Maharana Udai Singh II

Udai Singh II (August 4, 1522- February 28, 1572) was the Maharana of the Mewar and the founder of the city of Udaipur in the present day of Rajasthan state of Inida. Maharana Udai Singh was the 53rd ruler of the Mewar Dynasty. He was the fourth son of the Maharana Sangram Singh or Rana Sanga and the Rani Karnavati, the princess of Bundi.  Udai Singh II is parallel remembered for his breathtakingly beautiful queens, who were 20 in numbers. This son of Rana Sanga is invariably famous in the Rajputana history for the two reasons, one for being the father of the bravest son of the Mewar, Maharana Pratap and secondly for gifting the picturesque city of Udaipur to the world.

After the death of the Rana Sanga, his enemies tried to kill Udai Singh II who was only the child at that time. Udai Singh was rescued by his nurse Panna Dhai who replaced him with her own son and sacrificed his life for the safety of the young prince. Later when he ascended the throne, he was attacked by the Akbar. At this time he already left Chittor 9 years ago, ending up in the Udaipur, giving Mewar its new capital.

The city of lakes ‘Udaipur’ is named after its founder, who then made it his capital even before Chittor was sacked by Akbar. When the Mughal army attacked Chittor, the then capital of Mewar, Maharana Udai Singh II and the royal family had already left for Gogunda, making it a temporary capital until Udai singh II shifted to Udaipur, making the gem the new capital of Mewar.
Udai Singh II who is less famous for his courage and bravery as his ancestors Rana Kumbha or the Rana Sanga, became the proud father of the Maharana Pratap who marked the Rajputana history with his heroism and the valour, making his father’s presence in the history significant and imperative.

Ashoka

Ashoka Maurya commonly known as Ashoka and also as Ashoka the Great was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost the entire Indian subcontinent from the circa 269 BCE to 232 BCE, grandson of Chandragupta. One of the India’s greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over the realm that stretched from the Hindu Kush Mountains in the west of Bengal in the East and covered the entire Indian subcontinent except parts of the present day Tamil Nadu and Kerela. The empire’s capital was the Pataliputra (in Magadha, present day-Bihar), with the provincial capitals at Taxila and Ujjain.

In about 260 BCE Ashoka waged a bitterly destructive war against the state of Kalinga. He conquered Kalinga, which none of his ancestors had done. He embraced Buddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga war, which he himself had waged out of the desire for the conquest.

He reflected on the war in Kalinga, which reportedly had resulted in more than 100,000 deaths and 150,000 deportations. Ashoka converted gradually to Buddhism beginning about the 263 BCE.

Ashoka is also referred to as Samraat Chakravartin Ashoka – the “Emperors Ashoka”.

Ashoka ruled for an estimated forty years. Legend states that during his cremation, his body burned for seven days and nights. After, the death of Ashoka, the Mauryan dynasty lasted just 50 more years until his empire stretched over almost the entire Indian subcontinent.

In the year 185 BCE, about 50 years after Ashoka’s death, the last Maurya ruler, Brihadratha, was assassinated by the commander-in- chief of the Mauryan armed forces, Pushyamitra Shunga, while he was taking the Guard of Honour his forces. Pushyamitra Shunga founded the Shunga dynasty (185 BCE-75 BCE) and ruled just the fragmented part of the Mauryan Empire. Many of the north-western territories of the Mauryan Empire became the Indo-Greek Kingdom.

King Ashoka, the 3rd monarch of the Indian Mauryan dynasty, is also considered as one of the most exemplary ruler ever lived.

Babur

Babur, 1483-1530, founder of the Mughal Empire of India. Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur also called as Baber or Babar was the conqueror from the Central Asia who, following the serious of setbacks finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty in Indian Subcontinent and became the first Mughal emperor. Babur was the direct descendant of Timur, from the Barlas clan, through his father, and also the descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother. Culturally, he was greatly influenced by the Persian culture and his father, and also the descendant of the Genghis Khan through his mother.
Culturally, he was greatly influenced by the Persian culture and this affected both his own actions and those of his successors, giving rise to the significant expansion of the Persian ethos in the Indian subcontinent.

