Category: Historical Figures

Categories
Historical Figures

The Legend of General Zorawar Singh

Atop the rooftop of the world – standing before serene waters of Lake Mansoravar on the Himalayan Plateau the crisp mountain air was broken with the cries of  ‘Har Har Mahadev’.  A band of Hindu warriors, bloodied and battered a thousand miles from their homes in the Jammu kingdom looked with grim satisfaction on the culmination of a successful campaign of war under the leadership of their inspirational leader General Zorawar Singh Kahluria.

Lake Manasarovar And Mount Kailash From Trugo Gompa

 

The northern Indian kingdom of Jammu was ruled for my centuries by various Hindu clans and in themed 19th century was ruled by the Gulab Singh. For many centuries the Jammu kingdom had maintained a solid independence from the empires of northern India. Nominally allied to the Sikh kingdom of Lahore the warrior clans of the Dogras sought opportunities to the north of their kingdom.

Zorawar Singh initially conquered the hill region of Kishwar from its Nawab and the speed and ease of the conquest encourages further ambitions. The majority of Northern India was by this time under the heel of British Imperialism and the areas to the south and west were under the control of their allies the Sikhs. In 1834 he led his Dogra warriors into the remote and previously thought inaccessible regions of Ladakh which today forms part of the Jammu and Kashmir state of India. After defeating the Botis in a bitter engagement his added Kargil to his conquests. The Ladakhis gathered together a large force with assistance from the Chinese imperial army and despite being cut off from his base and with limited supplies Zorawar Singh managed to inflict a decisive defeat on his enemies under the leadership of the Gyalpo.

INDIA-LADAKH-Phanjilla

Although nominally allies the Sikh Kingdom was alarmed by the increasing power of the Dogras and under the instigation of Mehan Singh, the Sikh governor of Kashmir the Ladakhi again resumed the conflict with the Dogras the following year in 1836. However making a lightening march he managed to surprise and destroy the Ladakhi army and inflict a devastating defeat on them thus adding the vast Ladakhi regions to India.

To the north of Ladakh lies Baltistan (in modern Pakistan). General Zorawar Singh now turned his hardy mountain troops in this direction. The Nawab, Muhammad Shah had attempted to help the Ladakhis in the previous battles and in 1841 faced bitter retribution from Zorawar Singh and his Dogra warriors. Despite facing the bitter cold and extreme hardship the Dogras managed to invest and conquer the region in the same year. The fighting abilities of Zorawar Singh allowed the Dogras to proceed to even further ambitions towards Central Asia. Once again however the Sikhs complained to the Dogras that Zorawar Singh was pushing his conquests to areas which were their allies and thus Zorawar Singh turned his attention to the vast kingdom of Tibet to the north. Under the rule of Chinese Empire the plateau of Tibet was also home the sacred lake of Mansoravar and Mount Kailash the abode of Lord Shiva. In 1841 he divided his forces into three columns and headed into the vast unknown of the mighty Himalayas.

After a number of fierce engagements the Chinese troops fled before the ‘Shen Pa’ their name for the Hindu Dogra warriors and fighting both local resistance and the unsparing Himalayan weather Zorawar Singh and his soldiers reached their goal and to complete their pilgrimage. Author Dr Alex McKay  further mentions in his book The History of Tibet,

‘The occupation Of Tibetan areas west of the Mayum pass was completed by the middle of  September. General Zorawar Singh made proper arrangements for guarding advance posts towards the Mayum pass and other passes by posting his own contingents. He then returned to Tirathpuri where he intended to pass the winter.Thus the Dogra General conquered about 720 km. Of  the Tibetan territory (linear distance) in about three and a half months .The first thing Zorawar Singh did after the conquest Of Misra was to take a holy bath in the lake Manasarovar and offer a golden idol at the Kailash temple On The mobilisation of his troops into Tibet he had already announced his intention to perform a pilgrimage of the Hindu holy places of the’ Kailash-kshetra. He now proudly fulfilled that resolve. Thus, by fighting out his way to these holy places and earning the merit of the pilgrimage of Kailash, to which the heroes of the Mahabharata had also retired after attaining the glory and fame in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, General Zorawar Singh had earned both sanctity and renown. He had achieved the height of fame.’

General Zorawar SinghNow standing over 500 miles from his home base and rapidly facing mounting numbers of enemies he turned to return to his home. However by now the enemy had reinforced their strength in vast numbers and in the bitter winter of 1841-1842 suffering from a collapse of their supply lines, facing the relentless Himalayan winter and facing the Chinese/Tibetan forces on all sides the Dogras began to fight their way home.

With each step being fiercely contested it was only the matchless general ship and valour of Zorawar Singh that maintained the discipline and strict order of his army. Inspired by the success of their holy pilgrimage to the sacred lake the Dogras kept at bay the forces of their enemies until brought to bay at the Battle of To-yo in December 1841.

Wounded by bullet in his right shoulder the general continued to rally his troops until in the thick of the fighting a spear was thrust into his shoulder – Wounded he was dragged out from the struggle by his soldiers and a shot while after died from his injuries.

