Man Singh I of Amber
Encyclopedia
Raja Shri Man Singh Ji Saheb (Man Singh I) (December 21, 1550 – July 6, 1614) was the Kacchwaha King of Amber, a state later known as Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....

. He was a trusted general of the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 emperor Akbar, who included him among the Navaratnas
Navaratnas
Navaratnas Nauratan was a term applied to a group of nine extraordinary people in a emperor's court in India...

, or the nine gems of the royal court.

Early life of Man Singh I

He was the son of Rani Sa Bhagawati Ji Sahiba at Amber; his father was Raja Bhagwant Das
Raja Bhagwant Das
Raja Bhagawant Das was a Kacchwaha ruler of Amber. One of his descendants Jai Singh II founded Jaipur.-Life:...

 of Amber. He was born on Sunday, December 21, 1550. He was about eight years younger than Mughal Emperor Akbar who was born on November 23, 1542 and about ten years younger than Rana Pratap who was born on May 9, 1540, These three great personalities, of the same generation, had a great impact on sixteenth century India's polity, society, and history. They are remembered with reverence in India, although Rana Pratap fought unrelenting wars with both of them. Raja Bharmal
Bharmal
Raja Bharmal or Biharimal was a Kachwaha ruler of Amber which was later known as Jaipur in the present day Rajasthan state of India. Bharmal is more known for marrying his daughter, Heera Kunwar or Mariam-us-Zamani to the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1562...

, the first Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...

 ruler to marry his daughter to a Mughal, was Man Singh I's grandfather.

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. On August 26, 1605, Man Singh became a mansabdar
Mansabdar
Mansabdar was the generic term for the military -type grading of all imperial officials of the Mughal Empire. The mansabdars governed the empire and commanded its armies in the emperor's name...

 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
Khusrau Mirza
Khusrau Mirza was the eldest son of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. His mother Manbai or Shah Begam was a Kachhwaha princess and the daughter of Raja Bhagwant Das. Prince Khusrau was born in Lahore on August 16, 1587...

, the eldest son of Jahangir. Akbar called him Farzand (son). He fought many important campaigns for Akbar. Kunwar Man Singh led the Mughal Army
Mughal Army
The Mughal Army was the army of the Mughal Empire.Mirza Najaf Khan was commander in chief of the Mughal Army from 1772 till his death in April 1782.The art of Mughal warfare brought about a complete change in the way wars were fought in the Indian...

 in the well-known battle of Haldighati
Battle of Haldighati
The Battle of Haldighati was fought between the Mughal Empire and the forces of Rajput kingdom Mewar on 18 June 1576 at Haldighati Pass which lies 44 km north of Udaipur in Rajasthan, India....

 fought in 1576 between the Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 and Maha Rana Pratap.

Conflict with Rana Pratap

Man Singh was sent by Akbar to persuade Maha Rana Pratap to make a treaty with Akbar and accept Mughal sovereignty. But Maha Rana Pratap, as a grandson of Rana Sanga
Rana Sanga
-Historical Fact:Maharana Sangram Singh was the ruler of Mewar state, a region lying within the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan, a desert region, between 1509 and 1527. He was a scion of the Sisodia clan of Suryavanshi Rajputs...

, considered the Mughals invaders and intruders on Indian territory; he declined to accept Akbar's sovereignty. The great-grandfather of Man Singh, Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...

 Prithviraj Chauhan, was married to Rana Sanga
Rana Sanga
-Historical Fact:Maharana Sangram Singh was the ruler of Mewar state, a region lying within the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan, a desert region, between 1509 and 1527. He was a scion of the Sisodia clan of Suryavanshi Rajputs...

's niece (Rana Raimal
Rana Raimal
Rana Raimal was a ruler of Mewar. Maharana Raimal was the son of Maharana Kumbha. He came to power by defeating his patricide predecessor, Udaysingh I in battles at Jawar, Darimpur and Pangarh. Early in Raimal's reign, Ghiyas Shah of Malwa attacked Chittor unsuccessfully. Soon after, Ghiyas Shah's...

's daughter). This makes Maha Rana Pratap and Man Singh relative.

