Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 3 of 3 - or the Central and Western Rajput States of India

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Title: Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 3 of 3 - or the Central and Western Rajput States of India
Author: Tod, James
Language: English
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Transcriber’s Note:

This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects.
Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_.

The text is annotated with numerous footnotes, which were numbered
sequentially on each page. On occasion, a footnote itself is annotated
by a note. In the previous two volumes, these were referenced using
symbols (e.g. *, †), which have been converted to an alphabetic sequence
(e.g., A, B). In this volume, however, the ‘subnotes’ appear in one
instance as numerals. For the sake of consistency, the convention used
in the previous volumes has been adopted.

Since there are over 900 notes in this volume, they have been gathered
at each chapter’s end, and resequenced for each chapter, using a dot
notation for chapter and page (e.g. 10.4.2). Notes to the appendixes are
prefaced by 'a' (e.g. a.1.1 for the first note in Appendix I.)

The notes are a combination of those of the author, and of the editor of
this edition. The text of the latter are enclosed in square brackets.
The bold-faced phrases that begin each topic were also added by the
editor, and spelling of Hindi or Sanskrit words may vary between those
phrases and the author’s text.

The pagination of the original edition, published in the 1820's, is
preserved for ease of reference by including those page numbers in the
text, also enclosed in square brackets.

Crooke’s plan for the renovation of the Tod’s original text, including a
discussion of the transliteration of words other than English, is given
in detail in the Preface.

Several tables spanned multiple pages, with sums totaled before the page
break as “Carried forward”, and repeated on the following page. These
have been removed, given the nature of the current text.

Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Given
the history of the text, it was thought best to leave all orthography as
printed.

Please see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details
regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered during its
preparation.

A complex genealogical chart appears on p. 1457, inserted in
mid-paragraph spanning pp. 1456 and 1458. It has been moved to precede
that paragraph.

ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES
OF RAJASTHAN

[Illustration:

COLONEL TOD AND HIS JAIN GURU.
(From a painting said to be the work of the Author’s native artist,
Ghāsi.)
_Frontispiece._
]

ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES
OF
RAJASTHAN

RAJPUT STATES OF INDIA

LIEUT.-COL. JAMES TOD

LATE POLITICAL AGENT TO THE WESTERN RAJPUT STATES

EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY

WILLIAM CROOKE, C.I.E.

HON. D.SC. OXON., B.A., F.R.A.I.

LATE OF THE INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE

IN THREE VOLUMES

VOL. III.

HUMPHREY MILFORD
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK
TORONTO MELBOURNE BOMBAY
1920

CONTENTS

PAGE

BOOK VIII

SKETCH OF THE INDIAN DESERT

CHAPTER 1

General aspect—Boundaries and divisions of the
desert—Probable etymology of the Greek _oasis_—Absorption
of the Ghaggar river—The Luni, or salt-river—The Rann, or
Ran—Distinction of _thal_ and _rui_—_Thal_ of the
Luni—Jalor—Siwanchi—Machola and Morsin—Bhinmal and
Sanchor—Bhadrajun—Mewa—Balotra and
Tilwara—Indhavati—Gugadeo-ka-thal—Thal of Tararoi—Thal of
Khawar—Mallinath-ka-thal, or Barmer—Kherdhar—Juna
Chhotan—Nagar Gura 1257

CHAPTER 2

Chauhan Raj—Antiquity and nobility of the Chauhans of the
desert—Dimensions and population of the
Raj—Nagar—Bakhasar—Tharad—Face of the Chauhan
Raj—Water—Productions—Inhabitants—Kolis and
Bhils—Pitals—Thals of Dhat and Umrasumra—Depth of
wells—Anecdote—City of Aror, the ancient capital of
Sind—Dynasties of the Sodha, the Sumra, and the Samma
princes—Their antiquity—Inferred to be the opponents of
Alexander the Great, and Menander—Lieutenant of Walid
takes Aror—Umarkot: its history—Tribes of Sind and the
desert—Diseases—Narua or Guinea-worm—Productions, animal
and vegetable, of the desert—Daudputra—Itinerary 1275

BOOK IX

ANNALS OF AMBER, OR DHUNDHAR

CHAPTER I

Designations given by Europeans to the principalities of
Rajputana—Dhundhar known by the name of its capitals,
Amber or Jaipur—The country of the Kachhwahas an aggregate
of conquests by the race so called—Etymology of
Dhundhar—Origin of the Kachhwahas—Raja Nal founds
Narwar—Dhola Rae expelled, and founds Dhundhar—Romantic
legend of Dhola Rae—His treachery to his benefactor, the
Mina lord of Khoganw—Marries a daughter of a Bargujar
chief, and becomes his heir—Augments his territories, and
transfers his government to Ramgarh—Marries a daughter of
the prince of Ajmer—Is killed in battle with the Minas—His
son Kankhal conquers Dhundhar—Medal Rae conquers Amber,
and other places—Conquests of Hundeo—Of Kuntal—Accession
of Pajun—Reflections on the aboriginal tribes at this
period—The Mina race—Pajun marries the sister of Prithiraj
of Delhi—His military prowess—Is killed at the rape of the
princess of Kanauj—Malesi succeeds—His
successors—Prithiraj creates the Barah-kothris, or twelve
great fiefs of Amber—He is assassinated—Baharmall—The
first to wait on the Muhammadan power—Bhagwandas the first
Rajput to give a daughter to the imperial house—His
daughter marries Jahangir, and gives birth to
Khusru—Accession to Man Singh—His power, intrigues, and
death—Rao Bhao—Maha—Mirza Raja Jai Singh, brother of Raja
Man, succeeds—Repairs the disgraces of his two
predecessors, and renders immense services to the
empire—Is poisoned by his son—Ram Singh—Bishan Singh 1327

CHAPTER 2

Sawai Jai Singh succeeds—Joins the party of Azam Shah—Amber
sequestrated—Jai Singh expels the imperial garrison—His
character—His astronomical knowledge—His conduct during
the troubles of the empire—Anecdote illustrative of the
evils of polygamy—Limits of the raj of Amber at the
accession of Jai Singh—The new city of Jaipur—Conquest of
Rajor and Deoti—Incidents illustrative of Rajput
character—Jai Singh’s habit of inebriation—The virtues of
his character—Contemplates the rite of
Aswamedha—Dispersion of his valuable manuscripts—His
death—Some of his wives and concubines become Satis on his
pyre 1341

CHAPTER 3

The Rajput league—Aggrandizement of Amber—Isari Singh
succeeds—Intestine troubles produced by polygamy—Madho
Singh—The Jats—Their Rajas—Violation of the Amber
territory by the Jats—Battle—Rise of Macheri—Decline of
the Kachhwaha power after the death of Madho Singh—Prithi
Singh—Partap Singh—Intrigues at his court—The stratagems
of Khushhaliram, and the Macheri chief—Death of Firoz the
Filban, paramour of the Patrani—Broils with the
Mahrattas—Partap attains majority, and gains the victory
of Tonga—His difficulties—Exactions of the Mahrattas—Jagat
Singh—His follies and despicable character—Makes Raskapur,
his concubine, queen of half Amber—Project to depose him
prevented by a timely sacrifice—Mohan Singh elected his
successor 1356

CHAPTER 4

Jaipur the last of the Rajput States to embrace the
proffered alliance of the British—Procrastination habitual
to the Rajputs, as to all Asiatics—Motives and
considerations which influenced the Jaipur court in
declining our alliance—A treaty concluded—Death of Jagat
Singh—Effects of our interference in the intrigues
respecting the succession—Law of primogeniture—The evils
attending an ignorance of Rajput customs—Violation of the
law of succession in the placing of Mohan Singh on the
_gaddi_—Reasons for departing from the rule of
succession—Conduct of the British authorities—The title of
Mohan Singh disputed by the legal heir-presumptive—Dilemma
of the Nazir and his faction—The threatened disorders
prevented by the unexpected pregnancy of one of the queens
of Jagat Singh—Birth of a posthumous son 1366

SHAIKHAWAT FEDERATION

CHAPTER 5

Origin of the Shaikhavati federation—Its
constitution—Descent of the chiefs from Balaji of
Amber—Mokalji—Miraculous birth of his
son—Shaikhji—Aggrandizes his
territory—Raemall—Suja—Raesal—His heroism—Obtains grants
from Akbar—Gets possession of Khandela and Udaipur—His
exploits and character—Girdharji—Is cut off by
assassination—Dwarkadas—His extraordinary feat with a
lion—Falls by Khan Jahan Lodi—Birsinghdeo—His authority
usurped by his son—Bahadur Singh—Aurangzeb directs the
demolition of the temple of Khandela—Bahadur deserts his
capital—Shujawan Singh Raesalot flies to its defence—He is
slain, the temple razed, and the city
garrisoned—Kesari—Partition of the territory between
Kesari and Fateh Singh—Fateh Singh assassinated—Kesari
resists the regal authority—Is deserted in the field and
slain—His son Udai Singh taken to Ajmer—Khandela retaken,
and restored to Udai Singh, who is liberated—He resolves
to punish the Manoharpur chief—Is baffled by that chief’s
intrigues—Is besieged by Jai Singh of Amber—Khandela
becomes tributary to Amber 1378

CHAPTER 6

Bindrabandas adheres to Madho Singh in the civil wars of
Amber—Partition of lands annulled—Self-immolation of the
Brahmans—Consequences to Bindraban, in his contest with
Indar Singh, the other chief of Khandela—Civil
war—Prodigal expiatory sacrifice of Bindraban—He
abdicates—Govind Singh—Is assassinated—Narsinghdas—Rise
and devastations of the Mahrattas—Siege of Khandela—Terms
of redemption—Murder of deputies by the Mahrattas—Indar
Singh perishes in the attempt to avenge them—Partap
Singh—Rise of the Sikar chief—Transactions between Partap
and Narsingh, his co-partner—Partap obtains the whole of
Khandela—Narsingh recovers by stratagem his share of
Khandela—Domestic broils and feuds—General assembly of the
Sadhani and Raesalot chiefs, to counteract the
encroachments of Amber—Treaty between the Shaikhawats and
the court of Amber—Violated by the latter—The confederacy
assault the town of the Haldia faction—Narsingh refuses
tribute to the court, and Khandela is
sequestrated—Narsingh and Partap treacherously made
captive, and conveyed to Jaipur—Khandela annexed to the
fisc 1395

CHAPTER 7

Bagh Singh opposes the faithless court of Amber—He is joined
by the celebrated George Thomas—Desperate action—Bagh
Singh placed in the fortified palace at Khandela—His
garrison, with his brother, slain by Hanwant Singh, son of
Partap—Bagh regains the palace—The lands of Khandela
farmed by Amber to two Brahmans—They are expelled by the
feudatory Barwatias, who resist the court—They become a
banditti—Sangram Singh, cousin to Partap, their leader—He
avoids the treachery of the court—His death—The
confederacy unite in the league against Jodhpur—New treaty
with the Amber court—Liberation of Partap and
Narsingh—Grand union of the Shaikhawats—Abhai Singh
succeeds in Khandela—Treachery of the court—Hanwant
regains Govindgarh, Khandela, etc.—Restoration of
Khushhaliram to the ministry of Jaipur—New investitures
granted to the feudatories of Khandela—Abhai and Partap
inducted into their ancestral abodes—Incident illustrative
of the defects of the Rajput feudal system—Khandela
assailed by Lachhman Singh, chief of Sikar—Gallant defence
of Hanwant—His death—Surrender of Khandela to Lachhman
Singh—The co-heirs exiled—Power and influence of Lachhman
Singh—Foils the designs of the Purohit—Present attitude of
Lachhman Singh—Subordinate branches of the Shaikhawats—The
Sadhanis—Their territories wrested from the Kaimkhanis and
Rajputs—The Khetri branch of the family of Sadhu attains
superiority—Bagh Singh of Khetri murders his own son—The
Larkhanis—Revenues of Shaikhavati 1408

CHAPTER 8

Reflections—Statistics of
Amber—Boundaries—Extent—Population—Number of
townships—Classification of
inhabitants—Soil—Husbandry—Products—Revenues—Foreign
army—The feudal levies 1428

BOOK X

ANNALS OF HARAVATI

BUNDI

CHAPTER 1

Haravati defined—Fabulous origin of the Agnikula races—Mount
Abu—The Chauhans obtain Mahishmati, Golkonda, and the
Konkan—Found Ajmer—Ajaipal—Manika Rae—First Islamite
invasion—Ajmer taken—Sambhar founded; its salt
lake—Offspring of Manik Rae—Establishments in
Rajputana—Contests with the Muhammadans—Bilandeo of Ajmer;
Guga Chauhan of Mahra; both slain by Mahmud—Bisaldeo
Generalissimo of the Rajput nations; his period fixed; his
column at Delhi; his alliances—Origin of the Hara
tribe—Anuraj obtains Asi—Dispossessed—Ishtpal obtains
Asir—Rao Hamir—Rao Chand slain—Asir, Alau-d-din—Prince
Rainsi escapes to Chitor; settles at Bhainsror, in
Mewar—His son Kolan declared lord of the Pathar 1441

CHAPTER 2

Recapitulation of the Hara princes from the founder Anuraj
to Rae Dewa—He erects Bundi—Massacre of the Usaras—Dewa
abdicates—Ceremony of Yugaraj, or abdication—Succeeded by
Samarsi—Extends his sway east of the Chambal—Massacre of
the Kotia Bhils—Origin of Kotah—Napuji succeeds—Feud with
the Solanki of Toda—Assassination of Napuji—Singular
Sati—Hamu succeeds—The Rana asserts his right over the
Patar—Hamu demurs, defies, and attacks
him—Anecdote—Birsingh—Biru—Rao Banda—Famine—Anecdote—Banda
expelled by his brothers; converts to
Muhammadanism—Narayandas puts his uncles to death, and
recovers his patrimony—Anecdotes of Narayandas—Aids the
Rana of Chitor—Gains a victory—Espouses the niece of Rana
Raemall—His passion for opium—Death—Rao Surajmall—Marries
a princess of Chitor—Fatal result—Aheria or
Spring-hunt—Assassination of the Rao—His revenge—Two-fold
sati—Rao Surthan—His cruelty, deposal, and banishment—Rao
Arjun elected—Romantic death—Rao Surjan succeeds 1466

