Swayamvara: Marriage by Choice of the Bride

In ancient India, Swayamvara was a form of marriage in which the girl after attaining puberty chose her husband from among the assembled suitors. This type of marriage was particularly prevalent among the kshatriyas, the warrior and ruling class. Ancient law books lay down that in the case of parents not been able to marry their daughters, they can choose their own husband. 

Epic literature is full of instances which show that Swayamvara marriage took place in good numbers in ancient times. Though this marriage by choice used to be conducted at a chosen venue, sometimes other means were also taken recourse to choose the partner. In order to find her soul mate, Princess Savitri toured the country in chariot, until she found Satyavan, the son of a king turned woodcutter.

In the longest narrative episode in the Mahabharata it has been described how Princess Damayanti chose her husband Nala at a grand ceremony. Nala , who has long parted from his wife, is reunited with her only when Damayanti plans to hold a second Swayamvara.

While Princes Draupady was won by Arjuna, one of the five Pandavas, Rama won the hands of Sita at a Swayamvara, at which she chose him because he won the contest in which he was the only contestant who was able to lift the Shivа Dhanushа (Lord Shiva's Bow).

Swayamvara marriage had been conducted in ancient India as late as the 11^th century. Vikramaditya VI (c. 1075- 1127), the great Chalukyan king, is said to have won the hands of his brides by this method.

Gesudaraz Syed Muhamad Husayni (1321 A.D. - 1422A.D): Famous Sufi Saint of Deccan

A famous Sufi saint of Chisti order, Gesudaraz Syed Muhamad Husayni is credited with the spread of Chisti order in South India. A disciple of Chirag-i-Delhi, he left Delhi in 1398 and went to Gulbarga in Karnataka where he was well received by the Bahmani Sultan Firoz Shah Bahmani. Gulbarga was the capital of the Bahmani kingdom until its transfer to Bidar in 1428. 

Author of a large number of books on Tasawwuf (mysticism), he was a scholar of great repute and well versed in Quranic verses. Popular with the masses, he had deep compassion for the poor and the impoverished and this earned him the title of Bandanawaz (benefactor of the creatures of God).

A linguist with extensive knowledge of several languages, Gesudaraz was one of the early poets and writers who wrote in Urdu that came into being as a result of the mingling the Persian, Turkish and Arabic words accompanied by concepts of Sanskritic origin.

In the later years, the relation between Gesudaraz and Firoz Bahmani became strained as Sufi saint threw his weight to Bahmani Sultan's brother Ahmad to succeed the throne.

Gesudaraz died at Gulbarga and is buried there.

Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah Khilji, Last Khilji Ruler

Mubarak was the third son of 'Ala-ud-din Khilji. After the murder of Malik Kafur, who had placed Mubarak in prison in the Hazar Sutun (the palace of a thousand pillars) and tried to blind him, the latter was made by the nobles the regent of his minor brother Shihab-ud-din 'Umar, who was placed on the throne of Delhi Sultanate by Malik Kafur after Khilji Sultan’s death.

After serving as the regent for sixty-four days, Mubarak blinded his brother in 1316, and placed himself on the throne and took the title of Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah.

After become the Sultan, Mubarak set himself to the task of rescinding the harsher administrative policies and economic regulations of his father. As he had himself suffered the agony of imprisonment, he set the political prisoners free. As corollary, chaos, confusion and bankruptcy began to rule the roost in the Sultanate. Added to this, he indulged in indolence and pleasure immersing himself in drinking. This resulted in the disappearance of "all fear and awe of royal authority.

Mubarak Khilji was under the influence of Khusrav Khan, a low-caste (Parwari) Hindu convert from Gujarat, whom he raised to the status of wazir, maik naib and commander in chief.

During the reign of Mubarak Shah, the rebellion in Gujarat was suppressed by his father-in law Ain-ul-Mulk, who was given the title of Zafar Khan and made governor of Gujarat. The Sultan led a military campaign against the Yadavas of Devagiri ruled by Harapala Deva who was killed. Malik Yaklaki was appointed governor of Devagiri. Mubarak Khilji Shah constructed a mosque at Devagiri. A military campaign under the leadership of Khusrav Khan was sent to Telingana, which fell in the hands of the invaders. These expeditions had been described in Amir Khusro in his Nuh Sipihr which was composed during the reign of Mubarak Khilji.

These military successes went into Mubarak’s head and he ordered the killings of several members of the royal family. The Sultan proclaimed himself “the supreme head of the religion of Islam, the Khalifah of the Lord of Heaven and Earth". He took the pontifical title of al-Wasiq-billah.

However, Mubarak was not destined to rule more. He was murdered by one of Khusrav’s Parwari associates in 1320. Thus came the end of the Khilji dynasty after a rule of thirty years.

