Bundi-Garh Palace-Chitrasala GVN-20131015

11 Maharao Bhao Singh riding an elephant

21 Maharao Umed Singh of Bundi, Bundi, circa 1770 Christie's

Bundi State was an India

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

, located in modern-day

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. It was ruled by

Hada Chauhan Hada are a branch of the Chauhan Rajput community. They live in Hadoti and once ruled the states of Bundi, Jhalawar and Kota. History They belong to Agnikul. Hada Chauhan's claim descent from Bisaldev Chauhan, son of Harshraj and grandson o ...

s. It was a

in the era of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. The last ruler of Bundi State signed the accession to join the Indian Union in 1949.

History

Medieval era

Later the region was governed by Rao Deva, who took over Bundi in 1242, renaming the surrounding area as Haravati or Haroti. For the next two centuries, the Hadas of Bundi were the vassals of the Sisodias of Mewar and ruled by the title of

Rao __NOTOC__ Rao may refer to: Geography * Rao, West Sumatra, one of the districts of West Sumatra, Indonesia * Råö, a locality in Kungsbacka Municipality, Halland County, Sweden Transport * Dr. Leite Lopes–Ribeirão Preto State Airport , IAT ...

until 1569, when Emperor

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

conferred the title of Rao Raja upon

Rao Surjan Singh Rao Surjan Singh was the 14th Raja of Bundi. He was crowned in 1554. Life He was the governor of Ranthambore under the vassalage of the Sisodias of Mewar, until 1568. His son Duda allied with Maharana Pratap, and was defeated by the Mu ...

after the surrender of Ranthambore Fort and his submission. In 1632,

Rao Raja Chattar Sal Rao Chattar Sal or Shatru Sal (r. 1632–1658) was one of the more prominent rulers of the Kingdom of Bundi. He built the temple of Keshavarao at Keshoraipatan and Chathra Mahal at Bundi. He became king of Bundi after his grandfather Rao Ra ...

became the ruler, he built the temple of Keshavarao at

Keshoraipatan Keshoraipatan is a city located in the state of Rajasthan, India. The town is famous for the temple of Keshav Rai Ji Maharaj or Lord Vishnu which lies on banks of the Chambal River. The town is 20 km from the well known education hub of I ...

and Chathra Mahal at

Bundi Bundi is a city in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan state in northwest India and capital of the former princely state of Rajputana agency. District of Bundi is named after the former princely state. Demographics According to the 2011 Indian cens ...

. He became king of Bundi after his grandfather Rao Ratan Singh, as his father Gopinath died while Ratan Singh was still ruling. He saw service with the Mughal forces as head of his

Rajput troop and was considered an integral part of Mughal army by

Shahjahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

. Rao Chattar Sal was trusted by

Dara Shikoh Dara Shikoh ( fa, ), also known as Dara Shukoh, (20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659) was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Dara was designated with the title ''Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba'' ("Prince of High Rank" ...

with governorship of Delhi, a rare privilege for a

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 ...

. He remained loyal to Shah Jahan and Dara Shikoh during the rebellion 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 ...

despite many temptations and even threats from Aurangzeb. Rao Chattar Sal died fighting valiantly as the head of his Hada Rajput troops in the

Battle of Samugarh Battle of Samugarh, Jang-e-Samugarh, (May 29, 1658), was a deciding battle in the struggle for the throne during the ''Mughal war of succession (1658–1659)'' between the sons of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan after the emperor's serious illness ...

in 1658 along with his youngest son Bharat Singh. Rao Bhao Singh (1658–1678) the eldest son of Chhattar Sal succeeded his father to the throne of Bundi. In 1707,

Bahadur Shah I Bahadur Shah I (14 October 1643 – 27 February 1712), also known as Muhammad Mu'azzam and Shah Alam I. was the eighth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1707 until his death in 1712. In his youth, he conspired to overthrow his father Aurangzeb, t ...

conferred the title of Maharao Raja upon Raja Budh Singh.

British era

View looking along a bazaar at Bundi taken by Gunpatrao Abajee Kale, c

In 1804 Rao Raja Bishan Singh (1773–1821) gave valuable assistance to Colonel Monson in his disastrous retreat before

Holkar The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the Marat ...

