Discovering Mughal, Rajput & Mauryan History: History of JaiMal and Patta : HEROes of the 3rd Siege

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Tuesday, April 7, 2015

History of JaiMal and Patta : HEROes of the 3rd Siege | Battle of Chittor - With Portraits

The Annals of Mewar remember the heroic deeds of Rawat Patta Sisodia and Jaimal Rathore, during the 3rd and final Siege of the Fort of Chittor, 1567-68 in following words ---

"
There were many chiefs who defended Chittor in it's history.......But the names which shine brightest in this gloomy page of the annals of Mewar, the names immortalised by Akbar's own pen, are those of Jaimal of Bednor and Patta of Kailwa, both from the sixteen superior vassals of Chittor.......The first was a Rathore of the Merta house, the bravest of the brave clans of Marwar; the other was head of the Jugawats, another grand shoot from Chunda. The names, "Jaimal and Patta," always inseparable, are as household words in Mewar, and will be honoured while the Rajput retains a shred of his inheritance or a spark of his ancient recollections. When Sahidas fell at SurajPol , the command devolved on Patta of Kailwa. He was only sixteen. His father had fallen in the last siege, and his mother had survived but to rear this the sole heir of her house. Like the Spartan mother of old, she commanded him to put on the saffron robe (kesariya), and to die for Chittor; but, surpassing the Grecian dame, she illustrated her precept by example; and, lest thoughts for one dearer than herself might dim the lustre of Kailwa, she armed his young bride with a lance, and the defenders of Chittor saw the fair princess descend the rock and fall fighting by the side of her brave mother(in-law).

When their wives and daughters performed such deeds, the Rajputs became reckless of life. Seeing there was no hope of salvation, he resolved to signalise the end of his career. The fatal johur was commanded, while 8000 Rajputs ate the last 'bira' together, and put on their saffron robes (kesariya). The gates were thrown open, the work of destruction commenced, and few survived to "stain the yellow mantle" by inglorious surrender(means victory of Akbar).
"

----- The Annals of Mewar

Folks,
This post is an attempt to recount the brave and heroic deeds of two well-known vassals of Mewar - JaiMal and Patta, their names have become inseparable from each other. In this post, i have tried to sum up the important details related to them.

Rawat Patta Sisodia

He was a direct descendant of Mewar Prince Rawat Chunda Sisodia, the founder of Chundavat offshoot of Mewar ; the eldest son of Rana Lakha of Mewar, Prince Chunda renounced the throne in favor of his younger brother and continued serving Mewar as an administrator for the King. Patta was the grand-son of Rawat Siha Ji, who was in turn the grandson of Rawat Chunda Sisodia.

The sequence of rulers is :
Rana Lakha(Mewar) -> Rawat Chunda Sisodia(Mewar) -> Rawat Kandal Ji -> Rawat Siha Ji -> Rawat Jaga -> Rawat Patta Sisodia(Kailwa).

There are many similarities among these legends of those times, which i am going to list here...

a. Rawat Siha Ji was a companion of Rana Sanga of Mewar.
b. Similarly, their grand-sons, Patta and Maharana Pratap were also companions.

c. Rawat Siha Ji died fighting from the side of Rana Sanga, against Mughal Emperor Babur in the Battle of Khanua in 1527.
d. Similarly, his grandson Patta also died fighting from the side of Rana Sanga's grandson Maharana Pratap, against the grandson of Babur - Mughal Emperor Akbar.

Another interesting observation is that::
Rawat Chundavat, a close confident of Rana Udai Singh II of Mewar, was REAL nephew of Patta's grandfather Rawat Siha Ji. Hence, Patta was also a nephew of Rawat Chundavat.

Note:
Sisodia is a Rajput Dynasty. Chundavat is an offshoot of Sisodias.

Patta took the reins of his estate of Kailwa at a young age in 1555, after the death of his father in a battle fought near Udaipur. Gradually, he became a prominent Sardar of Mewar. Hence, Rana Udai Singh II, appointed him an "Adhi pati" of Mewar in 1567, when Mughal Emperor Akbar laid a siege to the Fort of Chittor. In this battle, he fought bravely till his last breath, finally being trampled under an elephant. He died in the Rann Junjher (The LAST fight in battle - Saka) against Mughal Emperor Akbar in this 3rd Siege of Chittor in 1568.

It is said that single handed he cut a trail of destruction through the Mughal ranks till an elephant was sent charging against him. Struck by the charge he was killed, while his mother and a wife had been slain earlier.

Patta was one of the last chiefs who fell in the Saka. At dawn, on the morning after the Jauhar, Akbar rode into the fortress, mounted on an elephant, attended by many other elephants and several thousand men.