The Chinese-Tibetan attack then moved forward but was resisted by the Dogra general Mehta Basti Ram – the Chinese then followed up their success by an attack on Ladakh but there faced a severe defeat at Dragntese when following the inspirational ideal of Zorawar Singh the Dogras managed to outflank their enemies and by damming the river managed to flood the enemy forces – At the Battle of Chushul the Dogras inflicting a decisive defeat on the Chinese and executed their general to avenge the death of Zorawar Singh

So ended the life and career of one of India greatest and yet least known warriors. His intrepid courage and general ship earned him the title of the ‘Napoleon of India’ from the Europeans  His exertions far beyond the confines of modern India into the vast steppes and mountains of Central Asia were an example of the intrepid Hindu spirit and ethos which has allowed the Hindus to emerge from millennia of history.

Forgotten memorial to General Zorawar Singh where he died.

jorawar.singh samadhi

Toyo, Taklakot, Tibet – that is the hallowed place where stands a dilapidated Samadhi of a brave man called General Zorawar Singh, a Kahluria Rajput of the 19th century India. He was born in 1786 in the Kangra district but his bravery blossomed in the Dogra army of Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu.Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant

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Categories
Historical Figures

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1838 – 1894)

 

Through his writings, this man breathed a new passion and life into an entire civilisation, particularly his native region of Bengal, which became kindled with religious, nationalistic and artistic fervour after being infused with the powerful visions contained in his writings.

Born on 27 June 1838 in the Kantalpara district of Bengal, the first striking event we have of his life was that he mastered the alphabet as a child in a single sitting. This was an image and prophecy for the rest of his life.

Apart from the breathtaking legacy of his literary works – his life was quite “normal” and not in any way out of the ordinary. He was a man who never clamoured for place or power, but did his work in silence for the love of his work, even as nature does. And just because he had no aim but to give out the best that was in him to his people, he was able to create a language, a literature, a freedom struggle, and steer the course of history.

Bankim was 19 years of age when India’s First War of independence (known in the west as the “Sepoy Mutiny”) was waged. The following year (1858) India had lost the war. Bankim was finishing his studies at the time, and in that same year graduated from the University of Calcutta. The British authorities immediately appointed him to the post of Deputy Magistrate.

Young Bankim had suffered a shock in seeing the failure of India’s War of Independence. He could not rest until he knew why the great movement for liberation ended up being crushed in the manner in which it was, and that too with the help of many Indian’s themselves (most notably the Sikhs). In his effort to discover the causes of that failure he set his sharp intellect to the task of analysing the great problems that India was facing. Influenced and inspired by three great figures of that epoch, Raja Rammohan Roy, Iswarchandra Vidyasagar and Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi (the Hindu queen who led her soldiers against the British during the war) – he soon recognised the existence of a number of startling facts.

Foremost among these was that the people of India were fast becoming denationalised by English manners and customs, English fashions, and English whiskies and wines – not to mention the Christian missionaries (who had made Bengal their storm centre). The British government used their educational system to further this agenda (after abolishing and outlawing the traditional Indian education systems). Chatterji’s soul winced when he perceived that the Indian who spoke good English was more honoured by his own people than the man who spoke and wrote their own tongue exquisitely. Wherever he looked, he saw educated Indians jumping frantically on the bandwagon of British culture.

From the moment he had first learned to think for himself, Bankim realised that there was a titanic struggle ahead to reverse the trend and bring physical and cultural freedom to the sacred motherland. He felt that he had his own divinely ordained effort to make in this veritable battle – which he played silently and humbly. If India was to be uplifted, her children must once again create literature and language dynamic and inspiring to enlighten and inspire the entire people of India.

Soon, the profound effect of Chatterji’s novels and essays, with their compelling beauty, subtle humour and inspiring themes could be seen, firstly in Bengal and then spilling over into greater India. Indians who were nurtured on Shakespeare, Milton and Shelley began to read the works of Kalidas, Bhavabhuti, Chandidas and Vidyapula. They turned eagerly to the Puranas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. Whereas before, elite Indians took pride in their knowledge of the Magna Carta strugle, the times of Oliver Cromwell and the tragedy of Charles the First, they began to relish the ballads of Rajasthan and Maharashtra. A new feeling was born. Millions began to hold their heads high once again and talk in terms of “our language”, “our literature”, “our history”, “our country”.

His Literary History

Bankim began his literary career with a desire to write in English, and wrote a novel called Rammohan’s Wife.” He at once realised his mistake with the realisation that the his work was much more natural and powerful in his own mother tongue.

The major novels he wrote were: Chandrashekhar, Kishna Kanta’s Will, Debi Chaudhurani, Sitaram, Indira, Kamal Kanta and Anandamath.

The last of these, Anandamath deserves special mention here. It wasn’t necessarily the best of Bankim Chandra’s works, though still great in its own right. Yet because of its astonishing political consequences, with no other of his works is Bankim so closely identified.

