महाराणा कुम्भा (हरविलास सारदा - मेवाड़ साम्राज्य के अद्वितीय विजेता, निर्माता व विद्वान्)

Maharana Kumbha. xxvi Colonel James Tod's monumental work, The Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, published in 1829-32 A.D., was written at a time when the history of Rajputana was practically a sealed book to the public. A century has since passed, yet such are the intrinsic merits of "that wonderful work," that it still remains the chief source in the English language, to which a student of Rajput history has to turn for enlightenment and know- ledge. It is a book which should be read by every one who belongs to Rajputana or who has Rajput blood in his veins. It should be taught to the students of the Mayo College, Ajmer, and in schools in the Rajput States. Copies of it should be freely given as prize books. Rajputana has produced several remarkable men, who, by their character and achievements, have made the name Rajput, a synonym of chivalry and heroism, and the history of this province the brightest page in the history of Mediæval India. Their heroic lives and chivalrous deeds are a source of perennial inspiration and interest to Indians. My sincere obligations are due to Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Gauri Shankar Ojha, whose unique knowledge of Indian History and vast collection of epigraphic finds have always been available to me. I have received most valuable assistance from him in preparing the Appendix. The illustration of Maharana Kumbha which appears as Frontispiece to this book is from a photographic copy of an old portrait taken away from Mewar and deposi- ted in the British Museum, London. AJMER, 1st October, 1932. HAR BILAS SARDA.

CHAPTER I. ——— THE GUHILOT FAMILY OF MEWAR. MAHARANA KUMBHAKARANA or Kumbhá, as he is popularly called, was one of the greatest of the sovereigns who have ruled in Rajputana. The Surya Vamsha is the most famous of the ruling families of India, and the most celebrated of its many branches is the Guhilot family, which has ruled Mewar without a break for nearly fourteen centuries. It has produced some of the greatest and most powerful kings that have made the name of Rajputana resplendent in the annals of India. Inspired by the highest patriotism, ever up- holding Dharma though surrounded by power- ful foes and faced with almost insuperable difficulties, enduring without flinching untold suffering, and overcoming all by a self-sacri- fice and heroism which have wrung the highest praise from their bitterest foes, they have made the pages of history a continuous record of high inspiration and noble purpose. 1

Maharana Kumbha. Their immortal deeds, their chivalrous charac- ter, their high ideals, their elevated and noble patriotism have placed them at the head of the Hindu nation and earned for them the title of Hindua Suraj, "the Sun of the Hindus." "It has rarely occurred in any country," says Col. Tod, "to have possessed successively so many energetic princes as ruled Mewar through several centuries."¹ Jaitra Singh, Hammir, Kumbhá, Sángá, Pratáp, Ráj Singh are names that will shine bright throughout the ages, and will be revered so long as chivalry is not despised, patriotism not discarded, and valour not condemned. Maharana Kumbha ascended the throne of Mewar² in A.D. 1433 in the renowned fortress of Chitor, and ruled till A.D. 1468, a period of nearly 35 years, which is one of the most prosperous and important in the history ¹ Tod's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. I, p. 286. ² Colonel Tod, in his Annals and Antiquities of Rajas- than, Vol. I, p. 286, gives S. 1475 (A.D. 1419) as the year of Kumbha's accession to the throne. This is incorrect. The Chitor Samiddheshwar Temple Inscription of Mágh Sud 3rd, S. 1485 (A.D 1429) says that Maharana Mokal renovated that temple in 1429 A.D. See Infra p. 13. Barva Devidan's bahi gives 1433 A.D. as the year of Kumbha's accession to the throne. 2

