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Jauhar, sometimes spelled Johar or Juhar, was the Hindu custom of mass self-immolation by women in parts of the Indian subcontinent, to avoid capture, enslavement and rape by invaders, when facing certain defeat during a war. This practice was historically observed in northwest regions of India, with most famous Jauhars in recorded history occurring during wars between Hindu Rajput kingdoms in Rajasthan and the Muslim armies. Jauhar is related to sati, and sometimes referred in scholarly literature as jauhar sati.
Contents
- Etymology
- Practice
- Occurrence
- Jauhar like suicide of Agalassoi Alexander the Great
- Jauhar of Sindh Muhammad bin Qasim
- Jauhar of Jaisalmer Alauddin Khilji
- First Jauhar of Chittor Alauddin Khilji
- Jauhar of Kampili Muhammad bin Tughluq
- Jauhar of Chanderi Babur
- Second Jauhar of Chittor Bahadur Shah
- Third Jauhar of Chittor Akbar
- Three Jauhars of Raisen Humayun
- Jauhar of Bundelkhand Aurangzeb
- References
According to Veena Oldenburg, the roots of this practice "almost certainly" lie in the internecine warfare among different Rajput kingdoms. In contrast, according to Kaushik Roy, the jauhar custom was observed only during Hindu-Muslim wars, but not during internecine Hindu-Hindu wars among the Rajputs.
The term jauhar sometimes connotes both jauhar-immolation and saka ritual. During the Jauhar, Rajput women committed suicide with their children and valuables in massive fire, to avoid capture and abuse in the face of inescapable military defeat and capture. Simultaneously or thereafter, the men would ritually march to the battlefield expecting certain death, which in the regional tradition is called saka.
Jauhar by Hindu kingdoms has been documented by Islamic historians of the Delhi Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire. Among the oft cited example of jauhar has been the mass suicide committed in 1303 CE by the women of Chittorgarh fort in Rajasthan, faced with invading army of Khilji dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. The jauhar phenomenon was also observed in other parts of India, such as in the Kampili kingdom of northern Karnataka when it fell in 1327 to Delhi Sultanate armies.
Etymology
The origins of the word jauhar are unknown. The Monier Monier-Williams Sanskrit dictionary with etymology does not contain it. The closest word in Sanskrit, according to Monier-Williams, is jauhava which means "relating to the sacrificial ladle". Jauhar in North Indian languages may be a loanword from Arabic-Persian jauhar, related to Middle-Persian derived gauhar, where it means "jewel, gem" or "main substance, the fundamental element of something".
In Rajasthani language, the word jauhar means "jewel". In Punjabi language, johar means "costly stone, gem, jewel, essence".
Practice
This practice is culturally related to Sati with both a form of suicide by women, although it occurred for different reasons. Sati was a custom of a widow to commit suicide by self-immolation at her dead husband's funeral pyre, while Jauhar was collective self-immolation by women to escape abuse and rape, when they expected certain defeat at the hands of the enemies.
Scholars disagree about the roots of this custom. Veena Oldenburg states that the roots of this practice "almost certainly" lie in the internecine Rajput warfare. Kaushik Roy states, in contrast, that the jauhar custom was observed only during Hindu-Muslim wars, but not during internecine Hindu-Hindu wars among the Rajputs.
The phenomenon of jauhar have been reported by Hindus and Muslims differently. In the Hindu traditions, jauhar was a heroic act by a community facing certain defeat and abuse by enemy. For some Muslim historians, it was unwilling and a throwing away of lives, but states Arvind Sharma – a professor of Comparative Religion, Amir Khusrau described it as "no doubt magical and superstitious, nevertheless they are heroic".
Occurrence
Among the more cited cases of Jauhar are the three occurrences at the fort of Chittaur (Chittaurgarh, Chittorgarh), in Rajasthan, in 1303, 1535, and 1568 CE. Jaisalmer has witnessed two occurrences of Jauhar, one in the year 1295 CE during the reign of Khilji dynasty, and another during the reign of Tughlaq dynasty in 1326. Jauhar and saka are considered heroic acts and the practice glorified in the local ballads and folklore of Rajasthan.
Jauhar-like suicide of Agalassoi: Alexander the Great
The mass self-immolation by Agalassoi tribe of northwest India is mentioned in Book 6 of the The Anabasis of Alexander, written in the 2nd century CE by Arrian, on the military history of Alexander the Great between 336 and 323 BCE. Arrian mentions Alexander's army conquering and enslaving people of northwest Indian subcontinent. During a war that killed many in the Macedonian and Agalossoi armies, the civilians despaired of defeat. Some 20,000 men, women and children of an Agalossoi town set fire to the town and cast themselves into it.
