried out: "Would that Firoz had a daughter
instead of a son, for even she would not have
allowed her father to be disgraced by permit-
ting the dismantling of the fortifications of
the fort."³ On this, Shams Khan humbly
prayed to the Maharana to spare the fort just
then, for otherwise his nobles would kill him
after the Maharana was gone. He promised
to demolish the battlements himself later on.
The Maharana granted this prayer and returned
to Mewar.
No sooner, however, had Kumbhá reached
Kumbhalgarh than Shams Khan, instead of
demolishing, began to strengthen the fortifica-
¹ Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 40. Also Bayley's History of
Gujrat, page 148, footnote.
² Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 41.
³ Bayley's History of Gujrat, page 148, footnote.
95

Maharana Kumbha.
tions of Nagor. This brought Maharana
Kumbhá on the scene again with a large army.
Shams Khan was driven out of Nagor, which
passed into Kumbhá's possession. The Maha-
rana now demolished the fortifications of Nagor,
thus carrying out his long-cherished design.
The Maharana took away from the treasury of
Shams Khan a large store of precious stones,
jewels and other valuable things. The
Eklinga Mahatmya composed during Kumbhá's
lifetime, says that he "defeated the King of
the Shakas (Mussalmans), put to flight Mashiti
(Mujahid Khan), slew the heroes of Nágpur
(Nagor), destroyed the fort, filled up the
moat round the fort, captured elephants, im-
prisoned large number of Shak (Muslim)
women and punished countless Mussalmans.
He gained a victory over the King of
Gujrat, burnt the city ¹ (Nagor) with all the
mosques therein, liberated twelve lakhs of
cows from the Muslims, made the land a
pasture for cows and gave Nagor for a time
to Bráhmans."² He carried away the gates
¹ Kumbha's commentary on the Gita Govinda, verses
60-62, also reiterates these things.
²See also Chitorgarh Kirtisthambha Inscription.
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Maharana Kumbha.
of the fort, and an image of Hanumán from
Nagor, which he fixed to the principal gate
of the fortress of Kumbhalgarh, calling it the
Hanumán Pol.¹
The Chitorgarh Kirtisthambha Inscription
repeats these facts, and says that he destroyed
"the great mosque built by Sultan Firoz,
which showed Muslims the way to Nagor",
(verse 19) and dismantled the fort and filled up
the moat. "He uprooted the Mussalman tree of
Nagor and destroyed it with all its mosques,"
Verse 22; and took away Shams Khan's
treasure containing heaps of jewels (V. 23).
Shams Khan fled to Ahmedabad, taking
with him his daughter, whom he gave to
Sultan Qutb-ud-din to wife.² The Sultan
thereupon espoused his cause and sent a large
army under Rái Rám Chandar and Malik
Gadday to take back Nagor. The Maharana
allowed the army to approach Nagor, when
he came out, and after a severe engagement
¹ Vir Vinod Vol. I, p. 332, says the Maharana carried away
the image of Hanuman from Nagor. The Kumbhalgarh Ins-
cription, however, says that the image had been brought by
Kumbha from Mandor.
² Bayley's Gujrat, page 149. Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 41.
³ Ibid. The Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. I, page 242, has Anup
'Chand Manek and Malik Gadai.
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Maharana Kumbha.
inflicted a crushing defeat on the Gujrat
army, annihilating it. Only remnants of it
reached Ahmedabad, to carry the news of the
disaster to the Sultan.¹
Sultan Qutb-ud-din now took the field in
person, determined to wrest Nagor back from
the Maharana. The Maharana advanced to
meet him and came to Mount Abu.
When the Sultan after leaving Ahmedabad
came near Abu, the Maharao of Sirohi went
to him and asked him to restore Abu to him,
which the Maharana had wrested from him.
The Sultan sent his Commander-in-Chief,
Malik Shaaban Imad-ul-Mulk, with a large
army, to take the fort of Abu from the
Maharana, and himself proceeded towards
the fortress of Kumbhalgarh.² Kumbhá,
aware of this plan, came out, attacked and
"defeated Imad-ul-Mulk with great slaughter,"³
¹ Bombay Gazetteer, page 242. Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 41.
² Ferishta says that the Sultan "despairing of reducing
Chitor" went towards Abu,—Vol. IV, p. 41.
³ Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. I, page 242. Also Bayley's
History of Gujrat, page 149. The Mirati Sikandari states
that the enemy poured down on him on all sides and he was
defeated with loss of many men. Ferishta, however, states
that the Raja of Sirohi, who was a relation of the Maharana
met the Sultan in battle but was defeated, and that the Sultan
then went away towards Kumbhalgarh. Tarikhi Alfi says that
Shaaban after suffering heavy losses, was recalled.
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Maharana Kumbha.
and by forced marches reached Kumbhalgarh
before the Sultan arrived there.
Imad-ul-Mulk returned discomfited to the
Sultan, and both arrived at the foot of the hill
on which is perched the fortress of Kumbhal-
garh. The Maharana sallied out of the
fortress and attacked and defeated the Sultan,
who sustained a heavy loss, and losing all hope
of taking this stronghold, retired to Gujrat.¹
The Kings of Malwa and Gujrat, thus
completely defeated by the Maharana one after
another, now resolved to combine and invade
Mewar. As stated before, Sultan Mahmud
Khilji of Malwa had become convinced
that single handed he could never succeed
against the Maharana and had resolved to
form an alliance with the Sultan of Gujrat.
He therefore sent his Vazir, Taj Khan, to
Ahmedabad. As Sultan Qutb-ud-din of Gujrat
was returning discomfited, after his defeat at
the Maharana's hands, to Ahmedabad, Taj
Khan met him on the way and proposed a
formal offensive alliance against the Maharana,
who had destroyed the Mussalman Chiefship
¹ The Bombay Gazetteer, page 242.
99