Maharana Kumbha. of Mewar. His character and achievements are thus summed up in a sentence by Colonel Tod. He says : "All that was wanting to augment her (Mewar's) resources against the storms which were collecting on the brows of Caucasus and the shores of Oxus, and were destined to burst on the head of his grandson, Sángá, was effected by Kumbha, who with Hammir's energy, Lakha's taste for arts, and a genius comprehensive as either and more fortunate, succeeded in all his undertakings, and once more raised the crimson banner of Mewar upon the banks of the Caggar, the scene of Samarsi's defeat." ¹ Kumbhá was the eldest son of Ráná Mokal by his Parmár Queen, Sobhágya Devi, ² daughter of Rájá son of Jaitmál Sánkhla, ³ and thus united in himself the fine qualities of these two of the royal races of India, the culture of the one and the chivalry of the other. ¹ Tod's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. I, p. 287. ² Chitorgarh Kirtisthambha Inscription, verse 179. Also Kumbhalgarh Inscription of Kumbha. As a girl she was called Maya Kanwar. ³ See Kaviraj Bankey Das' Historical Miscellany : No. 450 & 1340. He was ruler of Rūnkot in Marwar. 3

CHAPTER II. —·— RANA KHSHETRA SINGH & LAKHSH SINGH. MAHARANA KUMBHA'S great grandfather Rana Khshetra Singh, who ruled Mewar from A.D. 1364 to 1382, was the eldest son and successor of the celebrated Ráná Hammir. Hammir died in A.D 1364 leaving 4 sons,¹ Khshetra Singh, Luna, Khangār and Aerisal. Khshetra Singh popularly called Kheta,² during his 18 years of reign was constantly engaged in warfare. He greatly enlarged the kingdom of Mewar. He captured Ajmer, Jahāzpur, Mandsaur, and annexed Chhappan³ to Mewar. He conquered Hārāvati, the territory of the Hārās, the principal branch of the Chauhān Rajputs, and took possession of their important fortress Māndalgarh. ¹ Mehta Nainsi's Khyat. ² Khshetra Singh was popularly called Khetá, as his son Lakhsh Singh was called Lākha. Maharana Kumbhakaran was popularly called Kumbha and Rana Jaitra Singh was called Jaitā. ³ Tod's Rajasthan, Vol. 1, p. 42. The southern portion of Mewar is called Chhappan. It formerly belonged to Rathods. 4

Maharana Kumbha. The Khumbhalgarh Inscription of A.D. 1460, verse 198, and the Eklingji ¹ Temple Inscription of A.D. 1488, sl. 131, both say that Khshetra Singh invaded the land of the Harās, broke and reduced to submission the fortress of Mandalgarh, which according to the Shringirishi Inscription of A.D. 1428, even Allauddin Khilji was unable to touch. Khshetra Singh attacked and defeated the Sultans of Malwa and Gujrat. He defeated Dilawar Khan Ghori, the first Sultan of Malwa in a battle fought at Bakrole ² and destroyed his army. Amin Shah ³ was the original name of Sultan Dilawar Khan Ghori of Malwa, vide. Rizaqulla Mushtaqi's Wakiat Mushtaqi ⁴ and Roger's Tuzaki Jahangiri ⁵ Dilawar Khan's son's name before he succeeded his father as Sultan of Malwa under the title of Hoshang, was Alpkhan. ¹ Bhavanagar Inscriptions, p. 119. ² Bakrole was given by Rana Ari Singh as Jagir to Dhiraj Singh, who named the place Hammirgarh, after Rana Ari Singh's successor, Hammir Singh. ³ Some historians have been misled by Amin Shah having become Humayun Shah in some manuscripts. This explains Colonel Tod's statement that the Maharana defeated Emperor Humayun at Bakrole. ⁴ Elliot's History of India, Vol., IV, p. 552. ⁵ Vol. I, p. 407. 5

