Paper short abstract:

Conflict with Mughal emperor Aurangzeb is a major theme of the Brajbhasa poem Rajvilas, completed at the Mewar court in 1680. In this paper, I analyze Rajvilas’s narrative of the Rajput Rebellion of 1679-1681, exploring how it stereotypically casts Mewar positively and the Mughals negatively.

Paper long abstract:

Conflict with the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb is a major theme of the Brajbhasa text Rajvilas, completed at the Mewar court in 1680 AD. While ostensibly composed to praise the achievements of the Rajput lord of Mewar, Maharana Raj Singh (r. 1652-1680), roughly 40% of this long poem of 1600 verses actually covers the Rajput Rebellion of 1679-1681. In this paper, I conduct a close analysis of Rajvilas's narrative of war, exploring how its poet Man casts Mewar and its warriors in a good light while at the same time castigating Aurangzeb and his prince Akbar. This is accomplished partly through the use of derogatory language, like Asuresar (Lord of the Demons) for Aurangzeb. More important, however, are the poet's positive portrayals of Mewar's military failures, such as when he justifies the forced retreat of the Rana and his court to the hills as a time-honored Mewar strategy against the Mughals. He also maligns the character of Aurangzeb by tracing the origins of the conflict to the emperor's supposedly long-held grudge against Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur, who supported his rival Dara Shikoh in the succession dispute of 1658. In closing, I situate Rajvilas within the larger political context of the Mewar kingdom and the Rajasthan region, showing that its belligerent tone belies the harmonious relations between Aurangzeb and Raj Singh's successor, Maharana Jai Singh (r. 1680-1698).