Maharaja Sooraj Mal (13 February 1707 – 25 December 1763), simply known as Sooraj Mal, was a Jat
ruler of Bharatpur State in the present-day state of Rajasthan.Under him, Bharatpur State, a
tributary of the House of Scindia,covered the present-day districts of Agra, Alwar, Aligarh,
Bharatpur, Dholpur, Etawa, Hathras, Mainpuri, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Mathura, and Rohtak, Sonipat,
Jhajjar, Nuh, Palwal, Faridabad, Kasganj, Mainpuri, Firozabad, Bulandshahr.
A contemporary historian had described him as "the Plato of the Sinsinwar Jat tribe" and by a modern
writer as the "Jat Ulysses", because of his "political sagacity, steady intellect and clear
vision."The people, under Sooraj Mal, overran the Mughal garrison at Agra.In addition to the troops
stationed at his forts, he had an army of more than 75,000 infantry and more than 38,000 cavalry.
Lohagarh Fort is one of the well-known forts located in Bharatpur city of Rajasthan which was built
by Maharaja Sooraj Mal in 1732 on an artificial island and took eight years to complete. He is
famous for building other such forts and palaces in his kingdom. It needed large number of manpower
and significant amount of wealth to build such impregnable fort, as the name of
the fort itself says-- “Lohagarh”, which means, Iron fort (Loha means Iron and Garh means
fort).Lohagarh Fort is considered as one of the strongest fort as British forces led by Lord Lake
could not capture it in spite of several attacks during the Siege of Bharatpur.
Lord Lake made a siege of the fort in 1805 for six weeks but in spite of so many attacks he couldn’t
annex it.Later between December 1825 and January 1826, British troops under Lord Combermere
initially surrounded the state's capital until on 18 January 1826 its fortress was stormed and
captured. After this siege, Bharatpur became princely state under British Raj control.
Deeg Palace is a Palace in Deeg & 32 km from city of Bharatpur in Deeg District in Rajasthan, India.
It was built in 1730 by Maharaja Sooraj Mal as a luxurious summer resort for the rulers of Bharatpur
State.
Maharaja Sooraj Mal was born on 13 February 1707, to Raja Shri Badan Singh and Rani
Devki into a Hindu Jat family of Sinsinwar Jats clan of Attri Jats in Bharatpur Kingdom (present-day
Rajasthan, India).
He was the 21st descendant of Sobha Singh of Bayana. The Hindu Kingdom
reached its prosperous state under Maharaja Sooraj Mal.
The Rohilla under Najib-ud-daula had now been encircled which made war inevitable. The Rohilla alongside Sayyidu Muhammad Khan, Afzal Khan and Zaibita Khan had mobilized their troops; though these were bigger in number but they had inferior weaponry against Maharaja Sooraj Mal's army. The latter's army was then mobilized and with its superior numbers could have decimated the Rohilla in two days, but an ambush by Sayyidu near the Hindon river took Maharaja Sooraj Mal Army by surprise. Outnumbered, Maharaja Sooraj Mal was killed on the night of 25 December 1763.
His large cenotaph is located in Kusum Sarovar, Govardhan, Uttar Pradesh.His imposing
chattri is flanked on either side by two smaller chattris of his two wives, "Hansiya" and
"Kishori".These memorial chattris were built by his son and successor Jawahar Singh.The architecture
and carving is in the pierced stone style and the ceiling of cenotaphs are adorned with paintings of
the life of Lord Krishna and Sooraj Mal.His court poet Sūdan recorded his biography in Sujān
Charitra.
Notable institutes named after him include Maharaja Sooraj Mal Institute of Technology,
Maharaja Sooraj Mal Brij University, Bharatpur and Sooraj Mal Stadium metro station.On 10 May every year
"Delhi Vijay Diwas" is celebrated after Maharaja Sooraj Mal conquered Delhi on 10 May 1753.