The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v2.c32.s5.3.3

v2.c32.s5.3.3

There is as yet no means to verify all the details of the above account of the successors of Pṛthvīrājā given by Nayacandra.⁴ But that Vāgbhaṭa, a descendant of Pṛthvīrāja actually ascended the throne of Ranthambhor is proved by the recently discovered Balvan stone-inscription of Hammīra, the last Cāhamāna of this line.¹ This Vāgbhaṭa has been identified with ‘Bāhar-deo’ (Bāhaḍa-deva) of Ranthambhor, who is described by Minhāj as ‘the greatest of the Rāis of Hindūstān.’² He was attacked in A.H. 646 (A.D. 1248) by Ulugh Khān,³ who met with indifferent success, losing one of his nobles, Malik Bahā ud-Dīn Aibak in a battle under the fort of Ranthambhor.⁴ The Khān’s soldiers, we are told, “showed great courage and fought well; they sent many of the infidels to hell, and secured great spoil, after which they returned to the capital.” This happened in the reign of Sulṭān Nāṣir ud-Dīn Maḥmūd (1246-66 A.D.). The attack seems to have been renewed in A.H. 651 (A.D. 1253), when Ulugh Khān led a Muslim force from Nagor in the direction of Ranthambhor and Chitor. Minhāj relates that “Bāhar Deo, Rāī of Ranthambhor, the greatest of the Rāīs, and the most noble and illustrious of all the princes of Hindūstān, assembled an army to inflict a blow on Ulugh Khān. But……although the Rāī’s army was large and well appointed with arms and horses it was put to flight, and many of its valiant fighting men were sent to hell.