It’s true that the Indian tradition of Kshatra has witnessed several ups and downs and hundreds of incidents of defeats and death. In reality, our Rajas and Maharajas and other towering Kshatriya warriors, owing to their near-sightedness, misplaced generosity, and needless pride lost their respect, wealth and culture to the forces of barbarism. At times, some of these kings turned out to be selfish, narrow-minded and were fatal to Sanatana...
As the last vestige of India’s glorious heritage of Kshatra (or valour), we see the solid resistance of the native Indian army during the First War of Indian Independence in 1857. After this, we observe the same Kshatra spirit in Subash Chandra Bose’s army Azad Hind Fauj in 1944.
During the period of about ninety years from 1857—1944 the Kshatra of Indians was reflected largely through individual brilliance. Extraordinary warriors and fighters...
Like Sawai Jai Singh, the other warrior who toiled for the cause of Sanatana Dharma during the period of the downfall of the Mughal Empire was the ideal woman Ahalyabai Holkar. Before her were women like Jijabai (Shivaji’s mother) and Yesubai, the wife of Sambhaji, Shivaji’s son. Sambhaji who was caught and imprisoned by the Mughals did not convert to Islam despite the horrific tortures he endured, and finally died a martyr. After his death,...
In this background, there were several heroes who strove to alleviate the pain of the Sanatana-Dharmis and protect their honour. Such people are worthy of the highest praise.
Of them, the foremost was Sawai Jai Singh.
From the time of Akbar, the Rajputs from the province of Amber (or Amer) were loyal to the Mughal empire with Delhi as its capital; Sawai Jai Singh belonged to this clan of Rajputs. Although he grew up having to bear all the anti-...
After the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal empire was scattered and confused. In fact, this had already started during Aurangzeb's lifetime itself. As a result of the barbaric behaviour of Muslims and forcible conversions to Islam, millions of Sanatana Dharmis were attacked and tormented; every single Hindu had in his heart, a deep-seated hatred for Islam and the spirit of revenge had risen. It was seen as a crime to be born as a Hindu and to live...
Although Shivaji was born in a Shudra family, his love and respect for Sanatanadharma was immense. In his letters to Aurangzeb, he uses his honorific titles that translate into "a protector of cows and brahmanas." He put together a number of youngsters from the Maval region and created a strong army. Not only that, just like Prahlada, he took on his own father in battle.
Shivaji's Victory
The first major victory of Shivaji was against Afzal Khan...
The next great landmark of the tradition of the spirit of Kshatra is available in South India. He is the lodestar of Hindu Dharma, Chhatrapati Shivaji.
Shivaji hailed from the Bhosle lineage, considered as Shudras. His roots lie in the Mewad-based Sisodia clan. In other words, we can identify him with Rana Pratap’s lineage.
His mother Jijabai hailed from the Yadava (or Jadhava) lineage belonging to Devagiri. Although his father Shahaji began his...
Maharaja Ranjit Singh stands in the forefront of this great Sikh warrior tradition. It was Ranjit Singh who reestablished Sanatana Dharma in the North Western regions (Afghanistan and surroundings) of Bharata after the downfall of the Mughal Empire. He was the nightmare of the British.
Born on November 13, 1780, Ranjit Singh lost one eye in his childhood due to smallpox. The force and intensity of his personality was such that even his closest...
Aurangzeb attacked Kashmir and attempted to kill all the Kashmiri Pandits. Struck by the fear of death, they requested the king of Kashmir to surrender the kingdom itself. In this manner, without the slightest resistance, Kashmir surrendered to Islam. Since the Kashmiri Pandits stepped back from sacrifice and martyrdom, the entire land fell to Islam. The society doesn’t pay heed to people who are not willing to sacrifice themselves. If we are...
Hemachandra Vikramaditya: The Emperor Deprived of Fame
In the history of India, there have been a few decisive wars. The Battles of Panipat also form a part of that. If the results of the three Battles of Panipat had changed even slightly, the future of India would have been completely different. One of the great heroes who fell in one of these Panipat wars is Hemachandra or Hemu.
Hemachandra was responsible for bringing back the grandeur of...