Tag: hindu warriors

The Ideals of the Kshatriya – Warrior

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Post date July 28, 2022
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It is clear to Sri Krishna that Arjuna will not be swayed by philosophical considerations alone, and he therefore next turns his attention to the role and highest ideals of the warrior caste, the kshatriya, to which Arjuna belongs. The principles enunciated here speak to the entire background, training and education that Arjuna has received and if anything, they speak to a deeply-ingrained sense of nobility and chivalry that was the highest ideal of the warrior.

Arjuna should not let the sorrow of the loss of friends, family and loved-ones intervene in the high ideals that he has adopted. Sri Aurobindo explains Sri Krishna’s argument: ” ‘There is no greater good for the Kshatriya than righteous battle, and when such a battle comes to them of itself like the open gate of heaven, happy are the Kshatriyas then. If thou dost not this battle for the right, then has thou abandoned thy duty and virtue and they glory, and sin shall be they portion.’ ”

Arjuna’s despair sets forth the sin of undertaking the action. Sri Krishna counters with the sin of failure to act when the cause is just and the situation demands it. “Battle, courage, power, rule, the honour of the brave, the heaven of those who fall nobly, this is the warrior’s ideal. To lower that ideal, to allow a smirch to fall on that honour, to give the example of a hero among heroes whose action lays itself open to the reproach of cowardice and weakness and thus to lower the moral standard of mankind, is to be false to himself and to the demand of the world on its leaders and kings.”

For Arjuna is fixated on his own individual suffering, but he is the representative man of his age, and his actions provide guidance and direction to others. He has a duty to fulfill and a role to play and abandoning that would lead to confusion and a retrograde motion in society.

Sri Aurobindo, Essays on the Gita, First Series, Chapter 7, The Creed of the Aryan Fighter, pg. 60,

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Tags aurobindo, Gita, hindu warriors, The Creed of the Aryan Fighter, the kshatriya

Sacred Weapons Videos

Video : Ancient Hindu Warrior Mace Training

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Post date April 6, 2018
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The fiercest warriors Alexandra the Great faced in all his campaigns were up against Hindu mace warriors

Looking for a new workout? How about one that was used by Hindu warriors over 2,000 years ago and still used by Pehlwani wrestlers today?

The gada, or heavy mace, was the weapon of choice of Hindu soldiers as well as the Hindu deity Hanuman, an who can lift mountains with a single hand. According to the book Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture, warriors during the Puranic age would engage in mace training early in the morning along with wrestling, archery, and swordsmanship. Besides dueling one another with gadas, warriors would swing heavier versions — usually made with a bamboo stick with a heavy stone at one end — behind their backs in order to strengthen their backs, chests, shoulders, forearms, and fingers. Because of their rigorous physical and tactical training, Hindu warriors were some of the fiercest of the ancient world.

Today, the gada is used primarily by Pehlwani wrestlers in northern India and southern Pakistan. The most famous gada afficionado was the Great Gama ), the only undefeated Pehlwani wrestler in history. By the looks of it, his mustache also trained with a gada. That thing is a beast!

While the Indian Club enjoyed popular use among Western exercise enthusiasts as early as the 19th century, gada training for some reason didn’t catch on until very recently. Mixed martial artists in the West have taken up heavy mace training as a way to strengthen the muscles involved with throwing opponents to the mat. Functional fitness and natural movement practitioners have also taken to mace training because it provides such an amazing full-body workout.

If you’re ready to harness your inner Hindu warrior, read on. Below, Mr. Know Your Lifts showcases six different exercises that you can perform with a heavy mace.

Mace Grip Basics

mace workout how to grip basics

To make an exercise harder, grip both hands near the end of the handle. To make exercises easier, move at least one hand closer to the weighted end.

360

The 360 has been used by Hindu warriors and Pehlwani wrestlers for ages. It works the shoulders, chest, back, and forearms. Begin by holding the mace directly in front of you with your hands gripped closely together at the end of the handle. If your left hand is above your right hand, you’re going to push the mace ball over your right shoulder. The mace ball should swing behind your back. When it reaches your left shoulder, pull the mace over your left shoulder so that the mace is once again directly in front of you. Repeat several times. Switch up your hands so that your right hand is above your left, and push the mace ball over your left shoulder. Repeat swinging the mace in this direction several times.

To see this exercise in action, check out this video of Diesel Crew’s Jedd Johnson performing the 360.

Barbarian Squat

The Barbarian Squat is a great full-body exercise. You’re working your upper as well as your lower body in a single movement. Begin in a standing position with the mace behind your neck. Start lowering your body into a squatting position while simultaneously bringing the mace to the front. You’ve successfully completed the exercise if you’re in a full squat and the mace is in front of you. Return to your starting position by standing while simultaneously bringing the mace back to its original position. Repeat.

Dynamic Curl

The Dynamic Curl works the forearms and biceps.

Hold the mace with a mixed grip — one hand overhand and one underhand — with the hand near the mace ball-end holding the handle with an underhand grip. Lift the ball end with the hand closest to the mace ball. When the ball reaches the middle of the arc, switch your hands up by sliding the hand that was near the ball down towards the end of the handle and bringing the hand that was near the handle up closer to the ball end. When you’ve finished, the ball end should be on your other side and your mixed grip should be reversed — the hand that was originally overhand should be underhand; the hand that was originally underhand should now be overhand. Swing the mace back and forth like this for several repetitions.

Spear Stab

Hold the mace like you would a spear. Thrust as if you were an ancient Pauravaian warrior stabbing an a member of Alexander the Great’s Macedonian army in the Battle of the Hydaspes River. The closer both hands are to the handle, the more difficult this exercise will be. Switch up your hands and your stance to work the other side of your body.

Grave Digger

It’s time to bury all those imaginary Macedonian soldiers you just killed. Hold the mace like you would a shovel and pretend like you’re digging a hole in the ground with the mace ball. Repeat for several repetitions. Switch up your hands to work the other side of your body.

Splitting Wood

You’ll need a tire for this one. Just pretend like you’re splitting wood like a lumberjack. Start off with your non-dominant hand near the butt of the handle and your dominant hand placed near the mace’s head. Bring the mace head above your head. Swing down. As you swing, slide your dominant hand down the shaft of the mace for extra power. Switch up your hand placement to work the different sides of your body. Art of Manliness

Illustrations by Ted Slampyak
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/04/23/train-like-an-ancient-hindu-warrior-the-steel-mace-workout/

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Tags alexandra, gada, hanuman, Hindu Warrior Mace, hindu warriors, hindu weapons, indian clubs, martial arts

Video : India is The Only Ancient Continuing Civilization By Amish Tripathi

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Post date March 29, 2018
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Author Amish Tripathi Explaining Why Ancient India Survived while most others ended up in a museum

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The Myth of “1000 Years of Hindu Slavery”

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Tags Amish Tripathi, hindu Gods, hindu warfare, hindu warriors, Kshatriyas

Analysis

Did the British save Hindus ?

Post author By admin
Post date March 30, 2016
1 Comment on Did the British save Hindus ?

The idea, however, that the British have wrested the Empire from the Mohamadans is a mistake. The Mohamadans were beaten down — almost everywhere except in Bengal — before the British appeared upon the scene; Bengal they would not have been able to hold, and the name of the “Mahratta Ditch” of Calcutta shows how near even the British there were to extirpation by India’s new masters. Had the British not won the battles of Plassey and Buxar, the whole Empire would ere now have become the fighting ground of Sikhs, Rajputs, and Mahrattas and others.

Except the Nizam of the Deccan there was not a vigorous Musalman ruler in India after the firman of Farokhsiar in 1716; the Nizam owed his power to the British after the battle of Kurdla in 1795), and it was chiefly British support that maintained the feeble shadow of the Moghul Empire, from the death of Alamgir II. to the retirement of Mr. Hastings. Not only Haidarabad but all the other existing Musalman principalities of modern India owe their existence, directly, or indirectly, to the British intervention. British author, H.G.Keene

A myth that endures is often harmless – there are others that despite being utterly baseless serve to propagate the most absurd and extreme views of both history and towards their fellow man. One of these is the myth that British Imperialism saved the Hindus from Islamic rule and domination.

The myth is of almost breathtaking audacity given that the facts of history reveal very clearly the truth of the Islamic empires and kingdoms being destroyed by a steady wave of Hindu revolts and then attacks with their remnants rushing to the western powers for protection from their Hindu rivals.

By 1759 the Maratha flag fluttered over Peshawar – in the early 1800’s the Hindu Gurkhas contented with the Chinese Empire for control over Tibet a feat repeated by the Dogra Hindu warriors some decades later.

The warlord Mahadji Sindhia recovered the silver gates of Somnath from the hands of the Afghans in a symbolic gesture of the Hindu reconquest. And yet this myth endures – in fact endures to such an extent that the defeated believe that their visions of Muslim rule over the subcontinent was thwarted only by the advent of the British and the Hindus believing that they were saved from utter extinction by the Imperialist interventions.

The propagation of myths and half-truths served to prop the edifice of Imperialism during the British sojourn in India.

This edifice was supported in numerous forces and bodies that were propped up by their erstwhile colonial masters , and this the seeds of hatred and self-loathing that still afflict the subcontinent remains today.

With the fall of that once mighty edifice of the British Empire these very forces were unleashed upon the subcontinent. These very groups weaned on the education system and myths propagated by colonialism were content to allow the same system and ideas dominate India. A new set of western educated elite preferred to maintain the myths of cultural superiority which allowed a narrow elite to lord over the vast toiling masses that comprised the majority of the nation.

The myths of Hindu defeat and slavery designed to destroy and dampen the morale of the majority population continued to be taught – the need by the imperialists to destroy the ardour and fighting spirit of the people was also grabbed upon eagerly by Islamic and other anti Hindu forces.

The myth that Hinduism was a dying and decayed body waiting to be preyed upon by its more aggressive competitors has become almost folklore to Islamists and other extremists.

