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

CHAPTER XII.
SĀNGĀ AND BĀBUR.
THE accession of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi to
the throne of Delhi in A.D. 1517, showed
the weak points of the Afghan Sultanate of
Hindustan, which was a congeries of several
virtually independent Pathan principalities
and jagirs.
The cruelty of Ibrahim filled his reign
with rebellions by the nobles of the kingdom.
The Sultan possessed neither the tact to
control them, nor the ability to crush them.
At length, Daulat Khan Lodi, the governor
of Lahore, invited Bābur, the king of Kabul,
to take possession of Hindustan. Bābur had
ere this made unsuccessful attempts to take
the Panjab. He says in his autobiogra-
phy that Maharana Sāngā had also sent
him a message to the effect that should he
(Bābur) advance and take Delhi, he (Sāngā)
would take Agra from the Lodi king.
118

Maharana Sāngā.
Finding the circumstances favourable, Bābur
left Kabul, took a part of the Panjab and
advanced towards Delhi. Circumstances,
however, soon afterwards obliged him to
return to Kabul.
In the meantime the dissensions in the
Afghan kingdom of Delhi increased and
prince Alauddin, known as Alam Khan, the
uncle of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, repaired to
Kabul and induced Bābur to help him to
the throne of Delhi, promising him in lieu of
his assistance, the whole of the Panjab.
Alam Khan returned to India and, aided by
Bābur’s generals in the Panjab, advanced
towards Delhi, but was defeated and put to
flight by Sultan Ibrahim. Bābur, however,
perceiving the time favourable for his designs,
as Hindustan was torn asunder by hopeless
dissensions and rivalries, crossed the Indus
with only 12,000 men, which swelled to
about seventy thousand when he came face
to face with the Sultan of Delhi on the
celebrated field of Panipat, where the sove-
reignty of Hindustan has been so often lost
and won. After waiting for a few days, during
119

Maharana Sāngā.
which intrigue was not idle, Bābur made
dispositions for a battle, which took place on
29 April 1526 A.D. The Delhi army was
defeated and the Sultan lost his life. A
week after this, Bābur was crowned king at
Delhi and the khutba was read in his name.
After waiting a few months to see if
Sāngā moved towards Agra, he advanced
and took possession of it. Agra was then
only an appanage of Byana, which was a
place of great strategical and political
importance. Byana had fallen into the
hands of the Maharana after the defeat of
Ibrahim, and its ruler, Nizam Khan, was a
vassal of Mewar.
Bābur, however, knew very well that
Ibrahim was not his most formidable op-
ponent in India. He was aware of the great
power and prestige of Maharana Sāngā and
knew that with him as a neighbour, his
throne stood on very slender support. He,
therefore, began to take steps to secure
Byana. Nizam Khan wished to play Bābur
and Sāngā against each other. He told
Bābur that he was a vassal of Sāngā, and
120

Maharana Sāngā.
when Sāngā called him to his duty he
excused himself by saying that Bābur would
not allow him to do so. As Byana belonged
by right to Sāngā, he resolved to march
against Nizam Khan to enforce obedience.
Bābur wishing to forestall Sāngā, sent an
army under Tardi Beg to take it. Alim
Khan, brother of Nizam Khan, also joined
the Turks. Bābur's army was, however,
defeated and put to flight by Nizam Khan.
But when Sāngā advanced from Rantham-
bhore, Nizam Khan finding it impossible
to hold Byana against the Maharana,
voluntarily surrendered the stronghold to
Bābur,¹ receiving in return a jagir in the
Doab. Bābur's occupation of Byana was
an open attack on the territory of the
Maharana, and the Maharana regarding this
as a challenge, took up the gauntlet and
began to make preparations to drive out
the Turks from Hindustan.
Nizam Khan's action brought Sāngā
and Bābur face to face earlier than Bābur
¹ Erskine's History of India, Vol. I, pp. 452-53.
121

Maharana Sāngā.
wished. Bābur was yet more or less of
a stranger to Hindustan and he wished
to consolidate his power and position
by reducing to submission the various
Pathan Chiefs and semi-independent Afghan
governors of different provices of Hindustan
before engaging in a war with Sāngā, which
Bābur knew very well would mean the
latter's sovereignty of Hindustan or a final
defeat of all his hopes and ambitions.
Sāngā and Bābur are the two out-
standing personalities of the time in India.
Though Sāngā was no ordinary Rajput
king, Bābur was an equally remarkable
personality. Both were of about the same
age. Sāngā was born in A.D. 1482 and
Bābur in A.D. 1483. Both were men of
valour and had received their training in the
school of adversity. The early life of Bābur
had been a continuous record of trouble,
disappointment and defeat; but of unremit-
ting toil, ever-renewed effort, unflagging
energy, great personal bravery and confi-
dence. He had met with so many ups and
downs in his life that he never lost courage,
122

