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

Maharana Sāngā.
marched towards Idar.¹ He survived Bahadur
Shah and died after A.D. 1543, and had the
satisfaction of witnessing the beginning of
the fall of the great enemy kingdom of
Gujarāt.
The inherent strength of the Hindus
enabled them to stand a temporary occu-
pation of their country. They were never
completely subdued or crushed. Mr. A. K.
Forbes in his Ras Mala, says : "Whatever
deeds of oppression and of blood may have
been enacted at the time, and however
the Muhammadan rulers may have chosen
to believe, or the Muhammadan historians
to represent the Hindus to be a crushed,
subdued people, the fact remains beyond
dispute that their descendants, in spite of
many a subsequent danger, still possess
the soil of which it was sought to deprive
them ; while little but squalid poverty and
tottering ruins, represent the once proud
sway of the dynasty of Shah Ahmad."²
¹ Forbes' Ras Mala, page 296.
² Forbes' Ras Mala, page 297.
88

CHAPTER X.
GUJARĀT PRINCES TAKE SHELTER WITH THE
MAHARANA.
SULTAN Muzaffar Shah of Malwa had
eight sons and two daughters. The eldest
son, Sikandar Khan, was the legal heir
to the throne and was liked by the Sultan,
who had not much confidence in his other
sons. The Sultan in his lifetime named
Sikandar Khan as his successor, and gave
suitable jagirs to the others. Bahadur
Khan had a secret ambition to supplant
his elder brother on the throne, and began
to intrigue for it. He ingratiated himself
into the favour of Shaikh Jiu, a Mussal-
man holy man, who lived at the tomb of
Saint Kutabul Kutāb, near the prince’s
jagir, and who declared that the prince
would some day be Sultan of Gujarāt.
The pretensions of Bahadur Khan became
known to the army and the nobles, and
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Maharana Sāngā.
dissensions broke out between the two
princes. Bahadur Khan, fearing the power
of Sikandar Khan, determined to flee for
safety. In answer to Shaikh Jiu’s enquiry
as to what else he desired besides the
kingdom of Gujarāt, Bahadur Khan said
that he was anxious to wrest the fort
of Chitor from the Maharana to avenge
what the Maharana had done after his
conquest of Ahmadnagar, “when he slew
so many Mussalmans and carried their
women captive.” The Shaikh became
silent, but declared, on Bahadur’s pressing
for a reply, that the fall of Chitor was
conditional on the Sultan’s own destruc-
tion. Bahadur declared his willingness
to undergo the sacrifice.¹
In V. S. 1581 (1524 A. D.) Prince Baha-
dur fled from Gujarāt and took shelter with
Maharana Sāngā at Chitor. He was not
ashamed to ask for shelter and hospitality of
the very man whose destruction he heartily
desired and was secretly planning to
¹ Bayley’s Gujarāt, page 305.
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Maharana Sāngā.
accomplish. The magnanimous Maharana,
like the chivalrous Rajput that he was—un-
mindful of the political indiscretion of pro-
tecting enemies, disregarding the wise adage
افعی کشتن و بچه اش نگاه داشتن کار خردمندان نیست
(to kill the snake and to nurse its
young one is not the act of a wise
man)—received the prince " with kindness
and showed him all attention." So much
kindness was shown to him that the Maha-
rana's mother used to call him "son." It
is related that one day a nephew of the
Maharana entertained Bahadur Khan at
a banquet. While nautch was going on
one of the dancing girls attracted Baha-
dur's attention by her singular beauty
and exquisite dancing. Bahadur advanced
nearer and nearer to look at her, when
the host enquired if he recognised her.
Bahadur Khan said "No," and asked who
she was. The host replied that she was
the daughter of the qazi of Ahmadnagar,
that when the town was sacked, the qazi
was killed and his women and daughters
were carried off by the Rajputs. Bahadur
Khan, on hearing this, flew into a rage
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Maharana Sāngā.
and attacked and killed the Maharana's
nephew. The Rajputs surrounded Baha-
dur and would have hacked him to
pieces, but the Maharana's mother saved
him by sending word to the Rajputs not
to injure him.¹ The Maharana forgave
the prince, but finding that he was
disliked by the people, Bahadur left Chitor
and went away towards Mewat.
Sultan Muzaffar Shah died in S. 1582
(A.D. 1526),² and was succeeded by his
eldest son Sikandar Khan. During the
protracted illness of Muzaffar Shah, the
two parties in the army, headed respec-
tively by Sikandar Khan and the
Sultan's third son Latif Khan, con-
tended for supremacy, and on Sikandar
finally ascending the throne, Latif Khan
and his younger brother Chand Khan, fled
for protection to the Maharana. Sikandar
Khan sent one Malik Latif, on whom
he conferred the title of Sharza Khan,
with an army to capture them. As the
¹ Bayley's History of Gujarāt, p. 305.
² Ibid, p. 307.
92