Though born as Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, he was commonly known as Babur. He was the eldest son of Umar Sheikh Mirza, through whom he has his ancestral roots to Timur. He ascended the throne of Farghana in 1495 at the age of twelve and faced rebellion from his own relatives. He conquered Samarkhand two years later, only to lose Farghana soon after. In his attempt to re-conquer the city, he lost control of Samarkand. In 1501, his attempt to recapture the cities went in vain as he was defeated by Muhammad Shaybani Khan. In 1504, he conquered Kabul  which was under the rule of the infant heir of Ulugh Begh . Babur formed a partnership with Safavid ruler Ismail I and re-conquered parts of central Asia including Samarkand only to lose again to Uzbeks.

It was only after losing the city for the third time; he drew his attention to create his empire in India. At that time, north India was ruled by Ibrahim Lodi of the Lodi dynasty. In 1524, he got an invitation from his uncle Daulat Khan Lodi to overthrow Ibrahim and establish his rule. Babur then defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 to establish the Mughal Empire, which ruled India till 1857. However, he again had to face opposition, this time from Rana Sanga of Mewar who considered Babur as a foreigner. The Rana was defeated at the Battle of Khanwa.

Babur married several times and notable among his sons are Humayun, Kamran Mirza and Hindal Mirza. He died in 1530 and was succeeded by Humayun. According to Babur’s wishes, he was buried in Bagh-e-Babur at the Kabul in Afganisthan.

Humayun

Humayun (OS 7 March 1508 – OS 27 January 1556) was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled over territory in what is now Afganisthan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1531–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father,Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but regained it with the aid of the Safavid dynasty of Persia, with additional territory. At the time of his death in 1556, the Mughal Empire spanned almost one million square kilometers.

Humayun succeeded his father in 1531, as ruler of the Mughal territories in India. At the age of 23, Humayun was an inexperienced ruler when he came to power. His half-brother Kamran Mirza inherited Kabul and Lahore, the more northern parts of their father’s empire. Mirza was to become a bitter rival of Humayun.

Humayun lost Mughal territories to the Pashtun noble, Sher Shah Suri, and, with Persian (Safavid) aid, regained those 15 years later. Humayun’s return from Persia was accompanied by a large retinue of Persian noblemen and signaled an important change in Mughal court culture. The Central Asian origins of the dynasty were largely overshadowed by the influences of Persian art, architecture, language and literature. There are many stone carvings and thousands of Persian manuscripts in India dating from the time of Humayun.

Subsequently, in a very short time, Humayun was able to expand the Empire further, leaving a substantial legacy for his son, Akbar. His peaceful personality, patience and non-provocative methods of speech earned him the title ’Insān-i-Kamil (‘Perfect Man’), among the Mughals

Chandragupta Maurya

The Maurya Empire, the ancient Indian dynasty, c.325-c.183 B.C by the Chandragupta Maurya, who had overthrown the Nanda Dynastyand rapidly expanded his power westwards across the central and western India, taking  the advantage of disruptions of the local powers in the wake of withdrawal westwards the Alexander the Great’s Hellenic armies.

The Maurya Empire was one of the largest empires of the world in its time. It was also the largest empire ever in the Indian subcontinent.

Conquest of Magadha:

Chanakya encouraged Chandragupta Maurya and his army to take over the throne of Magadha. Using his intelligence network, Chandragupta gathered many young men from across Magadha and other provinces, men upset over the corrupt and oppressive rule of king Dhana, and took all the necessary resources for his army to fight a long serious of battle.

The preparation to invade the Pataliputra, Maurya came up with the strategy. The battle was announced and Magadhan army was drawn from the city to the distant battlefield to engage Maurya’s forces. Maurya’s   general and spies meanwhile bribed the corrupt general of Nanda. He managed to create an atmosphere of civil war in the kingdom, which culminated in the death of heir to the throne. Chanakya managed to win over popular sentiment. Ultimately, Nanda resigned, handing the power to Chandragupta, and went into the exile and was never heard of again.

Chanakya also reiterated that choosing to resists would start the war that would severely affect the Magadha and destroy the city. Rakshasa accepted the Chanakya’s reasoning and Chandragupta Maurya was legitimately made the new king of the Magadha.

