THE RULERS OF RAJPUTANA AND THEIR MOUSTACHES

Then a soldier, 

Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation 

Even in the cannon's mouth. 

SHAKESPEARE, As You Like It.

IN ancient times, the Hindu kings had their chins 

clean shaved. All available portraits of them show 

that they wore moustaches in various styles, some also having sidelocks clipped. No one, however, removed moustaches : no one appeared without them. Their faces were never clean shaved like Caesar's or Napoleon Bonaparte's. 

Throughout the Orient and especially by the 

Hindus, the moustache has always been regarded as the Sign of manhood and the symbol o manliness. Curling the moustache means defiance. Simply touching it with the hand, signifies consciousness of strength and self- reliance. Curling the moustache in the presence of a superior is a sign of arrogance and has often resulted in bloodshed and mortal combat The war between Someshwar, the Chauhan King of Ajmer, (A D. 1160-1179) and KingBhimdeva II of Gujrat, according to the Prithviraja Rasa, was the result of a Gujrat noble curling his moustache. It is stated that Solanki Pratap cousin of King Bhimdeva, who at the time was a fugitive and a guest at the court of King Someshwar at Ajmer, innocently curled his moustaches as his blood was stirred, while the brave deeds of the heroes of the Mahabharata were being recited in the Durbar of Someshwar. The Chauhan Commander-in- Chief, Kan Rai, who was present at the Durbar, misinterpreted this act of Pratap as a sign of defiance, drew his sword and felled Pratap to the ground. This brought 

about a war between the Chalukyas of Anhilwara 

Patan and the Chauhans of Ajmer. 

Religious people, priests, Brahmins and old men 

wore beards. The beard was a sign of old age and 

demanded respect and veneration. Rishis, Munis and venerable teachers usually wore beards. With the 

advent of the Musalmans in India, things began to 

change, and their habits and customs began to influence the manners and customs of the Hindus. Their domination weakened Hindu respect for old Hindu Ideals. The outward appearance of the leaders of the people including their dress and fashion of wearing the hair on the face and the head also underwent a change. The Musalman who came from the North-West wore a beard. Akbar, the founder of the Mughal Empire in India, and his immediate successor, Jehangir adopted the Hindu custom of shaving their chins, but their successors, with the firm establishment of their rule, and their coming more and more under the influence of the Mullahs, gave up shaving the chin and began to wear beards. The Hindu Rajas who came in contact with the Mughal Emperors, by degrees adopted 

their fashion, modifying it to suit their notions of 

their character as the military leaders of the people. 

Thus when the Rajputs began to grow beards, instead of letting the beards hang down like the Musalmans, they made their beards stand upright and tied them to keep in position. 

MUGHAL EMPERORS 

The last Hindu Emperor of India, the illustrious 

Prithviraja Chauhan ( A.D. 1179 to 1192 ) wore only 

moustaches. The first Musalman Emperor of India, 

Akbar the Great (A.D. 1556-1605) also had only 

moustaches. In appearance he did not differ in any way from an ordinary Hindu monarch. He often dressed like a devout Hindu, applied sandal-wood paste to his forehead, put on a pearl necklace, held a pearl rosary in his hands and wore ear-rings. The best extant portraits of him show him as a devout Hindu king, His son Jahangir (1605 to 1627 A.D ) grew only whiskers, but had no beard. Emperor Shahjahan (A.D. 1627 to 1658 ) was the first to grow a beard. His successors, Aurangzeb (1658-1707), Bahadurshah(1707 to 1712) and Jahandarshah ( 1712-13 ) had beards. Furrukhsayar ( 1713-1719 ) wore a close-clipped ("khaskhashi'') beard. The puppets, Rafiuddarjat and Rafiuddaula (1719), had small beards, but Muhammad 

Shah ( 1719-1748 ) reverted to the old Hindu practice of having his chin ( like the Great Akbar ) clean shaved. He wore ear-rings with pearls and looked like an ordinary Hindu monarch. His successors, Ahmad Shah ( 1748 1754 ), Alamgir II ( 1754-59 ), Shah Alam (1759 to 1806), Akbar Shah II (1806-1837) and Bahadur Shah II ( 1837-1859), all grew beards. 

THE BRITISH 

Since the passing of India under the British Crown 

in the time of Empress Victoria, there have been two 

Emperors, Edward VII and George V, who have both 

rejoiced in beards. 

All the Governors-General of India from Warren 

Hastings (1774-1785) to Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856) had their faces clean shaved ; no one grew a beard. 

Of the Viceroys, the Earl of Canning (1856-1862 ) and the Earl of Elgin (1862-63) were also clean shaved. Lord Lawrence ( 1864-1869 ) was the first Viceroy 

whose face was adorned with a beard ; his successor the Earl of Mayo, (1869-72), had his face clean shaved. His three successors, Lord Northbrook (1872-1876), the Earl of Lytton (1876-1880), and the Marquis of Ripon (1880-1884) all had beards, the first a short one, and the last a very respectable one. The Marquis of Dufferin (1884-88) wore a French beard. Lord Lansdowne( 1 888-94) had only a moustache and sidelocks like the Hindu Rajas of medieval times. The Earl of Elgin (1894-99) wore a beard. The face of Lord Curzon (1900-05) was clean shaved. Both Lord Minto (1905-10) and Lord Hardinge (1910-16) grew moustaches. Lord Chelmsford (1916-2 1), the Marquis of 

Reading (1921-26) and Lord Irwin (1926-31) were clean shaved. The present Viceroy, Lord Willingdon, wears small moustaches. 

MEWAR

The kings of Mewar, the most respected of the 

Rajput rulers in India, upto Maharana Amarsingh II 

(1698-1710) had only moustaches and thin close-clipped side-locks coming down to the lobes of the ear. The pride of Hindu chivalry, the Great Maharana Pratap, his son Maharana Amarsingh and the famous Maharana Rajsingh, the great opponent of Aurangzeb, were all without beards. Amarsingh II had a thin line of hair, a continuation of the moustache extending to below the lobes of the ear an apology for whiskers. Maharana Sangaramsingh II (A D. 1710-34) was the first to grow a beard, but a short-clipped one. Since then none of his successor has had his chin clean shaved. Jagutsingh II (1734-51), Pratapsingh II (1751-54), Rajsingh II 

(1754-61), Arsi (1761-73), Hamirsingh (1773-7 8) wore only short-clipped beards. Bhimsingh (1778-1828) was the first to grow a full beard, the hair drawn upwards in true Rajput fashion, a custom which was kept up by the succeeding Maharanas, Jawansingh (1828-38), Sardarsingh (1838-42), Sarupsingh (1842-61), Shambhusingh (1861-1874), Sajjansingh (1874-1884) down to Maharana Fatehsingh (1884-1930). The present 

ruler, Maharana Bhopalsingh, like the old Hindu kings, has his chin clean shaved. 