The Anandamath story is set in 18th century India, when a group of warrior sannyasis mounted a guerilla war against Muslim rule (based on a true historical attempt by sannyasis to do precisely this). It was a riveting story line with amazing characters and meaningful dialogues. Yet more importantly, hundreds of thousands of Indians (primarily Hindus) took the story as a metaphor for their own present day situation, understanding it as a call to arms to drive the new tyrants (the British) away from the sacred soil. Indeed, the main revolutionary group in Bengal chose its name as that of the sannyasin group from Anandamath. The most important and widely known section of this book was the poem “Vande Mataram” which means “Hail to the Mother(land)”. The song became the battle cry for India’s freedom struggle. It was set to become India’s National Anthem, but was rejected because a section of Muslims considered the song as idolatrous due to its metaphor comparing India to the tiger-borne Goddess Durga “with instruments of punishment in each of her ten hands”. To placate the Muslims (and Jawahalal Nehru) the constituent assembly rejected it as the National Anthem. Incidentally, Rabindranath Tagore, the great poet whose “Jana Gana” eventually became India’s National Anthem had stated on several occasions that he desired very much that Bankim Chandra’s “Vande Mataram” should become the National Anthem of free India. For example, in 1928, he said in an interview with Mulk Raj Ananda “I share his ideas of inheriting the past – if made relevant for the present! Bankim Chandra is our master in this respect. In our school here, students sing “Bande Mataram” every morning…..I hope it becomes the national anthem of free India!”

Bankim Chandra’s Anandamath demonstrated the most powerful example in modern history of how art can affect real life to a tremendous extent – especially in an artistically orientated civilisation like that of the Hindus.

Towards the end of his life, Bankim Chandra turned his attention to write about spirituality – the very essence of Hindu civilisation. A Life of Krishna and a book on the Essence of Religion, a rendering of the Bhagavad Gita and a commentary on the Vedas were his aims to give to his fellow countrymen. The first two he managed to complete, and the rendering of the Bhagavad Gita was three parts finished, but the commentary on the Vedas, which should have been a priceless possession, never got into the stage of execution. Death, in whose shadow he had so long dwelt, with his ailing health, took the pen from his hand before he could accomplish this feat. Yet his contributions to literature are enough to immortalise his memory.

Vande Mataram!

Vande Mataram is the national song of India. The song was composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

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Categories
Historical Figures

Swami Vivekananda (1863 – 1902)

[box_light]Swami Vivekananda is one of the most famous Hindu saints of the modern age. He is considered by many as a heralder of a new era for Hinduism, being the first person in the modern age to travel to the West and give the message of Vedanta to an international audience. Yoga practitioners in the west recently celebrated the centenary of his first journey to the west as the birth of the international practice of yoga.[/box_light]

Early Life

Vivekananda was born in Calcutta, named Narendra. He was imbued with virtues at a young age, and was a melodious singer, alert student and powerful athlete. His spiritual longing led him to search far and wide for ideas about God, from all religions and teachers. But his scientific nature would not let him believe. Doubts flooded his mind. Yet these doubts far from being a bad thing, actually propelled him on his journey. On the advice of his schoolteacher, Narendra visited Ramakrishna Paramhansa. Narendra was taken aback by the reply he got to his questions about God: “not only have I seen God, but I can show you God if you like.” Narendra was uncertain, but Ramakrishna knew he would be back. “My son I’ve waited my whole life for you,” Ramakrishna cried with emotion. Narendra subsequently made Ramakrishna his Guru, and he both studied the masses of ancient Hindu knowledge both from a scholarly and experiential perspective. Later he attained the name of Swami Vivekananda.

Social Revolutionary

Swamiji traveled extensively around India and was shocked by what he saw. He saw the beauty of the ancient spirituality of the land still intact, but unimaginable poverty, poor health, social ills that rent his heart. He tried to mobilise the affluent classes to come to the aid of their fellow countrymen. He was shocked observing the massive and ruthless conversion campaigns of the Christian missionaries who were flooding India with government support. He warned that India may become a land with barely a memory of its past and true culture, much like Africa of today (which is today dominated by Christianity and Islam, and forgetful and ignorant about any insights and achievements of their ancestors). Many people were impressed with Swami Vivekananda and slowly his following grew. He also set up the Ramakrishna Vedantic Mission.

Travels to the West

Swami Vivekananda journeyed to the West, speaking at the Parliament of Religions at Chicago. He was allocated only 5 minutes, but held the audience in rapture for much longer, drawing large applause. He travelled to many places. For the first time, people realised that there is something unique and different about the culture and religion of the sub-continent of India, that provided a spirituality beyond the cold confines of organised and authoritarian creeds that they were accustomed to. He developed a following, some of whom would provide a mighty service to India’s upliftment, including Margaret Nobles, who later became Sister Nivedita. Swami Vivekananda was also met with bitter hostility and resistance at the hands of some. Stories of slander and scandals would appear in newspapers regularly, to try and stunt his influence. Swamiji later narrated that the more resistance he encountered, the more determined he became.

Restoring India’s Battered Confidence

Understandably, due to being in the midst of the second great colonialisation many thinkers and activists in India had lost faith in their heritage and were on the way to have their minds and hearts totally yearning after an imitation of England and Europe. Swamiji’s life had a deep impact on the Indian elite. A later Prime Minister of India later declared “We were at that time depressed at the state of our country, but Swami Vivekananda returned to us a lost dignity. We realised that while at present we do not have the wealth or power of Britain, we still had the real article, something that they did not have.”

