𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒂 π‘Ίπ’‚π’π’ˆπ’‚ - 𝑻𝒉𝒆 π‘¬π’Žπ’‘π’†π’“π’π’“ 𝒐𝒇 𝑾𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔
"𝐼 π˜©π‘Žπ‘£π‘’ π‘›π‘œ π‘‘π‘’π‘ π‘–π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘‘π‘œ π‘ π‘’π‘“π‘“π‘’π‘Ÿ 𝑑𝑀𝑖𝑐𝑒, 𝑖𝑛 π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Žπ‘™π‘–π‘‘π‘¦ & π‘‘π˜©π‘’π‘› 𝑖𝑛 π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘ π‘π‘’π‘π‘‘."
A simple quote from a Sophoclean play, to live by, for most men,but then he was not like most men.
The subject in point being someone who suffered innumerable wounds, even achieving the moniker of the Emperor of Wounds but then some also say our wounds make us stronger.
Maharana Sangram Singh, or Rana Sanga, was the son of Maharana Raimal and the grandson of Maharana Kumbhakarna (Kumbha) of the illustrious house of Mewar and was born on 12th of April 1482.
An indispensable character in Indian history, the Rana draws as much admiration for his military achievements as much as he draws for the odds against which he achieved them.
The Emperor of Wounds, as they call him, was a moniker given to him for the number of wounds he had sustained through his undefeated military career, that some say numbered to 80.
Upon the death of his father Rana Raimal in 1509, the battle of Succession against his brother Udal Singh brought him victory but also his first wound, he was blinded in one eye. However Mewar now had him as the ruler.
An astute statesman and diplomat like his grandfather Maharana Kumbha, he united the warring Kingdoms of Rajputana and formed a powerful confederacy, uniting a great portion of the Rajputs, something that hadn't happened in centuries.
The new developments found audience, a curious and alarmed audience, in the the sultanates of Delhi, Gujarat, and Malwa.Malwa then under the rule of Sultan Mahmud Khilji was torn by dissension.
Wary of his Rajput feudatory and minister Medini Rai's power, the politically weak Mahmud sought outside assistance from both Sultan Ibrahim Lodi of Delhi, and Bahadur Shah of Gujarat.
Medini Rai, on his part, requested Maharana Sangram Singh to come to his aid. Thus began the prolonged war between Mewar against the Sultans of North India.
Joined by Rajputs loyal to Medini Rai within Malwa, Sanga's troops from Mewar defeated the combined armies of Delhi and Malwa in a series of hotly contested battles.
Sultan Mahmud Khilji was himself taken prisoner, only to be freed after leaving his sons as hostages in Mewar's capital, Chittor. Malwa now fell under the Maharana Sanga's military power.
Sanga now turned his attention northwards, towards the Delhi Sultanate. As he marched, he scored several victories, capturing some key strategic assets in the process, including the fort of Ranthambore.
This culminated in the two armies meeting in the theater of Khatoli, in Hadoti, and a decisive victory was achieved by Rana Sanga. Sanga however sustained more wounds, this time losing a hand and getting crippled in a leg.
In retaliation, Lodi invaded Sanga's home province of Mewar after having curbed instability in Delhi, however he was thwarted. Sanga meets Lodi again in the battle of Dhaulpur again to the same effect.
Now the Rana turned his attention towards Gujarat. Idar, a Kingdom under Gujarat then was ruled by Bharmal, who had ousted his brother Raimal from the throne with the help of the Gujarat Sultanate.
Rana Sanga promised to help Raimal against Bharmal in exchange for Idar's vassalage to Mewar. This leads to Mewar's invasion of Gujarat and the Mewar - Gujarat war including the Battle of idar.
The Gujarat Sultanate was also defeated, and now Idar was under Mewar. Later the Sultanates of Gujarat and Malwa make a joint effort, in the battles of Mandsaur and Gagraun, but are defeated again and Maharana Sangram Singh is again victorious.
Sanga's last battle would be in Khanwa, also the first that he would lose. The new power player from north west that had come with augmented strength from Punjabi, Afghan and Central Asian able bodied men, saw an opportunity in the now depleted Delhi Sultanate under Ibrahim Lodi.
Battle of Panipat inflated Babur's numbers further and although Khanzada Hasan Khan joins Rana Sanga in the succeeding Battle of Khanwa, it ends up in a losing effort, consolidating the Mughal power further and establishing the Mughal Empire.
It is either out of ignorance or sheer motivation of modern Indian historians that Maharana Sanga is projected by them for his last bout against Babur who had taken advantage of the attrition that the Rana had inflicted upon Delhi Sultanate.
Babur was even aided by a few powerful and ambitious allies of the Rana himself, giving him his non-physical, final, and the mortal wound, in their plan to carve out a space of their own.
Mewar however always resisted the Empires that would come to rule Delhi, right up to 1947 when it was dissolved into the Union of India.
And till its dissolution, Mewar remained true to another Sophoclean quotation...

"π‘Œπ‘œπ‘’ π‘π‘Žπ‘› π‘˜π‘–π‘™π‘™ π‘Ž π‘šπ‘Žπ‘› 𝑏𝑒𝑑 π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘π‘Žπ‘›'𝑑 π‘˜π‘–π‘™π‘™ π‘Žπ‘› π‘–π‘‘π‘’π‘Ž."
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