MARWAR

The kings of Marwar ( Jodhpur State)f rom Rao Sihaji (died in A. I). 1273), the founder of the Rathor Power in Rajputana, down to Maharaja Mansingh (J 803-1 843), had their chins clean shaved. Rao Ranmal, also called Ridmal, (about 1427-143'S), wore long moustaches curled up and prominent sidelocks. From 1438 to 1453, Marwar was in the possession of the Maharana of Mewar. Rao Jodha (1453 1488), the founder of the town of Jodhpur, had side-locks and moustaches. Rao Satal (1488-91) and Rao Suja (1491-1515) and Ganga (1515-1531) had long moustaches. Maldeva (1531-62) one of the greatest of the kings of Marwar, followed suit. Chandra Sen (1562-1580), Askarun (1580-1581), Raisingh (1581-1583), Udaisingh, the Mota (fat) Raja (1583-1595), who accepted Akbar's suzerainty, had sidelocks and curled moustaches. Sursingh (1595-1619), Gajsiiigh (161 9-1638), Jaswantsingh(l 638-78), Ajitsingh 

(1678-1724), and Abhaisingh (1724-1749), had their 

faces adorned with side-locks and moustaches. Ramsingh (1749-1751) was the first to wear mutton-chop whiskers. Maharaja Bakhtsingh (1751-52) and Bijaisingh (1752-93) contented themselves with side-locks and moustaches. Bhimsingh (1793-1803), was the first to have a full growth of whiskers. Mansingh (1803-43) was a close follower of Bhimsingh in this respect. Maharaja Takhtsingh (1843-1873) was the first to grow a beard, and Maharaja Jaswantsingh (1873-1895) kept up the beard. Maharaja Sardarsingh (1895-1911) was beardless 

and Maharaja Sumersingh (1911-18) and the present Maharaja Umedsingh (1918) have also discarded the beard, contenting themselves with moustaches. 

JAIPUR 

Of the kings of Jaipur, Ramsingh II (A.D. 1835-80) 

was the first to grow a beard. Prithviruja (1503-27), 

Puranmal (1527-34), Bhimsingh (1534-36), Ratansingh (1536-47), Askaran (1548), Bharraal (1548-74), and Bhagwandas (1574-89) wore only moustaches and very thin side-locks. Bhagwandas's successor Mansingh (1589-1614), the famous General of Emperor Akbar, wore nothing but small moustaches. His successors Bhaosingh (1614-21), Jaisingh I (1621-67), Ramsingh 1 (1667-89), Bishansingh (1689-1700), wore side-locks. 

Sawai Jaisingh II (1700-1743) had sidelocks and 

very prominent moustaches. Ishwarisingh (1743-50), 

gave up the sidelocks and contented himself with 

moustaches. Maharaja Madhosingh I (1750-68) wore side-locks rather broad towards the lower end reaching a little below the lobes of the ear. Prithvisingh (1768- 1778) died young and Pratapsingh (1778-1803) wore sidelocks. Jagatsingh was the first and the only ruler of Jaipur (A.D. 1 803-1818) who wore full whiskers. Jaisingh (1818-1835) did not shave the chin and Ram- Singh 11 (1835 80) was the first to have a full beard, and his successor Maharaja Madhosingh (1880-1922) followed his example. The present ruler Maharaja Mansingh (1922) is clean shaved. 

BIKANER 

The portraits of the kings of Bikaner clearly show 

the various stages the beard has passed through. 

Rao Bika, a son of Rao Jodha, the king of 

Jodhpur, founded Bikaner in A.D. 1488. Rao Bika 

(1488-1504), Rao Kara (1504) reigned only four 

months. Rao Lunkaran (1505-26), Jaitsi (1526-42), 

Maldeo, king of Marwar, who remained in possession of Bikaner from 1542 to 1544, Rao Kalyansingh (1544-71), Raja Raisingh (1571-1612), Dalpatsingh (1612-13), Soor singh (1613-31), Karansingh (1631-69), Anupsingh (1669-98), Sarupsingh (1698-1700), all wore only moustaches and side-locks. Maharaja Sujansingh (1700- 35), and Zorawarsingh (1735-1745), wore side-locks reaching much lower down than their predecessors, with the pointed end of the locks coming near the chin. Maharaja Gajsingh (1745-87), and Rajsingh (1787) who 

only reigned for ten days wore muttonchop whiskers. Pratapsingh (1787), and Maharaja Suratsingh (1787- 

1828), and Ratansingh (1828-51) wore full whiskers. 

Maharaja Ratansingh's successor, Maharaja Sardarsingh (1851-72) was the first to give up shaving the chin and grow a beard. Maharaja Dungarsingh (1872-87), also wore a beard. The present ruler, Maharaja Gangasingh has given up the beard reverting to the old Hindu practice of shaving the chin. 

BUNDI 

Of the Maharaos of Bundi, no one indulged in a 

beard till the year A.D. 1681. Uptil Rao Surjan, the 

Chiefs of Bundi were feudatories of the Maharanas of Mewar. Rao Surjan, who became Maharao in 1554 A.D. went over to Akbar in 1568 A.D., who recognised him as Rao Raja of Bundi. He died in 1585 A.D. Neither he nor his successors Bhoj (1585-1607), Ratansirigh (1607-11), Shatrusal (Chhatrasal) (1611-58), Bhaosingh (1658-81) grew a beard. They were all contett with keeping side-locks and moustaches. Maharao Anirudsingh (1681-1695), was the first to grow a beard. His successor Bhudhsingh (1695-1739), had only mutton- chop whiskers. Maharao Umedsirigh, who came to the throne in 1739, grew a beard. Umedsingh reigned from A.D. 1739 to 1771 and then retired from the throne and subsequently grew a beard. Ajitsingh (1771-73) had only moustaches. Maharao Bishansingh (1773-1821) had whiskers, Maharao Ramsingh (1821-90) had his chin shaved, but wore whiskers in Rajput fashion, the hair standing upright. Maharao Raghubir- singh (1890-1927) enjoyed a big flowing beard. The present ruler, Maharao Ishrisingh (1927), also grows a beard. 

KOTAH 

None of the kings of Kotah has uptil now kept a 

beard. Maharao Madho Singh, who was the second son of Maharao Ratan Singh of Bundi, was given Kotah in 1625 A.D. and became an independent sovereign (1625- 47), Mukand Singh (1647-58), Jagatsingh (1658-83), Paimsingh (1683-84), Kishorsingh (1684-95), Ramsingh (1695-1719) and Bhiinsingh (1719-20) all had side-locks. Maharao Arjunsingh (1720-23), Durjarisal (1723-56) Ajit Singh (1756-58) and Shatrusal or Chhatarsal (1758- 

64) gave up even this slight growth of the hair by 

the ears. Maharao Gumansingh (1764-71) again adopted side-locks. Maharao Umedsingh (1771-1819) had whiskers, but Maharao Kishor Singh (1819-27) wore neither whiskers nor side-locks. Maharao Ramsingh II (1827-66) and Maharao Chattarsal (1866-89) had whiskers only. Maharao Umedsingh (1889), the present ruler of Kotah, has only moustaches, and his chin is clean shaved, 

JHALAWAR 

Zalimsingh (died 1824 A.D.), who had been Prime 

Minister of the State of Kotah, was recognised by the British Government, in lieu of great services rendered by him during the Pindaree War, as the hereditary 

Prime Minister of the State. He grew only mousta- 

ches. His son Madhosingh (1824-34) showed no talent. His grandson Madansingh (1834-45) was recognized by the British Government as the first Raj Rana of Jhalawar in 1838 A.D. (date of creation of the State). He, like his grandfather Zalimsingh, wore whiskers. Madansingh's successor Prithvisingh (1845-75) grew a beard. His successor, Maharaj Rana Zalim Singh (1875-96) wore only moustaches, as also his successor Bhawanisingh (1896-1929). Both had their chins clean shaved. The present Chief, Maharaj Rana Rajendra- singh (1929), has his face clean shaved, no moustaches, no beard. 

