01-29-2007, 08:14 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-29-2007, 08:27 AM by Bharatvarsh.)
Digvijay please add sections on Chhatrasal Bundela, Jaimal and Patta, Sawai Jai Singh and Raja Ajit Singh also, the last two may not have been famous warriors but their services to Hindu society cannot be brushed aside, Ajit Singh gave his daughter to a Muslim because of circumstances but later took her back after Muslim power was broken and made her discard her mussalman dress (hinting at reconversion), he banned cow slaughter and broke a few mosques built upon mandirs and banned the namaz in response to Aurangzeb's fanaticism, he along with Sawai Jai Singh helped secure cordial relations between Rajputs and Marathas and tried to forge a united Hindu front as long as they lived.
Also Rana Lakha Singh need's to be added, he was reputed to have died while liberating Gaya from the clutches of Muslims.
There are others I have in mind including Rana Kshetra Singh, Rana Raj Singh (another tough adversary of Aurangzeb), Rana Amar Singh (son of Maharana Pratap who fought Jahangir as long his resources allowed him to) and also the king mentioned in Kanhadade Prabhanda and Ranamalla of Idar, here is some info if you need:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Essay: THE HEROIC POETRY OF OLD GUJARATI
by K.M. Munshi
Gujarat had heroic poetry in Apabhransa reflecting its martial spirit
in the days of the Chalukyas and Vaghelas. A similar literature in
Old Gujarati has all but disappeared; only two poems give an idea of
its nature. They provide a brilliant picture of the epic heroism
displayed by Gujarat when it grimly contested every inch of ground
with the invader.
The poem, Ranamallachanda, is a short ballad, composed about 1400 by
Sridhara, celebrating the heroic deeds of Ranamalla of Idara. It
consists of seventy stanzas in metres like cupai and duha, and is the
earliest work of a kind which has been a favourite of the bards. This
literature, principally panegyrical, is composed in metres which lend
themselves to recitation with considerable dramatic force. The
language is very often archaic and strongly alliterative. Sometimes
words are altered out of recognition in the interest of sound
effects, and assonances and other verbal tricks abound.
Ranamalla of Idara, of the Kamadhaja or Rathoda family, was a great
warrior. About 1397, he harassed Zafar Khan, the viceroy of Patana,
and spread terror among the Mussalman chiefs.
As the army of the Sultan bristled with valour Ranamalla's whiskers
flew about with wrath.
The Sultan calls upon him to submit. Ranamalla roars :
If my lotus-like head bows before the Mlechhas' feet, the sun will
not rise in the sky. So long as the sun moves in the sky, Kamadhaja
will not bow to a block of stone. Even if the flame of the submarine
fire is extinguished, I will not yield an inch of land to the Mlechha.
A battle ensues between the two armies, and is described in jingling
rhymes. The Mussalmans are routed, and in token of submission the not
unusual humiliation of being made to eat grass is forced on them.
Ranamalla begins to think of world-wide conquest, and he says, "I
will bring under my control everything on which the sun shines."
Kanhadadeprabandha (c. 1456) follows a greater literary tradition. It
deals with the struggle which Gujarata made for self-preservation
after 1297, and breathes the grim and heroic attitude of mind which
prevailed among her people during the fourteenth century. The author,
Padmanabha of Visalanagara, was the poet-laureate of Akheraja, the
Cahamana or Cohana king of Jhalora and a descendant of the hero of
the poem. A few manuscripts of the work, luckily mistaken for those
of a religious work, were preserved by the Jaina temples. Its
language is Old Gujarati, then spoken all over Western Rajasthan
including Gujarat. The style, though not as elegant as Bhalana's,
maintains a high level of expressiveness. The language is neither
trite nor ornate; the interest is well sustained throughout. The
author, however, could not resist the temptation of recording in the
conventional manner the names of Rajput and Mussalman warriors, and
of introducing didactic verses and tedious narrative of past lives.
