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{{copy edit|date=September 2025}}
{{Short description|Maharaja of Bikaner from 1828 to 1851}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{infobox royalty
| name = Maharaja Ratan Singh
| title = [[Maharaja]]
| image = Ratan_Singh_of_Bikaner.jpg
| succession = [[Maharaja]] of [[Bikaner State|Bikaner]]
| reign = {{Nowrap|25 March 1828 – 7 August 1851}}
| predecessor = [[Surat Singh of Bikaner|Surat Singh]]
| successor = [[Sardar Singh of Bikaner|Sardar Singh]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1790|12|30|df=yes}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1851|08|07|1790|12|30|df=yes}}
| spouse = Shekhawatji Raj Kanwarji of [[Dundlod]] in [[Jaipur]]

Ranawatji Ajab Kanwarji of [[Udaipur]]-[[Mewar]]

Bhatiyaniji Chand Kanwarji of Gadiyala in [[Bikaner]]

Bhatiyaniji Udai Kanwarji of Gadiyala in [[Bikaner]]

Bhatiyaniji Umaid Kanwarji of Barsalpur in [[Bikaner]]
| issue = [[Sardar Singh of Bikaner|Sardar Singh]]

Kunwar Sher Singh (died infant)

Baiji Lal Gulab Kanwarji m.to [[Maharana]] [[Sardar Singh of Udaipur]]-[[Mewar]]
| house = {{flagicon image|Flag_of_Bikaner.svg}} [[Bikaner State|Bikaner]]
| father = [[Surat Singh of Bikaner|Surat Singh]]
| mother = Parmarji Sardar Kanwarji d.of Rao Kesari Singh of Jaitsisar in [[Bikaner]]
| dynasty = [[Rathore dynasty|Rathore]]
}}
'''Maharaja Ratan Singh''' (30 December 1790 – 7 August 1851) was the [[Maharaja|Rathore Rajput]] ruler of [[Bikaner State|Bikaner]] from the year 1828 until his death in 1851.

== Birth and early life ==
He was born on 30 December 1790 to [[Surat Singh of Bikaner|Surat Singh]] and his wife Sardar Kanwar.<ref name=":3" /> When the installation ceremony of the temple of Pashupatinath at [[Haridwar]] was conducted by Shravan Nath in 1820, he, along with [[Jawan Singh]], the [[Maharana]] of [[Kingdom of Mewar|Udaipur]], bore the expenses of the feast given to [[Brahmin|Brahmins]] on the occasion of [[Kumbh Mela]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Pauwels |first=Heidi Rika Maria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kv0xPCZ6e9sC |title=Patronage and Popularisation, Pilgrimage and Procession: Channels of Transcultural Translation and Transmission in Early Modern South Asia ; Papers in Honour of Monika Horstmann |date=2009 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-05723-3 |pages=158–159,163 |language=en}}</ref> They also gifted five elephants, five horses, five large shawls, and ten gold bracelets to those who performed the [[yajna]] and provided the architect.<ref name=":2" />