On the day of their meeting Maha Rana Pratap invited Man Singh for dinner. Maha Rana Pratap deliberately avoided attending the dinner in person and sent his son "Kunwar" Amar Singh to dine with "Kunwar" Man Singh (as a custom Rajput men are called "Kunwar" in the lifetime of their father). The attitude of other Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...

 nobles was also discouraging. They were secretly making mockery of Man Singh as his aunt Jodhabai
Jodhabai
Mariam uz-Zamani Begum Sahiba , née Rajkumari Hira Kunwari, alias Harkha Bai was a Rajput princess who became the Mughal Empress, after her marriage to Mughal Emperor Akbar...

 was married to Akbar. Man Singh took this as an insult to Akbar and himself. He knew Maha Rana Pratap was making an excuse to avoid him. He refused to dine with Amar Singh. He remarked, "I will come again and then will have a dinner". Understanding the hidden meaning a noble of Pratap remarked "well, don't forget to bring your uncle Akbar". This laid the foundation of war between the Mughals and Rana Pratap, who already had many decades of rivalry and enmity.

Appointed by Akbar to lead the Mughal Army against Rana Pratap, Kunwar Man Singh started from Ajmer
Ajmer
Ajmer , formerly written as Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Rajasthan state in India. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 , and is located west of the Rajasthan state capital Jaipur, 200 km from Jodhpur, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from...

 on 3 April 1576. A gruesome battle was fought on June 18, 1576 at Haldi Ghati. Rana Pratap personally attacked Man Singh, who defended himself by ducking. Man Singh's "Mahout
Mahout
A mahout is a person who drives an elephant. The word mahout comes from the Hindi words mahaut and mahavat. Usually, a mahout starts as a boy in the 'family business' when he is assigned an elephant early in its life and they would be attached to each other throughout the elephant's life.The most...

" (the driver of his elephant) was killed. Rana Pratap's famous warhorse "Chetak" was mortally wounded. Rana Pratap, himself, amazingly survived this battle. A nobleman, Jhala Man Singh, who pretended to be Rana Pratap, was killed by the Mughal forces. Jhala Man Singh put the helmet of Rana Pratap on his head, though he knew he would be killed soon by doing this. Ultimately, the Mughal army won the battle. The next day Man Singh advanced and captured Gogunda
Gogunda
Gogunda is a small town and tehsil headqaurters located about 35 km in north-west from Udaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated on a high mountain in Aravalli hills and is reached by crossing a difficult mountain pass. The great Mewar king Maharana Pratap's Raj Tilak was performed...

, the seat of Pratap's coronation, but the geographical situation of Mewar
Mewar
Mewar is a region of south-central Rajasthan state in western India. It includes the present-day districts of Pratapgarh, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara and some of the part of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The region was for centuries a Rajput kingdom that later...

 was such that Rana Pratap could hide between hills. He exploited this and began guerrilla warfare. Ultimately, Pratap was able to liberate all of Mewar
Mewar
Mewar is a region of south-central Rajasthan state in western India. It includes the present-day districts of Pratapgarh, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara and some of the part of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The region was for centuries a Rajput kingdom that later...

 except the fort of Chittor. Despite his success Akbar was not happy with Man Singh, and stopped conversing with him for some time. Perhaps he thought Man Singh was responsible for Pratap's escape from the battlefield. Conspirators also fed this to his ears, but Akbar's doubts cleared when he visited Ajmer
Ajmer
Ajmer , formerly written as Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Rajasthan state in India. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 , and is located west of the Rajasthan state capital Jaipur, 200 km from Jodhpur, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from...

's shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti
Moinuddin Chishti
Sultan-ul-Hind, Moinuddin Chishti was born in 1141 and died in 1230 CE. Also known as Gharīb Nawāz "Benefactor of the Poor" , he is the most famous Sufi saint of the Chishti Order of the Indian Subcontinent. He introduced and established the order in South Asia...

 the following year.

In the Battle of Haldighati
Battle of Haldighati
The Battle of Haldighati was fought between the Mughal Empire and the forces of Rajput kingdom Mewar on 18 June 1576 at Haldighati Pass which lies 44 km north of Udaipur in Rajasthan, India....

