Rao Siha
From Bhaton to Muhnot Nainasi and Colonel Todd, many fictions have been written about Rao Siha which do not stand the test of historical sequence of events. These writers have spread the period of Siha between 1118 AD to 1273 AD. which cannot be correct. It is possible that most of the things written by these people are true, but what are the true things, cannot be said.
It is written in the fame of Jodhpur State that Rao Siha was the grandson of Vardai Sen and the son of Setram. The death memorial of Rao Siha has been found from the village of Beethu, about 22 km north-west of Pali, which is locally known as Deoli. In the upper part of this deity, there is a beautiful statue of the horse-mounted Siha, hitting the enemy's chest with a spear. From this it is inferred that he came in handy while fighting in the war zone. An inscription is engraved on this monument, according to which the death of Rao Siha was in V.S. Happened in 1330 (1273 AD). This is the only fact that can be considered unquestionably true about Rao Siha. On this basis, the time of the arrival of the Rathores in desert politics can be considered a few decades before 1273 AD.
Rao Siha came to the desert with his 200 men and on the request of the Paliwal Brahmins, he started interfering in the politics of the desert by fighting against the Muslim robbers. With this, the work of establishing the Marwar state in the desert by the Rathores began. Siha captured many villages. He came in handy while fighting the Muslims. Siha's jurisdiction was near Pali and he died in that area. Siha's age at the time of death is estimated to be 80 years. The number of women of Siha is given in various accounts up to 6. Based on the known facts, it can be said that one of these women, Parvati, was the daughter of the Solanki king of Kolumand. Mutha Nainasi has given the number of sons of Siha as 5 and Dayaldas Sindhayach has given 50. Most of the legends mention his three sons - Asthan, Soning and Aj. These three sons were born to the Chavadi queen of Siha.
Rao Asthan
After the death of Siha, Asthan (Ashwathama) succeeded him. According to the legends, Asthan snatched the kingdom of the Gohils of Khed (it was also called Bhiradkot.) by deceit and made Khed their capital. For this reason his descendants were called 'Khedecha'. Asthan killed the Bhils and captured Idar and gave it to his younger brother Soning. Soning's descendants were called Idriya Rathod. Asthan sent his younger brother Aja towards Dwarka. Aja killed the Chavda king Vikramsen there and offered his head to Jaldevi and captured the territory of Dwarka. For this reason the descendants of Aj were called 'Badhej'. When a Muslim invader named Firoz Shah plundered Pali and captured women etc., Asthan came from Khed and fought with him and came to work with 140 Rajputs near the pond of Pali. According to the fame of Jodhpur state, Colonel Tod and Vishweshwar Nath Reu, Asthan had eight sons. The fame of Dayaldas and Bankidas have mentioned his six sons. All that can be said with certainty is that Asthan V.No. In 1330 (1273 AD) he was succeeded by his father and V.S. He died sometime before 1366 (1309 AD). Reu has estimated the date of death of Asthan to be on 15 April 1291 or 2 May 1992.
Rao Dhuhad
After Asthan, his son Dhuhad became the king of the Rathores. He increased the kingdom left by his father by conquering 140 villages. At the time of Dhuhad, a Brahmin named Lumb Rishi brought an idol of Chakreshwari (Adi Pakshini), the Kuldevi of the Rathores, from Kannauj. Rao Dhuhad installed this idol in Nagna village. It is written in the legends that this goddess appeared to Dhuhadji in a dream in the form of a serpent. For this reason it became famous as Naganechi. According to some sources, Rao Dhuhad brought this idol from Karnataka. In those days Mandore was under the control of Parihars. Dhuhar defeated the Parihars and snatched Mandor, but the Parihars again took control of Mandor. Rao Dhuhad died while fighting with the Parihars near Tarsingadi village. Devli (death memorial) of Rao Dhuhad has been found from the pond of village Tigdi (Tarsingadi) near Pachpadra. According to the inscription on this Devli, the death of Rao Dhuhad was due to V.S. Happened in 1366 (1309 AD). (A deoli of 1366 AD has been received from the village pond near Pachpadra, in which it is written about the death of Dhuhad, son of Asthan. Therefore it can be said indisputably that Asthan also died before this date. Vishweshwar Nath Reu has accepted the reign of Dhuhad from 1292 to 1309 AD. Rao Dhuhad had seven sons.
