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

Maharana Kumbha. dilates on Kumbha's greatness of soul in setting his enemy at liberty,¹ not only without ransom but with gifts. Such is the character of the Hindu; a mixture of arrogance, political blindness, pride and generosity. To spare a prostrate foe is the creed of the Hindu cavalier and he carries all such maxims to excess.” Political blindness and misplaced generosity on the part of Hindus so often illustrated in the history of India, has been the cause of their political downfall. They prided themselves on their chivalry which consisted of sparing foes, setting them at liberty after capturing them, and allowing them to return home unmolested. This no doubt proves that they were chivalrous and fearless, and lived on a high spiritual and moral plane; but it also proves that they were not men of foresight, and were, so far as politics go, novices and therefore unfit to preserve their liberties. The Rajput ideal of life was “how to die nobly,” rather than how to achieve success in life. They pre- ¹ As a matter of fact Abul Fazal praised Sāngā for his capture and release of Sultan Mahmud Khilji II of Mandu. .53

Maharana Kumbha. ferred fame to success and cared less for victory and more for praise of their personal valour.' The repeated attempts made by Sultan Mahmud Khilji of Malwa, after his release by the Maharana to wipe off his disgrace, by invading Mewar to obtain a victory over Maharana Kumbha, shows that Kumbha's release of Mahmud Khilji was a piece of political folly, almost a crime. Had the Maharana destroyed the Sultanate of Malwa, annexed the country to Mewar and consolidated his kingdom as any wise ruler would have done he should not only have saved Mewar from the several wars with Malwa, which followed Mahmud Khilji's release, but would have spared Mewar the wars with the Sultans of Gujrat and the subsequent sack of Chitor by Bahadur Shah. Several instances of such misplaced genero- sity may be cited. The Hun invader Mihir- kula, who greatly oppressed the people of the Punjab, was defeated and taken prisoner about 131 A.D.¹ but was sent home with all honor by Bālāditya, the King of Magadha, with the ¹ The Krita, Gupta Eras in the Modern Review for July, 1932 p. 30. 54

Maharana Kumbha. result that Mihirkula invaded India again, treacherously murdered the King of Kashmir and seized his kingdom.¹ Sultan Shahabuddin Ghori (Muizuddin bin Sam) was defeated and captured by Emperor Prithviraj Chauhan on the field of Tiraori in 1191 A.D. but was liberated and allowed to return to his country. He re-invaded India with an army of 1,20,000 horsemen and assis- ted by the Rajas of Kanauj and Anhilwara Patan, destroyed the Hindu Empire of India. Mahmud Khilji II, the King of Malwa was defeated and taken prisoner by Maharana Sānga in A.D. 1519. He was later not only set at liberty but was loaded with gifts and reinstated on his throne² by the chivalrous Maharana with the result that, soon after Sanga's death, this ungrateful man, to quote the Muslim historian Ferishta, "without any provocation, deputed Shiraj Khan with an army from Mandu to attack Maharana Ratan Singh,³ son of Maharana Sanga." ¹ Vincent Smith's Early History of India, p. 276. ² Brigg's Ferishta, Vol. IV, p. 263. ³ Ferishta, Vol. IV, p. 266. 55

Maharana Kumbha. Mehta Nainsi in his Khyat, page 69,: relates how Maharana Pratap spared the life of the commander-in-chief of Akbar's army. In 1576 A.D., Akbar invaded Mewar and sent his Imperial legions under the supreme command of K. Man Singh of Jaipur. While Man Singh was bivouacing one evening at the village Lohsing with a thousand horsemen, ignorant of the fact that Maharana Pratap with his army was only two miles away behind the mountain, Maharana's scouts informed the Maharana of this godsend oppor- tunity to capture Man Singh. The Maharana could easily have wiped off Man Singh and the 1000 horsemen, but out of chivalry not to take an enemy at unawares, Pratap abstained from attacking Man Singh and allowed him to escape. Emperor Aurangzeb invaded Mewar in A.D. 1679. During the course of the war, he was hemmed in by the army of the Maharana and would, according to the English historian Orme, have perished in the mountain pass. He, however, owed his life to the clemency of Maharana Raj Singh who after confining the Emperor for 2 days, magnani- 56