Akbarnama records Patta's end as follows, when Akbar entered the Fort in the morning of Saka : "His Majesty related that he had come near the temple of Gobind Shyam when an elephant-driver trampled a man under his elephant. The driver said that he did not know the man's name but that he appeared to be one of the leaders, and that a large number of men had fought around him with sacrifice of their lives. At last it came out that it was Patta who had been trampled to death. At the time he was produced, there was a breath of life in him, but he shortly afterwards died. "

Rawat Patta Sisodia

Wives:
They committed Jauhar / some perished in the skirmish.
1. Rani Jiwa Bai Solanki
2. Rani Madalasha Bai Shekhawat
3. Rani Sarda Bai Rathore
4. Rani Bhagwati Bai Chauhan
5. Rani Padmavati Bai Jhalia
6. Rani Ratan Bai Rathore
7. Rani Balesha Bai Chauhan
8. Rani Bagdi Bai Chauhan
9. Rani Asha Bai Parmar

Daughers:
5 young daughters.
Finally, all the daughters did Jauhar along with all of his wives, or perished in the skirmish.

Sons:
6 sons. His 2 sons perished, they were minors, they were with their mothers during the Jauhar. 4 of his sons survived this war.
Eldest among these 4 sons was -> Rawat Kala Chundavat, who succeeded his father, Patta. He fought battles against Mughal forces from the side of Maharana Pratap, like the Battle near Jhunjhunu. Finally, he died in the Battle of Haldighati fighting along with Maharana Pratap on 18th June 1576.

Mother:
Rani Sajjan Bai Songara Chauhan. She committed herself to the flames / perished on the battle-field during the 3rd Siege of Chittor.

Note :
Songara is an offshoot of Agnivanshi Chauhan Rajputs. Interestingly, there is yet another similarity here. Maharana Pratap's mother Jaiwanta Bai Songara Chauhan, was also from the same Chauhan Agnivanshi Rajputs. They trace their lineage from the house of Prithviraj Chauhan(died 1192), ruler of Ajmer/Delhi.

Father::
Rawat Jaga. He had a great role to play in many battles he fought for Mewar. He died in 1555 while fighting in a battle on the river Som, near Udaipur.

Uncle::
Rawat Naga was the uncle of Patta. Like his younger brother - Rawat Jaga, he also took part in many battles fought by Mewar like -
a. In a battle at Suraj Pol, Chittor
b. In the 2nd Siege of Chittor after the death of Rana Sanga, he took the charge of army against Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1535. He died in the Saka in this battle, after the Jauher of ladies.

Grand Father of Patta::
Rawat Siha Ji, second son of Rawat Kandalji and his wife Rani Bar Kanwar Sankli ; and grandson of Rao Chunda of Mewar. He was granted the estate of Modva* initially, later Rana Sanga exchanged this for the new estate of Kothariya* in 1509;

* Modva and Kothariya are towns in present day Rajsamand district of Rajasthan.

He fought many battles :
a. Fought against Kunwar Udai Singh I , near 1470. This Udai Singh is different from father of Maharana Pratap - Rana Udai Singh II.
b. Lead a wing of army of Mewar in the Battle of Samecha (year unknown).
c. Along with Kunwar Prithviraj Sisodia (brother of Rana Sanga ) of Mewar, against Lala Khan Pathan of Toda, in early 1500's.
d. Along with his friend Rana Sanga of Mewar, against Ibrahim Lodhi of Delhi in the Battle of Bankhrol in 1510's.
e. He died fighting against Mughal Emperor Babur in the Battle of Khanua on 17th March 1527, fighting along with his ally Rana Sanga of Mewar.

Did you notice, not only Patta Sisodia gave his life in the Saka at the 3rd Siege of Chittor, but also his Father, Uncle, Grand-Father, and even his own son, all of them gave their lives fighting for Mewar, on the battle-field. With Patta's name is associated all the glory a warrior can desire. Dying in the battle-field was a moment every warrior cherished, and the house of Patta had this unique distinction in abundance. Even, today the name of Patta(and Jaimal) are remembered with a sense of pride in Rajasthan.

Jaimal Vikram Rathore

He was a direct descendant of Rao Jodha(1415-1489), the king who founded of the city of Jodhpur in 1459. Rao Jodha had a son named Rao Dudha(1440-1515) from his queen, Rani Champa Bai Songara Chauhan. Rao Dudha was given the estate of Merta, and hence, he established the Merta offshoot of Rathores here.

Born on 17th September 1507, Jaimal was a grandson of Rao Dudha. He was granted the estate of Bednor by Rana Udai Singh in 1554, in recognition of his exceptional services. Before Chittor siege, Jaimal had earlier, fought a pitched battle against Mughal Subedar Sharf-ud-din, brother-in-law of Mughal Emperor Akbar, in the Battle of Merta in 1562-63. This was also a siege of several months. Finally, being outnumbered, Merta was lost to Mughals, after carrying out the Jauhar and Saka. Later, JaiMal shifted to his other estate of Bednor.

The sequence of rulers is :
Rao Jodha(Jodhpur) -> Rao Dudha(Merta) -> Rao Vikram(Merta) -> Rao JaiMal(Bednor).