Maharana Sāngā.
two princes were in the Maharana's pro-
tection the Maharana sent a sardar to
drive Malik Latif out of Mewar. Latif
"sustained a complete defeat." He was killed
in action, while his troops lost no less
than 1,700 men, the rest fleeing to Gujarāt.¹
Mewar was now at the meridian of
her greatness and prosperity. The greater
part of Malwa had been conquered and
incorporated with Mewar. Ranthambhore,
Gagrone, Kalpi, Bhilsa and Chanderi
were under the sway of the Maharana.
Ajmer had been taken and Abu reduced,
and Sāngā's governors administered both
districts. Sāngā reduced to submission
the Khanzādas of Mewat. The kings of
Gwalior, Amber and Marwar acknowledged
his supremacy and accompanied him in
his wars as vassals or allies with their
contingents. Maharana Sāngā had pushed
back the Sultan of Delhi and made the
Peela khal, near Agra, the northern
boundary of his empire. Gujarāt had been
plundered and then relinquished. The
¹ Brigg's Ferishta, Vol. IV, page 99.
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Maharana Sāngā.
three Sultans on the north, south and
west, Sultans of Delhi, Malwa and Gujarāt,
were all defeated and kept within their
bounds. The song, the first two verses of
which are given below, gives the popular
view of the situation.¹
According to the records of Devidan,
the Barwa of the Mewar royal family,
the Maharana had as many as 28 queens,²
by whom he had seven sons and four
(१) इब्राहीम पूरब दिशा न उलटै,
पछम मुदाफर न दे पयाण ॥
दखणी महमदशाह न दौड़ै,
सांगो दामण चहूँ सुरताण ॥ १ ॥
(On the east (of Mewar) Ibrahim (Lodi) cannot
advance: Muzaffar (of Gujarāt) cannot come towards
the west: Mahmud Shah (Khilji) cannot move towards
the south (of Mewar); in this way, Maharana Sāngā
has bound the feet of the three Sultans, vide Maha-
rana Yash Parakash, by T. Bhur Singh, page 65.
² According to Barwā Debidān's records the queens
of Maharana Sāngā were:—(1) Lakhu, daughter of Hada
Rao Narbad Singh. (2) Karmetan, daughter of Hada
Rao Narbad Singh. (3) Brajbai, daughter of Rāthor
Jodhaji. (4) Bālkanwar, daughter of Rao Bharmalji.
(5) Shyamkanwar, daughter of Hada Parbat Singhji.
(6) Rajkanwar, daughter of Rao Ram Singhji Kherād.
(7) Paipkanwar, daughter of Hada Rudra Bhanji.
(8) Padamkanwar, daughter of Deora Abhai Singhji.
94

Maharana Sāngā.
daughters. The eldest son, Bhojraj, who
had married the celebrated Miran Bai,¹ —
daughter of Ratan Singh, younger brother
of Viramdeva, Rao of Merta, died during
his father's lifetime.
(9) Piarkanwar, daughter of Binai Singhji Rāthor.
(10) Rambākanwar, daughter of Chandji Tuar. (11)
Dhankanwar, daughter of Rao Bhanji, son of Rao Siyaji.
(12) Kanwarābai, daughter of Rai Malji Solanki.
(13) Ghansukhdé, daughter of Chauhan Kharagsénji.
(14) Sawarbai, daughter of Hada Barjangji. (15)
Gawarādé daughter of Gopji Deora. (16) Karmetān,
daughter of Chauhan Shiv Singhji of Vāgadh. (17)
Sultandé, daughter of Solanki Rīdhmalji. (18)
Ramkanwarbai, daughter of Sānklā Jodhsinghji. (19)
Rajkanwar, daughter of Hāda Akhairajji. (20) Ram-
kanwar, daughter of Rao Nathji Solanki. (21) Ram-
kanwar, daughter of Mota Raja, Sankla. (22) Bhagwat-
kanwar, daughter of Solanki Abraji. (23) Kumkum-
kanwar, daughter of Hada Madho Singhji. (24)
Padamkanwar, daughter of Solanki Rao Sursén. (25)
Lalkanwar, daughter of Chauhan Jugmalji. (26) Rai-
kanwar, daughter of Chauhan Man Singhji. (27)
Karmetānbai, daughter of Rao Surji Rāthor of Chavad.
(28) Lādkanwarbai, daughter of Rao Bhan of Idar.
Maharana Sāngā's sons were:—(1) Bhojraj, (2)
Karan Singh, (3) Ratan Singh, (4) Parvat Singh,
(5) Krishnadas, (6) Vikramaditya, (7) Udai Singh.
¹ Col. Tod has stated Miran Bai to be the queen
of Kumbha. This is an error. Kumbha was killed in
S. 1524 (A.D. 1467), while Miran's grandfathar, Duda,
became Raja of Merta after that year. Miran's father,
Ratan Singh, was killed in the battle of Khanua 59 years
after Kumbha's death, and her cousin Jaimal at Chitor
during Akbar's attack, 99 years after Kumbha's death.
Miran Bai was married to Prince Bhojraj in S. 1573 —
95

