Maharaja Jaswant Singh

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Maharaja Jaswant Singh (1629-1680) was a ruler of Marwar in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan. He was a rajput belonging to the Rathore clan. His father was Maharaja Guj Singh.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Treatment of Prithvi Singh by Aurangzeb 1.2 Mokund Das Kumpawat 2 Family 3 References

[edit] History

In the Battle of Dharmatpur, Jaswant Singh opposed Aurangzeb. The battle was fought on 15th 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 30,0000 rajputs 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. According to James Tod in Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan:

"Ten thousand Muslims fell in the onset, which cost seventeen hundred Rathores, besides Guhilotes, Haras, Gaurs, and some of every clan of Rajwarra. Aurangzeb and Murad only escaped because their days were not yet numbered. Notwithstanding the immense superiority of the imperial princes, aided by numerous artillery served by Frenchmen, night alone put a stop to the contest of science, numbers, and artillery, against Rajput courage."

Finally the unequal contest ended and Auranzeb 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. Maharaja ordered him to be carried away. After his wounds healed he promptly rejoined Maharaja's army. James Tod further writes in Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan:

"Rajputs, even in the moment of battle, worshipped the rising sun, and they sealed there faith in there blood; and none more liberally than the brave Haras of Kotah and Bundi. . . The annals of no nation on earth can furnish such an example, as an entire family, six royal brothers of Kotah, stretched on the field, and all but one in death. Of all the deeds of heroism performed on this day, those of Ratan Singh Rathore of Ratlam, by universal consent, are pre-eminent, and are wreathed into immortal rhyme by the bard in the Raso Rao Ratan."

[edit] Treatment of Prithvi Singh by Aurangzeb

Prithvi Singh was Jaswant Singh's son. It is chronicled in Marwar khyats that Aurangzeb presented Prithvi Singh a dress which was poisoned. On wearing this dress Prithvi died in great pain. Prithvi was a good leader and a brave prince. Jaswant could not get over the shock of his son's death. He was very saddened because he had no male heir who could seek revenge. Jaswant died in 1680. James Tod writes in his Annals and Antiquities of ancient Rajasthan:

"Sighs never ceased flowing from Aurang’s heart while Jaswant lived. . . had all the princely contemporaries of Jaswant- Jai Singh of Amber, Rana Raj Singh of Mewar, and Chattrapati Shivaji coalesced against their national foe, the Mughal power would have been made extinct. Could Jaswant, however, have been satisfied with the mental wounds he inflicted upon Aurangzeb, he would have had ample revenge; for the image of the Rathore crossed all his visions of aggrandizement. The cruel sacrifice of his heir, and the still more barbarous and unrelenting ferocity with which he pursued Jaswant’s innocent family, are the surest proofs of the dread which the Rathore prince inspired while alive."

It is written in Tarikh Mohammed Shahi that Aurangzeb, on hearing the news of Maharaja's demise, said, "Darwaja-e kufra shikast" i.e the door opposing the islamic faith in India is broken.

Soon after Maharaja Jaswant Singh's death, Aurangzeb imposed Jizyah. While Jaswant was alive Aurangzeb could not impose Jizyah on non-muslims. V.A. Smith writes on page 438 of his book, Oxford History of India, "the death of Jaswant Singh emboldened the imperial bigot to re-impose the hated Jizyah, or poll-tax on non Muslims".

[edit] Mokund Das Kumpawat

Aurangzeb tried to kill Jaswant Singh many times. James Tod writes in his Annals and Antiquities:

"It was by the vigilance of this chief (Mokund Das Kumpawat), and his daring intrepidity, that the many plots laid for Jaswant’s life were defeated. He had personally incurred the displeasure of Aurangzeb, by a reply which was deemed disrespectful to a message sent by the royal "Ahadi" (royal messenger), for which the tyrant condemned him to enter a tiger’s den, and contend for his life unarmed. Without a sign of fear he entered the arena, where the savage beast was pacing, and thus contemptuously accosted him: "Oh, tiger of the Miyan, face the tiger of Jaswant"; exhibiting to the king of the forest a pair of eyes, which anger and opium had rendered little less inflamed than his own. The animal, startled by so unaccustomed salutation, for a moment looked at his visitor, put down his head, turned around and stalked from him. "You see" exclaimed the rathore, "that he dare not face me, and it is contrary to the creed of a true rajput to attack an enemy who dares not confront him".

