How did ‘Jodha Bai’ replace the real Jodha?

“Jodha Bai” the name associated with the chief consort and the principal Hindu wife of the third Mughal emperor Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, and the mother of the fourth Mughal emperor Nur ud-din Muhammad Salim Jahangir. However, that was not her real name but a misnomer. The name ‘Jodha Bai’ (or Jodh Bai) belongs to Emperor Jahangir’s second wife, Manavati Bai (also spelled as Manvati Bai), better known by her title, Jagat Gosain.^[1] This article explores how such a significant error about an empire that ruled India for over three centuries has persisted into the modern world, and what was the actual name of the historical figure we’ve come to know as “Jodha Bai”.

Background

Significant Figures

Akbar

Padishah Ghazi Shahenshah-e-Hind Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar succeeded his father Humayun, and reigned as the third Emperor of the Mughal dynasty from 1556 to 1605. He had three chief consorts, namely:

1. Ruqaiya Sultan Begum – was the only daughter of Hindal Mirza, the youngest brother of Akbar’s father Humayun, and his wife Sultanum Begum. She was Akbar’s first wife^[2] and his cousin. She died childless in Akbarabad (Agra) at the age of eighty-four.^[3]
2. Salima Sultan Begum – was the daughter of Nur-ud-din Muhammad Mirza and his wife Gulrukh Begum, the daughter of Emperor Babur. She was initially married to Bairam Khan, after his death she was married to her first cousin Akbar. She remained childless in both marriages and died at the age of sixty-three.^[4]
3. Mariam-uz-Zamani – commonly known by the misnomer Jodha Bai, she was the principal Hindu wife and the favourite wife of Akbar. She was the daughter of the ruler of Amer, Raja Bharmal, and the mother of Jahangir.

Mariam-uz-Zamani

Wali Nimat Mariam-uz-Zamani Begum Sahiba popularly known as Jodha Bai, was a Hindu, Rajput princess, the daughter of Raja Bharmal from the kachhwaha royal family of Amer/Amber, near present day Jaipur. She was married to Akbar in 1562.^[5] She was Akbar’s principal Hindu wife, and the mother of his successor Prince Salim, later known as the fourth Mughal emperor Jahangir.^[6]

Raja Bharmal

Raja Bharmal of Amber also known as Bihari Mal or Bihar Mal, was the son of Raja Prithviraj Singh I of the kachhwaha dynasty and his Rathore Queen Apurva Devi, and was the ruler of Amber.^[7] His daughter, Mariam-uz-zamani was the chief consort of Emperor Akbar. Bharmal offered the hand of his eldest daughter in marriage to Akbar when the royal camp was at Sanganir while he was on his pilgrimage to the tomb of Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti at Ajmer in January 1562.^[8]

He was succeeded by his eldest son, Bhagwan Das.

Jahangir

Al-Sultan al-Azam Shahenshah-e-Hind Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim Jahangir Padishah succeeded his father Akbar, and reigned as the fourth Emperor of the Mughal dynasty from 1605 to 1627. He was the eldest son of Emperor Akbar and Mariam-uz-Zamani.^[9] He had many wives, but for the purposes of this inquiry, only two are of significance:

1. Shah Begum – was Jahangir’s first wife and chief consort. When he reached the age of fifteen, he was betrothed to the daughter of Raja Bhagwan Das of Amber.^[10][11][12] When she gave birth to their son Khusrau Mirza, he gave her the title of Shah Begum.^[13]
2. Jagat Gosain – was his second wife and empress consort. She was the daughter of Raja Udai Singh of Jodhpur and the mother of Jahangir’s successor Shah Jahan.^[14]

Jagat Gosain

Manavati Bai or Mani Bai was the daughter of the Raja Udai Singh of Marwar, was the second wife and empress consort of Jahangir. At the Mughal court she was known as Jagat Gosain, and was popularly known as Jodh Bai since she was a princess from Jodhpur. She was also the mother of Jahangir’s successor Prince Khurram, later known as the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.^[15][16]