CHAPTER 3

Rao Surjan obtains Ranthambhor—Is besieged by Akbar—The
Bundi prince surrenders the castle—Becomes a vassal of the
empire—Magnanimous sacrifice of Sawant Hara—Akbar bestows
the title of Rao Raja on the Hara prince—He is sent to
reduce Gondwana—His success and honours—Rao Bhoj
succeeds—Akbar reduces Gujarat—Gallant conduct of the
Haras at Surat and Ahmadnagar—Amazonian band—Disgrace of
Rao Bhoj—Cause of Akbar’s death—Rao Ratan—Rebellion
against the emperor Jahangir—The Hara prince defeats the
rebels—Partition of Haraoti—Madho Singh obtains Kotah—Rao
Ratan slain—His heir Gopinath killed—Partition of fiefs in
Haraoti—Rao Chhattarsal succeeds—Appointed governor of
Agra—Services in the Deccan—Escalades
Daulatabad—Kalburga—Damauni—Civil war amongst the sons of
Shah Jahan—Character of Aurangzeb by the Bundi
prince—Fidelity of the Hara princes—Battles of Ujjain and
Dholpur—Heroic valour of Chhattarsal—Is slain, with twelve
princes of Hara blood—Rao Bhao succeeds—Bundi
invaded—Imperialists defeated—Rao Bhao restored to
favour—Appointed to Aurangabad—Succeeded by Rao
Aniruddh—Appointed to Lahore—His death—Rao Budh—Battle of
Jajau—The Hara princes of Kotah and Bundi opposed to each
other—Kotah prince slain—Gallantry of Rao Budh—Obtains the
victory for Bahadur Shah—Fidelity of the Bundi
prince—Compelled to fly—Feud with the prince of Amber—Its
cause—Ambitious views of Amber—Its political
condition—Treachery of Amber—Desperate conflict—Rao Budh
driven from Bundi—Bundi territory curtailed—Rao Budh dies
in exile—His sons 1480

CHAPTER 4

Rao Ummeda defeats the troops of Amber—Conflict at
Dablana—Ummeda defeated and obliged to fly—Death of Hanja,
his steed—Takes refuge amidst the ravines of the
Chambal—Redeems his capital—Is again expelled from
it—Interview with the widow of his father; she solicits
aid from Holkar to reinstate Ummeda—The Amber prince
forced to acknowledge the claims of Ummeda—He recovers
Bundi—Suicide of the Amber prince—First alienation of land
to the Mahrattas—Madho Singh of Amber asserts supremacy
over Haraoti—Origin of tributary demands thereon—Zalim
Singh—Mahratta encroachments—Ummeda’s revenge on the chief
of Indargarh; its cause and consequences—Ummeda
abdicates—Ceremony of Yugaraj, or abdication—Installation
of Ajit—Ummeda becomes a pilgrim; his wanderings; cause of
their interruption—Ajit assassinates the Rana of
Mewar—Memorable Sati imprecation—Awful death of
Ajit—Fulfilment of ancient prophecy—Rao Bishan Singh
succeeds—Ummeda’s distrust of his grandson; their
reconciliation—Ummeda’s death—British army retreats
through Haraoti, aided by Bundi—Alliance with the
English—Benefits conferred on Bundi—Bishan Singh dies of
the cholera morbus; forbids the rite of Sati—His
character; constitutes the Author guardian of his son, the
Rao Raja Ram Singh 1499

KOTAH

CHAPTER 5

Separation of Kotah from Bundi—The Kotah Bhils—Madho Singh,
first prince of Kotah—Its division into fiefs—The
Madhani—Raja Mukund—Instance of devotion—He is slain with
four brothers—Jagat Singh—Pem Singh—Is deposed—Kishor
Singh—Is slain at Arcot—Law of primogeniture set aside—Ram
Singh—Is slain at Jajau—Bhim Singh—Chakarsen, king of the
Bhils—His power is annihilated by Raja Bhim—Umat
tribe—Origin of the claims of Kotah thereon—Raja Bhim
attacks the Nizamu-l-mulk, and is slain—Character of Raja
Bhim—His enmity to Bundi—Anecdote—Title of Maharao
bestowed on Raja Bhim—Rao Arjun—Civil contest for
succession—Shyam Singh slain—Maharao Durjansal—First
irruption of the Mahrattas—League against Kotah, which is
besieged—Defended by Himmat Singh Jhala—Zalim Singh
born—Siege raised—Kotah becomes tributary to the
Mahrattas—Death of Durjansal—His character—His hunting
expeditions—His queens—Bravery of the Jhala chief—Order of
succession restored—Maharao Ajit—Rao Chhattarsal—Madho
Singh of Amber claims supremacy over the Hara princes, and
invades Haraoti—Battle of Bhatwara—Zalim Singh Jhala—The
Haras gain a victory—Flight of the Amber army, and capture
of the ‘five-coloured banner’—Tributary claims on Kotah
renounced—Death of Chhattarsal 1521

CHAPTER 6

Maharao Guman Singh—Zalim Singh—His birth, ancestry, and
progress to power—Office of Faujdar becomes hereditary in
his family—His office and estate resumed by Guman Singh—He
abandons Kotah—Proceeds to Mewar—Performs services to the
Rana, and receives the title of Raj Rana, and
estates—Serves against the Mahrattas—Is wounded and made
prisoner—Returns to Kotah—Mahratta invasion—Storm of
Bakhani—Its glorious defence—Sacrifice of a clan—Garrison
of Sohet destroyed—Zalim Singh employed—His successful
negotiation—Restoration to power—Rao Guman constitutes
Zalim guardian of his son Ummed Singh, who is
proclaimed—The Tika-daur, or ‘raid of accession’—Capture
of Kelwara—Difficulties of the Protector’s situation—Cabal
against his power—Destruction of the conspirators—Exile of
the nobles—Sequestration of estates—Conspiracy of
Aton—Predatory bands—Aton surrenders—Exile of the Hara
nobles—Curtailment of the feudal interests—Conspiracy of
Mohsen—Plan for the destruction of the Regent and
family—Mohsen chief takes sanctuary in the temple—Is
dragged forth and slain—Maharao’s brothers implicated in
the plot—Their incarceration and death—Numerous projects
against the life of the regent—Female conspiracy—How
defeated—The Regent’s precautions 1534

CHAPTER 7

Zalim regarded as a legislator—His political views on
Mewar—Kotah sacrificed thereto—His tyranny—His
superstition—Makes a tour of his dominions—Establishes a
permanent camp—Trains an army—Adopts European arms and
discipline—Revises the revenue system of Haraoti—The Patel
system described—Council of four—Extent of
jurisdiction—The Bohras described—Their utility in the old
farming system of India—Patels usurp their
influence—Depression of the peasantry—Patels circumvented,
imprisoned, and fined—Patel system destroyed—Return to the
old system—Moral estimation of the peasant of
Rajputana—Modes of realizing the land revenue
described—Advantages and disadvantages 1547

CHAPTER 8

Farming system of Zalim Singh—Extent to which it has been
carried—Its prosperity, fallacious and transitory—Details
of the system—Soil of Kotah—The Regent introduces foreign
ploughs—Area cultivated—Net
produce—Value—Grain-pits—Prices, in plenty and
famine—Zalim sells in one year grain to the amount of a
million sterling—Monopoly—The tithe, or new tax on
exported grain—The Jagatya, or tax-gatherer—Impolicy of
this tax—Gross revenue of Kotah—Opium monopoly—Tax on
widows—On the mendicant—Gourd-tax—Broom-tax—The Regent
detested by the bards—Province of Kotah at this period,
and at assumption of the government, contrasted—Question
as to the moral result of his improvements 1559

CHAPTER 9

Political system of the Regent—His foreign policy—His
pre-eminent influence in Rajwara—His first connexion with
the English Government—Monson’s retreat—Gallant conduct
and death of the Hara chief of Koila—Aid given by the
Regent involves him with Holkar—Holkar comes to
Kotah—Preparations to attack the capital—Singular
interview with Zalim—Zalim’s agents at foreign
courts—Alliance with Amir Khan, and the Pindari
chiefs—Characteristic anecdotes—Zalim’s offensive
policy—His domestic policy—Character of Maharao Ummed
Singh—Zalim’s conduct towards him—Choice of
ministers—Bishan Singh Faujdar—Dalil Khan
Pathan—Circumvallation of Kotah—Foundation of the city
Jhalrapatan—Mihrab Khan, commander of the forces 1569

CHAPTER 10

The Rajput States invited to an alliance with the British
Government—Zalim Singh the first to accept it—Marquess of
Hastings sends an agent to his court—Confederation against
the Pindaris—The Regent’s conduct during the
war—Approbation and reward of his services—Peace
throughout India—Death of Maharao Ummed Singh—Treaty and
supplemental articles—Sons of Maharao Ummed Singh—Their
characters—Sons of the Regent—State of parties—The Regent
leaves the Chhaoni for Kotah—He proclaims Kishor Singh as
successor of the late prince—His letter to the British
agent, who repairs to Kotah—Dangerous illness of the
Regent—Plots to overturn the order of succession—The
Regent’s ignorance thereof—Intricate position of the
British Government—Arguments in defence of the
supplemental articles—Recognition of all rulers _de facto_
the basis of our treaties—Kishor Singh refuses to
acknowledge the supplemental articles—Consequences—The
Regent blockades the Prince, and demands the surrender of
his son Gordhandas—The Maharao breaks through the
blockade—The British agent interposes—Surrender and exile
of Gordhandas—Reconciliation of the Maharao and the
Regent—Coronation of the Maharao—Mutual covenants
executed—The Regent prohibits _dand_ throughout
Kotah—Reflections 1577

CHAPTER 11

Banishment of Gordhandas, the natural son of the Regent—His
reappearance in Malwa—Consequent renewal of dissensions at
Kotah—The troops mutiny and join the Maharao—The Regent
assaults the castle—Flight of the Maharao and
party—Reception at Bundi—The Maharao’s second brother
joins the Regent—Gordhandas’ attempt to join the Maharao
frustrated—The Maharao leaves Bundi—General sympathy for
him—He arrives at Brindaban—Intrigues of Gordhandas and
superior native officers of the British Government, who
deceive the Maharao—Returns to Kotah at the head of a
force—Summons the Haras to his standard—His
demands—Supplemental article of the treaty
considered—Embarrassing conduct of the Regent—The Maharao
refuses all mediation—His ultimatum—British troops
march—Junction with the Regent—Attack the Maharao—His
defeat and flight—Death of his brother Pirthi
Singh—Singular combat—Amnesty proclaimed—The Hara chiefs
return to their families—The Maharao retires to the temple
of Krishna in Mewar—Negotiation for his
return—Satisfactory termination—Reflections on these civil
wars—Character and death of Zalim Singh 1595

BOOK XI

PERSONAL NARRATIVE: UDAIPUR TO KHERODA

CHAPTER 1

Departure from the valley of Udaipur—Lake of Kheroda—Ancient
temple of Mandeswar—Bhartewar—Its Jain
temples—Kheroda—Connected with the history of the feuds of
Mewar—Exploits of Sangram Singh—He obtains Kheroda—Curious
predicament of Jai Singh, the adopted heir of
Sangram—Calmness with which political negotiations are
managed in the East—The agricultural economy of
Kheroda—Precarious nature of sugar-cultivation—Hinta—Large
proportion of land alienated as religious grants—Hinta and
Dundia established on church-lands—Mandhata
Raja—Traditions of him—Performed the Aswamedha—His grant
of Mainar to the Rishis—Grant inscribed on a
pillar—Exploit of Raj Singh against the Mahrattas—Morwan,
boundary of the Mewar territory—Reflections on that
State—The Author’s policy during his official residence
there 1621

CHAPTER 2

The chief of Hinta—Difficulty of arranging the separation of
Hinta from the fisc—Anomalous character of its present
chief, Man Singh Saktawat—His history—Lalji Rawat of
Nethara—Origin of the Dudia family—Adventure of Sangram
Singh, the Rana of Mewar—His son, Chandrabhan, and Rana
Raj—Extraordinary manner in which he acquired Lawa—Decline
of the family—Form of deed of conveyance of lands from the
lord paramount—Address of Man Singh—Atrocious murder of a
Rathor boy—Its singular sequel 1635

CHAPTER 3

Morwan—The solitude of this fine district—Caused by the
Mahrattas and their mercenaries—Impolicy of our conduct
towards the Mahrattas—Antiquities of Morwan—Tradition of
the foundation and destruction of the ancient
city—Inscriptions—Jain temple—Game—Attack by a
tiger—Sudden change of the weather—Destructive
frost—Legend of a temple of Mama-devi—Important
inscription—Distress of the peasantry—Gratitude of the
people to the author—Nikumbh—Oppression of the
peasants—Marla—Inhabited by Charans—Reception of the
Author—Curious privilege of the Charanis—Its
origin—Traditional account of the settlement of this
colony in Mewar—Imprecation of Satis—The _tandas_, or
caravans—Their immunity from plunder and
extortion—Nimbahera—Ranikhera—Indignity committed by a
scavenger of Laisrawan—Sentence upon the culprit—Tablet to
a Silpi—Reception at Nimbahera 1646

CHAPTER 4

The Patar or Table-land of Central India—View from
thence—Project of a canal—Its advantages to Mewar—Utility
of further works to the people—Traces of superstition in
the Pathar—Temple of Sukhdeo—The Daitya-ka-har, or
'Giant’s bone'—The Vira-jhamp, or ‘Warrior’s
Leap’—Proprietorship of the Patar—Its products—The
poppy—Pernicious effects of its increased
cultivation—Account of the introduction and mode of
culture of opium—Original spot of its cultivation—The
manufacture of opium kept pace with the depopulation of
Mewar—Process of cultivation, and of manufacture—Its
fluctuation of price—Adulterated opium of Kanthal—Evil
consequences of the use of opium—Duty of the paramount
power to restrict the culture—Practicability of such a
measure—Distribution of crops—Impolicy of our Government
in respect to the opium monopoly 1660

CHAPTER 5

Dhareswar—Ratangarh Kheri—Colony of Charans—Little
Atoa—Inscription at Paragarh—Dungar Singh—Sheo Singh—Law
of adoption—Kala Megh—Ummedpura and its
chief—Singoli—Temple of Bhavani—Tablet of Rana
Mokal—Traditionary tales of the Haras—Alu Hara of
Bumbaoda—Dangarmau—Singular effects produced by the sun on
the atmosphere of the Patar 1672

CHAPTER 6

Bhainsrorgarh—Cairn of a Rajput—Raghunath Singh of
Bhainsror—Castle of Bhainsror—Passage forced by the
Chambal through the Plateau—Origin and etymology of
Bhainsror—Charans, the carriers of Rajwara—The young chief
of Mewa becomes the champion of Mewar—Avenges the Rana’s
feud with Jaisalmer, and obtains Bhainsror—Tragical death
of his Thakurani, niece of the Rana—He is banished—The
Pramar chiefs of Bhainsror—Cause of their expulsion—Lal
Singh Chondawat obtains Bhainsror—Assassinates his friend
the Rana’s uncle—Man Singh, his son, succeeds—Is taken
prisoner—Singular escape—Reflections on the policy of the
British Government towards these people—Antiquities and
inscriptions at Bhainsror—Dabhi—View from the pass at
Nasera—Rajput cairns—Tomb of a bard—Sentiments of the
people on the effects of our interference—Their
gratitude—Cairn of a Bhatti chief—Karipur—Depopulated
state of the country—Inscriptions at Sontra—Bhil
temple—Ruins—The Holi festival—Kotah, its appearance 1687

