Ayodhya Revisited

by Kunal Kishore

  While on mission to Assam, he stayed in the temple of Mahumani in Kamrup district. The description of his stay and shelter in the temple has been lucidly presented by Ghulam Husain Salim in the following words:

  “In short, in this straightened condition, they reached the bridge. Since those two commandants quarrelling with each other had deserted their posts at the head of the bridge, the people of that country had destroyed the bridge. At the sight of this destruction, the heart of the high and the low suddenly broke, like the Chinese cup. Muhammad Bakhtiãr engulfed in the sea of confusion and perplexity despaired of every resource. After much striving, he got news that in the neighbourhood there was a very large temple, and that idols of gold and silver were placed there in great pomp. It is said that there was an idol in the temple which weighed a thousand maunds. In short, Muhammad Bakhtiãr with his force took refuge in this temple, and was busy improvising means for crossing the river. The Rãjah of Kãmrûpa had ordered all his troops and subjects of that country to commit depredations. The people of that country, sending out force after force, engaged in besieging the temple, and from all sides posting in the ground bamboo-made lances, and tying one to the other, turned them into the shape of walls. Muhammad Bakhtíãr saw that all chance of escape was slipping out of his hands, and that the knife was reaching the bone, so at once with his force issuing out of the temple and making a sortie, he broke through the stockade of bamboos, and cutting through his way, rescued himself from the hard-pressed siege. The infidels of that country pursued him to the banks of the river, and stretched their hands to plunder and slaughter, so that some by the sharpness of the sword and others by the inundation of water, were engulfed in the sea of destruction. The Musalman soldiers on reaching the river-banks stood perplexed. Suddenly, one of the soldiers plunged with his horse into the river, and went about one arrow-shot, when another soldier seeing this, plunged similarly into the river. As the river had a sandy bed, with a little movement, all were drowned. Only Muhammad Bakhtiãr with one thousand cavalry (and according to another account, with three hundred cavalry) succeeded in crossing over; the rest met with a watery grave. After Muhammad Bakhtiãr had crossed safely over the tumultous river with a small force, from excessive rage and humiliation, in that the females and the children of the slaughtered and the drowned from alleys and terraces abused and cursed him, he got an attack of consumption, and reaching Deokot died. And according to other accounts, ‘Ali Mardãn Khiljî, who was one of his officers, during that illness, slew Bakhtiãr, and raised the standard of sovereignty over the kingdom of Lakhnauti. The period of Malik Ikhtiãr-ud-dîn Muhammad Bakhtiãr’s rule over Bengal was twelve years. When Muhammad Bakhtiãr passed from the rule of this transitory world into the eternal world, Malik Azu-d-dîn Khiljî succeeded to the rule over Bengal. Eight months had not passed, when ‘Alî Mardãn Khiljî slew him.”

  This liquidation of the Turkish army under Bakhtiyar Khalji is indicated in the following inscription at some distance from Guwahati.

  शाके तुरगजु(यु)ग्मेश मधुमासत्रयोदशे।

  कामरूपं समागत्य तुरुष्काः क्षयमाययु।।

  On the 13th day of the Chaitra month of the Saka year 1127, i.e. 1205 A.D. the Turks who came to Kamarupa were doomed.

  (4) Makhdum Shah Juran Ghori

  He was the younger brother of Muhammad Ghori. He invaded Ayodhyā with a large army and destroyed the famous Jain Adinath temple. But it appears that he was killed in the Hindu resistance led by Bartuh, who succeeded in annihilating the vast army of Ghori. His encounter with Bartuh is indicated by the following mention in the ‘Tabakat-i-Nasiri’ which has been hardly highlighted by any historian:

  “He overthrew and sent to hell the accursed Bartuh under whose hands and sword more than one hundred and twenty thousand Musulmans had received martyrdom.” (History of India, As Told by its own Historians Vol. 2, p. 329)

  This statement is loaded with many events. In an attack on Ayodhyā one lakh and twenty thousand Muslims were killed by Bartuh. Giving margin for exaggeration in the number of the Muslims killed, the casualty on the Muslim side appears to be very huge in the battle.

