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

Maharana Sāngā.
nephew: the latter saying he would not let
him retain "as much land of Mewar as
would cover a needle's point": and Suraj
Mal retorting, that "he would allow his
nephew to redeem only as much as would
suffice for him to lie upon."
Driven from place to place, the rebels
came to the wilds of Bāturro (Batarda),
where they formed a stockaded retreat of the
dho tree, which abounds in the forest; and
one day while Suraj Mal and his companion
Sarangdeva, were communing by the night
fire on their desperate plight, their
cogitations were checked by the rush and
neigh of horses. Scarcely had the pretender
exclaimed, "this must be my nephew!" when
Prithviraj dashed his steed through the
barricade and entered with his troops. All
was confusion, and the sword showered its
blows indiscriminately. The young prince
reached his uncle and dealt him a blow which
would have levelled him but for the support
of Sarangdeva, who upbraided him, adding
"a buffet now was more than a score of
wounds in former days:" to which Suraj Mal
38

Maharana Sāngā.
added, “only when dealt by my nephew’s
hand.” Suraj Mal demanded a parley ; and
calling on the prince to stop the combat, he
continued : “If I am killed, it matters not—
my children are Rajputs, they will run the
country to find support ; but if you are slain,
what will become of Chitor ? My face will
be blackened and my name everlastingly
reprobated.
“The sword was sheathed, and as the
uncle and nephew embraced, the latter asked
the former, ‘What were you about uncle,
when I came ?’—‘Only talking nonsense,
child, after dinner.’—‘But with me over
your head, uncle, as a foe, how could you be
so negligent ?’—‘What could I do ? You
had left me no resource, and I must have
some place to rest my head.’ ”
There was a small temple near the
stockade, to which in the morning Prithvi-
raj requested his uncle to accompany him
to sacrifice to the mother (Kali), but the
blow of the preceding night prevented him
from going. Sarangdeva was his proxy,
39

Maharana Sāngā.
Suraj Mal having left for Sadri. One
buffalo had fallen and a goat was about to
follow when the prince turned his sword on
Sarangdeva. The combat was desperate,
but Prithviraj was the victor, and the head
of the traitor was placed as an offering on
the altar of Time (Kali). The place was
plundered and the town of Bāturro (Batarda)
was recovered.
Having done with Sarangdeva, Prithvi-
raj started for Sadri to despatch Suraj Mal
after Sarangdeva. Suraj Mal having reach-
ed Sadri, stopped there only to fulfil his
threat that "he would make over the lands
to those stronger than the king." Among
others he gave 12 villages of Debari, includ-
ing Billano and Banslo to Brahmins and
bards, and was about to abandon Mewar for
ever when Prithviraj arrived. He was
received in due form. Suraj Mal's wife
placed poisoned food before the prince.
Suraj Mal came to know of this, but not
knowing which plate contained the poison,
he was unable to remove it. He therefore
sat down to join Prithviraj in the repast.
40

Maharana Sāngā.
Instantly, his wife removed the plate contain-
ing the poison. Like a flash of lightning,
the incident revealed the truth to Prithvi-
raj. Overwhelmed by the solicitude of his
uncle for his safety, he got up and said :
“Uncle, now the throne of Mewar is at
your service.” Suraj Mal replied that the
throne apart, he would not stay in Mewar
even to drink water.
Passing through the wilds of Kanthal, he
had an omen which recalled the Charani's
prediction: “a wolf endeavouring in vain to
carry off a kid defended by maternal affec-
tion.” This was interpreted as strong ground
for a dwelling. He halted there and subdued
the native tribes of the jungles and erected
on the spot where the wolf was held at bay
by the goat, the stronghold ¹ of Deolia. He
became the lord of a thousand villages and
founded the State, which under the name
of Deolia Pratapgarh, is now one of the
eighteen Ruling Chiefships of Rajputana.
¹ Mehta Nainsi in his Chronicles says that it was
Suraj Mal's grandson, Bika, son of Bagh Singh, who
took Deolia and severed his connection with Mewar.
41

