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| Rani Roopmati &Sultan Baz Bahadur hunting. onlineonly.christies.com |
Miyan
Bayezid Baz Bahadur was the last sultan of Malwa
(1555
to 1562) and became a ruler
after his father - Shuja'at
Khan. Malwas is in the
Madhya Pradesh state of India. Buz Bahadur
was known for his romantic
liaison with Roopmati,
a singer of Rajput
birth
and married her
according
to Muslim
and Hindu
rites.
 |
| google.com |
Baz
Bahadur, ever so fond of music, was the last independent ruler of
Mandu. Once out on a hunting trip, Baz Bahadur chanced upon a
shepherdess having fun and singing with her friends. Smitten by both
her enchanting beauty and her melodious voice, he begged Roopmati to
accompany him to his capital. Roopmati at last agreed to go to Mandu
upon one condition that she would live in a palace within the sight
of her beloved and venerated river, Narmada. Thus was built the Rewa
Kund - huge water tank to supply water to Roopmati's palce near the river at Mandu to fulfill Roopmati's wish. Deeply in love with Roopmati, the Sultan spent most his time with her and as a result he failed to concentrate on the administration of his kingdom. His army became weak and the kingdom was prone to attacks from other rulers.
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| Rani Roopmati &Sultan Baz Bahadur of Malwa,India.britishonlineonly.com |
Unfortunately,
the romance of this Muslim prince and the Hindu shepherdess was
short-lived,
doomed
and,
as ill-luck would have it, ended up in tragedy.
The great Mogul emperor
Akbar
sent his powerful
army
led by one Adham Khan
and Pir Muhammad Khan
to invade Mandu and capture Roopmati and Baz bahadur. The
small, insignificant
army of
Buz Bahadur was
no match
for the great Mogul army;
Sultan was easily defeated
in the battle at Sarangpur on 29th March,1561 and
his capital Mandu was captured.
 |
| Defeat of Buz Bhahadur. en.wikipedia.org |
Above image: The defeat of Baz Bahadur by Mughal troops, in 1561; Rani Roopmati and her companions view the scene from the terrace of the fort. Depicted in the Akbarnama........
Baz
Bahadur fled to
Khandesh
to
seek help. When
Adham Khan
came to Mandu, he
was
at once
captivated
by the beauty of Roopmati.
Anticipating what would happen to her after
capture,
Rani
Roopmati stoically consumed
poison upon
hearing Madu's fall and
died.
Thus the
curtain abruptly came down on
this magical love affair
between a royal ruler and an ordinary
bewitching
beauty. This
heart-wrenching
love story
is
steeped
in music, poetry and beauty
and no one can overlook the underlying pathos and sacrifice in it..
In
the meantime with the help of other rulers, Buz Bahadur regained
his kingdom for a short period but subsequently was defeated and arrested by Akbar's army led by Abdullah Khan)(1570).
 |
| Mandu city of stones and marbles,Madya Prasesh,India.karmaindia.com |
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| Baz Bahadur Palace. optimatravels.com |
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| Roopmati Pavilion. istockphoto.com |
The
Rewa Kund is a reservoir built by Baz Bahadur at Mandu,
equipped with an aqueduct to supply Roopmati's palace with water.
Today, the site is revered as a holy spot. Baz Bahadur's Palace was
built
in the early 16th century, Its
spacious courtyard fringed with halls, and high terraces
set in a beautiful place enhances the grandeur look of the palace.
This
divine
beauty was at peace with herself with her favorite river Narmada and her
husband near-by. Rani
Roopmati's Pavilion was built as an army observation post
which also
served as Roopmati's retreat.
Ref
Khare,
M.D. (ed.) (1981). Malwa through the Ages, Bhopal: Directorate of
Archaeology and Museums, Government of M.P., pp.365-7
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