SIROHI 

Of the rulers of Sirohi, Lakha (1451-83), Jagmal 

(1483-1523), Akhairaj (1523-33), Raisingh (1533-43), 

Dudha (1543-53), Udaisingh (1553-62), Mansingh (1562- 1571), Surtan (1571-1610), Kajsingh (1610-20) no portraits are available. Akhairaj II (1620-73) alone has left a portrait and he appears to have kept only side-locks and prominent moustaches. Akhairaj's successor Udaisingh (1673-76), Berisal (1676-97), Chhatarsal (1697-1705), Mansingh alias Umedsingh (1705-49). Prithviraja (1749-1772), Takhtsingh (1772-82), Jagatsingh (1782), Berisal 11 (1782-1808), and Udaibhan (1808-47), have 

also left no available portraits. Shivsingh (1847-62) and Umedsingh (1862-75), wore full whiskers, Kesrisingh (1875-1920) had a regular beard drawn up arid turned round the ear. The present ruler, Maharao 

Sarup Rarnsingh (1920), has only slight moustaches. 

ALWAR 

Rao Raja Pratap Singh (1775-90J was the first Raja 

of Alwar, and he wore whiskers. Bakhtawarsingh 

(1790-1815) and Benaisingh (1815-1857) had beards. Their successors Sheodansingh (1857-74) and Mangal Singh (1874-92) had only moustaches. The present ruler, Maharaja Jaisingh (1892), has his face clean shaved, no moustaches, no whiskers, no beard. 

KARAULI 

The Rajas of Karauli were beardless till the time 

of Ratanpal (about A. D. 1680) who was the first 

to grow a close-clipped beard. Proximity to the 

Mughal capitals, Agra and Delhi, was evidently the cause of thu rulers of Karauli thus early succumbing 

to Muslim influence in this respect. Ratanpal's son 

Kunwarpal followed his father in this respect, but 

his successor Gopalpal (1725) contented himself 

with large side-locks only. His successors, Turuspal 

(1757-72), and Manikpal (1772-1804) had only moustaches, though large and prominent ones. Amolakpal (1804) alone of all the rulers of Karauli had whiskers Harbakshpal (1804-1837) and Pratappal (1837-49)grew beards. Narsinghpal (1849-54) appears to have given it up, but Madanpal (1854-69) adopted the beard again. Lakshmanpal (1869) who probably died young, grew no beard. Jaisinghpal(1869-76)and Arjunpal (1876-86) 

and Maharaja Bbanwarpal Deva (1886-1927) had 

flowing beards. The present ruler, Bhompal Deva 

(1927), also wears a beard. 

JAISALMER 

The Maharawals of Jaisalmer are Yadavas and claim direct descent from Sri Krishna, the great Hindu 

Avatar (Incarnation of God). The dynasty has had a 

chequered history. Jaisalmer is the last of its nine 

capitals and was founded in S. 1212 (A.J). 1165) The capitals are enumerated in the couplet: 

Muttra, Benares, Allahabad, Ghazni and Bhatner, 

Digam, Dirawal, Ladarwa and the ninth Jaisalmer. 

The rulers of Jaisalmer style themselves Pachham 

Ice Padshah (Kings of the West). No portrait is avail- 

able of the Maharawals who ruled before RamsingL 

Bhimsingh (1577-1613) had moustaches and side- 

locks. Portraits of Kalyandas (1613) and his successors, Manohardas and Ramchander, are not available. Sabal Singh (1651-60) and Arnarsingh (1660-1701) kept to moustaches and side-locks. Jaswantsingh (1701-08) adopted muttonchop whiskers. Budhsingh (1708-22) gave up shaving the chin but only allowed the hair to show themselves on the chin and the jaws, an apology for a beard. Tejsingh (usurper), who ruled about a year wore prominent sidelocks like Maharawal Amar Singh. Sawaisingh, who also ruled for a year, has left no available portrait. Maharawal Akhaisingh (1723.62) wore sidelocks, which became very prominent and broad as they approached the chin. His successor Maharawal Mulraj (1762-1820) was the first 

to grow a beard. Maharawal Gajsingh (1820-46) did 

the same, Maharawal Ranjitsingh (1846-64), who came to the throne when 3 years old and died when 21, had no beard. Maharawal Berisal (186491) had a regular beard. Maharawal Salivahan (1891-1914) also had a beard. The present ruler, Maharawal Jawaharsingh (1914), wears only moustaches but no beard. 

DHOLPUR 

The first Raja was Lokendrasingh. Hut no portrait 

of his is available nor are those of Kirtisingh and 

Bhagwantsingh (1836-73), Nihalsingh (1873-1901) 

grew only moustaches as also Ramsingh (1901-11). The present chief Udaibhan Singh (1911) also contents himself with moustaches. 

KISHANGARH 

The first thirteen rulers of Kishangarh, Maharaja 

Kishansingh (1597-1 615), the founder of the State; Sahasmal (1615-28), Jagmal (1628-28), Harisingh (1628-43), Rupsingh (1643-1658) (who founded Rupangarh), Mansingh(1658-1706), Raj Singh (1706-1 748) Sawantsing (1748-64), Sardarsingh(1764-66)Bahadursingh(1766-82), Biradhsingh (1782-88), Pratapsingh (1788-98) and Kalyansingh (1798-1838) grew only moustaches and side-locks. Some of them had the hair of the side-locks curled but wore no whiskers or beard. Mohkamsingh (1838 41) was the first to have a beard, but it was a close clipped one. His successor Prithvisingh (1841- 79) was the first and the last to grow a regular beard. SarJulsingh (1879-1900), however, gave it up. Maharaja Madansingh (1900-26) did not nurse it. The present ruler, Maharaja Yagyanarain Singh (1926) has only moustaches. 

PARTAPGARH 

The State was founded by Maharana Kumbha's 

younger brother Kherna's son, Suryamal. He died in 

1531. His successors Baghsingh (1531-:$5), Raisingh (1535-53), Bika (1553-79) Tejsingh (1579-94), Bhanu- singh (1594-1604), Singha (1604-23), Jaswantsingh (1623-34), have left no portraits. Harisingh (1634-74), Pratapsingh (1674-1708), Pirthvisingh (1708-1717) grew only moustaches and side-locks arid looked like the early Maharanas of Mcwar. Ramsingk (1717-18) wore sidelocks with heavy flowing whiskers. Umed- singh (1718-23), Gopalsingh (1723-58) and Salimsingh (1758-75) wore thin side-locks. But Sanwatsingh (1775- 1844) gave up the side-locks and grew only moustaches. 

His successor Dalpatsingh (1844-64) was the first to 

grow a beard. Udaisingh (1864-90) and Raghunath 

singh (1890-1929) kept up the beard. The present ruler, Ramsingh (1929), has a slight moustache but is otherwise clean shaved. 

Thus it appears that neither the Mughal Emperors 

nor the Rajput Maharajas had anything to do with the beard till the year 1627 A.D. The seventeenth century 

marks the adoption of the beard by the Crown in India. Shahjahan was the first Emperor of India to adopt it, and the Raja of Karauli (1680) was the first Maharaja in Rajputana to grow a beard. Bundi followed close with a beard in 1682; Mewar (1710), Jaisalmer (1711) and Alwar (1791) adopted it in the eighteenth century. The rest, with one exception, Jhalawar, Sirohi, Jaipur, Marwar, Bikaner and Kishangarh , adopted the beard in the nineteenth century. The solitary exception is Kotah, whose Rulers have unanimously discarded the beard.

