Ratnasimha
| Ratnasimha | |
|---|---|
| Rawal of Mewar | |
| Rana of Mewar | |
| Reign | 1302-1303 CE |
| Predecessor | Samarasimha |
| House | Guhilas of Medapata |
Ratnasimha (IAST: Ratna-Siṃha, r. c. 1302-1303 CE) was a ruler of the Medapata (Mewar) kingdom in present-day Rajasthan, India. He belonged to the Rawal branch of the Guhila dynasty, which ruled from the Chitrakuta fort (modern Chittorgarh). The last ruler of this branch, he was defeated by Alauddin Khilji in 1303 CE.
He is also known as Ratan Singh in vernacular legends. Ratan Sen, a fictionalized version of him, appears in Malik Muhammad Jayasi's Padmavat. According to this poem, Alauddin attacked Chittorgarh to obtain his beautiful wife Rani Padmini. Although Alauddin captured the fort after killing him, Padmini and other women committed Jauhar to avoid falling in the enemy hands.
Ascension
Ratnasimha succeeded his father Samarasimha as the Guhila ruler of Medapata around 1302 CE.[1] He belonged to the Rawal branch of the family, which ruled from Chitrakuta fort (now known as Chittorgarh).
Ratnasimha is attested by the 1302 CE Dariba temple inscription. A few coins issued by him have also been discovered.[2]
Defeat against Alauddin Khilji
In 1303, Alauddin Khilji, the Muslim ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, defeated Ratnasimha.
Contemporary Turkic accounts
The earliest records of the 1303 siege of Chittor are by the Turkic chroniclers Amir Khusrau and Barani. Khusrau accompanied Alauddin during the campaign, and described it in his Khaza'in ul-Futuh, which was written sometime after 1310 CE.[3] According to Khusrau, on 28 January 1303, Sultan Alauddin Khilji left the Siri Fort to capture Chittor. After reaching the foot of the Chittor hill, two wings of his army attacked the fort from two different sides. After two months of unsuccessful siege, the attackers pelted stones on the fort using manjaniqs (mangonels), but still failed to capture the fort. Finally, on 26 August 1303, the invaders managed to enter the fort.[4][5] The Rai (the ruler of Chittor) came out of the fort, and surrendered. Alauddin conferred "royal mercy" upon him, but ordered all other Hindus to be "cut down like dry grass": 30,000 Hindus were killed in a day as a result of this order.[6]
Amir Khusrau does not mention the name of the defending ruler, simply using the title "Rai" (ruler) to refer to him. However, modern historians identify this "Rai" with Ratnasimha. This theory is based on the 1460 CE Kumbhalgarh inscription (see below), according to which Ratnasimha left the battlefield, after which Lakshmasimha died defending the fort.[6]
Barani, another contemporary writer, describes the event in his Tarikh-i-Firuz-Shahi (1357 CE).[3] Barani and another chronicler Isami both state that Alauddin returned to Delhi after forgiving the enemy ruler and his family.[7]
Hindu and Jain accounts
According to Nabhinandana-Jinoddhara-Prabandha (1336 CE) by the Jain writer Kakka Suri, Alauddin took away the wealth of the ruler of Chitrakuta, and "made him move like a monkey from one city to another".[8]
The earliest Hindu account of the event is the Kumbhalgarh prashasti (eulogistic inscription) of 1460 CE.[3] This inscription was issued by Kumbhakarna of the Guhila family's Rana branch, who were a rival of Ratnasimha's Rawal branch. The inscription states:[4][9]
Kumbhalgarh inscription of Kumbhakarna
The word "departed" (tasmin gate in Sanskrit) in this verse has been variously interpreted as "died" or "deserted the defenders".[10] Historian Gaurishankar Hirachand Ojha interpreted this verse to suggest that Ratnasimha bravely fought till death.[11] Some other scholars such as Kalika Ranjan Qanungo and R. B. Haldar also accepted Ojha's translation.[6]
However, according to other historians such as Akshay Kirti Vyas and R. C. Majumdar, the verse means that Ratnasimha cowardly fled from the battlefield.[11][12] Subimal Chandra Datta points out that while describing the death of Lakshmasimha, the inscription states that he "departed for heaven". But while describing Ratnasimha's departure, it simply mentions that he "departed". This, combined with the surrender of the "Rai" described in the Muslim accounts, suggests that Ratnasimha departed from the battlefield and surrendered to Alauddin.[6]
