Maharaja Chhatrasal Bundela (4 May 1649 – 20 December 1731) was the

Bundela The Bundela is a Rajput clan. Over several generations, the cadet lineages of Bundela Rajputs founded several states in area what came to be known as Bundelkhand anciently known as Chedi Kingdom from the 16th century. Etymology As per Jaswa ...

Raja of Panna from 1675 to 1731. He is well known for his resistance against the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

and leading the struggle of independence of

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central and North India. It corresponds to the Post-Vedic Chedi kingdom. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Prad ...

Early life

Chhatrasal was born at Kachar Kachnai in

Tikamgarh Tikamgarh (also spelled as Tikamgadh)is a town and a tehsil in Tikamgarh district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The city serves as a district headquarters. The earlier name of Tikamgarh was Tehri (i.e., a triangle) consisting of thr ...

, in a Bundela

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

family on 4 May 1649, to Champat Rai and Sarandha. He was a descendant of

Rudra Pratap Singh Rudra Pratap Singh Bundela (r. 1501–1531) was the founder and first Raja of the Kingdom of Orchha. His name is sometimes spelled Rudrapratap Singh and his last name, Bundela, is often omitted. He reigned between 1501 and 1531, during whic ...

Orchha Orchha is a town, near the city of Niwari in the Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh state, India. The town was established by a Bundela Rajput ruler Rudra Pratap Singh some time after 1501, as the seat of an eponymous former princely state ...

Power Struggle against the Mughals

Chhatrasal was 12 when his father Champat Rai of

Mahoba Mahoba is a city in Mahoba District of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the Bundelkhand region, well known for the ninth century granite Sun temple built in Pratihara style. It is also well known for the 24 rock-cut Jain tirthankara imag ...

was killed by the Mughals during the reign of

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

. Chhatrasal raised the banner of revolt against the Mughals in Bundelkhand at the age of 22, with an army of 5 horsemen and 25 swordsmen, in 1671. Chhatrasal declared independence from Mughals in the 1720s and was able to resist the Mughals until he was attacked by

Muhammad Khan Bangash Nawab "Ghazanfar-Jang" Bangash Khan (1665–1743) was the first Nawab of Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, India. He was a "Bawan Hazari Sardar" (Commander of 52,000 men strong force) in the Mughal Army. He served as governor of Malwa and Allahabad p ...

in December 1728. Chhatrasal was 79 years old when he led his army against Bangash, after a severe battle Chhatrasal was defeated and was forced to retreat to his fort at Jaitpur. The Mughals besieged him and conquered most of his territories. Chhatrasal made several attempts to ask

Baji Rao I Bajirao I (né Visaji, ; 18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740) was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He was appointed Peshwa at the age of nineteen by Shahu I, following the death of his father, Balaji Vishwanath. He is credited with establi ...

, the

Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

, for help. However, the Peshwa was busy and could not help Chhatrasal until March 1729. In a letter sent to Baji rao, Chhatrasal wrote: ''"Know you Bajirao! That I am in the same plight in which the famous elephant was when caught by the crocodile. My valiant race is on the point of extinction. Come and save my honour"''. Peshwa Baji Rao I personally led his army towards Bundelkhand and attacked several Mughal outposts, the Mughal supplies were completely cut off by the swift cavalry of the Peshwa in the

Battle of Malwa The Battle of Jaitpur was fought between the Maratha Empire under Peshwa Baji Rao I, on behalf of Chhatrasal, Chhatrasal Bundela, the ruler of Bundelkhand; and the Mughal Empire under Muhammad Khan Bangash in March 1729. Bangash attacked the state ...