Maharana Kumbha. mously ordered his army to withdraw from their stations and let Aurangzeb escape.¹ The Maharana's generosity did not stop here. When the Emperor was out of danger, the Maharana sent him his favourite Circassian wife, whom the Maharana had captured, accompanied by a chosen escort only request- ing that the Emperor would in return refrain from destroying cows which might still be left in the plains. But for this act of foolish generosity, the whole history of India would have been changed and the country spared all the wars in the Deccan, in Rajputana and the Punjab, that filled the last thirty years of Aurangzeb's reign Well does Col. Tod exclaim :—"But for repeated instances of an ill judged humanity, the throne of the Mughals might have been completely overturned." ² The time after Mahmud's defeat was very usefully employed by the Maharana in erecting several forts and generally strengthening the defences of his country. ¹ Orme quoted in full in Tod's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. I, p. 383, footnote. ² Tod's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. I, p. 379. 57

CHAPTER VII. ASSASSINATION OF RAO RAN MAL AND MAHARANA'S OCCUPATION OF MARWAR. AFTER the crushing defeat and capture of the King of Malwa, Mahpá (Mahipal) Panwár and Ekká, son of Cháchá, fled to Gujrat. The Sultan of Gujrat, not risking the dis- pleasure of the Maharana, being aware of the consequences to Malwa of giving shelter to the refugees, sent them away. Finding shelter nowhere, they came and threw them- selves at the feet of the Maharana and sued for mercy. The Maharana, with his usual magnanimity, pardoned them and took them into his service. Rao Ran Mal disapproved of this clemency, but said nothing. ¹ The success which Ráo Ran Mal had achieved in killing the assassins of Mokal, and crushing the power and capturing the person of the King of Malwa had raised the influence and power of the Ráo to a pinnacle whence he exercised undisputed ¹ Vir Vinod, Vol. I, p. 320-21. 58

Maharana Kumbha. sway in Mewar. Rathods were to be seen everywhere in the kingdom, and all positions of confidence and trust as well as those of political and military importance, were bestow- ed on them. This naturally excited the apprehensions of the nobles and Sardárs of Mewar. One day, Mahpá plainly told the Maharana that the Rathods were aiming at the throne of Mewar; but the Maharana, aware of his enmity towards Ráo Ran Mal, gave no heed to this warning. Ekká, Cháchá's son, a few days later, while shampooing the Maha- rana, who was asleep, began to weep. His tears falling hot on the feet of the Maharana woke him, and on being asked the cause of his distress, he repeated the tale Mahpá had told.¹ The Maharana now began to be a little suspicious of Ran Mal. The Maharana's dhaya ² (wet nurse) became fearful of the future, and bursting with indignation at the ascendency of the Rathods, demanded of the Rana's grandmother, " if her kin was to defraud her own grandchild of his inheritance." ¹ Vir Vinod, Vol. I, p. 321. Nainsi's Khyat, p. 28. ² The dhaya is an important person in a Rajput household. 59

Maharana Kumbha. The Dowager Queen Hansbai spoke to her brother. Ran Mal's reply did not allay her anxiety, which had been first caused by the assassination of Rághavadeva, the brother of Chondá. An incident which is said to have occurred about this time made the queen more anxious. A fair maid of the Queenmother Sobhagya- devi, named Bhārmali, with whom Rao Ran Mal was in love, was one evening detained a little longer in the palace and went to him later than usual. He asked the cause of the delay, whereupon she said that she was not her own mistress, and that as soon as those whose servant she was, gave her leave she went to him. The answer annoyed the Ráo, who was drunk. He told her that she would soon cease to be a servant, and that those who cared to live in Chitor would have to live as her servants.¹ And, yielding to her seductive charms and female art, Ran Mal, intoxicated with liquor as he was, confessed to her his designs. The loyal maid, next day, related the whole incident to the Queen, ¹ Vir Vinod, Vol. I, p. 321. 60