To hide and cover the resistance of 800 years – the rolling back of the forces of Jihad which by the 18th century has ended in utter failure before the rise of the nascent Hindu forces leading to the climactic failure of arms by the remaining Muslim kingdoms in South Asia by the close of the 1700’s only brought to a sudden end by the entry of western powers.

The same ideology promoted the so called discredited martial race theory of certain communities being more ‘martial’ than others (once again flying in the face of historical evidence) the same ideology allows cross border terrorism to be pushed from the Islamic republic of Pakistan – that allowed it to engage four time in war with its Hindu neighbour each time resulting in humiliating defeat and yet continues to attempt to cause trouble for India.

And yet – despite the above- the myth remained – and even stranger the myth remained propagated by the very forces that otherwise espouse Hindu revivalism – Thus you will find otherwise very earnest Hindus in organisations such as the RSS being weaned on the diet of Hindu passivity and non-aggression despite flying in the face of all known historical evidence and truths.

To the myth of the thousand year slavery being exposed in our previous article composed of two parts – the first being the attacks from the 11th century to the 16th century by various Islamic intruders. The second part being that of the period of colonialism – in this case the rise and establishment of the British Empire.

Having heard ad nausea the view that the British ruled over the Indian subcontinent for a two hundred year period (i.e. from 1757 to 1947) I decided that it was worthwhile into looking into the veracity of this view.

Apart from various small port colonies by the British and French living under the sufferance of local grandees it was the Portuguese who made a serious attempt to establish a lasting empire in the subcontinent. The foundation of Goa, Daman, Diu and other small settlements as part of their attempt to thwart their Ottoman enemies the Portuguese sought to dominate the trade routes to India.

Their own limited resources combined with the hostility aroused amongst both Hindus and Muslims due to their violence and religious oppression together with the fact of living within the shadows of powerful empires such as Vijayanagar, Bahmani and others created a cap on European expansion in the middle ages.

Thus over e long period of decline they were beaten into insignificance by the Marathas in the 1730’s under a vigorous set of campaigns by Chimnaji Appa.

The same period saw the dramatic decline of the Mughal Empire in India – the long period of relative stability based on a tenuous compromise between the Hindus and Muslims of the subcontinent was shattered by the violent and extreme policies of the Emperor Aurangzeb. Led by the strictures of Islamic law his jaundiced administration was faced by a tidal wave of revolts and risings from the Jats, the Satnamis, Bundelas, Ahoms, Rajputs and the Marathas under the famed king Shivaji.

The initial decades of the 18th century saw the Maratha power spread across the face of India, at first under their famed leader Baji Rao and then by his generals, Sindhia, Holkar, Gaekwad and Bhonsle each given his own special area of operation

Now British rule is said to have begun after their victory at the Battle of Plassey in 1757 over the Mughals and their subsequent triumph over them at the Battle of Buxar in 1764. Following this the right to govern, albeit in the name of the Mughals was granted to the British over Bengal and Bihar.

By way of background it is worth noting that Bengal, Bihar and Orrisa were governed by the same appointee from the court in Delhi – in the early 18th century with the Mughal Empire cracking under the repeated hammer blows from the Marathas this province under Alivardi Khan broke off to become for all intents and purposes an independent kingdom.

It was their ill fortune that at the same time the Maratha leaders had demarcated their own spheres of influence over all of India – This region was the hunting ground of the Bhonsle family under their war leader Raghuji Bhonsle.

From the 1730’s onwards in an ever expanding series of raids the regions of Orrisa, Bengal and to a lesser extent Bihar was subject to devastating attacks by the Marathas. The Nawab Alivardi Khan made determined and energetic efforts to defend his province to no avail. Each year he drive further back with the Maratha raiders covering what is modern day Bangladesh up to the Hindu kingdom of Assam.

The only defeat suffered by the Marathas was when the Maratha leader Balaji Baji Rao chastised the Bhonsles and drove them back to their base in Nagpur – the following year they were back however and in utter failure the Nawab of Bengal agreed to cede in perpetuity parts of Bihar, Bengal and the whole of Orissa to the Marathas – This was further compounded by having to pay a yearly tribute to the Marathas (the chauth – or one fourth of their income) – As stated above some years later the British won a victory over the Mughals in 1757 at Plassey .

At the same time Maratha expansion was halted at the Battle of Panipat a thousand miles away in 1761 – this setback the Marathas for a decade – in the interim the British who after assuming governance over Bengal had continued to pay the tribute adroitly stopped paying.

The efforts of the Marathas were then directed at North India – mainly around Delhi to hammer home their final influence over the now fast decaying Mughals – In the interim the British buoyed by their successes in Bengal sought to expand their range of influence over the region of Awadh – the Nawab of the region which covers the northern part of modern-day Uttar Pradesh was best on all side by enemies – to one side the Hindu Jat tribes were seeking to expand their power over his holdings -to the south the warriors of Bundlekhand held sway – the martial Naga Sadhus marched with impunity through the land to protect the holy sites in ranks of thousands armed with matchlocks and artillery and from 1769 the Marathas were back at his borders when a large warband under Holkar attacked their province .

The weak and incompetent ruler – Shuja Ud Dualah fled under British protection in an attempt to preserve his kingdom against his Hindu enemies and thus the British were planted within striking distance of Delhi –

Their interference began to expand and with the establishment of armies in (what was then referred to as) Bombay, Calcutta and Madras the British sought to drive a necklace around the Marathas and thus led to the First Anglo-Maratha war – this was fought across the subcontinent over a period of 7 years – it saw the sensational defeat of British arms at the Battle of Wadgaon (leading to a humiliating British surrender) to the march of Captain Goddard across north India to the capture of Gwalior and the final stalemate at Sipri after which peace was sought and secured by all parties – the Marathas were led by their maverick minister Nana Fadnavis who managed to coordinate a series of alliances to push back the British threat and pushing the East Indian company to the brink of bankruptcy – coupled with the military genius of Mahadji Sindhia the Marathas resumed their march across India and by 1788 had defeated the remnants of the Mughal forces and stretched their sphere of influence to the Sutlej river in Punjab

In 1795 there remained only two Muslim kingdom in India – that of the Nizam of Hyderabad and Tipu Sultan of Mysore (whose infantry was predominantly Hindu) – In 1795 the Marathas delivered a crushing defeat to the Nizam – a defeat which destroyed his power so utterly that he clung in desperation to the British for succour which they gladly gave thus allowing the recovered British arms entry into the south of India – Tipu Sultan however resisted and alone amongst his coreligionists he refused to accept the British alliance and thus perished at the Battle of Seringapatnam in 1799.

Image result for thuggies indian — **Thugees**

The unemployed Muslim soldiery across India could only observe with horror as Hindu arms emerged triumphant over them on all fronts. Many joined the ranks of the Hindu armies others became votaries and supporters of Hindu groups with many even joining the dreaded Thugee cult of Northern Indian becoming devotees of the Goddess Kali.

By 1799 the two great Maratha leaders were dead – Nana Fadnavis and Mahadji Sindhia – who had kept this rising tide of colonialism at bay – their untimely deaths however plunged the Maratha Confederacy into chaos and a civil war beginning in 1799 resulted in chaos and bloodletting across the face of the country – with Sindhia’s fighting the Holkars, battling with their leader the Peshwa and other warrior bands.

A climactic battle before the city of Poona in 1803 left the Maratha capital city in utter confusion and with a series of fast moving manoeuvres the British entered the fray to face a fractured Maratha Confederacy.

Rather than combine and fight on a common ground each component of the famed Maratha army faced the British separately – Led by Arthur Wellesley (Later the Duke of Wellington) and Lord Lake the British fought a series of blooding engagements -the Battle of Assaye – the Battle of Assaye which delivered defeats to the Sindhias and Bhonsles Marathas – following this, when all seemed lost Holkar under their maverick leader Jaswant Rao attacked the British – defeating them in Rajasthan under Col. Monson and then attacking them at Delhi itself – following a setback he took support from the Jats of Bharatpur who then faced the famed infantry and artillery of the British – four times the British tried to attack then walls each ending in utter failure with the loss of thousands of troops – Eventually the British made a peace with Holkar each agreeing not to disturb the other

But the effects of the above were not lost on anyone – the British had by 1805 cast their sphere of influence over the whole of India – although not ruling the majority of the country they had secured their position which was decisively contested once again by the Marathas in 1818 – In a last attempt to drive the British from their positions the Marathas were finally defeated in the Third Anglo-Maratha war and the true establishment of British rule can in some degree be said to commence – This has to be seen in light of the fact that they (like the Marathas before them) maintained the fiction of ruling in the name of the by now impotent Mughal Emperor issuing coins in his name and issuing order in the same vein .

Thus many of the inhabitants could maintain the happy fiction of being independent and free.

The Himalayan foothills had been conquered by the Hindu Gurkha clans who then clashed with the Imperialist powers in 1816 almost leading to a humiliating British defeat – the only part yet outside of the British influence was the rising empire of Ranjit Singh and his allies in Jammu.

The death of the Maharaja in 1839 led to utter chaos and whilst the allies of the Sikh kingdom – the Dogra Rajputs of Jammu managed to expand the empire into Ladakh, Gilgit and Baltistan and even conducting a daring march in the heart of Tibet to fight the Chinese empire the machinations and violence that engulfed the kingdom allowed the British to deliver, despite hard fighting the destruction of the kingdom of Punjab and hits absorption into the British sphere of influence.

By now the reality of Empire was dawning on most of the inhabitants of the subcontinent – Increasing British interference in personal and religious matters as well as their obnoxious policy of wantonly grabbing the kingdoms of their supposed native allies burst into fury and violence in 1857 in a great rising that engulfed a huge portion of northern India – the fighting was bloody and intense and led by the mostly Hindu soldiers of the Bengal army – in a valiant attempt to unite the disparate factions the name of the Peshwa and the Mughal were invoked together with all of the symbolism of the old India that they sought to recover against the imperialist aggressor – After wading through an ocean of blood and violence the rising was finally suppressed in 1859 which led to the final and emphatic establishment of Imperial rule over India for the next 90 years until freedom came in 1947.