Maharana Sāngā.
and was always prepared for difficulties and
disappointments. His career was passed
amongst the barbarians of the North, the
rugged, turbulent and treacherous tribes of
Turkistan and Transoxiana; and his hardy
constitution, his indomitable courage, his
varied experience, and his great knowledge
of men, stood him in good stead when he
was opposed by the chivalry of Rajputana—
a country far in advance of Central Asia
in humanity and culture.
Bābur was a man of amiable disposition,
and was of a joyous nature. He was fond of
the good things of life. He had some learning
and culture and was not devoid of generous
instincts when political considerations did not
come into play. As a man and a leader he
was head and shoulders above the chieftains
and nobles who followed his fortunes in
India. He was Maharana Sāngā’s equal
in courage and determination and not inferior
to him in personal valour. And if he was
inferior to the Maharana in chivalry, heroism,
generosity,¹ highmindedness and devotion to
¹ Not only did Sāngā generously bestow Mandu on
the defeated Sultan Mahmud, but gave away Chitor to
123

Maharana Sāngā.
the dictates of honour, he was his superior
in circumspection, perseverance, judgment,
and above all, in quickness to take advantage
of every occasion favourable to him.
Defeat after defeat, disaster following
disaster made Bābur wideawake, circumspect
and artful. They matured his judgment,
gave him a richer knowledge of human nature
and prepared him to meet all emergencies.
On the other hand, unbroken success after
coming to the throne, victory following
victory, gave Sāngā self-confidence, courage
and hope, enhanced his prestige and glory,
but made him minimize difficulties and neglect
taking proper precautions. It impaired his
power of properly appreciating the meaning
and the bearing of incidents and attendant
the Kesaria Charan Haridas after the victory over
Mahmud Khilji. Haridas, however, presented the fort-
ress again to the Maharana. The following verses by
Haridas are extant in Rajputana :
मांडवगढ गर्जर ग्रहमुके
रेणवां दीध चत्रगढराज
Thou, O! Rana, didst allow the kings of Mandu and
Gujarāt to return home, and gavest away the fortress
of Chitor to Renwa Charan.
Also दिध चित्रकोट कवियां खुमाणा,
दिज विजई नैं रीझदिया ॥
124

Maharana Sāngā.
circumstances on the success of a plan. While
Sāngā was a greater hero and a more
chivalrous leader of men, Bābur was a greater
politician and a more wary and skilful general.
While Sāngā had prestige, bravery, dash, and
numbers on his side, Bābur had artfulness,
desperation and religious fervour to support
him.
125

CHAPTER XIII.
WAR WITH BĀBUR. BATTLE OF KHANUĀ.
IN his expedition against Bābur, Sāngā
received assistance from an unexpected
quarter. After the fall of the Lodi
dynasty, the Afghan chiefs who exer-
cised supreme power in Hindustan became
apprehensive of losing their position of
influence and power, when they saw that,
unlike Timur, Bābur intended to stay in
India and found a kingdom on the ruins of
the Afghan power. They, therefore, com-
bined and began to devise means to drive
the Turks out of India. As, however,
Bābur held Delhi and Agra, the eastern
Afghans rallied round the standard of
Bābur Khan Lohani, whom they raised
to the throne of Behar under the
name of Sultan Muhammad Shah.¹ The
Western Afghan Confederacy, headed by
Nawab Hasan Khan of Mewat, who ruled
¹ Erskine's History of India, Vol. I, p. 443.
126.

Maharana Sāṅgā.
at Alwar, espoused the cause of Mahmud
Lodi, a brother of Sultan Ibrahim. The
confederates appealed to the Maharana
to drive the Turks out of India. They
acknowledged him as their suzerain and
promised to govern the country occupied by
them as his feudatories.
Bābur, who had sent Humayun against
the Eastern Afghan Confederacy, on hearing
that Sāngā was preparing an army to march
against Byana, wrote to Humayun to return
with all available troops to Agra. Humayun
not meeting with strong opposition in the
east, after taking Jaunpur, returned to
Agra and joined Bābur.
Afraid of the great power of Sāngā,
Bābur now wished to conciliate the
western Afghans, and in order to gain
over their leader, Hasan Khan of Mewat,
released his son Naharkhan, who had
been taken prisoner at Panipat after the
defeat of Ibrahim Lodi. Bābur sent him
to his father with a dress of honour and
an earnest request to espouse his cause.
127

