Durgadas Rathore was among the great personalities of Rajasthan (the land of heroes). He was born on 13 August 1638 at Salwa in a Rajput family of Marwar. His father, Askaran Rajthore, was a general in the army of Maharaja Jaswant Singh.
Durgadas’s childhood days were very uneventful. As his mother didn’t get along with her husband and co-wives, he has to live with her in a village near Sawla Kalan.
His uprightness in Childhood
When Durgadas was young, he killed the official herdsman who looked after the king’s camels for speaking insolently about the king. This act got him an appointment in the army of Maharaja Jaswant Singh. He served the army throughout the king’s life and after the kings’s death in 1678, Durgadas shouldered the task of safeguarding the freedom of Marwar and life of its young king, Ajit Singh, son of Jaswant Singh.
After the death of Maharaja Jaswant Singh, mughal emperor Aurangzeb intervened and appointed a Muslim to rule over Marwar, which unsettled the Rathore clan. Durgadas took the infant Ajit Singh to Aurangzeb and asked him that the infant be confirmed in his late father’s estated and titles.
The Great Saving of Ajit Singh
When Durgadas and others of the delegation were taking Ajit Singh out of Delhi, the mughal guard fell in hot pursuit of them. Durgadas and his 300 men, fought with them. At regular intervals, some 15-20 Rajputs would fall behind to check the mughal pursuers. In this process, many rajputs got killed, but this allowed the forward party to create some distance between Ajit and the Mughals. By evening, Durgadas was left with just 7 men out of the 300. He finally managed to shift Ajit Singh to Jaipur. Later, the infant was moved to Sirohi, a remote town on the southern fringes of Marwar. The infant grew up there in anonymity.
For 30 years after this event, Marwar remained under the direct rule of a mughal governor. During this period, Durgadas carried out a relentless struggle against the occupying forces. After that Ajit Singh was proclaimed Maharaja of Jodhpur.
Heroic Durgadas completed his duties successfully with bravery and after fulfilling the promise which he gave to Jaswant Singh. He left Jodhpur and stayed at many places including Sadri, Sadri, Udaipur, Rampura, Bhanpura for some time and then left to worship Mahakaal at Ujjain. On 22nd November 1718, on the banks of the Sipra at Ujjain, Durgadas passed away at the age of 81 years. Durgadas left behind a shining example of loyalty, chivalry and courage.