In some places, the chronological order has not been preserved, and
the same descriptions appear more than once. As a narrative, it is
much better than many other rasas; and it has the merit of being
without religious bias.
The poem opens with a prayer, and proceeds to mention Maravada, `the
land of nine forts', and the Sonagira Cohanas `as noble looking as
royal swans'. Karnadeva Ghelo ruled in Gujarata. Being enamoured of
Kesava's wife, he killed the husband and appropriated the wife. The
minister Madhava, Kesava's brother, moved by wrath, said, "I shall
not taste any food in Gujarata till I bring the Turks here." One
this, the poet feelingly laments :
To the place where he worshipped his God and sang His praises; where
he performed sacrifices and gave gifts to Brahmanas; where he
worshipped the sacred Tulsi plant and Pipala tree, heard recited the
Vedas and the Puranas; where all go for pilgrimage; where all sing
the Smrtis and the Puranas, there, Madhava brought the Mlechhas.
Ready to betray his country for a private wrong, Madhava goes to
Delhi. He approaches Sultan Alla-ud-din with presents and offers to
subdue Gujarat if an army is given to him. The sultan consents, and
sends a message to Kanhadade, the Cohana king of Jhalora, to let the
imperial army pass through his territory on its way to Gujarata.
Proudly, Kanhadade replies :
I owe no such duty. They will plunder the villages; take my men
prisoners; tear off women's ears. I do not make way for those who
oppress the Brahmana and the cow.
But Alla-ud-din, determined to conquer Gujarat, secures a passage
through Mevada. Battada of Modasa vainly bars the way of the
onrushing hosts.
Pillaging, burning, destroying, the Sultan's army marches towards
Patana. The Mussalmans, with Madhava at their head, invest the city.
The ex-minister, traitor to the last, advises Karna to escape with
his life. The king takes the advice; the queen flees on foot; and the
capital falls into the hands of Alafkhan, the general of Alla-ud-din.
`And from what once were temples was sounded the muezzin's call to
prayers.'
The army then started on a further campaign of conquest and
destruction to the south. It carried carnage right up to Surat,
Rander, and the sea; returned to Saurashtra, destroyed many of its
towns, and proceeded to Prabhasa. The Rajputs mobilised their
strength to protect the shrine of Somanatha, and valiantly fought the
enemy. But the fortress fell; and in front of the temple which they
had vainly sought to protect, the heroic warriors, after ceremonial
bathing and anointment, fell fighting, `surrendered themselves to
Somanatha'. Madhava, the cause of all this evil, was also killed.
The temple had fallen into the hands of the enemy. Alafkhan broke
open the shrine, shattered the idol to pieces, and carried away the
fragments in a cart to Delhi. "We shall make chunam out of it", he
said. The poet then piteously asks Siva :
O Rudra! By your wrath you burnt the demons. You spread virtue in the
world; You removed the terror which oppressed the gods; You put to
flight the powerful demon, Tripura, even as the wind blows away
chaff. Padmanabha asks you : O Rudra ! Where is now your mighty
trident ?
The conquering army, the poet proceeds, burnt villages, devastated
the land, plundered people's wealth; took Brahmanas, children and
women of all castes captive, and flogged them with thongs of raw
hide; carried a moving prison with it, and converted the prisoners
into obsequious Turks. Alafkhan then turned his attention to
Kanhadade, who had declined to give a passage to his army.
Parvati and Ganga, God Somanatha's spouses, urge Kanhadade in a dream
to save the god from the hands of the Mlechha. When Alafkhan sends a
message to Kanhadade, he gets a fitting reply : "A hero never praises
himself. He who performs heroic deeds alone wins fame." Alafkhan
thereupon continues his march and encamps at Sirana.
Ministers of the Cohana king call on the Khan, who shows them his
army and his prisoners. The ministers report the state of things to
Kanhadade, who gets ready for battle. The goddess Asapura is
worshipped; necessary orders are given; and the Rajput armies go
forward to meet the foe.