. Bangash, who was surprised by the sudden involvement of the Marathas, sent several letters to the Mughal emperor for aid, however upon being denied any help he started negotiations with Chhatrasal and Bajirao. Bangash was allowed to retreat on the condition that he never returns or shows aggression towards Bundelkhand. Chhatrasal rewarded the Peshwa with large tracts of lands and diamond mines in Bundelkhand which helped the Marathas to gain access to Central and

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

. He also defeated Aurangzeb

Relation with Bajirao I

Peshwa Baji Rao's second wife

Mastani Mastani (29 August 1699 – 28 April 1740) was either the daughter of Nizam Asaf Jah I of Hyderabad or Chhatrasal Bundela of Bundelkhand. She was the second wife of the Maratha Peshwa (Prime Minister) Baji Rao I. The marriage was arranged to ...

was Chhatrasal's daughter born from his

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

Ruhani Begum. In his book ''Mastani'', the historian

D. G. Godse Dattatraya Ganesh Godse (3 July 1914 – 5 January 1992) was an Indian historian, playwright, art critic, art director, theatre and costume designer, and illustrator. He received a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1988. He wrote almost exclusivel ...

states that the relationship between Chhatrasal and Baji Rao I was like that of father and son.

Patron of literature

Chhatrasal was a patron of literature, and his court housed several noted poets. His eulogies written by

Kavi Bhushan Kavi Bhushan (c. 1613–1715) was an Indian poet in the courts of the Bundeli king Chhatrasal and the Maratha king Shivaji I. He mainly wrote in Brajbhasha interspersed with words from Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian languages. He was a schola ...

, Lal Kavi, Bakhshi Hansaraj and other court poets helped him gain lasting fame. He also contributed in construction of Jain temples of

Kundalpur Kundalpur is a town located in Damoh district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Located northeast of the city of Damoh, Kundalpur is a pilgrimage site for Digambar Jainism, Jains. Location Nearby cities include Damoh , Sagar, Madhya Pra ...

, an ancient Jain pilgrim site in Madhya Pradesh.

Death and Succession

Chatrasal was able to carve out a big kingdom for himself. Before his death, he divided his kingdom into three parts. Bajirao was given one third of his territory worth 30 lakhs of revenue, Chatrasal's eldest son

Harde Sah Harde Sah (or Hirde Sah) was the Raja of Panna from 1731 until his death in 1739. Biography In 1731, his father, Chhatrasal, divided his principality among his sons and granted the largest portion, valued at 39 lacs annually, to his eldest son, H ...

of Panna was given territory worth 38 lakhs of revenue and his second son, Jagat Raj of Banda, was given territory worth 30 lakhs. The younger sons were also given lands to support their lifestyle.

Legacy

The

Chhatarpur Chhatarpur is a city and a municipality in Chhatarpur district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Chhatarpur District. History Chhatarpur was founded in 1785 and is named after leader Chhatrasal ...

town and its eponymous district in

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

are named after Chhatrasal. Several places in Chhatarpur, including the

Maharaja Chhatrasal Museum Maharaja Chhatrasal Museum is a museum located in an old palace at Dhubela, on the Chhatarpur-Jhansi highway, in Chhatarpur District, Madhya Pradesh, India. This museum was established in September, 1955 in a palace built by Chhatrasal for h ...

, Maharaja Chhatrasal Station Chhatarpur railway station (a railway station in

), are named after him. The Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi and Chhatrasal Nagar (a colony) in

Bhopal Bhopal (; ISO 15919, ISO: Bhōpāl, ) is the capital (political), capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes,'' due to ...

is also named after the Maharaja Chhatrasal.

In popular culture

*''Veer Chhatrasal'' is a 1971 Indian historical film about the king by

Harsukh Jagneshwar Bhatt This article lists notable families whose members are prominent in the Indian film industry. This list also includes a select number of South Indian film families who crossed over into Hindi cinema. For a full list, see List of South Indian fi ...

, starring Ajit in the title role. *''

Chhatrasal Maharaja Chhatrasal Bundela (4 May 1649 – 20 December 1731) was the Bundela Raja of Panna State, Panna from 1675 to 1731. He is well known for his resistance against the Mughal Empire and leading the struggle of independence of Bundelkhand. ...

'', a 2021 web series released on

MX Player Amazon MX Player, formerly known as MX Player is an Indian video on demand and Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service, owned by Amazon (company), Amazon India. The platform currently operates on an Online a ...

starring Jitin Gulati in the title role of Maharaja Chhatrasal.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chhatrasal History of Uttar Pradesh 1649 births 1731 deaths Maharajas of Madhya Pradesh Rajput monarchs Indian warriors People from Panna district