== Reign ==
Upon the death of his father, [[Surat Singh of Bikaner|Surat Singh]], in 1828, he succeeded him as the [[Maharaja]] of [[Bikaner State|Bikaner]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Purushotam Vishram Mawjee |url=https://archive.org/details/DurbarAlbum1/ |title=(1911) Imperial durbar album of the Indian princes, chiefs and zamindars, Vol. I. |date=1911 |pages=43–44}}</ref> Ratan Singh's early reign was marked by frequent uprisings by his barons, including the [[Raja]] of Mahajan, and by military campaigns to bring them to obedience.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Panikkar |first=K. M. |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.02597 |title=His Highness the Maharaja of Bikaner : a biography |date=1937 |publisher=Oxford University Press, London |pages=17}}</ref> In 1829, he violated his treaty engagements with the [[British government of India|British government]] and invaded [[Kingdom of Jaisalmer|Jaisalmer]] to avenge some depredations committed by its people.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Sehgal |first=K. k |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.120390/ |title=Rajasthan District Gazetteers Jaisalmer |date=1961 |pages=42}}</ref> He advanced up to Bansanpur.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Nand |first=Sureshwara |url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo0000sure/ |title=Art & architecture of Jaisalmer |date=1990 |publisher=Jodhpur : Research Publishers |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-81-85310-02-2 |pages=16}}</ref> Both parties were ready to fight and had asked the neighboring states for assistance.<ref name=":7" /> It was only through the intervention of the [[Maharana]] of [[Kingdom of Mewar|Udaipur]] and the [[British government of India|British government]] that the dispute between them was settled.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> However, the quarrel between them continued until 1835, when a British officer helped them reach reconciliation.<ref name=":7" /> In 1831, [[Akbar II]] sent his envoy, whom he received in a [[shamiana]] outside [[Junagarh Fort|Junagarh]], with a kharita ({{Translation|an important letter, usually sent in an elaborate textile pouch, to or from a ruler or elite}}).<ref name=":4" /> [[Akbar II]] conferred on him a [[robe of honour]], [[Mahi Maratib]], and a present of horses, an elephant, and [[Nagara (drum)|nagaras]].<ref name=":4" /> [[Akbar II]] also conferred upon him the title of Narendra Shiromani.<ref name=":4" /> He visited [[Haridwar]] in 1831, [[Rewa district|Rewa]] and [[Alwar]] in 1836, [[Udaipur]] in 1839, and [[Delhi]] in 1842.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Goetz |first=Hermann |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.14228/ |title=Art and Architecture of Bikaner State |date=1950 |pages=51,80}}</ref> Like his father, he too put forward a claim over the villages adjoining Bhadra.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Jugal Kishore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G0Z457ZOR44C |title=History of Sirsa Town |date=1991 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distri |pages=50,52 |language=en}}</ref> Captain Thoresby was appointed in 1837 to settle the border dispute between his state and the [[British government of India|British government]], but it was adjudged to the latter.<ref name=":1" /> In 1842, he supplied the [[British government of India|British government]] with 200 camels for the [[Kabul Expedition (1842)|Kabul expedition]].<ref name=":0" /> He assisted the [[British government of India|British government]] in both the Sikh campaigns.<ref name=":0" /> A year after the [[British government of India|British government]] decided to establish a line of communication between [[Sirsa]] and [[Bahawalpur]], they, in 1844, asked Ratan to provide better facilities to traders, reduce transit duties, and construct rest houses and watchtowers along this trade route.<ref name=":1" /> He obliged their request and, along with everything else specified, constructed wells.<ref name=":1" /> When Jawahar Singh sought his shelter to escape prosecution from the [[British government of India|British government]], he refused to hand him over despite their insistence.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Rajvi Amar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZIMAQAAMAAJ |title=Mediaeval History of Rajasthan: Western Rajasthan |date=1992 |publisher=Rajvi Amar Singh |pages=496–498,639–640 |language=en}}</ref> Instead, he asked them that if they were not prepared to spare Jawahar, he was willing to surrender his son, [[Sardar Singh of Bikaner|Sardar Singh]], in his place.<ref name=":3" /> They obliged his request and permitted him to keep Jawahar in a room over Suraj Pol in Junagarh.<ref name=":3" /> This won him recognition, and bardic poetry is full of praise for him.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Khadgawat |first=Nathu Ram |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.51570/ |title=Rajasthans Role In The Struggle Of 1857 (1957) |date=1957 |publisher=General Administration Department Government Of Rajasthan. |pages=103}}</ref> He put a stop to the practice of lavish dowries in [[Bikaner State|Bikaner]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bikaner |first=Rajyashree Kumari |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A7haDwAAQBAJ |title=Palace of Clouds: A Memoir |date=2018-06-08 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-93-86950-63-5 |pages=11 |language=en}}</ref> He went on a pilgrimage to [[Gaya (India)|Gaya]], where he made his officials and nobles take a solemn vow never to kill their infant daughters.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Karni |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=07sBAAAAMAAJ |title=The Relations of the House of Bikaner with the Central Powers, 1465-1949 |date=1974 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers |isbn=978-0-8364-0457-9 |pages=143,148–149 |language=en}}</ref> He passed a law stating that any noble found guilty of female infanticide would have their estate confiscated.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Aakib |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9sxEAAAQBAJ |title=Complete Rajasthan GK (English) |publisher=SI Publication |pages=120 |language=en}}</ref> He banned practices such as [[Sati (practice)|sati]] and supported widow remarriage.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=ANSHDEEP |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DRAOEQAAQBAJ |title=RAJASTHAN GK. 50 DISTRICTS {{!}} ENGLISH MEDIUM: UPDATED EDITION 2024 |date=2024-06-01 |publisher=Intend Education |pages=116 |language=en}}</ref>

== Arts and architecture ==
He added the Daftar-ki-Kotri, the Ganpat Niwas, and the water pavilion in the Karan Mahal Chowk to the [[Junagarh Fort|Junagarh]], as well as the Vikram Niwas, Surat Vilas, and Kothi Lakshmi Vilas to its [[zenana]].<ref name=":6" /> He renovated the rest of the Rai Niwas and the Sujan Mahal.<ref name=":6" /> He completed the decoration of the anteroom of the Phool Mahal.<ref name=":6" /> He had the ceiling of the vestibule of the Chandra Mahal painted.<ref name=":6" /> In 1846, he laid the foundation stone of the Raj Ratan Temple in the name of his wife, Raj Kanwar, along with his own name.<ref name=":3" /> Upon its completion, he performed the [[prana pratishtha]] ceremony on 4 March 1851.<ref name=":3" />

== Personal life ==
He, like his father, wore full whiskers.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oz9BAQAAMAAJ |title=The Vedic Magazine and Gurukula Samachar |date=1913 |publisher=Ramadeva, ed. |pages=186–187 |language=en}}</ref> Bithu Bhauma authored the book ''Ratan Vilas'', and Sagardan composed ''Ratanrupak'' in his honor.<ref name=":5" />

=== Marriages ===
He married, among others, Raj Kanwar, a daughter of Ranjit Singh, the [[Thakur (title)|Thakur]] of [[Dundlod]], and Ajab Kumari, a daughter of [[Bhim Singh of Mewar|Bhim Singh]], the [[Maharana]] of [[Kingdom of Mewar|Udaipur]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hooja |first=Rima |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tosMAQAAMAAJ |title=A History of Rajasthan |date=2006 |publisher=Rupa & Company |isbn=978-81-291-0890-6 |pages=845 |language=en}}</ref>

== Death ==
He died in 1851 and was succeeded by his son, [[Sardar Singh of Bikaner|Sardar Singh]], to his title, rank, and dignity.<ref name=":0" />

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:1790 births]]
[[Category:1851 deaths]]
[[Category:Maharajas of Bikaner]]
[[Category:Hindu monarchs]]
[[Category:People from British India]]
[[Category:Rajasthani people]]

Ratan Singh of Bikaner - Revision history

Mosphe: biography