Mewar History
Mewar History
Mewar History
INTRODUCTION
These architectural
Thus the
: 2 :
and the Shahapura Chief ship, on the west by Jodhpur and Sirohi,
on the south-west by Idar; on the south by Dungarpur, Bans wara
and Pratapgarh; on the east by Nimuch, Nimbahera., Bundi and Kota?
and on the north-east by Jaipur.
distributed in
Udaiptir.
The Rivers
like, Banas, Sabarmati, Soma and Mahi flow from the region of Mewar.
Some scholars^ believe that the word MEWAR was derived from
Meda Tribe, who had settled here for a pretty long time.
Cj
It is
: 3 :
(Cir.600 B.C.,)?.
Therefore,
600 B.C.10.
Bhimagori tank,
part also^.
occupy Mewar^.
CL
1R
1Q
21
23
He,
: 5 :
After them
they might have migrated to Mewar from Gujarat and their early
home in Rajasthan might have been in south west Mewar from where
three of their early inscriptions have been,found
pa
Dr.D.RiBhan-
darkars theory^ says that the Guhilots are originally NagarBrahmaha%,, and it was accepted by the majority of the scholars.
In the Ghittor inscription^ of V.E.1331 (1274 A.D.) and Achleshwar temple inscription*^ of V.E.1342 (1285 A.D,), it is mentioned
that Bappa Raval changed his priestly splendour for.regal lustre.
This conception of the Brahman origin of the Guhilots was already
in existence during the time of'Maharana Kumbha^ .
Based on some
Dr.G.G.Raychaudhary^
<#
*-J
Concluded that, 'They did not in their earlier inscription lay any
claim to descent from the Sun,
As
To find out
In a fragmentary .
38
whose period of
But an
tion, Guhilas rise can be put in the period when there was
political disorder that followed the break-up of the Huna power
as well as the old age of Harshavardhana.
Amongst the early Guhilots, Siladitya was one of the most
important and enterprising rulers of Mewar.
ption of 646 A.d, '.yields the information that he was the vanquis
her of the enemies. Similar account is also available in the
Chittor Inscription of V.E.1331* (1274 A.D.)^0. After the death
of Harshavardhan in 647 A.D. numerous independent kingdoms sprangup at the cost of his empire.
: 7 :
(1274 A.D.) describes that 'even now when his name finds its way
to oui? ears, it makes us forget the names of others'.
inscription of V.E.1342. (1285 A.D.)
LlO
The Abu
43
A good
Lq
Col.Tod^
and tried to fix the date of his abdication as V.E.810 (753 A*D*)#
1028
a
Mahffcyam,
that the first welknown king Bappa had received a blessing from Sri Ekiingji, Lord Shiva in V.E.810^ ,
This clearly
it is said, "Bappa took Chittor from Mori and became himself the
mor (crown) of the land.
From
was
of the Mori kings was given, which establishes the fact of the
Mori dynasty being in possession of Chittor in V.E.770 (714. A.D.).
It shows that Chittor was conquered by Bappa after V.E,770.
According to Tod
: 9 :
58
century to the close of the twelth century A.D., Mewar faced the
reverses at the hands of its powerful neighbours, the Chauhans
the parmaras and the Chalukyas^,
63
: 1C :
six months.
Thus the
he was the, sole Hindu prince of power now left in North India.
He consolidated his power and extended the frontiers of hiskingdom.
His influence and leadership was recognized by the rulers of 1
Marwar, Jaipur, Bundi, Gwalior, Chanderi, Raesin, Sikri, Kalpi,
Abu etc.^.
: 11 :
'
Among royal
dauntless fighter, but was also a lover of learning and fine arts.
He repaired temple of Samadhiswara at Chittor, a Magnificent relic
of Rajput art*
: 12 :
He carried his
In
74
desired end*
It must be said in
favour of the Rana that during the course of the ceaseless wars
he did not lose an inch of land out of his patrimony.
Maharana Khmbha was not only great in War* he was also
scholar and poet of no Imean repute
His
works like the Sangitaraja, the Sangita Mimamsa and the Sangita
: 13
In
76
During his reign several forts, palaces, inns, schools, tanks etc.
were built.
defences of Chittor and built seven of its gates and a road lead
ing up the hill.
