Jodha’s name, since the Mughal-E-Azam days, has been linked with Mughal Emperor Akbar – the Hindu wife who wore a red bindi and stood by his side, or so we were told. Most of us grew up believing she was Akbar’s wife, a story made even more popular by the 2008 film Jodhaa Akbar, which became one of the biggest hits that year.
And then, Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagade told people from the podium that it is all a “lie”. That “Akbar and Jodha were never married”. And, many can’t process his words.
“It is said that Jodha and Akbar got married, and a film was also made on this story. History books also say the same thing, but it is a lie,” he told people at an event organised in Udaipur on the eve of Maharana Pratap Jayanti.
He further claimed, “There was a king named Bharmal and he got the daughter of a maid married to Akbar,” and blamed the Brits for distorting India’s history.
Shocked? So is a section of users on social media, and others who watch too many films. Films that immortalised Jodha as Akbar’s wife. They started questioning his claims, asking, “Which history books has he read?” and many went as far as wryly commenting that he “seems to be a lot on WhatsApp”.
Jodha-Akbar myth busted
So, who really was Jodha- the woman long believed to be Akbar’s Hindu wife? The mother of his heir? To find answers, we spoke to historians who said that the story is more fiction than fact. Jodha was not Akbar’s wife. Period. The long-believed myth has been busted.
Three renowned historians, all experts in medieval Indian history, have confirmed to FinancialExpress.com that “Jodha is purely a fictional character”. While Akbar did marry a princess, her name was not Jodha. So, the governor was not entirely off mark.
Two historians mention that Akbar was married to Harka Bai, but not with “certainty”. What they were one hundred per cent sure of was that she was given the title of “Maryam-uz-Zamani”.
‘Akbar’s wife was Maryam-uz-Zamani’
Historian Ruchika Sharma confirmed that Jodha was not Akbar’s wife and added that Akbar’s wife was given the title of “Maryam-uz-Zamani, the Mary of her age” after she gave birth to Salim, the heir to the throne. Salim, who later took the name Jahangir, became the fourth Mughal emperor and ruled for 22 years, from 1605 to 1627.
“Akbar’s principal wife, the mother of Salim, later titled ‘Jahangir’, was a Rajput princess. She was possibly the daughter of Bharmal Kachhwaha, the Raja of Amber and a high-ranking mansabdar in Akbar’s court. Her name was not Jodha, we don’t have any evidence in this regard,” historian Ruchika Sharma told FinancialExpress.com.
She added, “The title, Maryam-uz-Zamani, the Mary of her age, was given to her after she gave birth to Akbar’s first child, Salim, for which Akbar had paid a visit to Sheikh Salim Chisti.”
In the above painting, Birth of Prince Salim by Bishandas, Maryam-uz-Zamani can be seen lying dressed in yellow, and Salim is being cradled by another woman sitting beside her.
The above painting, from Akbarnama, by Keshav Kalan and Dharamdas, also shows Maryam-uz-Zamani in yellow attire as another woman cradles Salim.
Another historian also confirmed that the name “Jodha” does not appear in any historical records associated with Akbar as his wife.
“Harka Bai was married to Akbar, but we are not certain of that name. Jodha is a fictional name. He was married to the daughter of Raja Bharmal, Ruler of Amer, but her name was certainly not Jodha,” AMU’s professor and medieval historian Dr Gulrukh Khan told FinancialExpress.com.
Another professor, CB Ankur, retired from Gorakhpur University, also agreed with the other historians: “Akbar was married to Harka Bai, not Jodha.”
So, where did the name Jodha come from? Who was Jodha?
Historian Ruchika Sharma explained that “Jodh” was actually the wife of Jahangir, Akbar’s son with Maryam-uz-Zamani. “One of Jahangir’s wives was Jodh Bai, daughter of Jodhpur ruler Raja Udai Singh. Hence called Jodh Bai.”
“But what spreads in society tends to become more influential, and people start believing it just by hearing it from others,” Prof Ankur added.
Amer (or Amber) was a Rajput kingdom near present-day Jaipur, ruled by the Kachhwaha Rajputs before Sawai Jai Singh II shifted the capital to Jaipur in 1727.
‘Was there a woman named Jodha?’ Grok, Preplexity answered
When we asked Grok, it stated, “The claim about Akbar’s marriage to ‘Jodha Bai’ is debated.”
“Historical records, like the Akbarnama, confirm Akbar married a Rajput princess from Amer in 1562, known as Mariam-uz-Zamani, mother of Jahangir. The name ‘Jodha Bai’ is likely a 19th-century error by James Tod, possibly referring to Jahangir’s wife from Jodhpur,” it stated.
It added, “Historians like Irfan Habib argue no ‘Jodha Bai’ was Akbar’s wife. Popular culture, including Bollywood, has fueled the confusion. So, the marriage happened, but ‘Jodha Bai’ is not her accurate name. The debate hinges on this misnomer.”
“The name ‘Jodha Bai’ does not appear in contemporary Mughal sources such as the Akbarnama or Jahangir’s autobiography, Tuzk-e-Jahangiri. Instead, Akbar’s Rajput wife was known as Mariam-uz-Zamani after the birth of Jahangir,” Perplexity answered.
It added, “The title ‘Jodha Bai’ gained popularity much later, primarily due to British colonial writers like Colonel James Tod, and was further cemented in popular culture by films and television.”
“The confusion likely arose because ‘Jodha’ means ‘from Jodhpur’, while Akbar’s wife was from Amer (Jaipur),” it further explained.