MAHARANA PRATAP- THAKUR BHIM SINH DODIYA - IMMORTAL RAJPUTS

मुगलों के लिए काल राजपूत शूरवीर हल्दिघाटी के भीम सरदारगढ के ठाकुर भीम सिंह डोडिया जी! 

सरदारगढ़ रो शूरवीर , डोडियो सरदार ।

मुग़ल मोकळा मारिया , छोड़ी नह तलवार ।।

जय राजपूताना _/\_जय मेवाड़ _/\_

MEWAR DODIYA DARBAR

https://youtu.be/v4J-QEBkMiU

"मेँवाड़ उमराव"

ठाकुर भीमसिँह डोडिया जी सरदारगढ

ठाकुर भीमसिंह डोडिया के पुर्वजो का मेवाड से सम्बन्ध कब आया इसके बारे मे कहा जाता हे की महाराणा लाखा की माँ द्वारिका की याञा गई उस समय काठियावाड मे लुटेरो ने घेर लिया तब शार्दुलगढ के राव सिँह डोडिया अपने पुञो कालु व धवल ने राजमाता कि रक्षा कि तब महाराणा लाखा ने डोडिया धवल को बुलाकर और रतनगढ नन्दराय और मसुदा आदि पाँच लाख कि जागीर देकर अपना उमराव बनाया तब से धवल के वंशज सरदारगढ(लावा) ठिकाना के सरदार है

सरदारगढ के डोडिया राजपूतो की लगातार 9 पिढी़यो ने मेवाड़ के युध्दो मे अपने प्राणो की आहुती दी.. और हमेसा महाराणाओ के विश्वास पात्र सामंत बने रहे.. अन्य सामंतो का महाराणाओ से मनमुटाव होता रहा लेकिन डोडिया सामंतो का महाराणाओ से कभी भी मनमुटाव नही हुआ... इस तरह महाराणा जगत सिंह ने सरदारगढ के डोडिया राजपूतो को मेवाड के प्रथम श्रेणी के उमरावो मे स्थान दिया

राव भीम सिंह अपनी कुमारावस्था मे ही मेवाड की सेना मे सक्रिय था अपने पुर्वजो की तरह भीम सिँह भी साहसी, पराक्रमी ओर जान पर खेलने वाला योध्दा था किसी भी चुनौती का सामने करने मे उसे आनन्द का अनुभव होता था

महाराणा उदयसिँह के समय हाजी खां के विरुध्द युध्द मे भीमसिँह अग्रिम पंक्ति मे लडने वाले योध्दाओ मेँ से एक था भीमसिँह ने अपनी कौमार्यवस्था मे हाजी खां के हाथी के शरीर मे बरछी आर पार कर दी थी और हाजी खां को घायल कर दिया

महाराणा प्रताप के समय जब संधि वार्ता प्रारम्भ हो रही थी तब प्रताप ने मानसिँह को ससम्मान लाने के लिये भीम सिँह को गुजरात भेजा था प्रताप को उसकी वाकपटुता पर विश्वास था,

उदय सागर की पाल पर कुँवर अमरसिँह व मानसिह के मध्य वार्ता हो रही थी तब भीमसिह भी वही था, जब मानसिँह ने संधि को स्वीकार न किया ओर मेवाड के प्रति कठोर वचनो का प्रयोग किया

तो भीमसिँह ने विनम्र किन्तु उग्र शब्दो मे उतर देते हूये कहा कि "यदि मानसिंह मेवाड से निपटना ही चाहता हे तो उसके साथ दो दो हाथ अवश्य होगे यदि अपने ही बलबुले पर आक्रमण करने आया तो मेवाड मे जहाँ कही उचित अवसर मिलेगा उसका यथोचित स्वागत किया जायेगा, 

हल्दीघाटी के युध्द मे ऐसा ही हुआ भीमसिह सेना के अग्रभाग(हरावल) मे था भीमसिँह जब युध्द करता हुआ मानसिंह के सामने आया तब भीम ने कहा की उस दिन जो बोल बोले थे वह अवसर आ गया हे तब भीमसिँह ने अपना घोडा शीघ्रता से मानसिँह के हाथी पे चढा दिया ओर अपने भाले से मानसिँह पर वार किया लेकिन भाला होँदे मे लग गया मान बच गया 

महाराणा कि रक्षा करने मे भीमसिँह डोडिया वीरगति को प्राप्त हुआ भीम ने मानसिँह पर ऐसे प्रहार किये जिसका वर्णन आमेर के साहित्य तथा अकबर के इतिहासकारो ने भी किया। 

इस युध्द मे उसका भाई ओर उसके दो पुञ हम्मीर व गोविन्द भी वीरगति को प्राप्त हुयेँ, जय मेवाड़

जय राजपुताना

HaldiGhati is synonymous with MahaRana Pratap & his undaunted valour in face of enemy outnumbering 3:1 & still carrying the battlefield with his honour & country intact. In fact, this stand took place within 8 years of Third Jauhar of Chittorgarh, ie., 1568 CE !

Left historians have distorted the history showing Pratap losing & Mughals as the victors.

Akbarnama & Muntkhab ul Twarikh by Badayuni are more circumspect, fact that Badayuni was present makes it interesting & addresses Pratap as KIKA. He says Man Singh was In Ajmer at Chishti tomb,  presented with a Khilat & a horse by Akbar himself. Asaf khan was second in command of 5000 Mughals to reinforce Syeds of Barha, Ghazi Khan, Mihtar Khan, Loonkaran & Jagannath Kachawahas.

Mewaris chose Gogunda as base 20 kms from Haldighati MahaRana lacked the resources of the Mughal but not fortitude. He was aided by Raja Ramsah Tanwar of Gwalior, Jhala Man Singh, Dodiya Bhim Singh, Ramdas Rathore( son of famous Jaymal), Charans, Rama Sandy,  Barhat Jaisa, & Rao Punja, Bhil Chief.

Hakim Khan Sur joined MahaRana. On that day,  Mughals started their advance early with Mewaris waiting. Mughal army was in classical Arrow Head formation.

Man Singh in centre on elephant.

Initial attack by Rana was so ferocious that Mughals reeled back under it. AbulFazl records it. Complete domination. 

With Rajputs fighting Rajputs, Badayuni writes,  Asaf Khan asked how to distinguish, he answered, " who so ever killed will be in service of Islam " !

Many Rajput on Mughal side were killed by Mughals. Advance body & skirmishers were cowering against smaller Mewar force. 

Badayuni says it was a complete rout of Mughal, in his words, " sustained a complete defeat "! Even, Rajputs in Mughal side fled "Raja Loonkaran & his men fled likw flock of sheep" ! 

MahaRana himself led the main charge,  Badayuni says, the main force reeled back & broke the Mughal centre. Shaikhjadas of Sikri ran, so did many others. 

War elephants joined fighting. Gajmukta of Mughals faced Mewari 'Lona', it put Gajmukta to flight when a stray bullet killed Mahawat.

Famous Ramprasad of Mewar was brought by Pratap Singh, son of Gwalior Raja. It faced 2 Mughal elephants,  Gajraj & Ranmandar & dominated both  Abul Fazl writing, " Ranmandar was letting foot of courage slip" when an arrow hit Ramprasad's Mahawat.

Captured without Mahawat was the only trophy of Haldighati for Mughals. MahaRana had performed deeds of valour not seen us attested by Mughal chroniclers. 

MahaRana struck terror in the imperial camp thirsting for revenge upon his Rajput foe(Man Singh). 

