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

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.
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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
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Maharana Kumbha.
territory severely defeated by the Maharana's
forces. Though he made several attempts,
he was neither able to recover the territory
previously conquered and joined to Mewar
by Maharana Kumbha, nor to conquer any
part of the Maharana's country.¹ He had
been so often defeated that after this un-
successful attempt to retrieve his fallen
fortunes, he gave up all hope of success against
the Maharana; and though he lived for 10
years after this defeat, he never again thought
of invading Mewar.²
Sultan Qutb-ud-din of Gujrat did not long
survive³ this defeat. He died on the 25th of
May, A.D. 1459 and was succeeded by Daud
Shah in the following year.
In A.D. 1458, reports reached the Maharana
¹ Ferishta says (Vol. IV, page 224) that Mahmud left
for Mandalgarh on 26 Muharram, H. 861 (A. D. 1856), and took
it on 25 Zilhijj H. 862 (1458 A. D)! It is further stated
that Mahmud advanced towards Chitor on 5 Muharram H.
863 (1458 A. D.) and sent his son, Prince Ghayas-ud-din,
towards Bhilwara, and that the Prince after a severe action
took the fort of Kasundi and then returned to Mandu to join
his father. Is return home without concluding a triumphant
peace, a sign of victory?
² In S. 1518 (A. D. 1461) Mahmud Khilji did indeed go
towards Kumbhalgarh but dared not attack it. Ferishta says
that he passed on to Dungarpur, received two lakhs of rupees
from the Raja, as Faujkharch and returned to Mandu.—
Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 225.
³ Brigg's Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 43.
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Maharana Kumbha.
that the Mussalmans had begun to kill cows
in Nagor. To punish the wrong doers, he
started with fifty thousand horsemen to
attack Nagor. After putting thousands of
Mussalmans to the sword, he captured the
fort and carried away a number of elephants,
horses and other valuables as spoils of war.
The Khan of Nagor fled to the Court of the
Sultan of Ahmedabad.¹
After a few months, the Sultan of Gujrat
invaded Sirohi with a large army. The
Maharao of Sirohi retired to the hills of
Kumbhalgarh. The Gujrat army after plun-
dering Sirohi, went after the Maharao. The
Maharana hearing of this, advanced with his
Rajputs and defeated the Sultan, who fled
to his capital.²
Smarting under the disgrace of this fresh
defeat, Sultan Qutb-ud-din collected a power-
¹ Ferishta (Vol. IV, p. 43) says that as Qutb-ud-din,
Sultan of Gujrat was, at the time engaged in a course of
debauchery, the prime minister Imadulmulk collecting an
army made one march from Ahmedabad but had to stay there
for a month to prepare equipments. Hearing, however, that
the Maharana had returned to Chitor the Gujrat army too
returned to Ahmedabad.
² Ferishta says that the Sultan finding Kumbhalgarh
impregnable, returned to his capital—Vol. IV, p. 43.
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Maharana Kumbha.
ful army and started to attack Kumbhalgarh.
He came to Sirohi and after plundering that
country, advanced towards Kumbhalgarh.
The Maharana came out of the fort, and
attacked and defeated him.¹ The Sultan
retreated towards Malwa and thence returned
to his Capital.
¹ Vir Vinod, Vol. I, p. 333.
106

CHAPTER XI.
————
DEATH OF MAHARANA KUMBHA.
MAHARANA KUMBHA'S death took place in
A.D. 1468. Sometime before his death,
Kumbha's mind showed signs of derangement,
and he sometimes talked incoherently. It
is said that Maharana Kumbha one day left
Kumbhalgarh to visit Eklingji. As he arrived
near the temple, a cow standing by began
to dance, making a long loud sound, usually
made when cows are happy. The Maharana
said nothing at the time, but on return
to Kumbhalmer, in a Durbar the next day, he
suddenly raised his hand holding a sword
and said कामधेनु तंडव करिय. After a little
while, some one made a submission to the
Maharana in connection with some business.
The Maharana only repeated कामधेनु तंडव
करिय. This continued for some days. The
nobles and those around the Maharana, seeing
this mental derangement of their monarch,
became uneasy. The Maharana's younger son
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Maharana Kumbha.
Rai Mal mustered up courage and asked the
Maharana as to why he repeated those words
so often. The Maharana got angry with
Rai Mal and ordered that he be banished from
Mewar. Rai Mal went away to Idar, as he
had been married to the daughter of Bhān,
younger brother of Raja Naraindas of that
place. No one now dared expostulate with
the Maharana.
It is said that an astrologer had told
Maharana Kumbha that he would die by the
hand of a Charan,¹ whereupon the Maharana
expelled the whole of the Charan community
from Mewar and confiscated their lands.
One of them, however, in the guise of a
Rajput had remained with a Rajput Sardar;
and he now told the Sardar that he under-
stood the reason why the Maharana repeated
those words, and that he could make the
Maharana stop repeating them. The Sardar .
took him to the Maharana and introduced
him as a relation of his. The Maharana, as
was his habit, repeated कामधेनु तंडव करिय,
¹ A community, the members of which write poetry,
are constant companions of the Rajputs, and sing their
brave deeds.
108

