“Khangarot”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

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Khangarot

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The Khangarot are a Suryavanshi Rajput clan, found in India.

The Beginnings

From January 17, 1503 until November 4, 1527 Raja Pritviraj I ruled Amer, the capital of the Kachhawa dynasty which would later shift to Jaipur. He married nine women from different clans, and had a total of eighteen sons and three daughters. Prithviraj made his mark in Kachhawa history by supporting his father-in-law Maharana Rana Sanga of the Sisodia/Gehlot state of Mewar at the Battle of Khanua. This battle in 1527, during which the Rajput confederacy was defeated by Babur, is acknowledged as the second of the three significant battles which led to the establishment of the Mughal Empire. Pritvi Raj strengthened his kingdom by organizing his family into the Bara Kothris, or noble houses, of Amer. These chambers are the twelve patrilineal branches of the Kachhawa clan, and form the highest aristocracy of Jaipur. Jagmal was the sixth of Pritviraj’s sons, and he received the land holding of Diggi.

Though also accomplished in military arts, Jagmal earned a reputation as a great lover of wine, song and adventure. He settled temporarily in Amarkot (now Umerkot in Sindh), where he married the Sodhi Princess Neta Kunwari and they had five sons. While Jagmal continued his pursuit of adventure, the children were raised by their mother and maternal grandfather, Pahar Singh. Jagmal lived out his years in exile from his Kachhawa homelands until his death in 1549.

The patriarch - Khangar

After Jagmal’s death, Khangar Singhji took the initiative to make retribution for his father’s mistakes and began the move to reunite his family back to their rightful lands inside the Amber kingdom. When they crossed to the other side of the Sambhar region, they faced their first confrontation in the form of an unsettled family feud over the land holding of Boraj and Jobner. Though Khangar won in this battle 1554, he lost his youngest of the brother Sarangdeo in the fight. A banyan tree known as Sarang still stands on the spot in memory. Khangar went on to capture Kalkah in 1555, and shortly after commanded the last stronghold of the region, Jobner. Between his strength on the battlefield and his important heritage in the Bara Kothris, Khangar had become a force to be reckoned with.

Khangar’s early career followed a power struggle for the rule of Amber that began with the death of his grandfather, Raja Pritviraj, in 1527. Pritviraj had named his second son Puranmal as his successor to the throne, most likely because he favored the boy’s mother. Though Puranmal’s only had a short reign that ended when in died in battle in 1534, the strength of the family was already damaged. This unconventional appointment had caused several of the brothers to fight for the throne, weakened the unity of the kingdom, and consequently invited outside exploitation. Internal power struggles ensued until 1548 when Raja Bharmal took the throne for a long successful reign until 1574. Ascending at 50 years old, he possessed the maturity and diplomacy that his younger power-hungry relatives had not.

Akbar, ruling from 1542–1605 and widely considered the greatest of the Mughal Emperors, was known for his diplomatic religious tolerance and courtship of Rajput power. Khangar’s strategic maneuvers rewarded him with recognition and a high status with and alongside Raja Bharmal of Amar.

Captivity

Although Amer was complying with Mughal suzerainty, Khangar recognized the value of having a strong unified Rajput political and military presence in the region. Using this sharp political instinct, he initiated strengthening the power of the Bara Kothris. With the exception of the loyalty of his cousin Suja, the son of Raja Puranmal, he was successful. Suja was bitter because he had been denied the throne when his father died because he was too young. He already had an alliance with Mirza Muhammad Sahrif-ud-din Hussain, the Mughal Governor of Mewat and a brother-in-law of Emperor Akbar. However, even in his role as custodian of the region, Mirza Sharif-ud-din was showing signs of rebelling against the Imperial powers. Instigated by Suja’s desire for revenge, Mirza Sharif-ud-din led a tyrannical campaign against the Bara Kotris and the Kachhawa people. And in 1563 Sharif-ud-din captured Khangar along with two other sons of the chambers. Sharif-ud-din kept Khangar in harsh captivity for over a year while he subjugated the Kachhawa people.