Rao Raipal
On the death of Dhuhad, in 1309 AD, his eldest son, Raipal, ascended the throne of Khed. To avenge the death of his father, he attacked the Parihars and took possession of Mandore, but he could not hold on to Mandore for a long time. Raipal defeated the Paramaras near Barmer and snatched Maheva and the surrounding land from them. Once there was a famine in the kingdom of Raipal. On this, the raipal distributed food among his subjects. For this reason he came to be called Mahirelan i.e. Indra. Raipal probably died in 1313 AD. Raipal had fourteen sons.
Rao Kanpal
After Raipal, Rao Kanpal became the king of Rathores from 1313 AD to 1323 AD. During his time, the entire area of Khed and Maheva was under the control of the Rathores and its borders were with the Bhatis kingdom of Jaisalmer. That's why there used to be war between Bhatis and Rathores. Kanpal's son Bhima pushed the Bhatis across the Kak river and fixed the Kak river as the boundary between the Rathores and the Bhatis. Kanpal's son Bhima and later Kanpal himself also came in handy while fighting the combined forces of Bhatis and Muslims. Kanpal had three sons - Bhima, Jalansi and Vijpal.
Rao Jalansi
After Kanpal, Jalansi became the king between 1323 AD to 1328 AD. He punished the Sodhs of Umarkot and snatched the headdress of the Sodhs. According to legends, from that day the Rathores of Marwar started tying Safa. Jalansi avenged the death of his uncle by killing their leader Haji Malik with his own hands after fighting the Muslim invaders who had climbed the Khed state. Jalansi attacked Bhinmal and punished the Solankis. This also came in handy while fighting the combined army of Bhatis and Muslims. He had three sons - Chhada, Bhakarsi and Dungarsi.
Rao Chhada
After Jalansi, his eldest son Chhada ruled in the period from 1328 to 1344 AD. He collected punishment from the Sodhs and the Bhatis of Jaisalmer situated on the border of his kingdom. The Bhatis reconciled their daughter by marrying Chhada. After this Chhada plundered those territories by raiding Pali, Sojat, Bhinmal and Jalore. When Rao Chhada was staying in Rama village near Jalore after this war journey, the Songars and Deoras suddenly attacked and killed Chhada. Chhada had seven sons.
Rao Teeda
Chhada was succeeded by Rao Tida who ruled from 1344 to 1357 AD. It is written in the legends that Tida sat on the throne of Maheva. Maheva was annexed by Rao Raipal to his kingdom. Therefore, it can be inferred that during the period of rule of Raipal to Tida, the capital of Rathores shifted from Khed to Mahewa and it came to be called Mahewa State in place of Khed State. During the time of Tida, most of the areas of Marwar were ruled by Muslims. Tida died fighting a Muslim ruler. He had three sons - Kanhaddev, Tribhuvansi and Salkha. Salkha was taken prisoner by the Muslims during Tida's lifetime.
Kanhaddev
There is a mention of Kanhaddev and Tribhuvansi sitting on the throne after Tida in the fame of Nainasi and some other legends. As soon as Kanhaddev sat on the throne of Mahewa, the Muslims attacked Mahewa and occupied Mahewa, but after some time Kanhaddev recaptured Mahewa.
Tribhuvanasi
Tribhuvansi became the king of Maheva after Kanhaddev was killed. After some time he was killed by Salkha's son Mallinath (Mallinath was the nephew of Tribhuvansi.) and took possession of Maheva. It is written in the legends that Mallinath got the wounds of Tribhuvansi injured in battle mixed with poison in neem leaves, which led to the death of Tribhuvansi.