, despite exaggerated figures, it is estimated that Rana Pratap had 3000 horsemen, some elephants and the same number of Bhil
Bhil
Bhils are primarily an Adivasi people of Central India. Bhils are also settled in the Tharparkar District of Sindh, Pakistan. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages....

 warriors under Rao Poonja
Rao Poonja
Rana Poonja was a Solanki Rajput ruling the state of Panarwa. Panarwa is the biggest fiefdom of the Bhomat area of Mewar. The family's subject consists of Bhils. He is known for his valiance in the Battle of Haldighati where he fought along with Maharana Pratap against the forces of Akbar in 1576...

. A small artillery unit was also with him under Hakim Khan Sur
Hakim Khan Sur
Hakim Khan Sur was Afghan warrior and chief of artillery of Rana Pratap, and fought with him in the Battle of Haldighati in 1576....

. The force was divided into five wings. Advance wing was under Hakim Khan Sur
Hakim Khan Sur
Hakim Khan Sur was Afghan warrior and chief of artillery of Rana Pratap, and fought with him in the Battle of Haldighati in 1576....

, Bhim Singh Dahiya and Ramdas Rathore. The right wing was under Bhamashah
Bhamashah
Bhamashah was a remarkable character of Indian history who gave his whole wealth to Maharana Pratap, the ruler of Mewar, to fight Mughal Emperor Akbar. He set up an example of love and sacrifice for the country of highest order....

 and Ramshah Tanwar
Ramshah Tanwar
Ramshah Tanwar was the last Tomar king of Gwalior. He was ousted by Akbar and sought refuge at his maternal home in Mewar which at the time was the only state who refused Akbar as head of state....

. The left wing was under Jhala Man Singh. Rana Pratap was in the centre. Behind him was Rao Poonja
Rao Poonja
Rana Poonja was a Solanki Rajput ruling the state of Panarwa. Panarwa is the biggest fiefdom of the Bhomat area of Mewar. The family's subject consists of Bhils. He is known for his valiance in the Battle of Haldighati where he fought along with Maharana Pratap against the forces of Akbar in 1576...

 with his Bhil
Bhil
Bhils are primarily an Adivasi people of Central India. Bhils are also settled in the Tharparkar District of Sindh, Pakistan. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages....

 warriors.

The Mughal army had 10,000 horsemen, some elephants and infantry. Among the horsemen 4,000 were Kachwaha
Kachwaha
Kachwaha are a Suryavanshi Kshatriya clan who ruled a number of kingdoms and princely states in India such as Alwar, Maihar, Talcher, while the largest kingdom was Jaipur which was founded by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1727...

 Rajput warriors. One thousand other Hindu warriors and rest were Uzbeks
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...

, Turkics
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...

, Kazakhs
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....

, Sayyid
Sayyid
Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...

s and other Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s. This force divided into five wings. There were two advance wings. The first was under Sayyid Hashim Barah son of Sayyed Mahmud Khan
Sayyed Mahmud Khan
Sayyid Mahmud Khan Barha, also known as Mahmud Khan, was a general in the Akbar'r army, Amiral Kabir Sayyid Mahmud Khan Barha, son of Sayyid Mubarak , was the first person of this family - the Saiyids of Barah - to rise to the rank of a nobleman. This he did through his bravery and valour during...

, Barah Jagganath Kachwaha and Asaf Ali Khan. The second advance troop was under Madho Singh Kachwaha. Behind this was Man Singh. To his right was Mulla Kazikhan Badkhsi and to left were Sayyeds of Barah
Saadat-e-Bara
Sadat-e-Bara , sometimes pronounced Sadaat-e-Barha, are a community of Sayyids who inhabit a group of twelve villages situated in the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh in India. This community had considerable influence during the latter days of the Mughal Empire. They were also found in...

. At first Rana Pratap attacked and scattered the advance and left wings of the Mughal army. Jagnnath Kachwaha killed Ramshah Tanwar and Rajput warriors of both sides engaged in fierce battle. The Mughal army could not distinguish between friend and foe and killed Rajputs of both sides. The Mughal army surrounded Rana Pratap; so to save his life Jhala Man put the Rana's helmet on his head and died in his place. This provided Maha Rana Pratap a chance to escape. After this, Rana's army dispersed. The Mughal Army, expecting another attack, remained vigilant all night. Only in the morning they were able to judge their success. Almost half of Rana's army was finished. The battle was won but the Maha Rana had survived.

