Raja Sawai Jai Singh of Amber and Raja Ajit Singh of Jodhpur became friends in their youth. Together, both of them snatched back their respective kingdoms from Bahadur Shah's molar. Later both became servants of the Mughals. Jai Singh went to the Subedari of Malwa and Ajit Singh went to the Subedari of Gujarat. Jai Singh continued to work for the Mughal emperor, but Ajit Singh, not satisfied with the Mughal politics, continued to behave against the wishes of the emperor.
Jaisingh's marriage to Ajit Singh's daughter
At the time when Maharana of Mewar married his daughter Chandra Kunwari to Jai Singh, at the same time Ajit Singh also married his daughter Suraj Kunwari to Jai Singh.
Ajit Singh kills Farrukhsiyar
In November 1720, Ajit Singh captured the Red Fort and killed Emperor Farrukhsiyar. Farrukhsiyar was a good friend of Jai Singh. Therefore the position of Jai Singh became weak in the Mughal court. Jai Singh did not want Ajit Singh to dominate Mughal politics, but Ajit Singh had a good influence on the Sayyid brothers. Therefore, through Ajit Singh, Jai Singh could improve relations with the new emperor. So Jai Singh remained silent. Ajit Singh made Jai Singh befriend the new emperor Jahandarshah through the Sayyid brothers.
Ajit Singh assisted by Jaisingh
In 1721 AD, when Emperor Muhammad Shah removed Ajit Singh from the subedari of Gujarat and Ajmer, Ajit Singh came down on the rebellion and he plundered heavily in the royal areas. In 1721-22 AD, Ajit Singh attacked Sambhar and took away the Mughal officials and took control of the Sambhar lake. He also looted Narnol and entered Mewat for 16 miles near Delhi. On this, in 1722 AD, under the leadership of Iradtmand Khan, armies were sent against Ajit Singh. Ajit Singh robbed the royal treasury by killing the Diwan of Ajmer and 25 of his officers in 1723 AD and occupied Ajmer. The army from Delhi put pressure on Ajit Singh and got him evacuated to Ajmer and also snatched 13 parganas. Sawai Jai Singh mediate and made a settlement between the emperor and Ajit Singh. Ajit Singh was compelled to send his son Abhay Singh to Delhi with many elephants and valuable gifts.
Jai Singh's plan to kill Ajit Singh
Ajit Singh was constantly trying to subjugate Ajmer and its adjoining parganas, while Jai Singh also had an eye on these parganas. Therefore Jai Singh decided to settle Ajit Singh. Ajit Singh's son Abhay Singh was living in Delhi for a year. Jai Singh prepared Abhay Singh to kill Maharaja Ajit Singh. Otherwise, the emperor, by killing Ajit Singh, will annex the state of Jodhpur to Khalsa and thousands of Rathores will be killed. Abhay Singh came in the words of Jai Singh. He wrote a letter to his younger brother Bakhtsingh asking him to kill his father and in return tempted him to give him the pargana of Nagaur. On the night of 23 June 1724 AD, Bakht Singh killed Maharaja Ajit Singh. Emperor Muhammad Shah immediately accepted Abhay Singh as the king of Jodhpur. After this incident, Abhay Singh became a supporter of Sawai Jai Singh. After the death of Ajit Singh, Bakht Singh got the pargana of Nagaur.
Jai Singh's daughter married to Abhay Singh
In August 1724, Vichitra Kunwari, daughter of Jaipur king Jai Singh, was married to Jodhpur king Abhay Singh in Mathura. This marriage infuriated the feudatories of the Jodhpur state. He was convinced that not only Bakht Singh but Abhay Singh and Jai Singh were also involved in the murder of Maharaja Ajit Singh. Abhay Singh's two younger brothers Anand Singh and Raj Singh declared themselves independent and the third brother occupied Jalore. Anarchy spread throughout Marwar. On this Abhay Singh sought help from the emperor. The emperor instructed Jai Singh to help Abhay Singh. Jai Singh sent one of his forces to Abhay Singh. This army assisted Abhay Singh, who gained control over the rebellious Thakurs. After this, Jai Singh was sent against the Marathas in Malwa and Abhay Singh was sent to the Subedari of Gujarat.
Jaisingh's attack on Jodhpur
Rajadhiraj Bakht Singh of Nagaur was a very ambitious person and wanted to expand his kingdom. For this reason, his border dispute with Bikaner arose. After Nadir Shah returned from India, Bakhtsingh and Abhay Singh together attacked Bikaner. Raja Joravar Singh of Bikaner was badly defeated and many of his villages were taken over by Jodhpur. Joravar Singh begged the Jaipur king Sawai Jai Singh for help. Jai Singh sent a message to Abhay Singh that he should have mercy on Zoravar Singh, but Abhay Singh sent a reply to his father-in-law that he should not speak in mutual matters of Rathores. On this, Sawai Jai Singh became furious with his Jamata and sent twenty thousand soldiers to attack Jodhpur. Abhay Singh lifted the siege of Bikaner to protect his capital, but Jai Singh's forces were not ready to remove the siege from Jodhpur.