But, Dodiya Thakur Bhim Singh saw Man Singh first & charged his elephant, flung his Lance at Imperial Commander, misses. He's killed by the Altmash & bodyguards of Man Singh. 

Pratap heard Bhim & rushed through the impregnable Mughal defence. Mewar chronicler has described it beautifully... His Lance killed the Mahawat & hit the metal Howda. Pratap didn't know that he missed as Man Singh had dived inside the Howda. 

Jhala Man Singh grandson of Jhala Ajja ji who replaced  MahaRana Sanga at Battle of Khanuwa did honours at Haldighati. He allowed MahaRana to retreat tactically, "reared aloft the Mewar emblem fought till the last is Mewar army melted into the hills"!

Mughal didn't dare to follow says BADAYUNI. 

Next day at Gogunda described by Badayuni, was not that of a Victor but a fearful stalemate worried if another attack.

Man Singh & Asaf Khan who had fled the battlefield were banished from the Mughal Court for their failure.

Badayuni describes how Mihtar Khan who was at the rear along with Syeds of Barha saved the day by falsely claiming that Akbar himself had come to battle & stopped the fleeing Mughals.

The TRUTH of Haldighati !!!

Courtesy : 🙏Pragyata.Com🙏

IMMORTAL RAJPUT CHIVALRY

The chivalry of the Rajput and the influence of the fair in the formation of rajput character is depicted here. It is taken from the annals of Jaisalmer, the most remote of the States of Rajasthan, and situated in the heart of the desert, of which it is an oasis.

Rao Ransingdeo Bhati was lord of Pugal, a fief of Jaisalmer. His heir, named Sadhu Bhati, was the terror of the desert, carrying his raids even to the valley of the Indus, and on the east to Nagore. Returning from a foray, with a train of captured camels and horses he passed by Aurint where dwelt Manik Rao, the chief of the Mohils, whose rule extended over 1140 villages. Being invited to partake of the hospitality or the Mohil, the heir of Pugal attracted the favourable regards of the old chieftain’s daughter. She loved him for the dangers he had passed. Although betrothed to the heir of the Rathore of Mundore, she signified her wish to renounce the throne to be the bride of the chieftain of Pugal; and in spite of the dangers he provoked, and contrary to the Mohil chief’s advice, Sadhu, as a gallant rajput, dared not reject the overture, and he promised “to accept the coco (Sriphala)” if sent in form to Pugal. In due time it came, and the nuptials were solemnized at Aurint. The dower was splendid; gems of high price, vessels of gold and silver, a golden bull, and a train of thirteen dewadharis (lamp holders).

Arankanwal (Aranya means waste in Sanskrit, Kamal is Lotus), the slighted heir of Mandore, determined on revenge, and with four thousand Rathores planted himself in the path of Sadhu’s return, aided by the Sankhla Mehraj, whose son Sadhu had slain. Though entreated to add four thousand Mohils to his escort, Sadhu deemed his own gallant band of seven hundred Bhatis sufficient to convey his bride to his desert abode, and with difficulty accepted fifty, led by Meghraj, the brother of the bride.

The rivals encountered at Chondan, where Sadhu had halted to repose; but the brave Rathore scorned the advantage of numbers, and a series of single combats ensued, with all the forms of chivalry. The first who entered the lists was Jeytanga, of the Pahoo clan, a kin of Sadhu. The rathores came upon him by surprise while he was reposing on the ground, his saddle-cloth for his couch, and the bridle of his steed twisted round his arm. He was soon recognized by the Sankhla, who had often encountered his prowess, on which he expatiated to Arankanwal, who sent an attendant to awake him; but the gallant Panchkalyan (for such was the name of his steed. Panchkalyan is a chestnut with four white legs and a white nose) had already performed this service, and they found him upbraiding white legs for treading upon him. Like a true Rajput, he received the hostile message, and sent the envoy back with his compliments, and a request for some amal or Opium, as he had lost his own supply. With all courtesy this was sent, and prepared by the domestics of his antagonist; after taking which he lay down to enjoy the customary siesta. As soon as he awoke, he prepared for the combat, girt on his armour, and having reminded Panch Kalyan of the fields he had won, and telling him to bear him well that day, he mounted and advanced. The son of Chonda, Arankanwal, admiring his sangfroid, and the address with which he guided his steed, commanded Jodha Chauhan, the leader of his party, to encounter the Pahu Bhati. “Their two-edged swords soon clashed in combat”; but the gigantic Chauhan fell beneath the Bhati, who, warmed with the fight, plunged amidst his foes, encountering all he deemed worthy of his assault.

The fray thus begun, single combats and actions of equal parties followed, the rivals looking on. At length Sadhu mounted: twice he charged the Rathore ranks, carrying death on his lance; each time he returned for the applause of his bride, who beheld the battle from her palki (palanquin). Six hundred of his foes had fallen, and nearly half his own warriors. He bade her a last adieu, while she exhorted him to the fight, saying, “she would witness his deeds, and if he fell, would follow him even in death.” Now he singled out his rival Arankanwal who was alike eager to end the strife and blot out his disgrace in his blood. They met: some seconds were lost in a courteous contention, each yielding to his rival the first blow, at length dealt out by Sadhu on the neck of the disappointed Rathore. It was returned with the rapidity of lightning, and the daughter of the Mohil saw the steel descend on the head of her lover. Both fell prostrate to the earth: but Sadhu’s soul had sped; the Rathore had only swooned. With the fall of the leaders the battle ceased; and the fair cause of strife, Karamdevi, at once a virgin, a wife, and a widow, prepared to follow her affianced. The pile was prepared on the field of battle; and taking her lord in her embrace, she gave herself up to the devouring flames. The old Bhati, Rao of Pugal, had a tank excavated on this spot for her putravadhu (daughter-in-law), which is still called after the heroine, “the lake of Karamdevi.”

This encounter took place in Samvat 1402, A.D. 1406. The brunt of the battle fell on the Sankhlas, and only twenty-five out of three hundred and fifty left the field with their leader, Mehraj, himself severely wounded. The rejected Lover had four brothers dangerously hurt; and in six months the wounds of Arankanwal opened afresh and he died, and the rites to the manes of these rivals in love, the chaumasa of Sadhu, and the duadasa of Arankanwal were celebrated on the same day.

IMMORTAL RAJPUT'S THEIR STRENGTH AND THEIR WEAKNESS

When riseth Lacedemon's Hardihood, 

When Thebes Epaminondas rears again, 

When Athens' children are with hearts endued, 

When Grecian mothers shall give birth to men, 

Then may'st thou be restored ; but not till then.

The Friend of India, Feb. 1857:

"Sati & widow celebacy are abolished. Polygamy is doomed & what Hindu knowing all this raises a hand? There is no heart left in the creed, and though it may exist for generations yet, as corpse of Roman paganism did, its downfall is assured..." 

IF it is true, as Pope says, that the proper study of mankind is man, it is no less true that the proper study for a Hindu living in the twentieth century and conscious of the forces working round him, is the study of the history of the Kshatriya. The future "has its roots in the past says Lord Morley. It is the past that in its results is present in the present and will to a certain extent, shape the future. The law of causation is inevitable and unerring. Those who are vitally Interested in the present and the future welfare of the Kshatriya Royals, as well as those whose interest in the matter is merely intellectual, find the history of the Rajput's, their culture and civilization, their social and spiritual ideals and their practical philosophy of life, a subject of absorbing interest. 