[edit] Family

James Tod goes on to describe the fate of Jaswant Singh's family and the birth of his son Ajit Singh. Following excerpt from Page 45,46 of Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan:

"When Jaswant died beyond the Attock, his wife, the (future) mother of Ajit, determined to burn with her lord, but being in the seventh month of her pregnancy, she was forcibly prevented by Uday Kumpawat. As soon as the tidings reached Jodhpur, the Chandravati queen, taking a turban of her late lord, ascended the pile at Mandore. The Hindu race was in despair at the loss of the support of their faith. The bells of the temple were mute; the sacred shell no longer sounded at sunrise. The queen was delivered of a boy, who received the name of Ajit. As soon as she was able to travel, the Rathore contingent, with their infant prince, his mother, the daughters, and establishment of their late sovereign, prepared to return to their native land. But the unrelenting Aurangzeb, carrying his vengeance towards Jaswant even beyond the grave, as soon they reached Delhi, commanded that the infant should be surrendered to his custody. Aurang offered to divide Maru amongst Marwar nobles if they would surrender their prince; but they replied, "Our country is with our sinews, and these can defend both it and our Lord." With eyes red with rage, they left the Aum-khas. Their abode was surrounded by the host of the Shah. In a basket of sweetmeats they sent away the young prince, . . . and prepared to defend their honour; they made oblations to the gods, took a double portion of opium, and mounted their steeds. Then spoke Rinchor and Govind, sons of Jodha, and Chandarbhan the Darawat, and the son of Raghu, on whose shoulders the sword had been married at Ujjain, with the fearless Baharmall the Udawat, and the Sujawat, Raghunath. "Let us swim," they exclaimed, "in the ocean of fight. Let us root up these Asuras, and be carried by the Apsaras to the mansions of the sun." Then spake Durga Das Rathore, son of Asakaran, "The teeth of the Yavans are whetted, but by the lightning emitted from our swords, Delhi shall witness our deeds".

As thus the chiefs communed, and the troops of the king approached, the Rajloka (wives and daughters of Maharaja Jaswant Singh) of their late lord was sent to inhabit Swarga. Their own wives and daughters, were placed in an apartment filled with gunpowder, and the torch applied—all was soon over. Lance in hand, the Rathores rushed upon the foe, then the music of swords and shields commenced. Wave followed wave in the field of blood. Every tribe and every clan performed its duty in this day’s pilgrimage to the stream of the sword, in which Durgadas ground the foe and saved his honour.

When these brave men saw that nothing short of the surrender of all that was dear to a Rajput was intended by the fiend-like spirit of Aurangzeb, their first thought was the preservation of their prince; the next to secure their own honour and that of their late master. The means by which they accomplished this were terrific. Accordingly, “the battle fought by the sons of Duharia (rathore king who ruled Marwar in ancient time) in the streets of Delhi” is one of the many themes of everlasting eulogy to the Rathores; and the seventh of Sravan, S.1736 (the second month of the Monsoon of A.D. 1680), is a sacred day in the calendar of Maru.

In the midst of this furious contest, the infant prince was saved. DurgaDas and a few chosen friends repaired to the isolated rock of Abu, and placed him in a monastery of recluses. There the heir of Maru was reared in entire ignorance of his birth. Still rumours prevailed, that a son of Jaswant lived; that Durga and a few associates were his guardians; and this was enough for the loyal Rajput, to be his rallying-word in the defense of his rights."

[edit] References

• Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (2 vols.)

Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan; or the Central and Western Rajput States... (Hardcover) by James Tod, William Crooke (Editor) Book Description Relates the history of the Central and Western Rajput states of India; edited by William Crooke. 3 volumes. classic on early Rajasthan (amazon.com) Product Hardcover Publisher: Trans-Atl (1994) Language: English ISBN 81-7069-128-1

• Durgadas Rathor : [national biography]

Raghubir Sinh. Publisher: Panchsheel Prakashan Jaipur 302001. First published 1999. ISBN 81-7056-051-9

Life history of DurgaDas Rathore and his help in getting Ajit Singh out of Delhi and then leading the Rajput rebellion against Aurangzeb while Ajit was still an infant.

• Vira Durgadasa Rathaurha

Ved Prakash. Publisher: Rajbhasha Pustak Pratishthan, Shivaji Marg, Delhi 110053. First published 2005. ISBN 81-88613-10-X

• Svatamtrata-premi Durgadasa Rathaura

Sukhvir Singh Gehlote: Navbharat Publications, Jodhpur 342 001, Rajasthan, First Published 2000

Details of Durga Das Rathore's life.