When we hear Mewar, we can think of several selfless warriors who sacrificed their lives for their nation, and thus Mewar is the birthplace of many such warriors.
Among such great warriors, Bappa Rawal was one of the greatest warriors who was also the founder of the great Mewar dynasty. The real name of Bappa was Prince Khalbhoj.
By hearing the brave warrior’s name, many enemies would tremble in fear. Besides being a fearless warrior, Bappa Rawal was also a great philanthropist.
Though many rulers have ruled this region, they always confined to the hilly areas of the west and southwest. Bappa Rawal is the only ruler who is considered to expand his limits to the current boundaries.
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About Bappa Rawal
Bappa Rawal was born in 713 AD. His childhood was spent at Nagda, later on, it became its capital. The capital is located 19kms away from Udaipur.
While he was just three years old, his father Rawal Mahendra 2 was assassinated. It is said that after his father’s death, he and his mother used to stay with the Bheel Tribal community, and they helped the young prince learn the warfare tactics, battlefield tricks, and tips. He succeeded to the throne and became a king at the age of 21.
He gave up his name after he ascended on the throne and took the title of Bappa Rawal, where Bappa indicates father and Rawal is the family name.
He extended his kingdom to the east after defeating Man Singh of the Mori clan from Chittor in 734 AD. In the year 753 AD, Bappa passed away at Eklinji. It is known that he was the last king of the Guhilot Clan.
History
Bappa Rawal was known as one of the most powerful kings of the Mewar Dynasty. The survivor member of the Guhilot clan, the prince, came from Atri clan, and he didn’t continue the family name of the seven generations.
When he came to the throne, instead, he established the Mewar Dynasty and named it to the kingdom he had recently taken over.
Later on, he was celebrated on the fields, and his life is loaded with enigmas, and many legends were created about him.
It is known that Bappa was blessed with kingship by Harit Rishi, a sage of the Mewar region. Bappa’s father, Rawal Mahendra 2, had married a woman of the Paramara Rajput clan, from Mt. Abu. She also is the sister from Maan Mori, the para mara king who had ruled almost all regions of Mewar, including the Guhilot clan land.
Along with other high-spirited princes, Bappa is known to spend most of his childhood in the wide Vindya range. The pranks of this royal Shepard including the innocent mischiefs among village damsels. A fascinating footnote to know is that this legend is said to have married many women and sired at least 100 children. The king also played an essential role in Rajasthan’s battle, and the war series was fought in the 8th century AD between the domestic rulers of north and western India and the Arabs of Sindh in which the regional Indian rulers inflicted a resounding defeat on the invading Arabs.
In the 8th century, India was attacked by Arab Muslims within a few decades after Islam was born, which was ideally an extension of the invasion of Persia.
To ward off Muslim invasions across western and eastern borders of Rajputana, Bappa had integrated the smaller states of Ajmer and Jaisalmer to stop the attacks. Bappa Rawal had also defeated the Arabs in the country and turned the tide for some time.
Some people even say that Qassim had attacked Chittor, which was then ruled by Mori Rajputs. Bappa was the army commander in the Mori Army, and so was Dahir’s son.
Bappa defeated and pursued Bin Qasim through Saurashtra and back to the western banks of the Sindhu. He also marched to Gazni and defeated the regional ruler Salim post that he nominated a representative before returning to Chittor.
After Raja Mori named Bappa Rawal, his successor crowned him as the king of Chittor Bappa Rawal, and his armies invaded many kingdoms, including Kandahar, Turan, Iran, Khorasan, etc. T
hus, he defended many frontiers of the nation. It is known that Bappa Rawal was a great devotee of Eklinga. He was called the father as he never should ego as a king but looked after his people like a father.
Some astonishing achievements of Bappa Rawal are:
- Bappa Rawal was one of the first kings to defeat the Mughals for the first time in history. By the 8th century, the Arab terrorists had entered the Sindh, and the brave warrior Bappa Rawal had prevented them from proceeding towards the east. Besides preventing them from entering the Sindh, he also uprooted them from the region.
- In 712 AD, he won the Sindh Province from Muhammad Bin Qasim. On the one hand, Prathira Samrat Nagabhata was killing the Arabs along the western Rajasthan and Malwa region. On the other hand, Bappa Rawal was killing the Arabs, along with the surrounding areas.
- King Bappa Rawal was also the one who snatched their kingdoms from Arabs. It was challenging to capture Chittor fort by defeating the Maurya ruler Maan Mori in 734 AD, but it was only Bappa Rawal who made the impossible possible.
- In 735 AD, The Hajjat had sent an army to Mewar, but Bappa Rawal defeated his army. Later on, Bappa Rawal, Nagabhatta I, and the Chalukya ruler Vikramaditya II together defeated the combined army of Tamim bin Jaid al-Utbi, Al-Hakmaq bin Alawa and Junaid bin Abdul Rahman Al-Murai. For almost 20 years, Mughals feared Bappa Rawal.
Thus, it is said that Arabs feared Bappa Rawal and were even threatened to look towards India. It is believed that for at least 400 years, the Mughals didn’t attack India. Hence it is essential to remember these true warriors of the country; unfortunately, not many people are aware of him.