Raja Jaswant Singh I (26 December 1626 – ) was the Rathore ruler of the Kingdom of Marwar in the western part of

Rajputana Rājputana (), meaning Land of the Rajputs, was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the entire present-day States of India, Indian state of Rajasthan, parts of the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and adjo ...

(modern-day

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, India). He was a distinguished man of letters and author of noted literary works like ''Siddhant-Bodh'', ''Anand Vilas'' and ''Bhasha-Bhushan''.

Early life

Born on 26 December 1626 at Burhanpur, Jaswant Singh was the youngest son of Maharaja Gaj Singh of Marwar. His mother, Sisodini Pratap Deviji, was the favorite wife of his father and was the daughter Bhan Sisodia, eldest son of Shakti Singh Sisodia.

Reign

Jaswant Singh succeeded his father on his death by special decree of the Emperor

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

, in accordance with his father's wishes, on 6 May 1638. He was invested by Imperial authority and inherited the parganas of

Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

, Siwana, Merta, Sojat, Phalodi and Pokharan (Satalmer) in jagir. He was installed on the gaddi at Sringar Chowki, Mehrangarh, Jodhpur, on 25 May 1638. He was granted the personal title of Maharaja by the Emperor Shah Jahan, on 6 January 1654. Jaswant Singh's ascension to the throne had an instrumental role of his father's favourite concubine, Anara Begum, who used to regard Jaswant as her own son and also had differences with the heir-apparent Amar Singh Rathore, who was later granted the territory of Nagore as compensation.

Battle of Dharmatpur

Jaswant Singh was appointed by

to stop the advance of the rebel prince

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 ...

and prince Murad. Army of Jaswant Singh and combined army of both the princes met at Dharmatpur, fifteen miles from Ujjain. The battle was fought on 15 April 1658. Jaswant Singh's advisers suggested a night raid to destroy Aurangzeb's artillery and gunpowder as the Rajput army was almost entirely made up of light cavalry, while Aurangzeb had a well equipped army of heavy cavalry, Artillery and Muskets. However Jaswant Singh replied by saying "It is inconsistent with the manliness of the Rajputs or usage, to employ stratagems or make a night attack". Jaswant Singh was defeated and lost 6,000 of his soldiers including his Rajpurohit Dalpat Singh sevad(father of Akheraj Singh) of Tinwari, who was just 22 years old.

Ratan Singh Rathore Raja Ratan Singh (6 March 161915 April 1658) was the founder of the city of Ratlam and its eponymous Ratlam State, an imperial governor of 16 parganas in northern Malwa Subah,an important Mughal Subahdar of high rank and a renowned warrior ...

, Maharaja of Ratlam and Mokand Das Hada, Rao of Kota were amongst others slain in the battle.

Death and succession

Prithviraj Singh was Jaswant Singh's son. It is chronicled in Marwar 'khyats' that Aurangzeb presented Prithviraj Singh a dress which was poisoned. On wearing the dress Prithviraj died on 8 May 1667 in great pain at Delhi. Prithviraj was a good leader and a brave prince. Jaswant could not get over the shock of his son's death. He was very saddened because he had no male heir who could seek revenge. Jaswant's reign lasted until his death at Jamrud, near

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

, on the Vikram Samvat calendar date of 10 Pausha of 1735, equivalent to 28 December 1678 on the Gregorian calendar."Jodhpur tradition puts the date of his death as 10 Paush Badi, 1735 on Thursday which is equivalent to 28 December 1678", Sri Ram Sharma, ''Maharana Raj Singh and His Times'' (Motilal Banarsidass, 1971) p. 56 However, another scholar lists 10 Pausha 1735 V.S. as having been on 28 November 1678."The correct date is Thursday, Paush Vidi 10, 1735 V.S., i.e., November 28, 1678", R.K. Gupta, S.R. Bakshi, ''Rajasthan Through the Ages'' (Sarup & Sons, 2008) p. 81 At the time of his death two of his wives were pregnant, and both would later bear sons. This led to a war in which there were attempts to install Jaswant Singh's elder surviving son Ajit Singh Rathore as ruler of Marwar. John F. Richards. '' The New Cambridge History of India: The Mughal Empire'' (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993) p. 180-181

Ancestry

Gallery

File:Firman of the Emperor Aurangzeb, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.jpg, Farman (royal decree) of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb issued 15 February 1662, conveying an order to Jaswant Singh. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery File:Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur listening to music.jpg, Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur listening to music. Jodhpur, c. 1660. National Gallery of Victoria

Early life

Reign

Battle of Dharmatpur

Death and succession

Ancestry

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Further reading