: 14 :
\
about 1559 A.D. and about the same'time established his capital
at Udaipur
79
When Akbar
: 15 :
The examples
Like a true
external invasions.
But when it
He
He also cemented
In maintaining the
power and dignity of their kingdom, the people and the Royal
: 17 :
family, they faced the hostility of the later Mughals and the
aggressions of the Marathas with ability and energy.
Though the
strengthened by adopting writing, Ghitrakuta-Udaipur and DostiLondon on the coins circulated by Maharana Swaropp Singh (18421@61)?^ The relations with the British Emperor, the Government of
India, influenced considerably the political, commercial and cons
titutional activities in Mewar.
II
Iconographical (Brahmanical) Centres of Mewar*
*
(1)
CHITTOR
91
'
-1 i
: 18 :
Pratiharas sometimes
Rawal, the reputed founder of Guhilot^ had to reside at Nagadrahapura (Nagada near Eklingji), as Chittor was successively garri
soned by the Pratihara emprerors of Kanauj (9th Cent.A.D,), the
Rashtrakutas of the Deccan (10th Cent. A.D.) and the Paramaras
of Malwa.
the 11th Cent. A.D. the Guhilots recovered Chittor, but had soon
to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Chaulukya-solankis of
Gujarat.
tion of 646 A.D. and other later inscriptions we are led to fix
Guhil^ time97 in the late 5th cent, and that, of Bappa in the
QD
of
713 A.D., 754 A.D and 830 A.D. leads us to the fact that Chittor
: 19 :
was in the possession of the princes Man, : Kukareswar and Dharnivaraha during the 8th and early 9th century A.D.
The sources
the early 13th cent. A.D._, Chittor was in the possession of the
dynasties other than the Guhilots.
Within the walls of the fort, there are fields, ruined civic
structures, smiling lakes, deep reservoirs and splendid monuments
of the intrinsic beauty.
with the ground, the only ones that have survived the ravages of
time and ruthless destruction of the invaders, are some of the
towers or temples or palaces.
The
: 20 :
Tegiples and other civil architectural works located in the Ghittor
Fort are shown in the map No.Two,
Vi.jaya Stambha
In the fort, two tower or Pillars are preserved.
larly known as Vijayastambha (Tower, of victory)
as Kirt^istambha.
One popu-
Translation of three
By the lustre
21
Is it representative of the
Near it
Jaita who
: 22 :
seated on a chair with two of his sons Napa and Punja on his right
and another son Pama on the left.
represented in
107
The
prasasti found by Tod,, mentioned one Raja Mana who built the
lake Manasarovara.
The Gaumu.kha Tirthasthala is one of the three most sacred
23 :
sites on the fort, the other two being the Bhimlat reservoir and
the Chftranga Mori reservoir.
Pattas tank, slightly to the east of the Suraj kund, near east
ern ramparts, Bhimlat, is a large, deep, rock-cut tank v/ith stairs
on the eastern and northern sides,
overlooks it on the western bank.
temple originally.
Though an
110
111
enclosed
Another prasasti
112
Though of gigna-
Kumbha
did not begin it, he only restored and rebuilt it, and dedi
cated it to Lord Vishnu,
: 25 s.
temple
"*1 lx
'
Perhaps
It may
create the doubt in our mind, that perhaps this was built on the
ancient ruined structure.
purna temple
The present
day belief that Rana Sanga built the Mira Ka Mandir adjoining the
Kumbhashyam Temple seems to require more proofs to establish it.
It was during the reigns of Mokal and Kumbha that old temples or
ruined structures were.repaired or rebuilt and were also given
new names,
(2)
KUMBHALGARH
118
KUMBHALGARH was designed by Kaiidan and built by Maharana
It is about 90 Kilo-
: 26 s
meters aways from Udaipur and it was built to guard the territo
ries of Mewar,
and commands a fine view of the wild and rugged scenery of the
Aravali,<n7/sand sandy deserts of Marwar.
Nearby he
cated to Navadurga.
