Maharaja Suraj Mal (13 February 1707 – 25 December 1763), simply known as Suraj Mal, was a ruler of Bharatpur State in Rajputana.
A contemporary historian had described him as "the Plato of the Jat tribe"[R.C.Majumdar, H.C.Raychaudhury, Kalikaranjan Datta: An Advanced History of India, fourth edition, 1978, , Page-535] The people, under Suraj Mal, overran the Mughal Empire garrison at Agra.
Lohagarh Fort is one of the well-known forts located in Bharatpur city of Rajasthan which was built by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1732 on an artificial island and took eight years to complete. He is famous for building other such forts and palaces in his kingdom. It needed large number of manpower and significant amount of wealth to build such impregnable fort, as the name of the fort itself says-- “Lohagarh”, which means, Iron fort (Loha means Iron and Garh means fort).
Deeg Palace is a Palace in Deeg and 32 km from city of Bharatpur in Deeg District in Rajasthan, India. It was built in 1730[ History of Deeg Palace in Bharatpur] by Maharaja Suraj Mal as a luxurious summer resort for the rulers of Bharatpur State.
Early life
Maharaja Suraj Mal was born on 13 February 1707, to
Badan Singh and Rani Devki in a
Hindu Jat family of the Sinsinwar clan of
Bharatpur State (present-day Rajasthan, India). He was the 21st descendant of Sobha Singh of Bayana.
The Hindu Kingdom reached its prosperous state under Maharaja Surajmal.
Military career
Chandaus War (1745)
The Chandaus War, a significant event in Maharaja Surajmal's career, took place in 1745 when Delhi
Mughal Empire Muhammad Shah angered Nawab Fateh Ali Khan of Koil (
Aligarh). To punish him, Badsah sent an
Afghans Chieftain, Asad Khan. Fateh Ali Khan sought Suraj Mal's help, and in November 1745, he took his first independent decision in external political and army affairs. Surajmal assured Fateh Ali Khan to help and sent an army under his son's command. The war at Chandaus resulted in the death of Asad Khan and the defeat of the royal army, thereby increasing the power of
Bharatpur State Kingdom.
Battle of Bagru (1748)
Maharaja Surajmal had a good relationship with Jai Singh of Jaipur. After Jaisingh's death, his sons
Ishvari Singh and Madho Singh began fighting over the throne. Maharaja Surajmal wanted to make Ishwari Singh the next heir, while Maharana Jagat Singh wanted Madho Singh the King. The fight lasted until Ishwari Singh won in March 1747. Madho Singh returned with the Marathas, Rathores, and Sisodia Kings of Udaipur, and king Surajmal supported Ishwari Singh with 10,000 soldiers. Ishwari Singh won the battle in August 1748 and obtained the royal text of Jaipur.
Plunder of Delhi
The Mughal Emperor had taken back the domain of
Oudh State and
Allahabad from
Safdar Jang, wazir of
Oudh State, and to avenge his humiliation, Safdar Jang rebelled and attacked Delhi. Suraj Mal also fought under Safdar Jang against the Mughals.
On Suraj's advice, Safdar Jang reacted by appointing Akbar Ādilshāh as emperor. On 14 May the supporters of Suraj Mal sacked Chārbāg, Bāg-e-kultāt and Hakīm Munīm Bridge; the next day, Jaisinghpura went on to burn several areas. On 16 May Suraj Mal under Safdar Jang attacked Delhi and defeated Sādil Khan and Raja Devidatta in battle.
Battle of Kumher
Mughal Emperor
Alamgir II and his rebellious courtier
Siraj ud-Daulah were having a factional feud. Suraj Mal had sided with Siraj. Alamgir sought the help of the Holkar
Maratha Empire of
Indore.
Khanderao Holkar, son of the Maharaja of Indore, Malhar Rao Holkar, laid siege on Suraj Mal's town of
Kumher in 1754. While inspecting the troops on an open
palanquin in the battle of Kumher, Khanderao was hit and killed by a cannonball from the Bharatpur army. The siege was lifted and a treaty was signed between Suraj Mal and the Marathas, which later proved helpful for Suraj Mal in consolidating his rule.
[ Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813, by Jaswant Lal Mehta, pp606][ Images of Women in Maharashtrian Literature and Religion, edited by Anne Feldhaus, pp185-186] After successfully defending Kumher against 80,000 men led by Malhar Holkar, Imad, and a Jaipur General, his fame spread all over India.
Suraj Mal and Abdali
After his victory over Dattaji on 10 January 1760, Durrani came to
Delhi, and called upon Suraj Mal to pay him tribute and join his camp. On such occasions Suraj Mal invariably played a humble role, pleading that he was a petty
zamindar. He informed the Shah that he would readily pay his share to the lawful ruler of Delhi at a fixed time. If Durrani stayed in India and assumed sovereignty, he would obey him as his legal master. At the time of the demand he possessed no money as his country had been ruined by the constant movements and pillage of the Marathas and Afghans. It was not in Durrani's nature to tolerate such defiance. He besieged Suraj Mal's fort of Dig on 6 February 1760. Later, he realized that it would require a long time to reduce the strongly fortified, largely garrisoned and heavily provisioned fortress. In such cases he did not make it a matter of prestige. He quietly raised the siege, and marched in pursuit of Malhar Rao Holkar.