His vision

It was Swamiji’s hope that India would create a new social order and a new civilisation by combining her best spiritual traditions with the latest advancements in science and technology. She would be rich both materially and spiritually. He knew affluence was not enough to make humanity satisfied, and that it was humanity’s place to manifest the will and light of the divine in the world. He wanted India to set an example in this, and be a harbinger in a new age, where the world would be both materially and technologically healthy, but spiritually and culturally advanced also.

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Historical Figures

Mirabai (1540 – 1597)

There are few Hindus who will not have heard of Mirabai, the Rajput princess whose devotional compositions have provided a voice to the spiritual yearning of millions, and have a distinct, even a feminist, emphasis to them. Many stories exist about Mira, and it is difficult to produce a factual account of her life, although she lives perpetually through her songs, famous throughout India. The following is a shortened account about popular folk-lore about Mirabai:

Born in Rajisthan a land of warriors and sages, sadhus and kings, but also instability and sorrow, Mirabai showed great devotion for Lord Krishna in her childhood years. One day, a holy man came to her family’s palace and was carrying a small image of Krishna. Knowing that Mirabai would appreciate it, her mother brings her the little statue of Krishna. As the wandering sage left the palace he took his image of Krishna with him. Mirabai was very upset – in fact for days she lost her appetite and was very sad. But after a few days the sadhu returned. The night before, he explained, Krishna had appeared to him in a dream, telling him to return the image to Mira!

Mira grew up to be a beautiful young lady, and was duly married to the warrior Prince Bhoj, and went to live at his palace. However, despite being a devoted and dutiful wife, devotion to Lord Krishna was always foremost on her mind, which annoyed the family of her husband. Uda, her sister in law was most annoyed at Mira’s ways. They tried to stop her from visiting the temple. Prince Bhoj came to accept his wife’s nature, and thought of her as a great devotee of the Lord. He built her a small Krishna temple within the palace. However, for company with other devotees, Mira still sought to go to the village temple. She became acquainted with the great saint Ravidas, who was a humble shoemaker by profession, and learnt much about aspects of religion that she did not know about through him. She considered Ravidas her spiritual preceptor (Guru). Although her in-laws were becoming enraged with her behaviour, several of them could see their was something very special about her. Ravidas is turn was very impressed and moved by the intensity of her devotion to Krishna. He brought her a sitar with his own meager resources, which she used to compose and play soul stirring devotional songs to all who would listen. Through her songs Mirabai’s fame grew exceedingly, spreading far and wide throughout India. Even the Moghul Emporer Akbar (who was tolerant unlike other fanatical Moghul rulers, even renouncing Islam) came to visit her, and was so moved by her songs that he gave her a precious necklace.

Meanwhile, Prince Bhoj, Mirabai’s husband was killed in battle, against the predatory Moghuls. Bhoj’s cousin seizes the throne, who was one member of the family who had harboured dislike for Mirabai. Finding Akbar’s necklace, he accused Mirabai of being a traitor. He confined her to her room, and ordered her precious image of Krishna to be thrown into the river. She still had her devotion to Krishna, but was distraught at not being able to be amongst her fellow devotees and resented being locked in a confined space. She is believed to have write to Tulsidas, who advised her to attempt to leave, which Mirabai did so. Mira’s sister-in-law, Uda had grown fond of Mira over time and was very saddened by Mira’s departure.

Mira roamed India in devotion to her beloved Lord Krishna. She could see Krishna everywhere and in everything, and her songs describe her rapture in this vision. She grew very famous and loved. This enraged the king, the cousin of Mira’s husband Bhoj’s. He was determined now that Mira should die. Many attempts were subsequently made on Mira’s life, none of which bore fruit, due to her unfathomable love and trust in Krishna.

 

Selections from Mira bai’s works:

Priceless Gift (pâyo jî)

I have found, yes, I have found the wealth of the Divine Name’s gem.
My true guru gave me a priceless thing. With his grace, I accepted it.
I found the capital of my several births; I have lost the whole rest of the world.
No one can spend it, no one can steal it. Day by day it increases one and a quarter times.
On the boat of truth, the boatman was my true guru. I came across the ocean of existence.
Mira’s Lord is the Mountain-Holder, the suave lover, of whom I merrily, merrily sing.

I Will Dance (citanandana âge nâcûngî)

I will dance before the Consciousness-Charmer.
Having danced and danced, I will please my enjoyer. I will feel my lover.
I will tie on the ankle bells of love and affection. I will wear the dancing-garment of His Face.
Worldly modesty, family honor—I will not care for either of these.
I will go and lie in the bed of my beloved. I, Mira, will dye myself in Hari’s color.