  Now the question arises when this battle might have taken place. Since it has been shown that Bakhtiyar Khalji had no occasion to attack Ayodhyā, it must have happened when Muhammad of Ghore had attacked Ayodhyā along with his younger brother Makhdum Shah Juran Ghori and a large army. This Bartuh might have been a governor of Gahadavāla king at Ayodhyā who defended Ayodhyā valiantly and this is the reason that the Turkish invaders succeeded in demolishing only one temple (Adinātha) at Ayodhyā. The Bartuh’s army succeeded in killing Makhdum Shah Juran Ghori as well as his vast army. Since court historians don’t give details of the reverses of their masters; this heroic achievement of Bartuh has not been recorded by Muslim chroniclers. It has escaped the notice of modern historians too. Malik Nasiruddin was made the Governor of Oudh in 1226 A.D. So it cannot refer to the battle between Salar Masud and Suhar Deva because the latter had not been alive till then. Therefore, it refers to the attack of Makhdum Shah Juran Ghori on Ayodhyā which took place after 1192 A.D.

  It is likely that this Bartuh might have been the same Mahāsā manta Barahadeva of a fragmentary stone inscription found in Nagod state. It appears that he was a powerful Sāmanta of Gahadavāla king Jayachandra, and had earlier defeated and annihilated the forces of Makhdum Shah Juran Ghari but was ultimately overthrown by Iltutmish during Malik Nasiruddin Mahmud’s governorship.

  Thus, there is a gap of slightly more than three decades between two events in the life of Bartuh. First he vanquished and slaughtered the Turkish army and then was vanquished and killed by Malik Nasiruddin.

  At Ayodhyā, there is a grave of Makhdum Shah Juran Ghori in the Adinath temple premise, although some persons claim it to be his descendent’s tomb.

  (5) Malik Kafur

  Malik Kafur was a ferocious warrior and an impulsive iconoclast. He conquered the territories of Devagiri in 1307, Telingana in 1310, Dwar Samudra in 1311 and Pandya kingdom in 1311. Invariably, he plundered all major temples under these territories, razed most of them to ground and converted many into mosques. But Malik Kafur had no occasion to wage war in Awadh and thus Ayodhyā did not come under his iconoclastic activities.

  But mean persons like Malik Kafur never remain loyal even to their masters. Malik Kafur was a eunuch and according to Barani, Alauddin was very much infatuated with him, although it is difficult to digest it. But the fact remains that Alauddin made him the most powerful man after appointing him as malik naib. However, Alauddin had apprehension that his appointee would harm his eldest son Khizr Khan, so he had extracted most fearful oaths from Kafur – “by God, by Prophet and by the shariat, by the Faith, by the Sultan’s salt and by the sword” – that he would not harm the Prince’s life or eyes. But the first act of this ungrateful ‘malik naib’ after the demise of Alauddin Khalji was to grab the ring from the finger of the dead Sultan and dispatch Sumbul with this ring to Gwalior to blind Khizr Khan. On the first day of gaining power he blinded another Prince Shadi Khan, the uterine brother of Khizr Khan by ordering a barber to gouge out his eyes. Thereafter, he deprived Malka-i-Jahan, the senior consort of the Sultan of all her property and jewels and threw her into oblivion. Though he was a eunuch, he had the audacity to marry the daughter of Rai Rāma Deva, Jhatyapali to become the step father of the Sultan Shihabuddin Umar whom he had made a titular head. Kafur was planning to annihilate the whole family of Alauddin Khalji. But some truly devoted bodyguards – paiks – of the late Sultan Alauddin Khalji killed him by cutting off his head. The contemporary poet Amir Khusrau remarks, “Kafur had sworn by the sword and the salt; so the salt became the sword and cut off his head.” All tyrants have such tragic ends.

  (6) Sultan Iltutmish

  It appears that Ayodhyā was subdued during the reign of Ilutmish under the leader
ship of Malik Nasiruddin Mahmud. His brief biography is given in Tabakat-i-Nasiri, a book written by Maulana Abu-Umar-I-Usman Minhaj-Ud-Din. The translation of its main portions is available in Elliot and Dowson’s “History of India as told by Its own Historians.” Malik Nasiruddin Mahmud was a favourite son of Iltutmish and different from Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud who became king subsequently. Here is the description of Malik Nasiruddin Mahmud who was a very promising son of Iltutmish and was appointed as a Governor of Awadh:

  “Malik Nasiruddin Mahmud was the elder son of Sultan Shamsuddin. He was an intelligent, learned and wise prince, and was possessed of exceeding bravery, courage, generosity and benevolence. The first charge with the Sultan confided to him was that of Hansi. Some time after, in 623 A.H. (1226 A.D), Oudh was entrusted to him. In that country the prince exhibited many estimable qualities. He fought several battles, and by his boldness and bravery he made his name famous in the annals of Hindustan. He overthrew and sent to hell the accursed Bartuh (?) under whose hands and sword more than one hundred and twenty thousand Musulmans had received martyrdom. He overthrew the rebel infidels of Oudh and brought a body of them into submission. (p. 329)”

