REMEMBERING RAJA MAN SINGH’S STAY IN BIHAR (1587 – 1594)

(c) Copyright of Prabuddha Biswas

1. RAJA MAN SINGH WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST WARRIOR AND MILITARY STRATEGIST OF SIXTEENTH CENTURY

2. RAJA MAN SINGH LED THE MUGHAL ARMY AGAINST MAHARANA PRATAP SINGH IN THE ‘HALDIGHATI’ AND DEFEATED HIM

3. MAN SINGH LED TWO SUCCESSFUL AND DARING MILITARY EXPEDITION AGAINST AFGHANISTAN THROUIGH KHYBER PASS

4. HE WAS ONE OF MOST SUCCESSFUL MUGHAL GOVERNORS OF ‘KABUL SUBAH’

5. APART FROM BECOMING PART OF ‘NAVRATNAS’ IN THE AKBAR’S CABINET, MAN SINGH WAS AFFECTIONATELY CALLED BY EMPEROR AKBAR AS ‘FARZAND (SON)

6. WHILE IN BIHAR AND BENGAL, MAN SINGH ALSO LED SUCCESSFUL EXPEDITIONS AGAINST EASTERN AFGHANS 

7. BUT IN BIHAR, RAJA MAN SINGH WOULD BE KNOWN MORE AS THE ‘GREAT ARCHITECT, CITY PLANNER AND BUILDER’

8. MAN SINGH'S BUILDINGS IN ROHTASGARH - THE ONLY SPECIMEN OF MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE IN BIHAR

RAJA MAN SINGH’S STAY IN BIHAR

1. Kuar Man Singh came to be appointed as the Governor of Bihar, where he and his uncle Raja Bhagwan Das were given jagirs, sometime in the last quarter of the year, 1587 AD.
2. Later, on the death of Raja Bhagwan Das on the 13th or 14th of November, 1589 AD; Kuar Man Singh was given the title of Raja and was granted a rank of 5,000.
3. Raja Man Singh, after his appointment as Governor of Bihar and then of Bengal, selected Rohtasgarh as his stronghold and held his fiefs there and used to stay there.
4. His son, Jagat Singh, used to look after the affairs of the Subah of Bihar from the towns of Patna and Bihar.

MAN SINGH - THE GREAT ARCHITECT, CITY PLANNER AND BUILDER

Raja Man Singh appears to have commenced his building activities in Rohtasgarh soon after his arrival in Bihar in 1587 and it continued for ten years.

1. The palaces and other structures built by Raja Man Singh at Rohtas are of unique interest as having the only specimen of Mughal Architecture in Bihar, according to LSS O,Malley, ICS (Editor of the 1st generation of Bengal District Gazetteers during 1906-08).

2. BUILDINGS IN ROHTASGARH

i. The Persian inscription refers Raja Man Singh as the builder of fortifications in Rohtasgarh.
ii. The Palace or MAHAL SARRA of Raja Man Singh occupies an area of 550 feet north to south by 327 feet east to west.
iii. The architecture is typical of the palace structure in general of Akbar’s time and is an unique example of this style in the province of Bihar.
iv. The exquisitely decorated HATHIAPOL (elephant gateway), the beautiful Guard Room in the main entrance, BARAH-DARI, RAUSAN SAHID KI CHAUKI, THE RANGMAHAL (MAN SINGH’S SLEEPING CHAMBER), TAKHT-BADSHAHI (THRONE CHAMBER) OR DIWAN-I-KHAS were the outward facade of the private quarters of his grand mansion.
v. Similarly, ZANANA QUARTERS, PHULWARI (flower garden) or KHANAN BAGH were also planned and executed with the erection of great building like AINAH MAHAL or SIS MAHAL There also existed the Kitchen of Raja Man Singh and for his baths or HAMAMS.
vi. On the outside, there was NACH GHAR, which was used as DIWAN-I-AM of Raja Man Singh
vii. In ROHITASWA TEMPLE, the large staircase was probably built by Raja Man Singh.
viii. There is Harischandra Temple which is ascribed to be built by Raja Man Singh.
3. The Fort of Rohtas stands in the village of Akbarpur. Akbarpur, according to local tradition, owed its origin to Raja Man Singh.