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq, Founder of Tughluq Dyansty

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq was the founder of the Tughluq dynasty, the third of the five dynasties, the combination of which went on to be called the Delhi Sultanate. Though of a humble origin, he rose in ranks and was appointed Governor of the Punjab by the Khilji Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji. 

After successfully bringing the inglorious reign of Khusrau Khan to an end, Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq (called Ghazi Malik before his ascension to the throne of Delhi Sultanate) brought a semblance of liberalization to the administration which was severe in the times of his predecessors, especially Ala-ud-din Khilji. The mismanagement of the state affairs under Mubarak Khilji and Khusrav had resulted in a situation where financial condition of the Sultanate was in a mess. Ghiyas-ud-din tried his honest best to retrieve the situation.

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq is credited with the construction of the fortified city of Tughlaqabad, located on the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road. He has been hailed by the contemporary historians as a wise statesman and able administrator. Amir Khusrav, his poet laureate, describes him in glowing terms:

"He never did anything that was not replete with wisdom and sense.

He might be said to wear a hundred doctors' hoods under his crown.”

Ghiyas-ud-din died in 1325 from the collapse of the pavilion which was constructed by his son Juna Khan. He was buried in the tomb which he had built for himself at Tughlaqabad.

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq was succeeded by Juna Khan who assumed the title of Muhammad bin Tughlaq whose reign marked the highest point of territorial expansion of the Delhi Sultanate.  

Nasir-ud-din Mahmud of Slave Dynasty

Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, a grandson of Iltutmish, was one of the sultans of the Slave Dynasty. He was placed on the throne of Delhi Sultanate by the nobles in 1246 after the incompetent reigns of his predecessors Muiz-ud-din Bahram (1240-42) and Ala-ud-din Masud Shah (1242-46).

Nasir-ud-din Mahmud was only sixteen when he ascended the throne. During his twenty year rule, he remained content in surrendering the power of the state to Balban, one of his Turkish minister.

In 1249, Nasir-ud-din Mahmud married the daughter of Balban. This increased the power of Balban who was made his deputy (naib-i-mamalakat) and given the title of Ulugh Khan (premier ‘Khan’).

Balban, de facto ruler of Delhi, managed the affairs of the sate competently. Internal rebellions were suppressed. Mongol invasions were successfully repulsed. This aroused the jealousy of the other nobles. This led to his exile from 1253 to 1255. But as they created a mess of the administration, he was once again recalled by the Sultan. 
 

Nothing can be said with certainty about the last years of Nasir-ud-din Mahmud who died on in 1266. If the accounts of the fourteenth century historian Isami and African traveler Ibn Batutah are to be believed, the Salve Sultan was murdered by Balban. Since Nasir-ud-din Mahmud had no male heir behind him, Balban ascended the throne of Delhi Sultanate. According to some authorities, the Sultan had nominated him as his successor before his death.

 

An intensely religious-minded person, Nasir-ud-din spent his leisure times in copying the Quran. Himself an expert calligraphist, he patronized Minhaj-us-Siraj who wrote Tabaqat-i-Nasiri and dedicated it to the Sultan.

 

 

Muhammad Shah, Third Ruler of Sayyid Dynasty

             Tomb of Muhammad Shah Sayyid

After the murder of Mubarak Shah, the second ruler of Sayyid Dynasty, by the Delhi nobles in 1434, Muhammad, a grandson of Khizr Khan, the first ruler of Sayyid Dynasty, was made Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate. Muhammad Shah, a nephew of Mubarak, was latter’s heir-designate. His inefficiency contributed fast to the weakening of the Sayyid Dynasty. Sarvar-ul-mulk, wazir of the kingdom, enjoyed supreme power. Even after the wazir’s death, he failed in his duty as a ruler.

In the meantime, Mahmud Shah Khalji of Malwa showed his gumption to raid Delhi. However, Buhlul Khan Lodi, the governor of Lahore and Sirhind, frustrated the designs of the Malwa ruler. All these led to the decline of the Sayyid Dynasty and it was only a matter of time that dynasty, founded by Khizr Khan, was doomed to annihilation.

 

Muhammad Shah died in 1445. He lies buried in a tomb, located in the Lodhi Gardens in Delhi.

Alauddin Alam Shah, Last Ruler of Sayyid Dynasty

After the death of Muhammad Shah in A.D. 1445, his son, Alauddin Alam Shah, succeeded him to the throne of the Sayyid Dynasty, the fourth in the line of five dynasties that comprised Delhi Sultanate.

This pleasure loving ruler was more inefficient than his father. Such was his fondness for gratification and aversion to work that he abdicated the throne in favour of Buhlul Khan Lodi, the governor of Lahore and Sirhind, in 1451 and retired to Badaun (now in Uttar Pradesh), where he died in 1478. 

Alam Shah’s only claim to fame lies in the field of architecture. He constructed his father’s tomb which is located in the Lodhi Gardens in central Delhi.

He lies buried in a tomb in Badaun in Uttar Pradesh where his mother was also buried.