Maharana Sāngā.
Sāngā's second son Ratan Singh, by
Queen Dhankanwar, daughter of Prince
Bagha, eldest son of Rao Suja of Mewar,
was now the heir-apparent. Amongst
Sāngā's queens were two daughters of
Bhanda's son Narbad Hādā, Raja of Bundi.
By the second of these, Karmetan, Sāngā
had two sons, Vicramaditya and Udai Singh.
Karmetan enjoyed the confidence and affec-
tion of Sāngā in a special degree. Solicitous of
her sons' welfare, she begged the Maharana
to make provision for them, and suggested
that the fort and pargannah of Rantham-
bhore night be given to them as jagir. The
Maharana granted the request. The Hadi
queen, knowing well that without proper
support, the boys would not be able to keep
that stronghold, requested that Hada Suraj
Mal, her brother, who was one of the bravest
and most important chiefs at the time, might
be appointed their guardian to protect them
and their estate. The Maharana announced
(A.D. 1516). Miran Bai was born about S. 1555 (A.D.
1498) and died in S. 1603 (A.D. 1546) at Dwarka
(Kathiawar), at which holy place she had been residing
for several years. Vide Chaturkula Charitra (History
of the Rāthor family of Merta) and Vir Vinod.
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Maharana Sāngā.
the grant in open Darbar the next day, and
asked Suraj Mal to accept the responsible
position. Suraj Mal said that he was a
vassal of the empire, and his fidelity to
the throne forbade his committing himself
to a course of conduct inconsistent with his
loyalty to the throne of Chitor. The
matter was then referred to the heir-
apparent to the throne, Prince Ratan Singh.
He, out of deference to the wishes of his
father Maharana Sāngā, gave his consent
to the proposal, on which Suraj Mal took
the hands of both the young princes in his
own, as well as the patta of Ranthambhore,
in token of his acceptance of the responsible
position assigned to him. This impolitic
proceeding on the part of Queen Karmetan
sowed dissension among the nobility of
Mewar, and was, as later events proved,
one of the causes of the fall of Chitor.
This is one of the many instances which
abound in Indian history to prove the fatal
consequences of polygamy in the royal houses
of the Hindus.
97

CHAPTER XI.
BĀBUR.
WHILE the Pathan power in India was
tottering to its fall, there appeared in Kabul
a man of extraordinary ability and character,
who was destined to found one of the
greatest kingdoms of medieval times. That
man was Zahiruddin Muhammad Bābur.
Bābur was born in the purple and
belonged to a family which had long ruled
in Central Asia. The Chaghtai Turks,¹ up
to Amir Taraghyan, were Buddhists in
faith. Taraghyan was the first to embrace
Islam. He was the father of the celebrated
Timur, or Tamerlane, who was born of
Nagina Khatun on 25 Shaban H. 736
(10th April A.D. 1336), at Sabz or Kesh,
¹ Colonel Tod thinks that there are grounds to
assert that the Chaghtai Turks were a branch of
the Yadava Rajput tribe to which the Jaisalmer family
belongs.
98

[Header] Maharana Sāngā.

30 miles from Samarkand. Tamerlane be-
came Amir of Bokhara on 10th April A.D.
1370. He conquered Persia, a part of
Arabia and Mesopotamia. In A.D. 1398
he invaded India, took and plundered Delhi,
and returned home laden with rich booty.
He died at Atrar, 76 miles from Samarkand,
on 19th February 1405 A.D. He was a
great tyrant, and his oppressions and depreda-
tions are matters of history. He was suc-
ceeded by his son, Miran Shah, whose sixth
son, Sultan Mahmud Mirza, on his deathbed
placing his son Abu Sayid's hands in those
of Ulugh Beg, son of Mirza Shah Rukh,
a grandson of Timur, ruler of Khorasan,
recommended him to Ulugh Khan's protec-
tion.¹ Abu Sayid was born in A.D. 1427 and
became king of Turkistan and Afghanistan
at the age of 25. On 5 February 1469
he became a prisoner in a battle against
Uzan Husain, a Turkoman Chief, and was
put to death three days later. His fourth
son, Umar Shaikh Mirza, born in A.D. 1456,

