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 Rana Sangha and the Mughals Babar- a descendent of Timur the Mongol, came to India to conquer it but instead fell in love with the country and its people and made India his home. He was the first king of the Mughal dynasty and one of its finest warriors. Several years of hardship had made him into a tough soldier. Yet never had he met a match so strong as he did in Rana Sangha, the greatest ruler of Mewar, who had defeated the Lodi kings of Delhi several times. In 1527, Babar advanced from Sikri to engage Rana Sangha in battle. So great the courage and might of the Rana that the Mughal emperor broke his chalice before the confrontation and swore never to touch a drop of wine till he had subjugated this formidable Rajput prince. It was a promise well taken because the Rana matched the invader, man for man and sword for sword. It was only because of Raisen, a traitor, who went over to Babar's side in the thick of battle that Rana Sangha had to retreat in the end. The Rana swore never to enter his fort unless victorious. The Rana would surely have upheld is pledge had he not died the next year. People still say that the wily Mughal, wanting, to get rid of adversary who was as strong and as brave as him on the battlefield, poisoned the Rana. If this is true or not we do not know. What no one can deny was the great courage of Rana Sangha, whose body, as lay on his deathbed, showed evidence of the warrior he was. One eye lost in battle with his brothers; an arm, while fighting the Lodi king of Delhi; a crippled limb, broken by a cannon ball during the campaign against Babar; and more than eighty severe scars of wounds inflicted on his body by lance or sword during countless skirmishes. This was the body that was laid to rest-before the Mughal emperor touched his chalice of wine again. |