90 years – not quite 200 years as we have often been told – Even in regions where the British influence was felt the deepest and lasted the longest it was a slow and gradual process only really being deeply felt after the end of the great rising in 1859 –

The student of history cannot help noticing that barring the battle of Tipu Sultan his co-religionists had failed to make a notable stand against the British – indeed it can been said that they were amongst the first to flee to British protection from their Hindu Enemies – The major struggles of the Old India – from the three wars of the Marathas, the battle of the Jats, the Gurkhas – the Sanyasi rebellions in Bengal, wars of the Sikhs, the Nayar and poligar battles of the south were almost all by Hindus – This is further compounded by the great rising of 1857 which was led by the predominantly Brahmin and Rajput soldiers of the army

90 years of imperial rule were first contested by Vasudev Balwant Phadke in 1875 – these were then followed by the revolutionaries from Bengal, Maharashtra and Punjab which by the 1920’s had thrown British rule into chaos (almost all Hindus) – in response the policies of divide and rule through religion, caste and region were played (ultimately unsuccessfully) by the British due to which the subcontinent still suffers today.

It is important to have an honest and open appraisal of history and not to succumb to failed ideas and slogans – we have found even otherwise well meaning people propagate some of the most absurd and baseless theories without a modicum of basis in truth – the History of colonialism and resistance to it has to be seen in light of the facts of history.

Also Read The Myth of “1000 Years of Hindu Slavery

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Dharmic Warriors Code

Who is a Kshatriya ?

The greatest damage inflicted to India by colonialism was the imposition of its academic indology, specifically engineered to distort the original perfect system of varnas and ashramas into a degrading mechanism based on birth prejudice and privilege and modeled after the racist mentality imported by the alien invaders.

In this way, schools both in India and outside India began to teach the superficial, false and misleading equivalence of brahmanas with priests, Kshatriya with military or aristocracy, vaisyas with burgeois merchants or bankers, and sudras with slaves or proletarians. As a corollary, the values and behaviors of western society in the middle ages and colonial periods were artificially superimposed to the varna model, introducing the typically abrahamic idea that the higher classes can legitimately exploit the lower classes, with respectively more rights and less duties, while in fact the varna model was exactly the opposite as the higher classes had progressively more duties and less rights than the lower classes.

The ideological glue to keep this fabrication together was the infamous Aryan Invasion Theory, stating that Vedic civilization and Sanskrit had been brought to the Indian subcontinent by nomadic hordes of Caucasian pillagers assimilated to the Norse/ Viking populations of north Europe, of which the British empire claimed to be the descendent. A fictitious Indo-European culture was thus invented, and in spite of the total lack of historical and archeological evidence, it continues to be presented in many academic institutions and texts as the absolute truth.

Sure, by the time the East India Company landed on the subcontinent, Indian society had already become weaker because of the negative influence of Kali yuga that was expected to reduce the good qualities and behaviors in the natural character of people, but the Vedic social model had a check and balance system and a training syllabus that still enabled the people in the subcontinent to maintain an exceptionally high standard of living, culture and prosperity compared to the rest of the world, well into the first millennium of the present age.

Without the degradation of the caste system, Indian society would have been able to resist colonialism and attempts at conversion by other religions; still today, the absurdity of the degraded caste system, with its absolute birth prejudice, is alienating a large part of the Indian population and the almost totality of the global public opinion from Hinduism and Vedic culture.

To solve such problem it is sufficient to honestly return to the actual version of the genuine scriptures and to the prescriptions for the purification and progress of each member of society, both materially and spiritually, for the benefit of individuals, communities and society at large. The main concern of the Vedic system is indeed the benefit of the society as a whole, symbolized by the Virat purusha in the famous Purusha sukta (Rig Veda 10.90.12).

The failsafe mechanism that kept the varna system working was called by indologists “caste mobiity” and was guaranteed by the threefold social authority of the gurukulas, the assemblies of brahmanas and the kings, who had the independent power to correct social discomfort created by discrepancies between the position of birth (kula dharma) and the actual qualifications of each individual (sva dharma), still within the original blueprint (sanatana dharma) described in the fundamental scriptures, such as Bhagavad gita.

In verse 18.41, Krishna states: brahmana-kshatriya-visam sudranam ca parantapa, karmani pravibhaktani svabhava-prabhavair gunaih, “The duties of the brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaisyas and sudras are categorized according to their specific natures, produced by the gunas (sattva, rajas, tamas)”.

A person who has a kshatriya nature is influenced by sattva with a latent tendency to rajas, and therefore he needs to be trained more strictly to a harder discipline. His natural qualities of heroism, leadership, resourcefulness and generosity are sattvik, but if rajas is not controlled, they can turn into arrogance and thirst for power over people and wealth, deceitfulness, and manipulation of others through corruption and dirty politics.

Therefore the Guru trains the kshatriya students in overcoming selfishness and egotism, through the study of the transcendental science as well as in sacrificing one’s life in defense of the prajas.

The word bhava is very interesting. It contains the meanings of “feeling, sentiment, nature, emotion, nature, development, creation” and refers to the individual evolution through the Vedic path of progress, by which a student is trained to develop higher qualities, behaviors and skills for his own benefit and the benefit of society at large.

In this sense, bhava can also be translated as “potential”, a raw material that will be shaped by the proper application of gunas (modes of existence) and karmas (duties or activities). Verse 4.13 of Bhagavad gita states: catur varnyam maya sristam guna karma vibhagasah, tasya kartaram api mam viddhy akartaram avyayam, “The four varnas have been created by me on the basis of different gunas and karmas, but although I am their maker, know that I am unchangeable and detached from action.”

Verses 18.42 to 18.44 continue to elaborate: samo damas tapah saucam kshantir arjavam eva ca, jñanam vijnanam astikyam brahma-karma svabhava-jam, sauryam tejo dhritir dakshyam yuddhe capy apalayanam, danam isvara-bhavas ca kshatram karma svabhava-jam, krishi-go-rakshya-vanijyam vaisya-karma svabhava-jam, paricaryatmakam karma sudrasyapi svabhava-jam, “

The activities/ duties of the brahmana, determined by his particular nature, are control of his own mind, senses and body, cleanliness, tolerance, simplicity, theoretical and practical knowledge, and living in accordance to Vedic teachings.

The activities/ duties of the kshatriya, determined by his particular nature, are heroism, charisma, determination, resourcefulness, steadiness in battle, charity, sense of leadership. The activities/ duties of the vaisya, determined by his particular nature, are agriculture, protection of the cows/ planet, and commerce.

The activities/ duties of the sudra, determined by his particular nature, are the service and assistance (to others).”

Vaisyas and sudras are grouped up in one single verse because they are less evolved than brahmanas and kshatriyas and therefore they have less duties; the sudras considerably less than the vaisyas.

These professional and social positions are easier to maintain even without making particular efforts to qualify oneself or make lots of personal sacrifices. Therefore it is said that in the age of Kali everyone is born a sudra, because without a strenuous effort and a proper training it is almost impossible to become genuine brahmanas or kshatriyas.

Since we are studying here the characteristics of the kshatriya, let us analyze especially verse 18.43. The word sauryam is closely related to sura (divine beings such as the Devas) and surya, referring to the Sun, and indicates the radiance of majesty, the chivalry and personal power, and invincibility that we associate with the Sun itself. Tejas also means “radiance, power”, and even “heat”, and its meanings overlap with tapah; in fact tejas is created by tapah.

Normally and ideally, sauryam and tejas should be engaged with determination and careful skills in the protection of the prajas, and therefore the two qualities are mentioned in the first part of the verse together with dhriti (determination, patience, endurance, perseverance), dakshyam (skillfulness, resourcefulness, expertise, ability, dexterity) and yuddhe apalayanam (steadfastness and courage in battle).

Just like arjavam (simplicity) and kshanti (tolerance) should not be confused with foolishness and apathy, the characteristics of a kshatriya need to be understood correctly. The expression isvara bhava (“controlling nature”) could also be translated as “lordly attitude” because isvara means “Lord”; a tendency to be bossy is not a bad thing, as it does not mean bullying people around to impose one’s will over others whimsically.

If the bossy individual is qualified and properly trained, and capable to lead, direct and manage others, society should appreciate this quality and use it to its benefit instead of resenting it on the basis of a delusional belief in the complete equality of all human beings.

The only equality that should exist in society is equal access to opportunities to qualify oneself; according to the particular nature (talents and tendencies, or guna and karma) of each individual, some people will become more qualified for some particular duties, and some will be more suitable for other duties, and some others will always need to be told what to do and depend on others for their protection and maintenance.

Of course respect and obedience are to be commanded, not demanded. A true leader shines for his own value and charisma (tejas, saurya) and naturally inspires faith and loyalty in good people.

A true Kshatriya is always on the front line, before anybody else, in the thick of the battle, and is the best example to follow. He works harder and longer hours than anyone else, and is ever ready (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) to sacrifice his own sense gratification, comforts, possessions, position and personal life (by living and by dying) for the sake of the kingdom and the prajas – whether the kingdom is a large country or a village, a neighborhood or any group of people who look up to him for guidance.

A true Kshatriya takes responsibility not only for his own failures but also for collective defeats, inspires and encourages others and helps them to rise and progress to become qualified leaders in turn. He demonstrates concern, care and affection for the prajas just like a good father behaves with his children, engages them happily and appropriately, and always watches over their well-being, over and above his own immediate family and relatives.

If a Kshatriya expects to be obeyed in his orders to people about what they should do, it is because he knows what he is doing; he is daksha, “expert”, as his training has taught him the sciences of war strategy, social management and resource administration.