Oh Oh I’m Love-Crazy (he rî maim to prema dîvânî)

Oh oh! I’m love-crazy. No one knows my pain.
My bed is over the gallows. How could I sleep?
My lover’s bed is in heaven’s mandala. How could I get to him?
The one who is wounded knows what a wound means, what it means to be burned.
The jeweler knows what it means to be a jeweler, what it means to have a jewel.
Afflicted by pain, I wander from forest to forest. Can’t get a doctor.
O Lord, Mira’s torment will be wiped out when the doctor is the Dark Lover.

Torn in Shreds (mere to giridhara gupâla)

Mine is Gopal, the Mountain-Holder; there is no one else.
On his head he wears the peacock-crown: He alone is my husband.
Father, mother, brother, relative: I have none to call my own.
I’ve forsaken both God, and the family’s honor: what should I do?
I’ve sat near the holy ones, and I’ve lost shame before the people.
I’ve torn my scarf into shreds; I’m all wrapped up in a blanket.
I took off my finery of pearls and coral, and strung a garland of wildwood flowers.
With my tears, I watered the creeper of love that I planted;
Now the creeper has grown spread all over, and borne the fruit of bliss.
The churner of the milk churned with great love.
When I took out the butter, no need to drink any buttermilk.
I came for the sake of love-devotion; seeing the world, I wept.
Mira is the maidservant of the Mountain-Holder: now with love He takes me across to the further shore.

The Divine Name (râma nâma rasa pîjai)

Drink the nectar of the Divine Name (Rama), O human! Drink the nectar of the Divine Name!
Leave the bad company, always sit among righteous company. Hearken to the mention of God (for your own sake).
Concupiscence, anger, pride, greed, attachment: wash these out of your consciousness.
Mira’s Lord is the Mountain-Holder, the suave lover. Soak yourself in the dye of His color.

Holi Raining Colors of Bhakti (sîla santoSha kî kesara gholî)

The saffron of virtue and contentment
Is dissolved in the water-gun of love and affection.
Pink and red clouds of emotion are flying about,
Limitless colors raining down.
All the covers of the earthen vessel of my body are wide open;
I have thrown away all shame before the world.
Mira’s Lord is the Mountain-Holder, the suave lover.
I sacrifice myself in devotion to His lotus feet.

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Categories
Historical Figures

Sant Eknath

SANT EKNATH is one of the great rishis of Maharshtra. Starting from the life of Jnaneshwar (1275-1298), whose treatise on the Bhagavad Gita sprang new life into the religious life of the land, Maharashtra was blessed with a stream of great religious figures, who sustained the faith of the people in the religion of the land through many hardships. The religious renaissance eventually transformed the society completely, culminating in Independence from Islamic rule for most of India.

The life of Eknath acted like a bridge between his predecessors Jnaneshwar and Naamdev and his successors Tukaram and Ramdas His teachings of philosophy and practice is a synthesis of the quest for the eternal and transcendent while living within the imminent. This great saint of Maharashtra was born sometime around 1530 AD in a Brahmin family which had brought forth great teachers in the past. Eknath’s father, Suryanarayan, and mother, Rukmini died shortly after his birth, hence Eknath was brought up by his grandparents, Chakrapani and Saraswatibai. Throughout his childhood Eknath devoted his time significantly to devotional practices.

When about twelve years old, Eknath heard about a man named Janardan Swami. This great scholar lived in Devgiri renamed as Daulatabad by the Muslim rulers of the time. Eager to become his disciple, Eknath trudged all the way to Devgiri. Janardaswamy was amazed by this extra-ordinarily gifted boy and readily accepted him as his disciple. He taught Eknath Vedanta, Nyaya, Meemansa, Yoga etc. (i.e. a broad based education of Hindu dharma) and most importantly, Sant Jnaneshwar’s works.

Janardan Swami was a devotee of Lord Dattatreya, the son of Atrimuni and his wife Anasuya. Eknath soon achieved self-realisation through his dedicated practice. The Guru then asked Eknath to proceed on pilgrimage. He himself accompanied Eknath upto Nasik-Tryambakeshwar. Here, Eknath wrote his famous treatise on Chatushloki Bhagavat. Which was a treatise on the application of four sacred shlokas of the holy “Bhagavat.” Eknath’s work consisted of 1036 specially metered verses known as “ovee”s. After completing his pilgrimage of various holy places of west and north India, Eknath returned to Paithan where he was born. His grandparents were extremely delighted to see him again and implored him to marry. Eknath married a lady named Girija. The couple were truly made for each other and established the ideal examples of ethical living. In time, the couple was blessed with two daughters, Godavari and Ganga and a son Hari.

During the intervening period of about 250 years between Dnyaneshwar and Eknath, various Islamic invaders ravaged Maharashtra. Defeats after defeats had completely demoralised people. The great legacy of Jnaneshwar was nearly forgotten. Eknath devoted himself to change this situation. His first task was to locate the “samadhi” of Jnaneshwar and trace the undistorted version of “Jnaneshwari” (Jnaneshwar’s treatise of the Bhagavad Gita). In fact, without Eknath’s all-out efforts, the legacy of Jnaneshwar could well have been lost to the succeeding generations. He also devoted him self in fighting against untouchability and other ills, which were rotting the society. His inspiration to fight untouchability were the teachings of Sri Krishna. Eknath’s teachings may be summarized as “Vichar, Uchchar and Achar” – i.e., purity of thought, speech and practices. Exemplifying the way of ethical and spiritual living, he practised what he preached. His works, verses and preaching kindled hope among the people at a time when they needed it most. At last following the example of the great Jnaneshwar, he left for his heavenly abode by voluntarily laying down his life in the sacred Godavari on the Krishna Shasthi day of Phalguna in the year Shaka 1521 (1599AD).