Expedition to Kabul

In 1580 CE, some prominent Muslim officers of Akbar, displeased with his liberal religious policies, started to conspire against him. Qazi Muhammad Yazdi declared it the duty of every Muslim to rebel against Akbar. In Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

 and Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

 they declared Mirza Hakim, Akbar's stepbrother and Governor of Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

, to be the emperor. Akbar sent armies to Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

 and Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

 to crush this rebellion, while he himself started towards Kabul; Man Singh with him. On March 8, 1581, Akbar reached Machhiwara
Machhiwara
Machhiwara is a village and a nagar panchayat in the Ludhiana district of the Indian state of Punjab. Machhiwara is famous for Gurudwara Sri Charan Kanwal Sahib named after the Guru's feet that are compared to the lotus flower...

 and soon arrived on the banks of River Indus, he then sent an advance force led by Man Singh to Kabul. Although, Akbar's army was hesitating to cross the swelling Indus River, Man Singh was able to cross it first followed by troops. Hearing the news Mirza Hakim fled to Gurband. Following the army, Akbar himself arrived at Kabul on August 10, 1581. Hakim was pardoned by Akbar, but his sister "Bakhtunissa Begum" was appointed Governor of Kabul. After Akbar returned to Fatehpur Sikri
Fatehpur Sikri
Fatehpur Sikri is a city and a municipal board in Agra district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Built near the much older Sikri, the historical city of Fatehabad, as it was first named, was constructed by Mughal emperor Akbar beginning in 1570...

; Bakhtunissa remained as the nominal head of state, while Hakim acted as the Governor (Hakim died in July, 1582). Kabul was annexed by the Mughal Empire and Man Singh was appointed Governor. He remained in Kabul for some years and built a fortress, used by succeeding Mughal Governors. Man Singh brought many talented men with him when he returned from Kabul. Some of their descendants still live in Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....

.

Again in 1585 CE, some Afghan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 tribes rose against the Mughal empire. The Yusufzai and "Mandar" tribes were the main ones among them. Akbar sent an army under Zain Khan, Hakim Abul Fateh and Raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...

 Birbal
Birbal
Raja Birbal was the Grand Vizier of the Mughal court in the administration of the Mughal emperor Akbar. He one of his most trusted members along with being a part of Akbar's inner council of nine advisors, known as the navaratna, a Sanskrit word meaning nine jewels...

 to control these revolting tribes. However, they failed to control the revolting Afghans and Raja Birbal, friend of Akbar and one of his Navratnas
Navratnas
Navratna was the title given originally to nine Public Sector Enterprises identified by the Government of India in 1997 as "public sector companies that have comparative advantages", giving them greater autonomy to compete in the global market so as to "support [them] in their drive to become...

 was also killed in the battle with Afghans. Akbar then sent Raja Todar Mal
Raja Todar Mal
Raja Todar Mal was born in Laharpur, Uttar Pradesh in a Punjabi Kayastha family, and rose to become the Finance Minister in Akbar's Darbar of the Mughal empire. He was made in charge of Agra and settled in Gujarat. Later, he was made in charge of Gujarat as well. He also managed Akbar's Mint at...

 to crush the revolt and called Raja Man Singh to help Todar Mal. Todarmal had some success in controlling the rebellious Afghan tribes, but the real source of the revolt was behind the Khyber Pass
Khyber Pass
The Khyber Pass, is a mountain pass linking Pakistan and Afghanistan.The Pass was an integral part of the ancient Silk Road. It is mentioned in the Bible as the "Pesh Habor," and it is one of the oldest known passes in the world....