Bindusara was the son of the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya and his queen Durdhara. During his reign, the empire expanded southwards. Bindusara, just 22 years old inherited the large empire that considered of what is now, Northern, central and Eastern parts of India along with parts of Afghanistan and Baluchistan. Bindusara extended this empire to the southern part of India as far as what is now known as Karnataka.  He bought sixteen states under the Mauryan Empire and thus conquered almost the entire Indian peninsula. Bindusara didn’t conquer the friendly Dravidian Kingdoms of the Cholas, ruled by the king llamcetcenni, the Pandyas and Cheras. Apart from these southern states, Kalinga (modern Odisha) was the only kingdom in the Indian didn’t form the part of the Bindusara’s empire. It was later conquered by his son Ashoka, who was served as the Viceroy of Ujjaini during his father’s reign.

Chandragupta’s grandson Ashoka Vardhana Maurya, son of Bindusara was also known as the Asoka, Ashoka or the Ashoka the Great (reign 272-232 BCE).

Ashoka was followed for 50 years by the succession of weaker kings. Brihadrata, the last ruler of the Mauryan dynasty, held territories that had shrunk considerably from the time of the emperor Ashoka.

Bappa Rawal

Bappa Rawal had born Prince kalbhoj, c. 713-810, eight ruler of the Guhilot Rajput Dynasty and the founder of the Mewar Dynasty (r.734-753) in the present day Rajasthan, India. Bappa Rawal obtain Chittor in the dowry from Maan Mori

Bappa Rawal is known for his strong pride in his Dharma and culture, for defeating the alien Arabian invaders and being the great, glorious and brave king. He started as the ruler of the small principality in Nagahrad (Nagda), and extended his ruler ship up to Chittaud.

Bappa Rawal was one of the most powerful and the famous rulers of Mewar Dynasty. Bappa was also blessed by Harita, the sage of the Mewar region with the kingship. He based the capital of Mewar in the fortress city of Chittor. In order to face the Muslim invasions across the western borders of Rajputana, Bappa united the smaller states of Ajmer and Jaisalmer to repel the invaders.
In the 39th century of Kaliyuga (i.e 8th century A.D). Muslims started attacking India within the few decades of the birth of Islam. Bappa Rawal fought and defeated the Arab invaders in the country and also turned the tide against them and dominated the aliens in their own territory. For few hundred years hundred years they had no success. Bin Qasim was unable to defeat the Dahir in Sindhi but was routed by the Bappa Rawal. Qasim attacked Chittore, which was ruled by the Mori Rajputs via Mathura. Bappa, of Guhilote dynasty was the commander in Mori army and so was the Dahir’s son.
Bappa Rawal defeated and pursued Bin Qasim through Saurashtra and back to Sindh. After this defeats of the caliphate at the hands of Bappa, for the next few hundred years there were no more Islamic incursion into India.

Bappa was also known to be just ruler.  He abdicated the throne in favour of his son- rather made his son as the king and he turned into Siva upasaka (worshipper of Shiva) and became a Yati (an ascetic who has full control over his passion).

Amar singh Rathore

Amar Singh Rathore (11 December 1613 - 25 July 1644)  was a Rajput nobleman affiliated with the royal house of Marwar, and a courtier of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in seventeenth-century India. After he was disinherited and exiled by his family, he entered the Mughals' service.

His legendary bravery and battle prowess resulted in elevation to a high rank in the imperial nobility and personal recognition by the emperor, who made him the Subedar (governor) of a region that was directly ruled by the emperor himself, Nagaur. In 1644, he was enraged by an attempt by the emperor to levy a fine on him for an unauthorized absence. In the emperor's presence, he stabbed and killed Salabat Khan, who had been asked to collect the fine.

He was the famous fighter who jumped from Agra Fort with his horse.

Raja Gaj Singh ruling Marwar region under Mughul ruler Shah Jahan. His son Amar Singh Rathore was great warrior and a patriot but was dis-inherited by his father and exiled for reasons unknown. Later, he joined Shah Jahan in Delhi Sultanate. Shah Jahan impressed by his gallantry, even made him Jagirdar of Nagaur. However Salabat Khan, brother-in-law of the emperor, was envious of Amar Singh Rathore's rise in the state and was waiting for an opportunity to discredit Amar Singh. He got opportunity soon when he learned some trifle about Amar Singh's unauthorised absence. Salabat blown it up as an issue so much that the Moghul Monarch asked Salabat to fine Amar Singh.
Shah Jahan was furious at Amar's misadventure and annoyed by the fact his force couldn't kill Amar. So next day in court, the emperor announced that a Jagir (land grant) will be given to those who would kill Amar Singh but no one was ready to take a chance with Amar Singh Rathore, as they faced his wrath just a day before. Arjun, Amar Singh's brother-in-law, accepted the challenge, lured by the emperor's offer of a jagir. Arjun approached Amar claiming the Monarch realised his mistake and would not lose a warrior Amar. Even though Amar was not convinced at the beginning, but he soon fell to Arjun's art of treachery.