Release by Akbar

At the same time Akbar was traveling through the region, though he remained uninformed of the activities of Sharif-ud-din. Akbar was baffled as to why the Kachhawa people fled from him – innocent to the fact that they believed he had ordered the capture of their leaders. When Akbar finally learned the truth about the situation, he ordered the release of the prisoners and sent a message of assurance to Raja Bharmal in Amer. Through this action Akbar authenticated the Kachhawas heritage and rule, and elevated their status as guardians in his court. To this day, landmarks through the Agra-Diggi-Ajmer path mark the places where the Emperor camped while he solved this dilemma.

Accomplishments of Khangar

After his release, Khangar became a lieutenant in Delhi for Raja Bharmal, where he was significant force in the defence of the city against Mirza Ibraham Hussain. From the mid-1570s until the end of the century Raja Man Singh of Amer defended the Afghan North-West Frontier, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and the Deccan. The victories of Amer in Bengal are the source of great fame and wealth for Amer, and the place where Khangar’s greatest military accomplishments took place. Khangar made his mark in the famous battle of Haldighat in 1576 fighting for Raja Man Singh. And bardic tale also places him at the head of the siege against the rebellious Duda of Bundi in 1577. During this battle Khangar snatched a kettledrum and flag from his enemy. Akbar later gifted them to Khangar, and these historic relics remain a part of the family heirlooms.

Like all his contemporaries Khangar made a number of political marriage alliances, and four chatris in the Nariana Mahal in Jaipur testify the sati of his wives. Of his thirteen sons, ten became great warriors and established their own princely states. He died in 1584, either while fighting either in Bengal, or in Purmandal lands near Chitor that had been gifted by Akbar. Khangar is recognized as the first father of the Kaccahwa- Khangarot clan.

As often happens in peaceful times, recorded history over the next century is vague for the Khangarots. Khangar’s eighth son, Bhakar Singh of Sakhun, carried the rule. He married ten wives, and had eight sons who also founded new princely states. Bhakar Singh’s death is recognized in 1633 by the sati records of one of his wives. His son, Dwarkadas of Tilorna married two wives and had five sons. Three of these sons, including Ajab Singh, continued the family tradition of establishing princely states. Two of Ajab Singh’s sons, Hari Singh and Bijai Singh distinguished themselves in the Amer courts of Maharaja Ram Singh and Maharaja Bishan Singh, and in the records of the continuity of the Khangarot clan.

The descendants

Hari Singh was born around 1630, and died in 1695 the most coveted death of a Kshatriya warrior on the front line of battle. The Kachhawas honor him as the “legendary knight of Lamba”.He was a strong and wise commander of the feudal lands surrounding Lamba and Malpura, an accomplished warrior in the Afghan territory around the Khyber pass and took on the vital role as guardian of the crown prince Bishan Singh of Amer both before and after his ascension to the throne. In addition to his strong ties with Amer, Hari Singh also maintained direct correspondence with the Empire - which was highly unusual for Rajput aristocracy during the suzerain times of the Rajput rulers under the Mughal Empire. He was a great soldier and leader; who fought corruption and built the administrative machinery for the rule of Raja Bishan Singh, and maintained himself with dignity for the Mughal Empire. He not only maintained the Khangarot ascendancy, but was honored with the distinction of the sub-clan by the name of Harisinghghots.

The great ancestry of the Kachhawa Khangarots lives today, and continues to maintain their heritage lands in Diggi. They weave a rich history as fierce warriors and defenders as one of the living twelve Bara Kothris from the Kachhawa clan of the Royal House of Amer. The Khangarots embody the most valiant characteristics of the Rajputs of India; brave, courageous heroic and loyal, yet not shy of their extravagant inclinations.

References

Further reading