Person · Bundela ruler & builder · India
Bīr Singh Deo
The Bundela ruler of Orchha who backed Prince Salim against Akbar, killed Abu'l-Fazl on the road from the Deccan in 1602 on Salim's instructions, and was rewarded when Salim became Jahangir — with the revenue that paid for the Jahangir Mahal at Orchha and the seven-storey palace at Datia.
- Date
- 1570–1627
- Function
- Authority & administration
- Patron dynasty
- Chandela
- Confidence
- Not assessed
- Location
- 25.350, 78.640
Worth knowing
He is the clearest case in Indian history of a small state's architecture being paid for by one political murder. The Datia palace, built entirely without timber, was never occupied. The Orchha palace was built for a single imperial visit and Jahangir stayed one night in it.
About the place
Placed at Orchha, the Bundela capital he ruled from and where his Jahangir Mahal stands. He also built the Datia palace forty kilometres away.
Connections (1)
- CampaignAbu’l-Fazl
Abu'l-Fazl, Akbar's historian and the author of the Akbarnama and the Ain-i Akbari, was killed on the road from the Deccan in 1602 by Bir Singh Deo of Orchha, acting for Prince Salim, who wanted him out of the way and was afraid of his influence with the emperor. Akbar is said to have grieved for him more than for anyone. When Salim became Jahangir, the reward paid for Orchha's and Datia's palaces.
On these journeys
Sources
Wikipedia, “Vir Singh Deo”. Epigraphia Indica for the Chandela and Pratihara inscriptions; Devangana Desai, The Religious Imagery of Khajuraho (1996).
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