All serious students of the history of sociology have before them the extraordinary historical phenomenon of a great race, which occupying at the dawn of history a high position in the world and having survived all the political cataclysms, social upheavals and racial eruptions that engulfed powerful nations and destroyed old world empires, still shows in no uncertain degree, spiritual and moral vitality. This amazing vitality of the Rajput race compels the attention and challenges the interest of all who study the evolution of man or of human society. 

The Rajaputra families naturally traced their own history back to the origin of their individual clans, which in turn were branches of older clans, going back to the Vedic era. They carry the historical baggage of several millennia down to the 20th Century and today all the positives and negatives from this long span of Indian History are applied to them.

However since the positives of the Rajputs (relating to their resistance to the Islamist onslaught) have been described here only after the actual rise of the Rajaputra families, it’s only fair to also look at the negatives, but from this later period alone.

Failure to form an empire

The Rajput state was formed by one dominant clan. If that particular clan was successful and managed to extend its territories, other clans came under its rule—but even then the structure of the state was dominated by the original ruling clan. This prevented most Rajput states from extending their kingdoms into large empires—the Rajput state that came closest to forming an empire was the Kingdom of Mewar in the 16th Century.

The ruling Sesodia clan was served by Hadas, Rathors, and Jhalas; other ruling clans that had been devastated by the Turk invasion were left to their lot as common farmers. The Sesodias remained in the dominant positions of the state and in the army—but as the state expanded further, the population of the ruling clan could never be able to keep pace and would soon become a minority even in the combined Rajput population! This prevented Rajput clan-states from staking claims to empire unless they commanded a coalition of other states—the limitations of such coalitions are given below.

Command and control of coalitions

Like every other community of clans and states, the Rajputs have formed coalitions to fight off a common threat. Some of these coalitions have failed, like the Chaulukya-Parmar union against Qutb-ud-din Aibak, but others have been successful, like the Chaulukya-Guhilot alliance against Sultan Balban. In the earlier case the clans assembled at one place and fought as one unit…but in the latter instance the allies fought separately from their own bases (which were hundreds of miles distant) and only coordinated their movements against the Turks.

Camping in one place, marching together, and forming for battle brings up issues of the command and control of the different clan-armies. This invariably gives rise to jealousy and can lead to quarrels that break up the order of the allied army—this is also seen in military campaigns of other cultures. In the 13th Century the allied Russian princes, similarly camping and marching together to the Battle of Kalka River, began quarreling and soon lost that fight to the Mongols.

Such jealousies and quarrels are far more magnified in the Rajput clans but for a very sound reason. In their ferocious response to the Islamist aggression, when they saw their cherished faith being uprooted, the Rajputs clung desperately to their clan-identity. They even gave up their lives for it. This caused a heightened sense of clan purity, which in turn led to ideas of clan supremacy (over the Muslim invader and over other Rajput clans), laced with the steely determination of not submitting to others.

Related to this is the ability to raise a large army at short notice. The Turk invaders, and even the Marathas and Sikhs commanded large armies on the strength of their ability to pay these soldiers. An ambitious chieftain, when initially successful in a military campaign, could then attract other soldiers to his side and command them into battle for the sake of money. But a Rajput chieftain had to be dependent only on his clan—even if successful he could not recruit soldiers from other clans since the whole notion of clan supremacy would then be overthrown. The only way for a Rajput commander to recruit other Rajput clans was by negotiating with their chieftains—this was how the Mughal Empire under Akbar brought the Rajput clans into their army. But even when fighting together in these armies, the clans were driven purely by self-interest as illustrated in the [Battle of Dharmat]

Preference for legend and romance

The bard ( bhat ) was the most crucial member of every Rajput army. He sang out loud the valiant deeds of their forefathers to inspire the warriors into making the fiercest exertions in battle. The bard was also an observer of events but he did not make a historical record…rather such events were related in poems, which were passed down through generations of bards by word of mouth.

Legendary and romantic stories are easier to relate in poetic form hence Rajput history is full of these stories, which today have been faithfully reproduced in the Amar Chitra Katha series. But even in an earlier age myth and legend managed to unseat bland historical fact—the evolution of the Agnikund legend will illustrate this point.

The Parmar clan ruled from Dhar (in modern Madhya Pradesh) in the 10th Century…their earliest epigraphic record is the Harsola grant, which relates that these Kings were born in a family of the Rashtrakutas (in the Deccan). But sometime later, as the power of the clan increased, the poet Padmagupta Parimal created a legendary story for his patrons:

The Vedic sage Vasishtha had a wish-fulfilling cow called the Kamadhenu , which was stolen by his rival, the sage Vishvamitra. To recover it Vasishtha made offerings to a sacrificial fire on the heights of Mt. Abu while chanting holy verses…a warrior emerged from the fire and recovered the cow for his creator. In acknowledgment of his immense service Vasishta named this warrior Paramar, which means enemy-slayer ( para-maar ).

This legend, being so exciting to hear and read, was now inscribed on all subsequent Parmar records. Their original statement of belonging to the Rashtrakuta family was lost for a long time until the said Harsola grant was recovered and translated in the 19th Century. But before that the legend went through another twist in the 16th Century…by this time the power of the Parmars had gone and new clans (Sesodias and Rathors) dominated the landscape of that region. In this period the Prithviraj Raso of Chand Bardai related another version of this legend which gave pride of place, not to the Parmars but to the Chauhans (and which subsequently became the most popular legend):

Vasishtha kindled a fire-pit ( agnikund ) at Mt. Abu to create warriors for fighting off the demons. The first to emerge was the Pratihar; he was placed to guard[3] the sacred site. A second emerged from the chullu (palm) of the sage and was called the Chaulukya. The third warrior eagerly sought out the demons but could not prevail over them—he was called the Pra-maar (first-striker), which evolved later into Parmar. The fourth warrior carried weapons in four arms and destroyed the demons—he was called the Chauh-maan because of this.

In another version of this story, the sage Vishvamitra is substituted for Vasishtha suggesting that the root of this story is derived from the earlier legend of the Parmars. The origins of the names of the four clans that are given in this legend are not based in history or accurate linguistics. Unfortunately, such legends became the stuff of Rajput history.

Interestingly the colonial historians, who normally rejected legendary stories in their works, immediately latched on to this legend. But in their version, they substituted Vasishtha with “the Brahmins” and the demons with “Saka and Hun invaders”. They also suggested that the warrior clans emerging from the fire were Hinduised foreigners…ignoring the basic fact that the earlier legends were created merely to glorify that particular clan and the date of the even the earliest legend was 500 years too late to tally with the Hun invasions!

So the Rajput preference for legend and romance, which can be seen in other examples, has dropped a shroud over their actual history and has been used by their modern detractors to discredit and manipulate their origins in which their chequered career as the Rajputs nation during the last thousand years furnishes abundant materials to a historian to be able to trace and well appraise the influence of spiritual ideals on the political life of a Rajputs, as also the effect of their social beliefs and practices on it. He will see how the wholesome influence of a highly intellectual culture and spiritual ideals governing the ordinary life of a civilized nation are checked, modified and marred by evil customs, pernicious practices and wrong and narrow social ideals, which create distraction, division and disunion. 

Bharata, the most fertile and favoured of climes, in all ages the cynosure of all eyes, has been the centre of gravity in the world's affairs. Seekers after truth, and the spiritually inclined from Greece, Persia, China and other countries, like Pythagoras, Pyrrho, Democritus of Thales, Fa-Hian, Hiouen-Thsang and Alberuni came to Bharata to learn wisdom: the worldly-minded to get the good things of the world. "The gorgeous East" and "Wealth of Hindus" of Milton, "Bharat, the sole mother of precious stones" of Pliny, the "Golden India" of Alexander the Great stirred the imagination of the Europeans in all ages. Its fabled wealth fired the ambition of powerful rulers of distant lands and attracted the adventurers and free-booters of Asia from Semiramis and Alexander to Mahmud Ghaznavi, Changez Khan, Timur and Ahmad Shah Durrani. 