The legend of Padmini
A legendary account of Ratan Singh (as Ratan Sen) appears in Malik Muhammad Jayasi's 16th century epic poem Padmavat. According to this account, he married the Sinhala princess Padmini after a quest. Alauddin Khilji invaded Chittor to obtain Padmini, after hearing of her beauty. Ratan Sen was captured by the Delhi forces, but his Rajput warriors rescued him on Padmini's request. While he was in captivity, his Rajput neighbour - Devpal of Kumbhalner - sent a marriage proposal to Padmini. Ratan Sen fought with Devpal to avenge this insult, and the two Rajput kings killed each other in a single combat. Alauddin then invaded Chittor, but before he could capture the fort, Padmini and other women immolated themselves.[13]
Several adaptions of the Padmavat legend appeared in the later years.[14] The 16th century historians Firishta and Haji-ud-Dabir were among the earliest writers to mention Padmini as a historical figure, but their accounts differ with each other and with that of Jayasi. For example, according to Firishta, Padmini was a daughter (not wife) of Ratan Sen.[15] Some other medieval legends written under Rajput patronage state that the contemporary ruler of Chittor was Lakhamsi (Lakshmasimha), and Ratan Sen (Ratnasimha) was his younger brother. Another version, compiled by James Tod, states that Padmini was the wife of Lakhamsi's uncle Bhimsi (Bhimasimha); this version does not mention Ratan Sen at all.[16]
Historicity
Historian Kalika Ranjan Qanungo, in his A Critical Analysis of the Padmini Legend (1960), proposed that there were actually four distinct people with similar names. The medieval bards confused and linked these four individuals:[2][17]
- Ratnasimha, the Guhila ruler mentioned in the Kumbhalgarh inscription
- Ratnasen, mentioned as Ratan Sen in Padmavat; he was actually a ruler of Chitrakoot in modern Uttar Pradesh, not Chittor in Rajasthan
- Ratna, the son of Kshema; he and another warrior named Bhimasimha were killed in a battle at the foot of the Chittor hill
- Ratnasimha, the son of the Chahamana ruler Hammira. Lakshmasimha, the ruler of Chittor, gave him shelter at Chittor, prompting Alauddin to attack Chittor
Other historians, such as Jogendra Prasad Singh (1964)[18] and Ram Vallabh Somani[17] have criticized Qanungo's theory based on the following points:
- The Guhila king Ratnasimha and the Ratan Sen of Padmavat cannot be different persons, given that both are described as kings of Chittor who were defeated by Alauddin Khilji. Jayasi names the father of Ratan Sen as a person other than Samarasimha, but according to Singh this is simply a mistake, resulting from the fact that Jayasi wrote over 200 years later.[19]
- Ratan Sen of Padmavat could not have been a king of present-day Uttar Pradesh, because the text explicitly refers to Chittor of Mewar region, describing Kumbhalgarh as its neighbour.[17]
- Ratna, the son of Kshema, could not have fought against Alauddin: his death is mentioned in an 1273 CE inscription, while Alauddin ascended the throne only in 1296 CE.[19] There is no evidence that Bhimasimha, the person who died fighting alongside him, is same as the Bhim Singh mentioned in the bardic legends.[19]
- It is a mere conjecture that Alauddin attacked Chittor because Lakshmasimha sheltered Hammira's son Ratnasimha. The source for this claim is Surajmal's Vaṃśabhāskara, which is a 19th century work based on historically unreliable bardic tales. None of the contemporary sources suggest that Hammira had a son named Ratnasimha.[20] Hammira Mahakavya, the earliest biography of Hammira, states that Hammira appointed his minister Jajadeva as the ruler of his kingdom before marching to the battle with Alauddin. If Hammira had a son, he would have appointed his own son (rather than Jajadeva) as his successor. Moreover, Hammira had invaded Chittor in the past, and the relations between the two kingdoms were not cordial enough for Chittor to grant shelter to Hammira's son.[21]
Most modern historians have rejected the authenticity of the Padmini legend.[22]
References
- ↑ Upendra Nath Day 1978, p. 5.
