Haridas Kesaria

Haridas Kesaria or Haridas Mahiyaria (d. March 1527) was a 16th-century Mewar chieftain, warrior and poet from Rajasthan. In the Battle of Gagron in 1519, he fought alongside the Mewar army led by Rana Sanga, capturing and imprisoning the Sultan Mahmud Khalji II of Malwa, thus quickly ending the war. He was a close friend of Rana Sanga, participating in many battles and campaigns of Mewar kingdom.

Clan and family

Sources:[1][2]

Kesaria lived in Patan under the rule of Siddharaj Jaisimha, who honoured him with a jagir of Genasara including 6 villages. In time, a descendent of Kesaria, Mandan Kesaria left Genasara and came to Mewar, where the Maharana being pleased with his talent and knowledge, awarded him the jagir of Mahiyari including 6 villages. It is from this jagir, the later Kesaria came to be known as Mahiyaria.

Haridas was born to Mandan Kesaria in Mewar. He, in turn, had four sons; three of which are named Udaibhan, Keshavdas and Haribhagat.

Keshavdas and Haribhagat died without issue. Haridas's grandson through Udaibhan, Devidas Mahiyaria, was an accomplished warrior. He was the military general of Gopaldas Shaktawat and after their victory in the Battle of Benaras, he was granted a jagir including 24 villages.

Haridas built a temple of kuldevi of Mahiyaria clan, Shri Sunderbai, in the village of Madri (Rajsamand). Another shrine of this goddess was also built in village of Bhildi (Jahazpur), which is still present.

Anecdotes

Several anecdotes are popular about Haridas. One legend is that once Rana Sanga went hunting with his companions, one of his elephants which was tied nearby became enraged after being teased so that he broke the chain and ran after them. Others ran away but Haridas did not leave Sanga's side. When there was no way to escape, Sanga spoke to Haridas that you keep singing the praises of your kuldevis, why don't you call them today for protection? On this, Haridas said a couplet to his Aradhyashakti Shri Sunderbai-

आण दबाया गज अठे, और न हेक उपाय। ‘सुन्दर’ मां सज आवजे, सांगा तणी सहाय।।

And immediately they saw that the defiant elephant was being stopped by a force and it calmed down, thus preventing any harm to Sanga and Haridas.

Battle of Gagron (1519)
Main article: Battle of Gagron

Sources:[1][3][4]

The battle was fought between the Mewar kingdom on one side and the Malwa Sultanate assisted by Gujarat Sultanate on the other. The Mewar army was reinforced by Rathores of Merta. Sultan Mahmud Khalji II headed the Sultanate army and marched thorugh Gagron where he was faced by a large army of Rana Sanga. In the ensuing battle, Mewar army fought bravely and Haridas captured the Sultan and presented him to Sanga.[5]

In the celebration of this victory, Rana Sanga, pleased with the bravery and courage of Haridas, granted him the fort of Chittor. However, Haridas humbly returned the fortress back to Maharana and accepted a small jagir of twelve villages. The jagir included villages of Madri, Beri, Panchali etc. Panchali remained with Haridas's descendents until modern times.[6]

At the Rana Sanga panorama built in Khanwa (Bharatpur), Sanga's victory in the Battle of Gagron and his benevolent behavior towards the defeated Sultan is displayed in the inscribed historical Dingal verses, authored by Haridas himself:[7][8]

Dingal IAST Romanization English translation

मांडव गढ़ गर्जर ग्रह मुके, रैणवां दीघ चत्रगढ़ राण।

māṃḍava gaढ़ garjara graha muke, raiṇavāṃ dīgha catragaढ़ rāṇa।

Thou, O! Rana, didst allow the kings of Mandu and Gujarat to return home, and gavest away the fortress of Chitor to Renwa Charan.

Death – Battle of Khanwa (1527)
Main article: Battle of Khanwa
Mughal painting depicting the Rajput Army (Left) battling the Mughal Army (Right)

Throughout his life, Haridas was a valued member of Mewar court and fought many battles. In March 1527, Haridas died fighting valiantly alongside Sanga in the Battle of Khanwa against the Mughal ruler, Babur.[9]

Works

Haridas was a good poet and some of his miscellaneous works including Dingal Gits on Rana Sanga are found.[10]

  • Moja Samaṃda Mālavata Mahābalū (मोज समंद मालवत महाबलू)
  • Dhana Sāṃgā Hāta Hamīra Kalodhara (धन सांगा हात हमीर कलोधर)

References
  1. Jośī, Vandanā (1986). Mahiyāriyā satasaī: eka anuśīlana (in Hindi). Sāhitya Saṃsthāna, Rājasthāna Vidyāpīṭha.
  2. Jijñāsu, Mohanalāla (1968). Cāraṇa sāhitya kā itihāsa: Rājasthāna ke prācīna evaṃ Madhyakālīna 275 cāraṇa kaviyoṃ, unake kāvya ke vibhinna rūpoṃ tathā pravr̥ttiyoṃ kā Jīvanacaritra sahita aitihāsika evaṃ ālocanātmaka anuśīlana (in Hindi). Ujvala Cāraṇa-Sabhā.
  3. Bāṅkidāsa (1983). Kavi mata maṇḍaṇa: vistr̥ta jīvanī aura anya ajñāta racanāoṃ sahita (in Hindi). Jaina Brādarsa. राणा सांगा ने तो अपना दस करोड़ को आय वाला चित्तौड़-राज्य ही महियारिया शाखा के चारण हरिदास को प्रदान कर दिया था।
  4. Maru-Bhāratī (in Hindi). Biṛlā Ejyūkeśana Ṭrasṭa. 1987. युद्धवीर साँगा हम्मीर की तरह दानवीर भी थे। हरिदास केसरिया को चित्तौड़ ही दान कर दिया था पर उसने मांडू-विजय की खुशी में प्राप्त चित्तौड़ लोटा दिया।
  5. Sandhu, Gurcharn Singh (2003). A Military History of Medieval India. Vision Books. p. 386. ISBN 9788170945253.
  6. Singh, Mahendra Pratap (2001). Shivaji, Bhakha Sources and Nationalism. Books India International. Rana publicly announced that he would give away his whole kingdom of Mewar to Charan Haridas of the Mahiyaria clan. Haridas humbly refused the offer and accepted only twelve villages . One of those villages was still kept in the possession of Charan's descendants , when Kavi Raja Shyamaldan wrote his book in the closing decades of the 19th century.
  7. Sarda, Har Bilas (1970). Maharana Sāngā, the Hindupat: The Last Great Leader of the Rajput Race. Kumar Bros.
  8. "राणा सांगा पैनोरमा, खनुआ, भरतपुर". Government of Rajasthan: Art and Culture Portal.
  9. Mahārāṇā Pratāpa ke pramukha sahayogī (in Hindi). Rājasthānī Granthāgāra. 1997. सांगा ने हरिदास महियारिया को चित्तौड़ का राज्य देकर प्रथम राष्ट्र कवि के पद पर आसीन किया । हरिदास ने खानवा प्रथम स्वाधीनता के निर्णायक युद्ध में अपने प्राणों की आहुति दी।
  10. कोठारी, देव (1977). मेवाड़ प्रदेशके प्राचीन डिंगल कवि. श्री अगरचंद नाहटा अभिनन्दन-प्रन्थ प्रकाशन समित्ति.
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