Raja Udai Singh

Mota Raja Udai Singh Rathore, son of Rao Maldev Rathore of the Rathore dynasty was the ruler of Marwar, and the father of Jahangir’s second wife Jagat Gosain.^[11]

The Error

Most of the early historians of India were British colonialists who did not have in depth knowledge and understanding of Mughal and Rajput history and culture, and thus made many mistakes in their historical writings. For the purposes of this enquiry, the error in question is the misidentification and confusion between the names of Jahangir’s mother, and his second wife.

Throughout history, Jahangir’s mother is often erroneously referred to by the name Jodha Bai, a name that literally means ‘Princess of Jodhpur’. Sometimes Jahangir’s second wife, Jagat Gosain was referred to as Mariam-uz-Zamani.

Early Historians

James Tod

Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod was a British army officer for the East India Company and travelled to India in 1799 as a cadet in the Bengal Army. After the third Anglo-Maratha war, he was appointed Political Agent in 1819 for various states of western Rajputana. He has been referred as “Herodotus of the History of Rajasthan”, “Rajasthan ke itihas ke pita ” (the father of the history of Rajasthan), founder of ‘modern historiography of Rajasthan’, “first modern histories of Rajasthan” etc.^[17]

During his time in Rajputana, Tod collected materials for his ‘ Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan Or Western Rajpoot States’

Here are some extracts from the Annals:

On the union of the imperial house with that of Jodpoor, by the marriage of Jod Baé to Akbér, the emperor not only restored all the possessions he had wrested from Marwar, with the exception of Ajmér, but several rich districts in Malwa, whose revenues doubled the resources of his own fiscal domain.^[18]

Here, Tod writes that Akbar married ‘Jod Baé’ i.e. Jodha Bai to unite the imperial house with that of Jodhpur. However, it was really Jahangir who married ‘Jodha Bai’ i.e. to unite the two houses.^[19]

Bhagwandas, son of Baharmull, became still more intimately allied with the Mogul dynasty. He was the friend of Akbér, who saw the full value of attaching such men to his throne. By what arts or influence he overcame the scruples of the Cutchwaha Rajpoot we know not, unless by appealing to his avarice or ambition^[20]

In the above passage, it seems Tod has failed to recognise that Bhagwandas was also the brother-in-law of Akbar through the marriage of Akbar and his sister who was later known as Mariam-uz-zamani.

Sultan Purvéz, the elder son and heir of Jéhangír, was the issue of a princess of Marwar, while the second son, Khoorm, as his name imports, was the son of a Cutchwaha princess of Ambér.^[21]

The emperor, who knew the value of such valorous subjects, strengthened the connexion which already subsisted between the crown and the Rahtores, by obtaining for prince Selim (afterwards Jehangír) Raé Sing's daughter to wife. The unfortunate Purvéz was the fruit of this marriage.^[22]

Jéhangír was now sovereign of India. He had nominated his son Purvéz to the government of the Dekhan, and having invested him in the city of Boorhanpoor, returned to the north. But Prince Khoorm, jealous of his brother, conspired against and slew him. This murder was followed by an attempt to dethrone his father Jéhangír, and as he was popular with the Rajpoot princes, being son of a princess of Ambér, a formidable rebellion was raised;^[23]

In the above passages, Tod seems to have contradicted himself on who the mothers of Prince ‘Purvéz’ i.e. Prince Parviz is. First, he says Prince Parviz is the son of a princess of Marwar, then later contradicting himself, says that Prince Parviz was the son of the daughter of ‘Raé Sing’ i.e. Raja Rai Singh of Bikaner.

He writes that and Prince ‘Khoorm’ i.e. Prince Khurram (later Shah Jahan) was the son of a ‘Cutchwaha’ i.e. Kachhwaha princess. However, Prince Khurram was actually the son of ‘Jodha Bai’.