CHAPTER 7

Unhealthiness of the season at Kotah—Eventful character of
the period of the Author’s residence there—The
cuckoo—Description of the encampment—Cenotaphs of the
Haras—Severe tax upon the curiosity of travellers in
Kotah—General insalubrity of Kotah—Wells
infected—Productive of fever—Taking leave of the Maharao
and Regent—The Regent’s sorrow—Cross the Chambal—Restive
elephant—Kanari—Regent’s patrimonial estate—Nanta—Author’s
reception by Madho Singh—Rajput music—The Panjabi
_tappa_—Scene of the early recreations of Zalim
Singh—Talera—Nawagaon—Approach of the Raja of
Bundi—Splendour of the _cortège_—Bundi—The castellated
palace, or Bundi ka mahall—Visit to the Raja—Illness of
our party—Quit Bundi—Cenotaphs in the village of Satur—The
tutelary deity, Asapurna—Temple of Bhavani—Banks of the
Mej—Thana—Inscriptions—Jahazpur—Respectable suite of the
Basai chief 1704

CHAPTER 8

Extraordinary attack of illness in the Author—Suspicion of
poison—Journey to Mandalgarh—The Karar—Tranquil state of
the country—The Minas subsiding into peaceful
subjects—Scenery in the route—Sasan, or ecclesiastical
lands—Castle of Amargarh—Kachaura—Its ancient
importance—Our true policy with regard to the feudatories
in these parts—Damnia—Manpura—Signs of reviving
prosperity—Arrival at Mandalgarh—The Dasahra—Sickness of
the party left behind—Assembly of the Bhumias and
Patels—Description of Mandalgarh—Rebuilt by one of the
Takshak race—Legend of Mandalgarh—Genealogical tablet of
stone—Pedigrees of the tribes—Mandalgarh granted to the
Rathors by Aurangzeb—Recovered by the Rana—Taxes
imposed—Lavish grants—Baghit—The Author rejoins his
party—Birslabas—Akola—Desolation of the
country—Inscriptions—Hamirgarh—Siyana—Superb
landscape—Mirage—Testimony of gratitude from the elders of
Pur—Thriving state of Marauli—Rasmi—Antiquities—Curious
law—Jasma—Waste country—Inscriptions—Copper
mines—Sanwar—Tribeni, or point of junction of three
rivers—Temple of Parsvanath—Deserted state of the
country—Karera—Maoli—Barren country—Hunting seat of
Nahra-Magra—Heights of Tus and Merta—End of second journey 1716

CHAPTER 9

The Author obliged to take a journey to Bundi—Cause of the
journey—Sudden death of the Rao Raja, who left his son to
the Author’s care—The cholera morbus, or _mari_—Its
ravages—Curious expedient to exclude it from Kotah and
Bundi—Bad weather—Death of the Author’s
elephant—Pahona—Bhilwara—Gratifying reception of the
Author—State of the town contrasted with its former
condition—Projects for its further improvement—Reflections
on its rise—Jahazpur—Difficulties of the road—Arrival at
Bundi—The aspect of the court—Interview with the young Rao
Raja—Attentions paid to the Author 1732

CHAPTER 10

Ceremony of Rajtilak, or inauguration—Personal qualities of
the Rao Raja and his brothers—The installation—The tilak
first made by the Author, as representative of the British
Government—Ceremonies—Message from the
queen-mother—Balwant Rao, of Gotra—The Bohra, or chief
minister—Power and disposition of these two
officers—Arrangements made by the Author—Interview and
conversation with the Rani—Literary and historical
researches of the Author—Revenues of Bundi—Its
prospects—Departure for Kotah—Condition of the junior
branches of the Haras—Rauta—Grand hunts in Haraoti 1740

CHAPTER 11

Pass of Mukunddarra—View from the summit of the pass into
Pachel—Marks set up by the Banjaras—Monastery of Atits, or
Jogis—Their savage aspect—The author elected a _chela_—The
head of the establishment—His legend of the origin of the
epithet Sesodia—The grand temple of Barolli—Conjecture as
to its founder—Barolli 1750

CHAPTER 12

The Chulis, or whirlpools of the Chambal—Grandeur of the
scene—Description of the falls and rocks of the Chambal in
this part—The remarkable narrowness of its bed—The
_roris_, or stones found in the whirlpools—Visit to
Gangabheva—Its magnificent temple and shrines—The details
of their architecture—The main temple more modern than the
shrines around it—Dilapidation of these fine specimens of
art—Effects of vegetation—The gigantic
_amarvela_—Naoli—Takaji-ka-kund, or fountain of the
snake-king—Fragments of sculpture—Mausoleum of Jaswant Rao
Holkar—Holkar’s horse—His elephant—Bhanpura—Tranquillity
and prosperity of these parts—Garot—Traces of King Satal
Patal, of the era of the Pandus—Agates and cornelians—The
caves of Dhumnar—Description of the caves and
temples—Explanation of the figures—Jain symbols on one
side of the caves, Brahman on the other—Statues of the
Jain pontiffs—Bhim’s bazar 1764

CHAPTER 13

Route over the ground of Monson’s retreat—Battle of
Pipli—Heroism of Amar Singh Hara, chief of Koila—Conduct
of General Monson—Pachpahar—Kanwara—Thriving aspect of the
country—Jhalrapatan—Temples—Commercial immunities of the
city—Judicious measures of the Regent in establishing this
mart—Public visit of the community of Patan—The ancient
city—Legends of its foundation—Profusion of ancient
ruins—Fine sculpture and architecture of the
temples—Inscriptions—Cross the natural boundary of Haraoti
and Malwa—The Chhaoni of the Kotah Regent—Chhaoni of the
Pindaris—Gagraun—Narayanpur—Mukunddarra
Pass—Inscriptions—Anecdotes of the 'Lords of the Pass'—The
Chaori of Bhim—Ruins—Ordinances of the Hara princes—Return
to Kotah—Field sports—Author attacked by a bear—Ruins of
Ekelgarh 1777

CHAPTER 14

Visit to Menal—Definition of the servile condition termed
_basai_—Bijolia—Inscriptions—Ancient history of
Bijolli—Evidence that the Chauhans wrested the throne of
Delhi from the Tuars—Jain temples—Inscriptions—Saiva
temples—Prodigious extent of ruins—The Bijolli chief—His
daughter a Sati—Menal, or Mahanal—Its picturesque
site—Records of Prithiraj, the
Chauhan—Inscriptions—Synchronism in an enigmatical
date—March to Begun—Bumbaoda, the castle of Alu
Hara—Legends of that chief—Imprecation of the virgin
Sati—Recollections of the Haras still associated with
their ancient traditions—Quit Bumbaoda and arrive at Begun 1796

CHAPTER 15

Begun—Serious accident to the Author—Affecting testimony of
the gratitude of the Rawat—Expulsion of the Mahrattas from
Begun—The estates of the Rawat
sequestrated—Restored—Basai—Chitor—‘Akbar’s
Lamp’—Reflections upon the Ruins of Chitor—Description of
the city, from the Khuman Raesa, and from observation—Tour
of the city—Origin of the Bagrawat class—Inscriptions—Aged
Fakir—Return to Udaipur—Conclusion 1810

APPENDIX 1828

INDEX 1837

ILLUSTRATIONS

Colonel Tod and his Jain Guru _Frontispiece_

TO FACE PAGE

Raghubīr Singh, Māhārāo Rāja of Būndi 1441

City of Kotah from the East 1521

Country Seat of the Kotah Prince 1530

Palace and Fortress of Būndi 1710

Fragment from the Ruins of Barolli 1752

Outline of a Temple to Mahadeva at Barolli 1754

Sculptured Niche on the Exterior of the Temple at 1756
Barolli

Ceiling of the Portico of Temple at Barolli 1758

Remains of an Ancient Temple at Barolli, near the 1760
Chambal

Temples of Ganga Bheva in the Forest of Pachail in 1766
Mewar

Smaller Group of Temples of Ganga Bheva 1768

Image of the Snake King at the Fountain of the Amjar 1770

Cave Temples of Dhamnar 1776

Entrance to the Sanctuary of a Temple at Chandravati 1784

Sculptured Foliage in Chandravati Temple 1786

Sculptured Ceilings of Temple at Chandravati 1788

Columns of Chandravati Temples 1790

Entrance to the Sanctuary of a Temple at Chandravati 1792

Ruins of Bhīm’s Chaori in the Mukunddara Pass 1794

Ancient Columns in the Mukunddara Pass 1796

Temples of Menāl in Mewār 1800

Second Group of Temples of Menāl in Mewār 1802

Jaistambha, Pillar of Victory 1820

Columns in the Fortress of Chitor 1822

ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES
OF RAJASTHAN

BOOK VIII
SKETCH OF THE INDIAN DESERT

CHAPTER 1

Having never penetrated personally farther into the heart of the desert
than Mandor, the ancient capital of all Marusthali, the old castle of
Hissar on its north-eastern frontier, and Abu, Nahrwala, and Bhuj, to
the south, it may be necessary, before entering upon the details, to
deprecate the charge of presumption or incompetency, by requesting the
reader to bear in mind that my parties of discovery have traversed it in
every direction, adding to their journals of routes living testimonies
of their accuracy, and bringing to me natives of every _thal_ from
Bhatner to Umarkot, and from Abu to Aror.[8.1.1] I wish it, however, to
be clearly understood, that I look upon this as a mere outline, which,
by showing what might be done, may stimulate further research; but in
the existing dearth of information on the subject I have not hesitated
to send it forth, with its almost inevitable errors, as (I trust) a
pioneer to more extended and accurate knowledge.

After premising thus much, let us commence with details, which, but for
the reasons already stated, should have been comprised in the
geographical portion of the work, and which, though irrelevant to the
historical part, are too important to be [290] thrown into notes. I may
add, that the conclusions formed, partly from personal observation, but
chiefly from the resources described above, have been confirmed by the
picture drawn by Mr. Elphinstone of his passage through the northern
desert in the embassy to Kabul, which renders perfectly satisfactory to
me the views I before entertained. It may be well, at this stage, to
mention that some slight repetitions must occur as we proceed, having
incidentally noticed many of the characteristic features of the desert
in the Annals of Bikaner, which was unavoidable from the position of
that State.

=Description of the Desert.=—The hand of Nature has defined, in the
boldest characters, the limits of the great desert of India, and we only
require to follow minutely the line of demarcation; though, in order to
be distinctly understood, we must repeat the analysis of the term
Marusthali, the emphatic appellation of this ‘region of death.’ The word
is compounded of the Sanskrit _mri_, ‘to die,’ and _sthala_, ‘arid or
dry land,’ which last, in the corrupted dialect of those countries,
becomes _thal_, the converse of the Greek _oasis_, denoting tracts
particularly sterile. Each _thal_ has its distinct denomination, as the
‘_thal_ of Kawa,’ the ‘_thal_ of Guga,’ etc.; and the cultivated spots,
compared with these, either as to number or magnitude, are so scanty,
that instead of the ancient Roman simile, which likened Africa to the
leopard’s hide, reckoning the spots thereon as the oases, I would
compare the Indian desert to that of the tiger, of which the long dark
stripes would indicate the expansive belts of sand, elevated upon a
plain only less sandy, and over whose surface numerous thinly-peopled
towns and hamlets are scattered.

=Boundaries of the Desert.=—Marusthali is bounded on the north by the
flat skirting the Ghara; on the south by that grand salt-marsh, the Ran,
and Koliwara; on the east by the Aravalli; and on the west by the valley
of Sind. The two last boundaries are the most conspicuous, especially
the Aravalli, but for which impediment Central India would be submerged
in sand; nay, lofty and continuous as is this chain, extending almost
from the sea to Delhi, wherever there are passages or depressions, these
floating sand-clouds are wafted through or over, and form a little
_thal_ even in the bosom of fertility. Whoever has crossed the Banas
near Tonk, where the sand for some miles resembles waves of the sea,
will comprehend this remark. Its western boundary is alike defined, and
will recall to the English traveller, who may be destined to journey up
the valley of Sind, the words of Napoleon on the Libyan desert: “Nothing
so much resembles the sea as the desert; or a coast, as the valley of
the Nile”: for this substitute ‘Indus’ [291], whence in journeying
northward along its banks from Haidarabad to Uchh, the range of vision
will be bounded to the east by a bulwark of sand, which, rising often to
the height of two hundred feet above the level of the river, leads one
to imagine that the chasm, now forming this rich valley, must have
originated in a sudden melting of all the glaciers of Caucasus, whose
congregated waters made this break in the continuity of Marusthali,
which would otherwise be united with the deserts of Arachosia.

We may here repeat the tradition illustrating the geography of the
desert, _i.e._ that in remote ages it was ruled by princes of the Panwar
(Pramara) race, which the _sloka_, or verse of the bard, recording the
names of the nine fortresses (Nau-koti Maru-ki), so admirably adapted by
their position to maintain these regions in subjection, further
corroborates. We shall divest it of its metrical form, and begin with
Pugal, to the north; Mandor, in the centre of all Maru; Abu, Kheralu,
and Parkar, to the south; Chhotan, Umarkot, Aror, and Lodorva, to the
west; the possession of which assuredly marks the sovereignty of the
desert. The antiquity of this legend is supported by the omission of all
modern cities, the present capital of the Bhattis not being mentioned.
Even Lodorva and Aror, cities for ages in ruins, are names known only to
a few who frequent the desert; and Chhotan and Kheralu, but for the
traditional stanzas which excited our research, might never have
appeared on the map.

=Natural Divisions of the Desert.=—We purpose to follow the natural
divisions of the country, or those employed by the natives, who, as
stated above, distinguish them as _thals_; and after describing these in
detail, with a summary notice of the principal towns whether ruined or
existing, and the various tribes, conclude with the chief lines of route
diverging from, or leading to, Jaisalmer.