Maharana Sāngā.
Muhammad Zeitun and Tatarkhan Sarang-
khani were won over. They surren-
dered the forts of Dholpur and Gwalior
to Bābur and were given jagirs in other
places. All these chieftains now came to
Bābur with their armies.
On 11th February A.D. 1527, Bābur
marched out of Agra to proceed against
S̃āngā but halted a few days near the town
to collect his troops and get his artillery
in order. He advanced to Medhakur, where
he had previously had wells dug for
water, and the next day to Fatehpur Sikri,
where he encamped and began to fortify
his position.
Maharana Sāngā started from Chitor
with a large army in Baisakh S. 1584.¹
Prince Mahmud Khan Lodi who had taken
shelter with the Maharana, was also in
the Maharana's army in the hope of recover-
ing the kingdom lost by his brother Ibrahim
Lodi. When news of the Maharana's arrival
at Ranthambhore reached Bābur he became
¹ Chatur Kula Charitra, p. 26.
128

Maharana Sāngā.
alarmed, for he knew that Sāngā, as he
says in his Memoirs, was a very powerful
king, and that "the high eminence he
then held, he had attained by his valour
and his sword." He knew very well that
the Afghan chiefs in India were all at
heart his enemies. He therefore made
overtures for peace through Raja Silhiddi
Tuar of Raisen, a feudatory of the Maharana,
but the Maharana rejected the overtures,
and after taking the strong fort of
Kandar from Hasan Makan,¹ who in vain
applied to Bābur for help, advanced to
Byana. Hasan Khan of Mewat who, along
with other chieftains "looked to Sāngā for
aid," did not take the bait offered by
Bābur through Nahar Khan, but joined
Sāngā with ten thousand horse. The
Maharana attacked and took Byana, the
governor, Mehdi Khwaja, fleeing to Bābur
with the remnant of his troops. The
Maharana's army advanced and fell on
Bābur's advanced guard on 21st February
1527 (Chaitra Bad 6th, S. 1583 = 20
¹ Erskine's History of India, Vol. I., p. 448.
129

Maharana Sāngā.
Jamadi ul Avval H. 933). This advanced
guard was "entirely destroyed, the fugitives
carrying to the main body the accounts
of the disaster, which paralysed their
energies, and made them entrench for security
instead of advancing with the confidence of
victory. Reinforcements met the same
fate and were pursued to the camp." ¹
Mr. Erskine says: "They had had some
sharp encounters with the Rajputs, in which
they had been severely handled and taught
to respect their new enemy. A party from
the garrison had some days before in-
cautiously advanced too far from the fort,
when the Rajputs fell upon them and drove
them in. All the troops engaged in this affair
united in bestowing unbounded praise on
the gallantry and prowess of the enemy
(Rajputs). Indeed the Jaghtai Turks found
that they had now to contend with a foe
more formidable than either the Afghans or
any of the natives of India to whom they
had yet been opposed. The Rajputs,
energetic, chivalrous, fond of battle and
¹ Tod's Rajasthan, Vol. I., p. 303.
130

Maharana Sāngā.
bloodshed, animated by strong national spirit
and led on by a hero, were ready to meet,
face to face, the boldest veterans of the
camp, and were at all times prepared to lay
down their life for their honour.”
Mr. Stanley Lane Poole says : “Their
chivalry and lofty sense of honour inspired
nobler feats and sacrifices than any that were
conceived by Bābur’s less highly-wrought
soldiers.” ¹
Mir Abdul Aziz, who was in charge of the
advance, had pickets pushed on for seven or
eight miles. A body of Rajputs fell upon him
and “many of his men were killed, others
taken prisoners and carried off the field on
the very first onset.” “ The minister’s son,
Mohib Ali Khalifa, pushed forward to his
assistance, and numbers of separate horse-
men, as fast as they were equipped, were
sent off at the best of their speed. Mohib Ali
found everything in disorder, Abdul Aziz’s
standard taken and many excellent officers
slain. Not only was he unable to turn the
¹ Stanley Lane Poole’s Bābur, p. 176.
131

Maharana Sāngā.
tide of success but was himself unhorsed,
though finally brought off by a desperate
charge of his followers. Bābur's troops were
then pursued for about two miles." ¹
To detach Hasan Khan Mewati from the
Maharana, Bābur had sent a predatory force
into Mewat with orders "to plunder the
country, to carry off the inhabitants into
captivity, and to leave nothing undone to
ruin the province. The ravages were
extended into many of the neighbouring
districts, but the results of this diversion
did not answer his expectations."
"The repeated successes of the Rajputs,
the unexpected valour and good conduct they
displayed, and their numbers, for they are
said to have amounted to an hundred and
twenty thousand horse, had begun to spread
a visible discouragement among the troops."²
Bābur again opened negotiations for peace,
and employed the time thus gained to
strengthen his position and give his men
time to recover their confidence. In order
¹ Erskine's History of India, Vol. I, p. 465.
² Erskine's History of India, Vol. I, p. 465-6.
132