The word dakshyam also indicates resourcefulness, that is the ability to face new unforeseen situations and to adapt one’s approach smoothly. Generosity and charitable disposition (dana) are his natural qualities, therefore people are not afraid they will be exploited or mistreated in any way; rather, because he is never afraid to stand for justice and protection of the subjects (yuddhe apalayanam), people feel safe in his presence and seek his help and protection. The qualities called sauryam and tejas are similar to each other.

The word dhriti, especially in this context, could also be translated as “grit, resolve”. It indicates the strong determination of the warrior, who firmly faces any difficult situation or loss and even death, and when he is wounded and unable to stand, he continues to fight even on his knees.

However, this determination should not be confused with the stupid stubborness of tamasic people that are attached to some particular action or belief or underestimate dangers; the kshatriya has a clear vision of the situation but he chooses to sacrifice himself for the protection of the prajas if this is required, because that is his duty.

He is never depressed or dogged down, as this is considered a contamination (kasmalam, 2.2), a sign of impotence (klaibyam, 2.3) and a “weakness of the heart” (hridaya daurbalyam, 2.3) that is unworthy of a civilized person (anarya justam, 2.1), a cause of infamy (akirti karam, 2.1) and an obstacle to one’s elevation (asvargyam, 2.1).

Of course these qualities cannot be expected from everyone, and even in a person who has the genuine talents and inclinations for the role of kshatriya, these must be developed through appropriate training and experience, so aspiring kshatriyas should not feel discouraged at their shortcomings.

Similar to dhriti is apalayanam, “not fleeing”, referring to the steadiness in battle and heroism in spite of adversities; this quality or characteristic is not demonstrated only on the battlefield but in all aspects of daily life, in the small and the big things. Kshatriyas are educated and trained in strategy and diplomacy in dealing with the enemy – the first attempt is sama, treating the opponent like a friend and allowing sufficient space for his livelihood and prosperity, the second is dana, trying to win them with peace offerings and gifts, the third attempt is bheda, trying to break up hostile alliances and facing one enemy at the time, and only as a last resort one should resort to danda, punishment as in taking physical action against the offender.

This brings us to another very important clarification. The main job of a kshatriya is fighting to protect the prajas, because that is his natural inclination and the best use of his qualities, as Krishna has stated specifically

: sva dharmam api caveksya na vikampitum arhasi, dharmyad hi yuddhac chreyo ‘nyat ksatriyasya na vidyate, yadricchaya copapannam svarga dvaram apavritam, sukhinah ksatriyah partha labhante yuddham idrisam,

“Considering your own dharmic duty you should not hesitate, because for a kshatriya there is nothing better than fighting a dharmic battle. O Arjuna, happy are the kshatriyas to whom such opportunity comes unsought. For a warrior, engaging in such a battle is like having the doors of heaven open in front of him.” (2.31, 2.32).

This will also be confirmed again in verse 18.59. However, the warrior spirit of a kshatriya is not the war mongering, blood lust, and cruelty of the asuras; he is not a brawling bully and he avoids confrontation and conflict if there is any other option still possible, as the Pandavas demonstrated in practice in their dealings with the aggressive Duryodhana and his brothers.

Besides, there is a specific code of conduct for kshatriyas; non-combatants should never be attacked or harmed, and property that is not directly connected to the fighting should not be destroyed; for example, the encampments where the warriors retire for the night are not to be touched. Even on the battlefield a warring enemy should not be attacked if he is unprepared, unarmed, distracted, distraught, or if he admits defeat.

Sometimes unqualified persons pose as kshatriyas, but they should be exposed and neutralized by genuine kshatriyas or brahmanas; they are described as nripa linga dharam (merely showing the appearance/ insignia of kings).

Here is a description of the unqualified kings of Kali yuga: stri bala go dvija ghnas ca, para dara dhanadritah, uditasta mita praya, alpa sattvalpakayusah, asamskritah kriya hina, rajasa tamasavritah, prajas te bhaksayisyanti, mleccha rajanya rupinah,

“These mlecchas in the form of kings will be killing/ injuring women, children, cows/ the planet and the twice born, and going after the wives and wealth of others.

They will be mentally and emotionally unstable, rather weak mentally and physically and short lived. Covered by rajas and tamas, they will not perform any proper duty or auspicious ritual, but they will devour the prajas.” (Bhagavata Purana 12.2.39-40).

From the teachings and examples offered by the shastra we can therefore understand who is a kshatriya and who is not; in this regard we also need to remember that in times of emergency (apat kala) all the members of society were called to defend it even on the battlefield against external and internal aggressors.

Brahmanas usually oversaw the strategies and sometimes fought in the battle, vaisyas not only contributed wealth and supplies but could also fight with weapons according to their abilities, and sudras also participated, most often as charioteers and order carriers but also as foot soldiers.

In Vedic society everyone is implicitly authorized to defend himself and his family, subordinates and property from such aggressors. Therefore there is no need for jails, lawyers or even judges or police like in the present faulty system that is very prone to judicial mistakes and abuses.

We need to understand that an army soldier or a policeman is not automatically a kshatriya, especially when he is unable or unwilling to take the required initiative to protect the prajas. A true kshatriya does not wait for anybody’s orders to stop aggressors, and is directly and personally responsible for the physical protection and well being of the prajas.

However, a kshatriya only concerns himself with precisely this task, and is never expected to invade the field of religious beliefs and worship practices, that is exclusively entrusted to brahmanas, who can only offer teachings and never enforce them physically or materially in any way.

Vedic civilization does not mistake dissenters for enemies, and does not interfere with the individual’s private life, professional occupation, beliefs, or freedom of expression. It also does not interfere with the private level of sexual “morality” of people, except of course in case of sexual aggression, that falls into the category of aggression and violence.

The government (the kshatriyas) intervene only when an individual is subject to an aggression that s/he is unable to prevent or stop – this is the true demonstration of the famous motto “to serve and protect”.

There is no need for the government to issue or enforce many laws and rules to restrict the liberties of the people: the only thing that the government/ kshatriya/ police should do is to protect the people (harmless human beings and harmless animals) from any form of violence.

Any individual has the right to fight back all categories of aggressors (atatayinah), that are those who attack with any type of deadly weapon, or who set fire to a house, give poison, attack (rape or abduct) a girl or woman (or children), break into a house to steal or destroy/ damage property, or encroach land or property.

Thus any individual has the right to own suitable defensive weapons and is responsible for their proper use, but if s/he is not able to defend him/herself sufficiently, s/he is entitled to the protection of the kshatriyas.

The definition of dharma yuddha (“fight for dharma”) should never be assimilated to the typically abrahamic concept of “holy war” or “religious war” by which a political entity (king, khalifa, pope, etc) intends to subjugate people or nations in order to impose a particular type of belief, religious tradition, mode of worship, culture, values, legislation, or to acquire the control of resources for selfish purposes, by taking them away from other people.

A dharma yuddha is a battle conducted according to strict ethical rules of engagement and with the purpose to protect the good, harmless and innocent people from the attack of aggressors and evil doers.

According to the Vedic rules for dharmic fight, only active combatants may be attacked in a battle; if the enemy surrenders or is unarmed, unconscious, or unable to fight back, the use of force is condemned as asuric. However, it becomes justified against an enemy that has already broken the ethical rules of combat.

For example, a cunning criminal may pretend to surrender, and then escape and attack again under stealth or deceit: in this case, the kshatriya is authorized to overlook the ordinary rules and deal with the situation as required to protect the prajas. Rules are meant to help and serve us in the performance of our duty, and not the other way around; an honest and wise person can understand how dharma can be better served, as Krishna himself demonstrated several times in the Mahabharata.

Foolish and envious people sometimes claim that Krishna was a clever politician and manipulated the rules to the advantage of his family by resorting to adharma, but if we actually examine the circumstances, the facts and the results we will see that all the persons involved in the action obtained the greatest possible benefit.

A dharma yuddha is always purely defensive, never offensive or imperialistic, colonialistic or exploitative in any other way. In this regard, we need to understand the tradition of the Rajasuya/ Asvamedha yajna celebrated by a king who wishes to rise to the level of “emperor”.

The concept of empire in the Vedic tradition has only administrative purposes, aimed at strengthening communication and cooperation between regions through building roads, encouraging trade, creating a common front against outside invaders and aggressors, and providing emergency support to tributary kingdoms in case of need – famine, natural disasters, etc.

The aspiring emperor celebrated the Rajasuya yajna to verify the qualifications of the local kings and rulers; if they accepted his superiority, they would offer some gifts as tribute. A local ruler admitting defeat was not killed or replaced by the emperor or by the emperor’s men, and did not have to change his personal or tribal/ social beliefs or way of life.

He would continue to rule his own prajas as always, but he knew that there was a man greater and more powerful than him, to whom he could turn for help in times of need.

A kshatriya is not a war-mongering brawler eagerly searching for the opportunity to pick a fight or even creating such opportunity by attacking innocent and harmless people who are just engaged in their own honest and harmless business. A kshatriya is called to defend his land (kshetra) and the creatures of his land (prajas) from all attacks: this is the dharmic fight.

The genuine kshatriyas are capable and active enough to catch a criminal red-handed and either kill him in battle or see him out of the kingdom to be banished forever if he does not accept to reform himself sincerely, atone and repay his victims suitably.

A qualified kshatriya warrior fights and kills the aggressors without being touched by krodha and himsa, because his actions are not dictated by personal motivations. He is not venting his personal problems and frustrations, and he is not seeking any personal advantage in the fight – revenge, elimination of rivals, acquisition of a better status. He is just stopping the aggression and protecting the prajas.

Thus a dharmic fight always remains on the level of sattva or visuddha sattva even if it becomes “violent” or “angry”. Shouting, throwing weapons, or even cutting bodies to pieces are not necessarily a proof of anger or violence, and they should certainly be employed when the circumstances require it for the protection of the good and the innocent.

The only concern of kshatriyas is to protect the prajas and the kingdom from aggressors, from the criminals that try to commit violence against others. In this work, there is no need for many laws – good people will behave properly without being forced by laws, and bad people will always try to get around the laws to commit their crimes. The only principle that the King needs to apply is to stop aggressors.

