Vir Kunwar Singh

Kunwar Singh also known as Babu Kunwar Singh was a leader and military commander during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He belonged to a family of the Ujjainiya clan of the Parmar Rajputs of Jagdispur, currently a part of Bhojpur district, Bihar, India. At the age of 80, he led a selected band of armed soldiers against the troops under the command of the British East India Company. He was the chief organiser of the fight against the British in Bihar. He is popularly known as Veer Kunwar Singh or Veer Babu Kunwar Singh.

Kunwar Singh was born on 13 November 1777 to Maharaja Shahabzada Singh and Maharani Panchratan Devi, in Jagdispur of the Shahabad (now Bhojpur) District, in the state of Bihar. He belonged to the Ujjainiya Rajput clan. A British judicial officer offered a description of Kunwar Singh and described him as "a tall man, about six feet in height". He went on to describe him as having a broad face with an aquiline nose. In terms of his hobbies, British officials describe him as being a keen huntsman who also enjoyed horse-riding.

After his father's death in 1826, Kunwar Singh became the taluqdar of Jagdispur. He married the daughter of Raja Fateh Naraiyan Singh, a wealthy zamindar of the Deo Raj estate in Gaya district who belonged to the Sisodia clan of Rajputs.

Singh led the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Bihar. He was nearly eighty and in failing health when he was called upon to take up arms. He was assisted by both his brother, Babu Amar Singh and his commander-in-chief, Hare Krishna Singh. Some argue that the latter was the real reason behind Kunwar Singh's initial military success. He gave a good fight and harried British forces for nearly a year and remained invincible until the end. He was an expert in the art of guerilla warfare. His tactics left the British puzzled.

Singh assumed command of the soldiers who had revolted at Danapur on 25 July. Two days later he occupied Arrah, the district headquarters. Major Vincent Eyre relieved the town on 3 August, defeated Singh's force and destroyed Jagdishpur. During the rebellion, his army had to cross the Ganges river. Douglas' army began to shoot at their boat. One of the bullets shattered Singh's left wrist. Singh felt that his hand had become useless and that there was the additional risk of infection due to the bullet. He drew his sword and cut off his left hand near the elbow and offered it to the Ganges.

Singh left his ancestral village and reached Lucknow in December 1857 where he met with other rebel leaders. In March 1858 he occupied Azamgarh and managed to repel the initial British attempts to take the area. However, he had to leave the place soon. Pursued by Brigadier Douglas, he retreated towards his home in Ara, Bihar. On 23 April, Singh had a victory near Jagdispur over the force led by Captain le Grand (le gard in Hindi). On 26 April 1858 he died in his village. The mantle of the old chief now fell on his brother Amar Singh II who, despite heavy odds, continued the struggle and for a considerable time, running a parallel government in the district of Shahabad. In October 1859, Amar Singh II joined the rebel leaders in the Nepal Terai.

In his last battle, fought on 23 April 1858, near Jagdispur, the troops under the control of the British East India Company were completely routed. On 22 and 23 April, being injured he fought bravely against the British Army and with the help of his army drove away the British Army, brought down the Union Jack from Jagdispur Fort and hoisted his flag. He returned to his palace on 23 April 1858 and soon died on 26 April 1858.

He is mentioned in many Bhojpuri folk songs as a hero who fought against British oppression. One particular folk song states:

Ab chhod re firangiya ! Hamar Deswa ! 

Lutpat kaile tuhun, majwa udaile, kailas des par julum jor. 

Sahar gaon luti, phunki dihiat firangiya, suni suni Kunwar ke hridaya me lagal agiya ! 

Ab Chhod re firangiya! Hamar Deswa!

Translation in English :- O British ! Now quit our country ! For you have looted us, enjoyed the luxuries of our country and oppressed our countrymen. You have looted, destroyed and burnt our cities and villages. Kunwar's heart burns to know all this. O British ! Now quit our country !

A play by Jagdish Chandra Mathur titled Vijay Ki Vela (Moment of Victory) is based on the later part of Kunwar Singh's life. He is also mentioned in the poem "Jhansi Ki Rani" by Subhadra Kumari Chauhan.

The Upanishads

The Upanishads (Sanskrit: उपनिषद्) are Vedic Sanskrit texts of Hindu philosophy which supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy. They are the most recent part of the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, and deal with meditation, philosophy, consciousness and ontological knowledge; earlier parts of the Vedas deal with mantras, benedictions, rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices. While among the most important literature in the history of Indian religions and culture, the Upanishads document a wide variety of "rites, incarnations, and esoteric knowledge" departing from Vedic ritualism and interpreted in various ways in the later commentarial traditions. Of all Vedic literature, the Upanishads alone are widely known, and their diverse ideas, interpreted in various ways, informed the later traditions of Hinduism.

A page from Isa Upanishad

The Upanishads are commonly referred to as Vedānta. Vedanta has been interpreted as the "last chapters, parts of the Veda" and alternatively as "object, the highest purpose of the Veda". The aim of all Upanishads is to investigate the nature of Ātman (self), and "direct[ing] the enquirer toward it." Various ideas about the relation between Atman and Brahman can be found, and later commentators tried to harmonize this diversity. Along with the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahmasutra, the mukhya Upanishads (known collectively as the Prasthanatrayi) provide a foundation for the several later schools of Vedanta. According to Umesh Chandra Bhattacharya, the Upanishads were composed in the Mahajanapads of Magadha and Videha; i.e. modern day Bihar.

Around 108 Upanishads are known, of which the first dozen or so are the oldest and most important and are referred to as the principal or main (mukhya) Upanishads. The mukhya Upanishads are found mostly in the concluding part of the Brahmanas and Aranyakas and were, for centuries, memorized by each generation and passed down orally. The mukhya Upanishads predate the Common Era, but there is no scholarly consensus on their date, or even on which ones are pre- or post-Buddhist. The Brhadaranyaka is seen as particularly ancient by modern scholars.

Yajnavalkya at King Janaka's court

The various philosophical theories in the early Upanishads have been attributed to famous sages such as Yajnavalkya, Uddalaka Aruni, Shvetaketu, Shandilya, Aitareya, Balaki, Pippalada, and Sanatkumara. Women, such as Maitreyi and Gargi participate in the dialogues and are also credited in the early Upanishads. There are some exceptions to the anonymous tradition of the Upanishads. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad, for example, includes closing credits to sage Shvetashvatara, and he is considered the author of the Upanishad.

Some scholars have tried to analyse similarities between Hindu Upanishads and Buddhist literature to establish chronology for the Upanishads. Precise dates are impossible, and most scholars give only broad ranges encompassing various centuries. Gavin Flood states that "the Upanisads are not a homogeneous group of texts. Even the older texts were composed over a wide expanse of time from about 600 to 300 BCE." Stephen Phillips places the early or "principal" Upanishads in the 800 to 300 BCE range.