. It was hard to cross this pass which was dominated by Afghan "Kabailies". Man Singh was accompanied by "Rao Gopaldas" of Nindar
Nindar
This is the name of a village given in succession, as Jagir, to Rao "Shivbramh" or "Sheobramh", the fourth son of Raja Udaikaran of Amber . The descendants of Rao Sheobramh are known as Sheobramhpota...

 in this expedition, who bravely made way for Mughal army in the pass. After crossing the pass Man Singh decisively defeated five major tribes of Afghans including Yusufzai and "Mandar" tribes. The flag of Amber was changed from "Katchanar" (green climber in white base) to "Pachranga" (five colored) to commemorate this victory. This flag continued in use until accession of Jaipur state in India. This permanently crushed the revolt and the area remained peaceful thereafter.

In 1586 CE, Akbar sent another army under Raja Bhagwant Das
Raja Bhagwant Das
Raja Bhagawant Das was a Kacchwaha ruler of Amber. One of his descendants Jai Singh II founded Jaipur.-Life:...

, father of Kunwar Man Singh to win Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...

. Kashmir was included in the Mughal Empire and made a Sarkar (district) of Kabul province. Man Singh and his father Raja Bhagwant Das are reputed to have brought the technology of cannon production from Kabul and Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

 to Amber.

Conquest of Orissa

In 1588, Man Singh was appointed Governor of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

. In 1590, Qutlu Khan Lohani, an Afghan ruler of north Orissa declared himself independent and assumed the title of "Qutlu Shah". Raja Man Singh started an expedition against him. Before facing Man Singh, Qutlu Shah was killed by Rao Gopaldas of Nindar
Nindar
This is the name of a village given in succession, as Jagir, to Rao "Shivbramh" or "Sheobramh", the fourth son of Raja Udaikaran of Amber . The descendants of Rao Sheobramh are known as Sheobramhpota...

. Qutlu Khan's son Nasir Khan, after little resistance, accepted Mughal sovereignty and paid homage to Man Singh on 15 August 1590. Nasir Khan was then appointed Governor of Orissa. Nasir Khan remained faithful to the Mughal empire for two years but after that he violated the conditions of his treaty and seized the Jagannath Temple of Puri
Puri
Puri is district headquarter, a city situated about south of state capital Bhubaneswar, on the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian state of Orissa. It is also known as Jagannath Puri after the Jagannath Temple . It is a holy city of the Hindus as a part of the Char Dham pilgrimages...

, which was Mughal territory. Man Singh again attacked Orissa and decisively defeated Nasir Khan on April 9, 1592 in a battle near the present day Medinipur town and ousted him from Orissa. Orissa then was annexed to the Mughal Empire and included in Bengal "Subah" (Province).

Governor of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa

On 17 March 1594, Raja Man Singh was appointed Subahdar
Subahdar
Subahdar was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah during the Mughal era of India who was alternately designated as Sahib-i-Subah or Nazim. The word, Subahdar is of Persian origin...

 (Governor) of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

, Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

, and Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

. He made his headquarters in Rohtas
Rohtas District
Rohtas district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India.The Rohtas district is a part of Patna Division, and it has an area of 3850 km² , a population of 2,448,762 , and a population density of 636 persons per km²...

, in Bihar. In doing so, he renovated the fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

s and also built a Haveli (Palatial House) in Rohtas Fort
Rohtas Fort
Rohtas Fort is a garrison fort built by the great Afghan king Sher Shah Suri. This fort is about 4 km in circumference and the first example of the successful amalgamation of Pashtun and Hindu architecture in the Indian Subcontinent.-Name of fort:...

, which still stands to this date. During his tenure as Governor, Man Singh further expanded the Mughal Empire by defeating and subduing the old kingdoms of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. He defeated Maharaja Pratap Aditya of Jessore, and brought the famous idol of "Shila Devi
Shila Devi
Shila Devi is the famous idol of Durga. Her temple is located in Amber Fort. The idol was brought by Raja Man Singh I of Amber from Jessore, now in Bangladesh. On the sixth day of winter Navratris, special prayers are offered to this goddess. Lakhs of people from Jaipur and surrounding areas come...

" to Amber. The temple of this goddess is still present in Amber fort. During Navratris lakhs of people gather here. Raja Man Singh served three successive terms as Governor of this area, in 1594-98, 1601–1605, 1605-1606.

Jahangir and twilight of Man Singh I

Prince Salim was born, but he soon became addicted to alcohol and opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...