The whole of Bikaner, and that part of Shaikhavati north of the
Aravalli, are comprehended in the desert. If the reader will refer to
the map, and look for the town of Kanod,[8.1.2] within the British
frontier, he will see what Mr. Elphinstone considered as the
commencement of the desert, in his interesting expedition to
Kabul.[8.1.3] “From Delly to Canound (the Kanorh of my map), a distance
of one hundred miles is through the British dominions, and need not be
described. It is sufficient to say that the country is sandy, though not
ill cultivated. On approaching Canound, we had the first specimen of the
desert, to which we were looking forward with anxious curiosity. Three
miles before reaching that place we came to sand-hills, which at first
were [292] covered with bushes, but afterwards were naked piles of loose
sand, rising one after another like the waves of the sea, and marked on
the surface by the wind like drifted snow. There were roads through
them, made solid by the treading of animals; but off the road our horses
sunk into the sand above the knee.” Such was the opening scene; the
route of the embassy was by Singhana, Jhunjhunu, to Chum, when they
entered Bikaner. Of Shaikhavati, which he had just left, Mr. Elphinstone
says: “It seems to lose its title to be included in the desert, when
compared with the two hundred and eighty miles between its western
frontier and Bahawulpoor, and, even of this, only the last hundred miles
is absolutely destitute of inhabitants, water, or vegetation. Our
journey from Shekhavati to Poogul was over hills and valleys of loose
and heavy sand. The hills were exactly like those which are sometimes
formed by the wind on the seashore, but far exceeding them in height,
which was from twenty to a hundred feet. They are said to shift their
position and alter their shapes according as they are affected by the
wind; and in summer the passage is rendered dangerous by the clouds of
moving sand; but when I saw the hills (in winter), they seemed to have a
great degree of permanence, for they bore grass, besides _phoke_, the
_babool_, and _bair_ or jujube, which altogether give them an appearance
that sometimes amounted to verdure. Amongst the most dismal hills of
sand one occasionally meets with a village, if such a name can be given
to a few round huts of straw, with low walls and conical roofs, like
little stacks of corn.” This description of the northern portion of the
desert, by an author whose great characteristics are accuracy and
simplicity, will enable the reader to form a more correct notion of what
follows.[8.1.4]

With these remarks, and bearing in mind what has already been said of
the physiography of these regions, we proceed to particularize the
various _thals_ and _oases_ in this ‘region of death.’ It will be
convenient to disregard the ancient Hindu geographical division, which
makes Mandor the capital of Marusthali, a distinction both from its
character and position better suited to Jaisalmer, being nearly in the
centre of what may be termed entire desert. It is in fact an oasis,
everywhere insulated by immense masses of _thal_, some of which are
forty miles in breadth, without the trace of man, or aught that could
subsist him. From Jaisalmer we shall pass to Marwar, and without
crossing the Luni, describe Jalor and Siwanchi; then conduct the [293]
reader into the almost unknown Raj of Parkar and Virawah,[8.1.5]
governed by princes of the Chauhan race, with the title of Rana. Thence,
skirting the political limits of modern Rajputana, to the regions of
Dhat and Umra-sumra, now within the dominion of Sind, we shall conclude
with a very slight sketch of Daudputra, and the valley of the Indus.
These details will receive further illustration from the remarks made on
every town or hamlet diverging from the ‘hill of Jaisal’ (Jaisalmer).
Could the beholder, looking westward from this ‘triple-peaked
hill,’[8.1.6] across this sandy ocean to the blue waters (Nilab)[8.1.7]
of the Indus, embrace in his vision its whole course from Haidarabad to
Uchh, he would perceive, amidst these valleys of sand-hills, little
colonies of animated beings, congregated on every spot which water
renders habitable. Throughout this tract, from four hundred to five
hundred miles in longitudinal extent, and from one hundred to two
hundred of diagonal breadth, are little hamlets, consisting of the
scattered huts of the shepherds of the desert, occupied in pasturing
their flocks or cultivating these little oases for food. He may discern
a long line of camels (called _kitar_, a name better known than either
kafila or karwan), anxiously toiling through the often doubtful path,
and the Charan conductor, at each stage, tying a knot on the end of his
turban. He may discover, lying in ambush, a band of Sahariyas, the
Bedouins of our desert (_sahra_),[8.1.8] either mounted on camels or
horses, on the watch to despoil the caravan, or engaged in the less
hazardous occupation of driving off the flocks of the Rajar or Mangalia
shepherds, peacefully tending them about the _tars_ or _bawas_, or
hunting for the produce stored amidst the huts of the ever-green
_jhal_,[8.1.9] which serve at once as grain-pits and shelter from the
sun. A migratory band may be seen flitting with their flocks from ground
which they have exhausted, in search of fresh pastures:

And if the following day they chance to find
A new repast, or an untasted spring,
Will bless their stars, and think it luxury!

Or they may be seen preparing the _rabri_, a mess quite analogous to the
_kouskous_ of their Numidian brethren, or quenching their thirst from
the _Wah_ of their little oasis, of which they maintain sovereign
possession so long as the pasture lasts, or till they come in conflict
with some more powerful community.

=Oasis.=—We may here pause to consider whether in the _bah_, _bawa_, or
_wah_, of the Indian desert, may not be found the _oasis_ of the Greeks,
corrupted by them from _el-wah_, or, as written by Belzoni (in his
account of the Libyan desert, while searching for the [294] temple of
Ammon), _Elloah_. Of the numerous terms used to designate water in these
arid regions, as _par_, _rar_, _tar_, _dah_ or _daha_, _bah_, _bawa_,
_wah_, all but the latter are chiefly applicable to springs or pools of
water, while the last (_wah_), though used often in a like sense,
applies more to a water-course or stream. _El-wah_, under whatever term,
means—‘_the water_.’ Again, _daha_ or _dah_ is a term in general use for
a pool, even not unfrequently in running streams and large rivers,
which, ceasing to flow in dry weather, leave large stagnant masses,
always called _dah_. There are many of the streams of Rajputana, having
such pools, particularized as _hathi-dah_, or ‘elephant-pool,’ denoting
a sufficiency of water even to drown that animal. Now the word _dah_ or
_daha_, added to the generic term for water, _wah_, would make _wadi_
(pool of water), the Arabian term for a running stream, and commonly
used by recent travellers in Africa for these habitable spots. If the
Greeks took the word _wadi_ from any MS., the transposition would be
easily accounted for: _wadi_ would be written thus وازي, and by the
addition of a point وازي, _wazi_, easily metamorphosed, for a euphonous
termination, into _oasis_.[8.1.10]

At the risk of somewhat of repetition, we must here point out the few
grand features which diversify this sea of sand, and after defining the
difference between _rui_ and _thal_, which will frequently occur in the
itinerary, at once plunge _in medias res_.

=The Lost River of the Desert.=—We have elsewhere mentioned the
tradition of the absorption of the Ghaggar river, as one of the causes
of the comparative depopulation of the northern desert. The couplet
recording it I could not recall at the time, nor any record of the Sodha
prince Hamir, in whose reign this phenomenon is said to have happened.
But the utility of these ancient traditional couplets, to which I have
frequently drawn the reader’s attention, has again been happily
illustrated, for the name of Hamir has been incidentally discovered from
the trivial circumstance of an intermarriage related in the Bhatti
annals. His contemporary of Jaisalmer was Dusaj, who succeeded in S.
1100 or [295] A.D. 1044, so that we have a precise date assigned,
supposing this to be _the_ Hamir in question. The Ghaggar, which rises
in the Siwalik, passes Hansi Hissar, and flowed under the walls of
Bhatner, at which place they yet have their wells in its bed. Thence it
passed Rangmahall, Balar, and Phulra, and through the flats of Khadal
(of which Derawar is the capital), emptying itself according to some
below Uchh, but according to Abu-Barakat (whom I sent to explore in
1809, and who crossed the dry bed of a stream called the Khaggar, near
Shahgarh), between Jaisalmer and Rori-Bakhar. If this could be
authenticated, we should say at once that, united with the branch from
Dara, it gave its name to the Sangra, which unites with the Luni,
enlarging the eastern branch of the Delta of the Indus.[8.1.11]

=The Lūni River.=—The next, and perhaps most remarkable feature in the
desert, is the Luni, or Salt River, which, with its numerous feeders,
has its source in the springs of the Aravalli. Of Marwar it is a barrier
between the fertile lands and the desert; and as it leaves this country
for the _thal_ of the Chauhans, it divides that community, and forms a
geographical demarcation; the eastern portion being called the Raj of
Suigam; and the western part, Parkar, or beyond the Khar, or
Luni.[8.1.12]

=The Rann of Cutch.=—We shall hereafter return to the country of the
Chauhans, which is bounded to the south by that singular feature in the
physiognomy of the desert, the Rann, or Ran, already slightly touched
upon in the geographical sketch prefixed to this work. This immense
salt-marsh, upwards of one hundred and fifty miles in breadth, is formed
chiefly by the Luni, which, like the Rhone, after forming Lake Leman,
resumes its name at its further outlet, and ends as it commences with a
sacred character, having the temple of Narayan[8.1.13] at its
embouchure, where it mingles with the ocean, and that of Brahma at its
source of Pushkar. The Rann, or Ran, is a corruption of Aranya, or ‘the
waste’;[8.1.14] nor can anything in nature be more dreary in the dry
weather than this parched desert of salt and mud, the peculiar abode of
the _khar-gadha_, or wild-ass, whose love of solitude has been
commemorated by an immortal pen.[8.1.15] That this enormous depository
of salt is of no recent formation we are informed by the Greek writers,
whose notice it did not escape, and who have preserved in Erinos a
nearer approximation to the original Aranya than exists in our Ran or
Rann. Although mainly indebted to the Luni for its salt, whose bed and
that of its feeders are covered with saline deposits, it is also
supplied by the overflowings of the Indus, to which grand stream it may
be indebted for its volume of water. We have here another strong point
of physical resemblance between the valleys of the Indus and the Nile,
which Napoleon [296] at once referred to the simple operations of
nature; I allude to the origin of Lake Moeris, a design too vast for
man.[8.1.16]

=Thal, Rūi.=—As the reader will often meet with the words _thal_ and
_rui_, he should be acquainted with the distinction between them. The
first means an arid and bare desert; the other is equally expressive of
desert, but implies the presence of natural vegetation; in fact, the
jungle of the desert.

=Thal of the Luni.=—This embraces the tracts on both sides of the river,
forming Jalor and its dependencies. Although the region south of the
stream cannot be included in the _thal_, yet it is so intimately
connected with it, that we shall not forego the only opportunity we may
have of noticing it.

=Jālor.=—This tract is one of the most important divisions of Marwar. It
is separated from Siwanchi by the Sukri and Khari,[8.1.17] which, with
many smaller streams, flow through them from the Aravalli and Abu,
aiding to fertilize its three hundred and sixty towns and villages,
forming a part of the fiscal domains of Marwar. Jalor, according to the
geographical stanza so often quoted, was one of the ‘nine castles of
Maru,’ when the Pramar held paramount rule in Marusthali. When it was
wrested from them we have no clue to discover;[8.1.18] but it had long
been held by the Chauhans, whose celebrated defence of their capital
against Alau-d-din, in A.D. 1301, is recorded by Ferishta, as well as in
the chronicles of their bards. This branch of the Chauhan race was
called Mallani, and will be again noticed, both here and in the annals
of Haraoti. It formed that portion of the Chauhan sovereignty called the
Hapa Raj, whose capital was Juna-Chhotan, connecting the sway of this
race in the countries along the Luni from Ajmer to Parkar, which would
appear to have crushed its Agnikula brother, the Pramar, and possessed
all that region marked by the course of the ‘Salt River’ to Parkar.

Sonagir, the ‘golden mount,’ is the more ancient name of this castle,
and was adopted by the Chauhans as distinctive of their tribe, when the
older term, Mallani, was dropped for Sonigira. Here they enshrined their
tutelary divinity, Mallinath, ‘god of the Malli,’ who maintained his
position until the sons of Siahji entered these regions, when the name
of Sonagir was exchanged for that of Jalor, contracted from
Jalandharnath, whose shrine is about a coss west of the castle. Whether
Jalandharnath [297], the ‘divinity of Jalandhar,’ was imported from the
Ganges, or left as well as the god of the Malli by the _ci-devant_
Mallanis, is uncertain: but should this prove to be a remnant of the
foes of Alexander, driven by him from Multan,[8.1.19] its probability is
increased by the caves of Jalandhar (so celebrated as a Hindu pilgrimage
even in Babur’s time) being in their vicinity. Be this as it may, the
Rathors, like the Roman conquerors, have added these indigenous
divinities to their own pantheon. The descendants of the expatriated
Sonigiras now occupy the lands of Chitalwana, near the _furca_ of the
Luni.

Jalor comprehends the inferior districts of Siwanchi, Bhinmal, Sanchor,
Morsin, all attached to the _khalisa_ or fisc; besides the great
_pattayats_, or chieftainships, of Bhadrajan, Mewa, Jasola, and
Sindari—a tract of ninety miles in length, and nearly the same in
breadth, with fair soil, water near the surface, and requiring only good
government to make it as productive as any of its magnitude in these
regions, and sufficient to defray the whole personal expenses of the
Rajas of Jodhpur, or about nine lakhs of rupees; but in consequence of
the anarchy of the capital, the corruption of the managers, and the
raids of the Sahariyas of the desert and the Minas of Abu and the
Aravalli, it is deplorably deteriorated. There are several ridges (on
one of which is the castle) traversing the district, but none uniting
with the table-land of Mewar, though with breaks it may be traced to
near Abu. In one point it shows its affinity to the desert, _i.e._ in
its vegetable productions, for it has no other timber than the _jhal_,
the _babul_, the _karil_, and other shrubs of the _thal_.

The important fortress of Jalor, guarding the southern frontier of
Marwar, stands on the extremity of the range extending north to Siwana.
It is from three to four hundred feet in height, fortified with a wall
and bastions, on some of which cannon are mounted. It has four gates;
that from the town is called the Suraj-pol, and to the north-west is the
Bal-pol (‘the gate of Bal,’ the sun-god), where there is a shrine of the
Jain pontiff, Parsvanath. There are many wells, and two considerable
_baoris_, or reservoirs of good water, and to the north a small lake
formed by damming up the streams from the hills; but the water seldom
lasts above half the year. The town [298], which contains three thousand
and seventeen houses, extends on the north and eastern side of the fort,
having the Sukri flowing about a mile east of it. It has a
circumvallation as well as the castle, having guns for its defence; and
is inhabited by every variety of tribe, though, strange to say, there
are only five families of Rajputs in its motley population. The
following census was made by one of my parties, in A.D. 1813:

Houses.
Malis, or gardeners 140
Telis, or oilmen, here called 100
_Ghanchi_
Kumhars, or potters 60
Thatheras, or braziers 30
Chhipis, or printers 20
Bankers, merchants, and shopkeepers 1156
Musalman families 936
Khatiks, or butchers 20
Nais, or barbers 16
Kalals, or spirit-distillers 20
Weavers 100
Silk weavers 15
Yatis (Jain priests) 2
Brahmans 100
Gujars 40
Rajputs 5
Bhojaks[8.1.20] 20
Minas 60
Bhils 15
Sweetmeat shops 8
Ironsmiths and carpenters (_Lohars_ 14
and _Sutars_)
Churiwalas, or bracelet-manufacturers 4

The general accuracy of this census was confirmed.

=Sīwāna.=—Siwanchi is the tract between the Luni and Sukri, of which
Siwana, a strong castle placed on the extremity of the same range with
Jalor, is the capital. The country requires no particular description,
being of the same nature as that just depicted. In former times it
constituted, together with Nagor, the appanage of the heir-apparent of
Marwar; but since the setting-up of the pretender, Dhonkal Singh, both
have been attached to the fisc: in fact, there is no heir to Maru!
Ferishta mentions the defence of Siwana against the arms of
Alau-d-din.[8.1.21]

=Machola, Morsin.=—Machola and Morsin are the two principal dependencies
of Jalor within the Luni, the former having a strong castle guarding its
south-east frontier against the [299] depredations of the Minas; the
latter, which has also a fort and town of five hundred houses, is on the
western extremity of Jalor.