  Many readers are confused between Malik Nasiruddin, the son of Iltutmish and Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud, who was the grandson of Iltutmish and the son of this Malik Nasiruddin. In fact, Malik Nasiruddin was the most favoured son of Iltutmish but he died very young. Thereafter, a posthumous child was born. Iltutmish gave the name of his dead son to this child. Nasiruddin Mahmud’s widow mother married a Turkish officer, Qutlugh Khan.

  (7) Razia Sultan

  The accession of Sultan Razia to the Delhi throne in 1236 is a water-shed in the annals of mediaeval Indian history. Sultan Ruknuddin Firuz Shah had succeeded Iltutmish in 1236. During his reign Malik Ghiyasuddin Muhammad Shah, a son of Iltutmish, rose in rebellion in Awadh after his brother Qutubuddin was blinded and executed by the order of Firuz and his mother. He plundered the treasure of Lakhnauti on the way to Delhi and many towns. Razia had appointed Malik Nasratuddin Taisi Muizzi the Governor of Awadh. When many nobles refused to recognize Razia as a ruler, she called Taisi to help her with his Awadh army. Taisi immediately marched for Delhi to provide help for Razia. But when he crossed the Ganga, he was suddenly attacked by Saifuddin Kuchi. Taisi was defeated and made a captive and died in captivity.

  (8) Nasiruddin Mahmud

  After the death of Iltutmish in 1236 A.D. four rulers ascended the throne and were done to death in a decade. Therefore, nothing particular happened at Ayodhyā till the reign of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud who ascended the throne in 1246 A.D. In February 1255 A.D. a strange event of probably unprecedented nature at least in the Indian sub-continent took place. The mother of the reigning Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud, the Malka-i-Jahan married a noble of the court, Qutlugh Khan who held the iqta of Awadh. After the marriage Malka-i-Jahan, who could have been the chief queen of the kingdom, had her husband Malik Nasiruddin Mahmud been alive, left for Ayodhyā along with her new husband. Prof. K.A. Nizami writes:

  “It is difficult to guess the reasons for the lady’s behaviour, for Qutlugh Khan was a man of advanced age. But a court dominated by Ulugh Khan and his daughter may not have been to her liking.”

  However, Qutlugh Khan started functioning independently at Ayodhyā and refused to obey any royal order. He defied the central authority because he knew that the royal court’s orders were not those of the Sultan Nasiruddin but of Ulugh Khan (later Balban). He got support from other Turkish officers. The defiance of Qutlugh Khan resulted in his transfer from Awadh to Bahraich. But Qutlugh Khan refused to move from Awadh. A big contingent was sent against Qutlugh Khan under the command of Tajuddin Tabar Khan and Malik Rukani Baktam Awar Khan. A battle was fought between the two parties at Samramau in Badaun district. The commander Malik Rukani Bektam Awar Khan was killed at the spot and Tajuddin Tabar Khan was repulsed. On his return to Delhi Tabar Khan was made Subedar of Awadh. However, Awadh remained under Qutlugh Khan. Ulugh Khan, after making full preparation, reached Awadh but Qutlugh Khan and his officers had left the capital and could not be traced by Ulugh Khan. After Ulugh Khan’s return to Delhi Qutlugh appeared and was granted asylum by Rana Dalpat Hindi in Sirmur.

  (9) Balban

  During the reign of Balban Amin Khan was the subedar at Awadh. When Tughril Beg, Viceroy of Bangal, rebelled against Balban, Amin Khan was sent to defeat him. But Amin Khan was badly defeated and Balban was so enraged at this defeat that he got Amin Khan hanged at the gate of Ayodhyā in 1279 A.D. Ziauddin Barani writes in Tarikhi-Firuzshahi:

  “When Tugaril Beg Viceroy of Lakhnauti and Bengal rebelled against Sultan Balban, Amin Khan, an old slave of Balban, who had held the fief of Oudh was sent against the rebel to crush him. However, Tughril Beg enticed the men of the force to join his army. As a result of this desertion of Amin Khan’s army he was badly defeated by Tughril Beg. This greatly enraged the Sultan. All fear of the anger of god left his bosom and he gave way to needless severity. He ordered Amin Khan to be hanged on the gate of Oudh (1279 A.D.)”

