Rao Bika (5 August 1438 – 17 June 1504), was a scion of the Rathore clan of

Rajputs 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 ...

and the founder of the city 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 ...

and

Bikaner State Bikaner State was the princely state, Princely State in the north-western most part of the History of Bikaner, Rajputana province of imperial British India from 1818 to 1947. The founder of the state Rao Bika was a younger son of Rao ...

in present-day state of

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 India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He was the fifth son of Rao Jodha, founder of the city 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 ...

. During his reign he controlled an area of 40,000 square miles, which included 3,000 villages.

Establishment of Bikaner

In 1465 AD, Rao Bika had come late and taken seat beside his uncle, Rawat Kandhal, with whom he carried a conversation in whisper. Rao Jodha jestingly remarked that they must be making a plan of conquest of new territory, an idea constantly being suggested to him to provide for his large family. Rao Bika and Rawat Kandhal took the observation as a challenge and pledged to win new lands. The land approved by Rao Jodha to conquer through conquest was Jangladesh which had been largely weakened by war as suggested by Napo, a Sankhala

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 ...

. On 30 September 1465 AD, the 27 year old Rao Bika along with Rawat Kandhal who had sworn to establish his nephew just like he did Rao Jodha in

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 ...

. With a considerable following of 100 horsemen and 500 foot-soldiers left Jodhpur along with his uncles Kandhal, Rupo, Mandan, Mandalo and Nathu; his brothers Bida, Jogayat; his dhai brother rav chahayad gahlot and others. Jangladesh was then inhabited by the Bhatis, Jats,

Bhatti Bhatti is a Punjabis, Punjabi and Sindhis, Sindhi caste of Rajputs. They are linked to the Bhatia caste, Bhatias and Bhutto (clan), Bhuttos, all of whom claim to originate from the Hindus, Hindu Bhati Rajputs. They claim descent from the Lun ...

s and Johiyas. Bika led an army of around 300 of his clansmen to conquer the Jangladesh area. Bika also had the support of Karni Mata, Charans and Godara Jats. Rao Bika founded

Bikaner state Bikaner State was the princely state, Princely State in the north-western most part of the History of Bikaner, Rajputana province of imperial British India from 1818 to 1947. The founder of the state Rao Bika was a younger son of Rao ...

and conquered the areas of Sirsa, Ladnu, Bhatner,

Bhatinda Bathinda is a city and municipal corporation in Punjab, India, Punjab, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Bathinda district. It is located in northwestern India in the Malwa (Punjab), Malwa Region, west of the capital city o ...

, Singhana, Rini, Nohar and

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 ...

. During his reign, he controlled an area of 40,000 square miles, which included 3,000 villages. After Rao Bika's death, his elder son Rao Nara became the new ruler of Bikaner, however he died within a year of his reign. Nara was succeeded by his younger brother Rao Lunkaran in 1505.

Establishment of Bikaner

See also

Notes

Further reading