Maharana Sāngā.
Prithviraj was all this time in blissful
ignorance of the whereabouts of Sāngā and
whether he was alive or dead. Sāngā’s
marriage with the daughter of the Rao of
Srinagar made known his retreat to Prithvi-
raj, who determined to visit Rao Karam
Chand with his vengeance for daring to give
protection to Sāngā in defiance of his threats.
The fates, however, willed otherwise, and
this “Rolando of his age” was treacherously
poisoned by his own brother-in-law, whose
life he had spared.
As Prithviraj was preparing for his ex-
pedition against Karam Chand of Srinagar,
he received a letter from his sister Ananda
Bai, written in great grief, complaining of her
ill-treatment by her lord, Rao Jug Mal of
Sirohi, from whose tyranny she begged to be
delivered and to be restored to her paternal
roof. When Prithviraj read this letter, he
was all afire with indignation and rage.
Leaving aside for the present the projected
attack on Srinagar, he instantly started for
Sirohi, which he reached at midnight. Scal-
ing the palace, he interrupted the slumbers
42

Maharana Sāngā.
of Jug Mal by placing his poniard at his
throat. His wife, forgetting her husband's
cruelty, responded to his humiliating appeal
for mercy, and begged her brother to spare
his life, which was granted on condition of
his standing as a suppliant with his wife's
shoes on his head and touching her feet, the
lowest mark of degradation. He obeyed,
was forgiven and embraced by Prithviraj.
The next morning, Jug Mal entertained his
royal brother at a public entertainment. At
Prithviraj's departure, Jug Mal¹ presented
him with three pills of a confection for which
he was celebrated. Prithviraj ate them as
he came in sight of Kumbhalgarh, but on
reaching the shrine of Mamadevi, he was
unable to proceed further. He sent a mes-
sage to the fair Tara to come and bid him
farewell, but so subtle was the poison that
death overtook him ere she descended from
the fortress. Her resolution was soon taken;
the pyre was erected, and with the mortal
remains of the chivalrous Prithviraj in
¹ P. Gauri Shanker Ojha's History of Sirohi, p. 205.
Jug Mal reigned from A.D. 1483 to A.D. 1523.
43

Maharana Sāngā.
her embrace, she ascended "the regions of
the sun."
Such was the end of this hero of
Mewar and the "Star" of Badnor. How
the course of history would have run if
Prithviraj had been spared to lead the
fortunes of Mewar, and what fate the
founder of the Turk (Moghal) dynasty in
India would have met at the hands
of Rajput chivalry, led by the reckless
heroism and the impetuous energy of
Prithviraj, instead of the cautious Sāngā, it
is, as Colonel Tod says, futile to conjecture.
One thing, however, is certain. If Bābur,
after his early defeats had had Prithviraj
instead of Sāngā as his opponent, the chances
are overwhelming that he would have ended
his days an unsuccessful adventurer, at
Khanua, near Sikri, in February A.D. 1527,
and the Indian soil have been once more
cleared of the hordes from the North-west.
44

CHAPTER V.
EARLY YEARS OF SĀNGĀ’S REIGN.
THE shock of Prince Prithviraj's death
shattered the constitution of Maharana
Rai Mal, who grievously mourned the loss
of his noble and heroic son, whose deeds
were ringing throughout the country and
whose fame had spread far and wide in the
land. He fell ill, and, during his illness, news
reached him that Sangram Singh was with
Rao Karam Chand of Srinagar. A mes-
senger was sent to Karam Chand, who
presented himself with Prince Sangram Singh
at Chitor. The Maharana was delighted to
see his son again, and conferred on Karam
Chand a suitable jagir as a reward for his
services. His descendants still hold the
village of Banberi and are amongst the
thirty-two Sardars of Mewar.
45

