|
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
of Ēkaliṅga. Having performed pilgrimage to Dvārakā he went to Śaṁkhōddhāra (the island of
Beyt to the southwest extremity of the Gulf of Cutch), while in the meantime a siddha entered
the womb of his wife for obtaining kingdom. The siddha became Mōkala’s son Kumbhakarṇa.
It is said that the water of the Ganges used to flow at night from the forehead of Mōkala. Mōkal’s
Son Kumbhakarṇa was the builder of the Kumbhalamēru fort.[1] He had one hundred and sixteen
wives. His son was Rāyamalla,[2] and the latter’s Saṁgrāmasiṁha (Sāṅgā) who, accompanied by
two hundred thousand soldiers, marched as far as Phattēpura[3] in the dominions of Bābara,
the king of Dilli, and fixed the boundary of his kingdom up to Pīliyākhāla. His son was Ratnasiṁha[4] after whom his brother Vikramāditya became king. His brother, Rānā Udayasiṁha,
(who followed him) built a lake called Udayasāgara (6 miles to the east of Udaipur), founded the
city of Udayapura and, on the occasion of the consecration of the lake, performed charities such
as tulādāna as well as granted the village of Bhūravāḍā to Chhītūbhaṭṭa and his brother Lakshmīnātha.[5] One of his warriors, the Rāṭhōḍa Jaimala,[6] as well as the Sīsōdiyā Pattā,[7] and Īśvaradāsa
(Chauhān), accompanied by soldiers, fought with Akabbara (Akbar), the king of Dillī, at Chitrakūṭa. Udayasiṁha was followed (on the throne) by his son Pratāpasiṁha who had a quarrel with
the Kachhavāha chief Mānasiṁha on the question of dining together.[8] The latter sought the help
of Akabbara with whose army he met Pratāpasiṁha in battle at Khaṁbhanaura.[9] During this
terrific struggle, while Mānasiṁha was seated in an iron cage on the back of an elephant, Pratāpa’s
eldest son Amara, flung a spear at the temple of Mānasiṁha’s elephant ; while Pratāpa did
the same himself, the elephant fled. At that time, Pratāpasiṁha’s brother Śaktasiṁha, who
accompanied Mānasiṁha, seeing the situation, thus spoke with affection : ‘ O rider of the blue
horse ! look behind ’ Pratāpa looked behind and saw a horse. Mānasiṁha then sent two
Mugalas (Mughals) to give chase to Pratāpa ; Śaktasiṁha also followed. The two Mugalas fought
with Pratāpa, and were killed by Śaktasiṁha who was then recognised by Pratāpa as his brother.[10]
Thereafter Akabbar came and waged war with Pratāpa, and finding the latter powerful, left his
eldest son, named Śēkhū (Prince Salim[11]), there and himself went to Āgrā. Amarasiṁha took
____________________________________________________________
[1] Kumbhalgarh on a high peak of the Arāvalī about 25 miles north of Nāthadvārā.
[2] Udayasiṁha (Udā), the patricide, is omitted here as in many other inscriptions.
[3] Apparently refers to Fatehpur Sīkrī. Pīliyākhāla is identical with the Pīlī river near Bayānā in the former
Bharatpur State. According to the Bābarnāmā the territory of Rānā Sāṅgā extended up to Pīliyākhāla on the
north, river Sindh (by which must be meant the Kālī Sindhu) on the east, Mālawā on the south and hills of
Mewār on the west. Rānā Sāṅgā and sent a messenger to Bābar, before his invasion, inviting him to India
and offering him the territories up to Delhi, while he (Sāṅgā) himself wanted to extend his dominions up to
Agra. See Umrai Hanood, p. 292.
[4] Ratnasiṁha was Sāṅgā’s son by Dhanabāī, daughter of Bāghā Sūjāvat, the grandson of Rānā Jōdha of
Jadhpur, while Vikramāditya and Udayasiṁha were born of Narbad (Narpat) and grand-daughter of Rānā Bhāmiḍa of Būndī. See Ojha, ibid., Vol. I, p. 384, notes 3-4. Ratnasiṁha and Vikramāditya
are not mentioned in the Jagannātharāya temple inscription.
[5] This village is in the Rājnagar District and is also mentioned in the Jagannātharāya temple inscription,
Slab B, vv. 113-14, see above, Vol. XXIV, pp. 76-77. The name of Vanavīra (a natural son of Pṛithvīrāja, son of
Māhārāṇā Rāyamalla) who usurped the throne after putting Vikramāditya to death is not mentioned in the list.
[6] Jaimal (Jayamalla) was the eldest of the eleven sons of Rāṭhōḍ Vīramadēva of Mēḍtā. See Ojha, ibid.,
Vol. II, p. 412 and note 4.
[7] Son of the well-known Chūṁdḍā. See ibid., Vol. I, p. 416, note 1.
[8] For details see Ojha, ibid., Vol. I, p. 428 and notes 1 and 2.
[9] Village Khamṇaur, near the famous battlefield of Haldīghātī and about 8 miles from Nāthadvārā.
[10] This refers to the well-known story of Pratāpa and his horse Chētak mentioned in all the bardic chronicles
and also by Tad.
[11] Akbar used to call Jahāngīr as Shaikhū Bābā during his infancy. Jahāngīr was so named as he was born
due to the blessings of Shaikh Salīm, the saintly dervish of Fatehpur Sīkri (see Tūzuk-i-Jahāngīri, Rogers and
Beveridge’s translation, p. 2). Salim was, however, too young to join the battle at this period. See Ojha, ibid.,
Vol. I, p. 439, n. 5, para. 3, and Deviprasad, Tārikh-Rājparshasti, p. 31, note.
|