In the battle that follows, the Turks are routed. Alafkhan flees for
life. The idol of Somanath is recovered, and nine lacs of prisoners
are set free. The victory is then celebrated in Jhalora, and the
conqueror returns home amidst the rejoicings of his people.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
excerpted from GUJARATA AND ITS LITERATURE by K.M.MUNSHI"
http://www.geocities.com/ungandhi/kmmunshi1.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Also Rana Lakha Singh need's to be added, he was reputed to have died while liberating Gaya from the clutches of Muslims.
There are others I have in mind including Rana Kshetra Singh, Rana Raj Singh (another tough adversary of Aurangzeb), Rana Amar Singh (son of Maharana Pratap who fought Jahangir as long his resources allowed him to) and also the king mentioned in Kanhadade Prabhanda and Ranamalla of Idar, here is some info if you need:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Essay: THE HEROIC POETRY OF OLD GUJARATI
by K.M. Munshi
Gujarat had heroic poetry in Apabhransa reflecting its martial spirit
in the days of the Chalukyas and Vaghelas. A similar literature in
Old Gujarati has all but disappeared; only two poems give an idea of
its nature. They provide a brilliant picture of the epic heroism
displayed by Gujarat when it grimly contested every inch of ground
with the invader.
The poem, Ranamallachanda, is a short ballad, composed about 1400 by
Sridhara, celebrating the heroic deeds of Ranamalla of Idara. It
consists of seventy stanzas in metres like cupai and duha, and is the
earliest work of a kind which has been a favourite of the bards. This
literature, principally panegyrical, is composed in metres which lend
themselves to recitation with considerable dramatic force. The
language is very often archaic and strongly alliterative. Sometimes
words are altered out of recognition in the interest of sound
effects, and assonances and other verbal tricks abound.
Ranamalla of Idara, of the Kamadhaja or Rathoda family, was a great
warrior. About 1397, he harassed Zafar Khan, the viceroy of Patana,
and spread terror among the Mussalman chiefs.
As the army of the Sultan bristled with valour Ranamalla's whiskers
flew about with wrath.
The Sultan calls upon him to submit. Ranamalla roars :
If my lotus-like head bows before the Mlechhas' feet, the sun will
not rise in the sky. So long as the sun moves in the sky, Kamadhaja
will not bow to a block of stone. Even if the flame of the submarine
fire is extinguished, I will not yield an inch of land to the Mlechha.
A battle ensues between the two armies, and is described in jingling
rhymes. The Mussalmans are routed, and in token of submission the not
unusual humiliation of being made to eat grass is forced on them.
Ranamalla begins to think of world-wide conquest, and he says, "I
will bring under my control everything on which the sun shines."
Kanhadadeprabandha (c. 1456) follows a greater literary tradition. It
deals with the struggle which Gujarata made for self-preservation
after 1297, and breathes the grim and heroic attitude of mind which
prevailed among her people during the fourteenth century. The author,
Padmanabha of Visalanagara, was the poet-laureate of Akheraja, the
Cahamana or Cohana king of Jhalora and a descendant of the hero of
the poem. A few manuscripts of the work, luckily mistaken for those
of a religious work, were preserved by the Jaina temples. Its
language is Old Gujarati, then spoken all over Western Rajasthan
including Gujarat. The style, though not as elegant as Bhalana's,
maintains a high level of expressiveness. The language is neither
trite nor ornate; the interest is well sustained throughout. The
author, however, could not resist the temptation of recording in the
conventional manner the names of Rajput and Mussalman warriors, and
of introducing didactic verses and tedious narrative of past lives.
In some places, the chronological order has not been preserved, and
the same descriptions appear more than once. As a narrative, it is
much better than many other rasas; and it has the merit of being
without religious bias.
