Lunkaran (12 January 1470 – 30 March 1526) was the third Rao of

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the States and territories of India, state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. It is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Fo ...

, ruling from 1505 to 1526. He spent much of his two-decade long reign consolidating and expanding the territories of his relatively new kingdom.

Background

Lunkaran was born on 12 January 1470, a younger son of

Rao Bika Rao Bika (5 August 1438 – 17 June 1504), was a scion of the Rathore clan of Rajputs and the founder of the city of Bikaner and Bikaner State in present-day state of Rajasthan in India. He was the fifth son of Rao Jodha, founder of the city ...

, the eponymous founder of the kingdom of Bikaner. His mother, Bhatiyani Rani Rang Kanwar, was the daughter of

Rao Shekha Maharao Shekhaji (1433–1488) was a Rajput ruler in 15th-century India. He is the namesake of the Shekhawati region, comprising the districts of Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu in the modern Indian state of Rajasthan. His descendants are known a ...

, the

Bhati Bhati (also romanised as Bhattī) is a Rajput clan. The Bhati clan historically ruled over several cities in present-day India and Pakistan with their final capital and kingdom being Jaisalmer, India. History The Bhatis of Jaisalmer bel ...

ruler of

Pugal Pugal is a town in the Bikaner district of Rajasthan, India. It is also the headquarters of the tehsil in the Pugal Sub-division with the same name. Geography Pugal is located at . It has an average elevation of 145 metres (869 feet ...

Reign

In January 1505, Lunkaran ascended the throne at the age of 35 following the premature death of his elder brother Nara. His first military engagement was the suppression of nobles who, after having lost lands under Bika, had revolted during the reign of Nara. Later, in 1509, he marched against Man Singh Chauhan of Dardrewa, defeating him after a siege of seven months and absorbing his lands. In 1512, he invaded Fatehpur, which was being ruled by the

Kayam Khani Qaimkhani (also spelled Qayam Khani, Kayamkhani or as Kaimkhani) is a Muslim community of India. Most of them migrated to the southern part of Sindh in Pakistan after partition. They were notable for ruling the Fatehpur, Rajasthan, Fatehpur an ...

king Daulat Khan. Taking advantage of a feud between Khan and another ruler, Lunkaran swept into the region and annexed 120 villages. The following year, he defeated the

Khanzada The Khanzada or Khan Zadeh are a cluster community of Muslim Rajputs found in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. A notable community is the Khanzadas of Mewat, the descendants of Raja Nahar Khan, who are a sub-clan of Jada ...

ruler of

Nagaur Nagaur (also Nagor and Nagore) is a city and municipal council in Nagaur district of the state of Rajasthan in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Nagaur District. The Nagaur city lies about midway between Jodhpur and Bikaner. Na ...

in battle and also conquered extensive territory from Chayal Rajputs near

Hisar Hissar () means fort or castle in Arabic, with variants adopted into Persian (hesar, hessar) and Turkish (hisar). Hissar, Hisar and Hesar may refer to: Places Asia (South and Central) India *Hisar (city), a city in Haryana **Hisar Airport in Hi ...

and

Sirsa Sirsa is a city and a municipal council in Sirsa district in the westernmost region of the Indian state of Haryana, bordering Punjab and Rajasthan. It is located near the Thar Desert, 250 kilometres north-west of New Delhi and 260 kilometers s ...

. In early 1526, he became involved in a dispute with Rawal Jait Singh of

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed ''The Golden city'', is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur, in the heart of the Thar Desert. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer district ...

. Allegedly, the contention arose when Jait Singh insulted Lunkaran's clan, the Rathores, publicly in court. When chided by a noble visiting from Bikaner, the Rawal mocked them further by stating that he would bestow to the

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

s of his kingdom as much land as the Rathors could ride over. When the noble reported the exchange to Lunkaran, he took up the challenge and, with his riders, invaded the Rawal's territory. His forces penetrated as far as the city of

itself and laid siege to it, capturing Jait Singh in the process. He only lifted the siege and released the captive king after the latter pledged to give his daughter in marriage to one of Lunkaran's sons.

Death

In March that same year, Lunkaran and three of his sons along with Rao Ranmal, Ahir Chief of Nasibpur, rode into battle against the

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

Narnaul Narnaul is a city, a Municipal Council, and location of headquarters of the Mahendragarh district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is located in the National Capital Region of India. History & etymology During the early vedic period o ...

. However, while fighting in the village of Dhosi, several of his supporters withdrew from the battle. As a result of this, the Bikaner forces were overwhelmed, with Lunkaran, his sons and his ''

purohit Purohita (), in the Hindu context, means ''chaplain'' or ''family priest'' within the Vedic priesthood. In Thailand and Cambodia, it refers to the royal chaplains. A ''tīrthapurohit'' is a priest/ritual performer (''purohit'') at a sacred site ...

'' Devidas being killed. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Jait Singh.

Issue

Sons

* Ratan Singh – ancestor of the chiefs of Mahajan * Jait Singh, Rao of Bikaner * Pratap Singh (killed in Narnaul) * Barsi (killed in Narnaul) * Tejsi * Netasi * Kishan Singh * Ram Singh * Suraj Mal * Kushal Singh * Roop Singh * Karamsi

Daughters

* Bala Bai: married

Prithviraj Singh I Prithviraj Singh I (died 4 November 1527), also known as Prithvi Singh I, was a 16th-century Rajput ruler of Amber. He was a monarch of strong religious inclinations and during his reign, Amber became increasingly politically active. He took pa ...

, Raja of

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...

* Unnamed daughter: married Nahar Khan,

ruler of Fatehpur (son of Daulat Khan)

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lunkaran Rajput monarchs 1470 births 1526 deaths Maharajas of Bikaner People from Bikaner