Having routed the Maratha chief at Sikandrabad on 4 March 1760, Durrani marched upon Koil (present-day Aligarh) which was ruled by Suraj Mal, and he invested the fort of Ramgarh which was commanded by Durjansal. The fort was well-garrisoned and fortified, and large stocks of provisions had been stored therein. The fort could have resisted for long; but the qiladar was disheartened at the occupation of the entire upper Ganga Doab by the Afghans, and to save himself from a massacre, he capitulated in a fortnight or so.
Capture of Alwar Fort
Madho Singh of
Jaipur had occupied Alwar Fort by paying Rupees 50 thousand as bribe to its custodian and sending 500 men. When Suraj Mal heard of it, he despatched a strong force of 5,000 under Rup Ram Katari and the siege of the fort was taken up. Soon after
Jawahar Singh also joined him. In the ensuing fight there, the Jats easily gained the day and thus wrested the fort from the Rajputs (c. 23 March 1756). The Jaipur ruler, though visibly mortified by the reverse, held back as he felt himself powerless in ejecting the Jats."
Conquest of Agra
Suraj Mal decided to capture
Agra Fort (which was closeby to the rich town of Agra) to re-establish his influence in
Doaba region. On 3 May 1761 the army of Suraj Mal with 4,000 soldiers reached Agra under the command of Balram and gave the message of Suraj Mal to the (in charge) of Agra Fort that the army wanted to cross the
Yamuna and required a place to camp, which the gave his sanction. Meanwhile, the army entered the fort, but was resisted by the guards, this resulted in 200 lives lost. The army started war from the Jama Masjid. During this period, Suraj Mal stayed at
Mathura to observe the situation. On 24 May 1761 Suraj Mal along with Imād and Gangadhar Tantya moved from Mathura, crossed the Yamuna and reached Aligarh. From Aligarh his army moved and captured the areas of the ruler of Koīl and
Jalesar. They reached Agra to help his army at Agra in the first week of June. Suraj Mal arrested the family members of the guards staying in Agra town and pressured the guards of the fort to surrender. At last the agreed to surrender by receiving a bribe of Rs 1 lakh and a
jagir of five villages. Thus after a siege of one month, Suraj Mal captured Agra Fort on 12 June 1761.
Conquest of Haryana (1762)
The Battle of Panipat in 1761 marked a significant turning point in the history of Northern India, as it disrupted the Marathas' ambitions and brought no permanent peace to Islam. The Jat, however, challenged the Marathas, who were exhausted and weary, and the Jat's courage revived Hindu confidence, putting Islam on the defensive. Maharaj Surajmal aimed to seize this opportunity to establish a Jat confederacy between the Abdāli and the
Rohilla dynasty, expel
Najib ad-Dawlah from Delhi, restore his protégé Ghazi-ud-din, and control the empire's policy. He chose to cover Delhi during his campaign, focusing on expanding his dominion in Haryana and surrounding districts. SurajMal's sons
Jawahar Singh and Nahar Singh were sent to conquer Haryana with help of Rao Gujarmal of Rewari (Rao Gujarmal was turban brother (Pagdi bhai) of Surajmal and establish authority in Doab, while monitoring the movement of eastern Rohila chiefs.
Death
The
Rohilla under
Najib ad-Dawlah had now been encircled which made war inevitable. The Rohilla alongside Sayyidu Muhammad Khan, Afzal Khan and
Zabita Khan had mobilized their troops; though these were bigger in number but they had inferior weaponry against Maharaja Suraj Mal's army. The latter's army was then mobilized and with its superior numbers could have decimated the Rohilla in two days, but an ambush by Sayyidu near the
Hindon River took Maharaja Suraj Mal's army by surprise. Outnumbered, Maharaja Suraj Mal was killed on the night of 25 December 1763.
Legacy
His large cenotaph is located in
Kusum Sarovar,
Govardhan,
Uttar Pradesh.
His imposing
chattri is flanked on either side by two smaller chattris of his two wives,
"Hansiya" and
"Kishori".
[D. Anand, 1992, Krishna: The Living God of Braj , Page 56.] These memorial chattris were built by his son and successor
Jawahar Singh. The architecture and carving is in the
Jali and the ceiling of cenotaphs are adorned with paintings of the life of
Krishna and Suraj Mal.
[ His court poet Sūdan recorded his biography in Sujān Charitra.
]
Notable institutes named after him include Maharaja Surajmal Institute of Technology, Maharaja Surajmal Brij University, Bharatpur and Surajmal Stadium metro station.
On 10 May every year "Delhi Vijay Diwas" is celebrated after Maharaja Surajmal conquered Delhi on 10 May 1753.
In June 2025 the Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath government has approved the celebration of ‘ Agra Vijay Diwas’ at Agra Fort, commemorating the capture of the fort by Suraj Mal on 12 June 1761.
See also
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Principality of Farrukhnagar
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Maharaja Surajmal Institute
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Maharaja Surajmal Institute of Technology
Further reading
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K. Natwar-Singh, Maharaja Suraj Mal, 1707-1763. His Life and Times (George Allen & Unwin, 1981)
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External links