[Footnote]
¹ Abu Sayid repaid the kindness and generosity of
Ulugh Beg by treachery.
99

Maharana Sāngā.
inherited the small kingdom of Ferghana,
and continued to rule it till 10 June A.D.
1494, when he was killed by the fall of a
house while amusing himself with his tame
pigeons in his palace, which stood on an
eminence in the castle of Akhsi. The
pigeon-house stood on the edge of a steep
cliff overhanging the river below. Its
foundations gave way, and he was precipitated
down the cliff along with the building and
killed on the spot.¹ Umar Shaikh left
three sons, the eldest Zahiruddin Muhammad
Bābur, and the second Jahangir Mirza.
The third, Nasir Mirza, was by a concubine.
Zahiruddin Muhammad Bābur was born
on 6 Muharrum, H. 888 (15th February,
A.D. 1483). His mother, Kutlak Nigār
Khānam, was the second daughter of Yunis
Khan, the grand Khan of the Moghuls, who
was a descendant of Changez Khan.² On
¹ Erskine's History of India, Vol. I, p. 78.
² Bābur's genealogy on the father's side was : Bābur,
son of Umar Shaikh Mirza, son of Abu Sayid Mirza,
the son of Muhammad Mirza, the son of Miran Shah,
the son of Amir Timur Korkān. On his mother's side,
100

Maharana Sāngā.
11 June 1494, at the age of 11, Bābur
became ruler of Ferghana, on the death of
his father.
At his birth he was named Zahiruddin
Muhammad by Khwāja Nasiruddin Abdulla,
the celebrated spiritual guide in Transoxiana.
The Chaghtais finding it difficult to pro-
nounce the Arabic word Zahiruddin, called
him Bābur, which his parents adopted.
The kingdom of Ferghana, now Kokān,
is surrounded on all sides by mountains,
some of which are covered with perpetual
snow. The capital, Andejān, with its impor-
tant fortress, is situated to the south of the
river Sirr or Sehun. Umar Shaikh,
however, used to live in Akhsi, the second
important town of the kingdom, as its
fortress was the strongest in the kingdom.
Ferghana possesses a rich soil and lies in a
it was: Kutlak Nigār Khānam, daughter of Yunis
Khan, the son of Weis Khan, the son of Sher Ali Khan,
the son of Muhammad Khwaja, the son of Khizr
Khwaja, the son of Tughlak Timur, the son of Isan
Bugha, the son of Dawa Chichan, the son of Borak
Khan, the son of Sukar, the son of Kamgar, the son of
Chaghtai, the son of the famous Changez Khan.
101

Maharana Sāngā.
temperate climate, though exposed to violent
heat in summer and severe cold in winter.
It abounds in corn and fruits, specially the
peach, the pomegranate, the almond and
melon. Its orchards and gardens were
celebrated in olden days.
Bābur describes his father as a brave,
good-humoured prince of a sweet temper,
elegant and refined in his manners and
conversation, fond of letters, and remarkable
for his justice. In his external policy he
was ambitious, restless and unsteady. At
the time of Umar Shaikh’s death, his elder
brother, Sultan Ahmad Mirza, King of Samar-
kand, and Sultan Mirza his brother-in-law,
having combined to deprive Umar Shaikh
of his little kingdom, were marching from
north and south, and it was with difficulty
and after some fighting that Bābur’s nobles
extricated the principality from this danger.
At 15 years of age, Bābur took Samarkand
in November A.D. 1497. Samarkand was one
of the most celebrated and populous cities at
the time. It had been the capital of
Tamerlane the Great. Bābur found the city
102

Maharana Sāngā.
worn out from the long continuance of the
blockade; and the surrounding country had
been laid waste by hostile armies for two
successive summers. His followers began
to desert him and return home. A party
headed by Azan Hasan and Tambal,
demanded that Bābur having taken Samar-
kand, should give Andejan and Akhsi to his
younger brother, Jahangir Mirza. Bābur
refused the demand, upon which Jahangir
besieged Andejan. Bābur was seriously ill
at the time. On his recovery, he abandoned
Samarkand to relieve Andejan. On the
way he learnt that Andejan had been
surrendered the day he had left Samar-
kand. Bābur says in his memoirs : “To
save Andejan, I had given up Samarkand,
and now found that I had lost the one with-
out preserving the other.” He was left
without a country and without followers.
He says : “I became a prey to vexation and
melancholy, for since I had been a sovereign
prince, I never before had been separated in
this manner from my country and followers;
and since the day I had known myself, I
had never experienced such care and suffer-
103