On hearing Amar Singh's death, his wife along with the Rajput soldiers headed by Bhallu Singh and Ram Singh attacked the fort where the body of Amar Singh was lying. However, thousands of Moghul soldiers surrounded the Rajput forces. The valiant Rajput forces resisted them until Amar Singh's body was taken away from the fort. Though all of those Rajput fighters laid down their lives, but never bowed to the superiority of the Moghul Sultanate.

Durga Das Rathore

Durgadas Rathore (Durga Das Rathore) (13 August 1638 – 22 November 1718) is credited with having preserved the rule of the Rathore dynasty over Marwar, India, following the death of Jaswant Singh in the 17th century. In doing so he had to defy Aurangzeb, a Mughal emperor.

Durgadas was the son of Askaran Rathore, a Rajput minister of Jaswant Singh, the ruler of Marwar.
When Jaswant Singh Rathore died he had no son and this gave Aurangzeb a chance to appoint a Muslim as the ruler of Marwar. This upset Rathore Rajputs a lot. Two of Jaswant Singh's queens were pregnant when he died. One queen gave birth to Ajit Singh and other to Dalathamban. After Ajit's birth, Rathore generals, chief among them was Durga Das Rathore (a Karnot Rathore) went to Delhi along with the queens and the infants, and asked Aurangzeb that crown of Marwar should be given to Ajit Singh. Aurangzeb was very cunning and he had no intention of handing over the throne of Marwar.

He suggested that Ajit should grow up in his harem but internally he wanted to kill them all. Durga Das sensed this and they smuggled Ajit Singh out of Delhi to the outskirts of the city. When Mughal army came to capture them in Delhi, Durga Das and his men attacked the Mughals and started riding out of Delhi. Raghunandan Bhati and others soaked the streets of Delhi in crimson by flowing the blood of Mughal pursuers. There were about three hundred Rajputs with Durga Das and there were thousands of pursuing Mughals. Every so often 15 - 20 Rajputs would fall behind attack the Mughal pursuers and in the process get themselves killed but it allowed the forward party to create some distance between Ajit and the Mughals.

This continued till the evening by which time the Mughals had given up and Durga Das was left with just seven men out of three hundred he started with and reached Jaipur along with Ajit Singh. Thereby started the 30 year Rajput rebellion against Aurangzeb. Mewar and Marwar forces combined together and almost killed Aurangzeb when he was trapped in the mountains of Rajasthan but the Mewar king out of magnanimity allowed Aurangzeb to escape. All the trade routes were plundered by Rajputs and they started looting various treasuries of Rajasthan and Gujarat. To crush them Aurangzeb sent many expeditions but no success. These expeditions and drying up of revenue from trade routes running through Rajasthan had severe effect on his resources. In addition the lion of Maharashtra, Shivaji, had freed almost all of Maharashtra and was at constant war with Aurangzeb. Shivaji had some Rajput ancestry. Finally, on his death-bed Aurangzeb complained that his life had been a complete failure.

Maharaja Jaswant Singh

Maharaja Jaswant Singh (26 December 1629 – 28 December 1678) was the ruler of Marwar in the present day Indian state of Rajasthan. He was the Rajput belonging to the Rathore Clan. His father was Maharaja Gaj Singh.

Jaswant Singh succeeded his father on his death by special decree of the Emperor Shah Jahan, in accordance with his father's wishes, on 6 May 1638.

He was installed on the gaddi at Sringar Chowki, Mehrangarh, Jodhpur, on 25 May 1638. He was granted the personal title of Maharaja by the Emperor Shah Jahan, on 6 January 1654.

In the Battle of Dharmatpur, Jaswant Singh opposed Aurangzeb. The battle was fought on 15 April 1658, fifteen miles from Ujjain. Jaswant could have attacked Aurangzeb but he allowed Murad's armies to join Aurangzeb. He was desirous of beating both mughal princes at once. This delay allowed Aurangzeb to win over the mughal general, Kasim Khan, who was sent by Shah Jahan to help Jaswant. Kasim Khan defected as soon as the war started but 30,000 Rathores of Jaswant decided that they would not leave the field. Some prominent generals in Maharaja's army were Mukund Singh Hara of Kotah and Bundi, Dayal Das Jhala, Arjun Gaur of Rajgarh in Ajmer province and Ratan Singh Rathore of Ratlam. Jaswant attacked both Aurangzeb and Murad and they barely escaped.