=Bhīnmāl, Sānchor.=—Bhinmal and Sanchor are the two principal
subdivisions to the south, and together nearly equal the remainder of
the province, each containing eighty villages. These towns are on the
high-road to Cutch and Gujarat, which has given them from the most
remote times a commercial celebrity. Bhinmal is said to contain fifteen
hundred houses, and Sanchor about half the number.[8.1.22] Very wealthy
Mahajans, or ‘merchants,’ used to reside here, but insecurity both
within and without has much injured these cities, the first of which has
its name, Mal (not Mahl, as in the map), from its wealth as a
mart.[8.1.23] There is a temple of Baraha (Varaha, the incarnation of
the hog), with a great sculptured boar. Sanchor possesses also a
distinct celebrity from being the cradle of a class of Brahmans called
Sanchora, who are the officiating priests of some of the most celebrated
temples in these regions, as that of Dwarka, Mathura, Pushkar,
Nagar-Parkar, etc.[8.1.24] The name of Sanchor is corrupted from
Satipura, Sati, or Suttee’s town, said to be very ancient.

=Bhadrājan.=—A slight notice is due to the principal fiefs of Jalor, as
well as the fiscal towns of this domain. Bhadrajan is a town of five
hundred houses (three-fourths of which are of the Mina class), situated
in the midst of a cluster of hills, having a small fort. The chief is of
the Jodha clan; his fief connects Jalor with Pali in Godwar.

=Mewa.=—Mewa is a celebrated little tract on both banks of the Luni, and
one of the first possessions of the Rathors. It is, properly speaking,
in Siwanchi, to which it pays a tribute, besides service when required.
The chief of Mewa has the title of Rawal, and his usual residence is the
town of Jasol. Surat Singh is the present chief; his relative,
Surajmall, holds the same title, and the fief and castle of Sandri, also
on the Luni, twenty-two miles south of Jasol. A feud reigns between
them; they claim co-equal rights, and the consequence is that neither
can reside at Mewa, the capital of the domain. Both chiefs deemed the
profession of robber no disgrace, when this memoir was written (1813);
but it is to be hoped they have seen the danger, if not the error, of
their ways, and will turn to cultivating the fertile tracts along the
‘Salt River,’ which yield wheat, juar, and bajra in abundance.

=Bālotra, Tīlwāra.=—Balotra, Tilwara, are two celebrated names in the
geography of this region, and have an annual fair, as renowned in
Rajputana as that of Leipsic in Germany. Though called the Balotra
_mela_ (literally, 'an assemblage, or [300] concourse of people'), it
was held at Tilwara, several miles south,[8.1.25] near an island of the
Luni, which is sanctified by a shrine of Mallinath, ‘the divinity of the
Malli,’ who, as already mentioned, is now the patron god of the Rathors.
Tilwara forms the fief of another relative of the Mewa family, and
Balotra, which ought to belong to the fisc, did and may still belong to
Awa, the chief noble of Marwar. But Balotra and Sandri have other claims
to distinction, having, with the original estate of Dunara, formed the
fief of Durgadas, the first character in the annals of Maru, and whose
descendant yet occupies Sandri. The fief of Mewa, which includes them
all, was rated at fifty thousand rupees annually. The Pattayats with
their vassalage occasionally go to court, but hold themselves exempt
from service except on emergencies. The call upon them is chiefly for
the defence of the frontier, of which they are the Simiswara, or
lord-marchers.

=Īndhāvati.=—This tract, which has its name from the Rajput tribe of
Indha, the chief branch of the Parihars (the ancient sovereigns of
Mandor), extends from Balotra north, and west of the capital, Jodhpur,
and is bounded on the north by the _thal_ of Guga. The _thal_ of
Indhavati embraces a space of about thirty coss in circumference.

=Gūgadeo ka Thal.=—The _thal_ of Guga, a name celebrated in the heroic
history of the Chauhans, is immediately north of Indhavati, and one
description will suit both. The sand-ridges (_thal-ka-tiba_) are very
lofty in all this tract; very thinly inhabited; few villages; water far
from the surface, and having considerable jungles. Tob, Phalsund, and
Bimasar are the chief towns in this _rui_. They collect rain-water in
reservoirs called _tanka_, which they are obliged to use sparingly, and
often while a mass of corruption, producing that peculiar disease in the
eyes called _rataundha_ (corrupted by us to _rotunda_) or
night-blindness,[8.1.26] for with the return of day it passes off.

=Tararoi.=—The _thal_ of Tararoi intervenes between that of Gugadeo and
the present frontier of Jaisalmer, to which it formerly
belonged.[8.1.27] Pokaran is the chief town, not of Tararoi only, but of
all the desert interposed between the two chief capitals of Marusthali.
The southern part of this _thal_ does not differ from that described,
but its northern portion, and more especially for sixteen to twenty
miles around the city of Pokaran, are low disconnected ridges of loose
rock, the continuation of that on which stands the capital of the
Bhattis, which give, as we have already said, to this oasis the epithet
of Mer, or rocky. The name of Tararoi is derived from _tar_, which
signifies moisture, humidity [301] from springs, or the springs
themselves, which rise from this _rui_. Pokaran, the residence of Salim
Singh (into the history of whose family we have so fully entered in the
Annals of Marwar), is a town of two thousand houses, surrounded by a
stone wall, and having a fort, mounting several guns on its eastern
side. Under the west side of the town, the inhabitants have the unusual
sight in these regions of running water, though only in the rainy
season, for it is soon absorbed by the sands. Some say it comes from the
Sar of Kanod, others from the springs in the ridge; at all events, they
derive a good and plentiful supply of water from the wells excavated in
its bed. The chief of Pokaran, besides its twenty-four villages, holds
lands between the Luni and Bandi rivers to the amount of a lakh of
rupees. Dunara and Manzil, the fief of the loyal Durgadas, are now in
the hands of the traitor Salim. Three coss to the north of Pokaran is
the village of Ramdeora, so named from a shrine to Ramdeo, one of the
Paladins of the desert, and which attracts people from all quarters to
the Mela, or fair, held in the rainy month of Bhadon.[8.1.28] Merchants
from Karachi-bandar, Tatta, Multan, Shikarpur, and Cutch here exchange
the produce of various countries: horses, camels, and oxen used also to
be reared in great numbers, but the famine of 1813, and anarchy ever
since Raja Man’s accession, added to the interminable feuds between the
Bhattis and Rathors, have checked all this desirable intercourse, which
occasionally made the very heart of the desert a scene of joy and
activity.

=Khawar.=—This _thal_, lying between Jaisalmer and Barmer, and abutting
at Girab into the desert of Dhat, is in the most remote angle of Marwar.
Though thinly inhabited, it possesses several considerable places,
entitled to the name of towns, in this ‘abode of death.’ Of these, Sheo
and Kotra are the most considerable, the first containing three hundred,
the latter five hundred houses, situated upon the ridge of hills, which
may be traced from Bhuj to Jaisalmer. Both these towns belong to chiefs
of the Rathor family, who pay a nominal obedience to the Raja of
Jodhpur. At no distant period, a smart trade used to be carried on
between Anhilwara Patan and this region; but the lawless Sahariyas
plundered so many kafilas, that it is at length destroyed. They find
pasture for numerous flocks of sheep and buffaloes in this _thal_.

=Mallināth, Bārmer.=—The whole of this region was formerly inhabited by
a tribe called Malli or Mallani, who, although asserted by some to be
Rathor in origin, are assuredly Chauhan, and of the same stock as the
ancient lords of Juna Chhotan. Barmer was reckoned, before the last
famine, to contain one [302] thousand two hundred houses, inhabited by
all classes, one-fourth of whom were Sanchora Brahmans.[8.1.29] The town
is situated in the same range as Sheo-Kotra, here two to three hundred
feet in height. From Sheo to Barmer there is a good deal of flat
intermingled with low _tibas_ of sand, which in favourable seasons
produces enough food for consumption. Padam Singh, the Barmer chief, is
of the same stock as those of Sheo Kotra and Jasol; from the latter they
all issue, and he calculates thirty-four villages in his feudal domain.
Formerly, a _dani_ (which is, literally rendered, _douanier_) resided
here to collect the transit duties; but the Sahariyas have rendered this
office a sinecure, and the chief of Barmer takes the little it realizes
to himself. They find it more convenient to be on a tolerably good
footing with the Bhattis, from whom this tract was conquered, than with
their own head, whose officers they very often oppose, especially when a
demand is made upon them for _dand_; on which occasion they do not
disdain to call in the assistance of their desert friends, the
Sahariyas. Throughout the whole of this region they rear great numbers
of the best camels, which find a ready market in every part of India.

=Kherdhar.=—‘The land of Kher’[8.1.30] has often been mentioned in the
annals of these States. It was in this distant nook that the Rathors
first established themselves, expelling the Gohil tribe, which migrated
to the Gulf of Cambay, and are now lords of Gogha and Bhavnagar; and
instead of steering ‘the ship of the desert’ in their piracies on the
kafilas, plied the Great Indian Ocean, even “to the golden coast of
Sofala,” in the yet more nefarious trade of slaves. It is difficult to
learn what latitude they affixed to the ‘land of Kher,’ which in the
time of the Gohils approximated to the Luni; nor is it necessary to
perplex ourselves with such niceties, as we only use the names for the
purpose of description. In all probability it comprehended the whole
space afterwards occupied by the Mallani or Chauhans, who founded
Juna-Chhotan, etc., which we shall therefore include in Kherdhar.
Kheralu, the chief town, was one of the ‘nine castles of Maru,’ when the
Pramar was its sovereign lord. It has now dwindled into an insignificant
village, containing no more than forty houses, surrounded on all sides
by hills “of a black colour,” part of the same chain from Bhuj.

=Jūna Chhotan.=—Juna Chhotan, or the ‘ancient’ Chhotan, though always
conjoined in name, are two [303] distinct places, said to be of very
great antiquity, and capitals of the Hapa sovereignty. But as to what
this Hapa Raj was, beyond the bare fact of its princes being Chauhan,
tradition is now mute. Both still present the vestiges of large cities,
more especially Juna, ‘the ancient,’ which is enclosed in a mass of
hills, having but one inlet, on the east side, where there are the ruins
of a small castle which defended the entrance. There are likewise the
remains of two more on the summit of the range. The mouldering remnants
of mandirs (temples), and _baoris_ (reservoirs), now choked up, all bear
testimony to its extent, which is said to have included twelve thousand
habitable dwellings! Now there are not above two hundred huts on its
site, while Chhotan has shrunk into a poor hamlet. At Dhoriman, which is
at the farther extremity of the range in which are Juna and Chhotan,
there is a singular place of worship, to which the inhabitants flock on
the _tij_, or third day of Sawan of each year. The patron saint is
called Alandeo, through whose means some grand victory was obtained by
the Mallani. The immediate objects of veneration are a number of brass
images called Aswamukhi, from having the ‘heads of horses’ ranged on the
top of a mountain called Alandeo. Whether these may further confirm the
Scythic ancestry of the Mallani, as a branch of the Asi, or Aswa race of
Central Asia, can at present be only matter of conjecture.

=Nagar Gurha.=—Between Barmer and Nagar-Gurha on the Luni is one immense
continuous _thal_, or rather _rui_, containing deep jungles of khair, or
kher, khejra, karil, khep, phog,[8.1.31] whose gums and berries are
turned to account by the Bhils and Kolis of the southern districts.
Nagar and Gurha are two large towns on the Luni (described in the
itinerary), on the borders of the Chauhan _raj_ of Suigam, and formerly
part of it.

Here terminate our remarks on the _thals_ of western Marwar, which,
sterile as it is by the hand of Nature, had its miseries completed by
the famine that raged generally throughout these regions in S. 1868
(A.D. 1812), and of which this[8.1.32] is the third year. The disorders
which we have depicted as prevailing at the seat of government for the
last thirty years, have left these remote regions entirely to the mercy
of the desert tribes [304], or their own scarce less lawless lords: in
fact, it only excites our astonishment how man can vegetate in such a
land, which has nothing but a few _sars_, or salt-lakes, to yield any
profit to the proprietors, and the excellent camel pastures, more
especially in the southern tracts, which produce the best breed in the
desert.

-----

Footnote 8.1.1:

The journals of all these routes, with others of Central and Western
India, form eleven moderate-sized folio volumes, from which an
itinerary of these regions might be constructed. It was my intention
to have drawn up a more perfect and detailed map from these, but my
health forbids the attempt. They are now deposited in the archives of
the Company, and may serve, if judiciously used, to fill up the only
void in the great map of India, executed by their commands.

Footnote 8.1.2:

[Kānod Mohindargarh in Patiāla State (_IGI_, xvii. 385).]

Footnote 8.1.3:

It left Delhi October 13, 1808.

Footnote 8.1.4:

“Our marches,” says Mr. Elphinstone, “were seldom very long. The
longest was twenty-six miles, and the shortest fifteen; but the
fatigue which our people suffered bore no proportion to the distance.
Our line, when in the closest order, was two miles long. The path by
which we travelled wound much, to avoid the sand-hills. It was too
narrow to allow of two camels going abreast; and if an animal stepped
to one side, it sunk in the sand as in snow,” etc. etc.—_Account of
the Kingdom of Caubul_, ed. 1842, vol. i. p. 11.

Footnote 8.1.5:

[In Sind, on the N. shore of the Great Rann, about 10 miles from
Nagar-Pārkar.]

Footnote 8.1.6:

_Trikuta_, the epithet bestowed on the rock on which the castle of
Jaisalmer is erected.

Footnote 8.1.7:

A name often given by Ferishta to the Indus.

Footnote 8.1.8:

[As has been already stated, Sahariya has no connexion with Arabic
_Sahra_, ‘desert.’]

Footnote 8.1.9:

[Jhāl, of which there are two varieties, large and small, _Salvadora
persica_ and _S. oleoides_.]

Footnote 8.1.10:

When I penned this conjectural etymology, I was not aware that any
speculation had been made upon this word: I find, however, the late M.
Langlés suggested the derivation of _oasis_ (variously written by the
Greeks αὔασις, ἴασις and υἅσις, ὄασις, [αὔασις is the only other
recognized form]) from the Arabic واح: and Dr. Wait, in a series of
interesting etymologies (see _Asiatic Journal_, May 1830), suggests
वसि, _vasi_ from वस, _vas_, ‘to inhabit.’ _Vasi_ and ὕασις quasi
_vasis_ are almost identical. My friend, Sir W. Ouseley, gave me
nearly the same signification of وادي, _Wadi_, as appears in Johnson’s
edition of Richardson, namely, a valley, a desert, a channel of a
river—a river; وادي, _wadi-al-kabir_, ‘the great river,’ corrupted
into Guadalquiver, which example is also given in d’Herbelot (see
_Vadi Gehennem_), and by Thompson, who traces the word _water_ through
all the languages of Europe—the Saxon _waeter_, the Greek ὔδωρ, the
Islandic _udr_, the Slavonic _wod_ (whence _woder_ and _oder_, ‘a
river’): all appear derivable from the Arabic _wad_, ‘a river’—or the
Sanskrit _wah_; and if Dr. W. will refer to p. 1322 of the Itinerary,
he will find a singular confirmation of his etymology in the word
_bas_ (classically _vas_) applied to one of these _habitable_ spots.
The word _basti_, also of frequent occurrence therein, is from
_basna_, to inhabit; _vasi_, an inhabitant; or _vas_, a habitation,
perhaps derivable from _wah_, indispensable to an oasis! [The _New
English Dict._ gives Lat. oasis, Greek ὄασις, apparently of Egyptian
origin; cf. Coptic _ouahe_ (whence Egyptian Arabic _wāh_),
‘dwelling-place, oasis,’ from _ouih_, ‘to dwell.’]

