Jaswant Singh of Marwar

Jaswant Singh Rathore (26 December 1629 – 28 December 1678) was a maharaja of Marwar in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan. His father was Maharaja Gaj Singh. He was a distinguished man of letters and author of "Siddhant-bodh", "Anand Vilas" and "Bhasa-bhusan"

Jaswant Singh Rathore
Jaswant Singh of Marwar
Ruler of Marwar
Reign6 May 1638 – 28 November 1678
Coronation25 May 1638
PredecessorMaharaja Gaj Singh
SuccessorMaharaja Ajit Singh
Born(1629-12-26)26 December 1629
Jodhpur
Died28 December 1678(1678-12-28) (aged 49)
Jamrud, Khyber Pass, Mughal Empire
SpouseMahamaya and Others
Issue
Detail		Prithviraj Singh
Ajit Singh
Others
HouseRathore
FatherMaharaja Gaj Singh
MotherMaharani Pratap Devi
ReligionHinduism

He was the Subedar of Assam from 1656-1666.

Early life

Jaswant Singh succeeded his father on his death by special decree of the Emperor Shah Jahan, in accordance with his father's wishes, on 6 May 1638.[1] He was invested by Imperial authority and inherited the parganas of Jodhpur, Siwana, Merta, Sojat, Phalodi and Pokharan (Satalmer) in jagir.

He was installed on the gaddi at Sringar Chowki, Mehrangarh, Jodhpur, on 25 May 1638. He was granted the personal title of Maharaja by the Emperor Shah Jahan, on 6 January 1654.

Battle of Dharmatpur

Jaswant Singh was appointed by Shah Jahan to stop the advance of the rebel prince Aurangzeb. The two armies met at Dharmatpur, fifteen miles from Ujjain. The battle was fought on 15 April 1658. Jaswant Singhs advisers suggested a night raid to destroy Aurangzebs artillery and gunpowder as the Rajput army was almost entirely made up of light cavalry, while Aurangzeb had a well equipped army of heavy cavalry, Artillery and Muskets. However Jaswant Singh replied by saying "It is inconsistent with the manliness of the Rajputs or usage, to employ stratagems or make a night attack".[2] Jaswant Singh was defeated and lost 6,000 of his soldiers.[3] Ratan Singh Rathore, Maharaja of Ratlam and Mokand Das Hada, Rao of Kota were amongst those slain in the battle.[4][5]

Death and Succession

Prithviraj Singh was Jaswant Singh's son. It is chronicled in Marwar 'khyats' that Aurangzeb presented Prithviraj Singh a dress which was poisoned. On wearing the dress Prithviraj died on 8th May 1667 in great pain at Delhi. Prithviraj was a good leader and a brave prince. Jaswant could not get over the shock of his son's death. He was very saddened because he had no male heir who could seek revenge.

Jaswant died at Jamrud, near Peshawar, on 28 December 1678. At the time of his death two of his wives were pregnant, and both would later bear sons. This led to a war in which there were attempts to install Jaswant Singh's elder surviving son Ajit Singh Rathor as ruler of Marwar.[6]

See also

References
  1. John F. Richards. The New Cambridge History of India: The Mughal Empire (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993) p. 180-181
  2. The Rajputs of Rajputana: A Glimpse of Medieval Rajasthan By M. S. Naravane pg.85
  3. War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740-1849 By Kaushik Roy pg.33
  4. Madhya Pradesh District Gazetter: Ratlam pg.366
  5. Stuart Cary Welch (1987). The Emperors' Album: Images of Mughal India. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-87099-499-9.
  6. John F. Richards. The New Cambridge History of India: The Mughal Empire (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993) p. 180-181
  • Rathaurha, Vira Durgadasa (2005). Ved Prakash Publisher: Rajbhasha Pustak Pratishthan, Shivaji Marg, Delhi 110053. First published 2005. ISBN 81-88613-10-X
Preceded by
Gaj Singh		 Maharaja of the Marwar
6 May 1638 – 28 November 1678		 Succeeded by
Ajit Singh

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