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Bikaner
Bikaner
Walled desert city founded in 1488 by Rao Bika; capital of Bikaner State until 1947.
Zorawar Singhji
Thirteenth ruler of Bikaner, 1735–1746. Expelled Marwari troops and crushed a thakur revolt, but saw his capital plundered by Abhai Singh of Marwar. Died childless at thirty-three.
p>Zorawar Singh was born at Junagarh Fort in January 1713, the eldest son of Sujan Singh. His path to the throne was not smooth: in 1733 he and his father fell into a confrontation serious enough that fighting was anticipated. Sujan Singh's advisers talked him out of attacking the crown prince, and two of the Maharaja's queens went to Zorawar and negotiated a settlement. He paid homage, his powers were restored, and he was crowned in December 1735 when his father died.</p><p>He began as a ruler with something to prove and moved fast. Marwari troops were occupying stations along Bikaner's border; he expelled them. Sangram Singh, the Thakur of Churu, was removed from his position. The thakurs of Mahajan and Bhadra rose against him and were defeated.</p>
p>The response from Marwar was an invasion. Maharaja Abhai Singh of Jodhpur marched into Bikaner territory, plundered the capital and laid siege to Junagarh Fort.</p><p>The fort held — as it always did; Junagarh was never taken in its history — but the plundering of the city itself was a serious blow, and it marks how far Bikaner's position had deteriorated since Anup Singh's day. Fifty years earlier the ruler of Bikaner had been leading imperial charges at Golconda. Now the parent house at Jodhpur could sack his capital and there was no emperor to appeal to.</p><p>Remarkably, the reign ended better than it began. The sources record that cordial relations were established between Bikaner and Jodhpur towards its close — an accommodation that did not survive Zorawar's death.</p>
p>Zorawar Singh died at Anoopura in 1746, aged thirty-three, and childless. That last fact set off the crisis that shaped the next four decades.</p><p>With no direct heir, the claim passed to the collateral line descending from Anand Singh, a younger son of Anup Singh. Two brothers of that line were eligible: Gaj Singh and Amar Singh. Gaj Singh was enthroned; Amar Singh defected to Jodhpur and allied with Abhai Singh, who promptly invaded again with a large force and proposed partitioning Bikaner between them.</p><p>The cordial relations of Zorawar's last years lasted exactly as long as he did.</p>
p>Wikipedia, 'Zorawar Singh of Bikaner' (citing Powlett, 1874) and 'Bikaner State' regnal list; Grokipedia, 'Gaj Singh of Bikaner', which corroborates the childless death at thirty-three and the collateral succession; the Bikaner genealogical tables at Royal Ark; RAS/RajRAS.</p><p><strong>Dating conflicts.</strong> Wikipedia's infobox gives birth as 14 January 1713 and death as 15 May 1746, with the reign 16 December 1735 – 15 May 1746; the body of the same article says he was born in 1712. The genealogical tables give birth as 25 January 1713, death on 5 June 1745 and the reign as 1736–1745. The regnal-list dates are used here for chain consistency, with year-level approximation on both birth and death.</p><p><strong>QID.</strong> Wikidata item Q123417146 confirmed for this ruler.</p>
Significance · REGIONAL
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