(3)
EKLINGTI
The present Ekling.ji, or Kailashpuri is a pilgrim place
: 27 :
120
informs us that the present form' of the temple and its environs
may be ascribed to Khuman (753 A.D.), Jaitra Singh (1213 A.D.);
Mokal (1421 A.D.); Kumbha (1433 A,D.) and Raimal (1473 A.D.).
The frontal gate, the narrow and long approach, the courtyards
of high and low levels, irregular rows of shrines in and around
the main temple etc. are the evidences of the constructions of
temple belonging to different ages.
An
122
NAGADA
123
NAGADA or Nagarada of inscriptional records or Nagadraha
: 28 :
Its
124
Nagada happended
to be the capital city of Mewar right from the sixth cent. A.D.
to the thirteenth Cent. A.D; though sometimes Ayad or Aghatpur
and Chittor also enjoyed the credit of being the seat of Imperial
(Guhilots.
126
us that, upto the 13th cent. A.D. Nagada was enjoying the seat
of Imperial Guhilots.
s 29 :
RAJNAGAR (Raj-Samumidra)
PA
, is an artificial
lake and lies to the north of Kankroli and located in the north
east of Udaipur, about 70 Kms away.
has been
off famines and perpetuate his own name and fame 151 ,
The work
It is about
182 meters long and 64 meters broad and is entirely made of while
marble including a flight of steps, wide platforms, pavilions
and Torans,
: 30 :
The Panels
RANAKPUR
RANAKPUR is located 96 Kms., sway from Udaipur*
The -Jain
Both, Saivaite
images
: 31 S
138
During the
and
It is stated in Virvinod,
: 32 :
Jain Temples
of Allat of V.s.1008-1010 at
Numbers
The whole
Such
: 33 ;
pieces are the images of Shiva and Parvati, Surya and Vishnu in
the profile.
The
It was
: 34 :
inconographical peculiarties,
JAGAT is located 50 Kms away in the south-east of Udaipur
city*
In addition to
this temple, temples devoted to Shiva and Vishnu, are also noted
in Jawar.
152
The Puranas
154
.: 35.:
Arbuda
There is a
The
earliest inscription dated 671 A.B* (727 Y.E.) comes down from a
time when the hill was a stronghold of Shaivism.
Temples at Abu,
The Hindu
: 36 :
III
Identification of Images
IGON^s the word, is derived from the Greek word Eikon
and it means, an image or a figure or a representation i.e.
either a pictorial representation in flat painting or a figure
in low relief or any sign which resembles the thing it repre
sents and held sacred bacause of being created as a focal p;,'cint
of religious veneration.
In Sanskrit, the
161 .
The images
and the image worship are taken so much for granted among the
Hindus
162
and mutually incongruous approaches to image worship are dis-.ce'rnible. in the sacred Brahmanical texts $ one, accepting it as a
phychological necessity and the other asserting,it as a divine
presence to lend His aid.to the spirtual progress of a devotee.
An image, therefore a must in the beginning of the Sadhana,
is a greater- must after God-realization to maintain the
rupturous intimacy between the Bhagavana and his Bhakta.
The
: 37 :
vast immobile and static Brahman of the Venantins is made sweet,
tender and adorable only through such a devotion and mutual
warm hearted relationship of Bhakta with the Lord, who is not
only both static (Shiva) and dynamic (Shakti) but the Paramashiva who contains as well as transcends these both on a still
subtler, loftier and profounder plane.
Indian sculptural art came to be labelled as religious,
163
however,Munshi K.M.
states that, in fact it Is not religious
in the sense in which the European Art of the Middle ages was
religious, that Is, other wordly.
They
its home in the temple which was not only the physical core,
but the soul of the community.
The Indian sculpture and architecture is one, however,
there are provinicial variations in its formal development,
existing side by side with religion variation in pure style.
: 38 :
They illustrate the background,in philosophy and religion that
are still blended together in this country.
Sculptural repre
His vocation
study and survey are not covering the whole part of Mewar,
Deities belonging to the Brahmanical pantheon are studied in
this work.
: 39 :
literary.
materials form the primary source for this work, yet the import
tance of literary works cannot be minimised.
In fact, In a
The main
In the
chronology is overlooked.
