Maharana Raj Singh I (24 September 1629 – 22 October 1680) was the

Maharana The Maharana ("Great Rana") is a variation on the Indian royal title Rana. Maharana denotes ' great king' or ' high king', similar to the word " Maharaja". The term derives from the Sanskrit title "Mahārāṇaka". Usage at the time of independ ...

of Mewar Kingdom (r. 1652–1680) and eldest son of Maharana Jagat Singh I. He fought 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 annexed many Mughal territories. He participated in Rajput-Mughal War (1679–1707) and defeated the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an 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 the highlands of pre ...

Early reign

During the Mughal war of Succession, all the Mughal Princes including

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 ...

requested him to send contingents in their support but Maharana remained aloof. Raj Singh ignored repeated demands for assistance from Aurangzeb. Instead he embarked on his own expeditions using pretence of a ceremonial "Tikadaur", traditionally taken in enemy land. The Maharna swooped down on various Mughal posts in May 1658. Levies were imposed on outposts and tracts like

Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...

, Banera, Shahpura, Sawar, Jahazpur, Phulia etc. which were then under Mughal control, and some areas were annexed. He next attacked pargana of

Malpura Malpura is a town with municipality in Tonk district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Malpura is known for its Dadabadi, built by the Khartargach Sect of Shewtambar Jain in memory of 3rd Dada Gurudev Shri Jinkushalsurishwarji.Also known for its ...

, Tonk, Chaksu, Lalsot and Sambhar. He plundered these areas and triumphantly returned with spoils to

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

. Raj Singh in 1659 attacked

Dungarpur Dungarpur is a city in the southernmost part of Rajasthan, India. History Dungarpur is the seat of the elder branch of the Guhilot of Mewar family. The seat of the younger branch is that of the Maharana of Udaipur. The city was founded in ...

Banswara Banswara is a city in the Banswara district in southern Rajasthan, India. The name, Banswara, came from king ‘Bansiya Bhil’. Banswara is also known as "City of a Hundred Islands", "The Green City", which is often referred to as " Cherrap ...

and Devaliya who were originally under Mewar rule but later became independent states under Mughal suzerainty. These rulers accepted the suzerainty of Mewar. Raj Singh also conducted raids of Malwa and Gujarat territories of Mughals. Prince Bhim Singh captured Idar and plundered the Mughal post's in Vadnagar, Vishalnagar and Ahmadabad. Raj Singh protested against the

Jizya Jizya (), or jizyah, is a type of taxation levied on non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Soc ...

tax levied by

. Raj Singh opposed

multiple times, once to save the Kishangarh princess Charumati from the

and once by denouncing the

tax levied by

. Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had once taunted Aurangzeb by telling him to ask the Rana of Mewar who is the head of the Hindus for Jizya if he had the guts instead of terrorising unarmed citizens

Rajput War (1679–1707)

The Rana gave aid to Durgadas Rathore during the Rajput War (1679–1707) and fought many battles against Aurangzeb as he was a relative of Ajit Singh of Marwar, The conflict was started after the death of

Jaswant Singh of Marwar Raja Jaswant Singh I (26 December 1626 – ) was the Rathore ruler of the Kingdom of Marwar in the western part of Rajputana (modern-day Rajasthan, India). He was a distinguished man of letters and author of noted literary works like ''Siddha ...

due to

's attempt to interfere in the succession of

Marwar Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. 'Maru' is a Sanskrit word for desert. The word 'wad' literally means fence in Rajasthani languages. Engl ...

. The resistance to Mughal interference was mainly started by the Rajput nobles under Durgadas Rathore and erupted into an all-out war between 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 Rajputs of Marwar supported by Rana Raj Singh. It lasted for almost thirty years. The rebellion reached a climax after the death of Aurangzeb on 3 March 1707 and the capture 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 ...

by the Rathores on 12 March 1707.

Cultural activities

Rana Raj Singh is also known for giving protection to the Hindu priests and the

Shrinathji Shrinathji is a form of Krishna, manifested as a seven-year-old child. The principal shrine of Shrinathji is the Shrinathji Temple in the temple city of Nathdwara, 48 kilometres north-east of Udaipur city in Rajasthan, India. Shrinathji is ...

idol of

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

from Mughals; he placed it in

Nathdwara Nathdwara is a city in the Rajsamand district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located in the Aravalli hills, on the banks of the Banas River and is 48 kilometres north-east of Udaipur. Shrinathji, is a swarup of lord Krishna whic ...

. The Maharana became a great administrator, able military commander and a patron of art, music and architecture during his lifetime.

Rajsamand Lake

He also built the famous Rajsamand Lake in 1676 at Kankroli where sea planes use to land prior to India's Independence. He commissioned the text of the

Raj Prashasti Raj Prashasti (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Rāja Praśasti; Sanskrit: राज प्रशस्ति) is a Sanskrit text and Epigraphy, inscription commemorating the construction of the Rajsamand Lake in 1676 by ...

, which was later inscribed on the pillars around the lake. The lake built by Raj Singh is also known as ''Rajsamudra.'' The lake provided sufficient water to farmers thus increasing productivity and giving relief to

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

-stricken areas.

Death and succession

Rana was eventually poisoned by his own men who were bribed by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He was succeeded by his son Jai Singh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Raj, I Monarchs of Mewar 1629 births 1680 deaths