Shah Jahan’s war againt Jhujhar.
A habitual plunderer and refractory chieftain could not be left unsubdued on the edge of the Deccan road. Shah Jahan organised an expedition to hunt him down. Three armies were to converge upon the rebel’s country: Sayyid Khan-i-Jahan with 10,500 men from Budaun, Abdullah Khan Bahadur Firuz Jang with 6,000 men from the north, and Khan-i-Dauran with 6,000 men from the south-west. The Bundela army numbered less than 15,000 but were aided by the rocks and jungles of their home.#
Among the Hindu mercenaries of the Mughal army was a Bundela claimant in whom Shah Jahan found a useful tool. Devi Singh was the representative of the eldest branch of the Rajahs of Urchha, which had been set aside by Jahangir when he gave the throne to his favourite Bir Singh Dev. Jhujhar had duly succeeded his father; but in Devi Singh’s eyes the usurpation continued, and he himself was the rightful heir to the Bundela throne. He was now earning his bread as a captain in the Mughal army, and waiting for some opportunity of winning the Emperor’s favour and ousting his rival. Shah Jahan now offered to make him Rajah of Urchha, and got the invaluable help of a Bundela contingent burning with hatred of Jhujhar and eager to guide the invaders through the jungles and disclose all the weak points of their native land. [Pad.I. B. 96-98, A.U. it 295, 213.]
The three Mughal generals were of equal rank, and it would have been hard to ensure unity of plan and co-operation among them if they had been left to themselves. A supreme commander was needed, whose high position would of itself enforce discipline and obedience. For this purpose the Emperor sent his son Aurangzib, then a lad of sixteen, with the rank of a Commander of 10,000 and escorted by 1000 archers of the guard and 1000 horse. He was to be the nominal chief of the expedition, and stay far in the rear The three generals were to advise him about every military operation, but his voice was to be decisive, and they were not to act without consulting him.*
In the meantime an ultimatum had been presented to Jhujhar Singh: he must submit, pay a fine of 30 lakhs, and cede a district. But these terms had been rejected. After the rainy season the three divisions united together near Bhander, about 25 miles north-east of Jhansi, and marched upon Urchha. Every day the pioneers cut the jungle and extended the road, while the Bundela skirmishers shot at them under cover of the trees, but with no success. On 2nd October, 1635, the army arrived at a village two miles from Urchha; and the Bundela prince in the imperial camp, fired with domestic hatred and ambition, stormed the hillock where the enemy had mustered in force and took many prisoners. At this Jhujhar lost heart, removed his family to Dhamuni and soon afterwards fled thither himself. Early in the morning of 4th October the Mughals scaled the walls of the Bundela capital, while the small garrison left by Jnujhar escaped through the opposite gate. [Pad. I.B. 98--100, 106.]
A day was spent in taking full possession of the city and installing Devi Singh as Rajah. Then the Mughal army crossed the Betwa and hastened southwards to Dhamuni. But their prey had again fled. Jhujhar Singh had found no safety in Dhamuni, but gone further south, across the Vindhya hills and the Narmada river, to Chauragarh in the land of the Gonds. Dhamuni had, however, been prepared to stand a siege. The houses round the fort had been razed to the ground and a gallant Rajput named Ratnai left in command. On 18th October the imperialists arrived before the fort and began siege operations. The garrison fought till midnight, and then sent a man to Khan-i-Dauran to beg for quarter. But a body of Ruhelas had run their trenches to the edge of the bamboo thicket adjoining the eastern wall of the fort, and occupied the jungle under cover of the darkness. After midnight some of them entered the fort from that side and began to plunder. Khan-i- Dauran soon arrived and tried to restore order in the darkness. The fort was rapidly filling with the victors when suddenly a powder magazine in a tower of the southern wall took fire from the torch of a careless plunderer; a dreadful explosion followed, blowing up 80 yards of the enormously thick wall and killing 300 Rajputs stan- ding under the wall and also 200 horses. [bid. 108—10.]
#The Bundela army consisted of about 5,000 cavarly and 10,000 infantry, whereas in the Mughal army the horse outnumbered the foot several times.
*Pad. I. B. 99-100. Dow’s highly coloured and imaginary account is very amusing: ‘“Aurungzebe was sent against him. This was the first opportunity given to that young lion of rioting in blood.. The war was protracted for two years...Aurangzebe though but thirteen years of age, displayed that martial intrepidity...which could not be restrained. He was present in every danger, &c.” (iii. 132). If the campaign was meant to be Aurangzib’s baptism of fire, we must say that the baptism was performed at a great distance from the fire. Throughout the war the young prince was kept by his guardian safe in the rear, many miles behind the fighting line.
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