Finally the unequal contest ended and Aurangzeb named the place of victory Fatehabad. In this battle Durga Das Rathore changed four horses and lost about half a dozen swords (they broke due to intense fighting) and he finally fell down half dead. Maharajah ordered him to be carried away.

Prithviraj Singh was Jaswant Singh's son. It is chronicled in Marwar khyats that Aurangzeb presented Prithviraj Singh a dress which was poisoned. On wearing this dress Prithviraji died in great pain at Delhi, 8 May 1667. Prithviraj was a good leader and a brave prince. Jaswant could not get over the shock of his son's death.

Maharaja Jaswant died at Jamrud, near Peshawar, on 28 December 1678. At the time of his death two of his wives were pregnant, and both would later bear sons. This led to a war in which there were attempts to install Jaswant Singh's elder surviving son Ajit Singh Rathore as ruler of Marwar.

Prithviraj Chauhan

Rai Pithora, popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan (1149-1192 CE), was the Rajput king of the Chauhan dynasty, who ruled the kingdoms of Ajmer and Delhi in the northern India during the latter half of the 12th century.

Prithviraj Chauhan was the 2nd last Hindu king to sit upon the throne of Delhi before the Hemu. He succeeded to the throne in 1179 CE at the age of 13 and ruled from the twin capitals of Ajmer and Delhi which he received from his maternal grandfather, Arkpal or Anangpal III of the Tomara dynasty in Delhi. His elopement in the 1175 with the Samyukta (sanyogita), the daughter of the Jai Chandra Rathod.


1st Battle of Tarain, 1191

In 1191, Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori captured the fortress of Bhatinda in the East Punjab, leaving the garrison of 1200 men, which was located on the frontier of his domain. He marched to Bhatinda and met his enemy at the place called as Tarain near the ancient town of Thanesar. The Ghurid army initiated battle by attacking with the cavalry who launched arrows at the Rajput center. The army of Prithviraj counter- attacked from three sides and dominated the battle, pressuring the Ghurid army into the withdrawal. Prithviraj succeeded in stopping the Ghurid advance towards the Hindusism in the 1st battle of Tarain. Prithviraj did not pursue Ghori’s army not wanting to invade hostile territory or misjudging Ghori’s ambition, instead electing to retake the fortress of Bhatinda.

2nd Battle of Tarain, 1192

In the 1192, Ghori reassembled the force of 120,000 men and returned to challenge the Chauhan at the Second Battle of Tarain. When he reached Lahore, he sent his surrogate to demand surrender but Chauhan refused to comply. Chauhan then appealed to his fellow Rajput rulers and the aristocracy to come to his aid against Ghori.

Prithvi raj assembled the very large army with the aid of approx 150 Rajputs rulers and aristocrats. According to the Persian historian Firishta, it consists of 3,000 elephants, 300,000 horsemen and considerable infantry.  The force was larger than that of Ghori, the armies met in Tarain where the Ghori delivered an ultimatum to Chauhan that he convert to Islam or be defeated. Chauhan countered with an offer that Ghori should consider a ceasefire and to retreat with his army. Ghori decided to attack.

Ghori then divided his army into the five parts and attacked in early morning hours, sending waves of mounted archers. They retreated as the Chauhan elephant phalanx advanced Ghori deployed the 4 parts to attack the Rajput on four sides, keeping the fifth part of his army in reserve. The general Khande Rao of the Chauhan forces was killed. At the dusk, Ghori himself led the army of 12,000 heavily armoured horsemen to the centre of the Rajput line, which collapsed into the confusion. Chauhan attempted to escape but was captured. The Rajput army broke ranks and fled thereby conceding victory to Ghori. Chauhan was put to death.

Rana Kumbha

Maharana Kumbhakarna (Rana Kumbha) was the ruler of Mewar, the state in the western India, between the AD 1433 and 1468. Rana Kumbha was the Rajput belonging to the Sisodiya clan. Kumbha was the son of Rana Mokal of Mewar by his wife Sobhagya Devi, the daughter of Jaitmal Sankhla, the Parmara fief-holder of Runkot in the state of Mewar.

