History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c36.s4.30

Language: English

v3.c36.s4.30.1

The next lawless Rajah to feel Aurangzib's heavy hand was Champat Rai Bundela.† The province of Bundelkhand, immediately south of Allahabad and east of Malwa, continued to be a centre of disorder throughout the 17th century. We have seen (Ch. I §3) how after the war of 1635 the family of Bir Singh Dev was dispossessed and the throne of Urchha given to Devi Singh, a descendant of his eldest brother. The new Rajah could not keep his turbulent clansmen in order and his authority never spread to Eastern Bundelkhand, where a family sprung from a younger brother of Bir Singh’s father ruled as the lords of Mahewa. Their leader was Champat Rai who exercised great local influence by reason of his having been an old and important servant of Bir Singh and his successor. In 1636 he crowned Bir Singh’s infant grandson Prithwiraj and tried to rule the country as regent for his puppet. His depredations led to a fresh Mughal invasion, at the end of which (June, 1642) he submitted and some years later entered Dara’s service. When Aurangzib reached Ujjain after his victory over Jaswant, Champat Rai joined him (April, 1658) and according to three contemporary authors it was this Bundela chief who guided Aurangzib to the neglected ford over the Chambal which enabled the prince to turn the flank of Dara’s position without loss.

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But the Mughal official history is silent as to the name of the guide, and it does not support the incredible assertion of the Bundela family-bard, Lal Kavi, that Aurangzib rewarded Champat’s invaluable services by creating him a Commander of Twelve Thousand. We only know that later in the year Champat and his second son Angad were sent to serve in the Mughal army posted in the Panjab. But when Shuja was advancing to Khajwah and the wildest rumours spread through the empire, Champat deserted, and returning home took to his old game of robbery. During the unrest caused by the desertion of Jaswant at Khajwah and Dara's march on Ajmir, Champat made extensive raids and rendered the Malwa road extremely unsafe for travellers. The Emperor sent an army under Subhkaran Bundela and other Rajput officers against the rebel (10 Feb., 1659); but at first their efforts failed, and Champat, taking advantage of the jungles and broken ground of the country long evaded capture and lived by robbery. But the Mughal army was reinforced by a contingent under Rajah Devi Singh Bundela, and the jagirdars and local troops of Malwa were also ordered to assist him. Everybody's hands were now turned against Champat, who fled from place to place closely followed by the imperialists. In fear of capture he could not stay anywhere long, but hid himself in the day-time and changed his abode every night. His followers dwindled away, as his losses in skirmishes could not be made up.

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Most of the local Bundela chieftains joined in the hunt after him, to prove their loyalty to the throne. His brother and helper, Sujan Rai, lost his fort of Vedpur and committed suicide to escape arrest. Champat, daily tortured by ague and attended by only 25 retainers, was surprised near Urchha and forced to flee to Sahra in the Sarangpur district of Malwa, whose Rajah* (a chief of the Dhandhera clan) he had befriended in the days of his influence at Shah Jahan's Court. But even here, after a long and exhausting march, suffering from fever and hunger, he was driven off by the approach of the enemy. The outlaw gave himself up to despair and ran blindly onwards like a hunted animal. His mind became confused; nowhere could he find a way of escape. Even his own daughter (the wife of a local chief, Jnan Shah) refused asylum or food to his son Chhatra Sal, though he had been fasting for the last three days and was sinking with fatigue. The Dhandhera clan of Sahra were afraid of imperial wrath for having harboured the outlaw and now thought only of buying the forgiveness of Government by arresting and giving up their guest and refugee. Two hundred armed horsemen were sent by Sahib Rai Dhandhera to dog the steps of the unhappy fugitive under the pretext of forming his body-guard.

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At last about the middle of October 1661, Champat Rai finding capture by these false friends imminent, and unable to defend himself in the extreme agony of fever and weakness, stabbed himself to death, and so also did his constant companion in life, Rani Kali Kumari. His severed head was sent to Aurangzib, as the peace-offering of the Dhandheras.