. He disobeyed royal orders and became infamous for torture such as murdering Abul Fazal
Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak
Shaikh Abu al-Fazl ibn Mubarak also known as Abu'l-Fazl, Abu'l Fadl and Abu'l-Fadl 'Allami was the vizier of the great Mughal emperor Akbar, and author of the Akbarnama, the official history of Akbar's reign in three volumes, and a Persian translation of the Bible...

. Akbar tried hard to reform him as well as his Salim's eldest son Khusrau Mirza
Khusrau Mirza
Khusrau Mirza was the eldest son of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. His mother Manbai or Shah Begam was a Kachhwaha princess and the daughter of Raja Bhagwant Das. Prince Khusrau was born in Lahore on August 16, 1587...

. Two of Akbar's sons, Murad and Danial, died in his lifetime. The royal court was divided into two factions, one favoring Khusrau and the other Salim to be the next emperor. Raja Man Singh and Mirza Aziz Koka were in Khusrau's favour. In 1605, when Akbar fell ill, he appointed Salim to be his heir. Though Man Singh opposed Salim's accession to the throne during Akbar's lifetime, he never opposed Jahangir (Salim) after his coronation. After Akbar's death, Jahangir
Jahangir
Jahangir was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death. The name Jahangir is from Persian جهانگیر,meaning "Conqueror of the World"...

 (Salim) became emperor. Man Singh was initially sent as Subahdar
Subahdar
Subahdar was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah during the Mughal era of India who was alternately designated as Sahib-i-Subah or Nazim. The word, Subahdar is of Persian origin...

 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. Jahangir also ordered removal of some of the modifications which had been made by Raja Man Singh to his palace at Amber. But in 1611 CE, the southern provinces of Ahmednagar
Ahmednagar district
Ahmednagar district is the largest district of Maharashtra state in western India. The historical Ahmednagar city is the headquarters of the district. Ahmednagar was the seat of the Ahmednagar Sultanate of late medieval period . This district is also known for the towns of Shirdi associated with...

, Berar
Berar Province
Berar Province, known also as the Hyderabad Assigned Districts, was a province of British India. The province, formerly ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad, was administered by the British after 1853, although the Nizam retained formal sovereignty over the province...

 and Khandesh
Khandesh
Khandesh is a region of central India, which forms the northwestern portion of Maharashtra state.Khandesh was the terminal territorial part under the rule of Mughals. The Start of Deccan region demarcated by the boundary of Khandesh....

 defied Mughal sovereignty under Malik Ambar
Malik Ambar
Malik Ambar was an Ethiopian born in Harar, sold as a child by his parents due to poverty and rose to the level of Prime Minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in India. He eventually arrived in India, where he was educated and given opportunities, but he remained a slave. Nevertheless in time he...

. Jahangir
Jahangir
Jahangir was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death. The name Jahangir is from Persian جهانگیر,meaning "Conqueror of the World"...

 sent Raja Man Singh and others to crush the revolt.

Man Singh died a natural death on July 6, 1614 at Ellichpur. Following his death, he was succeeded by his son Mirza Raja Bhau Singh. His direct descendants became known (to this date) as the Rajawat
Rajawat
Rajawat or Rajavat is the name of the senior sub-clan of the Kachwaha, Suryavanshi rajputs. Descendants of Raja Bhagwant Das of Amber, India...

s who had the privilege to the throne
Throne
A throne is the official chair or seat upon which a monarch is seated on state or ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy or the Crown itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many expressions such as "the power behind the...

 of Amber and subsequently Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....

.

Cultural achievements

Raja Man Singh was a devotee of Shri Krishna. He had a seven-storied temple of Krishna constructed at for Srila Rupa Goswami
Rupa Goswami
Rupa Goswami was an Indian devotional teacher , poet, and philosopher from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. Alongside his brother Sanatana Goswami, he was considered the leader of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan associated with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Hindu saint believed to be the...

, disciple of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in Vrindavan
Vrindavan
Vrindavan also known as Vraj is a town in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India...

. The cost of construction was one crore rupees at that time. Akbar is also believed to have donated the red sandstone for this temple. Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...

 later demolished three storeys of this temple. The four-storey temple is still present at Vrindavan
Vrindavan
Vrindavan also known as Vraj is a town in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India...