The poem opens with a prayer, and proceeds to mention Maravada, `the
land of nine forts', and the Sonagira Cohanas `as noble looking as
royal swans'. Karnadeva Ghelo ruled in Gujarata. Being enamoured of
Kesava's wife, he killed the husband and appropriated the wife. The
minister Madhava, Kesava's brother, moved by wrath, said, "I shall
not taste any food in Gujarata till I bring the Turks here." One
this, the poet feelingly laments :
To the place where he worshipped his God and sang His praises; where
he performed sacrifices and gave gifts to Brahmanas; where he
worshipped the sacred Tulsi plant and Pipala tree, heard recited the
Vedas and the Puranas; where all go for pilgrimage; where all sing
the Smrtis and the Puranas, there, Madhava brought the Mlechhas.
Ready to betray his country for a private wrong, Madhava goes to
Delhi. He approaches Sultan Alla-ud-din with presents and offers to
subdue Gujarat if an army is given to him. The sultan consents, and
sends a message to Kanhadade, the Cohana king of Jhalora, to let the
imperial army pass through his territory on its way to Gujarata.
Proudly, Kanhadade replies :
I owe no such duty. They will plunder the villages; take my men
prisoners; tear off women's ears. I do not make way for those who
oppress the Brahmana and the cow.
But Alla-ud-din, determined to conquer Gujarat, secures a passage
through Mevada. Battada of Modasa vainly bars the way of the
onrushing hosts.
Pillaging, burning, destroying, the Sultan's army marches towards
Patana. The Mussalmans, with Madhava at their head, invest the city.
The ex-minister, traitor to the last, advises Karna to escape with
his life. The king takes the advice; the queen flees on foot; and the
capital falls into the hands of Alafkhan, the general of Alla-ud-din.
`And from what once were temples was sounded the muezzin's call to
prayers.'
The army then started on a further campaign of conquest and
destruction to the south. It carried carnage right up to Surat,
Rander, and the sea; returned to Saurashtra, destroyed many of its
towns, and proceeded to Prabhasa. The Rajputs mobilised their
strength to protect the shrine of Somanatha, and valiantly fought the
enemy. But the fortress fell; and in front of the temple which they
had vainly sought to protect, the heroic warriors, after ceremonial
bathing and anointment, fell fighting, `surrendered themselves to
Somanatha'. Madhava, the cause of all this evil, was also killed.
The temple had fallen into the hands of the enemy. Alafkhan broke
open the shrine, shattered the idol to pieces, and carried away the
fragments in a cart to Delhi. "We shall make chunam out of it", he
said. The poet then piteously asks Siva :
O Rudra! By your wrath you burnt the demons. You spread virtue in the
world; You removed the terror which oppressed the gods; You put to
flight the powerful demon, Tripura, even as the wind blows away
chaff. Padmanabha asks you : O Rudra ! Where is now your mighty
trident ?
The conquering army, the poet proceeds, burnt villages, devastated
the land, plundered people's wealth; took Brahmanas, children and
women of all castes captive, and flogged them with thongs of raw
hide; carried a moving prison with it, and converted the prisoners
into obsequious Turks. Alafkhan then turned his attention to
Kanhadade, who had declined to give a passage to his army.
Parvati and Ganga, God Somanatha's spouses, urge Kanhadade in a dream
to save the god from the hands of the Mlechha. When Alafkhan sends a
message to Kanhadade, he gets a fitting reply : "A hero never praises
himself. He who performs heroic deeds alone wins fame." Alafkhan
thereupon continues his march and encamps at Sirana.
Ministers of the Cohana king call on the Khan, who shows them his
army and his prisoners. The ministers report the state of things to
Kanhadade, who gets ready for battle. The goddess Asapura is
worshipped; necessary orders are given; and the Rajput armies go
forward to meet the foe.
In the battle that follows, the Turks are routed. Alafkhan flees for
life. The idol of Somanath is recovered, and nine lacs of prisoners
are set free. The victory is then celebrated in Jhalora, and the
conqueror returns home amidst the rejoicings of his people.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
excerpted from GUJARATA AND ITS LITERATURE by K.M.MUNSHI"
http://www.geocities.com/ungandhi/kmmunshi1.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->