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Posts Tagged brave kings of Rajasthan

Raja Amar Singh Rathore – A Brave Commander of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan’s Army

Nov 19

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Raja Amar Singh Rathore was one of the bravest kings of Rajput family from Ajmer. He held  commander position in Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s army.

His Exile

Amar Singh was the eldest son of Maharaja and as per the tradition he was the obvious heir to the throne; but because of his snide behavior towards the new mughal spouse, he was ordered to remain in exile rest of his life. He left Rajasthan and went to Agra where Mughal emperor Shah Jahan offered a significant post in his army. After joining Mughal army he fought many battles and because of his brave performances, he got steady promotions in Shahjahan’s administration.

Amar Singh’s conflict with Shah Jahan

In mughal court, the other fellow courtiers were jealous of Amar Singh as he was getting more recognition by their king. One day when Amar Singh went for hunting without taking permission of Shah Jahan, the other fellow courtiers told that it is insult of Mughal emperor. Amar Singh challenged that he is not answerable to any one and killed a courtier because of the courtier’s misbehavior. Shah Jahan was shocked by this act and the entire mughal army was ordered to capture Amar Singh. The brave king jumped from Agra fort with his horse and escaped his life.

Shah Jahan gave the responsibility to kill Amar Singh to Amar Singh’s brother in law. Amar’s brother-in-law invited Amar Singh for a compromise in mughal court. Amar went for the dinner and got killed in the court. Shahjahan kept Amar Singh’s body on a tower challenging the Rajputs to take it away.

Amar’s Singh Brave Friend Ballu

Amar Singh’s wife wanted to be sati with her husband so she went to Ballu (a friend of Amar Singh) to get his husband’s body. Ballu took the bravest Rajput soldiers with him and killed the mughal soldiers that came  in their way. The brave Ballu jumped from Agra fort with Amar Singh’s body and delivered it to his wife. Ballu got injured badly while performing this duty and soon died.

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Raja Man Singh – A brave Rajput King of Akbar’s Empire

Nov 15

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Raja Man Singh was son of  Bhagwant Das, king of Amber (Jaipur), and Rani Bhagawati ji Sahiba. He was born on December 21, 1550.

After his father’s death, he received the title of Mansab (a commander of 5000 soldiers) in 1589. In 1605 he became mansabdar (commander) of 7000 soldiers in the Mughal force of Akbar.

Dinner with Maharana Pratap

Akbar sent Man Singh to Rana Pratap, the grandson of Rana Sanga, to convince him to accept Mughal sovereignty.

Rana Pratap invited Man Singh for a dinner but when he came to know that Man Singh wanted him to accept Mughal sovereignty, he refused to come and sent his son Amar Singh for dinner. Man Singh took it as insult of his king Akbar and left the dinner. After that he was appointed to lead the Mughal army against Maharana Pratap and he fought many wars against him for Akbar.

Haldighati war

In 3 April 1576 Man Singh fought a gruesome war with Maharana Pratap. In this war Man Singh’s “Mahout” and Rana Pratap’s famous horse “Chetak” were killed. The war was won by Mughal forces. One of Rana Pratap’s nobleman Jhala Man Singh saved Rana by putting the helmet and pretending to be Rana Pratap. He was killed by Mughal forces.

Man Singh as Mughal’s Governor in Kabul

In 1580 when Akbar started to expand his empire in Kabul, his troops were hesitating to cross the Indus River. At that time the brave Raja Man Singh crossed it at first and the remaining troops followed him. In 1582 Kabul was annexed by the Mughal Empire and Man Singh was appointed Governor.

Cultural Achievements

Raja Man Singh built a seven store temple of Lord Krishna in Virndavan as he was a devotee of Lord Krishna. Later three stores were demolished by Aurangzeb and four stores are still present in Vrindavan.

He was  a trusted general of Mughal army and Akbar used to call him “Farzand” (son). Akbar even included Man Singh in his Navaratnas.

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Veer Durgadas Rathore – A Loyal and Courageous Warrior

Nov 9

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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.

His Last Days

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.

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