Maharana Kumbha.
when the Charan got up and confronting the
Maharana, recited the following Chhappaya
(short poem).
जद घर पर जोवती दीठ नागोर धरंती ।
गायत्री संग्रहण देख मन मांहीं डरंती ॥
सुरकोटी तेतीस आण नीरंता चारो ।
नहिं चरंत पीवंत मनह करती हंकारो ॥
कुंभेण राण हणिया कलम, आजस उर डर उतरिय ।
तिण दीह द्वार शंकर तणैं, कामधेनु तंडव करिय ॥ १ ॥
"Seeing that cows were killed in Nagor,
gāyatri (cow) was in great fright. Thirty
three crores of gods used to bring grass and
water for her, but she neither ate nor drank
anything. When Rana Kumbha after killing
Mussalmans (conquering Nagor) has given
protection to the cows, then the cow has
became delighted and dances with joy at the
door of Shankar (Mahadeva)."
The Maharana on hearing the recitation,
said to the reciter: "You are no Rajput: you
are a Charan, but we are very pleased with
you." The man confessed that he was a
Charan, and interceding for his brethren,
begged the Maharana to permit their return
109

Maharana Kumbha.

to Mewar and to restore their lands.
The Maharana granted the request.¹ The
Maharana, from that day, gave up repeating
those words; but his mind had been affected,
and he was sometimes incoherent in his talk.
While he was in this state of mind, and was
one day seated on the edge of a masonry
tank near the temple of Mamadeva (Kumbha-
swami) to the north east of Katargarh in
Kumbhalmer, which he had built ten years
before, his eldest son Udai Singh, stole up
to him and treacherously stabbed him to
death.²

The motive for this wicked deed might
be the fear that the banished prince Rai Mal
might be restored to favour and possibly block
the miscreant's way to the throne; or, Kumbhá's
enemies, unable to overcome him by force, put
up his son to do the wicked deed, promising
him assistance to get the throne, as was done
in the case of Maharaja Ajit Singh of Marwar
in the 18th century, when his son, Abhay
Singh, was persuaded to get his father mur-

¹ Vir Vinod, Vol. I, p. 333.
² Vir Vinod, Vol. I, p. 333.
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Maharana Kumbha.
dered. Udai Karan is known in history as
“Udo the Hatiáro.”
Maharana Kumbha left eleven¹ sons:
Udai Singh, Rai Mal, Nagraj, Gopal Singh,
Askarana, Amar Singh, Govin Das, Jait Singh,
Mahrāwan, Khshetra Singh and Achaldas.
One of his daughters, Ramābai, was married
to the Yadava Raja Mandlik of Sorath.²
The Kumbhalgarh Inscription, verse 251,
shows that Maharana Kumbha had married
several queens. Two of them, Kumbhaldevi
and Apurvadevi, are mentioned in the Chitor
Kirtisthambha Inscription, as well as in
Rasikpriya—Kumbha’s commentary on Gita
Govind.
Thus, after a reign of 35 years—a reign
full of glory and splendour—Kumbhá de-
parted from this world, leaving behind him, a
name which is honoured in history, and
remembered to this day as that of one of
the greatest sovereigns who ever ruled in
¹ Vir Vinod, Vol. I, p. 335. Mehta Nainsi gives the names
of only five.
² Jāwar Inscription of the Temple of Ramaswami of
V. S. 1554 (A.D. 1497).
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Maharana Kumbha.
India. The Kumbhalgarh Inscription says:—
“He was the root of the tree of righteous-
ness, home of virtue and purity, support of
wealth, birthplace of truth, abode of prowess,
limit of constancy and fortitude, and a represen-
tative of Kalpadruma (the tree in Heaven
which grants all desires). His charities
were greater than those of the famous
Rájá Bhoj and Kaṛan.”
112

CHAPTER XII.
————
Kumbha's Achievements.
Maharana Kumbha's military achievements,
of which any sovereign might be proud, have
not often been surpassed in India. His high
moral culture prevented him from emulating
the deeds of a Timur or an Alla-ud-din Khilji,
and carrying fire and sword from one end of
the country to the other. The elevated
spiritual plane on which he lived, made it
repugnant to him to engage in aggressive
wars with his neighbours. His genius was
equal to achieving far greater feats of military
glory than what he accomplished, but his
heart, susceptible to the finer feelings of
humanity, abhorred all unnecessary bloodshed,
ruin and destruction, and he undertook only
such military operations as were absolutely
necessary for the protection of his country,
or, as duty enjoined, to punish evil-doers.
Fortune constantly smiled on him: he was
ever victorious in war. Inscriptions found in
Chitor, Kumbhalgarh, Ránpur and Abu show
113