With that, James Tod appears to have forever linked the name “Jodha Bai” with the ‘Hindu wife’ of Akbar.

Heinrich Blochmann & Henry Beveridge

Heinrich Blochmann was a German orientalist and scholar of Persian language, who translated the the 3^rd volume of Akbarnama i.e. Ain-i-Akbari. However, his translation was not without faults.

He writes, “As Akbar’s mother had the title of Maryam-Makani, so was Jodh Bái called Maryam uzzamání.”^[24]

The same mistake was made by Henry Beveridge, an Indian Civil Services officer and an orientalist in India who translated all three volumes of Akbarnama.

He notes, “Jahangir’s wife, Jodh Bai was called Miryam-i-zamani, the Mary of the age.”^[25]

They have conflated and forever linked the title of ‘Miryam-i-zamani’ or ‘Maryam uzzamání’ with the name ‘Jodh Bai’ i.e. Jodha Bai.

Why did they make such error?

There may be several reasons for this error such as but not limited to: inaccurate historical records, heavy reliance on Charans (hereditary bards) and Bhats (genealogists), limited access to Mughal Persian records and colonial agenda.

James Tod

Lieutenant Colonel James Tod was sent to Rajputana as a political agent of the East India Company in 1819. During that time period, the primary Local adversaries of the EIC were the Marathas and the Mughals and thus, they sought good relations with the Rajputana as many regarded the Marathas as Predatory Oppressors, and many Rajput houses had resisted Mughal rule for generations.^[26]

From Tod’s writings his agenda is clear, he was biased towards the Rajputs who resisted Mughal dominance, he embellished their tales and praised them for keeping their bloodline “pure” and for not marrying their daughters to the Mughals. He wrote that it was degrading to marry a daughter of their blood to the opponent of their faith.

Maldeo, though he submitted to acknowledge the supremacy of the emperor, was at least spared the degradation of seeing a daughter of his blood bestowed upon the opponent of his faith;^[27]

name of Bhagwandas is execrated as the first who sullied Rajpoot purity by matrimonial alliance with the Islamite^[28]

Throughout the Annals, he cites Rajpoot Bards, Bhats and Brahmins as his source. During his time period, the EIC still did not control the core Mughal territory of Delhi. Thus, the colonial writers had limited access to the Mughal Persian Texts such as, Akbarnama, or Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri which were likely still in the possession of the Mughal court.

Heinrich Blochmann & Henry Beveridge

Blochmann had to rely on imperfect uncollated manuscripts and notes from various later Muslim^[29] historians, and Beveridge had to rely on the difficult of comprehend Persian texts of Abul Fazl, as well as the texts of later court historians and the translations of Blochmann.

In their defence, they were one of the firsts to translate the texts long before full critical editions of the Mughal chronicles existed. Often times, the name “Mariam-uz-Zamani” appears without any clear indication of her place in the timeline, and often appears in reference to Jahangir’s reign without any clue of what her relationship with Jahangir is. Blochmann read the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri and assumed that she must be Jahangir’s wife because of the context her title is often used in.

I had stationed my son Khurram to guard the palaces and treasuries when I set out in pursuit of Khusraw. After my mind was relieved on that score, it was ordered that Khurram should bring Her Majesty Maryamuzzamani and the harem to me.^[30]

Having made this determination, 1 dispatched Her Majesty Maryamuzzamani and the other begams and members of the harem with all the paraphernalia and workshops while I myself set out for Gujarat on a tour and hunt, accompanied by only those who were necessary.^[31]

Indian Entertainment Industry

Indian Entertainment Industry has been making films and TV Serials about the Mughals since before India got its independence. Primarily focusing on the fictionalized love stories of Jodha and Akbar, and Salim and Anarkali, and folk tales of Akbar and Birbal. Here are some of the most popular productions:

Mughal-e-Azam (1960)

Released in 1960, Mughal-e-Azam, starring Prithviraj Kapoor as Emperor Akbar and Durga Khote as Maharani Jodha Bai, was a classic film in the history of Indian Cinema. The film is a dramatic portrayal to the legendary love affair between Prince Salim (Later Jahangir) and the courtesan Anarkali. When it was first released, it was primarily a black-and-white film, with one song sequence of Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya shot in colour. In 2004, the entire film was digitally colorized and re-released to a new generation of audiences.

