Battle of Bhutala

01The play and the inscriptions

The Hammiramadamardana, a Sanskrit drama by the Jain poet Jayasimha Suri written in the 1220s, is about the defeat of the Hammira, the Muslim emir, by the Vaghela minister Vastupala, and it praises Jaitrasimha of Mewar for resisting the same invader. Later Guhila inscriptions, among them the Chirwa record of 1273, mention the fighting at Bhutala and the death of Guhila warriors there. Persian sources are silent on the battle.

02Mewar holds

Whatever the size of the battle, its result is clear in one respect: Mewar stayed independent. Nagda, the old Guhila capital near the Ekalingji temple, was ruined, and the court moved to Chittor, which became the dynasty’s seat. Jaitrasimha went on to fight the Chaulukyas, the Paramaras and the Chahamanas of Nadol, and Mewar was strong enough to resist the Sultanate until Alauddin Khalji’s siege of Chittor in 1303.

Dynasty · c. 6th century–1949 CEGuhilas and Sisodias of MewarFrom Bappa Rawal to Maharana Pratap, the house of Mewar held its hills against every power that came from Delhi. It is among the longest-ruling royal lines in the world.Read →