Not even punishing them, as in the Vedic system there are no prisons or courts or lawyers: if the criminal surrenders and repents, he is either pardoned or banned, depending on the seriousness of his crime. It does not matter what these aggressors profess to believe, even if they think that God has ordered them to rape and murder innocent people and pillage or steal properties, the kshatriya is only concerned about the act in itself, the rape and the murder and the stealing.

The king has the duty to stop aggressions and violence, and he does that without leaving much space to the rationalization that the criminals may try to offer to justify their bad actions. The truth of the facts is that there is no justification whatsoever for aggression and unethical actions, and each and every arya, or civilized person belonging to the Vedic society, has the duty to step in and make the aggression stop, with whatever means the situation requires.

Ahimsa is a compound word consisting of the “privative” a, and the noun himsa, of the same root of the verb himsati, “to hate”. The usual translation of “non-violence” is therefore rather simplistic, as it does not explain how a kshatriya can remain perfectly situated in ahimsa while he is doing his job of protecting the innocent and good prajas from the aggression of criminals.

Coupled with the mythical vision that many uninformed people have about the policies of MK Gandhi, often called “the apostle of non-violence”, as well as about the history of India in the last 1200 years, this imprecise rendition of the Sanskrit concept of ahimsa can really cause serious misunderstandings.

We need to clarify that the Vedic idea of ahimsa is not cowardice, absenteeism, irresponsibility, callousness or the delusional hope that “evil” will simply disappear if we choose not to look at it. Real ahimsa is directly connected to samata or equanimity: it is about being free from prejudice and hatred, and about looking straight at reality to take the required measures without any selfish motivation.

Another important quality listed in Bhagavad gita as characteristic of the kshatriyas is dana, charity. Here we should clarify that political charity (including political charity dressed as religious charity) is meant to create or reinforce vote banks and is certainly not selfless, therefore it will not bring good results.

On the contrary, it will encourage the general people to become irresponsible and depending on handouts, developing a beggar’s mentality when instead they could work honestly and take care of themselves and their own subordinates. In extreme cases, such political beneficiaries will even become arrogant and demand special privileges as in the notorious “reservation system” enforced in India to favor the so-called “minorities” without any consideration of merit or need.

The Government’s duty (the King’s duty) is to engage everyone in their own appropriate sva dharma according to their individual guna and karma, and support them in developing their true potential. The first foundation for this work is the concept of dharma, or selfless work performed to support society. Without teaching this concept in theory and practice (through the example of the srestha, as mentioned in verse 3.21), a Government is simply a failure.

Government people and leaders must be shown as having very specific professional duties and fulfilling them in the proper spirit, otherwise no legislation or scheme will ever improve the conditions of society. More laws will only create more difficulties to good people, because of the bureaucracy involved and the blind restrictions that can easily be exploited by ill-motivated people, and corruption can only increase.

Good people do not need laws in order to behave properly, and bad people will always find a way to circumvent the laws or will even break the laws regardless of the severity of the punishment promised. In fact, too many laws will keep the Government servants busy with petty matters while criminals remain free to commit any aggression or damage, protected by shameless lawyers and corrupt police and magistrates.

by Parama Karuna Devi

Those who are interested to read more on the subject of Bhagavad gita are invited to obtain a copy of the translation and commentaries by the author, Parama Karuna Devi, available on Amazon.

(11395)

Tags Dharma, hindu caste, hindu varna, hindu warriors, krishna, Kshatriya, Parama Karuna Devi, yudh

Academic Negationism

Response to Girish Shahane on Rajput ‘Failure’ or Victory ?

Post author By admin
Post date May 21, 2015
2 Comments on Response to Girish Shahane on Rajput ‘Failure’ or Victory ?

I have just been exposed to a worthless and meaningless article by a self-propagating Hindu phobic writer.

The person I refer to is known as Girish Shahane, who by his own account is the proud owners of multiple degrees from various institutions including Oxford University – we presume he means the world famous Oxford University as opposed to Oxford International College which was apparently recently closed by the Department of Further Education in the United Kingdom due to violations of the Immigration rules.

In any event this scholar has sought to mock and denigrate the valour and fighting abilities of the Rajput clans who ruled much of medieval India. He has, without providing any valid sources chosen to characterize the Rajput’s as a pathetic failed group of warriors who understood nothing of fighting or warfare.

In doing so selective and malignant usage of history has been used – the full article can be viewed here..

I felt obliged to retort as I find it astounding that Shahane has chosen to omit or was simply not aware of the following events:

738 AD: The Battle of Rajasthan – where a coalition of Rajput kings defeated the tide of Arab conquest from India and thus blunted the wave of Jihad from India for a further 300 years.

1033 . The Battle of Bhairach – where a Rajput army under Raja Sukhdev surrounded and slaughtered the Ghaznavid army under Salar Masud Ghaznavi thus avenging themselves on their bitter enemies.

1191. The First Battle of Tarain – where Muhamad Ghori was defeated and captured by Prthviraj Chauhan

1200-1350 – desperate and ferocious resistance from Rajput clans spread all over Northern India which erupted into anarchy and destruction

1350-1520 The revival of Rajput power – from the Vijay Stambha (Tower of Victory) erected by Rana Kumbha to the endless wars and fighting of Rana Sangha a century and a half later.

1555 The Eastern Rajputs (Purbia) war bands coalesce under the leadership of Hemu who for a period drives the Mughals from Delhi and is anointed Emperor.

1520-1707 – The Mughals reach a peace with the Rajput clans having understood the impossibility of domination over them and a tenuous compromise is achieved – This is shattered in 1680 following the deaths of Jai Singh and Jaswant Singh and the great Rajput rebellions thereafter under the inspiration of Durga Dass Rathore

1707 – a meeting of the Rajputs at Lake Pushkar revives their age old unity and sense of purpose vis a vis their enemies.

1645 – The Mughals attack Central Asia – Raja Jagat Singh of Nurpur attacks and defeats a combined army of Uzbek cavalry backed by Hazara tribesmen despite being outnumbered with 2000 troops against 20,000 adversaries. The Rajput king utilized both the lay of the land as well as attacking tactics to defeat the Parthian tactics of the Uzbeks and defeated them utterly

1805-1840 – The Dogra Rajputs dominate the hill regions reaching out to conquer Baltistan and Gilgit as well as Kashmir – they penetrate further and conquer Ladakh and penetrate to Lhasa in Tibet fighting the Chinese army on the Himalayan plateau

There are of course many more examples which puts paid to the vaunted military background and knowledge of Mr. Shahane- He has produced figures for battles for which no source is provided – He has caste aspersions on the skill and fighting abilities of various Rajput armies without an iota of evidence or regarded for the truth.

He has somewhat malignantly tried to paint the Rajput legend for bravery as being based on drugs quite ignoring the facts that in the first instance not all Rajput’s followed the same methodology of war – The Purbia Rajput was quite different from the Rajasthani as different from the Pahari Rajput’s .Secondly he glibly passes over the fact that not just the Rajput but the Mughal, Afghan, tribal clans were all to varying degrees overly fond of opium

One can only conclude that we are witness to a malicious and vicious attempt to malign and denigrate sources of strength and inspiration from Indian History.

The Rajput’s fought against the foreign invaders for over a thousand years. Not thousands but millions have given their lives in this millennia without abjuring their faith or giving up their pride and desire for freedom.

The history of India is witness to such sacrifice, the enemies of India have been witness to such sacrifice and struggle that has scarce been seen in this world and despite the vain attempts of pseudo scholars inspired by extremist ideologies the truth cannot be hidden.

Sher Singh Chauhan

(3642)

Tags akbar, Battle of Rajasthan, dogra rajputs, First Battle of Tarain, Girish Sahane, Hindu phobic, hindu warriors, Moghuls, muslim armies, Purbia Rajput, rajput, rajputs, Rana Pratap, Sher Singh Chauhan, war

Historical Figures

Shivaji : The Warrior King of Dharma

Post author By admin
Post date May 21, 2015
2 Comments on Shivaji : The Warrior King of Dharma

“Ramdas is not complete without Shivaji. To maintain justice and prevent the strong from despoiling, and the weak from being oppressed, is the function for which the Kshatriya was created”...Sri Aurobindo

The present generation of Hindus owe much to Shivaji.This short article is a tribute to the great King, whose life has had a profound impact on history, and who was an emblem of both courage and virtue. Shivaji was born in 1627 in a turbulent period when the Hindu people were being oppressed and religiously persecuted by foreign invaders in their own homeland. The carnage included massacres of Hindus, the mass rape of Hindu women, Hindu children taken into slavery, the imposition of heavy discriminatory taxes on Hindus (the Jiziya tax) and the destruction of Hindu temples. Indeed, it seemed like Hinduism was in danger of dying out.

However, his mother, Jijabai raised Shivaji with high ideals of spirituality, heroism and chivalry by inspiring him with the great Hindu epics and heroes of the past ages. With his desire to rise to the defence of the Hindu civilisation and freedom now evoked, he was ready to live up to the seal he prepared for himself at the age of 12 inscribed with the words:

“Although the first moon is small, men see that it shall gradually grow. This seal befits Shivaji, the son of Shahaji.”

From the age of 16, Shivaji began to undertake battles to liberate lands that were under enemy control. His mind was made up by this early age – he wasn’t going to wait around or pray for a champion to be born to renew the rule of dharma.

In one of his early victories he and a small group of friends captured a fort and renamed it Rajgad. With this and subsequent victories Shivaji became powerful and his army grew to thousands, giving him enough confidence to attack and liberate Mughal occupied territories (the Mughals were the most powerful dynasty in India and had most of North India under its control at that time). Shivaji fought with determination and strategic brilliance. He used guerrilla warfare to devastating effect, and made great advances against the much larger and heavily armed Mughal forces. At times Shivaji would enter into a strategic truce, giving him the opportunity to strengthen his positions in other areas, while planning his next offensive.