Some images
the Shiva temple near Delhi Gate and the Rajarajeswari Temple,:
Udaipur, have the names of the respective deities inscribed
below them.
Images
: 41 :
This
In
those cases, where two deities have the same vehicle, the artist
cles in hands are taken into account for identifying them*
The images which could net be recognized with the help of
ct
clues, special names are suggested for those forms so that the
forms of the deities portrayed there might be distinguished from
their other forms found elsewhere.
<
: 42 :
image but also disagrees with them in some vital detail, even
then it is identified accordingly trusting that the local tradi
tions might have been responsible for the difference.
Further
These, naturally,
For
increased the number of hands from two to four, six, eight, ten,
twelve, fourteen, sixteen, twenty or more.
that his God with one face and less number of hands was not able
to display all his might or illustrate the Mythology connected
with the God or Goddess, went on increasing the number of faces
: 43 :
or hands one after another till he was satisfied.
In such
prescribe the number of. hands or say many but do not tell about
the attributes to be fixed in the hands.
Besides identification of the deities portrayed in the
images, an endeavours has also been made in the present work,
to suggest better and suitable criteria for naming them by point
ing out the distinguishing features which are taken into consi
deration for distinguishing between different forms of the samedeity.. This^naming gives them distinct personal! ty.
Various terms for the attributes, poses and attitudes exhi
bited by the deities, are from the old and standard works of the
eminent scholars.
The present study cannot claim to be entirely an original
one.
The classification of
various types of the images, has been done with a view to suggest
the varieties and development of iconographical features of the
s 44 :
Gods and Goddesses that are recorded and studied,, An attempt
has been made to trace the conceptual origin of the Brahmanical
deities from the available sources.
This study tries to correlate the text and images, show
their variaties and indicate the growth of Iconography of this
region*
This
study therefore, indicates both a continuity of the traditionand accomodates certain changes in it.
: 45 :
REFER E N C E S :
1.
2*
3*
Oza,G.H,, op,cit.I/P.2.
4.
5.
Oza, op.cit,I/*p.1,
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Raychaudhari, op.clt.p.7.
11*
Ibid., p.8.
12,
Ibid*, p.8* .
13,
Ibid*, p.8*
14,
15*
16*
Banerji Adris,
No,4, p*346.
17,
18, ;
19, =
20.,
21.,
,
,
.i966,'p,*49.*;..
v /
22*
23.
pp*62,75-76* 78,1.30-132*
'
25.
Gahiot,. op^bit.,pp*13-l4;
26.
27*
28,
,29.
30*-
Bhavanagar:Inscriptions, pp.74-77.
; 47 :
36.
37.
38'.
Tod, Ypl.l/p.259.
39.
40.
BI, pp.74-77.
41.
42.
Ibid., p.29.
43.
44.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
Tod, I/pp*268-69.
51.
Oza, I/p.105.
52.
Ibid,, I/pp,106-110.
53.
Ibid., I/p.106.
54.
Ibid,, I/p,106^109.
55.
56.
57.
Tod, I/p.269,
58.
Oza, l/p.110.
59
: 48 :
60*
Ibid, , p.187.
61.
62.
63.
64.
Oza, I/pp.181-82,
65.
66.
Oza, I/p.192,
67.
68.
Tod, I/pp.319-20.
69.
70.
71.
Oza, I/pp*271-72.
72.
73.
Oza, I/pp.243-58.
74.
75.
yg.
: 49 :
77*.
.
78.,
79.
Oza, I/p.409.
80.,
Ibid., 1/^.410-11.
81.
Ibid., I/pp.411-16.
82.,
Ibid.,, I/p.421,
83.
84.
85.,
86.,
87.,
88.,
89.,
Ibid,, H/pp.741.
90.,
91.,
92.
1958-59,p.43.
96,
Tod, I/p.269.
97.,
98.
: 50 :
99.
Tod, I/p.266.
51 :
116. ElfVol.2/p*415.
117. Oza, I/p.47.
: 52 :
136. Ibid., II/pp.620-22.
137. Ibid.,. Il/p.575.
138. Ibid.., II/p.663.
139. Ibid., II/p.662.
'
: 53 :
p.3,