Maharana Kumbha. who communicated the information to the Maharana. Whether this story of the maid Bharmali was concocted to sow seeds of dissension between the queenmother Sobhagya- devi, widow of Mokal and the Dowager Queen Hansbai, widow of Lakhsh Singh, or was invented as a part of the intrigue against Ran Mal, whose dominant position in Mewar had been the cause of the influx of Rathods in the country, it is impossible to believe that the chivalrous Ran Mal entertained the base designs attributed to him. His high character, and his past conduct whether in Marwar or in Mewar, belie the imputations sought to be cast against him. His loyalty to the Maharana cannot be doubted. His position in the administration naturally excited the jealousy of the chiefs of Mewar. Whether some of them believed that Ran Mal's aim was to seize the supreme power in Mewar or not, they all thought that the time had come to rise against the Rathodisation of the Mewar administration and assert their right to hold important offices in their own country. There were two factions in Chitor, (a) the Sisodia nobles of Mewar and (b) the Rathods headed by Ran Mal. Ran Mal may have disclosed to Bharmali his intention to reduce the Sisodia nobility to a subordinate position and make the Rathod bureaucracy all powerful. 61.

Maharana Kumbha, The Sisodia nobles of Mewar became apprehensive not only of their own position but of the future of their country. All their hopes for the safety of Mewar and its rightful sovereign now rested in Chondá ; and to him they at once turned for help. He was apprised of the danger to his country and was asked to come and save it. Chondá, who had been a silent but not an inattentive spectator of the dangerous game that was being played in the land of his birth, lost no time in coming to the assistance of the Maharana.¹ ¹ Various traditions are current in Mewar about Chonda's return to Chitor. one of them is to the effect that he sent 200 of his followers, hunters by profession, to visit their families in Chitor, and while there to ingratiate them- selves in the favour of the gatekeepers of the fortress. The Maharana was asked to descend daily from the fort with a retinue to give feasts to the surrounding villages, and to hold the feast on the Diwali day at Ghosoonda. The day arrived : the feast was held at Ghosoonda, and night came, but no Chonda arrived. With heavy hearts, the nurse, the Purohit and others started homewards, and had reached the eminence called Chitori when forty horsemen passed them at full gallop, and at their head was the chivalrous Chonda, who, by a secret sign, paid homage to his nephew and sovereign. Chonda and his band reached the Rampol Gate unnoticed, but here they were challenged. They said they were neighbour- ing chieftains and had the honor to escort the Maharana home. But the main body, of which this was the advance, presently coming up, the stratagem was discovered. Chonda unsheathed his sword, and at his well-known shout, the hunters were speedily in action. The Bhatti chief in charge of the principal post of Chitor, was killed, though not before he had launched his dagger at Chonda and wounded him. 62.

Maharana Kumbhá. The Vir · Vinod says $^1$ that the Ráthods approached the queenmother Sobhagyadevi and in the interests of the Maharana, protested against Rawat Chonda's return to Chitor. The queen, however, replied that it did not look well that the gates of Chitor should be closed against one who had made such noble sacrifices for his country. The old Rao of Mandor now began to scent danger. Fearing surprise, he sent his sons Jodhá (who later founded Jodhpur), Kándhal and others to live in the taleti, at the foot of the hill on which the fortress is built and told them to be always on their guard and never to come up to the fort even if they should receive a message in his name.$^2$ Prompted by Chondá, the Maharana asked Ran Mal to call Jodhá and Kándhal to reside in the fortress, but the Rao made some excuse or other.$^3$ The Sisodia nobles of Mewar now decided to rid the fortress of the Rathods. $^1$ Vir Vinod, Vol. I., p. 321. $^2$ Nainsi's khyat, p. 28 (Benares Edition). $^3$ Ibid. 63