Shivaji understood that it is better to use cunning strategies and break a truce against an enemy that molested Hindu women and children and destroyed Hindu temples, than to abide by an honourable code of conduct towards the dishonourable enemy and risk losing the urgent cause he stood for. But while Shivaji was brutal against those who oppressed Hindus, he did not permit attacks against their women and children or places of worship. Shivaji stood for dharma; he used might as a tool to establish justice not oppression.

Shivaji died on 4 April 1680, from failing health, thought to be due to his vigorous and continuous struggle. His contribution to our history cannot be overstated. The poet Bhushan, who lived at the same time as Shivaji wrote:

“Kasihki Kala Gayee, Mathura Masid Bhaee; Gar Shivaji Na Hoto, To Sunati Hot Sabaki!” [Kashi has lost its splendour, Mathura has become a mosque; If Shivaji had not been, All would have been circumcised (converted)].

After the untimely death, Aurangzeb the Mughal Emperor and his armies descended upon the kingdom to crush it, thinking that after Shivaji’s death his warriors would be disheartened. However, Shivaji had inspired his followers to such an extent that not only did they weather this storm and saw Aurangzeb’s death but went from strength to strength with Peshwa Baji Rao the First at the realm, and went on to unleash the final death blow to the Mughal Empire.

Shivaji’s legacy can be seen alive to this day. For example, the profound benefits of Hindu spirituality, philosophy, Yoga, meditation, Ayurveda and art resonate not only in India but all over the world. But these practices and knowledge would only be found as partial relics in the museums and libraries like all other ancient civilisations had it not been for great Hindu warriors like Shivaji who protected the great legacy of Sanatan Dharma when it seemed all hope was lost.

“ Shivaji was the greatest Hindu king that India had produced within the last thousand years; one who was the very incarnation of lord Siva, about whom prophecies were given out long before he was born; and his advent was eagerly expected by all the great souls and saints of Maharashtra as the deliverer of the Hindus from the hands of the Mlecchas, and as one who succeeded in the reestablishment of Dharma which had been trampled under foot by the depredations of the devastating hordes of the Moghals”… Swami Vivekananda,

Jijabai: Eternal Mother Symbol of Faith and Courage

Post author By admin
Post date May 10, 2015
4 Comments on Jijabai: Eternal Mother Symbol of Faith and Courage

baby shivaji with jijabai by Shilpa Bhoir

featured image by Shilpa Bhoir

[quote]The loving care of Jijabai made Shivaji a great warrior. ~Sri Sathya Sai Baba[/quote]

Jijabai was the mother of Shivaji, one of the most famous and successful Hindu Warrior Kings of all time. The life story of Jijabai, is no less inspiring than that of her prodigal son, and takes a proud place in the history of the Hindu people.

Jijabai’s father, Lakhuji Jadhav Rao, was an important leader serving under the Muslim Nizamshahi administration. During those days, many Hindu leaders of that region were serving under the Nizam. Their service had small armies of their own and had obtained lands, money and status. But they hated one another and were always trying to increase their power and prestige at each other’s expense.

It was Holi, and Jijabai’s father threw a large celebration. Jijabai, still a young child, threw coloured water over a boy named Shahji, who in turn did the same back to her.Jijabai’s father liked the boy. Drawing the two children towards him, he jokingly exclaimed, “Don’t you think these two make a great couple?” Everybody agreed. At this point Shahji’s father, Maloji, got up said,

“Noble men, did you hear what our Jadhav Rao has said? Henceforth we are related to each other as parents of the bride and bridegroom!”

But this is not what Jijabai’s father had in mind! He was just making a lighthearted remark, and considered himself too high to think of marrying his daughter to the son of an inferior ranked man like Maloji. Jadhav Rao harshly rebuked Maloji’s presumptuousness, causing Maloji to leave the hall feeling embarrassed and angered at the public spectacle.

Maloji never forgot the shame he felt that day.He left his military post, and returned to his ancestral village. For a while he went back to tilling the fields, and was very depressed. But his fortunes were soon to improve. One night, it is said that Maloji had a strange dream.

The Goddess Bhavani appeared before him in dazzling splendour and advised him not to sulk, but to strive hard in life, as a hero and harbinger of a new era was soon to be born in his family.

The next day in the field, late at night, he once again felt the presence of Bhavani, who advised him to dig at a certain spot. He did so, and unearthed 7 pots of treasure.

While the verity of this account is questionable, what is beyond dispute is that Maloji’s acquisition of this wealth was to have a profound impact upon the future of Hindu civilisation. Maloji brought a unit of 1000 cavalry, and infantry. He provided security to the people, and to traders, and in doing so grew increasingly wealthy.

With his money, he dug wells, built lodges for travellers, fed the needy and renovated temples. His power and prestige grew, and so did the number of men serving under him.

At the same time, Maloji still felt insulted by Jadhav Rao’s rejection, and began to press him to allow Jijabai and Shahji to marry. Jadhav Rao refused, but Maloji resorted to intense pressure, and invoked the Nizam’s mediation, forcing Jadhav Rao to comply.

Jijabai and Shahji were married. Now it was Jadhav Rao’s turn to feel angered.Shahji grew up as a renowned general, while Jadhav Rao spent his life harassing and conspiring against Shahji. This deeply troubled Jijabai.

She was also unhappy that both her father and her husband were serving under Muslim sultans, who she saw as marauders.Jijabai cared not for the riches that this service could bring. It was liberty she loved.She was angered at being around men who spent their time bickering amongst themselves and could not protect their women, children, country and religion.

She longed that her son may be part of a generation who could do this. With this light, she studied the intricate political problems of the country, in the company of experienced politicians and diplomats.

She could see people falling into poverty in the once rich land and could see the culture that she loved so much being disintegrated. If only a leader could be born who could unite the scattered Hindus.

It was ordered that while she was pregnant, every comfort be conferred upon Jijabai. But she wished for none of it. Rather, she wanted to climb to the tops of forts on hills, wield swords, discuss political questions, put on armour and ride on horseback. It has been said in ancient Hindu shastras that the pregnant mother, by the psychological environment she provides does a tremendous amount to shape the child’s life for better or worse.

In Vedic traditions, there are a series of sacraments and chants to be carried out as to optimise the child’s potentials. Jijabai infused in Shivaji such a spirit, which was to emerge with great force throughout his life.Then, the most crushing news struck Jijabai like lightening. Jadhav Rao, her father, who had recently been readmitted to the service of the Nizam, had been beheaded, together with her entire family. The exact reason for this was not known.

The Nizam was purging influential Hindu leaders within his forces Her husband too was in danger of meeting a similar fate, but he was shrewd and left the Nizam. In the time that followed, whole villages of Hindus were wiped out.

A Hindu princess was carried away while bathing. At one time Jijabai herself was kidnapped to be used as a bargaining chip. Such were the times in which she lived. Jijabai’s fiery spirit was set ablaze by the slaughter of her family.

Instead of frightening her, it just strengthened her resolve that an independent protector of the Hindus was an urgent necessity.She brought up Shivaji in the city of Pune, under the protection of Dadaji Kondev.

Jijabai was one of the main administrators of the city. She was educated, able and wielded great authority (not adhering to the myth of the “oppressed Hindu woman of medieval India”). When they arrived, Pune was a city that had been consecutively ransacked by the Nizam, Adil Shah, and the Moghul forces. Each and every Hindu shrine had been smashed. But soon Pune flourished, with the help of Jijabai. She restored the shrines, and on many occasions settled disputes and meted out fair justice.

She was responsible for most of Shivaji’s education; having him learn about the Holy scriptures and arts of administration and weaponry, and the political situations in the land.Shahji married a second wife, Tukabai, and spent most of his time with the latter. The effect this had on Jijabai, nobody can tell.

Jijabai did not lose heart, and concerned herself as before, with administration, bringing up Shivaji and in long periods of prayer and meditation. Jijabai even set the scenes for social reforms in Hindu society.

For example, on Jijabai’s advice, the Brahmins allowed a soldier named Balaji Nimbalkar to re-embrace Hinduism after converting to Islam under force of the sword. In those days, many people were opposed to such a move, believing such individuals were somehow polluted and no longer worthy to be Hindus.

This is an attitude that to some extent persists today. But Jijabai could see that because Hindus created a system whereby people could leave the Hindu fold, but not enter it, Hindu society had been weakened.

Jijabai impressed upon everybody the logic of this position. Further more, showing that she was genuine in her view, she arranged the marriage of Shivaji’s daughter Sakhubai to Balaji’s son.

Shahji and Dadaji were worried and angered at Shivaji, when at the age of 16 he first captured a major fort. Jijabai on the other hand was overjoyed.

When Afzal Khan, the renowned general of Bijapur came with a large army to crush Shivaji early in his career, Shivaji turned to his mother, who unlike others told him to face the danger resolutely.

Shivaji’s army was much smaller by comparison, but by biding his time and using lightening guerrilla techniques, he worsted Afzal Khan’s army.When at a private meeting, Afzal Khan tried to kill Shivaji, it was Afzal Khan who ended up dead. This episode greatly increased Shivaji’s prestige.

Jijabai treated Shivaji’s companions as her own sons, and was a source of courage and inspiration to them all. Tanaji Malasure is one such renowned example. He lost the fort of Simhagadh to an intense Moghul attack. She famously told him,

“If you free Simhagad from the enemies you will be like Shivaji’s younger brother to me.”

Tanaji went forth, for what others advised to be an impossible mission. He succeeded in his mission of winning back the fort, but was slain in the process. Jijabai was watching from her castle in the distance all night.

Although at first overjoyed at the news that the saffron flag had ascended on Simhagad, when she received the news of Tanaji’s death, she began to cry with pain and could not be consoled.

On another occasion Baji Prabhu, a childhood friend of Shivaji, fought with great valour to save Shivaji’s life from imminent danger, and in doing so was slain.

On hearing the news of Baji Prabhu’s death and Shivaji’s safety, Jijabai wept for the sacrifice of the brave Baji rather than feeling glad for the safety of her own son.