  Accordingly, Amin Khan was killed and his body was gibbeted at the gate of Ayodhyā. Barani writes that this execution was resented by people who visualised the doom of Balban’s reign. After Amin Khan, Farhat Khan was the subedar of Oudh. He received 500 lashes as a sentence by Balban for murdering a man under the influence of liquor.

  (10) Amir Khusrau

  Amir Khusrau was a great Indian patriot and harbinger of Hindu-Muslim unity. He was proud of calling himself a Turkish Indian, speaking Hindavi. In the introduction to his famous book ‘Nuh-sipihr’ he calls India his birthplace and motherland, although by descent he belonged to a Turkish family which had migrated to India during the reign of Sultan Iltutmish (1210-36 A.D.). During the fight against the Mongols Khusrau fought along with his patron Prince Muhammad Sultan who was killed in the battle and Khusrau was captured by Mongols. His several friends were slaughtered by Mongols in the battlefield. On the death of his patron Prince Khusrau wrote such a heart-rending elegy that it is considered one of the best examples of elegy. After the release from the Mongol captivity Khusrau came to Delhi where he was employed by Amir Hatim Khan in his company. Amir Hatim Khan was a noble of Sultan Balban who ordered Hatim to move to Oudh. Thus, Khusrau had to accompany his master to Oudh where he stayed for two years. In a letter to his friend. Tajuddin Zahid Amir Khusrau praises the city of Ayodhyā in the following words:

  “The city of Awadh is undoubtedly a lovely country but in your absence I do not like anything. The city is in fact a garden where people live in great peace and tranquility. Its land is an ornament to the world and pleasure abounds in the surrounding country. The river Sarayù flows by it, the sight of which quenches the thirst of beholders. All necessary requisites of happiness are present here in abundance. Flowers and wine are available in profusion. In gardens, the branches of trees abound with fruits. Grapes, sour apples, oranges and scores of varieties of fruit trees bearing Indian names, sweet and tasteful, e.g. bananas and mangoes, are elixir to human mind.

  Evergreen flowers blossom in the gardens and the atmosphere is full of the sweet or melancholy sounds of singing birds.”

  He further appreciates the manners of the Awadh residents, the majority of whom were the Hindus:

  “All the residents of this place are renowned for their hospitality, pleasant manners, good and amicable nature, faithfulness and breadth of vision. The rich and the poor alike are happy and satisfied and remain busy in their occupations.”

  Amir Khusrau was so overwhelmed with the personality of Rāma that he wrote the following ‘mukarni’ with reverence for Rāma.

  वख्त बेवख्त मोहे वाकी आस

  रात-दिन वह रहत मेरे पास

  मेरे मन को करत सब काम

  ऐ सखि साजन? ना सखि, राम।

  In 1288 the Sultan Muizzuddin Kaiku
bad of Delhi and his father Nasiruddin Bughra Khan who had proclaimed himself the Sultan of Bengal were on the verge of a war near Awadh. But the place had such a sobering effect on the father and the son that they decided to have a meeting and reconciliation. Accordingly, they met and mutually recognized each other’s sovereignty. It is lucidly depicted in Amir Khusrau’s Qiranu’s Sadain.

  Amir Khusrau with Nizamuddin Aulia (Painting,

  Hydrabad Deccan, circa 1725 A.D.).

  Khusrau had himself witnessed the historic meeting of the father and the son. When the son Kaiqubad, who was the Sultan of Delhi, asked Khusrau to commemorate it in verse, he was initially nervous in composing verses, but subsequently he composed a masterpiece ‘Qiranu’s Sadain’ consisting of 3,944 verses.

  (11) Khalji period (1290-1320)

  During the Khalji period the history of Awadh is one of internecine Muslim strife, violence and cruelty. Alauddin killed his uncle Jalaluddin Khalji by treachery and the severed head of the murdered Sultan Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji was placed on a spear and paraded through Kara, Manikpur and Awadh to create havoc in the empire.

  Alauddin’s sister’s son Mangu Khan was made the Governor of Awadh. But while Alauddin was engaged in besieging Ranthambhor, Mangu Khan along with Umar Khan, the Governor of Badaun, revolted. They were soon captured, taken to Ranthambhor and their eyes were gouged in the presence of the Sultan and their family members and followers were done to death.