Mughal-e-Azam was not just about the love story of Salim and Anarkali, but also about the grandeur of pre-colonial Indian identity. It was a very popular film of its generation, and it in turn inspired the next generation of film makers.

The film shows “Jodha Bai” as Akbar’s only wife and the mother of Prince Salim. Which affirmed her name as “Jodha” among the public.

Jodhaa Akbar (2008)

Released in 2008, ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ starred Hritik Roshan as Emperor Akbar and Aishwarya Rai as Rajkumari Jodhaa Bai. This film was one of the highest grossing films of Bollywood and won many national and international awards. The film details the story of Akbar’s rise to the throne and his subsequent marriage to a Rajput Princess, ‘Jodhaa Bai’.

This film shows “Jodhaa” as the daughter of Raja Veer Bharmal of Amer and the sole wife of Akbar.

However, one key difference between Jodhaa Akbar (2008) and Mughal-e-Azam (1960) is that Jodhaa Akbar (2008) had a disclaimer at its beginning.

“Historians Agree that the 16th century marriage of alliance between the Mughal Emperor Akbar and the daughter of King Bharmal of Amer (Jaipur) was a recorded chapter in history… but there is speculation till today that her name was not Jodhaa… Some historians say her name was Harkha Bai, others call her Hira Kunwar, and yet others say Jiya Rani, Maanmati & Shaahi Bai… but over the centuries her name reached the common man as Jodhaa Bai. this is just one version of the historical events. there could be other versions and viewpoints to it.”

The film itself admits that it is using the wrong name and tells the viewers her probable names.

Jodha Akbar (2013-2015)

In the June of 2013, the first episode of Jodha Akbar the TV serial aired on Indian television and ran for 566 episodes, coming to an end in the august of 2015. It starred Rajat Tokas as Emperor Akbar and Paridhi Sharma as Jodha Bai “Mariam-uz-Zamani”.

The show portrayed Jodha Bai as the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amer, the third wife of Akbar and the mother of Prince Salim. She was also given the title of “Mariam-uz-Zamani” after the birth of Prince Salim.

Every single episode began with a voiced disclaimer stating, “This serial does not claim any kind of historicity. Necessary and appropriate dramatic adaptations have been made to depict the circumstances of the time. Historically, names like Harka Bai, Hira Kunwar are popular in history instead of Jodha Bai. This serial does not make any historical claim of any social tradition and family relations. Its purpose is not to hurt the sentiments of any community.”

It reminded everyone that it is using the wrong name before every single episode.

Analysis

Time and time again, many historians have displayed that the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amer, Akbar’s principal Hindu wife and the mother of Jahangir was indeed not named Jodha Bai. So, why does everyone know her only as Jodha Bai?

Early translators of Mughal Persian texts had to rely on uncollated manuscripts which were hard to understand so they mistook the title of “Mariam-uz-Zamani” for Jahangir’s 2^nd wife Jagat Gosain who was called “Jodha Bai” because she was from Jodhpur.

The British Colonial historians for the Mughal period, James Tod being the first among them, wrote their histories with a political agenda at their core. Lieutenant Colonel James Tod was an army man by profession, he was sent to Rajputana by the British East India Company as a Political Agent, his prime objective being to ally the Rajputana with the British against the Mughals and Marathas.