Maharana Kumbha. The Kumbhalgarh Inscription of A.D. 1460, verse 200, says that the "Mussalman king of Malwa received such a chastisement from Rana Khshetra Singh that he constantly sees him in his dreams." "The Rana captured Amin Shah as a serpent captures a toad," v. 202. The Eklingji Temple Inscription,¹ v. 119, of A.D. 1488, says : "He who burnt down the poison of the pride of the great serpent Amin Shah, was the great Rana Khshetra Singh of Chitor." The Shringirishi Inscription of 1428 A.D. (unpublished) verse 6, says that Khshetra Singh "by the strength of his sword defeated Amin Shah² and killed all the Muslims (of his army) and captured his treasure and countless horses and brought them to Chitor." The Eklinga Mahatamya, Sloka 156, and Kumbha's Kirtisthambha Inscription of 1460 A.D. also mention this fact. ¹ Bhavanagar Inscriptions, p. 119. ² A couplet in a popular Rupak says :— एतलो कटक अमीशाह को, खेतल भंजै खङ्गवल । अइवेग चलन्तो दीठ में, रहस तरोवर एक तल ॥ —Naiṅsi's khyat, p. 22. 6

Maharana Kumbha. The Chitor Kiritisthambha Inscription, verse 23, of A.D. 1460, says that Khshetra Singh conquered Idar and imprisoned its valorous ruler Raja Ran Mal, who had com- pletely defeated Zafar Khan, the first indepen- dent Sultan of Gujrat.¹ The Kumbhalgarh Inscription, verse 196, says "Raja Ran Mal had broken the power of Zafar Khan, who had imprisoned many Rajas. That Ran Mal (Raja of Idar) who had made large numbers of Muslim women widows, had to remain without a bed in Khshetra Singh's prison, when a hundred Rajas were imprisoned." The Eklingji Temple Inscription, v. 119, of 1485 A.D., says that the Maharana took away the State treasure of Idar and placed Ran Mal's son on the throne of that kingdom. The Kumbhalgarh Inscription, v. 119, says that Khshetra Singh conquered Toda, defeating its ruler Satal.² Rana Khshetra Singh died in A.D. 1382, leaving 7 sons, of whom the eldest Lakhsh Singh succeeded him. Only one inscription ¹ Lane Poole's Muhammadan Dynasties of India, p. 312. ² For an account of Todā, see Archæological Survey Report for 1872-73, Vol; VI, p. 124. 7

Maharana Kumbha. of the time of Khshetra Singh has so far come to light. It is engraved on the door of the Seetla Mata temple in Gogandā and is dated the Asoj Vad 13, V. S. 1423 (A.D. 1366). RANA LAKHSH SINGH. Lakhsh Singh or Lakha,¹ as he was popularly called, was one of the most successful of the Maharanas of Mewar, and reigned from 1382 to 1397 A.D. In his father Rana Khshetra Singh's time, while he was heir apparent to the throne, Lakhā led an expedition against the fortress of Joga² and conquered it. He extended his dominions by the subju- gation of Merwārā. He destroyed the chief stronghold of the Mérs, Beratgarh, on the ruins of which he founded Badnor.³ The Kumbhalgarh Inscription of S. 1460, V. 212, and the Chitorgarh Tower of Victory Inscrip- tion, verse 36, mention this conquest. It was during his reign that the tin and silver ¹ Also called Lākhan. ² Eklingji Temple Inscription, V. 35, published in Bhavanagar Inscriptions, p. 119. ³ Tod's Rajasthan, Vol. 1, p. 274. 8

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Jug Mandir Palaces—Pichola Lake, Udaipur.

Maharana Kumbha. mines of Jāwar in the hilly district of Mewar were discovered. With the revenues thus augmented, he rebuilt the palaces and temples which had been destroyed by Sultan Allauddin Khilji of Delhi. He excavated many reservoirs and lakes, raised immense ramparts to dam their waters and constructed a number of forts.¹ Tradition has it that during Rana Lakha’s reign, a rich Banjara constructed the famous Picholā lake, on the bank of which the city of Udaipur was built later. This beautiful lake containing the celebrated island palaces of Jagmandir and Jagniwas, is 2½ miles long by 1½ miles wide. It was in one of the Jagmandir palaces that Shahjahan, then Prince Khurram, was given shelter by Maha- rana Karan Singh when the former rebelled against his father Emperor Jahāngir in 1622 A.D. The Maharana built a domed building for the prince, the interior being decorated with mosaics in onyx cornelian jaspers and agates while a chapel was built near by to a Muslim saint to keep the Prince 'in the odour ¹Vir Vinod, Vol. 1, p. 308. 9