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Historical Figures

Baji Rao1st : The Peshwa

By the 1730s the Mughal Empire lay in ruins.The rulers of Delhi, the ‘Padshahs of the world’ had been humbled and the successors of Aurangzeb lived in terror of the revolutions convulsing the subcontinent of India. The spectre of religious fanaticism in the late 1600s had led to a revolt by the Hindu populace of India from the foothills of the Himalayas, the Rajputs of Rajasthan, The Jaats of Bharatpur, the Bundelas of Central India, the Satnamis of North India, The Kolis and Bhils of Gujarat, The Bedars of South India and the Ahoms of Eastern India.

None however provoked as much terror and fear in the hearts of their enemies as the slogan of the Hindu Padshahi coined by the first great leader Shivaji of the irresistible cavalry pouring from the arid hills of Western India. These were the Hindu Marathas. From the inspiration of Shivaji and Sant Ramdas they unleashed such energies into India that the Mughal Empire fell in ruin.

Following the death of Shivaji and the 27 year war of liberation the Marathas freed their homeland from Mughal tyranny when the son of the prime minister, a 19 year old named Baji Rao made an inspired speech in the court of the Maratha king.

 

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‘Strike, strike at the heart of the rotting tree and the branches will fall of themselves. Then this land of the Hindus will be free’

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He then embarked on a ceaseless twenty year campaign in a strike northwards, every year inching nearer to Delhi and the extinction of the Mughal Empire. It is said that the Mughal emperor was in such terror that he refused a meeting with Baji Rao, fearing to sit in his presence. The holy pilgrimage routes of the Hindus from Mathura, to Benares to Somnath were made free of harassment.

The greatest of the warriors of the empire, Mughal, Pathan and Central Asian alike were defeated by Baji Rao: Nizam ul Mulk, Khan I Dauran, Muhammad Khan are but a few of the names of the warriors who failed before the Marathas. The Battles of Bhopal, Palkhed, the victories over the Portuguese invaders in Western India are amongst his great achievements.He died at the untimely age of 39 in 1739, in military camp surrounded by his army.He has been described as the incarnation of Hindu energy, ceaselessly striving for 20 years to establish the Hindu Padshahi.

His sons continued his mission of carrying the saffron flag to the gates of Afghanistan in 1758 to the fort of Attock in the North and simultaneously marching to the Southern shores of India. He represents the creative and destructive power of Dharma as he unleashed the urge of a people yearning to be free and remains as a symbol of victory to the modern day.

What others said :

J. Grant Duff says in “History of the Marathas”:

“Bred a soldier as well as a statesman, Baji rao united the enterprise, vogour, and hardihood of a Maratha chief with the polished manners, the sagacity, and address which frequently distinguish the Brahmins of the Concan. Fully acquainted with the financial schemes of his father, he selected that part of the plan calculated to direct the predatory hordes of Maharashtra in a common effort. In this respect, the genious of Baji rao enlarged the schemes which his father devised; and unlike most Brahmins of him, it may be truly said- he had both- the head to plan and the hand to execute.

“Sir R. Temple says in “Oriental Experiences”:

“Bajirao was hardly to be surpassed as a rider and was ever forward in action, eager to expose himself under fire if the affair was arduous. He was inured to fatigue and prided himself on enduring the same hardships as his soldiers and sharing their scanty fare. He was moved by an ardour for success in national undertakings by a patriotic confidence in the Hindu cause as against its old enemies, the Muhammadans and its new rivals, the Europeans then rising above the political horizon. He lived to seethe Maratha spread over the Indian continent from the Arabian sea to the Bay of Bengal. He died as he lived in camp under canvas among his men and he is remembered among the Marathas as the fighting Peshwa, as the incarnation of Hindu energy.

“Jadunath Sarkar says in his forward to “Peshwa Bajirao I and Maratha Expansion”

“Bajirao was a heaven born cavalry leader. In the long and distinguished galaxy of Peshwas, Bajirao Ballal was unequalled for the daring and originality of his genius and the volume and value of his achievements. He was truly a carlylean Hero as king- or rather as Man of action.’ If Sir Robert Walpole created the unchallengeable position of the Prime Minister in the unwritten constitution of England, Bajirao created the same institution in the Maratha Raj at exactly the same time.

“Surendra Nath Sen says in “The Military System of the Marathas”:

“The lover of Mastani knew well how to appeal to the religious sentiments of his co-religionists, although he could scarcely be considered an orthodox Brahman… Shivaji had given the Marathas a common cry, and none appreciated the potency of that cry clearly than Peshwa Bajirao. Shivaji’s military reforms he would not or could not revive, but he stood forth, as Shivaji had done, as champion of Hinduism. People of Central and Northern India saw in him a new deliverer.”