- 1 2 Jogendra Prasad Singh 1964, p. 95.
- 1 2 3 Subimal Chandra Datta 1931, p. 288.
- 1 2 Rajendra Singh Kushwaha 2003, p. 273.
- ↑ Subimal Chandra Datta 1931, pp. 291-292.
- 1 2 3 4 Subimal Chandra Datta 1931, p. 293.
- ↑ Aditya Behl 2012, p. 177.
- ↑ Shyam Singh Ratnawat & Krishna Gopal Sharma 1999, p. 124.
- ↑ Manjit Singh Ahluwalia 1978, p. 96.
- ↑ Dasharatha Sharma 1970, pp. 39-40.
- 1 2 Akshaya Keerty Vyas 1937, pp. 313-314.
- ↑ Ramesh Chandra Majumdar 1977, p. 343.
- ↑ Ramya Sreenivasan 2007, pp. 207-209.
- ↑ Ramya Sreenivasan 2007, p. 2-3.
- ↑ Syama Prasad Basu 1963, p. 139-141.
- ↑ Ramya Sreenivasan 2007, pp. 139-140.
- 1 2 3 Ram Vallabh Somani 1976, p. 94.
- ↑ Jogendra Prasad Singh 1964, pp. 95-96.
- 1 2 3 Jogendra Prasad Singh 1964, p. 96.
- ↑ Jogendra Prasad Singh 1964, p. 99.
- ↑ Jogendra Prasad Singh 1964, p. 100.
- ↑ Satish Chandra 2004, p. 89.
Bibliography
- Aditya Behl (2012). Love's Subtle Magic: An Indian Islamic Literary Tradition, 1379-1545. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514670-7.
- Akshaya Keerty Vyas (1937). "First and Third Slabs of Kumbhalgarh Inscription V.S. 1517". In N. P. Chakravarti. Epigraphia Indica. XXIV. Archaeological Survey of India. pp. 313–314.
- Dasharatha Sharma (1970). Lectures on Rajput history and culture. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 39–40.
- Jogendra Prasad Singh (1964). "Ratna the Son of the Cāhamāṇa Hammīra and the Sack of Chitor". The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 3/4: 95–103.
- Manjit Singh Ahluwalia (1978). Muslim Expansion in Rajasthan: The Relations of Delhi Sultanate with Rajasthan, 1206-1526. Yugantar.
- Rajendra Singh Kushwaha (2003). Glimpses of Bhāratiya history. Ocean. ISBN 978-81-88322-40-4.
- Ram Vallabh Somani (1976). History of Mewar, from Earliest Times to 1751 A.D. Mateshwari. OCLC 2929852.
- Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (1977). Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-0436-4.
- Ramya Sreenivasan (2007). The Many Lives of a Rajput Queen: Heroic Pasts in India C. 1500-1900. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-98760-6.
- Subimal Chandra Datta (1931). Narendra Nath Law, ed. "First Saka of Citod". The Indian Historical Quarterly. Caxton. 7.
- Satish Chandra (2004). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206-1526) - Part One. Har-Anand Publications. ISBN 978-81-241-1064-5.
- Shyam Singh Ratnawat; Krishna Gopal Sharma, eds. (1999). History and culture of Rajasthan: from earliest times upto 1956 A.D. Centre for Rajasthan Studies, University of Rajasthan. p. 124.
- Syama Prasad Basu (1963). Rise and Fall of Khilji Imperialism. U. N. Dhur. OCLC 28839991.
- Upendra Nath Day (1978). Mewar Under Maharana Kumbha, 1433 A.D.-1468 A.D. Rajesh. OCLC 4983676.