Rao Salkha
Salkha was taken prisoner by the Muslims during the lifetime of her father, who could be freed with great difficulty. When Kanhaddev became the king, he gave the jagir of a village to Salkha, but when Maheva was taken over by the Muslims, Salkha snatched some part of Maheva from the Muslims and established his kingdom in Bhirdkot. According to the legend of Jodhpur state, Salkha was a small Thakur and lived in Gapedi village near Siwana, where his eldest son Mallinath was born. According to Tod, the descendants of Salkha were called Salkhawat. In the time of Tod, Salkhawat was present in large numbers in Rathore, Maheva and Radhara and there were Bhomiyas. Reu has accepted the reign of Salkha from 1357 to 1374 AD. One day the Muslims attacked Salkha and killed her.
Raval Mallinath
According to the fame of the Jodhpur state, Rao Salkha had two queens from whom he had four sons Mallinath, Jaitmal, Viram and Somit and a daughter Vimli, who was married to Rawal Ghadsi of Jaisalmer. After the death of Salkha, his eldest son Mallinath became the lord of Mahwe and Khed in 1374 AD. He became a perfect man by doing penance at the behest of his queen and established the Kunda cult. In the legends, Mallinath has been called a garland. The area ruled by him and his descendants was called Malani. He assumed the title of Rawal. His descendants continued to be called Rawal or Maharawal. His son Jagmal also became a mighty warrior. In 1378 AD, the Muslims attacked Mala with a huge army of 13 parties. Mala defeated this huge army of 13 parties. In the memory of this incident, there is a saying in Marwar- 'Terah Tunga Bhangiya Male Salkhani.'
Veeramdev
Mallinath's younger brother was Veeramdev. There used to be a rift between Mallinath's son Jagmal and Veeramdev, so Veeram, not staying in Maheva, lived by tying a Gudha (thinka) in the Khed. If a criminal had sought refuge in Veeramdev's cistern after bleeding in Maheva, then Veeram would have kept it with him. On this, the quarrel between Jagmal and Veeramdev increased and Veeramdev left the state of Maheva and started plundering in Jaisalmer, Nagaur and Jangalu etc. Later he moved to Johiawati and started living with Johiyas. In 1383 AD, he wanted to take control of his kingdom by killing the Johis. Veeramdev was killed in this attempt. Viramdev had four queens from whom he had five sons. At the time of Veeramdev's death, his son Chunda was of young age. His mother Bhatiyani was the wife of Veeramdev and she became sati after Veeramdev. That's why Chunda went to his uncle Mallinath and started living in Mahewa.
Rao Chunda (Chamundrai)
It is difficult to say when Chunda was born and what was his age at the time of his father's death. Different accounts have been given in relation to the chunda in different khyatas. On the basis of these it can be said that after the death of Veeram, Chunda started living with Alha Charan in Kalau village. When Chunda was eight or nine years old, Alha took him to Rawal Mallinath. When Chunda grew up, Mallinath appointed him to guard his border towards Gujarat. Once Chunda snatched their horses from the horse traders and distributed them among his Rajputs. When this was complained to Rawal Mallinath, Mallinath paid the merchants the price of those horses and expelled Chunda from his kingdom.
Chunda started living with Inda Parihars. After some days he robbed Didwana. After this he planned to take over Mandore with the help of Inda Parihars. One day, hiding his soldiers in hay carts, he sent them inside the Mandore fort and after killing the Muslim ruler there, he captured Mandore. When Chunda's uncle Rawal Mallinath came to know that Chunda had occupied Mandore, he came to Mandore and praised Chunda. Mandor had been under the authority of the Parihars since the eighth century, but was taken over by the Muslims in the fourteenth century. Inda did not want Mandore to go into the hands of Muslims again. Therefore Indo thought that the fort of Mandor should be allowed to remain with the Rathores. Rai Dhaval, the head of the Indo, to increase the power of Chunda, married his daughter to Chunda and gave him the fort of Mandore in dowry. This Sortha is famous in this regard-
Indo thank you, don't forget Kamadhaj.