Jauhar of Sindh: Muhammad bin Qasim
In 712, Muhammed bin Qasim with his army attacked kingdoms of western regions of the Indian subcontinent. He lay siege to the capital of Dahir, then the Hindu king in a part of Sind. After Dahir had been killed, the queen coordinated the defense of the capital over several months. As the food supplies ran out, she and the women of the capital refused to surrender, lit pyres and committed jauhar. The remaining men walked out to their deaths by the invading army.
Jauhar of Jaisalmer: Alauddin Khilji
Bhatnair, Tanot and Jaisalmer, capitals of Bhati Rajputs, witnessed the scene of Jauhar thrice, the last time men did not have enough time to build the pyre and hence slit the throats of women, and hence, it is considered half Jauhar. In the time of Maharawal Jait Singh, Alauddin Khilji besieged the fort of Jaisalmer, and after seven months, 24,000 women committed Jauhar.
First Jauhar of Chittor: Alauddin Khilji
The first jauhar of Chittorgarh occurred during a 1303 CE siege of Chittor fort. This jauhar became a subject of legendary Rajasthani poems, with Rani Padmini the main character, wherein she and other Rajput women commit jauhar to avoid being captured by Alauddin Khilji of Delhi Sultanate.
Jauhar of Kampili: Muhammad bin Tughluq
The Hindu women of the Kampili kingdom of northern Karnataka committed jauhar when it fell in 1327 to Delhi Sultanate armies of Muhammad bin Tughluq. From the ruins, rose the Vijayanagara Empire in 1336 CE that challenged the Tughluq dynasty and Delhi Sultanate for the next two centuries.
Jauhar of Chanderi: Babur
The Hindu king Medini Rao ruled over Chanderi in northern Madhya Pradesh in early 16th century. He tried to help Rana Sanga in the Battle of Khanua against the Muslim armies of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire. In January 1528 CE, his fort was overwhelmed by the invading forces of Babur. The women and children of the Chanderi fort committed jauhar, the men dressed up in saffron garments and walked the ritual of saka on January 29.
Second Jauhar of Chittor: Bahadur Shah
Rana Sanga died in 1528 CE after the Battle of Khanwa. Shortly afterwards, Mewar and Chittor came under the regency of his widow, Rani Karnavati. The kingdom was besieged by Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. Rani committed Jauhar with other women on March 8, 1535, while the Rajput army rallied out to meet the besieging Muslim army and committed saka.
Karnavati importuned the assistance of Humayun, the son of Babur, her late husband's foe, by sending him a rakhi and a request for his help as a brother. Humayun started for Chittor but did not reach there in time. This is the occasion for the second of the three Jauhars performed at Chittor.
Third Jauhar of Chittor: Akbar
The armies of Mughal Emperor Akbar besieged the Rajput fort of Chittor in September 1567. After his army conquered Chittorgarh in Rajasthan, Hindu women, fearing sexual enslavement, committed jauhar in spring of 1568 CE, and the next morning, thousands of Rajput men walked the saka ritual. The Mughal army killed all the Rajputs who walked out the fort. Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, who was not an immediate witness, gave a hearsay account of the event as seen by Akbar and his army. Abu'l-Fazl states that the women were victims of Rajput men and unwilling participants, and these Rajputs came out walking to die, throwing away their lives. According to David Smith, when Akbar entered the Chittorgarh fort in 1568, it was "nothing but an immense crematorium".
According to Lindsey Harlan, the jauhar of 1568 is a part of regional legend and is locally remembered on the Hindu festival of Holi as a day of Chittorgarh massacre by the Akbar army, with "the red color signifying the blood that flowed on that day".
Three Jauhars of Raisen: Humayun
Raisen in Madhya Pradesh was repeatedly attacked by the Mughal Army in the early 16th century. In 1528, the first jauhar was led by Queen Chanderi. After the Mughal army left, the kingdom refused to accept orders from Delhi. After a long siege of Raisen fort, that exhausted all supplies within the fort, Rani Durgavati and 700 Raisen women committed the second jauhar in 1532, the men led by Lakshman Tuar committed saka. This refusal to submit to Mughal rule repeated, and in 1543 the third jauhar was led by Queen Ratnavali.
Jauhar of Bundelkhand: Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb with three army battalions lay siege of Bundela in Madhya Pradesh in December 1634 CE. The resident women committed jauhar as the fort fell. Aurangzeb's army entered the fort. Those who had not completed the ritual and survived the jauhar in progress were forced into the harem, men were forced to convert to Islam, those who refused were executed.