Footnote 8.1.11:

[See _IGI_, xii. 212 f.; E. H. Aitken, _Gazetteer of Sind_, 4;
_Calcutta Review_, 1874; _JRAS_, xxv. 49 ff.]

Footnote 8.1.12:

[The derivation of Pārkar is unknown; that suggested in the text is
impossible.]

Footnote 8.1.13:

[Nārāyansar, an important place of pilgrimage, with interesting
temples, is situated at the Kori entrance of the W. Rann (_BG_, v. 245
ff.).]

Footnote 8.1.14:

[Or _irina_, Yule, _Hobson-Jobson_, 2nd ed. 774.]

Footnote 8.1.15:

[_Equus hemionus_ (Blanford, _Mammalia of India_, 470 f.; Job xxxix. 5
ff.).]

Footnote 8.1.16:

“The greatest breadth of the valley of the Nile is four leagues, the
least, one”; so that the narrowest portion of the valley of Sind
equals the largest of the Nile. Egypt alone is _said_ to have had
eight millions of inhabitants; what then might Sind maintain! The
condition of the peasantry, as described by Bourrienne, is exactly
that of Rajputana; “The villages are fiefs belonging to any one on
whom the prince may bestow them; the peasantry pay a tax to their
superior, and are the actual proprietors of the soil; amidst all the
revolutions and commotions, their privileges are not infringed.” This
right (still obtaining), taken away by Joseph, was restored by
Sesostris.

Footnote 8.1.17:

Another salt river.

Footnote 8.1.18:

[The Chauhān Rāo Kīrttipāl took it from the Pramāras towards the end
of the twelfth century, and Kānardeo Chauhān lost it to Alāu-d-dīn
(Erskine iii. A. 199 f.). In Briggs’ translation of Ferishta (i. 370)
the place is called Jalwar, and the King Nāhardeo.]

Footnote 8.1.19:

Multan and Juna (Chhotan, _qu._ Chauhan-tan?) have the same
signification, ‘the ancient abode,’ and both were occupied by the
tribe of Malli or Mallani, said to be of Chauhan race; and it is
curious to find at Jalor (classically Jalandhar) the same divinities
as in their haunts in the Panjab, namely, Mallinath, Jalandharnath,
and Balnath. Abu-l-Fazl says, “The cell of Balnath is in the middle of
Sindsagar”; and Babur (Elliot-Dowson ii. 450, iv. 240, 415, v. 114,
_Āīn_, ii. 315) places “Balnath-jogi below the hill of Jud, five
marches east of the Indus,” the very spot claimed by the Yadus, when
led out of India by their deified leader Baldeo, or Balnath.

Footnote 8.1.20:

[Bhojak, ‘a feeder,’ a term usually applied to those Brāhmans who are
fed after a death, in order to pass on the food to the spirit.]

Footnote 8.1.21:

[Ferishta (i. 369) calls the Rāja Sītaldeo; Amīr Khusru (Elliot-Dowson
iii. 78, 550, v. 166) Sutaldeo.]

Footnote 8.1.22:

[The population of these towns is now respectively 4545 and 2066.]

Footnote 8.1.23:

[The old name was Srīmāl or Bhillamāla, which Erskine (iii. A. 194)
identifies with Pi-lo-mo-lo of Hiuen Tsiang. But Beal (_Buddhist
Records of the Western World_, ii. 270) transliterates this name as
Bālmer or Bārmer.]

Footnote 8.1.24:

[For the Sāchora or Sānchora Brāhmans see _BG_, ix. Part i. 18;
Erskine iii. A. 84.]

Footnote 8.1.25:

[Tīlwāra is about 10 miles W. of Bālotra.]

Footnote 8.1.26:

It is asserted by the natives to be caused by a small thread-like
worm, which also forms in the eyes of horses. I have seen it in the
horse, moving about with great velocity. They puncture and discharge
it with the aqueous humour.

Footnote 8.1.27:

[The name Tararoi seems to have disappeared from the maps, the tract
being now known as Sānkra.]

Footnote 8.1.28:

[Rāmdeora is 12 miles N. of Pokaran. The saint is commonly called
Rāmdeoji or Rāmsāh Pīr.]

Footnote 8.1.29:

[Bārmer, the ancient name of which is said to be Bāhadamer, ‘hill fort
of Bāhada,’ is 130 miles W. of Jodhpur city; its present population is
6064. Mallināth was son of Rāo Salkha, eighth in descent from Siāhji,
founder of Mārwār State.]

Footnote 8.1.30:

Named in all probability, from the superabundant tree of the desert
termed _Khair_, and _dhar_, ‘land.’ It is also called Kheralu, but
more properly Kherala, ‘the abode of Khair’; a shrub of great utility
in these regions. Its astringent pods, similar in appearance to those
of the laburnum, they convert into food. Its gum is collected as an
article of trade; the camels browse upon its twigs, and the wood makes
their huts. [Kher is a ruined village, not far from Jasol, at the
point where the Lūni River turns eastward. Kherālu has disappeared
from modern maps, if it be not a mistake for Kerādu, where there are
interesting temples (_ASR_, West Circle, March 31, 1907, pp. 40-43;
Erskine iii. A. 201).]

Footnote 8.1.31:

[Khair, _Acacia catechu_; Khejra, _Prosopis spicigera_; Karīl,
_Capparis aphylla_; Khep, _Crotolaria burhia_; Phog, _Calligonum
polygonoides_.]

Footnote 8.1.32:

That is, 1814. I am transcribing from my journals of that day, just
after the return of one of my parties of discovery from these regions,
bringing with them natives of Dhat, who, to use their own simple but
expressive phraseology, “had the measure of the desert in the palm of
their hands”; for they had been employed as kasids, or messengers, for
thirty years of their lives. Two of them afterwards returned and
brought away their families, and remained upwards of five years in my
service, and were faithful, able, and honest in the duties I assigned
them, as jamadars of daks, or superintendents of posts, which were for
many years under my charge when at Sindhia’s court, extending at one
time from the Ganges to Bombay, through the most savage and
little-known regions in India. But with such men as I drilled to aid
in these discoveries, I found nothing insurmountable. [The famine of
1812-13 was the most calamitous of the earlier visitations (Erskine
iii. A. 125).]

-----

CHAPTER 2

=The Chauhān Rāj.=—This sovereignty (_raj_) of the Chauhans occupies the
most remote corner of Rajputana, and its existence is now for the first
time noticed. As the quality of greatness as well as goodness is, in a
great measure, relative, the Raj of the Chauhans may appear an empire to
the lesser chieftains of the desert. Externally, it is environed, on the
north and east, by the tracts of the Marwar State we have just been
sketching. To the south-east it is bounded by Koliwara, to the south
hemmed-in by the Rann, and to the west by the desert of Dhat.
Internally, it is partitioned into two distinct governments, the eastern
being termed Virawah, and the western from its position ‘across the
Luni,’ Parkar;[8.2.1] which appellation, conjoined to Nagar, is also
applied to the capital, with the distinction of Srinagar, or metropolis.
This is the Negar-Parker of the distinguished Rennel, a place visited at
a very early stage of our intercourse with these regions by an
enterprising Englishman, named Whittington.[8.2.2]

=History of the Chauhāns.=—The Chauhans of this desert boast the great
antiquity of their settlement, as well as the nobility of their blood:
they have only to refer to Manik Rae and Bisaldeo of Ajmer, and to
Prithiraj, the last Hindu sovereign of Delhi, to establish the latter
fact; but the first we must leave to conjecture and their bards, though
we may [305] fearlessly assert that they were posterior to the Sodhas
and other branches of the Pramar race, who to all appearance were its
masters when Alexander descended the Indus. Neither is it improbable
that the Malli or Mallani, whom he expelled in that corner of the
Panjab, wrested ‘the land of Kher’ from the Sodhas. At all events, it is
certain that a chain of Chauhan principalities extended, from the eighth
to the thirteenth century, from Ajmer to the frontiers of Sind, of which
Ajmer, Nadol, Jalor, Sirohi, and Juna-Chhotan were the capitals; and
though all of these in their annals claim to be independent, it may be
assumed that some kind of obedience was paid to Ajmer. We possess
inscriptions which justify this assertion. Moreover, each of them was
conspicuous in Muslim history, from the time of the conqueror of Ghazni
to that of Alau-d-din, surnamed ‘the second Alexander.’ Mahmud, in his
twelfth expedition, by Multan to Ajmer (whose citadel, Ferishta says,
“he was compelled to leave in the hands of the enemy”),[8.2.3] passed
and sacked Nadol (transliterated Buzule);[8.2.4] and the traditions of
the desert have preserved the recollection of his visit to Juna-Chhotan,
and they yet point out the mines by which its castle on the rock was
destroyed. Whether this was after his visitation and destruction of
Nahrvala (Anhilwara Patan), or while on his journey, we have no means of
knowing; but when we recollect that in this his last invasion, he
attempted to return by Sind, and nearly perished with all his army in
the desert, we might fairly suppose his determination to destroy
Juna-Chhotan betrayed him into this danger: for besides the all-ruling
motive of the conversion or destruction of the ‘infidels,’ in all
likelihood the expatriated princes of Nahrvala had sought refuge with
the Chauhans amidst the sandhills of Kherdhar, and may thus have fallen
into his grasp.

Although nominally a single principality, the chieftain of Parkar pays
little, if any, submission to his superior of Virawah. Both of them have
the ancient Hindu title of Rana, and are said at least to possess the
quality of hereditary valour, which is synonymous with Chauhan. It is
unnecessary to particularize the extent in square miles of _thal_ in
this raj, or to attempt to number its population, which is so
fluctuating; but we shall subjoin a brief account of the chief towns,
which will aid in estimating the population of Marusthali. We begin with
the first division.

=Chief Towns.=—The principal towns in the Chauhan _raj_ are Suigam,
Dharanidhar,[8.2.5] Bakhasar, Tharad, Hotiganv, and Chitalwana. Rana
Narayan Rao resides alternately at Sui and Bah, both large towns
surrounded by an _abbatis_, chiefly of the _babul_ and other thorny
trees, called in these regions _kantha-ka-kot_, which has given these
simple, but very [306] efficient fortifications the term of
_kantha-ka-kot_, or ‘fort of thorns.’ The resources of Narayan Rao,
derived from this desert domain, are said to be three lakhs of rupees,
of which he pays a triennial tribute of one lakh to Jodhpur, to which no
right exists, and which is rarely realized without an army. The tracts
watered by the Luni yield good crops of the richer grains; and although,
in the dry season, there is no constant stream, plenty of sweet water is
procured by excavating wells in its bed. But it is asserted that, even
when not continuous, a gentle current is perceptible in those detached
portions or pools, filtrating under the porous sand: a phenomenon
remarked in the bed of the Kunwari River (in the district of Gwalior),
where, after a perfectly dry space of several miles, we have observed in
the next portion of water a very perceptible current.[8.2.6]

=Nagar Pārkar.=—Nagar, or Srinagar, the capital of Parkar, is a town
containing fifteen hundred houses, of which, in 1814, one-half were
inhabited. There is a small fort to the south-west of the town on the
ridge, which is said to be about two hundred feet high. There are wells
and _beras_ (reservoirs) in abundance. The river Luni is called seven
coss south of Nagar, from which we may infer that its bed is distinctly
to be traced through the Rann. The chief of Parkar assumes the title of
Rana, as well as his superior of Virawah whose allegiance he has
entirely renounced, though we are ignorant of the relation in which they
ever stood to each other: all are of the same family, the Hapa-Raj, of
which Juna-Chhotan was the capital.

=Bakhasar.=—Bakhasar ranks next to Srinagar. It was at no distant period
a large and, for the desert, a flourishing town; but now (1814) it
contains but three hundred and sixty inhabited dwellings. A son of the
Nagar chief resides here, who enjoys, as well as his father, the title
of Rana. We shall make no further mention of the inferior towns, as they
will appear in the itinerary.

=Tharād.=—Tharad is another subdivision of the Chauhans of the Luni
whose chief town of the same name is but a few coss to the east of
Suigam, and which like Parkar is but nominally dependent upon it. With
this we shall conclude the subject of Virawah, which, we repeat, may
contain many errors.

=Face of the Chauhān Rāj.=—As the itinerary will point out in detail the
state of the country, it would be superfluous to attempt a more minute
description here. The same sterile ridge, already described as passing
through Chhotan to Jaisalmer, is to be [307] traced two coss west of
Bakhasar, and thence to Nagar, in detached masses. The tracts on both
banks of the Luni yield good crops of wheat and the richer grains, and
Virawah, though enclosing considerable _thal_, has a good portion of
flat, especially towards Radhanpur, seventeen coss from Sui. Beyond the
Luni, the _thal_ rises into lofty _tibas_: and indeed from Chhotan to
Bakhasar, all is sterile, and consists of lofty sandhills and broken
ridges often covered by the sands.

=Water Production.=—Throughout the Chauhan raj, or at least its most
habitable portion, water is obtained at a moderate distance from the
surface, the wells being from ten to twenty _pursas_,[8.2.7] or about
sixty-five to a hundred and thirty feet in depth; nothing, when compared
with those in Dhat, sometimes near seven hundred. Besides wheat, on the
Luni, the oil-plant (_til_), _mung_, _moth_, and other pulses, with
_bajra_, are produced in sufficient quantities for internal consumption;
but plunder is the chief pursuit throughout this land, in which the
lordly Chauhan and the Koli menial vie in dexterity. Wherever the soil
is least calculated for agriculture, there is often abundance of fine
pasture, especially for camels, which browse upon a variety of thorny
shrubs. Sheep and goats are also in great numbers, and bullocks and
horses of a very good description, which find a ready sale at the
Tilwara fair.

=Inhabitants.=—We must describe the descendants, whether of the Malli,
foe of Alexander, or of the no less heroic Prithiraj, as a community of
thieves, who used to carry their raids into Sind, Gujarat, and Marwar,
to avenge themselves on private property for the wrongs they suffered
from the want of all government, or the oppression of those (Jodhpur)
who asserted supremacy over, and the right to plunder them. All classes
are to be found in the Chauhan raj: but those predominate, the names of
whose tribes are synonyms for ‘robber,’ as the Sahariya, Khosa, Koli,
Bhil. Although the Chauhan is lord-paramount, a few of whom are to be
found in every village, yet the Koli and Bhil tribe, with another class
called Pital,[8.2.8] are the most numerous: the last named, though
equally low in caste, is the only industrious class in this region.
Besides cultivation, they make a trade of the gums, which they collect
in great quantities from the various trees whose names have been already
mentioned. The Chauhans, like most of these remote Rajput tribes,
dispense with the _zunnar_[8.2.9] or _janeo_, the distinctive thread of
a ‘twice-born tribe,’ and are altogether free from [308] the prejudices
of those whom association with Brahmans has bound down with chains of
iron. But to make amends for this laxity in ceremonials, there is a
material amendment in their moral character, in comparison with the
Chauhans of the _purab_ (east); for here the unnatural law of
infanticide is unknown, in spite of the examples of their neighbours,
the Jarejas, amongst whom it prevails to the most frightful extent. In
eating, they have no prejudices; they make no _chauka_, or fireplace;
their cooks are generally of the barber (_Nai_) tribe, and what is left
at one meal, they, contrary to all good manners, tie up and eat at the
next.

