Jaswant Singh of Marwar

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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.

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[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 30,000 Rathores 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.

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.

[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.

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. Aurangzeb tried to kill Jaswant Singh many times.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Tod, James; Crooke, William (Editor) (1994). Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan; or the Central and Western Rajput States Publisher: Trans-Atl ISBN 81-7069-128-1 (Classic on early Rajasthan, Relates the history of the Central and Western Rajput states of India)
  • Rathor, Durgadas (1999). Raghubir Sinh. Publisher: Panchsheel Prakashan Jaipur 302001. 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)
  • Rathaurha, Vira Durgadasa (2005). Ved Prakash Publisher: Rajbhasha Pustak Pratishthan, Shivaji Marg, Delhi 110053. First published 2005. ISBN 81-88613-10-X
  • Rathaura, Svatamtrata-premi Durgadasa (2000). Sukhvir Singh Gehlote Navbharat Publications, Jodhpur 342 001, Rajasthan. (Details of Durga Das Rathore's life)