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Categories
Historical Figures

Mahadji Sindhia: Life and Times of a Dharmic Warrior

Amidst the fading light the bursts of gunfire and piles of the dead and dying a young man lay dying. Or at least he thought he was dying amidst the wreck of humanity with nearly sixty thousand warriors slain around him. The field of Panipat in early 1761 was stained red with the blood of Marathas and Afghans locked in a fatal and bloody embrace only broken after the last of many charges of Sadashiv Bhau on the numerically stronger enemy.

On the fatal battlefield Mahadji Sindhia lay wounded. His brothers were dead in the service of their people and pursuit of the dream of Hindu Padshahi as envisioned by Shivaji the Great. After seven hundred years of endless warfare the rise of the Maratha peoples had decisively tilted the balance of power between the Hindus and Muslims on the Indian subcontinent. Overreaching ambition however led to the disaster at Panipat but from that dark day the wounded and mangled body of Mahadji Sindhia was dragged from the heaps of the slain to freedom.

His father Ranoji Sindhia had been one of the cavalry leaders of the all conquering Maratha hero Baji Rao as he subdued most of North India. An early start at the age of 10  in the company of his brothers and father on their yearly forays swiftly displayed his aptitude on the campaign trail and ability to mould with the swift and tireless Maratha army. From the deep South of India to the invasion of Punjab in 1757.Mahadji Sindhia at an early age learnt the modes of warfare of Mughal, Afghan, North Indian and Europeans. He watched the irresistible waves of horsemen humble the once mighty Mughals and destroy  the pride of the Pathans. But from the field of Panipat the dreams of empire were laid low to a point where none believed they could rise again.

A slow recovery from his wounds led to his elevation to the head of the Sindhia clan and his valour in helping defeat Tipu Sultan exalted his status.  The shaky recovery of the Marathas was sealed by their decisive defeat of the Nizam Ali and thoughts of revenge now occupied their minds.

The treacherous leaders of the Indian Afghans was Najib Khan who under the tutelage of Ahmed Shah Abdali had dominated the remnants of the Mughal Empire in North India for the decade after the Battle of Panipat. They had been held at bay only by the valour of Suraj Mal leading the clans of Hindu tribesman known as the Jats in the Mathura region and the arms of the Rajput kingdoms in the deserts of Thar.

But now a new Maratha army was marching again to North India in 1769 to complete their uncompleted mission and amongst them marched Mahadji Sindhia. After a bitter battle before the gates of the Red Fort of Delhi the Afghans fled leaving the Mughals to face the Marathas alone.

Frantic efforts to collect a pan Islamic alliance to defeat the Hindus resulted in a heavy defeat within a short span of time for the Afghans as they were driven from Delhi northwards to Rohilkhand. There following the death of Najinb Khan vengeance caught up with the Afghans as his tomb was torn open in contempt and his bones thrown into a blazing fire. His grandson Ghulam Qadir however escaped. Back in Delhi the Mughal emperor Shah Alam in quivering fear allowed Mahadji Sindhia to become the defacto ruler of the remnants of the Mughal Empire ruled in the name of the Maratha Peshwa.

This was a historical moment which sent a ripple of pride throughout the Maratha Empire a culmination of their century old struggle against the Mughals and foreign domination and an apt succession to the vision of the great Emperor Shivaji. It was also a timely reply to the efforts of the last Muhammadan marauder to test the borders of ancient India – the Afghans, as their dreams of an Indian Empire fell into the dust.

A new enemy however was hovering on the horizon to dim the tide of successes. As the millennia old struggle seemed to have tipped irretrievably towards the Hindus in the rise of the Maratha Empire , the independence of the Rajputs, the rise of the Jats and Bundela kingdom and the rise of the Ahom peoples of eastern India a new threat was rising

The encroachments of European predatory civilisation was steadily overwhelming all indigenous cultures of the world. The regional powers of the erstwhile Mughal Empire was falling one by one to the Hindu resurgence from the end of the 17th Century onwards as the tides of history began turning against them.

Modern trained British forces was already on the subcontinent backing the nefarious tactics of the East India Company and following the devastating raids on Bengal by the Maratha cavalry from the 1740’s onwards the Nawabs of Bengal clung to British protection to save them. The British however continued to pay the yearly tribute from Bengal to the Maratha Empire until the disaster of Panipat. Thereafter the Marathas were locked into a battle for survival and then revival. The intervening decade saw the British establish their stranglehold over Bengal and began the economic rape and devastation of that province.

The attacks of the Marathas and Jats on the province of Awadh under led their Nawab to cling to British protection in 1772 and gave them the opportunity to meddle in Indian affairs. Very soon apart from Mysore virtually all the remaining Muslim states made alliances with the Europeans to preserve themselves against their Hindu adversaries.

The same year saw the death of the head of the Maratha Empire, Madhav Rao and an ensuing struggle for control in which the British saw the chance to push their feet into India. A large and well equipped British forces began to advance towards Pune, the capital of the Empire to be faced by Mahadji Sindhia.