Maharana Kumbha. of sanctity. May be that Shah Jahan here got the idea of marble mosaics for the famous Taj Bibi ka Roza or Taj Mahal that he built at Agra. Inscriptions of the time of Maharana Lakha show that Ghanérao, Nānā and Ḳot Solankian had become incorporated with Mewar. The inscription dated V. S. 1468 (1411 A.D.) engraved on the magnificent steel trisula in the Achaleshwar temple at Abu, says that the trisula had been manufactured in Ghanérao in Maharana Lakha's time. Another inscrip- tion of V. S. 1475 (A.D. 1419) found in Kot Solankian says that the Jain temple in the Asalpur fort was renovated in Maharana Lākhā's time, Vide Muni Jin Vijai's Prāchin Lekh Sangrah, Part II, p. 221, Inscription no. 370. These two inscriptions show that the rich province of Godwar had passed into the Maharana's possession either in Lakha's time or before it. Rana Lakha conquered the Sankhlā Rajputs of Shekhāwāti (Nagarchal¹ territory), and like his father, defeated the royal army of the ¹ Vir Vinod, p. 306. Also Tod's Rajasthan, Vol. 1, p. 274. 10

Pichola Lake and Udaipur.

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Maharana Kumbha. Sultan of Delhi at Badnor, and the Sultan of Gujrat at Mandalgarh.¹ He liberated Tristhali² (Benares, Allahabad and Gaya) from the Mussalmans and the hill fort of Vardhan³ from the Meds (Mers). Col. Tod says: "He carried the war to Gaya, and in driving the barbarian from this sacred place, lost his life."⁴ It was about this time, the close of the fourteenth century A.D., that the Rathods, who under their leader Sihaji, had come in the thirteenth century A.D., from the United Provinces, and settled in Pali (Marwar), began to take root in the congenial soil of this hospitable region, and throw out ramifications all round. One branch had settled in Mālāni, where the famous warrior, Mallinath ruled. ¹ Ferishta (Vol. IV, p. 6) says that Sultan Muzaffar Shah of Gujrat invaded Mandalgarh in A.D. 1396, but returned with- out conquering it, as he was given gold and jewels. The Mussal- man historians generally describe defeats of Mussalman kings by saying that the Sultan returned owing to the rainy season having set in, or, because he was given gold and jewels. Gujrat histories make no mention of this expedition against Mandalgarh. The Mirati Sikandari mentions Māndu by mis- take for Mandalgarh—Bayley's Gujrat, p. 77. ² Maharana Kumbha's Kumbhalgarh Inscription, V. 207 (Also Chitorgarh Kirtisthambha Inscription, V. 3). ³ Ibid, V. 36. ⁴ Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. 1, p. 275. 11

Maharana Kumbha. Mallinath had attained the position of a Siddha, i.e. one who by his religious pieties and practices had become perfect. Mallinath's son Jugmal was also a hero$^1$ and his romantic career is remembered to this day by the deeds of chivalry he performed, and which are sung throughout Rajputana. Sihaji who died$^2$ on Kartik Vad 12, S. 1330 (A. D. 1273) was the son of Setkumar Rathod and was succeeded by his son Asthān, who was succeeded by Duhad, then Raipal, then Kampal, after whom came Jalansi, then Chhada and then Tida, followed by Sulkha $^1$ Gindoli, the daughter of the ruler of Gujrat having heard of the heroic deeds of Jugmal fell in love with him, and Jugmal coming to know of it, brought away the girl, and refused to restore her. गींदोली बांधी गलै, जका न दे जगमाल The ruler of Gujrat invaded Jugmal's territory but was defeated and had to return discomfited. The popular couplet:— बीबी पूछे खान ने, जग केता जगमाल "The Begam asks the Khan 'how many Jugmals are there in the world" (meaning that apparently the world is full of them) shows the brave deeds of the Rajputs in the war. This war is said to have continued for six months. A song commemorating the love of Jugmal and Gindoli, Jugmal's refusal to give up Gindoli, and his valorous deeds in the war are sung in Rajputana, particularly accompanied by the Ghumar dance. $^2$ His Samadha (mausoleum) was built by his widow Solankini Parvati, vide Indian Antiquary, Vol. 40, p. 301. 12