=Kolis and Bhils.=—The first is the most numerous class in these
regions, and may be ranked with the most degraded portion of the human
species. Although they _puja_ all the symbols of Hindu worship, and
chiefly the terrific Mata, they scoff at all laws, human or divine, and
are little superior to the brutes of their own forests. To them every
thing edible is lawful food; cows, buffaloes, the camel, deer, hog; nor
do they even object to such as have died a natural death. Like the other
debased tribes, they affect to have Rajput blood, and call themselves
Chauhan Koli, Rathor Koli, Parihar Koli, etc., which only tends to prove
their illegitimate descent from the aboriginal Koli stock. Almost all
the cloth-weavers throughout India are of the Koli class, though they
endeavour to conceal their origin under the term Julaha, which ought
only to distinguish the Muslim weaver.[8.2.10] The Bhils partake of all
the vices of the Kolis, and perhaps descend one step lower in the scale
of humanity; for they will feed on vermin of any kind, foxes, jackals,
rats, guanas,[8.2.11] and snakes; and although they make an exception of
the camel and the pea-fowl, the latter being sacred to Mata, the goddess
they propitiate, yet in moral degradation their fellowship is complete.
The Kolis and Bhils have no matrimonial intercourse, nor will they even
eat with each other—such is caste! The bow and arrow form their arms,
occasionally swords, but rarely the matchlock.

Pital is the chief husbandman of this region, and, with the Bania, the
only respectable class. They possess flocks, and are also cultivators,
and are said to be almost as numerous as either the Bhils or Kolis. The
Pital is reputed synonymous with the Kurmi of Hindustan and the Kulambi
of Malwa and the Deccan. There are other tribes, such as the Rabari, or
rearer of camels, who will be described with the classes appertaining to
the whole desert.

=Dhāt and Umrasūmra.=—We now take leave of Rajputana, as it is, for the
desert depending upon Sind, or that space between the frontier of
Rajputana to the valley [309] of the Indus, on the west, and from
Daudputra north, to Baliari on the Rann.[8.2.12] This space measures
about two hundred and twenty miles of longitude, and its greatest
breadth is eighty; it is one entire _thal_, having but few villages,
though there are many hamlets of shepherds sprinkled over it, too
ephemeral to have a place in the map. A few of these _puras_ and _vas_,
as they are termed, where the springs are perennial, have a name
assigned to them, but to multiply them would only mislead, as they exist
no longer than the vegetation. The whole of this tract may be
characterized as essentially desert, having spaces of fifty miles
without a drop of water, and without great precaution, impassable. The
sandhills rise into little mountains, and the wells are so deep, that
with a large kafila, many might die before the thirst of all could be
slaked. The enumeration of a few of these will put the reader in
possession of one of the difficulties of a journey through Maru; they
range from eleven to seventy-five _pursa_, or seventy to five hundred
feet in depth. One at Jaisinghdesar, fifty _pursa_; Dhot-ki-basti,
sixty; Girab, sixty; Hamirdeora, seventy; Jinjiniali, seventy-five;
Chailak, seventy-five to eighty.

=The Horrors of Humāyūn’s March.=—In what vivid colours does the
historian Ferishta describe the miseries of the fugitive emperor,
Humayun, and his faithful followers, at one of these wells! “The country
through which they fled being an entire desert of sand, the Moguls were
in the utmost distress for water: some ran mad; others fell down dead.
For three whole days there was no water; on the fourth day they came to
a well, which was so deep that a drum was beaten, to give notice to the
man driving the bullocks, that the bucket had reached the top; but the
unhappy followers were so impatient for drink, that, so soon as the
first bucket appeared, several threw themselves upon it, before it had
quite reached the surface, and fell in. The next day, they arrived at a
brook, and the camels, which had not tasted water for several days, were
allowed to quench their thirst; but, having drunk to excess, several of
them died. The king, after enduring unheard-of miseries, at length
reached Omurkote with only a few attendants. The Raja, who has the title
of Rana, took compassion on his misfortunes, and spared nothing that
could alleviate his sufferings, or console him in his distress.”—Briggs’
_Ferishta_, vol. ii. p. 93.[8.2.13]

We are now in the very region where Humayun suffered these miseries, and
in its chief town, Umarkot, Akbar, the greatest monarch India ever knew,
first saw the light. Let us throw aside the veil which conceals the
history of the race of Humayun’s protector, and notwithstanding he is
now but nominal sovereign of Umarkot, and lord [310] of the village of
Chor,[8.2.14] give him “a local habitation and a name,” even in the days
of the Macedonian invader of India.

=Dhāt.=—Dhat,[8.2.15] of which Umarkot is the capital, was one of the
divisions of Marusthali, which from time immemorial was subject to the
Pramar. Amongst the thirty-five tribes of this the most numerous of the
races called Agnikula, were the Sodha, the Umar, and the Sumra;[8.2.16]
and the conjunction of the two last has given a distinctive appellation
to the more northern _thal_, still known as Umarsumra, though many
centuries have fled since they possessed any power.

=Aror, Umarsūmra.=—Aror, of which we have already narrated the
discovery, and which is laid down in the map about six miles east of
Bakhar on the Indus, was in the region styled Umarsumra, which may once
have had a much wider acceptation, when a dynasty of thirty-six princes
of the Sumra tribe ruled all these countries during five hundred
years.[8.2.17] On the extinction of its power, and the restoration of
their ancient rivals, the Sind-Samma princes, who in their turn gave way
to the Bhattis, this tract obtained the epithet of Bhattipoh; but the
ancient and more legitimate name, Umarsumra, is yet recognized, and many
hamlets of shepherds, both of Umars and Sumras, are still existing
amidst its sandhills. To them we shall return, after discussing their
elder brethren, the Sodhas. We can trace the colonization of the
Bhattis, the Chawaras, and the Solankis, the Guhilots, and the Rathors,
throughout all these countries, both of central and western Rajputana;
and wherever we go, whatever new capital is founded, it is always on the
site of a Pramar establishment. _Pirthi tain na Pramar ka_, or ‘the
world is the Pramars,’[8.2.18] I may here repeat, is hardly hyperbolical
when applied to the Rajput world.

=Aror.=—Aror, or Alor as written by Abu-l Fazl, and described by that
celebrated geographer, Ibn-Haukal, as “rivalling Multan in greatness,”
was one of the ‘nine divisions of Maru’ governed by the Pramar, of which
we must repeat, one of the chief branches was the Sodha. The islandic
Bakhar, or Mansura (so named by the lieutenant of the Khalif Al-Mansur),
a few miles west of Aror, is considered as the capital of the Sogdoi,
when Alexander sailed down the Indus,[8.2.19] and if we couple the
similarity of name to the well-authenticated fact of immemorial
sovereignty over this region, it might not be drawing too largely on
credulity to suggest that the Sogdoi and Soda are one and [311] the
same.[8.2.20] The Sodha princes were the patriarchs of the desert when
the Bhattis immigrated thither from the north: but whether they deprived
them of Aror as well as Lodorva, the chronicle does not intimate. It is
by no means unlikely that the Umars and Sumras, instead of being coequal
or coeval branches with the Sodha, may be merely subdivisions of them.

We may follow Abu-l Fazl and Ferishta in their summaries of the history
of ancient Sind, and these races. The former says: “In former times,
there lived a Rāja named Siharas, whose capital was Alor. His sway
extended eastward, as far as Kashmīr and towards the sea to Mekrān,
while the sea confined it on the south and the mountains to the north.
An invading army entered the country from Persia, in opposing which the
Rāja lost his life. The invaders, contenting themselves with devastating
part of the territory, returned. Rāē Sahi,[8.2.21] the Rāja’s son,
succeeded his father, by whose enlightened wisdom and the aid of his
intelligent minister Rām, justice was universally administered and the
repose of the country secured.... In the caliphate of Walīd bin Abdu’l
Malik, when Hajjāj was governor of Irāk, he dispatched on his own
authority Muhammad Kāsim, his cousin and son-in-law, to Sind, who fought
Dāhir in several engagements.... After Muhammad Kāsim’s death, the
sovereignty of this country devolved on the descendants of the Banu
Tamīm Ansāri. They were succeeded by the Sūmrah race, who established
their rule, and were followed by the Sammas, who asserted their descent
from Jamshīd, and each of them assumed the name of Jām.”[8.2.22]

Ferishta gives a similar version. “On the death of Mahomed Kasim, a
tribe who trace their origin from the Ansarias established a government
in Sind; after which the zamindars [lords of the soil or indigenous
chiefs], denominated in their country Soomura, usurped the power, and
held independent rule over the kingdom of Sinde for the space of five
hundred years. These [312], the Soomuras, subverted the country of
another dynasty called Soomuna [the Samma of Abu-l Fazl], whose chief
assumed the title of Jam.”[8.2.23]

The difficulty of establishing the identity of these tribes from the
cacography of both the Greek and Persian writers, is well exemplified in
another portion of Ferishta, treating of the same race, called by him
_Soomuna_, and _Samma_ by Abu-l Fazl. “The tribe of Sahna appears to be
of obscure origin, and originally to have occupied the tract lying
between Bekher and Tatta in Sinde, and pretend to trace their origin
from Jemshid.” We can pardon his spelling for his exact location of the
tribe, which, whether written Soomuna, Sehna, or Seemeh, is the Summa or
Samma tribe of the great Yadu race, whose capital was Summa-ka-kot, or
Sammanagari, converted into Minnagara, and its princes into Sambas, by
the Greeks.[8.2.24] Thus the Sodhas appear to have ruled at Aror and
Bakhar, or Upper Sind, and the Sammas in the lower,[8.2.25] when
Alexander passed through this region. The Jarejas and Jams of Navanagar
in Saurashtra claim descent from the Sammas, hence called elsewhere by
Abu-l Fazl “the Sind-Samma dynasty”; but having been, from their
amalgamation with the ‘faithful,’ put out of the pale of Hinduism, they
desired to conceal their Samma-Yadu descent, which they abandoned for
Jamshid, and Samma was converted into Jam.[8.2.26]

We may, therefore, assume that a prince of the Sodha tribe held that
division of the great Puar sovereignty, of which Aror, or the insular
Bakhar, was the capital, when Alexander passed down the Indus: nor is it
improbable that the army, styled Persian by Abu-l Fazl, which invaded
Aror, and slew Raja Siharas, was a Graeco-Bactrian army led by
Apollodotus, or Menander, who traversed this region, “ruled by
Sigertides” (_qu._ Raja Siharas?) even to “the country of the Σῶρα,” or
Saurashtra,[8.2.27] where, according to their historian, their medals
were existent when he wrote in the second century.[8.2.28] The histories
so largely quoted give us decided proof that Dahir, and his son [313]
Raesa, the victims of the first Islamite invasion led by Kasim, were of
the same lineage as Raja Siharas; and the Bhatti annals prove to
demonstration, that at this, the very period of their settling in the
desert, the Sodha tribe was paramount (see p. 1185); which,
together with the strong analogies in names of places and princes,
affords a very reasonable ground for the conclusion we have come to,
that the Sodha tribe of Puar race was in possession of Upper Sind, when
the Macedonian passed down the stream; and that, amidst all the
vicissitudes of fortune, it has continued (contesting possession with
its ancient Yadu antagonist, the Samma) to maintain some portion of its
ancient sovereignty unto these days. Of this portion we shall now
instruct the reader, after hazarding a passing remark on the almost
miraculous tenacity which has preserved this race in its desert abode
during a period of at least two thousand two hundred years,[8.2.29]
bidding defiance to foreign foes, whether Greek, Bactrian, or
Muhammadan, and even to those visitations of nature, famines,
pestilence, and earthquakes, which have periodically swept over the
land, and at length rendered it the scene of desolation it now presents;
for in this desert, as in that of Egypt, tradition records that its
increase has been and still is progressive, as well in the valley of the
Indus as towards the Jumna.

=Umarkot.=—This stronghold (_kot_) of the Umars, until a very few years
back, was the capital of the Sodha Raj, which extended, two centuries
ago, into the valley of Sind, and east to the Luni; but the Rathors of
Marwar, and the family at present ruling Sind, have together reduced the
sovereignty of the Sodhas to a very confined spot, and thrust out of
Umarkot (the last of the nine castles of Maru) the descendant of
Siharas, who, from Aror, held dominions extending from Kashmir to the
ocean. Umarkot has sadly fallen from its ancient grandeur, and instead
of the five thousand houses it contained during the opulence of the
Sodha princes, it hardly reckons two hundred and fifty houses, or rather
huts.[8.2.30] The old castle is to the north-west of the town. It is
built of brick, and the bastions, said to be eighteen in number, are of
stone. It has an inner citadel, or rather a fortified palace. There is
an old canal to the north of the fort, in which water still lodges part
of the year. When Raja Man [314] had possession of Umarkot, he founded
several villages thereunto, to keep up the communication. The Talpuris
then found it to their interest, so long as they had any alarms from
their own lord paramount of Kandahar, to court the Rathor prince; but
when civil war appeared in that region, as well as in Marwar, the
cessation of all fears from the one, banished the desire of paying court
to the other, and Umarkot was unhappily placed between the Kalhoras of
Sind and the Rathors, each of whom looked upon this frontier post as the
proper limit of his sway, and contended for its possession. We shall
therefore give an account of a feud between these rivals, which finally
sealed the fate of the Sodha prince, and which may contribute something
to the history of the ruling family of Sind, still imperfectly known.