Tod differentiated Mughals from any other dynasty on the basis of religion. He portrayed their rule as despotic. He portrays the struggle of some Rajput rulers against the Mughals as fight against the ‘foreign despotic’ empire of ‘mohammedan’ rulers. He downplays the Rajput royal families that married into the Mughal imperial family and exaggerates the Rajputs that defied the Mughals.

In his Annals, Tod relied heavily on Bards and Genealogists of the Rajputs, primarily of those that resisted Mughal sovereignty for generation. These Rajput families prided themselves upon always having resisted Mughal rule. Their bards, as bards are known to do, exaggerated and embellished the oral histories of their houses and downplayed the Rajputs that accepted the Mughals.

So, James Tod, an army personnel, was writing a biased chronicle of the Rajputana, based on the biased sources provided to him by the Rajputana to write an embellished account of the Rajput history. His account was bound to be filled with inaccuracies.

After centuries of inaccurate information circulating across the subcontinent and beyond, Mariam-uz-Zamani reached the common public as Jodha Bai.

Then in 1960, the film Mughal-e-Azam was released, a dramatic portrayal of the grandeur of the pre-colonial India. Released merely 13 years after the Indo-Pak partition and their subsequent independence, the film was an idealized image of a time before colonialism, a time when Hindu-Muslim were one, a time when Hindustan was one. Mughal-e-Azam was a great hit and it further popularized “Jodha Bai” as the mother of Prince Salim.

In 2008, the film Jodhaa Akbar was released amidst rising Hindu-Muslim conflicts. The film through its narrative, affirms the right of the Muslim minority to the citizenship of India by celebrating the life of a powerful Muslim ruler who was born on Indian soil and ruled over a united Hindu Muslim populus.^[32]

The film, Jodhaa Akbar (2008) and the TV serial, Jodha Akbar (2013-2015), taught another entire generation that “Jodha Bai” was the principal Hindu wife of Akbar and the mother of Jahangir.

Conclusion

So, who is to blame for perpetuating this mistake? Was it the colonial historians like James Tod? Or the Rajputs and their bards who despised the Mughals? Or was it the Indian Entertainment Industry?

I say it was politics. Politics divided the Rajputs into pro-Mughals and anti-Mughals. Colonial politics led James Tod to write the biased inaccurate chronicle, Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan Or Western Rajpoot States. Politics of nation building and communalism led the Indian Entertainment Industry to produce historical films and dramas with a political agenda.

There is no one person or group who is to blame for the inaccuracies of history. Politics on faith, belonging, power and togetherness has shaped history and its errors for thousands of years across the world and India is no exception.

As for who the real Jodha was, what the real name of Jahangir’s mother was, I believe the answer to that may already be lost to the sands of history.

References

^[1]Satish Chandra, “Jodha Bai – Who is she?” Indian Historical Review 35, ed. 2 (2008), pp. 237-239, doi:10.1177/037698360803500214.

^[2]Samuel Martin Burke, Akbar, the greatest Mogul, (Munshiram Manoharlal Punlishers, 1989), p. 142. ISBN 81-215-0095-6.

^[3]Jahangir, Emperor of Hindustan, The Jahangirnama: Memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India, trans. Wheeler McIntosh Thackston, (Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 437, ISBN 978-0-19-512718-8.

^[4]Jahangir, (1999), p. 140.

^[5]Jaswant Lal Mehta, Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India, Vol 2, (Sterlin Publishers, 1984), pp. 221-222. ISBN 978-81-207-1015-3.

^[6]Jahangir, (1999), pp. 51, 61.

^[7]Jadunath Sarkar, A History of Jaipur, rev. ed. (Orient Longman, 1994), pp. 31-34, ISBN 81-250-0333-9.

^[8]Samuel Martin Burke, (1989), p. 47. ISBN 81-215-0095-6.

^[9]Jahangir, (1999), pp. 21, 51, 61.