Maharana Kumbha. and Viram. Viram was killed by the Joiya Rajputs, and his son Chonda becoming homeless, passed his childhood in the service of a Brahmin, looking after his cows. In early youth, however, he gathered a following and defeated the Joiyas, recovered his patrimony and eventually won distinction as the first Rathod King of Marwar, with Mandor as his Capital. Marwar had, for centuries, been ruled by Pratihar Rajputs. In the 14th century A.D., their power had greatly declined owing to the constant inroads of the Mussalman governors of Nagor in the north east, and the Chauhans of Jalor in the south west. As the Pratihar Chief, Inda Raidhawal was unequal to the burdens of the sovereignty of Marwar during these troublous time, he gave his daughter in marriage to Chonda, as he and his supporters thought that the enterprising Chonda would be able to save the country from falling into the hands of the Mussalmans of Nagor. With the princess was given the kingdom of Mandor in dowry, and it was stipulated that Chonda would keep the Pratihar nobles in possession of their several estates. A couplet referring 13

Maharana Kumbha. to this event, says :— इंदां रो उपकार कमधज मत भूलै कदै । चुँडो चँवरी चाड दियो मंडावर डायजे ॥ “Rathods, never forget the great benefit, Indas¹ have conferred. Chonda was married : Mandor was given in dowry (to him).” Mr. Chintamani V. Vaidya in his History of Mediæval Hindu India, says : “The Rathods first took shelter under the Pratihars of Mandor whom they subsequently treach- erously supplanted.”² This sentence contains two allegations : (1) that the Rathods took shelter under the Pratihars of Mandor and (2) that the Rathods subsequently treacherously supplanted them in the land. He has, however nowhere quoted any authority or given any reasons whatever to support these allegations, which are absolutely unfounded. The learned author thus describes³ the advent of the Rathods in Rajputana :—“In fact throughout Indian history, Rajputana appears to have afforded a sheltering ground to the Indo- Aryans, whenever they were thrust out of ¹ Indas are a branch of Pratihar Rajputs. ² Vol. II, p. 99. ³ Vol. II, p. 68. 14

Maharana Kumbha. their richer lands, blessed with plentiful water, by barbarian hordes like the Sakas, the Kushans, the Huns and lastly the Muhammadan Turks and Afghans. The last of the Rajput families which thus took shelter in the sands of Rajastan, we know from authentic history, were the Rathods of Kanauj, who after the defeat and death of Jayachand came from the Gangetic valley to the sands of Marwar." Though the word shelter is used here, yet it has no connection with the Pratihars of Mandor. Mr. Vaidya simply says that the Rathods took shelter in Rajputana from the inroads and invasions of the Turks and the Afghans, by emigrating from Kanauj to Marwar. He nowhere says that the Pratihars of Mandor actually gave or promised to give the immi- grant Rathods any protection or help. As a matter of fact historical records show that during a pilgrimage of Sihaji to Pushkar, the inhabitants of Bhinmal and Pali asked Sihaji to settle in Pali and protect them from the Muslim raids from Sindh and Nagor. Later he describes the rise and fall of the Pratihars of Kanauj including the branch at Mandor, but does not say when and in what way 15