Maharana Kumbha was vanguard of the fifteenth century Hindu resurgence in the north-western India. A very tall and powerful man, he held the Mewar flag flying high in an age when several Indian Kings like Kapilendradeva of east India, Deva Raya II of the south India and Man Singh Tomar of the central India defeated the Turkic invaders in different parts of India.

After being overrun by the armies of Alauddin Khilji at the turn of 13th century, Mewar had become relatively insignificant. Rana Hammira is credited with the casting off Muslim yoke and establishing the second Guhila dynasty of Chittor in 1335.

Rana Hammira’s grandson, Maharana Mokal was assassinated by the 2 brothers Chacha and Mera in 1433. Lack of support, however, caused Chacha and Meera to flee and Rana Kumbha ascended the throne of Mewar. Initially, the Rana Kumbha was ably assisted by the Ranmal (Ranmalla) Rathore of Mandore. In November 1442, Mahmud Khilji, Sultan of Malwa, commenced a series of attacks on Mewar.

On April 26, 1443, Maharana Kumbha attacked the Sultan’s encampment, following an indecisive battle the Sultan returned to Mandu. The Sultan again attacked in November 1443, capturing Gagraun and adjoining forts but the capture of Chittor eluded him. The next attack was on Mandalgarh in October 1446 and was also unsuccessful. The sultan did not attack Mewar for another ten Years. In order to commemorate his resounding victory over the combined armies of Malwa and Gujarat in 1440 AD, Rana Kumbha got the famed 37 meter, 9 storeys high ‘Vijay Sthambha’ erected at Chittorgarh which was completed in 1448 AD.

In a patricide, Rana Kumbha was killed by his son Udaysimha (Udai Singh I). His achievement, however still continues to inspire successive generations of Indians.

Read more about rana kumbha: http://www.eternalmewarblog.com/rulers-of-mewar/Maharana-Kumbha/

Rana Sanga

Maharana Sangram Singh (12 April 1484- 17 March 1527) popularly known as Rana Sanga was the Rajput ruler of Mewar. He ruled between 1509 and 1527.

The scion of the Sisodia clan of Suryavanshi Rajputs, Rana Sanga succeeded his father, Rana Raimal as the king of Mewar in 1509. He fought against the Mughals in the battle of Khanwa, which ended with the Mughal Victory, and died shortly thereafter on March 17, 1527.  He was married to Rani Karnavati who latter committed Jauhar on the March 8, 1535 AD inside Chittor Fort. She was the mother of next two Rana’s, Rana Vikramaditya and Rana Uday Singh and Grandmother of the legendary Maharana Pratap.

Maharaja Sangram sigh was not only the great warrior who fought gallantly but also a visionary. Under the maharaja many Rajput states united together and fought the foreigners.

Rana Sanga was the warrior with a resolute as strong as his grandfather Rana Kumbha. It is also said that despite of losing his one arm, one eye and number of other injuries, he continued fighting with his enemies.

Maharana Sanga is also remembered for his Chivalry, when he restored the kingdom Of Mandu. After defeating the Sultan Mahmud of Mandu and taking his as a prisoner of war, he treated him and his kingdom with the generosity and bravery.

Mahraja Sanga fought with rulers of Delhi, Gujarat and Malwa many times during his life defeating them on various accounts. After the assassination of the Ibrahim Lodi by Babur, the power in Delhi declined. He emerged as the strongest Hindu king of North India and then he decided to conquer Delhi and bring complete India under his rule.


 Maharaja Sanga, united with Rajputs fought Babur in the battle of Khanwa which proved to be extremely brutal and deadly. With the initial advantage, the Rajput lost and Rana Sanga fell unconscious. He was whisked away to safety by his men, after gaining the consciousness and knowing about the defeat. Maharana Sanga death established the Mughal rule in India marking the new beginning to the history of Indian subcontinent.

Read more about Rana Sanga here: http://www.eternalmewarblog.com/rulers-of-mewar/

Rani Padmini

Rani Padmini (died 1303 CE), was the queen of Chittor, the wife of King Rawal Ratan Singh  and the daughter of the contemporary Sinhala king.