In 1674, Shivaji held a vast ceremony, declaring himself an independent ruler. Jijabai was present at the ceremony.

What joy she must have felt attending the ceremony – everything she had lived for had finally bore fruit. 12 days later, Jijabai died. In her life Jijabai had to bare sorrow after sorrow, and did it bravely for her people and religion.

She reflected the glory and strength of Mother Durga. We hope her life will always be remembered with reverence.

(5513)

Tags hindu warriors, hinduism, Jijabai, marathas, mughal defeats by hindus, muslim hindu encounters, shivaji, shivaji's mum

Historical Figures

Rao Tula Ram Ahir

Most people familiar with India’s capital, Delhi, will likely have used the nation’s main international airport, Indira Gandhi International. En route from the airport to the centre of Delhi is a long and famous road, Rao Tula Ram Marg (‘Marg’ being the Hindi word for street). Situated on this road is one of Delhi’s finer higher education institutions, Rao Tula Ram University. All this leads to the question, “who is this Rao Tula Ram?”

Rao Tula Ram was one of the prominent leaders of the Indian Uprising of 1857 against the colonial British forces. His story is one of rebellion and guerrilla warfare against the stronger and better-equipped imperialist forces of the British Army.

He was born on 9 December 1825 in the well known Rao family in village Rampura in the district of Rewari (a two-hour drive south-west of Delhi), in what is now Haryana. His father was Puran and his mother’s name was Gyan. He was educated according to the then prevalent customs and he knew Persian, Urdu, Hindi and a small amount of English. In November 1839, Rao Tula Ram ascended the throne on the death of his father.

In 1857, on hearing the news of rebellion at Meerut and other places, the people of the Rewari rose up to support the uprising. In the Rewari area, lead was given by Rao Tula Ram. His cousin Gopal Dev also stood by him. The forefathers of the Raos had helped the Marathas in 1803 in the Second Anglo-Maratha War. The British confiscated their land and gave instead an ‘istamarari’, or grant, of about 58 villages. This was a great blow to the Raos, who were itching to fight the British Raj at the first available opportunity.

On l7 May 1857, Rao Tula Ram went to the ‘tehsil’, or headquarters, at Rewari with four to five hundred followers and took all the government buildings in their possession. For their headquarters, they chose Rampura, a small fortified village, one mile south-west of Rewari. Tula Ram, the elder Rao became Raja and Gopal Dev his commander-in-chief. After assuming charge, Rao Tula Ram organized the revenue department and collected revenue and taxes. He took donations and loans from the people of Rewari. He raised a force (about five thousand men) and set up a large workshop in the fort of Rampura where a substantial number of guns, gun-carriages and and ammunition were manufactured. Law and order was enforced.

At this time, Delhi was under attack from the British forces, so Rao Tula Ram helped the emperor Bahadur Shah in their fight against the British. But this help could not protect Delhi which fell to the British on September 20, 1857. Soon after Brigadier-General Showers led out a column (from Delhi) of 1,500 men with a light field battery, 18 two-pounder guns and two small mortars, “to attack and destroy Rao Tula Ram and his followers and to raze his fort (at Rewari).” The situation was serious and the Rao foresaw that a fight with the British forces in the mud fort of Rampura, in the changed circumstances after the fall of Delhi, would result in the complete destruction of his army without any serious loss to the British. So he left his fort before Showers’ arrival.

The fort of Rewari was taken by the British without any opposition on October 6th. Immediately after the occupation of Rewari, Brigadier-General Showers sent a messenger to Tula Ram telling him that if he submitted along with guns and arms, he would be treated on merits. But Tula Ram turned down the inducement and sent a strong column comprising about 1,500 troops under Colonel Gerrard, an officer of conspicuous merit on November 10, 1857. The column reached Rewari three days later. They occupied the abandoned fort of Rampura. Here they were joined by two squadrons of the Carabineers.

After a few days rest at Rewari (Rampura), on November 16, Gerrard marched to Narnaul. As the track was sandy, the column reached Nasibpur, a small village, two miles northwest of Narnaul and halted for a short rest. The rebel force, having abandoned their strong fort in the center of the town pounced on them. Rao Tula Ram’s first charge was irresistible and the British forces scattered before them. The Patiala Infantry and the Multani Horse on the British side were completely disheartened. But at this juncture, the Guides and the Carabineers came to their rescue and saved the situation. The British artillery was too much for the rebels. But soon the situation took an unexpected turn when Col. Gerrand was mortally wounded by a musket ball.

With this, the British too, were demoralized. Taking full advantage of the circumstances, Rao Tula Ram swooped down upon them. The British could not stand the charge and the Multani Horse fled away in bewilderment. They recaptured their guns and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. The right and the left wings of the British forces were thrown into confusion.

Appreciating the gravity of the situation Major Caulfield, the officiating British Commandant, ordered his artillery to start heavy bombardment and his cavalry and infantrymen to charge straight on with full force in to their front ranks. Rao Tula Ram’s forces fought back furiously and stood their grounds. The British artillery fire, nevertheless, broke their backbone and split their forces into two parts – one engaged in the close quarter battle and the other fleeing to go out of the range of the British guns. Rao Tula Ram was defeated that day but managed to flee to safety. His escape frustrated the British.

The battle of Narnaul was undoubtedly one of the most decisive battles of the Uprising of 1857. The English felt jubilant over their success in this confrontation, for it marked the “beginning of the end” of the crucial period of the struggle in the Haryana region and northern Rajasthan. After the battle, Rao Tula Ram moved into Rajasthan; then joined Tatya Tope’s forces for one year. On 1 November 1858, the British issued the promise of unconditional pardon and amnesty to all the “mutineers” except those who directly or indirectly took part in the murder of British subjects. Rao Tula Ram knew that with the blood of many British soldiers and subjects on his hands, this did not include him. He left India for Iran in 1862.

Once the uprising of 1857 was over, the wrath of the British was unleashed. People in the Rewari and Narnaul areas were hung or shot dead and their villages burnt. In Iran, he plotted revenge against the British. From Iran he travelled to Afghanistan, where tragically, in the winter of 1862, he died after becoming ill in Kabul at the young age of 38.

by Tarunpal Singh Yadav

(2229)

Tags 1857, British Raj, hindu warriors, indian mutiny, Major Caulfield, Multani Horse, Rao Tula Ram Ahir, war of independence

Historical Figures

Venkatapati Deva Raya – the Great Savior of Southern India

Post author By admin
Post date December 4, 2014
1 Comment on Venkatapati Deva Raya – the Great Savior of Southern India

Disastrous two decades post Talikota

The most common opinion among the people and historians has been that post the disaster at Talikota, Vijayanagara had fallen into a period of misfortune facing defeats after defeats – losing territory gradually. They either defended their borders or lost territories. The famed aggression seen from the days of Saluva Narasimha to the last days of Aliya Rama Raya had deserted the empire completely. The truth is much different.

It is indeed true that the period from 1565 to 1585 was nothing but two decades of misfortune and ignomy. Tirumala Raya, who lost one of his eyes and his eldest son at the talikot.a battle, tried to re-establish the Hindu rule at Vijayanagara but had to abandon the city for good by 1567 when he transferred the capital to Penukonda – due to constant attacks from the Mohammedan rulers of Bijapur and Golkonda. By the time he left the throne to his son, Sri Ranga Raya, he had faced several invasions in the northern parts of his empire – wherein he lost Adoni, Turkal, Dharwad and Bankapur to Adil Shah of Bijapur. While he was able to drive back the Mohammedan forces which invested Penukonda, he was not able to recapture any of the territories lost to the enemies. His transfer of capital to Penukonda effectively ended any attempt to regain Raichur doab for the empire. Portuguese compelled the nayaks of the western coast to pay tribute to them by using the opportunity of a weak empire. This further alienated the nayaks from the emperor as the emperor was not able to help his nayaks – as he was facing constant attacks on his northern borders from Mohammedan neighbors.

Sri Ranga Raya’s fortunes turned to the worse year after year. Though initially, he was able to regain the forts lost to Golkonda – his inscription of 1576 mentions that he conquered Vinukonda and Kondavidu which must have been captured by Golkonda army sometime prior to this. Nayak rulers of the western Kanarese districts accepted the suzerainty of Adil Shah. In 1575, when Adil Shah invested Penukonda, Sri Ranga Raya was able to repulse the Bijapur army with the help of his vassal, Hande chief of Bukkarayasamudram. But in the following year, when he tried to check the expedition of Adil Shah towards Penukonda, he was imprisoned alive by the Bijapur army leading to a rout of the Hindu army and had to be ransomed back for a huge sum. Hande, the vassal who helped him in the previous year, defected to Adil Shah thinking that the Hindu empire was due to set very soon and the days numbered. In a period of 11 years, twice the Hindu rulers were captured by the Sultans. After Talikota, the empire lost all possessions to the north of Tungabhadra while after the second defeat, they lost all possessions to the north of Penukonda. The following year, we see another invasion of Penukonda by Adil Shah. But this time, Jaggadevaraya, the son in law of the emperor, killed two of the four Bijapur generals leading the attack and drove back the Mohammedans with huge losses. Some terrirory seems to have been regained back but not all the lost lands were reconquered. The empire was continuously on a backfoot. The rebellion and treachery of the nayaks post Talikota also contributed to the weakness of the empire.

Post 1579, Qutb Shah of Golkonda dispatched his troops against the empire capturing Vinukonda, Kondavidu, Bellamkonda and Udayagiri. Golkonda army, led by a traitorous Brahmin general named Murari Rao captured Ahobilam and sent the ruby encrusted image of Vishnu to the Sultan. This was one place where Sri Ranga Raya was able to decisively defeat the Mohammedans later. Srivan Satakopa Svami, pontiff of Ahobila math during that time, conveyed to the king that Vishnu appeared in his dreams and asked the two generals Venkataraju and Tirumalaraju to lead the armies of the empire against the occupying forces and reestablish his worship at Ahobilam. The emperor dispatched these two generals against the Golkonda forces entrenched in Ahobilam. They achieved a signal victory against the Mohammedans and captured Murari Rao alive (who was left alive due to his being a Brahmana – in our eyes, he was no Brahmana and was fit for the most torturous death possible).