Maharana Kumbha. Bhārmali, the queen's maid, one even- ing in Asárh, S. 1495 (1438 A.D.) plied the Rao with liquor. When the old chief was drunk, Bhármali, who had been compelled to his embrace, tied him well to the bed with the big turban he wore. The Rao was only roused to a sense of his danger when Máhpá Panwár, Ekká son of Cháchá, and others arrived. In his rage, by a sudden desperate movement he got on his legs with the pallet behind him, and roared like a caged lion unable to free himself from the meshes of the turban that tied him to the pallet. Finding all arms re- moved, he got hold of a brass lotá, and with this he killed 3 of his 17 assailants ere he was killed by a shot from a matchlock.¹ Ran Mal was of herculean build. His gigantic stature and the force of his blow were well known in Rajputana. Máhpá fled as soon as Ran Mal got on his feet. The other Rathods in the fort- ress, including Randhir, brother of Ran Mal, Sattá Bhati, son of Lunkaran, and Randhir ¹ Vir Vinod, Vol. I, p. 322. Tod's Rajasthan, Vol. I, p. 280 Nainsi's khyat (p. 28-29) gives a slightly different account. The Jodhpur khyat gives A. D. 1444, as the year of Ran Mal's murder. 64

Maharāna Kumbhā. Suráwat, were surprised and slain. Seeing the state of affairs a Dom in the service of Ran Mal, got on to the wall of the fortress and in a loud voice, cried out:— चुंडा अजमल आविया, मांडूं हुं धक आग । जोधा रणमल मारिया, भाग सके तो भाग ॥ "Chonda has returned from Mandu. Ran Mal has been killed : Jodhá, flee for your life if you can." Jodhá and his 700 Rathods saddled their horses, took up their arms and leaving Bheem, who was too drunk to move, sprang into their saddles and made for Marwar. Chonda, with the memory of the murder of his brother Rághavadeva fresh in his mind started in pursuit with ten thousand Guhilots. A run- ning fight ensued between the Rathods and the Sisodias. There were several encounters.¹ Jodhá had not gone far when Chonda came up and a fight took place at Kapásan. Jodhá, after losing 200 men and killing 400 of the enemy, slipped away. Chardá and Chand Rao, sons of Aradakamal (Ran Mal's son), ¹ The Jodhpur khyat mentions encounters at Chitori, Satkhamba, Kanawaj, Kapasani and Kailwa. 65

Maharana Kumbha. Rana Pitha Rájáwat, Shivaraj, Poorná Bháti, Barisál and others gave up their lives defending Jodhá.¹ Jodha reached Mándal, where Kandhal joined him, and the two brothers continued their flight towards Marwar. They reached the Someshwar Pass in the hills which divide Marwar from Mewar with only a hundred horsemen. Chondá soon came up, and to prevent the Rathods escaping . into Marwar made a furious attack on them. The Rathods collected round Jodhá and Kán- dhal to save them. Both the Sisodiás and the Rathods dismounted and engaged in a hand- to-hand fight. Out of the 100 horsemen that reached the Pass, Jodhá crossed it with but seven. With this remnant of the 700 horse- men with whom he had left Chitor, Jodhá set foot on the soil of Marwar. He owed his safety to the fleetness of his steed. Chonda, who had patiently borne the wrongs heaped upon him by Rao Ran Mal, was exasperated beyond measure against the Rao and was determined to take full revenge for the ruin of his life wrought by Ran Mal. ¹ Mehta Nainsi's Khyat, p. 29, also mentions Bhim, uncle of Jodha as one of those who died defending Jodha. 66