Rajput Warriors repelled the earlier invasions and the enemy returned home beaten and battered or perished on the way foiled in his attempt. Semiramis, Alexander and Seleucus are instances in point. Later attempts partly or wholly succeeded as the internal dissensions in Bharata increased and developed. Most of the invaders of the first few centuries of the Christian era, however, who came to conquer remained to worship. Victorious Rome 

was held captive by vanquished Greece: Bharata did better still. It absorbed the invaders and made them its votaries, as the history of the Bactrian Greeks, Huns, Kushans, Kshtrapas and Shakas (Scythians) amply shows. 

But a time at last arrived when a new school of 

social thought arose in Bharata with a vision blurred and an outlook, narrow, limited and exclusive. It rejected the simpler, purer, higher ideals of life inculcated by the earlier Sages and Thinkers of Bharata. In this constant defensive warfare taking shelter under the cover of mistaken notions of heredity, conservation of spiritual energy, and preservation of the purity of blood and culture, it introduced in Hindu society a spirit of exclusiveness and disruption that began to destroy the solidarity of the Sanatani race and weaken its power of resistance. The disruptive forces once set in motion continued to gather strength, with the result that the social organisation of the country deteriorated and the political ideals of the people became degenerated; for the ideas of nationality and independent national existence became dimmed. The consequence was that the foreign invader obtained a more or less firm footing in the exposed parts of India; their advent and presence in the country being due to dissensions and disunion amongst the Rajput Rulers.

The early Arab raids in Sindh and the free booting expeditions of Mahmud Ghaznavi, while giving a precarious foothold to the foreign enemy in the Western regions of Bharata made little permanent impression on the heart of the country. But it proclaimed to the world that the body politic of Bharata suffered from a chronic illness. The Ghori invasions followed the proclamation. For the first time, foreign enemies secured permanent lodgement in the heart of the country. It is, however, remarkable that though successive waves of racial eruptions from Central Asia broke on the shores of Bharata and submerged parts of it, and the last wave developed into an inundation lasting for about two centuries, Rajputana emerged from all this welter of history very nearly whole. 

For about three centuries and a half beginning 

with the end of the twelfth and ending with the beginning of the sixteenth century, Rajputana (Upper India) remained engaged in a death-struggle with its neighbours, the Afghans, who though enemies politically were ethnically allied to the Rajputs, for, not only was the blood that ran in their bodies the same as that of the Rajputs, but Afghanistan itself had only recently ceased to be a part of Bharata. The founding of Ghazni by MahaRaval Gajsingh, an ancestor of the Maharaval of Jaisalmer, and the extending of the dominion of King Sobhagsen and others over the whole of Afghanistan and Baluchistan was then a matter of recent history 

Though during this period of three centuries, the 

Afghans retained possession of Delhi and a part of the Punjab Plains, and now and then attacked the neighbouring princes and provinces, and whenever a powerful and ambitious ruler came to the throne, exercised suzerain power over some of them, yet the whole of Rajputana was independent and many Rajput kings in the Hill states and the United Provinces enjoyed sovereign power. 

The Afghan kings of Delhi were often reduced to such straits by the Rajputs that except a semblance nothing of real sovereignty remained with them. The extent of their power and the precarious nature of their rule is fully exposed by what Zia-uddin Barni in his celebrated Tarikhi Firoz Shahi says of the time when Grhayasuddin Balban came to the throne: "The Western gates of the city of Delhi were shut at afternoon prayer (5 p.m.) and no one dared to go out of the city in that direction after that hour whether he travelled as a pilgrim or with the display of a Sovereign !"

These three centuries of Afghan rule was that 

of adventurers and military chiefs of tribes and factions over Delhi and the punjab plains interspersed with raids into neighbouring and distant parts of India, as the internal dissensions in the Hindu States and their mutual recriminations or jealousies gave opportunities to the Sultans to secure loot or vaunt military power. There was no settled or stable Government, one dynasty 

following another in quick succession, assassination and murder opening the way to the throne. The Sultans had no idea of statesmanship or statecraft. The social life of the people organized in complete independence of political conditions which were liable to violent fluctuations, flowed undisturbed and unconcerned, taking little heed of the change of rulers, violent and bloody palace revolutions and occasional raids. 

While the current of this Afghan rule ebbed and 

flowed, the inherent strength of the Rajputs asserted itself and not only was the territorial 

strength of the Sultanate eventually reduced to narrow limits but its military power was completely crushed. Led by Hindu SurRatna Maharana Kumbha, the Rajputs reconquered Malwa, took Ajmer, defeated the Sultan of Gujrat and 

reduced the rule of the Sultan of Delhi to a small 

circumscribed area. The political horizon of India 

showed unmistakable signs that the time was not distant when the Hindus would recover lost supremacy and drive out the foreigners. All that was wanted was the appearance of a man of commanding personality, the emergence of a leader who could gather together the scattered units of power and lead them against the common enemy. Such a leader appeared in the person of Maharana Sangram Singh Sisodiya , known in history as Hindupat Rana 

Sanga of Mewar. Mr. Erskine in his Memoirs of Babur says : " The Empire of Delhi was in confusion. It 

had become the prey to the strongest, and the former success, and the mighty power of the Rana might seem to justify at once his hopes of seating himself on the vacant throne of the Afghan Lodis,and his more reasonable and glorious ambition of expelling the Afghans and Toorky invaders from India and restoring her own Hindu race of Rajput kings and her native institutions." 

Such promising prospect, however, was darkened 

by those fatal defects in Hindu character which had 

developed with the rise of certain social and religious beliefs and practices. The cup of success so near to 

the lips was dashed to the ground. While the inherent vitality of the Hindu race was asserting itself, the 

fissiparous tendencies of Hindu society aided by the 

anti-national influences of feudalism were having their full play. The single unifying influence of the personality of the heroic Maharana whose valorous exploits, chivalrous character and political foresight had won him the willing allegiance of the rulers of Rajputana was eventually neutralized by the centrifugal forces and the disruptive tendencies of Hindu society at whose heart gnawed the disintegrating caste-system with sharpened teeth. The ravaging effect on the Hindu nation 

of the narrow and exclusive anti-national tendencies 

of the teachings of the Vaishnava Acharyas and others separating brother from brother, caste from caste began to loom large in the heavens as evil portents, when, on the ruins of Afghan rule, a capable adventurer from the distant highlands of Samarkand appeared on the scene and made a bid for political ascendancy in India, That a Turk driven from his home in Turkistari and setting up rule in Kabul should cross over to India with twelve thousand men all told, to conquer the country inhabited by thirty crores of people immeasurable superior to the invaders in Arts and civilzation, with great traditions of military glory behind them, and actually succeed in founding a kingdom is a unique phenomenon of the highest significance in the history of the world. The phenomenon is so astounding that the 

world a thousand years hence might well be excused if it declined to accept it as a historical fact. 

