Rana Sanga
| Maharana Sangram Singh राणा सांगा | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Depiction of Maharana Sangram Singh. | |||||
| Rana of Mewar | |||||
| Reign | 1508-1528 (20 years) | ||||
| Predecessor | Rana Raimal | ||||
| Successor | Ratan Singh II | ||||
| Born |
12 April 1484 Malwa, Rajasthan, India | ||||
| Died |
30 January 1528 (aged 43) Kalpi, Uttar Pradesh, India | ||||
| Spouse | Rani Karnavati | ||||
| Issue |
Bhoj Raj Ratan Singh II Vikramaditya Singh Udai Singh II | ||||
| |||||
| House | Sisodia | ||||
| Father | Rana Raimal | ||||
| Religion | Hindu | ||||
| Sisodia Rajputs of Mewar II (1326–1884) | |
| Hammir Singh | (1326–1364) |
| Kshetra Singh | (1364–1382) |
| Lakha Singh | (1382–1421) |
| Mokal Singh | (1421–1433) |
| Rana Kumbha | (1433–1468) |
| Udai Singh I | (1468–1473) |
| Rana Raimal | (1473–1508) |
| Rana Sanga | (1508–1527) |
| Ratan Singh II | (1528–1531) |
| Vikramaditya Singh | (1531–1536) |
| Vanvir Singh | (1536–1540) |
| Udai Singh II | (1540–1572) |
| Maharana Pratap | (1572–1597) |
| Amar Singh I | (1597–1620) |
| Karan Singh II | (1620–1628) |
| Jagat Singh I | (1628–1652) |
| Raj Singh I | (1652–1680) |
| Jai Singh | (1680–1698) |
| Amar Singh II | (1698–1710) |
| Sangram Singh II | (1710–1734) |
| Jagat Singh II | (1734–1751) |
| Pratap Singh II | (1751–1754) |
| Raj Singh II | (1754–1762) |
| Ari Singh II | (1762–1772) |
| Hamir Singh II | (1772–1778) |
| Bhim Singh | (1778–1828) |
| Jawan Singh | (1828–1838) |
| Shambhu Singh | (1861–1874) |
| Sajjan Singh | (1874–1884) |
| Fateh Singh | (1884–1930) |
| Bhupal Singh | (1930–1947) |
Maharana Sangram Singh (12 April 1484 – 30 January 1528) commonly known as Rana Sanga, was Rana of Mewar and head of a powerful confederacy threatening all the non-Indian Muslim dynasties of India during the 16th century. He belonged to Sisodiya clan of Rajputs. Rana ruled between 1508 and 1528.[1]
Rana Sanga succeeded his father, Rana Raimal, as king of Mewar in 1508. He fought against the Mughals in the Battle of Khanwa, which ended with Mughal victory, and died shortly thereafter on 30 January 1528.
He was married to Rani Karnavati who later committed Jauhar on 8 March 1535 A.D. inside Chittorgarh Fort. This was the second of the three Jauhars performed at Chittor. She was the mother of the next two Ranas, Rana Vikramaditya Singh and Udai Singh II, and grandmother of Maharana Pratap.