Maharana Kumbha. Chonda fully remembered that it was Ran Mal whose artful handling of the situation created by Chonda refusing the hand of Ran Mal's sister Hansbai, had deprived him of the throne of Chitor. He also remembered that it was Ran Mal who had brought about his banish- ment from his motherland. He also remem- bered that his dear brother Raghavadeva was murdered at the instance of Ran Mal. All these wrongs which had thoroughly embittered Chonda's life were raging within him like the fire which rages within an active valcano. And now that the opportunity for which he had waited all his life, came, all the pent up fury and hatred burst out with a force which was almost uncontrollable. Chonda's pursuit of Jodha was relentless He arrived at Mandawar (Mandor) close on Jodhá's heels. Jodhá unable to make a stand there, passed by it. Relying on the aid of the Bhátis of Poogal and Bikampur he took up his abode at the village Kāhuni,¹ ten miles from Bikaner. The Rana's forces took possession of Marwar and established thánás all over the ¹ Marwar khyat, Vol. I., p. 41. 67

Maharana Kumbha. land. Akho Sisodia was appointed Governor of Mandor. Ahádo Hingolo and Mehtá Rayangar were also attached to this fort. Ráwat Rághavadeva, son of Hansmal Chonda- wat, was given Sojat as jagir and was made Thánádar of Chokri. Bháti Banbir, Chauhán Jassá of Sachore and the son of Firoz Khan ruler of Nagor were also attached to this Tháná. Vir Vinod says that Chonda left his 3 sons Kuntal, Manja and Suwa at Mandor to keep the country under control.¹ Narbad, son of Ran Mal's younger brother Sattá, to whom Maharana Mokal had given a jágir with an annual rental of Rs. 1,00,000— Káyaláná—when Ran Mal was placed on the throne of Mandor in 1409 A.D., remained loyal throughout these transactions, and the Maha- rana enlarged his jagir by further bestowing on him an estate yielding an income of Rs. 50,000 a year. He took up his abode at Bassi. The year 1438 A.D. thus saw the expulsion of the Rathods from Chitor and the passing of Marwar into the possession of the Maharana.² ¹ Vir Vinod, Vol. I., p. 322. ² The Ranpur Temple Inscription of A.D. 1439 men- tions the occupation of Mandor by Maharana Kumbha. 68

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Rao Jodha, the founder of Jodhpur.

CHAPTER VIII. RAO JODHA RECOVERS MARWAR. AFTER a year's stay at Kahuni, Jodha began to raid Mandor. His raids always cost him men and horses without bringing him any profit. One day, returning from his raid, Jodhá came to a village and put up at the house of one Rákan Jat. The mistress of the house placed before Jodhá a tháli (plate) full of hot ghát (porridge). Jodhá at once thrust his fingers into the centre of the porridge to take a morsel, and as the porridge was burning hot, Jodhá burnt his fingers. Seeing this and not knowing who the stranger was, the Játni said : “Brother, thou art as devoid of sense as Jodhá is.” Jodhá was astonished to hear this remark and asked the lady why she thought Jodhá was without sense. The Játni replied that want of sense in Jodhá was clear from the fact that instead of raiding the out-lying country, he always went straight to attack Mandor, which was garrisoned by the Rana; and thus 69

Maharana Kumbha. at every encounter he lost horses and men without gaining his object. And thou, too, my brother, added the lady, lacketh sense inasmuch as thou putteth thy hand straight into the centre of the porridge and burneth thy fingers. If thou wouldst but begin with the porridge near the edge which is not so hot, thou shouldst have by and by the porridge in the centre of the plate too, as it is not going to run away.¹ Jodhá took this advice to heart and gave up going towards Mandor and began to raid the country around. This brought him plunder, and he got around him a body of horsemen. His brothers also grew up and began to assist him. With the help of the Bhátis of Kelhan, where he had married, he began to raise disturbances in the country. He was, however, seriously handicapped by want of horses and lack of money. There was famine, too, in the land and grain was scarce. While Jodhá was thus roaming homeless in Marwar, his country being in the Maharana's possession, an incident occurred which roused ¹ Marwar khyat, Vol. I, pp. 41-42. 70