According to “Rao-Jetsi-Ro-Chhanda”, who among the following was defeated by Rao Jaitsi, the ruler of Bikaner ?

Correct — option (2), Kamran.

"Rao Jaitsi ro Chhand" is a Dingal work by Bithu Suja, a poet in Rao Jaitsi's service. It describes the war between Rao Jaitsi of Bikaner and Kamran, the son of Babur and brother of the Mughal emperor Humayun.

In 1534, Kamran took Bhatner and advanced on Bikaner. Rao Jaitsi and his chosen warriors attacked the Mughal camp at night, and the Mughals fled. Garg's Encyclopaedia of World Hindi Literature dates Bithu Suja's activity to 1534–41.

Jaitsi ruled Bikaner from 1526 to 1542. He was killed in 1542 fighting Rao Maldeo of Marwar, who then annexed Bikaner.

The idea to remember: Bithu Suja's Rao Jaitsi ro Chhand records Jaitsi's victory over Kamran at Bikaner in 1534.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Humayun — Humayun was Kamran's brother and the Mughal emperor in 1534, but the army Jaitsi defeated at Bikaner was led by Kamran.

  Humayun's own great defeats came against Sher Shah, at Chausa in 1539 and at Kannauj in 1540, after which he lost his throne.

• (3)
  Shershah — Sher Shah was not Jaitsi's opponent. His army defeated Maldeo's commanders Jaita and Kumpa at Sammel in 1544, two years after Maldeo's forces had killed Jaitsi and seized Bikaner.

  The dispossessed chiefs of Bikaner were among those who allied with Sher Shah against Marwar.

• (4)
  Akbar — Akbar was born in 1542, the year Jaitsi died, so the two never fought.

  Bikaner's link with Akbar came in the next generation: Jaitsi's son Rao Kalyan Mal acknowledged Akbar's suzerainty.

Many poets, Charans among them, wrote in Dingal, a literary form of Old Western Rajasthani, and their works are sources for Rajput history alongside inscriptions and chronicles.

Rao Jaitsi ro Chhand is one such Dingal work, on Jaitsi's war with Kamran. Another is Achaldas Khinchi ri Vachanika by Shivdas Gadan, written between 1430 and 1435, on the war of 1423 between Achaldas of Gagron and Sultan Hoshang Shah of Mandu.

These works also carry genealogy. Bithu Suja's poem first describes Jaitsi's ancestors, from Rao Chunda through Ranmal, Jodha, Bika and Lunkaran. A separate anonymous poem on the same victory, Rao Jaitsi Chhand, starts from Rao Salkha.

Key facts

• Rao Jaitsi ro Chhand, a Dingal work by Bithu Suja, describes the war between Rao Jaitsi of Bikaner and Kamran.
• In 1534, Rao Jaitsi defended Bikaner and defeated a Mughal army under Kamran, brother of Emperor Humayun.
• Rao Jaitsi ruled Bikaner from 1526 to 1542, after Rao Bika, Rao Nar Singh and Rao Lunkaran.
• Jaitsi was killed in 1542 in battle against Rao Maldeo of Marwar, who annexed Bikaner.
• At Sammel in 1544, Sher Shah's army defeated Maldeo's commanders Jaita and Kumpa.

Common traps

• Choosing the emperor instead of the commander: Humayun reigned in 1534, but the army Jaitsi defeated was his brother Kamran's.
• Mixing up Jaitsi's two wars: he beat Kamran in 1534 and died fighting Maldeo of Marwar in 1542.
• Giving Sher Shah the wrong Rajput opponent: at Sammel in 1544 his army fought Maldeo's forces, after Jaitsi's death.

UnlockIAS compared this question with questions from other RAS Prelims papers and found none similar enough to link.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Who composed "Rao Jaitsi ro Chhand"?

  • (a)Bithu Suja
  • (b)Shivdas Gadan
  • (c)Sayaji Jhula
  • (d)Shridhar Vyas
  Answer(1) — Bithu Suja wrote this Dingal account of Jaitsi's war with Kamran. Option (2) wrote Achaldas Khinchi ri Vachanika; option (3) wrote Rukmani Haran and Nagdaman; option (4) wrote Ranmal Chhand.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Rao Jaitsi of Bikaner was killed in 1542 fighting the forces of which ruler?

  • (a)Rao Maldeo of Marwar
  • (b)Sher Shah Suri
  • (c)Kamran Mirza
  • (d)Rana Sanga of Mewar
  Answer(1) — Maldeo's forces killed Jaitsi and annexed Bikaner. Option (2) fought Maldeo's commanders at Sammel in 1544; option (3) was defeated by Jaitsi in 1534; option (4) fought Babur at Khanwa in 1527.