4. BAIKUNTHPUR

i. Raja Man Singh , while on his expedition to Orissa in 1590; had been then with his mother; who died at the place, now known as BAIKATHPUR and which was named by Man Singh as BAIKUNTHPUR to commemorate the memory of her passing away at this place.
ii. Baikathpur is 5 miles east of Fatuha and one mile north of Khusrupur Railway Station, on the bank of River Ganges.
iii. The place where the mother was cremated, came to be sanctified by Raja Man Singh; who constructed a ‘SHIVA TEMPLE and a BARAH-DARI; which was completed by 1600 AD.

5. TOWN OF MANPUR

i. Raja Man Singh founded a town, Manpur on the other side of the River Falgu in the city of Gaya.
ii. Local tradition bears that he built seven wells.
iii. Man Singh built a MAHADEV TEMPLE with a big tank, a sanctuary, a big garden and a BARAH-DARI.

6. TOWN OF RAJMAHAL

i. When Raja Man Singh was holding the charge of Subah of Bengal as its Governor, he made AKHMAHAL, the capital of Bengal which he named as RAJMAHAL. Later, Jahangir renamed the place as AKBARNAGAR.
ii. Man Singh built number of buildings: - JAMA MASJID, SHIVA TEMPLE, IMPERIAL PALACE (WITH DIWAN-I-KHAS, , DIWAN-I-AM, HARAMS SARA AND JHAROKHAH), SANGI DALAN, a mosque beside the Sangi Dalan, AKBARI MASJID (to commemorate the victory over Daud Kararani in the Battle of Rajmahal) among others.

7. BAIDYANATHDHAM

i. Beglar has held that a group of temples in a walled enclosure at Baidyanath Dham, belong in their construction to Raja Man Singh’s Governorship.
ii. Raja Man Singh visited Baidyanath Dham on his way to conquer Orissa, in 1590 AD. The road that proceeds from the northern gate of the Baidyanath Dham temple passes along the western edge of a large tank SIVA GANGA which is 900’ X 600’. The western part of the tank has been cut off by an embankment on the top of which runs a road. The embankment was put up by Raja Man Singh, as the name of the raja was associated with the western portion which is called MAN SAROVAR, according to O’Malley.

8. OTHER AREAS
i. Another temple on the hill of Panchet, overlooking the fort below, is known as RAGHUNATH’S MANDIR, having been built in 1602 AD, when Raja Man Singh was Governor of the area.
ii. Similarly, at Berhampore; 4 miles south-east of Purulia Town (Manbhum), stands a temple built during the during Man Singh’s Governorship.
iii. There was a Mughal-time bridge, 800 yards N-W of Jama Masjid at Rajmahal on the road to Sakri gali and Sahibganj.
iv. There are two old temples in Chotanagpur (a) At Paru (also called Para), a village, which stands at the intersection of of the roads between Dulmi and Jharia. (b) At Baghalya, near Paru, there is a temple of Sri Raghunandan (Lord Ram). Both the temples were built by Man Singh, according to Beglar.
v. Beglar also found a group of temples in a village, name Telkupi, on the southern bank of Damodar River, in Manbhum and ascribed it to Man Singh.
vi. Buchanan ascribes that CHOTI PATAN DEVI TEMPLE was placed in her present situation by Man Singh.
vii. Raja Man Singh built a small fort, MANGARH at Manihari, which is north of Godda; while on his expedition to East Bengal against Afghans.
viii. Man Singh built number of Saivite Temples around the tank at the foot of Mandar hill, Banka district, according to Beglar.