Maharana Sāngā.
ing.” Bābur now resolved to instigate his
maternal uncle, Sultan Mahmud Khan, to
take Andejan. Sultan Mahmud, ever ready
to go where a country was to be plundered,
marched towards Andejan, but Jahangir
Mirza’s men persuaded him to return to his
country. Bābur’s situation became more
desperate than ever. “I was now reduced
to a very distressed situation,” says he,
“and wept a great deal.” A second attempt
on Samarkand with Sultan Mahmud’s
assistance having failed, Bābur repaired to
the court of his uncle, and persuaded him to
give him assistance. He took Nasukh, but
abandoned it and returned to Khojend. His
old servant Ali Dost, sent for Bābur and
gave up to him Marghinan. Azan Hasan
attempted to drive Bābur out of Marghi-
nan but failed. Bābur advanced and took
Andejan. The Moghuls, however, revolted
and defeated Bābur. Eventually a peace was
made, by which the kingdom was partitioned
between Bābur and Jahangir Mirza, in
February 1500 A.D., and it was stipulated
that both should attack Samarkand, and
should they succeed, Bābur should keep it
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Maharana Sāngā.
and give up Andejan to Jahangir Mirza.
The direction of Bābur’s affairs was in the
hands of Mir Ali Dost, a Moghul, who
removed Bābur’s favourites one after another
from the little Court. Ali Dost and his son
were the real rulers of the little State.
Bābur says : “ My situation was singularly
delicate, and I was forced to be silent. Many
were the indignities which I endured at that
time, both from father and son.” Bābur, at
the invitation of Muhammad Mazid Tarkhan,
marched to take Samarkand. No sooner
had Bābur started on this expedition than
Tambol’s brother Khalil, attacked the fortress
of Ush and took it from Bābur’s garrison.
And when Bābur reached Yuratkhan, five
miles from Samarkand, news reached him
that the powerful Shaibani Khan, the Uzbek
Chief of Turkistan, was in full march towards
that city. Bābur broke up the blockade
of Samarkand, and instead of falling back
on his hereditary dominions, now in the
hands of his hereditary enemies, he marched
towards Kesh. Here he learnt of the
surrender of Samarkand; and Muhammad
Mazid and other Begs separating from him,
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Maharana Sānga.
Bābur was left with few adherents, and
"once more felt himself in a most destitute
and wretched situation, without army or
country or home. He knew not which way
to turn." Bābur thought of migrating to
the remoter wilds of Tartary, but eventually
made up his mind to return towards Samar-
kand and meet whatever fortune awaited
him there. With the greatest difficulty he
traversed the pass of Sir-e-tāk and came to
Kān. At a little distance from Samarkand
Kamber Ali joined Bābur. Shaibani was
encamped with seven or eight thousand men
near Khwaja Didār and had a garrison of five
or six hundred men in Samarkand. Mehdi
Sultan and other adherents of Shaibani, with
two thousand men, were encamped near by.
Bābur with all his exertions could not muster
more than 240 followers. None but a man
of the most heroic ardour would have
ventured to think of extricating himself from
his difficulties except by retreat. Bābur saw
that if he had any chance of retrieving his
affairs it could only be by bold measures, and
he resolved to surprise Samarkand, which
daring enterprise offered the best prospect
106

Maharana Sāngā.
of success. The first attempt failed, but the
second succeeded beyond his expectations.
The people, tired of the barbarous
Uzbeks, hailed Bābur with joy. Shaibani
galloped up to the town with a few followers
at daybreak, but finding it in Bābur's
possession and the whole population against
himself, retired towards Bokhara. Bābur was
at the time of this heroic enterprise in his
eighteenth year. Though Bābur obtained
Samarkand, Shaibani Khan's power was
unbroken. In a few months he advanced
from Bokhara and took the fort of Dabusi
by storm and put Bābur's garrison to the
sword. Bābur left Samarkand to take the
field against him (about May 1501 A.D.)
Shaibani planned a night attack which failed.
Bābur divided his army into four divisions,
consisting of right and left wings, centre and
advance, and marched forward. The enemy
was ready to receive Bābur. Bābur's left
was turned. The enemy then attacked his
centre in the rear and threw his army into
confusion. Bābur sustained a complete defeat.
Only 10 or 15 men remained round him.
Bābur fled, and after crossing the river
107.