Maharana Kumbha.

of Nagor and had defeated them both. The
King of Gujrat eagerly listened to the proposal
and accepted the terms of the alliance, which
was ratified at Chānpāner by Sheikh Nizam-
ud-din and Malik-ul-Ulema on behalf of Sultan
Mahmud Khilji, and by Qazi Hisam-ud-din on
behalf of Sultan Qutb-ud-din, towards the
close of the year A.D. 1456.¹ It was agreed
between the two kings that the southern part
of Mewar contiguous to Gujrat was to be
attached to Gujrat; and Mewar proper, Ajmer
and Ahirwara, to Malwa.
In pursuance of this treaty, a simultaneous
attack was made by the allied kings of Malwa
and Gujrat the following year (A.D. 1457).
Qutb-ud-din advanced towards Kumbhalgarh,
while Mahmud Khilji advanced towards
Chitor and reached Mandsaur. The Maharana
wanted to dispose of Mahmud first; but finding
that Qutb-ud-din had come near Kumbhal-
garh, advanced to meet him first. Qutb-ud-din
had chosen a strong position and the Maha-
rana, after an indecisive action, fell back on a
better position flanked by his native hills.
¹ Brigg's Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 42. Bayley's Gujrat,
page 150, footnote. Vir Vinod, Vol. I, p. 328.
100

Maharana Kumbha.
Qutb-ud-din encouraged, advanced and an
engagement took place which lasted for two
days. After the first day's engagement, both
armies retired to their camps for the night:
the dead bodies were cremated or buried, and
the wounded were tended. With the break
of day the battle was renewed, and as the
Maharana's army had the support of the hills
behind them, while the Sultan's army was in
the open, the latter suffered severely and was
driven out of the field completely vanquished.
The Sultan had to fight hard for his life and
eventually retired in safety. Thus, though the
Maharana suffered heavy losses, the Sultan
was defeated and had to return to Gujrat.
Ferishta (Vol. IV, page 42) says that the
Sultan on receiving 14 mds. of gold loaded on
two elephants and some other things as
presents made peace with the Maharana and
returned home! This is Ferishta's way of
glossing over a defeat. For, Ferishta does
not state what "seasonable donation" the
Sultan of Malwa, the ally of the Gujrat King,
received as his share of the spoils of war or
offering of peace. It is hardly possible to
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Maharana Kumbha.
believe that this powerful combination of two
monarchs, each burning with a desire com-
pletely to crush the common foe, and having
solemnly signed a treaty with the express
object of dividing the Maharana's territory
among themselves should invade the enemy's
country from both sides and open the campaign
with such confidence and pride, achieve a
triumphant victory and yet the net result
of it should be the gain to only one of the
allies, of 14 mds. of gold, two elephants and
some nondescript things ! ! ! It is conceivable
that the Sultan took away with him the spoils
of some of the temples destroyed by him and
the plunder of Sirohi; and some annalist has
described the gold and the nondescript things
as nazrana or tribute. The Mirati Sikandari
says that three months after this, the Maha-
rana invaded Nagor, when Qutb ud-din again
came to Mewar, and after plundering some
villages returned to Ahmedabad. It is
difficult to believe that if the Maharana had
been defeated in this war, he should have
dared to attack Nagor within three months of
his defeat; or, that Qutb-ud-din who had been
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Maharana Kumbha.
victorious, would have retired satisfied after
indulging in a little plundering freak without
exacting substantial penalty, or otherwise
taking severe revenge for this presumption on
the part of the Maharana.
The Mirati Sikandari, indeed, says that the
Sultan of Mandu returned home, having receiv-
ed from the Rana, the district of Mandsaur and
several other pargannas adjacent to the territo-
ries of Malwa. That the victor should get only
a little gold and the spectator, whole districts
of the country of the vanquished! Another
historian, however, comes nearer the truth.
“Tarikhi Alfi seems rather to intimate that
Qutb-ud-din made his own terms and left
Mahmud to shift for himself.”—Bayley’s
Gujrat, page 151, footnote. Rasik Priya,
the commentary on Gita Govind, distinctly
states that the two kings were defeated and
driven out of Mewar by the valiant Maharana.
The Chitor Kirtisthambha inscription of
A.D. 1460, verse 141, states that the
Maharana completely defeated the combined
armies of Gujrat and Malwa.
The King of Malwa too retired to his
103