Bharmal
| Raja Bharmal | |
|---|---|
| Ruler of Amer | |
| Reign | 1 June 1548 – 27 January 1574 |
| Predecessor | Askaran |
| Successor | Raja Bhagwant Das |
| Born |
c. 1491 Amer, Indian |
| Died | 27 January 1574 |
| Issue |
Bhagwant Das Bhagwan Das Bankawat Rajkumari Heer Kunwari (daughter) |
| Father | Raja Prithviraj Singh I |
| Mother | Rani Apoorva Devi |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Raja Bharmal or Bhagmal (r. 1 June 1548 – 27 January 1574) was a Rajput Kachwaha ruler of Amer which was later known as Jaipur in the present day Rajasthan state of India.
Bharmal is more known for marrying his daughter, Jodha bai (also called Harka bai or Hira Kunwari) to the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1562, who later become mother to Mughal Emperor Jahangir. He was first among the Rajputs to marry his daughter to a Mughal.
Ancestry and accession
Bharmal was born in 1491 at Amer. He was the fourth son of Raja Prithviraj or Prithvi Singh I of Amer (r. 17 January 1503 – 4 November 1527) and Rani Apoorva Devi or Bala Bai of Rathore clan, the daughter of Rao Lunkaranji of Bikaner royal family. Prithviraj was son of Kachwaha ruler Chandrasen and son-in-law of Rana Raimal of Chittor. He fought at the Battle of Khanua on 17 March 1527 in Rana Sanga's favour. Prithviraj had eighteen sons and three daughters by his nine queens. Some of his sons died young while some did not have any issue.
After the death of Raja Prithviraj in 1527, Raja Puran Mal (r. 5 November 1527 – 19 January 1534), his eldest son by Tanwar queen succeeded him. He died at the Battle of Mandrail on 19 January 1534, while helping Mughal Emperor Humayun to recapture the fort of Bayana. He had a son named Sujamal. But Sujamal could not succeed his father as he was a minor at that time.
Puranmal was succeeded by his younger brother Bhim Singh (r.1534 - 22 July 1537), the next eldest son of Rani Apoorva Devi. The dispossessed Sujamal took shelter in the Tanwar royal family. Bhim singh was succeeded by his eldest son Ratan Singh (r. 1537 - 15 May 1548). He was killed by his step- brother Askaran, who became the king next day. But the nobles of Amber joined to depose him and on 1 June 1548 Bharmal became the ruler of Amer.[1]
Situation at the beginning of the reign
When Bharmal's eldest brother Puranmal succeeded the throne in 1527, the political scenario was very uncertain. The Rajput confederacy led by Rana Sanga suffered great loss in the battle of Khanua. The Mughal power was not firmly established in India. There were other Muslim rulers, who were gaining power to oust Humayun, the son of Babur out of India. Bahadur Shah of Gujarat and Sher Khan (later Sher Shah Suri) were prominent among them.
Puranmal was the first person to realize that Mughals were trustworthy. They were not like the old stock of Muslim rulers. It was Puranmal who first offered services of Rajputs to Mughals. Thus, Kachwahas became the first allies of Mughals in Rajputana. Bharmal's policy towards Mughals was merely extension of his brothers policy.
Bahadur Shah was pursuing a policy of expansion. He helped and sent Tatar Khan Lodi to occupy the fort of Bayana. He occupied the fort of Bayana which was under Mughal occupation since the time of Babur. Humayun sent his brothers Askari Mirza and Hindal Mirza to recapture the fort. Puranmal, then Raja of Amer, fought in the battle called the Battle of Mandrail in favour of Mughals in 1534.
Next year, Bahadur Shah of Gujrat besieged the fort of Chittor, upon which Humayun himself started to fight against him. Rani Karmawati the widow of Rana Sanga was ruling Chittor as regent. She also tried to be friendly with Mughals and sent a Rakhi to Humayun, but Humayun did not arrive in time either due to his belief or slackness. If he would have arrived in time and helped Karmawati, perhaps it would have been Sisodias as their close allies. As a result, Chittor was crushed and all the women in the fort committed Jauhar and the men died in the war.
The reign
It appears from the recorded history that he did not inherit his father as principles laid down by Manu. Instead he was a collective choice from all the Kachwahas, dominated at that time by Bara Kotris. The wise emperor Akbar pursued a liberal policy towards his Hindu subjects and Raja Bharmal's descendants offered their services to Mughals which became a strong empire, due to Kachwaha support. The Dhundhar region of Rajputana never faced a war until Aurangzeb's reign.
Akbar and Bharmal
In 1556, Bharmal helped Majnun Khan Qaqshal, a Mughal commandant, which Majnun Khan later narrated to Akbar. Akbar subsequently invited Bharmal to the court of Delhi and rewarded him. In 1562, the situation became critical for the Kachwahas when Mirza Muhammad Sharaf-ud-din Hussain was appointed Mughal governor of Mewat. Sujamal reached his court and received his support for winning the throne of Amer. Mirza led a large army to Amber and Bharmal was in no position to resist. He forced the Kachwahas to leave Amber and live in forests and hills. Bharmal promised a fixed tribute to Mirza and handed over his own son Jagannath and his nephews Raj Singh and Khangar Singh as hostages for its due payment.[2]
When Sharaf-ud-din was preparing to invade Amber again, Bharmal met Akbar's courtier Chaghtai Khan. Luckily for the Raja of Amer, Akbar was at Karavali (a village near Agra) on his way from Agra to Ajmer (on a pilgrimage to the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti), Chaghtai Khan pleaded on behalf of Bharmal for his protection, which he agreed and summoned Raja Bharmal to his court. Accordingly Bharmal's brother Rupsi Bairagi and his son Jaimal met Akbar at Dausa and Raja Bharmal himself met the emperor Akbar at his camp at Sanganer on 20 January 1562.
Chaghtai Khan introduced Raja Bharmal and his relatives to Akbar and Bharmal proposed to give his eldest daughter Hira Kunwari in marriage to Akbar. Akbar consented and ordered Chaghtai Khan for necessary arrangements for his marriage. Upon Akbar's arrival in Sambhar on his return journey from Ajmer, Mirza surrendered his hostages Jagannath, Raj Singh and Khangar to Akbar. Bharmal also reached Sambhar and on 6 February 1562, his daughter was married to Akbar amidst proper festivity.
On 10 February 1562 Akbar's newly made Kachwaha relatives again came to his camp at Ratanpura to take formal leave from him. Here, Man Singh was presented to him. From there, Bhagwant Das, Man Singh and a number of their relatives accompanied Akbar to Agra[2]
The succession
Raja Bharmal was succeeded by his eldest son Raja Bhagwant Das after his death.
Notes
References
- Beveridge H. (tr.) (1907, Reprint 2000). The Akbarnama of Abu´l Fazl, Vol. II, Kolkata: The Asiatic Society, ISBN 81-7236-093-2.
- Sarkar, J.N. (1984, reprint 1994). A History of Jaipur, New Delhi: Orient Longman, ISBN 81-250-0333-9.