A Rare Contemporary Stone Inscription about the Battle of Haldighati found near Udaipur

Hi all

Today i am posting some information relating to the Battle of Haldighati. A rare stone inscription about this battle was recently found in Rajasthan. After a lot of treatment with various cleaning agents, the inscription appeared readable. The inscription was in Sanskrit language. The English translation of the same is given below. And this is the appropriate time to discuss the same.

The reason is - 18th June happens to be the 439th anniversary of the Battle of Haldighati, which was fought between the forces of Mughal Emperor Akbar and Rajput King MahaRana Pratap on 18th June, 1576. The battle is quite famous. 

There is another post about the horse of Maharana Pratap - Chetak. Here is the link :  Chetak and Maharana Pratap - An Eternal Legend , An Unforgettable Tale



What the inscription tells us ?
The Mughal Army under Raja Man Singh was compelled to leave Gogunda on 27th September 1576, after continuous fighting with the forces of Maharana Pratap. Gogunda was the only place which came under Mughal occupation after the Battle of Haldighati, that too after 5 days, on 23rd June 1576, due to the resistance offered. But this was taken back after 3 months on 27th September 1576. The inscription is a rare piece of great historical value. It gives an insight into the victory celebration of MahaRana Pratap after regaining Gogunda.


Note:
Just for information : Mughal Emperor Akbar had forbidden his favorite general Asaf Khan & Raja Man Singh from the Mughal Court, in anger, after the Battle of Haldighati. Akbar never considered Battle of Haldighati a success because despite using his best resources and even after pouring in a lot of financial assets, his task remained incomplete. He had aimed at the elimination of Rana and subjugation of Mewar. Though, this did not happen. On the other hand, Gogunda, which was captured after 5 days of the battle of Haldighati(on 23rd June), was also lost. Asaf Khan was also the hero of the earlier victorious campaigns like the Battle against Rani Durgavati and the 3rd Siege of Chittor to name a few.


Location of the inscription:
The inscription was found at The Lakshmi Narayan Temple at a small & very less known Kharasan village in the Bhindar tehsil of Rajasthan, PIN : 313602. The inscription is of great historical significance and is located inside the main mandapa of the temple. It was found between the two pillars at a height of 7 feet on the left of the garbh griha - place where the deity is placed. 


Condition of the inscription:
The right edge of the inscription was embedded in white plaster which was applied in later times, to repair the temple. This plaster made most of the inscription unreadable. The inscription was found in a bad condition, which was full of scratches and damaged letters.


Efforts to retrieve & understand the inscription:
After a lot of efforts, the inscription was first coated with a layer of oil paint. This partially removed the stains of other paints. Many of the letters which had cement and scratches still remained almost unreadable. At last, a layer of vermilion was also applied on the inscription. 


Translation:
The inscription gives information about Maharana Pratap, architect, workers and helper/founder of the temple with several names of Vishnu.

Credits for this entire excellent translation goes to my friend Rasika. 
Here is the translation:: 

"
We Pray/salute to Him who is called Govind, Keshav, Janardan, Vaasudev. He is omnipresent, the One who killed demon Madhu. He is the God of whole universe. He is lotus naveled , the supreme being , having eyes like a blue lotus. He is the Supreme spirit/God. He is imperishable and permanent and Nrusimha (now commonly known as Narasimha - the half lion, half man avatar of Vishnu). We salute to Him. 

We sing praises to the Gods and describe (the valor of) the King (who) defeated/killed (his) enemies and liberated himself. The King and his servants/men those who are in our(God's) protection.

(This is) was written on the day of Year [Samvat] 1632, [Shake] 1498 ; when Sun is moving southwards, (in) season of autumn, (in) the sacred month of Ashwin, (on) fifth day of bright lunar fortnight ; Time of day 8 hours after sunrise.. {In English calendar this means the year was 1576, the same date when Gogunda was won.}

On Friday, when there is Anuradha Nakshtra, at time of dawn on the day when there are Siddha Yoga (related to astrology), Ravi Yoga and Simha Yoga all the three together, this (scripture about) the victory of The King of Kings Maharana Pratapsimha was written. 

By the greatness/valor (of) Jagannath, Kavar Rama... till Hema,(These are names of people involved) and their leader Bhima bapa Manik, it was written. May auspiciousness be unto all. 
"


Note:
Only some images could be procured. They are present below. As more images are procured, they will be posted. Copyright of all the images used here rest with Rana Arvind Singh Ji, Present Head of the House of Mewar..

Laxmi Narayan Temple

Condition of the inscription before cleaning

Surface Cleaning with soft & hard brush

 

Filling the engraved letters of the inscription by paste of lime and marble powder

After cleaning

This article has been posted under the Rajputs section of this history BLOG.