Maharana Sāngā.
Rai Mal did not long survive the death of
the heroic Prithviraj. He died in Vicrama
Sambat 1566 (A.D. 1508), and Sangram Singh
ascended the throne of Mewar on (Jeth Sud
5th, S. 1566)¹ 4th May A.D. 1508, in the
renowned fortress of Chitor. Sangram Singh
was born on Baisakh Bad 9th, S. 1539 ² and
was therefore 27 years old when he took
his seat on the cushion of Bappa Rawal. ³
When Maharana Sāngā came to the
throne, Rajputana as a whole was much
stronger politically than it had been since
the advent of the Afghan power in India.
After the Chauhāns of Ajmer, the Guihlots
of Mewar rose to great power. Even in
Kumbha's time ( A.D. 1433-1468 ) the
Guihlots were the only powerful Rajput
Kingdom in Rajputana. The Hārās were
the vassals of Mewar, and the Kachhwahas
¹ Mehta Nainsi's Chronicles. Mehta Nainsi says
that Rai Mal had a son named Jassa, who was given to
pleasure and sport, and the Sardars passed him over and
placed Sangram Singh on the throne.
² Ibid.
³ Bābur had been four years king of Kabul when
Sāngā became Maharana.
46

Maharana Sāngā.
(capital Amber, now Jaipur) were not of
much political consequence. The Rāthors
were only just beginning to strike root in
the region round Mandawar (Mandor), the
seat of the ancient Paṛihar power which,
in Narhar Rao’s time had been paramount
in Hindustan.
When Sāngā came to the throne in A.D.
1508 A.D., both the Kachhwahas and the
Rāthors had gathered strength and had not
only become powerful neighbours of the
Guihlots of Mewar, but had contributed
largely in covering Rajputana with a race of
warriors which first showed its strength in
joining the Guihlots in offering a desperate
resistance to the founding of the Turk power
in India, and which later (Akbar’s time) had
to be wooed and won over before that power
could strike root in the country. While the
Kachhwahas had brought under their control
the whole of Dhundhar (now Jaipur State)
and had made Amber a powerful kingdom,
the Rāthors had not only founded Jodhpur
(S. 1515, A.D. 1458) and firmly established
themselves in Pali, Sojat and other places,
47

Maharana Sāngā.
but had spread over and taken possession of
the whole of the country of Jānglu, founded
Bikaner (A. D. 1488) and Chāpar Dronapur
(S. 1526, A.D. 1469). The Rāthors occupied
the whole of Western Rajputana, with the
Bhattis in the extreme west and south-
west: the Kachhwahas were in Amber and
were in possession of the country up to
Mewat and the south-western borders of the
Panjab, while the east was very nearly all
dominated by the Guihlots of Mewār.
One of the earliest acts of Sāngā after
his accession to the throne was to reward
handsomely the services rendered to him
by Rao Karam Chand, the Parmar Chief
of Srinagar. The Maharana conferred the
fief of Ajmer on him and enrolled him
amongst the nobles of the first rank in
Mewar.
Soon after his accession, Sāngā began to
consolidate his dominions and recover what
had belonged to Mewar but had been lost
during the parricide's reign and not re-
covered by Rai Mal.
48

Maharana Sāngā.
Sāngā's country was surrounded by the
Mussalman kingdoms of Delhi, Malwa and —
Gujarāt except towards the west, where the
Rāthors were rapidly rising to power.
With all these three monarchies, Sāngā had
to wage wars, and it is due to his military
genius that Mewar came out successful in
every one of them. Combinations were
formed against him and he had to fight his
enemies on all the three fronts at the same
time, but his genius was equal to all emer-
gencies. It has been recorded to his glory
that he not only vanquished them and
extended his kingdom at their expense but
made them respect the frontiers established
by him. He won the respect and attachment
of all the Hindu kings of Upper India and
raised Mewar to an eminence never reached
by any Hindu kingdom since the fall of the
Chauhan dynasty of Ajmer towards the end
of the twelfth century. Sāngā's achievements
raised him to a position in India which, in the
words of Mr. Erskine, "inspired all his
countrymen with hopes that a change of
dynasty was about to take place; and they
hailed with joy the prospect of a native
49

