Battle of Bhutala

The Battle of Bhutala took place in modern-day Rajasthan between Maharawal Jaitrasimha Of Mewar and Sultan Iltutmish of Delhi sultanate somewhere between 1222 and 1229 A.D. Initially, Mewar suffered from invasion and the capital was destroyed but Jaitrasimha, supported by Viradhavala of Dholaka (Gujrat) and his allies Udai Simha (The Chahamana ruler of Jalor), Dharavarsa (The Paramara ruler of Abu) and others caused the retreat of the Sultan without achieving his end.

Background
After the defeat of Chahamanas of Shakhambhari in 1192, invaders regularly tried to annex portions of Rajasthan. After consolidating the position in Delhi, Iltutmish attacked Mewar during his invasion on Gujarat.

Battle
The Muslim army invaded Mewar, destroyed a part of the state and even attacked Mewar's capital, Nagada. Detailed account of this event is available in Hamir Mada Mardan, a drama composed in 1229 A.D. by Jaysingh Suri.

A summary of its 3rd Act is as below"King Viradhaval of Gujrat while talking with his minister that Jaitrasingh, the king of Mewar, had a hostile attitude towards him, as he felt very much proud of the strength of his arms. In the meanwhile, one of his spies entered and informed of what had happened at Nagada. ‘He related a vivid picture as to how the city was burnt and most of the citizens fled, being terrified, while others committed suicide. He added that he consoled the terrified people by declaring that Viradhaval had reached with his full army, He concluded that when the news reached the Turushka invaders they left the field in confusion. The latter part of the story may be regarded as an exaggerated one, as the author has eulogised his generous patron Viradhaval. An account of this invasion is also preserved in the Chirawa inscription 1273 A.D. According to it some Sultan invaded Nagada and devastated the city. A furious battle ensued at Bhutala near Nagada wherein Talaraksha Yograj's eldest son Pemraj was killed. ‘The Ghaghasa inscription of 1265 A.D.and Chirawa inscription elucidate that even the Sultan could not humble down the pride of Jaitrasingh. This makes us almost certain that after some preliminary reverses Jaitra Singh encountered the Sultan's forces and offered such a tough fight that the enemy at last gave way and was put to flight. The Abu stone inscription adds that he was the sage Agastya for the ocean like armies of the Turaskas."

Aftermath
After the destruction of Nagada, Jaitrasimha abandoned it and the capital of Mewar was transferred to Chitor. Iltutmish met with such a crushing defeat at the hands of this Guhilot prince that he never again dared to invade this mountainous region during the rest of his reign. Since then, the state of Mewar was considered a hard nut to crack by most of the Turkish Sultans of Delhi for its inaccessible hills and impregnable fortress.