, in revenge for which the

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 ...

and Pindaris continually ravaged his state and forced the kingdom to pay tribute up to 1817. Consequently, Bishan Singh made a

subsidiary alliance A subsidiary alliance, in South Asian history, was a tributary alliance between a South Asian state and a European East India Company. Under this system, an Indian ruler who formed a treaty with the company in question would be provided wi ...

with the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

on 10 February 1818, which brought him under its

protection Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

. was responsible for the creation of the pleasure palace of Sukh Niwas on the outskirts of Bundi. Maharao Raja Ram Singh (1821–89) grew up to be a much-respected ruler who initiated economic and administrative reforms and established schools for the teaching of Sanskrit. On the throne for 68 years, he was described as a grand specimen of the Rajput gentleman and "the most conservative prince in conservative Rajputana."The Times, 30 July 1927, page 12, Issue 44647. His rule was popular and beneficial; and though during the mutiny of 1857 his attitude was equivocal, he continued to enjoy the confidence of the British, being created G.C.S.I. and a counselor of the empire in 1877 and C.I.E. in 1878. He was succeeded by his adopted son Raghubir Singh (1889–1927), who was made a K.C.S.I. in 1897 and a G.C.I.E. in 1901. His reign was blighted by two disastrous famines. Despite his best efforts at alleviation, the population of his kingdom was reduced from some 258,000 to 171,000 by 1901 due to death and emigration. Maharao Bahadur Singh (1945–77) also supported the British and served in the Burma campaign, where he earned the Military Cross for his gallantry before succeeding to the throne. He was a guest at 1947

wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh The wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten took place on Thursday 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom. The bride was the elder daughter of King George VI and heir presumptive to the British throne. The ...

Accession to India

At the time of the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947, the British abandoned their suzerainty over the princely states, which were left to decide whether to remain independent or to accede to the newly independent

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...

or to Pakistan. The ruler of the state of Bundi decided to

accede Accession refers to the general idea of joining or adding to. It may also refer to: *Accession (property law) * Accession, the act of joining a treaty by a party that did not take part in its negotiations; see Vienna Convention on the Law of Treat ...

to India, which later became the Union of India. This brought the internal affairs of Bundi under the control of Delhi. Bundi's last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union on 7 April 1949.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of Bundi was a shield depicting a warrior emerging from flames, signifying the creation-legend of the ruling

Chouhan Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subclan ...

clan of

Rajputs Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

which was supposedly created from fire. The shield is flanked by cows representing

dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

or righteousness; it is crowned by a hand holding a Katar.

Rulers

The rulers of Bundi State belonged to

dynasty of Rajputs.

Rao Raja

* 1554 - 1585 Surjan Singh * 1585 - 1608 Bhoj Singh * 1608 - 1632 Ratan Singh * 1632 - 1658 Chattar Sal Singh * 1658 - 1682 Bhao Singh * 1682 - 1696 Anirudh Singh * 1696 - 1730 Budh Singh (b. 16.. - d. 1739) * 1730 - 1749 Dalel Singh * 1749 - 1770 Umaid Singh (1st time) (b. 1729 - d. 1804) * 1770 - 1773 Ajit Singh (d. 1773) * 1773 - 1804 Umaid Singh (2nd time) (s.a.) * 1804 - 14 May 1821 Bishen Singh (b. 1773 - d. 1821)

Maharao Raja

* 14 May 1821 - 28 Mar 1889 Ram Singh (b. 1811 - d. 1889) (from 1 Jan 1877, Sir Ram Singh) * 28 Mar 1889 - 26 Jul 1927 Raghubir Singh (b. 1869 - d. 1927) (from 1 Jan 1894, Sir Raghubir Singh) * 26 Jul 1927 - 23 Apr 1945

Ishwari Singh Maharaja Sir Ishwari Singhji, KCIE (8 March 1893 – 23 April 1945) was the 27th ruler of the princely state of Bundi belonging to Hada Chauhan clan of Rajputs.Indian States: A Biographical, Historical, and Administrative Survey edited by Arnold ...

(b. 1893 - d. 1945) (from 11 May 1937, Sir Ishwari Singh) * 23 Apr 1945 - 15 Aug 1947 Bahadur Singh (b. 1920 - d. 1977)

Titular Maharajdhiraja

* 1947 – 1977 Bahadur Singh * 1977 - 2010 Ranjit singh Hada * 2012 - Vanshvardhan Singh

References

External links

Silver Rupee of Bundi
* {{coord, 25.44, N, 75.64, E, region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki, display=title Bundi district Princely states of Rajasthan 1342 establishments in Asia 1949 disestablishments in India 14th-century establishments in India States and territories established in 1342 Rajputs Historical Hindu kingdoms Rajput princely states