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Battle of Dharmat

Imperial army of Shah Jahan, mostly RajputsMaharaja Jaswant Singh Rathore of Marwar, with Qasim Khan
1658vs
VictorArmies of the princes Aurangzeb and MuradAurangzeb

In the war of succession of 1658, Jaswant Singh Rathore led the emperor’s army against Aurangzeb near Ujjain. The Rajputs fought almost alone, lost heavily, and Aurangzeb marched on towards the throne.

Date: 15 April 1658Where: Dharmat, near Ujjain, Madhya PradeshType: Battle
Photo: unidentified artist · Public domain
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Cite

MLA

“Battle of Dharmat.” Hindu History, 2026, https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-dharmat-1658/. Accessed .

APA

Hindu History. (2026). Battle of Dharmat. Retrieved , from https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-dharmat-1658/

Result

The Rajput charge broke against Aurangzeb’s guns; Jaswant Singh withdrew wounded to Jodhpur and the road to Agra lay open.

01The war of the brothers

When Shah Jahan fell ill in 1657, his four sons went to war for the throne. Dara Shikoh, the eldest, stayed at court. Aurangzeb came up from the Deccan and joined his brother Murad from Gujarat. Shah Jahan sent Jaswant Singh of Marwar with Qasim Khan to stop them on the Narmada road. They met at Dharmat, south-west of Ujjain.

02The Rajput charge

On 15 April 1658 the Rajput horse charged straight at Aurangzeb’s artillery and the princes’ centre. Qasim Khan and much of the Mughal contingent held back. The Rajputs cut into the enemy lines but could not break them, and they died in great numbers; Ratan Singh Rathore of Ratlam was among the chiefs killed. Jaswant Singh, wounded, was led off the field by his men and rode for Marwar. Aurangzeb founded a town, Fatehabad, on the battlefield.

03The closed gates of Jodhpur

The French traveller François Bernier, who was in India at the time, tells that Jaswant Singh’s queen had the gates of the fort shut against her husband, saying a Rajput who had left the field beaten could not be her lord. The story may be polished in the telling, but it shows the code by which Rajputs judged their own. Six weeks later Aurangzeb beat Dara at Samugarh.

Why it matters

Dharmat was Aurangzeb’s first victory on the road to the throne, won over an army whose fighting was done by Rajputs.

Places near the battlefield 8

Chintaman Ganesh Temple, UjjainStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Chintaman Ganesh Temple, Ujjain

Ujjain’s largest Ganesh temple, across the Shipra at Jawasiya, where three self-manifest Ganesh murtis sit side by side. Ujjain holds that Shri Rama, Sita and Lakshmana worshipped here in their exile.

Harsiddhi Mata, UjjainRebuilt
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Harsiddhi Mata, Ujjain

The Devi temple of Ujjain, between the Mahakaleshwar temple and the Rudra Sagar, counted by tradition among the Shakti Peethas. She is remembered as the kuldevi of Raja Vikramaditya.

Mahakaleshwar, UjjainRebuilt
Maratha ascendancy and the Sikh empire

Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain

The Jyotirlinga of Avantika, one of the seven moksha-giving cities, where Shiva is worshipped as Mahakal, Lord of Time and Death. The only Jyotirlinga facing south, and the only one bathed in ash at the dawn aarti.

Gopal Mandir (Dwarkadhish), UjjainStanding
Company rule and the war of 1857

Gopal Mandir (Dwarkadhish), Ujjain

The second largest temple of Ujjain, a marble Maratha temple in the middle of the bazaar built by a Scindia queen. On Vaikuntha Chaturdashi Mahakal comes here at midnight to hand the world back to Hari.

Garhkalika Temple, UjjainStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Garhkalika Temple, Ujjain

Ujjayinyam Mahakali: many identify the Mahakali of the eighteen Shakti Peethas with Garhkalika, on the old fort mound of Avantika. Ujjain remembers it as the Devi who gave Kalidasa his speech.

Mangalnath Temple, UjjainStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Mangalnath Temple, Ujjain

A Shiva temple on a rise above the Shipra, held to be the birthplace of Mangal, the planet Mars. People with Mangal dosha in their horoscope come here for the bhat puja.

Kal Bhairav Temple, UjjainRebuilt
Maratha ascendancy and the Sikh empire

Kal Bhairav Temple, Ujjain

The temple of Kal Bhairav at Bhairavgarh on the Shipra, the guardian of Mahakal’s city, to whom liquor is offered and accepted. No pilgrimage to Ujjain is complete without his darshan.

Tekri Temples of Chamunda and Tulja Bhavani, DewasStanding
Maratha ascendancy and the Sikh empire

Tekri Temples of Chamunda and Tulja Bhavani, Dewas

Two sister Devis sit side by side on the little hill, the tekri, in the middle of Dewas: Tulja Bhavani, the elder, and Chamunda, the younger. The town is held to take its name from the Devi’s dwelling, Devi-vasini.