Maharana Sāngā.
to reassure the drooping spirits of his troops,
he threw up entrenchments, in which he
placed his artillery, connecting his guns by
chains, and in the more exposed parts,
chevaux de frise, united by leather ropes.
These operations were continued for 3 or 4
weeks, during which time the army remain-
ed blockaded in this encampment. About
this time he received a reinforcement of 500
volunteers from Kabul, who were accompanied
by a noted astrologer, Muhammad Sharif.
Even the astrologer instead of being of assis-
tance, “added to the depression and panic
which prevailed in the camp by declaring his
opinion that the planet Mars, being in the
west, whoever engaged, coming from the
opposite direction, would be defeated.” ¹
Feelings of extreme uneasiness and dis-
may crowded the mind of Bābur when he was
thus forcibly cooped up in his entrenched
camp, while the Rajputs were in possession
of the open country. His introspective
spirit was quickened, and reviewing his past
¹ Erskine's History of India, Vol. I, p. 466.
133

Maharana Sāṅgā.
life, he felt that he had grossly and openly
violated one of the chief principles of his
faith, being firmly addicted to drinking
wine. He now determined "to renounce
this besetting sin in order to merit superior
aid to extricate him from his peril." Bābur
says in his Memoirs : "On Monday, the 23rd
of Jamadi ul Awwal, I had mounted to
survey my posts, and in the course of my ride
was seriously struck with the reflection that
I had always resolved one time or another to
make an effectual repentance, and that some
traces of the hankering after a renunciation
of forbidden works had ever remained in my
heart : I said to myself :
' Oh my soul,
How long wilt thou continue to take pleasure in sin,
Repentence is not unpalatable—taste it.’
“Having withdrawn myself from such
temptation, I vowed never more to drink
wine. Having sent for the gold and silver
goblets and cups, with all the other utensils
used for drinking parties, I directed them to
be broken, and renounced the use of wine,
purifying my mind. The fragments of the
goblets and other utensils of gold and silver
134

Maharana Sāngā
I directed to be divided amongst dervishes
and the poor." Bābur also vowed not to cut
the beard, but to allow it to grow like a true
Mussalman. Nearly 300 of his men, great
and small, made such vows of reformation.
“The dejection and alarm of Bābur’s
troops,” says Erskine, “had at this time
reached their extreme point. The contagion
had infected even his highest officers.” “The
destruction of the wine flasks,” says Tod,
“would appear only to have added to the
existing consternation.” In his despair, as a
last resort, Bābur determined to make an
appeal to the religious feelings of his follow-
ers, “so powerful with all Moslems.”
Bābur says in his Memoirs: “At this
time, as I have already observed, in conse-
quence of preceding events, a general
consternation and alarm prevailed among
the great and small. There was not a
single person who uttered a manly word,
nor an individual who delivered a courage-
ous opinion. The Vaziers whose duty it was
to give good counsel and the Amirs who
135

Maharana Sāngā.
enjoyed the wealth of kingdoms, neither
spoke bravely nor was their counsel or
deportment such as became men of firmness."
"At length," continues Bābur, "observing
the universal discouragement of my troops
and their total want of spirit I came to a
resolution. Having called a general assembly
of my Amirs and officers, I addressed them :
‘Noblemen and soldiers! Every man that
cometh into this world is subject to dissolu-
tion. When we are passed away and gone
God survives, One and Unchangeable. Who-
ever sits down to the feast of life must,
before it is over, drink of the cup of death.
He who arrives at the inn of mortality, the
world, must one day, without fail, take his
departure from that mansion of sorrow.
How much better then is it to die with
honour than to live with infamy.
‘Give me but fame, and if I die I am contented,
‘If fame be mine, let death claim my body.’
‘The most High God has been propi-
tious to us. He has now placed us in such a
crisis that if we fall in the field we die the
death of martyrs; if we survive, we rise
victorious, the avengers of His sacred cause.
136

Maharana Sāngā.
Let us, therefore, with one accord swear on
God’s holy word, that none of us will for a
moment think of turning his face from this
warfare; or shrink from the battle and
slaughter that ensue, till his soul is separat-
ed from his body.’ Master and servant,
small and great, all with emulation seizing
the blessed Qoran in their hands, swore in
the form that I had given.”
Though twenty thousand soldiers of
Bābur swore on the Qoran to win or die in
the battle but not to leave the field alive,
yet Bābur was not assured of success, and
conscious of the grave consequences of a
defeat at this juncture, he renewed¹ the
negotiations with the Maharana through
Silhiddi, the Chief of Raisen. He offered
to make Peela khal near Byana the boundary
of their respective dominions and give an
annual tribute to the Maharana on condition
of being left Delhi and its dependencies.”²
¹ The Tabqati Akbari says that at this Council the
grandees advised Bābur to retire to the Panjab.
² Tod’s Rajasthan, Vol. I., p. 305: “We can well
believe,” says he, “that in the position Bābur then was,
he would not scruple to promise anything”—p. 306.
137