BRIEF LIFE SKETCH OF RAJA MAN SINGH

1. Man Singh (Man Singh I) (December 21, 1550 – July 6, 1614) was the Rajput Raja of Amber, a state later known as Jaipur in Rajputana.
2. He was a trusted general of the Mughal emperor Akbar, who included him among the Navaratnas, or the nine (nava) gems (ratna) of the royal court.

EARLY LIFE

1. He was the son of Raja Bhagwant Das and Rani Sa Bhagawati Ji Sahiba of Amber.
2. He was born on Sunday, December 21, 1550.
3. He was about eight years younger than Mughal Emperor Akbar who was born on October 14, 1542 and about ten years younger than Rana Pratap who was born on May 9, 1540.
4. These three great personalities, of the same generation, had a great impact on sixteenth century India's polity, society, and history.
5. They are remembered with reverence in India, although Rana Pratap fought unrelenting wars with both of them.
6. Raja Bharmal, the first Rajput ruler to marry his daughter to a Mughal, was Man Singh I's grandfather.
7. Initially known as Kunwar (prince), Man Singh received the title of Mirza Raja and the mansab (rank) of 5000 after the death of his father on December 10, 1589 from Akbar.
8. On August 26, 1605, Man Singh became a mansabdar of 7,000, i.e., a commander of 7,000 cavalry in the Mughal forces, which was the maximum command for anyone other than a son of the Mughal emperor and the guardian of Khusrau, the eldest son of Jahangir.
9. Akbar called him Farzand (son).
10. He fought many important campaigns for Akbar.
11. Kunwar Man Singh led the Mughal Army in the well-known battle of Haldighati fought in 1576 between the Mughal Empire and Maha Rana Pratap.

CONFLICT WITH MAHA RANA PRATAP SINGH

1. Appointed by Akbar to lead the Mughal Army against Rana Pratap, Kunwar Man Singh started from Ajmer on 3 April 1576.
2. A gruesome battle was fought on June 18, 1576 at Haldi Ghati.
3. The battle was won by Mughals but the Maha Rana had survived.

EXPEDITION TO KABUL AND GOVERNORSHIP OF KABUL

1. In 1580 CE, some prominent Muslim officers of Akbar, displeased with his liberal religious policies, started to conspire against him.
2. Qazi Muhammad Yazdi declared it the duty of every Muslim to rebel against Akbar. In Bihar and Bengal they declared Mirza Hakim, Akbar's stepbrother and Governor of Kabul, to be the emperor. Akbar sent armies to Bihar and Bengal to crush this rebellion, while he himself started towards Kabul; Man Singh with him.
3. On March 8, 1581, Akbar reached Machhiwara and soon arrived on the banks of River Indus, he then sent an advance force led by Man Singh to Kabul.
4. Although, Akbar's army was hesitating to cross the swelling Indus River, Man Singh was able to cross it first followed by troops.
5. Hearing the news Mirza Hakim fled to Gurband.
6. Following the army, Akbar himself arrived at Kabul on August 10, 1581.
7. Hakim was pardoned by Akbar, but his sister "Bakhtunissa Begum" was appointed Governor of Kabul.
8. After Akbar returned to Fatehpur Sikri; Bakhtunissa remained as the nominal head of state, while Hakim acted as the governor (Hakim died in July, 1582).
9. Kabul was annexed by the Mughal Empire and Man Singh was appointed governor.
10. He remained in Kabul for some years and built a fortress, used by succeeding Mughal governors.
11. Man Singh brought many talented men with him when he returned from Kabul. Some of their descendants still live in Jaipur.
12. Again in 1585 CE, some Afghan tribes rose against the Mughal empire. The Yusufzai and "Mandar" tribes were the main ones among them.
13. Akbar sent an army under Zain Khan, Hakim Abul Fateh and Raja Birbal to control these revolting tribes. However, they failed to control the revolting Afghans and Raja Birbal, friend of Akbar and one of his Navratnas was also killed in the battle with Afghans.
14. Akbar then sent Raja Todar Mal to crush the revolt and called Raja Man Singh to help Todar Mal.
15. Todarmal had some success in controlling the rebellious Afghan tribes, but the real source of the revolt was behind the Khyber Pass. It was hard to cross this pass which was dominated by Afghan "Kabailies".
16. Man Singh was accompanied by "Rao Gopaldas" of Nindar in this expedition, who bravely made way for Mughal army in the pass.
17. After crossing the pass Man Singh decisively defeated five major tribes of Afghans including Yusufzai and "Mandar" tribes.
18. The flag of Amber was changed from "Katchanar" (green climber in white base) to "Pachranga" (five colored) to commemorate this victory.
19. This flag continued in use until accession of Jaipur state in India.
20. This permanently crushed the revolt and the area remained peaceful thereafter.
21. In 1586 CE, Akbar sent another army under Raja Bhagwant Das, father of Kunwar Man Singh to win Kashmir. Kashmir was included in the Mughal Empire and made a Sarkar (district) of Kabul province.
22. Man Singh and his father Raja Bhagwant Das are reputed to have brought the technology of cannon production to Amber.