Succession to Throne
Rana Sanga was the eldest of the three sons of Rana Raimal. Each son wanted to succeed their father and were therefore for ever involved in petty quarrels with one another. On the advice of their uncle, they decided to visit the oracle Charani devi, whose predictions never went wrong. On reaching the temple, when Sanga was declared the destined ruler of Mewar, his brother Prithviraj charged with rage at Sanga. Not wanting to fight with his brother in the sacred temple, Sanga mounted a horse and fled. When Prithviraj saw his brother fleeing, he aimed an arrow which struck Sanga in one eye, blinding him for the rest of his life. After a helpful trader Veeda, helped Rana Sanga to get away, by lying down his own life, Sanga then rode away from Chittor to jungles.[2] Here he found a group of shepards and approached them for work. As a menial, Sanga the prince, was a failure. One day when Sanga was grazing the sheep, he came across some armed horsemen, who seemed to be some Rajput rebels. He introduced himself as Sangram Singh, the rajput without disclosing his identity. The horsemen agreed to give him arms and offered him to take him to their chief. After he was introduced to their chief, Karam Singh, Rana Sanga reliased that these rebels were dacoits. Soon Sanga and Karam Chand's daughter fell in love with each other. Meru, one of the rebels had once heard their conversation and thereafter Karam chand appointed Meru to keep a close eye at Sanga. One day Meru saw a snake sitting over The resting Sanga which meant that Sanga was to become a king. The astonished Karam Chand told Meru to never disclose this secret anyone. The next day he called Sanga, where Sanga confessed his love for Karam Chand's daughter. Soon they were married. It was then, that Rana Sanga disclosed his real identity and asked for protection. Soon a messenger was sent to Chittor to witness the situation in Chittor. Sanga's bad days were over. His brothers, Prithviraj and Jailmal were no more. The King's men were looking for Sanga everywhere. Sanga was united with his parents. Soon afterwards, Rana Raimal died and Sanga became the king.[3]
Conquest of Malwa
After consolidating his position in Mewar, Sanga moved his army against the neighbouring kingdom of Malwa, which was suffering from internal dissension under the rule of Mehmod Khilji. Wary of the power of Medini Rai, his Rajput wazir, the politically weak Mehmod sought outside assistance from both Sultan Ibrahim Lodi of Delhi and Bahadur Shah of Gujarat; whereas Rai, on his part, requested Sanga to come to his aid.[4] Thus began the prolonged war between Mewar against the Muslim sultans of North India in the Battle of Gagron.
Joined by Rajput rebels from within Malwa, Sanga's troops beat back invading armies from Delhi and defeated the Malwa army in a series of battles. Khilji was himself taken prisoner, only to be freed after leaving his sons as hostages in Mewar's capital, Chittor. Through these events, Malwa fell under Sanga’s control.[5]
Idar Feud
Rana Sanga assisted Rai mal in his war against his brother Bhar mal who was supported by the Sultan of Gujarat Muzaffar Shah II. Rana Sanga successfully restored the throne of Idar to Rai Mal and pushed the Gujarat Sultanate out of Idar.
Victories over Ibrahim Lodi
After conquering Malwa, Sanga turned his attention towards north-eastern Rajasthan, which was then under the control Khilji's ally, Lodi. He invaded the region when a rebellion in Delhi had diverted Lodi's attention, gaining several victories and capturing some key strategic assets in the process, including the fort of Ranthambore. In retaliation, Lodi invaded Mewar after having put down the rebellion in Delhi.[6]
Sanga counterattacked, fighting the ethnic Afghans under Lodi at Battle of Khatoli (Gwalior) in 1517-18. During this period Sanga lost his left arm and was crippled in one leg but gained land.
Lodi, reportedly stunned by this Rajput aggression (the extent of which was unprecedented in the preceding three centuries), once again moved against Mewar in 1518-19 but was humbled at Battle of Dholpur. Lodi fought Sanga repeatedly, only to be defeated each time, losing much of his land in present-day Rajasthan, while the boundaries of Sanga's military influence came to extend within striking distance of Agra.[7][8]
Invasion of Gujarat
Rana Sanga was insulted by the Governor of Idar and the Rana reacted to this by invading Gujarat and plundering the treasuries of the Gujarat Sultanate.
War Between Sanga and Babur
After his initial gains Rana Sanga became recognized within north India as a principal player in the power struggle to rule the northern territories of princely India. His objectives grew in scope – he planned to conquer the much sought after prize of the Muslim rulers of the time, Delhi, and bring the whole of India under his control.
He had crushed Gujarat and conquered Malwa and was now close to Agra. It was at this juncture that he heard that Babur had defeated and slain Ibrahim Lodi and was now master of the Delhi Sultanate.