With the Setback of the Rajput Confederacy under 

the valiant Maharana Sanga at Khanwa in 1526 A.D., the hopes of Hindu independence disappeared for the time being. The Mughal (Turk+Mongol) empire founded by Jalaludin Mohamamad, the grandson of Bubar, remained intact for two centuries. For the first time a Muslim State in the real sense of the term came into existence in Hindustan. The fame of this empire was wafted to distant lands. Ambassadors from England and Persia came to Hindustan in acknowledgment of its greatness. But the founding, the rearing up and the maintenance of this empire was mainly due to the co-operation and the active help of the Hindus. Colonel Tod, the incomparable historian of Rajputana, says : "The Mughals were indebted for half their conquests to the Lakh Tulwar Rathoran" (hundred thousand swords of the Rathore 

Rajputs) and again, "the most brilliant conquests 

of these monarchy (Akbar, Jehangir and Aurangzeb) were by their Rajput allies, who encountered at command the Afghans amidst the snows of the 

Caucasus or made the furthest Chersonese tributary 

to the empire. " And as soon as this Rajput aid was withdrawn, the empire crumbled to pieces like a house of cards. 

CHAUSATH YOGINI TEMPLE - THE INSPIRATION OF INDIAN PARLIAMENT

“Chausath Yogini Temple - The Inspiration of Indian Parliament”

Reviewed 16 June 2015

Chausath Yogini Temple, Mitavli, is one of the rarest of Hindu temples in India. Its plan is circular and it is dedicated to the Tantric sect of Chausath Yogini. Most of the Hindu temples are based on square or rectangular plan. Circular temples are very rare. It is said that the design of Indian Parliament is inspired by this temple in Morena. It is also a very rare temple as there are only about a half a dozen Chausath Yogini temples in India. A Yogini in Tantra means a practitioner of Yoga, who has controlled her desires and reached a higher stage. They are related to the Matrikas and are basically various manifestations of the Divine Durga. This association with various forms of Durga gave rise to the cult of Chausath (64) Yoginis over time. The Chausath Yogini temple of Morena has an outer circle of 64 subsidiary shrines of Shiva with a central shrine of the Yogini. According to an inscription, it was built by King Devapala of the Pala dynasty of Bengal in 9th century.

The Yogini temple of Mitauli/Mitawali stands in splendid isolation on top of a hill some thirty miles from Gwalior. Yogini temples,in general, are often situated on the tops of hills and are usually in isolated locations on the outskirts of towns. 

The extant Yogini temples, situated in the modern Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa, seem by and large to lie on the fringe of a region known in ancient times as Madhyadeśa.

It appears that royalty was closely connected with the Yogini cult. The Kulārnava Tantra indicates  importance of royal worship of the 64 Yoginis in a verse which states that if a king worships the 64 Yoginis with devotion, his fame will reach to the shores of the four oceans.

The earliest known text that contains lists of the 64 Yoginis is Agni Purana. Its 52nd chapter which names the 64 Yoginis and briefly describes them, is entitled Devipratimālaksana or "Attributes of Images of the Goddesses."

Both archaeology and textual evidence point to the emergence of the Yogini cult around the ninth century. The cult of the Mothers (Matrkās) and tantric modes of worship with which the Yoginis are closely associated, were known from much earlier times. Reference to early temples of the Mothers (Matrkas) are contained in Rajatarangini. Kalhaņa records that Isänadevi, wife of king Jalauka, built mātchakras, circles of Mothers, in his empire. It indicates that circular temples of Matrkās were in existence from 300 BC.

Later texts refers to astastakakrama (mode of worship of 64) in connection with the circle of Yogini (yoginivrnda) and clearly indicates that there was as specialised manner of worship as also a select group of priests who conducted the ceremonies of the Yogini cult. 

The Kālikā Purāņa ends its list of the 64 Yoginis with the injunction that the Yoginis are to be worshipped within a Mandala. The Mato tara Tantra, in describing its various Chakras of goddesses emphasizes that such Chakras are to be drawn (likhet) on a scroll (pata).

It seems likely that when the Yogini cult first emerged, worship was entirely through the use of such Mandalas, and that temples to house images of the Yoginis were a later concept and possibly one that arose with royal patronage of the cult.

Yogini temple generally takes form of the circle, that purest and simplest of symbols, yet one of most powerful and widely used.

The circle represents the Sun, the seeing eye, the zodiac, time and eternity. Texts referring to Yoginis invariably speak of them forming a chakra.

Temples of Yoginis, architecturally dissimilar to all other shrines India, represent a tradition that stands well apart from the main stream of temple architecture. Yogini temples are hypaethral or open to the sky, with neither tower roof nor hidden sacred area.

The Mitauli temple has at its centre a large pillared circular pavilion which must once have housed an image of Siva, but this shrine is now unfortunately empty. In view of textual evidence central shrine (Bhairava at centre of group of Yoginis) existed in all Yogini temples.

When images of multiple Yoginis are placed within a circular enclosure, we get a Yogini Chakra or a Yogini temple. In meditative technique, deities and Yoginis of a Chakra are sometimes visualised as existing internally within body and are to be offered symbolic worship.

Mitauli Yogini temple is located on the top of hillock hypetheral on plan comprising a circular cloister around an open courtyard over a high plinth. Circular cloister consists of a series of small cells, each having an open mandapa supported on pilasters and pillars on front.

There is a circular shrine facing east in the center of the courtyard.

Each cell originally had sikhara but during the course of conservation, smaller shrines were made flat-roofed.

Main shrine in center also appears to originally had sikhara on top, instead of flat roof.

One of the outstanding features of this temple is a huge underground water storage facility that collects rainwater running off from the main shrine and reaching this facility through drain pipes. This temple is proof of engineering and architectural expertise.

The exterior walls of the temple, with several bands of moulding, display small niches that contain figures of couples flanked by maidens.

 However, most of these niches are empty while other contain badly damaged carvings.

The interior of circular temple enclosure contains a pillared colonnade that shelters 65 cells. One wonders why a 65th cell was part of plan.

 Since Siva has his own central pavilion, possible suggestion is that image of Devi herself was added to 64 Yoginis surrounding Siva.

Each of Mitauli's 65 cells contains a linga without the usual accompanying yoni pitha. None of these linga stones are original. Not one of the Yogini images once in occupation of the cells can be traced. Yogini images were probably around 3 feet high, visible through doorways.

Misconception spread  by every historian so blindly that it is built some kachphagatas and not pala empire paramount ruler of north india, 

"Chausath Yogini Temple and Ekattarso Mahadeva Temple" both are diffrent temple

There are inscriptions of varying dates at Mitauli, engraved on pillars, on the rock of temple and along entranceway. Most important inscription is damaged. It mentions Maharaja Devapäla and his queen, refers to construction of temple, and records the date of AD 1323.

Other epigraphs at Mitauli include an amorous verse inscribed on the outer wall of the main temple, and a verse to the Sun god Surya, as well as a salutation to Mahäräja Rai Singh, on a pillar of the central Siva pavilion.


The latest dated inscription was added in AD 1503, indicating that despite increasing Muslim attacks, Mitauli Yogini temple was still in active worship. This was period of Rajā Man Singh, a Tomar Rajput, (1497-1517) whose success in war and peace made Gwalior justly famous.

KK MUHAMMED claimed that design of Parliament was inspired from Chausath Yogini temple. But still Historians are of various opinions. Some believe it to be Roman inspired architecture while others believe it to be a mix of Indian and Western styles.

Sources:

[1] Yogini Cult and Temples: A Tantric Tradition, published by NATIONAL MUSEUM, JANPATH, NEW DELHI.

[2] ASI Bhopal Circle:

https://t.co/WE4KmXxdtT