Historic Treaty with Jodhpur
On 25 July 1740, Abhay Singh sent an application to Jai Singh for a treaty. Both the parties reached an agreement on the following terms-
1. Abhay Singh will give Rs 1 lakh in cash to Jaipur, jewelery and gems worth Rs 25 thousand and three elephants.
2. Jodhpur State will give a total of 20 lakh rupees to Jaipur at the rate of 20 thousand rupees per day as war expenses.
3. In four days the Hundis of this amount will be received by Jai Singh and till the time the Hundis are sold, the Bhandari Raghunath and the five feudal lords will remain with Jaipur as hostages.
4. Abhay Singh will return the area won from Bikaner to Bikaner.
5. The jagir of Merta will be returned to Bakhat Singh by Jaipur State.
6. Abhay Singh will not interfere in the areas of Ajmer which Jai Singh has.
7. No member or feudal lord of the Marwar royal family can have a relationship with the Delhi Durbar without the mediation of Jai Singh.
8. Relations with the Marathas can also be made according to the instructions of Jaipur only through his mediation.
9. Abhay Singh's minister will decide from the front only two trusted feudatories of Jaipur.
Battle of Gangwana
With this treaty, Jodhpur State became like a colony of Jaipur State. On this, a voice started rising in the feudatories of Jodhpur that the Kachhwahas cut off the noses of the Rathores. On this, Jodhpur King Abhay Singh started preparing to climb Jaipur. When Jai Singh came to know about this in Agra, he again attacked the state of Jodhpur with a powerful army. Bakht Singh also joined his brother Abhay Singh with his armies. Here Jai Singh's friends – Raja of Karauli, Raja of Bundela and three Muslim generals came to the aid of Jaipur with their armies. On June 11, 1741, a war was fought on both sides at a place called Gangwana, 11 miles from Pushkar.
Rajadhiraj Bakhat Singh led this war on behalf of Marwar. He took five thousand soldiers and went in front of the army of Jai Singh and his friends. The number of soldiers in the armies of Jai Singh and his friends was estimated from 40 thousand to 1 lakh. The armies of Jaipur had placed a long line of guns in front of them. Bakht Singh, taking his head on the palm, broke the line of cannons and went into the army of the Kachhwahas and started cutting the enemies like carrots and radishes. He roamed around in the army of the Kachhawahs doing tandav from one side to the other. Within 14 hours there was no one left in the battle field except the dead and the wounded. The remaining Kachhwaha soldiers fled. The Muslim generals had kept their front at a distance. Bakht Singh did not go towards them. Meanwhile, Bakhat Singh got shot but he kept fighting. Jai Singh had left the battlefield and went back two miles. In the end, only 70 soldiers were left with Bakht Singh, but seeing Jai Singh's pandal empty, Bakht Singh went there. He picked up the idol of Sitaramji from the pandal and robbed the personal belongings of Sawai Jai Singh and set the pandal on fire. After this Bakhtsingh quickly ran towards Merta. When the Muslim armies saw that Bakht Singh was running away, they started firing shells on the fleeing Bakht Singh. Bakht Singh reached Merta safely. Jai Singh returned to the battlefield and accepted the congratulations of victory. After this, Jai Singh consoled the families of the deceased soldiers and distributed awards for gallantry.
Swap of Gods
In the hustle and bustle of the war, Bakhtsingh had taken away the idol of Jai Singh's adored Sitaramji and on the other hand the elephant of the deity Girdharji of Bakhtsingh fell into the hands of the Kachhwahas. Probably after two months Bakht Singh came to know that Girdharji was safe with Jai Singh. On this Bakht Singh sent the statue of Sitaramji and his ornaments to Jai Singh at the hands of his Diwan and requested Jai Singh to return the statue of Girdharji as he could not eat food without worshiping them. For two months he is eating only fruits. Jai Singh praised Bakhtsingh's valor and handed over Girdharji's Deity and his elephant to the Diwan of Bakhtsingh.
Treaty between Jodhpur and Jaipur
The Maharana of Udaipur, after mediating between the two sides, got a new treaty done in July 1741. According to the new treaty, Abhay Singh agreed to give 20 lakh rupees to Sawai Jai Singh as compensation. The kingdom of Bikaner was returned to Joravar Singh. Jai Singh returned the jagir of Merta to Bakhtsingh.
Jai Singh's final battle
The Battle of Gangwana was the last battle of Sawai Jai Singh's life. He was 53 years old at the time of this war. After two years of this war, on 21 September 1743, he fell asleep in his capital Jaipur.