The eastern Telugu region was lost to Golconda while the north western Kanarese and parts of western Telugu region was lost to Adil Shah. Sri Ranga Raya was able to quell the rebellion of his vassals on the Southern and western coasts. Later towards the end of his rule, he regained Ahobilam but the empire had indeed effectively lost most of the possessions to the north of Penukonda when he breathed his last during 1585-86. The annual jihads which were stopped by Krishna Deva Raya were resumed by the Sultans post Talikota. That the sultans gained a decisive upperhand is established by this. His brother, Venkatapati Raya, during his viceroyalty at Chandragiri, managed an expedition to Lanka and gained tribute from there (this action of Venkatapati during one of the most turbulent periods of the empire seem to indicate a reversal of fortunes for the better which shall occur during Venkatapati’s reign).

Ascension of Venkatapati Deva Raya

It was at this juncture that Venkatapati Deva Raya (generally called Venkatapati Raya by historians) adorned the throne of Vijayanagara at Penukonda. He was the youngest of the four sons of Tirumala and gained the throne after the death of Sri Ranga. Though there were sons to another one of his elder brothers (Rama of Sri Rangapatnam) – who had perhaps a better claim to the throne – the Brahmins, generals and ministers of the court preferred to raise Venkatapati to the throne as he was considered the fittest man to rule the empire at such a critical moment. The empire appeared to be tottering everywhere and seemed to be nearing its death in a few years. Most major vassals had become non-cooperative and were trying to become independent. These nayaks had lost the vision for Hindu unity and were destroying the very foundation of the empire for their selfishness.

Venkatapati Deva Raya was crowned by his royal preceptor Lakshmi Kumara Tathacharya, who was 13-14 years of age at the time, as Srimad Rajadhiraja Paramesvara Sri Vira Pratapa Sri Vira Venkatapati Deva Maharaja. Despite popular beliefs, Vijayanagara had not folded so easily post Talikota. While the two decades post Talikota was indeed a period of disaster for the empire, a complete reversal of fortunes occurred during the reign of Venkatapati Raya. He is one of the three monarchs whose life size statues are found in the precincts of Tirumala Venkatesavara svami mandira. The other two being Krishna Deva Raya and his brother, Achyuta Deva Raya. We shall now look at his conquests and accomplishments.

Invasion of Golconda territories

He began his reign with an invasion of the dominions conquered by Golkonda during the reign of his elder brother. Qutb Shah sent a vast army against Venkatapati, driving him back to Penukonda and invested it. Venkatapati sent ambassadors to Qutb shah asking for a peaceful settlement and after this submission, Qutb Shah left Penukonda – happy that his newly conquered lands will remain with them. But Venkatapati proved to be a mastermind in strategy and tactics. Within three days he filled the Penukonda fort with required materials to withstand a long siege and on the fourth days, 30 thousand musketeers under Jaggadevaraya entered the fort to strengthen the defense. Matla Anantaraju, who later was called the right hand of the emperor, also participated in the defense of the fort. Where the fort was almost defenseless a few days ago, it became almost impregnable. Raghunatha Nayaka, prince of Tanjore Nayaks, also arrived to Penukonda with the Tanjore army. The Sultan understood his mistake and returned to commence the siege once again but it was of no use. Raghunatha Nayaka, Matla Anantaraju and Jaggadevaraya inflicted crushing defeats on the Golkonda forces forcing the latter to raise the siege and retreat.

Pennar Massacre

On the banks of Pennar, Venkatapati led the troops in person. He ambushed the Golkonda forces in the waters of Pennar, killing 50000 Muslims and dyeing the river red. This grand victory of Venkatapati broke the back of the Qutb Shah forces. For the first time since Talikota, Hindu forces had decisively crushed the invading marauders. The fear which had earlier engulfed the hearts of the Sultans during the reigns of Krishna Deva and Aliya Rama Raya came to re-occupy the place once again. Post this crushing defeat, Venkatapati chased the remnants of Qutb Shah’s forces till the banks of Krishna. Prince Muhammad Shah is shown as having lost a battle every other day while on this disastrous retreat. The vassals who ruled to the south of Krishna revolted against the Qutb shah and joined the cause of Vijayanagara. Golconda forces were also involved in defending their kingdom against the Mughal Prince Murad in the north, This split worked in favor of Venkatapati even more.

Annihilation of Qutb Shah’s forces – regaining territories lost

Qutb shah tried to recover from this disaster by sending an able general Amin-ul-Mulk to defend the possessions to the south of Krishna. While Amin-ul-Mulk managed to put down the revolts to some extent, it was very temporary ; as within a year, Venkatapati had successfully forced the Muslims forces to retire beyond Krishna. While Muslim chronicles state that he did not recapture Kondavidu, a careful study of the texts show that it is a lie. The Muslim chronicles state that when Venkatapati attacked Kondavidu, he became alarmed on seeing the Golkonda reinforcements and sued for peace. But the fact that he put the Muslim general to death and had even reached Kassimkota (north of Vishakapatnam), whose ruler Mukunda Raja, defected to Vijayanagara shows that he not only managed to reduce Kondavidu but even cross Krishna along the coast and conquered coastal lands upto Kassimkota and Palkonda ( i.e) almost the entire coastal region of current day Andhra Pradesh came under his control.

Defeat of Adil Shah

Adil Shah attacked the Kanarese districts and besieged Penukonda. But it seems Venkata convinced a Hindu general of Bijapur to defect and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Bijapur army forcing the Sultan to flee to his capital. It appears that during this retreat Venkata managed to recapture some territory from Bijapur as well – we come across a renewed invasion in western Kanarese districts where the nayaks who had earlier accepted suzerainty of Adil Shah rebelled against the Sultan and joined Venkata’s army in conquering Bankapur and adjoining areas (lost in the reign of Tirumala Raya). Venkatapati Deva Raya ruled from 1586 to 1614. We do not find any Muslim invasion of his dominions post 1595. He achieved what Krishna Deva Raya achieved – putting an end to the annual jihads. Where Krishna Raya had a strong empire bequeathed to him and built upon the edifice further; Venkatapati was handed a weak empire whose vassals were not even cooperating with the sovereign. In such a tenuous situation, he managed to turn the tables on the Mohammedan neighbors of the north.

Consolidation of the empire

The later portion of his reign was spent in subjugating the vassals. He forced the Nayaks of Madurai and Jinji to accept his suzerainty. When Lingama Nayaka of Vellore revolted, he dispossessed Lingama of his fort and moved his own capital to Vellore. Till his death in 1614, he ensured that the empire remained intact and strong. The empire broke up only due to unfettered internecine struggle which began after his death leading to the Nayaks once again declaring independence – thus, disunity leading to defeat.

Where the empire was on way to disintegration and complete destruction before 1600, Venkatapati turned around the fortune of the empire singlehandedly. The importance of his reign in the defense of Hindu culture in Southern India has been greatly underestimated, nay even forgotten. The importance of strong Hindu rulers has not been understood either. The presence of Jaswant Singh stopped the hands of Aurangzeb from indulging in open anti-Hindu activities in northern India. Though a vassal, Jaswant was seen as a strong Hindu ruler and it was feared that Hindus might band together under his banner if they were persecuted. This prevented Aurangzeb from imposing Jiziya and destroying temples till the death of Jaswant. Upon the death of Jaswant, the tyrant is known to have thanked the rakshasa the Mohammedan’s worship as the creator for the death of this Hindu ruler. It was the arrival of a resurgent Maratha power in the Deccan which saved the holy land from being swamped by the unmatta-s.

Savior of Southern India

In the case of Southern India, the destruction of Vijayanagara would have made the field open for the Sultans to indulge in complete eradication of dharma and its institutions. Had the empire been destroyed before 1600, the Sultans would have got a period of 5 decades before any prominent Hindu power arose in the region (Marathas under Shivaji). Rather, the long reign of Venkatapati put an end to this possibility. Vijayanagara’s destructions was postponed by 4 decades due to his strong reign. The ultimate destruction happened in late 1630s and 1640s. By the time Vijayanagara reached its sunset in the 1640’s, Chattrapati Shivaji had begun his rise among the Marathas while his father began to exercise great power in his jagir of Bengaluru. A new fountain of Hindu power was established around the same time, thus saving the Hindus from a period of absolute tyranny which would have otherwise been inflicted upon them. Venkatapati Raya was indeed the savior of Southern India. One of those rare gems whose value has been wrongly assessed by most of us.

Stronger Pratap of the South

Where Rana Pratapa Simha declined to bow his head before any Mohammedan, Venkatapati had made a similar statement in South. During the early 1600’s, an ambassador from Akbar visited Venkatapati at his durbar in Chandragiri. It was suspected that the visit was more to spy on the empire rather than being a diplomatic visit. It was expected that Akbar would conquer the Deccan Sultanates and force Vijayanagara to submit to him. To which Venkatapati supposedly stated “I will not kiss the feet of a Mohammedan”. He was preparing for a war against Akbar rather than even think about accepting the suzerainty of some Mohammedan ruler – however powerful he might be. We end with this note on the indomitable spirit of this last great emperor – perhaps even the greatest emperor of Vijayanagara. Where Pratap is now popular among the Hindus, this stronger Pratap of Southern India (who ruled a vast empire and kept the Mohammedan Sultans at bay – whose title also includes Pratap) has been forgotten by the masses.

by trasadasyu

(2848)

Tags Adil Shah, Golconda, hindu army, hindu empire, hindu warfare, hindu warriors, islam, Krishna Deva Raya, Pennar Massacre, Qutb Shah, Rana Pratapa Simha, south india, Sultans, Vellore Fort, Venkatapati Deva Raya, Vijayanagara