A furious campaign saw the lands before the marching British fired and waves of Marathas cavalry harrying and attacking the British in endless attacks day and night. Eventually desperate with their supplies breaking the British began to retreat to be caught in a pincer movement at Wadgaon and beaten to utter exhaustion. The British force surrendered and signed a treaty of peace with the Marathas in a humiliating loss witnessed by the entire Indian spectrum.  The Punic bad faith of the British however allowed them to repudiate the treaty as soon as they could and the war continued for another 7 years. Despite the calling of further troops and resources from across the Empire the British East India Company was eventually unable to continue the struggle and made peace in 1782.

The main architect of the war and peace was Mahadji Sindhia whose stature now rose above all others. He immediately set march for Delhi again and swept aside the pretensions of independence that the Mughals had started reasserting. The man of faith and action had now become the most powerful man in India holding the Mughals, Afghans and British at bay. He swiftly began to match the Maratha cavalry with a formidable Europeanised infantry units and in the north an alliance with the Hindu Jat tribes of Bharatpur. The empire now starched to the Sutlej river in Punjab with virtually all states being directly or indirectly under their control

This however led to deep resentment amongst the Muslim princes of India, They had either clung to the British for protection or were fleeing across the land in search of protection. Tens and thousands of leaderless Muslims soldiers were sitting idle after the breakup of their states. The leadership of the Afghans was taken up by Ghulam Qadir and that of the Mughal soldiers Ismail Beg. In 1788 whilst Sindhia was in Rajasthan the two warlords gathered their troops to them and raised the banner of revolt. Swarms of Muhamadan soldiers, to whom the domination of the Hindus was intolerable, gathered to them and very soon vast forces were arrayed against Sindhia in the North of India. Delhi itself was taken by Ismail Beg and Ghulam Qadir as the banner of Jihad was raised to unite the confederates.

Sindhia situation was become desperate at the British were also now pressing the frontiers eager to take revenges for their previous humiliations and the spectre of the Panipat campaign began to haunt the Marathas. However with a series of masterful strokes Mahadji combined the waves of Maratha horsemen with the Europeanised Campoo regiments whilst stocking the forts and castles with the sturdy Hindu Jat warriors.

The forts of Agra and Mathura were stormed in a series of bloody battles and the fleeing Muslim coalition fled to Delhi for protection. Here Sindhia caught up with them an enforced a siege on the city. Inside the situation was become increasingly desperate. The calls of the faithful to resist the infidel were beginning to fail and the Emperor Shah Alams heart failed him. Infighting erupted between the Mughals and Afghans and in fury the Afghans cut out the eyes of the Emperor and dishonoured his family only being stopped from murdering the entire royal family by Maniyar Singh a Rajput warrior.

Sindhia took the opportunity to attack the city and after a furious struggle in which fighting erupted from outer walls to the Red Fort he broke the defences. Thousands of Afghans were stripped and dragged through the streets reviled by the city folk who they had tormented. The Mughals fled in utter defeat whilst Ghulam Qadir was captured. The blind Mughal Emperor begged Sindhia for deliverance with the break up of the Muslim alliance.

Indeed it proved the last Islamic enterprise to rule India. The unbroken resistance of the Hindu clans throughout the medieval period had prevented the Turks and Mughals alike from creating little more than armed settlements in the plains of India. Vast tracts remained under the control of Hindu states and warlords which by the close of the 1600’s had lead to huge uprisings which first shook and them brought tumbling down the corrupt edifence of the Mughals. And now a hundred years later the last vestiges of empire combined in a last alliance to break the millennia old resistance of the Hindus to end in utter defeat. Ismail Beg became a wanderer with a handful of followers whilst Ghulam Qadir lay in prison and then to gratify the vengeance of the blinded Shah Alam Sindhia ordered the Afghan prince to be dragged through the streets of Delhi for execution and his dead body to be hung from a tree.

By 1792 Sindhias triumph was complete. His hold over the Maratha Empire in the name of the Peshwa was sealed and defacto over the nominal empire of the Mughals. His name and fame had brought the once proud Mughals and Afghans to their knees and humbled the power of the otherwise victorious British Empire. As a colossus he strode over the plains of Northern India with the inspirational cavalry tactics of his noble predecessor Shivaji the Great combining it with the new model of Europeanised infantry, the campoo regiments. Factories for armaments had been established and the economic stability after decades of warfare was now ensured. The remaining Muslims states, barring that of Tipu Sultan only survived due to the protection and economic pillaging of the British who in their turn shied away from confronting the mighty Sindhia.

His calm nature amidst the turmoil’s of the age stood in stark contrast to his adversaries. His devotion to his spiritual Guru and an unshakeable faith enabled him to deal with confront and defeat the most implacable enemies. His understanding of the political and historical landscape enabled him to complete the military defeat of the remaining Muhamadan powers in the Indian subcontinent and establish a system capable of taking on the European encroachments.

His death in 1795 at a relatively young age changed the political landscape but his contribution is not forgotten or can it be underestimated. He showed that the combination of indigenous innovation and value could not only compete with but emerge victorious over a millennia of genocidal attacks and the tidal wave of monolithic globalisation.

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