Chundo Chanwari Chad, The Mandovar Daize.
The astrologers coronated Chunda and he came to be known as Rao of Mandore. This event is estimated to have happened around 1394 AD. After receiving Mandore, Chunda kept Rajputs like Sindal, Kotecha, Manglia, Aasach etc living in Mandore kingdom in his service. After this, the Chunda began to drive out the surrounding Muslims. उसने खाटू, डीडवाना, सांभर, अजमेर तथा नाडौल आदि स्थानों से शाही अधिकारियों को खदेड़ दिया। इस काल में दिल्ली के तख्त पर तुगलक शासन कर रहे थे तथा उसकी ओर से गुजरात में गवर्नर जफर खाँ नियुक्त था। जब उसे ज्ञात हुआ कि चूण्डा मुसलमानों को उजाड़ रहा है तो वह सेना लेकर मण्डोर पर चढ़ आया। लम्बी घेराबंदी के बाद भी वह चूण्डा को परास्त नहीं कर सका। इस पर वह चूण्डा से नाममात्र की शपथ लेकर कि अब चूण्डा मुसलमानों को तंग नहीं करेगा, वापस गुजरात लौट गया।
1399 ई. में राव चूण्डा ने नागौर पर चढ़ाई की और वहाँ के खोखर शासक को मार कर नागौर पर अधिकार कर लिया। राव मल्लीनाथ ने भी इस कार्य में चूण्डा की सहायता की। चूण्डा अपने पुत्र सत्ता को मण्डोर में रखकर स्वयं नागौर में रहने लगा। चूण्डा ने भाटियों के राजा राणागदे को मारा और उसका माल लूटकर नागौर ले आया। मोहिलों की बहुत सी भूमि पर अधिकार करने के कारण मोहिल आसराव माणिकरावोत ने चूण्डा से अपनी पुत्री ब्याह दी। (मोहिल, चौहानों की एक शाखा है।) कुछ ही समय में चूण्डा ने डीडवाना, सांभर, अजमेर तथा नाडौल पर भी अधिकार कर लिया।
चूण्डा की सफलताएं अपने समय की तुलना में बहुत बड़ी थीं। उस काल में मरुस्थल में भाटी, सांखला, जोहिया, परिहार, चौहान तथा मुसलमान सक्रिय थे। उनसे निरंतर लड़ते रहना और अपने लिये एक नया राज्य बनाकर उसका विस्तार करते रहना अत्यंत कठिन कार्य था किंतु चूण्डा आजीवन इस कार्य को करता रहा। चूण्डा ने अपने राज्य की सीमाएं निर्धारित करने का प्रयास किया तथा अपने अधीनस्थ सहयोगियों को सामंत व्यवस्था में ढालने का काम किया।
जोधपुर राज्य की ख्यात, मुंहणोत नैणसी की ख्यात, कविराजा श्यामलदास तथा कर्नल टॉड ने चूण्डा के चौदह पुत्रों और एक पुत्री का उल्लेख किया है। उनके नामों में कुछ भिन्नता है किंतु सत्ता, रणमल, कान्हा, अरडकमल तथा हंसाबाई सहित अधिकांश नाम एक जैसे ही हैं। चूण्डा का बड़ा पुत्र रणमल था किंतु चूण्डा ने अपनी मोहिल रानी के कहने पर उसके पुत्र कान्हा को अपना उत्तराधिकारी नियुक्त किया तथा रणमल से कहा कि वह कहीं और जाकर रहे। रणमल, पिता की आज्ञा मानकर पिता का राज्य त्यागकर मेवाड़ के महाराणा लाखा के पास चला गया जो रणमल का बहनोई भी था।
