Shodapur

Shodapur
Location of Shodapur in Haryana
General information
Coordinates 29°23′N 76°58′E / 29.39°N 76.97°E / 29.39; 76.97Coordinates: 29°23′N 76°58′E / 29.39°N 76.97°E / 29.39; 76.97

Shodapur is a village that has encroached upon Samrat Vikramaditya Hem Chandra's Smadhi Sthal, in short Hemu's Smadhi Sthal, of Hindu king Hemu on Jind road near Panipat city in Panipat district of Haryana state in India). Smadhi has been encroched by the local muslims who have turned it into a durgah[1]

History of village

Hemu's rise from his humble beginnings in Rewari to the assumption of the royal title of Raja Vikramaditya is considered a notable turning point in history. But for the stray arrow in a battle where he was in a position of strength, Hemu Vikramaditya could well have brought about a restoration of a "Sanskritic/Brahminical monarchical tradition" to a region which had been subject to Muslim rule for centuries.[2]

Colonel H.C. Kar comments:[3] "He assumed the title of Vikramaditya. He emerged as a monarch in his own right and the only Hindu to occupy the throne of Delhi during the medieval history of India. Himself a staunch Hindu, he had no disrespect for any religion, Islam or Christianity". Kar also notes that Hemu's rule was on the pattern of the Vijayanagara Empire, a strong Hindu state prevailing in South India for more than three centuries.[3]

John Clark Marshman wrote in 1873:[4]

“ Hemu was one of the greatest commanders of the age. He was one and all combined in his personality. As a general of sterling qualities, he displayed great valour in the battlefield and embarked upon wonderful planning and strategies to win twenty two battles he waged against the enemies of the state and won all. As an energetic soldier, he never shrank away from the battlefield and when the fight was most fierce, he did not bother for his personal safety and always fought with his adversaries courageously along with his comrades. This earned him goodwill, affection and praise of his entire heterogeneous army consisting of Afghans, Rajputs and various other tribes. He was an outstanding commander and his orders were obeyed by all his troops without grudge and demur. ”

The Second Battle of Panipat was fought on 5 November 1556 between the forces of Akbar and Hemu, a Hindu King of North India for only 28 days, also known as Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya,[5][6] who belonged to Rewari in Haryana and had captured the large states of Agra and Delhi defeating Akbar's forces. This king, also known as Vikramaditya had won 22 battles against the Afghan rebels from 1553–1556 from Punjab to Bengal, and had his coronation at Purana Quila in Delhi on 7 October 1556 and had established 'Hindu Raj' in North India, before the 2nd battle of Panipat.Hem Chandra had a large army, and initially his forces were winning, but suddenly Hemu was struck by an arrow in the eye and he lost his senses and died instantaneously. On not seeing him in his howdah on the back of an elephant, his army fled. His head was sent to Kabul to be hanged outside Delhi Darwaza and torso was hanged outside Purana Quila in Delhi. This Second battle of Panipat thus ended the 'Hindu Raj' established by Hemu in north India, albeit for a short period.

The wounded Hemu (a Hindu hero also known as Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya) was captured by Shah Quli Khan Second Battle of Panipat and carried to the Mughal camp at Shodapur on Jind Road at Panipat.[7]

According to Badayuni,[8] Bairam Khan asked Akbar to behead Hemu so that he could earn the title of Ghazi. Akbar replied 'He is already dead, if he had any strength for a duel, I would have killed him'. After Akbar's refusal Hemu's body was denied honour by the Mughal battle tradition and was unceremoniously beheaded by Bairam Khan. Hemu's head was sent to Kabul where it was hung outside the Delhi Darwaza while his body was placed in a gibbet outside Purana Quila in Delhi to terrorise Indians.[9]

After Hemu's death, a massacre of Hemu's Hindu community and followers was ordered by Bairam Khan. Thousands were beheaded and towers of skulls were built with their heads, to instil terror among the Hindus and Afghans.

After few years Hemu's supporters, constructed a Samadhi (Hindu shrine) over the place where he was beheaded. The place and its surroundings have been slowly encroached upon by the local muslim people who have converted it into a Muslim durgah. This is the only memorial of Hemu in Panipat but it is in a bad condition.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ghumakkar
  2. ↑ Richards, John F. (1995). The Mughal Empire (The New Cambridge History of India). Cambridge University Press. p. 12. ISBN 9780521566032.
  3. 1 2 Kar, L. Colonel H. C. "Military History of India", Calcutta (1980), p.283
  4. ↑ John Clark Marshman, The History of India from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, London (1873), page 50.
  5. ↑ Richards, John F., ed. (1995) [1993]. The Mughal Empire. The New Cambridge History of India (7th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 13. ISBN 9780521566032. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  6. ↑ Kolff, Dirk H. A. (2002). Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of Hindustan, 1450-1850. Cambridge University Press. p. 163. ISBN 9780521523059. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  7. ↑ Chandra, Satish (2004). Medieval India: From Sultanate To The Mughals: Part I: Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526). Har-Anand Publications. pp. 91–93. ISBN 9788124110669. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  8. ↑ Abdul Quadir Badayuni, Muntkhib-ul-Tawarikh, Volume 1, page 6
  9. ↑ George Bruce Malleson (2001). Akbar and the rise of the Mughal Empire. Genesis Publishing Pvt. Ltd. p. 71. ISBN 9788177551785.
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