Battle of Bhatwara (Mangrol)

01Jaipur reaches for Haravati

Sawai Madho Singh I of Jaipur had long claimed overlordship of the Hada states of Haravati, Bundi and Kota, and the Maratha presence in Rajasthan had kept the quarrel in check. The Maratha disaster at Panipat in January 1761 left him free to act. He sent a large army into Kota territory to enforce tribute. Maharao Shatrusal of Kota called out the Hada clans. Among his officers was Zalim Singh Jhala, then about twenty years old, who would later rule Kota as regent for half a century.

02Bhatwara

The armies met at Bhatwara, near Mangrol on the plain east of Kota, in November 1761. The Hada horse charged home, and the Jaipur army, larger but less united, broke. Tod records that its camp and the five-coloured banner of Amber fell to the victors. The Marathas, though weakened, were still in Malwa, and a Maratha contingent at hand gave Kota cover. Zalim Singh’s part in the fighting first made his name.

Dynasty · 1342–1949 CEHada Chauhans of Bundi and KotaRao Deva, a Hada Chauhan, took Bundi in 1342 and gave the country its name, Hadoti. The family later split into Bundi and Kota, and both houses ruled until 1949.Read →