Chhatrasal Bundela (4 May 1649 – 20 December 1731) was an Indian warrior and ruler from the Bundela Rajput clan, who fought against the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, and established his own kingdom in

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lyin ...

during the 17th-18th centuries.

Early life

Chhatrasal was born at Kachar Kachnai in

Tikamgarh Tikamgarh is a Census town#India, town and a tehsil in Tikamgarh district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The city serves as a district headquarters. The earlier name of Tikamgarh was Tehri (i.e., a triangle) consisting of three hamlet ...

, on 4 May 1649, to Champat Rai and Sarandha. He was a descendant of

Rudra Pratap Singh Rudra Pratap Singh Bundela (r. 1501–1531) was the founder and first raja of the kingdom that became the princely state of Orchha, India, during the Lodhi Dynasty . His name is sometimes spelled Rudrapratap Singh and his last name, Bundela, i ...

Orchha Orchha is a town, near city of Niwari in Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh state, India. The town was established by rajput ruler Rudra Pratap Singh some time after 1501, as the seat of an eponymous former princely state of covering parts of c ...

Power Struggle against the Mughals

Chhatrasal was 12 when his father Champat Rai of

Mahoba Mahoba is a city in Mahoba District of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the Bundelkhand region, well known for the ninth century granite Sun temple built in Pratihara style. It is also well known for the 24 rock-cut Jain tirthankara image ...

was killed by the Mughals during the reign of

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

. Inspired by

Chhatrapati Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit language.The word ‘Chhatrapati’ is a Sanskrit language compound word (tatpurusha in Sanskrit) of ''Chatra (umbrella), chhatra'' (''parasol'' or ''umbrella'') and ''pati'' (''master/lord/ruler''). Th ...

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...

's ideals he travelled to Maharashtra and sought guidance from him. Chhatrasal raised the banner of revolt against the Mughals in Bundelkhand at the age of 22, with an army of 5 horsemen and 25 swordsmen, in 1671. Chhatrasal declared independence from Mughals in the 1720s and was able to resist the Mughals until he was attacked by

Muhammad Khan Bangash Nawab Ghazanfar-Jang, Bangash Khan (1665 – 1743) was the first Nawab of Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, India. He was a "Bawan Hazari Sardar" (Commander of 52,000 men strong force) in the Mughal Army. He served as governor of Malwa and Allahaba ...

in December 1728. Chhatrasal was 79 years old when he led his army against Bangash, after a severe battle Chhatrasal was defeated and was forced to retreat to his fort at Jaitpur. The Mughals besieged him and conquered most of his territories. Chhatrasal made several attempts to ask the

Baji Rao I Baji Rao I (18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740), born as Visaji, also known as Bajirao Ballal (Pronunciation: ad͡ʒiɾaːʋ bəlːaːɭ, was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his 20-year tenure as a Peshwa, he defeated Nizam-ul-M ...

, the

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

, for help. However, the Peshwa was busy and could not help Chhatrasal until March 1729. In a letter sent to Baji rao, Chhatrasal wrote: ''"Know you Bajirao! That I am in the same plight in which the famous elephant was when caught by the crocodile. My valiant race is on the point of extinction. Come and save my honour"''. Peshwa Baji rao I personally led his army towards Bundelkhand and attacked several Mughal outposts, the Mughal supplies were completely cut off by the swift cavalry of the Peshwa in the

Battle of Malwa The Battle of Jaitpur was fought between the Maratha Empire under Peshwa Baji Rao I, on behalf of Chhatrasal Bundela, the ruler of Bundelkhand; and the Mughal empire under of Muhammad Khan Bangash in March 1729. Bangash attacked the state of B ...

. Bangash, who was surprised by the sudden involvement of the Marathas, sent several letters to the Mughal emperor for aid, however upon being denied any help he started negotiations with Chhatrasal and Bajirao. Bangash was allowed to retreat on the condition that he never returns or shows aggression towards Bundelkhand. Chhatrasal rewarded the peshwa with large tracts of lands and diamond mines in Bundelkhand which helped the Marathas to gain access to

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

Relations with Bajirao I

Peshwa Baji Rao's second wife

Mastani Mastani (29 August 1699 – 28 April 1740 Common Era, CE) was the daughter of Chhatrasal and Ruhani Bai Begum. She was the second wife of the Maratha Empire, Maratha Peshwa (Prime Minister) Baji Rao I. Her relationship within the Maratha Brahmi ...

was Chhatrasal's daughter born from his

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

Ruhani Begum. In his book ''Mastani'', the historian

D. G. Godse Dattatraya Ganesh Godse (Devanagari: दत्तात्रय गणेश गोडसे, द. ग. गोडसे) was an Indian historian, playwright, art critic, art director, theatre and costume designer, and illustrator. He received ...

states that the relationship between Chhatrasal and Baji Rao I was like that of father and son.

Patron of literature

Chhatrasal was a patron of literature, and his court housed several noted poets. His eulogies written by

Kavi Bhushan Kavi Bhushan (c. 1613–1715) was an Indian poet in the courts of the Bundeli king Chhatrasal and the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He mainly wrote in Brajbhasha interspersed with words from Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian languages. H ...

, Lal Kavi, Bakhshi Hansaraj and other court poets helped him gain lasting fame. He also contributed in construction of temples of Kundalpur, a jain pilgrim centre in Madhya Pradesh.

Legacy

The

Chhatarpur Chhatarpur is a city and a municipality in Chhatarpur district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Chhatarpur District. Chhatarpur is a city and a municipality in Chhatarpur district in the state of ...

town and its eponymous district in

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

are named after Chhatrasal. Several places in Chhatarpur, including the Maharaja Chhatrasal Museum, Maharaja Chhatrasal Station Chhatarpur railway station (a railway station in

), are named after him. The Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi is also named after the Maharaja Chhatrasal.

In popular culture

*''Veer Chhatrasal'' is a 1971 Indian historical film about the king by

Harsukh Jagneshwar Bhatt This article lists notable families whose members are prominent in the Indian Film Industry. For South Indian film families, see List of South Indian film families and for Indian music families, see List of Indian music families. A Akhtar–Az ...

, starring Ajit in the titular role. *''

Chhatrasal Chhatrasal Bundela (4 May 1649 – 20 December 1731) was an Indian warrior and ruler from the Bundela Rajput clan, who fought against the Mughal Empire, and established his own kingdom in Bundelkhand during the 17th-18th centuries. Early l ...

'', a 2021 web series released on

MX Player MX Player is an Indian video streaming and video on demand platform developed by MX Media & Entertainment (formerly J2 Interactive). It has over 280 million users globally. The platform currently operates on an ad-supported model and has a stre ...

starring Jitin Gulati in the titular role of Maharaja Chhatrasal.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chhatrasal History of Uttar Pradesh 1649 births 1731 deaths Maharajas of Madhya Pradesh Rajput rulers Indian warriors