Maharana Sāngā.
Government of India."¹ Had not a small
incident occurred on the field of Khānua on
16th March A.D. 1527, the crown of India
"might again have encircled the brow of a
Hindu, and the banner of supremacy been
transferred from Indraprastha to the battle-
ments of Chitor."²
The early part of the sixteenth century
witnessed the rapid decay of the Pathan power
in Northern India. The Lodi dynasty had
succeeded the Sayyads at Delhi. The fanati-
cal Sikander transferred the seat of govern-
ment to a more central position, Agra, in
the vain hope of strengthening the failing
sinews of the Pathan power in Hindustan,
which was crumbling to pieces. The cruelty,
distrustfulness and oppression of Sikander's
son Ibrahim led to numerous revolts in his
dominions, and the time was favourable
for the designs of a vigorous monarch like
Sāngā. "Mewar little dreaded these imperial
puppets, when ‘Amurath to Amurath
¹ W. Erskine's History of India, Vol. I., p. 469.
² Tod's Rajasthan, Vol. I., p. 300.
50

Maharana Sāngā.
succeeded,' and when four kings reigned
simultaneously between Delhi and Benares."¹
The kingdom of Malwa, founded in A.D.
1401 by Dilawar Khan Ghori, was now, after
only a century's existence, tottering to its fall.
The cruelty and incapacity of Nāsiruddin had
disgusted the nobles, and the administration
had become weak and inefficient. Nāsiruddin
was succeeded in 1511 A.D.² by his son,
Mahmud II, who lacked all the qualities of
a king except personal courage, and who
consequently brought about the downfall of
that kingdom.
The Sultanate of Gujarāt, founded in A.D.
1407 by the Hindu convert, Zafar Khan,³
was a small principality. When separated
from Delhi, the new king had but a narrow
territory on the plain. On the north-west were
the independent Rajas of Jalor and Sirohi
from whom he occasionally levied contri-
butions. The Raja of Idar, another Rajput
prince, was in possession of the western
¹ Tod's Rajasthan, Vol. I., p. 299.
² Major Luard's Bibliography, &c., p. 70.
³ Bayley's History of Gujarāt, p 84.
51

Maharana Sāngā.
part of the hills. The rest of the hilly and
forest tract was held by the mountain tribes
of Bhils and Kolis, among whom some Raj-
put princes, mostly connected with Mewar,
had also founded petty States. The peninsula
was in the hands of nine or ten Hindu tribes
who had mostly come from Cutch and Sindh
at different periods some centuries before.
The real possessions of the kings of Gujarāt,
therefore, only included the plain between
the hills and the sea, and even of that the
eastern part belonged to an independent Raja
who resided in the hill fort of Champānēr.
On the other hand, the Gujarāt territory
stretched along the sea to the south-east
so as to include the city of Surat and some
of the country beyond it.¹ The Sultans
maintained their power, as the Hindu Rajas
were all disunited. Although none of the
latter was strong enough to drive out the
Sultan from Gujarāt, so powerful were these
Rajas that the Sultan had at times to use
all the resources of his kingdom to subdue
even one of them. If they had com-
¹ Elphinstone's History of India, p. 673. (Edition
of 1857 A.D.).
52

Maharana Sāngā.
bined, the Sultanate would have ceased to
exist.
When Sāngā came to the throne, the
Sultanate of Gujarāt was at the meridian of
its power and prosperity. Mahmud Shah
Begara's reign was drawing to a close, and it
was with his son, Muzaffar Shah II, who
reigned till A.D. 1526, that Sāngā had to
wage wars. It was through Idar that Sāngā
came into collision with the Sultan of Gujarāt.
Idar, as stated above, is a small Rāthor
Rajput principality situated on the borders of
Gujarāt. Its ruler, Rao Bhan, died, leaving
two sons, Suraj Mal and Bhim. Suraj Mal
succeeded to the throne but died after a reign
of 18 months, leaving a minor son Rai Mal,
who became Rao of Idar. He was, however,
deposed by Bhim,¹ who usurped the throne.
Rai Mal fled to Chitor for shelter. Bhim
dying a few days after this, his son Bhar
Mal, became Rao of Idar. Rai Mal on
growing up to manhood claimed his patri-
mony, and with the assistance of Maharana
¹A. K. Forbes' Ras Mala, p. 290 (1878 edition).
53

