Bhau Singh (1577 – 13 December 1621) was a Mughal nobleman as well as the

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

Life

Bhau Singh was a younger son of

Man Singh I Man Singh I, popularly known as Mirza Raja Man Singh (21 December 1550 – 6 July 1614) was the 29th Kachwaha Rajput Raja of Amer, later known as Jaipur state, in Rajputana. He was the most powerful and trusted general of the Mughal emp ...

, born of Rani Sahodra Gaud, daughter of Raimal. He had one full brother named Durjan Singh. Prior to his accession to the throne, Bhau Singh had been posted in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, working alongside the Deputy

Subedar Subedar is a rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army; a senior non-commissioned officer in the Pakistan Army, and formerly a Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. History ''Subedar'' or ''subadar'' was the ...

of the region. Following the death of his father in 1614,

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

custom dictated that Maha Singh, the son of Bhau Singh's late elder brother Jagat Singh, inherit the throne. However, the

Mughal emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

overruled this and instead bestowed the crown of Amber on Bhau Singh. The former, who had a close relationship with the new Raja, justified this decision by declaring that he was "the most capable of Man Singh's sons". Maha Singh was given the rule of the lands of Garha (present-day

Jabalpur Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. J ...

) as consolation for his loss. Upon his accession, Jahangir initially raised Bhau Singh's mansab to 3000, then to 4000 the following year, before finally promoting him to a commander of 5000 in March 1617. However, when the Emperor dispatched him to the Deccan to serve in the campaign against

Malik Amber Malik Ambar (1548 – 13 May 1626) was a Siddi military leader and prime minister who became a kingmaker and de facto ruler of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in the Deccan region of India. Born in the Adal Sultunate, in present-day Ethiopia, Mal ...

, Bhau Singh only served as a subordinate captain, in contrast to the supreme commands previously enjoyed by his father and

grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic ...

. The languid manner and poor management of the campaign, combined with the bafflement of Mughal officers when faced with Malik Amber's guerrilla tactics, prevented Bhau Singh from having any substantial achievements in this role. This inactive and inglorious life appears to have caused a deep melancholy in the Raja, who turned to drinking in response. Following a sojourn to the Mughal royal court, he returned to the Deccan where, in December 1621, he suddenly fainted. His health now debilitated due to alcoholism, Bhau Singh did not regain consciousness and died a day later at the age of 44. Having not had sons, Jahangir appointed as Bhau Singh's successor his great-nephew

Jai Singh I Jai Singh I (15 July 1611 – 28 August 1667) was a senior general ("Mirza Raja") of the Mughal Empire and the Raja of the Kingdom of Amber (later called Jaipur). His predecessor was his grand uncle, Raja Bhau Singh. Accession and early ca ...

, the son of Maha Singh, the latter having died some years earlier under similar circumstances.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhau Singh Hindu monarchs Maharajas of Jaipur 1621 deaths People from Jaipur district