GOVERNOR OF BIHAR AND EXPEDITION TO ORISSA

1. Man Singh was appointed Governor of Bihar in 1587 AD.
2. In 1590, Qutlu Khan Lohani, an Afghan ruler of Bengal declared himself independent and assumed the title of "Qutlu Shah".
3. Raja Man Singh started an expedition against him.
4. Before facing Man Singh, Qutlu Shah was killed by Rao Gopaldas of Nindar.
5. Qutlu Khan's son Nasir Khan, after little resistance, accepted Mughal sovereignty and paid homage to Man Singh on 15 August 1590.
6. Nasir Khan was then appointed Governor of Bengal.
7. Nasir Khan remained faithful to the Mughal empire for two years but after that he violated the conditions of his treaty by laying siege to the Jagannath Temple of Puri Odisha.
8. Man Singh attacked Nasir Khan and decisively defeated him on April 9, 1592 in a battle near the present day Medinipur (Midnapur) town and ousted him from Odisha.
9. Odisha then was annexed to the Mughal Empire and included in Bengal "Subah" (Province).

RISE OF JAHANGIR AND THE TWILIGHT OF MAN SINGH

1. Prince Salim was born, but he soon became addicted to alcohol and opium.
2. He disobeyed royal orders and became infamous for torture such as murdering Abul Fazal.
3. Akbar tried hard to reform him as well as Salim's eldest son Khusrau Mirza.
4. Two of Akbar's sons, Murad and Danial, died in his lifetime.
5. The royal court was divided into two factions, one favoring Khusrau and the other Salim to be the next emperor.
6. Raja Man Singh and Mirza Aziz Koka were in Khusrau's favour.
7. In 1605, when Akbar fell ill, he appointed Salim to be his heir.
8. Though Man Singh opposed Salim's accession to the throne during Akbar's lifetime, he never opposed Jahangir (Salim) after his coronation.
9. After Akbar's death, Jahangir (Salim) became emperor.
10. Man Singh was initially sent as Subahdar of Bengal on November 10, 1605 for a short period, but soon he was replaced by Qutb-ud-Din Khan Koka on September 2, 1606.
11. Jahangir also ordered removal of some of the modifications which had been made by Raja Man Singh to his palace at Amber.
12. But in 1611 CE, the southern provinces of Ahmednagar, Berar and Khandesh defied Mughal sovereignty under Malik Ambar. Jahangir sent Raja Man Singh and others to crush the revolt.
13. Man Singh died a natural death on July 6, 1614 at Ellichpur.
14. Following his death, he was succeeded by his son Mirza Raja Bhau Singh.
15. His direct descendants became known (to this date) as the Rajawats who had the privilege to the throne of Amber and subsequently Jaipur.

PICTURES

1. Raja Man Singh

2. Hathiya Pol, Rohtasgarh

3. Diwan-i-Khas, Rohtasgarh

4. Baikutpur Shiv Temple

5. Jama Masjid, Rajmahal 

(c) Copyright of Prabuddha Biswas