Maharana Sāngā.
Sāngā, ¹ about A.D. 1514, regained Idar,
expelling Bhar Mal, who appealed for help
to Sultan Muzaffar ² of Gujarāt. The
Sultan at the time was on the borders
of Malwa watching developments in that
country. When the envoys of Bhar Mal
reached Muzaffar, he sent Nizam-ul-mulk
with an army to reinstate Bhar Mal on the
gadi of Idar. The Mirat-i-sikandari says
that "in A.D. 1517, Rai Mal fought with
the Gujarāt armies and was sometimes defeat-
ed and sometimes victorious."³ Ferishta
says that Rai Mal was defeated and that he
retired to the hilly tract of Bijanagar.⁴
Nizam-ul-mulk after reinstating Bhar Mal
on the gadi of Idar, went in pursuit of Rai
Mal. Rai Mal issued from the hills and
attacked the Gujarāt army. In the battle that
took place, Nizam-ul-mulk was severely
defeated⁵ and his best officers and soldiers
¹ Bayley's Gujarāt, p. 252. Briggs's Ferishta, Vol.
IV., p. 83.
² Briggs's Ferishta, Vol. IV., p. 83. Ras Mala,
p. 293.
³ Bayley's Gujarāt, p. 253.
⁴ Ferishta, Vol. IV., p. 83.
Ferishta, Vol. IV., p. 83 ; also Ras Mala, p. 294.
54

Maharana Sāngā.
were slain. The Sultan thereupon recalled
Nizam-ul-mulk to Ahmadabad.
In A.D. 1517, Rai Mal, assisted by the
Maharana¹ re-entered the Idar territory.
The Sultan of Gujarāt sent his general Zahir-
ul-mulk, with a large army against him.
Zahir-ul-mulk was, however, attacked by Rai
Mal and defeated with great slaughter.²
Zahir-ul-mulk was killed at the head of his
cavalry and the Sultan’s army fled to Guja-
rāt. The Sultan now sent Nasrat-ul-mulk,
but he too failed to achieve any success
against Rai Mal, who continued to ravage
the country.
¹ K. Shyamaldas’ Vir Vinod and Briggs’ Ferishta,
p. 83.
² A. K. Forbes’ Ras Mala, p. 294.
55

CHAPTER VI.
WAR WITH SULTAN IBRAHIM LODI.
ON the death of Sultan Sikander Lodi
in A.D. 1517, his son Ibrahim succeeded
him. He was engaged in putting down the
revolts of his nobles, when news of Sāngā's
encroachments reached him. He prepared
an army and marched against Mewar. The
Maharana advanced to meet him and the
two armies met near the village of Khatoli on
the borders of Haravati (Haraoti). The Delhi
army could not stand the onslaught of the
Rajputs, and after a fight lasting two pahars
(5 hours), it gave way and fled, followed by
the Sultan himself, leaving a Lodi prince
prisoner in the hands of Sāngā. The prince
was released after a few days on payment of
a ransom.- In this battle, the Maharana lost
his left arm by a sword cut, and an arrow
made him lame for life.
¹ Duff's Chronology of India, p. 271.
56

Maharana Sāngā.
An incident which occurred about this
time illustrates the Hindu ideal of kingship.
That ideal was not that of dominating the
will of the people, and of ruling the country
as of inalienable personal right. The ideal
was that the king was the chief executive
officer of the people, that he was to
subordinate personal comfort, ambition and
activity to their general welfare, to look
upon administration as a duty rather than a
right, and to resign the position as soon
as the qualification necessary for rendering
service was lost.
It was after long treatment that the Maha-
rana's wounds received in the battle against
Ibrahim were healed and the Maharana
restored to health. In order to celebrate the
occasion, the Maharana invited the friendly
kings to a Darbar, where the entire vassal-
age and nobility of Mewar assembled to do
homage to their sovereign, and tender their
congratulations to him on his recovery.
When the nobles and the chieftains of Mewar
and the chiefs and kings of neighbouring
States had assembled, the Maharana entered
57