Padmini or Padmavati spent her life in Singhal under the care of her father Gandharvsen and mother Champavati. Padmini had a talking parrot named "Hiramani". Her father arranged a swayamvara and invited all the Hindu kings and Rajputs to ask for her hand (request to marry her by showing their eligibility). Malkhan Singh, a king from a small state came to her swayamvara to marry her. King Rawal Ratan Singh of  Chittor who had another queen Nagmati, also went to Singhal, defeated Malkhan Singh and married Padmini as the winner of the swayamvara. He returned to Chittor with his beautiful second queen Padmini.

The Sultanate of Delhi- In the 12th and 13th centuries, the kingdom set up the invaders were nevertheless grow in power. The Sultans made the repeated attack on the Mewad on one pretext or other. Here you can recollect the story of Rani Padmini who was the pre text for the Allah-ud-din-khilji’s attack on the chittod.

During those days chittod was under the Rule of king Ratansen, the brave and the dignified warrior king. Apart from being the loving husband and the the just the ruler, Ratansen was also the patron of the arts. In his court were many talented people one of was the musician named as the Raghav Chetan

On hearing this King Ratansen was very enraged and he banished Raghav Chetan from his kingdom after blackening his face with the face and making him to ride a donkey. This harsh Punishment earned king Ratansen the uncompromising enemy. After his humiliation, Raghav Chetan made his way towards the Delhi with the motive of trying to ignite the Sultan of Delhi Ala-ud-din Khilji to attack Chittor.

On reaching Delhi, Raghav Chetan settled down in one forests near to Delhi which the Sultan used to frequently come for hunting deer. One day on hearing the Sultan's hunt party entering the forest, Raghav-Chetan started playing the melodious tone on his flute. When the attracting notes of Raghav-Chetan flute reached the Sultan's party they were surprised as to who could be playing a flute in such a masterly way in a forest.

Sultan dispatched his soldiers to summon the person and when the Raghav-Chetan was brought before him, the Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji asked him to come to his court at Delhi. The wily Raghav-Chetan asked the king as why he wants to have the ordinary musician like himself when there were many other beautiful things to be had.

But to his dismay, on reaching the Chittor, Allah-ud-din found that the fort to be heavily defended. Desperate to have the look at the legendary beauty of Padmini, he sent word to King Ratansen that he looked upon Padmini as his sister and wanted to meet her. On hearing this, Ratansen asked Padmini to see 'brother'. But Padmini was more wordly-wise and she refused to meet the lewd Sultan personally.

Persuaded by her husband Rana Ratansen, Rani Padmini accepts to allow Ala-ud-din to see her only in the mirror. On the word sent to Ala-ud-din that Padmini would see he if came to the fort with his selected his best warriors who secretly made the careful examination of the fort's defenses’ on their way to the Palace.

On seeing Padmini, in the mirror, the lascivious 'brother', Allah-ud-din Khilji decided that he will save Padmini himself. While returning to his camp, Allah-ud-din was accompanied by King Ratansen.

The Rajput generals decided to beast the Sultan at his own game and sent back the word that Padmini would be given to Ala-ud-din the next morning.

On hearing that his designs had been frustrated, the Sultan was furious and orders his army to storm Chittor. But hard as they tried Sultans army could not able to break into the fort. Then the Ala-ud-din decided to lay blockade to the fort. The siege was the long drawn one and gradually supplied within the fort were depleted. Finally the King Ratnasen gave orders that Rajputs would open the gates and fight to finish with the besieging troops.

On hearing this decision, Rani Padmini decided that with their men-folk going into the unequal struggle with the Sultan's army in which they were sure to perish, the women of Chittor had either to commit suicides or face dishonor at the hands of the victorious enemy.

Rao Maldeo Rathore

Rao Maldeo Ji Rathore (r.1511-November 7, 1562) was an Indian ruler of Marwar, which was later known as Jodhpur. He was the scion of the Rathore clan. His father was Rao Ganga Ji and his mother was Rani Padmavati of Sirohi.

The then Muslim historian Ferishta calls him as the “most Potent Prince of Hindustan”.
Humayun, Babur’s son was defeated by the Sher Shah Suri, a Pathan. Humayun was forced to leave India and he took refuge within the Safavid King of Persia. Sher Shah became the ruler of Delhi. The sisodia’s of Mewar had not yet recovered from the Rana Sanga’s defeat. The Rathore King Rao Maldeo had extended his territory to within the couple of hundred Kilometers of Delhi.