रणमल के चले जाने के कुछ दिनों बाद मोहिल रानी के दुर्व्यवहार से व्यथित होकर कई राजपूत सरदार चूण्डा से नाराज हो गये और रणमल के साथ चले गये। जब नागौर पर भाटी एवं मुसलमान एक साथ चढ़कर आये तो राव चूण्डा ने उनका सामना किया तथा 15 मार्च 1423 को लड़ते हुए काम आया। चूण्डा के मारे जाने पर सत्ता ने मण्डोर में और कान्हा ने जांगलू में सेना का संगठन किया। नागौर पर मुहम्मद फीरोज का अधिकार हो गया। चूण्डा ने चांडासर बसाया था, जहाँ रणमल की माता रहती थी, जो चूण्डा के साथ सती हुई। टॉड के अनुसार राठौड़़ों के इतिहास में राव चूण्डा का प्रमुख स्थान है।
राव कान्हा
राव चूण्डा की मृत्यु हो जाने पर रणमल ने मेवाड़ से आकर अपने सौतेले छोटे भाई कान्हा को मण्डोर का टीका दिया और स्वयं सोजत में रहने लगा। राव चूण्डा को मारने में देवराज सांखला का भी हाथ था। इसलिये कान्हा ने जांगलू में जाकर सांखलों को मारने का विचार किया।
सांखलों ने रणमल से सहायता मांगी। इस पर रणमल अपनी सेना लेकर सारूंडा पहुंच गया। त्रिभुवनसी के पुत्र ऊदा (राठौड़़) ने रणमल से कहा कि आप ढील करें तो अच्छा होगा क्योंकि यदि कान्हा मारा गया तो आपको ही भूमि मिलेगी और यदि सांखला मारा गया तो जांगलू आपके अधिकार में आ जायेगा। यह सुनकर रणमल सारूंडा में ही ठहरा रहा। इस युद्ध में कान्हा की विजय हुई और सांखला राजा के चारों पुत्र मारे गये। इस आशय का एक दोहा इस प्रकार से है-
सधर हुआ भड़ सांखला, ग्यो भाजै काझाल।
वीर रतन ऊदौ विजो, बछो नै पुनपाल।।
इस युद्ध कुछ दिनों बाद पेट में शूल की बीमारी होने से कान्हा का भी देहांत हो गया। दयालदास की ख्यात के अनुसार कान्हा ने लगभग ग्यारह महीने राज्य किया।
राव सत्ता
कान्हा की मृत्यु के बाद चूण्डा का पुत्र सत्ता राठौड़़ों का राजा हुआ। उसके बारे में ख्यातों में परस्पर विपरीत बातें लिखी हुई हैं। उनमें से सत्य और असत्य का निर्धारण करना कठिन है। ख्यातों के अनुसार सत्ता अपने अंतिम समय में अंधा हो गया था और मदिरा पान बहुत करता था। यह भी निर्विवाद रूप से कहा जा सकता है कि सत्ता के राजा बनने के बाद सत्ता के पुत्र नरबद और सत्ता के भाई रणधीर में विवाद उत्पन्न हो गया। सत्ता के अधिकतर भाई भी सत्ता के विरोधी हो गये। इस कारण उन्होंने सत्ता के स्थान पर रणमल को राजा बनाने का निर्णय लिया।
ख्यातों पर निर्भर है सत्रह राजाओं का इतिहास
राव सीहा से लगाकर राव रणमल तक कुल 17 राजा हुए। इनका वास्तविक इतिहास अब तक अंधकार में है। इन राजाओं के इतिहास के विश्वसनीय स्रोत के रूप में राव सीहा और राव धूहड़ के मृत्यु शिलालेखों को छोड़कर कोई भी विश्वसनीय सामग्री प्राप्त नहीं हुई है। इसलिये राव सीहा से लेकर रणमल तक सत्रह राजाओं के वृत्तान्त के लिए ख्यातों का ही आश्रय लेना पड़ता है। इनमें से कुछ तथ्यों की पुष्टि दूसरे वंशों के समकालीन इतिहास से होती है।