Rana Sanga decided, in a miscalculation of Babur's strength and determination, to wage a war against the Mughal invader. As a first move, he coerced Afghan fugitive princes like Mehmud Lodi to join him. A number of Muslim Rajputs under Raja Hasan Khan Mewati also assured their support to Rana Sanga. Then Rana ordered Babur to leave India. Initially he hoped to attain this by sending his vassal Sardar Silhadi of Raisen as his emissary.[9] Silhadi who went to Babur’s camp was won over by Babur. Babur accepted that to rule North India he may have to engage in battle with Rana Sanga and hence had no desire for retreat. Babur and Silhadi hatched a plot. Silhadi, who held a large contingent of 30,000 men would join Babur’s camp at critical moment of battle and thus defeat Rana Sanga. Silhadi who went back to Chittor, told Rana that war is a must.[10]
The Rajput forces of Rana Sanga, supplemented by the contingents of Raja Hasan Khan Mewati and the Afghan, Mehmud Lodi and Raja Medini Rai of Alwar, met Babur’s army at Khanwa near Fatehpur Sikri in 1527. The battle, which lasted for not more than 10 hours, was bitterly contested and became an exceedingly brutal affair. At a critical moment of battle, the defection of Silhadi and his contingent caused a split in the Rajput forces. Rana Sanga while trying to rebuild his front was wounded and fell unconscious from his horse. The Rajput army thought their leader was dead and fled in disorder, thus allowing the Mughals to win the day.[11][12]
Rana Sanga was whisked away to safety by the Rathore contingent from Marwar and once he became conscious he learnt of the defeat. But Rana Sanga, unwilling to admit defeat, set out once more to rebuild his military and renew war with Babur. He vowed not to set foot in Chittor till Babur was defeated by him. In 1528, he once more set out to fight Babur at Chanderi to help Medini Rai who was attacked by Babur. It is suggested that had there not been the cannons of Babur, then Rana Sanga might have achieved a historic victory. Pradeep Barua notes that Babur's cannons had put an end to the outdated trends in Indian warfare.[13] It may be noted further that the Mughal empire is termed as gunpowder empire which means it had a significant military sucesss because of newly developed firearms.[14]
Death
On the battlefield, After Shailaditya betrayed Rana Sanga by joining hands with Mughal emperor Babar; Rana Sanga had to abandon the plans as the major part of Rana Sanga's army was given to Shailaditya. According to one version Rana Sanga died in Chittor On 30 January 1528, apparently poisoned by his own chiefs who held his plans of renewing the fight with Babur to be suicidal [15][16] Other version suggests that Rana Sanga and his men wandered into hills, awaiting an opportunity to attack the Mughals. Here, Rana Sanga vowed not to return to Mewar until he had vanquished the Mughals. But the uncertainty and insecurity of life in exile affected Rana's health. He was confined to bed and was unable to fulfill his vow. A few months later, he died at Vasva (Baswa is a railway station on Delhi, Alwar, Rajgarh,Jaipur railway line after Rajgarh towards Jaipur.The Samadhi of Rana Sanga is very near to the railway line and can be witnessed easily by sitting in the train.), a village in the hills.[17]
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rana Sanga. |
- ↑ Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. pp. 116–117. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
- ↑ Chandra, Satish (2004) [1997]. Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206-1526) 1 (Revised ed.). Har-Anand Publications. p. 224. ISBN 978-8-12411-064-5.
- ↑ Brave Rajputs/Rana Sanga/Amar chita Katha/www.ack-media.com
- ↑ L. P. Sharma, History of Medieval India
- ↑ Satish Chandra, Medieval India
- ↑ L. P. Sharma
- ↑ LP Sharma
- ↑ BR Verma and SK Bakshi, Rajput Role in History
- ↑ Upendra Nath Day, Medieval Malwa: A Political and Cultural History
- ↑ Upendra Nath Day
- ↑ Refer LP Sharma, Bakshi & Verma, Upendra Nath Day
- ↑ Nilakanta Sashtri and Srinivasachari, Advanced History of India
- ↑ Barua, Pradeep (2005). The State at War in South Asia. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-0-80321-344-9.
- ↑ Douglas E. Streusand, Islamic Gunpowder Empires: Otomans, Safavids, and Mughals (Philadelphia: Westview Press, c. 2011) ("Streusand"), p. 255.
- ↑ Lane-pool, Stanley. "Babar". Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ Chandra, Satish (2006). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals (1206-1526) 2. Har-Anand Publications.
- ↑ Brave Rajputs/Brave Hearts/ Rana Sanga/Amar Chitra Katha/ pg 28-31
| Rana Sanga Born: 12 April 1484 Died: 17 March 1527 | ||
| Preceded by Rana Raimal |
Sisodia Rajput Ruler 1508–1527 |
Succeeded by Vikramaditya Singh |