Sher Shah attacked Maldeo. Maldeo came with the force of 40 thousand and Sher Shah had 60 thousand. In the evening Sher Shah sent forged letters to Maldeo’s camp. In the letters it was stated that few generals from Maldeo’s army were buying arms from the Sher Shah’s army. This caused great consternation in Maldeo who thought there was no treachery. Later when Maldeo’s generals Kumpa (his progeny are Kumpawat Rathores) and Jaita (his progeny are Jaitawat Rathores) found out what happened they did not lose cool and decided  they would not leave the field even though they just had 20 thousands men and had to face sixty thousand Pathans of Sher Shah.

 Finally the battle of Sammel was fought on the cold morning of January 5th 1544 AD. and Sher Shah was shocked by what he saw. Sher Shah’s top generals lost their lives and his army suffered heavy losses. It is the moot point now but had Maldeo not retreated because of the fake letter, Rathore/Rajputs would have defeated Sher Shah.

After his death on 7th November, 1562, the fratricidal contest began for the throne of Marwar and finally his third son, Chandrasen Crowned himself in Jodhpur and his region was short lived as Akbar occupied Merta in 1562 and occupied in 1563.

Maharana Pratap

Maharana Pratap was the ruler of Mewar, the region in North-western India in the present day state of Rajasthan. He belongs to the sisodia clan of Rajputs. In the popular Indian culture, Maharana Pratap is considered to exemplify the qualities like the bravery and Chivalry to which the Rajputs aspire, especially in context of his opposition to Mughal emperor Akbar. Maharana Pratap was born on 9th may 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan. He was the son of Maharana Udai Singh II and his mother was Rani Jeevant Kanwar. Maharana Udai Singh II ruled ruled the kingdom of Mewar, with his capital of the Chittor. Maharana Pratap was destined to be the 54th ruler of Mewar in the Sisodiya Rajput. Maharana Pratap was the eldest of twenty five sons and he was given the title of crown prince.

In 1567, when Prince Pratap Singh was only of 27, Chittor was surrounded by Mughal Emperor Akbar. Maharana Udai Singh II decided to leave the Chittor and also decided to move his family to Gogunda, rather than fight with Mughals But the young Pratap Singh wanted to stay back and wanted to fight with the Mughals but his elder intervened and convinced him to leave the Chittor.

Famous Battle- Haldighati:

The famous battle – Haldighati Battle is a historical event in the history of India. Haldighati battle took place in 1576. Battle of Haldighati was fought with the 20,000 Rajputs against the army of Mughals of 80,000 men which was commanded by Raja Man Singh. Army of Maharana Pratap was not defeated but Maharana Pratap was surrounded by Mughal soldiers.

Another casualty of the war was Maharana’s Pratap famous and loyal, horse Chetak, who gave up his life to save the Maharaja. Chetak was injured in the battle of Haldighati. Just to save the life of his master, he jumped over a big canal. The brave and strong Maharana cried over the death of his faithful horse but later on he constructed a beautiful garden at that place where the Chetak had breathed last. After this Akbar himself attacked Maharana Pratap but after 6months fighting, Akbar could not defeated Maharana Pratap and went back to Delhi. In year 1584, Akbar sent another great warrior Jagannath with the huge army to Mewar. He tried relentlessly for 2 years then also he was not able to catch Rana Pratap.

In this battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratab was supported by the bhil tribes of the nearby area. This contribution of the bhil tribe in battle is still remembered till date and given an honor by the Rajputs of Mewar regimen. Also, this battle is considered to be the first milestone of the victory over Mughal emperor.

Maharana Pratap died at the age of 27 in year 1597 due to the multiple injuries in an accident. In his life the main goal of Maharana Pratap was not to surrender in the front of Mughals. Even while lying in the lap of death Maharana Pratap made his son and successors swear to maintain the eternal conflict against the Mughal Emperor.

Maharana Pratap is the great model of freedom fighter, bravery and patriotism against the Mughal ruler in India. It is just because of this brave freedom fighter, Mewar got appreciation and honor to be the only kingdom to get merged with its state in the Independent India.

Maharana Pratap lived his whole life with the courage and he never bowed down in front of any situation. He died in fighting for his own nation, for his people and importantly for his honor.

References:
http://www.eternalmewarblog.com/rulers-of-mewar/Maharana-Pratap-Singh/