Along with Patta, he took the reins of Chittor in 1567, when Mughal Emperor Akbar laid a siege to the Fort of Chittor. He is said to have died from a bullet fired from the match-lock - Sangram, of Mughal Emperor Akbar.

But, Rajputana sources give a slightly different account. According to them, Jaimal was wounded, not died. According to one of the sources - " Udaipur Ka Itihaas " , which i read, says, Jaimal died between the place called "Hanuman Pol and Bhairav Pol" while fighting a soldier's death. Jaimal was indeed wounded during the attempt to fill a breach created by the Mughal mining. Due to this wound he was unable to mount a horse. Hence, when the Mughal soldiers started pouring in the morning after Jauher, he sat on the shoulders of a soldier and wielding swords in both his hands fought bravely like a normal soldier, not like a battle general, before he finally fell fighting near the SurajPol.

Jaimal Vikram Rathore

Akbarnama records Jaimal's end as follows:

On Tuesday, February 23, 1568, Akbar noticed at the breach a personage wearing a chief's cuirass who was busy directing the defence. Without knowing who the chief might be, Akbar aimed at him with his well-tried musket Sangram. When the man did not come back, the besiegers concluded that he must have been killed. Less than an hour later reports were brought in that the defences were deserted and that fire had broken out in several places in the fort. Raja Bhagwan Das, being familiar with the customs of his country, knew the meaning of the fire, and explained that it must be the jauhar performed at Chittor.

Early in the morning the facts were ascertained. The fortress, chief whom Akbar's shot had killed proved to be Jaimal Rathor of Bednor, who had taken command of the fortress. As usual in India the fall of the commander decided the fate of the garrison. Shortly before Jaimal was killed a gallant deed was performed by the ladies of the young chieftain Patta, whose name is always linked by tradition with that of Jaimal.

Sons:
I know the details of 2 of his sons.
-> His eldest son Rao Mukund Rathore perished in the Battle at Kumbhalgarh Fort, during the Siege of Chittor in 1568. As we know, this battle was fought not only for Chittor, but also for the supremacy of other fortresses of Mewar. At other fronts also the battle was continuing.
-> His younger son Rao Ram Rathore perished in the Battle of Haldighati, 18th June 1576, fighting against forces of Mughal Emperor Akbar, alongside Maharana Pratap.

Mother:
His mother is said to be Rani Gorajia Kanwar, Chief Queen of his father. It is not 100% sure to me if she was his biological mother. She was the daughter of Rana Raimal of Mewar(died 1508) and sister of Rana Sanga(died 1527). Hence, JaiMal was also related to Mewar just like Patta.

Father::
His father was (the son of above mentoned Rao Dudha) - Rao Vikram Rathore, the ruler of Merta till his death in 1544.

Brothers:
About his siblings, i know of one. His elder brother was Pratap Rathore, who also gave his life in the Saka at Chittor in 1568. He was the ruler of the strategically important estate of Ghanerau, in present day Pali district of Rajasthan. Present on outskirts of Udaipur.

His son Gopal Rathore, actively served Mewar till his death in 1626, and constructed a beautiful castle here in 1606.

View of GhaneRau Castle

Conclusion:

The bitter victory document issued by Mughal Emperor Akbar after the victory at Chittor bears testimony to the fact - the havoc wrecked across the Mughal ranks by the 2 Chiefs - Jaimal and Patta.

Though bitter, but still, the victory document of Mughal Emperor Akbar recognizes the bravery of these two 'enemies' in following words - "Jaimal and Patta who are renowned for their valor among the infidels.......are singly considered to be equal to a thousand horsemen in intrepidity and prowess......."

The names of Jaimal and Patta have become synonymous with the House of Mewar and the Fort of Chittor. Whenever, one talks about Chittor, names of Jaimal and Patta surely come to one's mind. Their deeds evoke a sense of deep respect and a pride to be cherished by the posterity.

There are lesser known heroes who have earned a place even in the Mughal records for their valor, especially the name of Isar Das Chauhan - who fought an elephant with a bare knife, when it was sent to spread rampage and destruction in the battle-field. First, 50 and then 300 elephants were let loose after arming their trunks with swords in the battle-field. Among them was a favorite elephant of Akbar named Madukar, and Abu'l Fazl records, Isar Das took hold of it's tusk and stabbed it with a dagger and asked him to "convey his(Isar Das's) regards to His Master(Akbar)" in the following words - "Be good enough to convey my respects to your world adorning appreciator of merit".

Every one loves his/her land. In a war, there are two sides. For one side, the other side is an enemy. Same was the case here. Akbar wanted to capture Chittor. These people wanted to defend it. The war was different because this is one war, where one gets the written evidence of involvement of women-folk fighting alongside men for their beloved motherland. This post is a homage to those warriors who staked their all in fight for their principles.

Note: