Skip to main content

Gulab Singh and the Battle of Jammu 1809

The year was 1808. The place, Jammu. Raja Jaid Singh was placed on the throne of Jammu to be its king, supported by the presence of Mian Mota Singh, the all-powerful kingmaker of Jammu. In this period of madness in the province of Jammu, one hoped that Jammu would witness a semblance of balance and stability being created. Jammu had been in a free fall following the death of Raja Brijraj Dev. Sampuran Singh, the successor, succumbed to smallpox, leading to the situation that a new successor had to be found desperately. In the scramble, the name of Jaid Singh came forward, and with Mian Mota Singh’s support, Jaid Singh ascended the throne. Raja Brijraj Dev of Jammu ( painting with San Diego Museum of Art) Contributing to the constant madness in Jammu were the Khalsa forces who would raid Jammu and pillage it constantly, devoiding it of its wealth. The 1783 pillage of Jammu remained afresh in the minds of the people and the aristocrats alike - for two months, one witnessed not a single
Post a Comment

Nurpur Painting's Evolution - Remnants in Brij Raj Swami temple

I have written previously about the BrijRaj Swami temple of Nurpur, which has its own tale of protection from iconoclasm. The temple that stands today was actually the palace of Raja Jagat Singh Pathania, after the original temple as destroyed by forces of Shah Jahan in 1641. However, the present temple has unfortunately been coated with a horrendous blue paint, and neither the Himachal Pradesh government nor the Government of India and their archaeological bodies have made any efforts to restore the paintings of this temple.

The painting frescoes of this temple are a classic example of the emergent Pahari art style, one sub-branch of which transformed into the Nurpur shaili . The red backdrop, the perspective laden fine detailing among others are still visible in whatever is left of the temple's frescoes. I can only hope that it is revived soon. That would be true justice to the history of the region. For now, some pictures of frescoes that I had captured a couple of years ago.

Everyday life scenes from Nurpur caption

Sadhu was visible on the top. A donation being given, possibly by the King (?) in the frame below

On the right, the King is praying to Lord Shiva. Seems like he is preparing to go on battle

Battling elephants . One must remember that it was also a favorite game with big betting stakes in the 1640s

Scene of a darbar, with all the feudatories being present. 

For those interested, please use these pictures with due acknowledgment of source. I do put my copyright on them but it is allowed for free use, so long as it is academic, non-commercial in nature.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dutt Kavi's Memories of the Jammu-Kangra Battle - Thoughts on the Brajraj Panchasika

Raja Ranjit Dev of Jammu (courtesy Christie's) Reading through the Rajdarshani, the annals of Jammu's history as written by Ganesh Das Badehra, has been a rather engaging exercise. The deeper one goes into the text, the more layers on the missing links to the history of the Panjab Hill States open up. One particular aspect of the history that gets less highlighted (rather ignored) is the rivalry of Jammu and Kangra. It is rather intriguing that the popular memory gap has been so poorly discussed and deliberated upon anywhere. One such instance, thanks to Dr. S S Charak’s work on a critical edition of the Rajdarshani, has been rather useful.  It is not surprising that there is rivalry -through the history of the region, these were the two biggest princely states, and so it was but natural that competition for influence would take place. Curiously, the two have also seen continuity of dynasties for more than a millennium at the least. While the rivalries of Nagarkot or Kangra and
Post a Comment
Read more

The Living Memories of Skanda

Skanda, or Kartikeya, was a very important deity upto the 9th century AD across North India, before it starts to fade. Several Gupta era as well as other period sculptures and panels and wall panels evidence the importance,as can be evidenced in the National Museum collection in New Delhi. For instance, there is a 6th century AD panel of Skanda from the Punjab region (shown on the side)highlights a beautiful peacock on which Skanda is seated, with his trademark spear. Professor T S Maxwell writes about the earliest references to Skanda and his iconography in the north as follows: ' Probably the earliest six-headed representations of this god-and, apparently, of his consort-occur upon coins minted by the Yaudheyas, a traditionally warlike people settled in modern Rajasthan who 'lived by their weapons' (āyudhajīvinaḥ) and had Skanda as their principal god. Although the Yaudheyas persisted as a social group during the rule of the Guptas,
Post a Comment
Read more

Kavi Gambhir Rai's Rendition of Raja Jagat Singh's Rebellion

A possible portrait (dated 1730) of Raja Jagat Singh Pathania (from the Eva and Konrad Seitz collection) History is a subject of speculation as much as it is about evidence. The more you read, the more you see gray areas everywhere. However, certain fields of history, like that of the Himalayan states for instance, is a rather problematic subject. Insufficient publicly available evidence, lack of local interest, and 'remoteness' from the larger picture has often rendered the subject to ignominy. However, it is a small but earnest attempt of this blog to keep exploring and writing on the subject in one way or the other.  A few months ago, I had talked of the Brajraj Panchashika, and seen the trends of Braj bhasha kavita in the region serving as evidence to suggest certain historical trends. However, there was definitely a broader trend in the region of such Braj bhasha ballads. The ballad of Raja Jagat Singh by Kavi Gambhir Rai is another example of this, and the more you read,
Post a Comment
Read more