. He also constructed a temple of Krishna at his capital, Amber. The place is now known as "Kanak Vrindavan" near Amber Ghati of Jaipur. He constructed the temple of Shila Devi at Amber Fort. He also constructed and repaired many temples at Benaras, Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...

 and various other places. He added much beautification to his palace at Amber. When Akbar called a meeting of his nobles at Fatehpur Sikri in 1582, to discuss Din-i-Ilahi
Din-i-Ilahi
The Dīn-i Ilāhī was a syncretic religious doctrine propounded by the Mughal emperor Jalālu d-Dīn Muḥammad Akbar , who ruled the Indian subcontinent from 1556 to 1605, intending to merge the best elements of the religions of his empire, and thereby reconcile the differences that divided his subjects...

, Raja Bhagwant Das
Raja Bhagwant Das
Raja Bhagawant Das was a Kacchwaha ruler of Amber. One of his descendants Jai Singh II founded Jaipur.-Life:...

 was the only man to oppose this religion. Later, Man Singh also refused to convert to Din-i-Ilahi
Din-i-Ilahi
The Dīn-i Ilāhī was a syncretic religious doctrine propounded by the Mughal emperor Jalālu d-Dīn Muḥammad Akbar , who ruled the Indian subcontinent from 1556 to 1605, intending to merge the best elements of the religions of his empire, and thereby reconcile the differences that divided his subjects...

. It is believed his son Jagat Singh I received education from Goswami Tulsidas
Tulsidas
Tulsidas , was a Hindu poet-saint, reformer and philosopher renowned for his devotion for the god Rama...

 and Man Singh himself used to attend his religious lectures. Tulsidas
Tulsidas
Tulsidas , was a Hindu poet-saint, reformer and philosopher renowned for his devotion for the god Rama...

 was a contemporary of Akbar and author of Ramcharit Manas, known as Tulsi Ramayana, and much other famous poetry devoted to Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

 and Hanuman
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...

. He used to be accompanied by Charan
Charan
Chāraṇ is the term for a caste living in the Gujarat and Rajasthan states of India. According to Shrimada Bhagwata Skand Charans were created along with other divine forms such as Yaksha, Gandharvas, Kinnara, Sidhdhas, Apsara, etc. and lived with them in Heaven...

 poets. There are two occasions when these poets inspired Man Singh by their Poetry:

When the Mughal army was hesitating to cross the Indus River
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...

 at Attock
Attock
Attock is a city located in the northern border of the Punjab province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Attock District...

, the poet said:
Sabe bhumi Gopal ki, ya men Atak kahan
Ja ke man men Atak hai, so hi Atak raha.



Hearing this, Man Singh crossed the river first, followed by the army. It is believed after winning Orissa, Man Singh wanted to create a naval force and attack "Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

". But a poet said:
Raghupati dino dan, vipra Vibhishan janike
Man mahipat man, diyo dan kimi lijiye
(Lord Rama had given Lanka
Lanka
Sri Lanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary king Ravana in the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata...

 (in donation) to Vibhishana
Vibhishana
Vibhishana or Bibhishan is a character in the epic Ramayana. He was the younger brother of the demon Ravana. Though a half-demon himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character and advised Ravana, who kidnapped and abducted Sita, to return her to her husband Rama in an orderly fashion...

 as a Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

.
O Raja Man Singh, stop! How something, once donated, can be taken back)?


(Sri Lanka was won by Shri Rama, forefather of Man Singh. Rama appointed Vibhishana, brother of Rawana, to rule it). It is believed that he dropped the idea of winning Lanka, perhaps because the lack of a naval force was a weak point of the Mughal empire.

See also

  • House of Kachwaha
  • List of Rajputs
  • Pratap Singh, Maharana of Mewar
    Pratap Singh, Maharana of Mewar
    Maharana Pratap or Pratap Singh Mewar was a Hindu ruler of Mewar, a state in north-western India. In popular Indian culture, Pratap is considered to exemplify the qualities like bravery and chivalry to which Rajputs aspire.-Early life and background:maharana pratap Born: May 9, 1540 in Kumbhalgarh,...

  • origin of Rajputs

External links

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