^[10]Henry Beveridge, The Akbarnama of Abul Fazl Vol. III, (The Asiatic Society, 1939), p. 678. ISBN 81-7236-094-0.

^[11]Muzaffar H. Syed, et al., History of Indian Nation: Medieval India, (K.K. Publications, 2022), p. 138.

^[12]Jahangir, (1999), p. 6.

^[13]Jahangir, (1999), p. 51.

^[14]Ellison Banks Findly, Nur Jahan: Empress of Mughal India, (Oxford University Press, 1993), p. 124. ISBN 0195074882.

^[15]Ellison Banks Findly, (1993), p. 125.

^[16]Satish Chandra, (2008), pp. 237-239.

^[17]Kavita Jatolia, “JAMES TOD, IMPERIAL DOCUMENTATION AND RAJPUT IDENTITY.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 79, (2018), pp. 388–396. www.jstor.org/.../ .

^[18]James Tod, (1832), p. 30.

^[19]Satish Chandra, (2008), pp. 237-239.

^[20]James Tod, (1832), p. 325.

^[21]James Tod, (1832), p. 36.

^[22]James Tod, (1832), p. 165.

^[23]James Tod, (1832), pp. 439-440.

^[24]Heinrich Blochman, Ain-i-Akbari Vol. I, (1873), p. 309.

^[25]Henry Beveridge, The Akbarnama of Abul Fazl Vol. I, (The Asiatic Society, 1907), p. 33. ISBN 81-7236-092-4.

^[26]Kavita Jatolia, (2018), pp. 388–396.

^[27]James Tod, (1832), p. 25.

^[28]James Tod, (1832), p. 326.

^[29]Heinrich Blochman, (1873), pp. v-vi.

^[30]Jahangir, (1999), p. 61.

^[31]Jahangir, (1999), p. 232.

^[32]Shahnaz Khan, “Recovering the Past in ‘Jodhaa Akbar’: Masculinities, Femininities and Cultural Politics in Bombay Cinema.” Feminist Review, ed. 99 (2011), pp. 131–46. www.jstor.org/.../ .

Bibliography

1. Ellison Banks Findly. Nur Jahan: Empress of Mughal India. Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN 0195074882.
2. Heinrich Blochman. Ain-i-Akbari Vol. I. 1873.
3. Henry Beveridge. The Akbarnama of Abul Fazl Vol. I. The Asiatic Society, 1907. ISBN 81-7236-092-4.
4. Henry Beveridge. The Akbarnama of Abul Fazl Vol. III. The Asiatic Society, 1939. ISBN 81-7236-094-0.
5. Jadunath Sarkar. A History of Jaipur. rev. ed. Orient Longman, 1994. ISBN 81-250-0333-9.
6. Jahangir, Emperor of Hindustan. The Jahangirnama:Memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India. Translated by Wheeler McIntosh Thackston. Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0-19-512718-8.
7. Jaswant Lal Mehta. Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India, Vol 2. Sterlin Publishers, 1984. ISBN 978-81-207-1015-3.
8. Kavita Jatolia, “JAMES TOD, IMPERIAL DOCUMENTATION AND RAJPUT IDENTITY.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 79, (2018), pp. 388–396. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26906271.
9. Muzaffar H. Syed, Anil Kumar, B.D. Usmani, Pramod Gupta. History of Indian Nation: Medieval India. K.K. Publications, 2022.
10. Samuel Martin Burke. Akbar, the greatest Mogul. Munshiram Manoharlal Punlishers, 1989. ISBN 81-215-0095-6.
11. Satish Chandra, “Jodha Bai – Who is she?” Indian Historical Review 35, ed. 2 (2008), pp. 237-239. https://doi.org/10.1177/037698360803500214.
12. Shahnaz Khan, “Recovering the Past in ‘Jodhaa Akbar’: Masculinities, Femininities and Cultural Politics in Bombay Cinema.” Feminist Review. ed. 99, (2011), pp. 131–46. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41288880.