War of Independence

From 1678 to 1707, The Thirty Year Rathore War of Independence, is one of the most glorious chapters in the history of the clan and it produced its greatest hero, Durgadas Rathore. It was Durga Das, a Thakur, who protected the young prince Ajit singh rathore from the Mughals and challenged Aurangzeb for twenty five of those thirty years. The war of independence also produced a heroine, Gora Dai, Ajit's wet-nurse, who smuggled him out of Delhi in a basket when Aurangzeb had the Rathore Haveli surrounded. She left behind her own child so that the Emperor's spies would continue to hear an infant's cry in the haveli.

By the turn of the seventeenth century Durga Das had recovered most of Marwar but Jodhpur itself was regained only a few days after Aurangzeb's death in 1707. Before entering their citadel Ajit Singh and Durga Das had Mehrangarh washed clean with sacred water from the River Ganga. And to commemorate their re-conquest the ecstatic Ajit built the Fateh Pol, the Gate of Victory in the fort which opens out into the walled city.

The Jodhpur Ajit Singh inherited in 1707 was very different from what his father had bequeathed to him thirty years before. Most of her temples had been destroyed by Aurangzeb's men. These Ajit repaired and built anew. Thus began the century that would bless the Rathore capital with prolific construction of the highest quality.

In the twilight of the Mughal era Maharaja Ajit Singh rose to great prominence and power in Delhi, placing on Shah Jahan's Peacock Throne as many as five puppet emperors. But he died in a most brutal and foul manner. In 1724 he was murdered by his second son Bakhta Singh as he lay asleep in his chamber in Mehrangarh. The motive in all likelihood was political ambition for he was granted the district of Nagaur soon after by his brother, the new Maharaja Abhaya Singh. The Rathores would take many years to recover from this monstrous act and when they finally did, it was too late.