=The Fate of the Sodha Tribe. Assassination of Mīr Bijar.=—When Bijai
Singh ruled Marwar, Miyan Nur Muhammad, Kalhora, governed Sind; but
being expelled by an army from Kandahar, he fled to Jaisalmer, where he
died. The eldest son, Antar Khan, and his brothers, found refuge with
Bahadur Khan Khairani; while a natural brother, named Ghulam Shah, born
of a common prostitute, found means to establish himself on the masnad
at Haidarabad. The chiefs of Daudputra espoused the cause of Antar Khan,
and prepared to expel the usurper. Bahadur Khan, Sabzal Khan, Ali Murad,
Muhammad Khan, Kaim Khan, Ali Khan, chiefs of the Khairani tribe,
united, and marched with Antar Khan to Haidarabad. Ghulam Shah advanced
to meet him, and the brothers encountered at Ubaura[8.2.31] (see map);
but legitimacy failed: the Khairani chiefs almost all perished, and
Antar Khan was made prisoner, and confined for life in Gaja-ka-kot, an
island in the Indus, seven coss south of Haidarabad. Ghulam Shah
transmitted his masnad to his son Sarfaraz, who, dying soon after, was
succeeded by Abdul Nabi. At the town of Abhaipura, seven coss east of
Sheodadpur (a town in Lohri Sind), resided a chieftain of the Talpuri
tribe, a branch of the Baloch, named Goram, who had two sons, named
Bijar and Sobhdan. Sarfaraz demanded Goram’s daughter to wife; he was
refused, and the whole family was destroyed. Bijar Khan, who alone
escaped the massacre, raised his clan to avenge him, deposed the tyrant,
and placed himself upon the masnad of Haidarabad. The Kalhoras
dispersed; but Bijar, who was of a violent and imperious temperament,
became involved in hostilities with the Rathors regarding the possession
of Umarkot. It is asserted that he not only demanded tribute from
Marwar, but a daughter of the Rathor prince, to wife, setting forth as a
precedent his grandfather Ajit, who bestowed a wife on Farrukhsiyar.
This insult led to a pitched battle, fought at Dugara, five coss from
Dharnidhar, in which the Baloch [315] army was fairly beaten from the
field by the Rathor; but Bijai Singh, not content with his victory,
determined to be rid of this thorn in his side. A Bhatti and Chondawat
offered their services, and lands being settled on their families, they
set out on this perilous enterprise in the garb of ambassadors. When
introduced to Bijar, he arrogantly demanded if the Raja had thought
better of his demand, when the Chondawat referred him to his
credentials. As Bijar rapidly ran his eye over it, muttering “no mention
of the _dola_ (bride),” the dagger of the Chondawat was buried in his
heart. “This for the _dola_,” he exclaimed; and “this for the tribute,”
said his comrade, as he struck another blow. Bijar fell lifeless on his
cushion of state, and the assassins, who knew escape was hopeless, plied
their daggers on all around; the Chondawat slaying twenty-one, and the
Bhatti five, before they were hacked to pieces.[8.2.32] The nephew of
Bijar Khan, by name Fateh Ali, son of Sobhdan, was chosen his successor,
and the old family of Kalhora was dispersed to Bhuj, and Rajputana,
while its representative repaired to Kandahar. There the Shah put him at
the head of an army of twenty-five thousand men, with which he
reconquered Sind, and commenced a career of unexampled cruelty. Fateh
Ali, who had fled to Bhuj, reassembled his adherents, attacked the army
of the Shah, which he defeated and pursued with great slaughter beyond
Shikarpur, of which he took possession, and returned in triumph to
Haidarabad. The cruel and now humbled Kalhora once more appeared before
the Shah, who, exasperated at the inglorious result of his arms, drove
him from his presence; and after wandering about, he passed from Multan
to Jaisalmer, settling at length at Pokaran, where he died. The Pokaran
chief made himself his heir, and it is from the great wealth (chiefly in
jewels) of the ex-prince of Sind that its chiefs have been enabled to
take the lead in Marwar. The tomb of the exile is on the north side of
the town [316].[8.2.33]

This episode, which properly belongs to the history of Marwar, or to
Sind, is introduced for the purpose of showing the influence of the
latter on the destinies of the Sodha princes. It was by Bijar, who fell
by the emissaries of Bijai Singh, that the Sodha Raja was driven from
Umarkot, the possession of which brought the Sindis into immediate
collision with the Bhattis and Rathors. But on his assassination and the
defeat of the Sind army on the Rann, Bijai Singh reinducted the Sodha
prince to his _gaddi_ of Umarkot; not, however, long to retain it, for
on the invasion from Kandahar, this poor country underwent a general
massacre and pillage by the Afghans, and Umarkot was assaulted and
taken. When Fateh Ali made head against the army of Kandahar, which he
was enabled to defeat, partly by the aid of the Rathors, he
relinquished, as the price of this aid, the claims of Sind upon Umarkot,
of which Bijai Singh took possession, and on whose battlements the flag
of the Rathors waved until the last civil war, when the Sindis expelled
them. Had Raja Man known how to profit by the general desire of his
chiefs to redeem this distant possession, he might have got rid of some
of the unquiet spirits by other means than those which have brought
infamy on his name.

=Chor.=—Since Umarkot has been wrested from the Sodhas, the expelled
prince, who still preserves his title of Rana, resides at the town of
Chor, fifteen miles north-east of his former capital. The descendant of
the princes who probably opposed Alexander, Menander, and Kasim, the
lieutenant of Walid, and who sheltered Humayun when driven from the
throne of India, now subsists on the eleemosynary gifts of those with
whom he is connected by marriage, or the few patches of land of his own
desert domain left him by the rulers of Sind. He has eight brothers, who
are hardly pushed for a subsistence, and can only obtain it by the
supplement to all the finances of these States, plunder.

The Sodha, and the Jareja, are the connecting links between the Hindu
and the Muslim; for although the farther west we go the greater is the
laxity of Rajput prejudice, yet to something more than mere locality
must be attributed the denationalized sentiment which allows the Sodha
to intermarry with a Sindi: this cause is hunger; and there are few
zealots who will deny that its influence is more potent than the laws of
Manu. Every third year brings famine, and those who have not stored up
against it fly to their neighbours, and chiefly to the valley of the
Indus. The [317] connexions they then form often end in the union of
their daughters with their protectors; but they still so far adhere to
ancient usage as never to receive back into the family caste a female so
allied.[8.2.34] The present Rana of the Sodhas has set the example, by
giving daughters to Mir Ghulam Ali and Mir Sohrab, and even to the Khosa
chief of Dadar; and in consequence, his brother princes of Jaisalmer,
Bah and Parkar, though they will accept a Sodha princess to wife
(because they can depend on the purity of her blood), yet will not
bestow a daughter on the Rana, whose offspring might perhaps grace the
harem of a Baloch. But the Rathors of Marwar will neither give to nor
receive daughters of Dhat. The females of this desert region, being
reputed very handsome, have become almost an article of matrimonial
traffic; and it is asserted, that if a Sindi hears of the beauty of a
Dhatiani, he sends to her father as much grain as he deems an
equivalent, and is seldom refused her hand. We shall not here further
touch on the manners or other peculiarities of the Sodha tribe, though
we may revert to them in the general outline of the tribes, with which
we shall conclude the sketch of the Indian desert.

=Tribes.=—The various tribes inhabiting the desert and valley of the
Indus would alone form an ample subject of investigation, which would,
in all probability, elicit some important truths. Amongst the converts
to Islam the inquirer into the pedigree of nations would discover names,
once illustrious, but which, now hidden under the mantle of a new faith,
might little aid his researches into the history of their origin. He
would find the Sodha, the Kathi, the Mallani, affording in history,
position, and nominal resemblance grounds for inferring that they are
the descendants of the Sogdoi, Kathi, and Malloi, who opposed the
Macedonian in his passage down the Indus; besides swarms of Getae or
Yuti, many of whom have assumed the general title of Baloch, or retain
the ancient specific name of Numri; while others, in that of Zj’at
[Jat], preserve almost the primitive appellation. We have also the
remains of those interesting races the Johyas and Dahyas, of which much
has been said in the Annals of Jaisalmer, and elsewhere; who, as well as
the Getae or Jats, and Huns, hold places amongst the “Thirty-six Royal
Races” of ancient India.[8.2.35] These, with the Barahas and the
Lohanas, tribes who swarmed a few centuries ago in the Panjab, will now
only be discerned in small numbers in “the region of death,” which has
even preserved the illustrious name of Kaurava, Krishna’s foe in the
Bharat. The Sahariya, or great robber of our western desert, would alone
afford a text for discussion on his habits [318] and his raids, as the
enemy of all society. But we shall begin with those who yet retain any
pretensions to the name of Hindu (distinguishing them from the
proselytes to Islam), and afterwards descant upon their peculiarities.
Bhatti, Rathor, Jodha, Chauhan, Mallani, Kaurava, Johya, Sultana,
Lohana, Arora, Khumra, Sindhal, Maisuri, Vaishnavi, Jakhar, Asaich,
Punia.

Of the Muhammadan there are but two, Kalhora and Sahariya, concerning
whose origin any doubt exists, and all those we are about to specify are
Nayyads,[8.2.36] or proselytes chiefly from Rajput or other Hindu
tribes:

Zjat; Rajar; Umra; Sumra; Mair, or Mer; Mor, or Mohor; Baloch; Lumria,
or Luka; Samaicha; Mangalia; Bagria; Dahya; Johya; Kairui; Jangaria;
Undar; Berawi; Bawari; Tawari; Charandia; Khosa; Sadani; Lohanas.

=The Nayyāds.=—Before we remark upon the habits of these tribes, we may
state one prominent trait which characterizes the Nayyad, or convert to
Islam, who, on parting with his original faith, divested himself of its
chief moral attribute, toleration, and imbibed a double portion of the
bigotry of the creed he adopted. Whether it is to the intrinsic quality
of the Muhammadan faith that we are to trace this moral metamorphosis,
or to a sense of degradation (which we can hardly suppose) consequent on
his apostasy, there is not a more ferocious or intolerant being on the
earth than the Rajput convert to Islam. In Sind, and the desert, we find
the same tribes, bearing the same name, one still Hindu, the other
Muhammadan; the first retaining his primitive manners, while the convert
is cruel, intolerant, cowardly, and inhospitable. Escape, with life at
least, perhaps a portion of property, is possible from the hands of the
Maldot, the Larkhani, the Bhatti, or even the Tawaris, distinctively
called “the sons of the devil”; but from the Khosas, the Sahariyas, or
Bhattis, there would be no hope of salvation. Such are their ignorance
and brutality, that should a stranger make use of the words _rassa_, or
_rasta_ (rope, and road), he will be fortunate if he escape with
bastinado from these beings, who discover therein an analogy to _rasul_,
or ‘the prophet’: he must for the former use the words _kilbar_,
_randori_, and for the latter, _dagra_, or _dag_.[8.2.37] It will not
fail to strike those who have perused the heart-thrilling adventures of
Park, Denham, and Clapperton—names which will live for ever in the
annals of discovery—how completely the inoffensive, kind, and hospitable
negro resembles in these qualities the Rajput, who is transformed into a
wild beast the moment he can repeat, “Ashhadu an lā ilāha illa allāh!
[319] Ashhadu anna Muhammad rasūlu-llāh,” “there is but one God, and
Muhammad is the prophet of God”: while a remarkable change has taken
place amongst the Tatar tribes, since the anti-destructive doctrines of
Buddha (or Hinduism purified of polytheism) have been introduced into
the regions of Central Asia.

On the Bhattis, the Rathors, the Chauhans, and their offset the Mallani,
we have sufficiently expatiated, and likewise on the Sodha; but a few
peculiarities of this latter tribe remain to be noticed.

=The Sodha Tribe.=—The Sodha, who has retained the name of Hindu, has
yet so far discarded ancient prejudice, that he will drink from the same
vessel and smoke out of the same _hukka_ with a Musalman, laying aside
only the tube that touches the mouth. With his poverty, the Sodha has
lost his reputation for courage, retaining only the merit of being a
dexterous thief, and joining the hordes of Sahariyas and Khosas who
prowl from Daudputra to Gujarat. The arms of the Sodhas are chiefly the
sword and shield, with a long knife in the girdle, which serves either
as a stiletto or a carver for his meat: few have matchlocks, but the
primitive sling is a general weapon of offence, and they are very expert
in its use. Their dress partakes of the Bhatti and Muhammadan costume,
but the turban is peculiar to themselves, and by it a Sodha may always
be recognized. The Sodha is to be found scattered over the desert, but
there are offsets of his tribe, now more numerous than the parent stock,
of which the Samecha is the most conspicuous, whether of those who are
still Hindu, or who have become converts to Islam.

=The Kaurava Tribe.=—This singular tribe of Rajputs, whose habits, even
in the midst of pillage, are entirely nomadic, is to be found chiefly in
the _thal_ of Dhat, though in no great numbers.[8.2.38] They have no
fixed habitations, but move about with their flocks, and encamp wherever
they find a spring or pasture for their cattle; and there construct
temporary huts of the wide-spreading _pilu_,[8.2.39] by interlacing its
living branches, covering the top with leaves, and coating the inside
with clay: in so skilful a manner do they thus shelter themselves that
no sign of human habitation is observable from without. Still the
roaming Sahariya is always on the look-out for these sylvan retreats, in
which the shepherds deposit their little hoards of grain, raised from
the scanty patches around them. The restless disposition of the
Kauravas, who even among their ever-roaming brethren enjoy a species of
fame in this respect, is attributed (said my Dhati) to a curse entailed
upon them from remote ages. They rear camels, cows, buffaloes, and
goats, which they sell to the Charans and other merchants. They are
altogether a singularly peaceable race; and like all their Rajput
brethren, can at will [320] people the desert with palaces of their own
creation, by the delightful _amal-pani_, the universal panacea for ills
both moral and physical.

=The Dhāti Tribe.=—Dhat, or Dhati, is another Rajput, inhabiting Dhat,
and in no greater numbers than the Kauravas, whom they resemble in their
habits, being entirely pastoral, cultivating a few patches of land, and
trusting to the heavens alone to bring it forward. They barter the _ghi_
or clarified butter, made from the produce of their flocks, for grain
and other necessaries of life. _Rabri_ and _chhachh_, or ‘porridge and
buttermilk,’ form the grand fare of the desert. A couple of sers of
flour of bajra, juar, and khejra is mixed with some sers of _chhachh_,
and exposed to the fire, but not boiled, and this mess will suffice for
a large family. The cows of the desert are much larger than those of the
plains of India, and give from eight to ten sers (eight or ten quarts)
of milk daily. The produce of four cows will amply subsist a family of
ten persons from the sale of _ghi_; and their prices vary with their
productive powers, from ten to fifteen rupees each. The _rabri_, so
analogous to the _kouskous_ of the African desert, is often made with
camel’s milk, from which _ghi_ cannot be extracted, and which soon
becomes a living mass when put aside. Dried fish, from the valley of
Sind, is conveyed into the desert on horses or camels, and finds a ready
sale amongst all classes, even as far east as Barmer. It is sold at two
_dukras_ (coppers) a ser. The _puras_, or temporary hamlets of the
Dhatis, consisting at most of ten huts in each, resemble those of the
Kauravas.

=The Lohāna Tribe.=—This tribe is numerous both in Dhat and Talpura:
formerly they were Rajputs, but betaking themselves to commerce, have
fallen into the third class. They are scribes and shopkeepers, and
object to no occupation that will bring a subsistence; and as to food,
to use the expressive idiom of this region, where hunger spurns at law,
“excepting their cats and their cows, they will eat anything.”[8.2.40]

=The Arora Tribe.=—This class, like the former, apply themselves to
every pursuit, trade, and agriculture, and fill many of the inferior
offices of government in Sind, being shrewd, industrious, and
intelligent. With the thrifty Arora and many other classes, flour
steeped in cold water suffices to appease hunger. Whether this class has
its name from being an inhabitant of Aror, we know not.[8.2.41]

=The Bhātia Tribe.=—Bhatia is also one of the equestrian order converted
into the commercial, and the exchange has been to his advantage. His
habits are like those of the Arora, next to whom he ranks as to activity
and wealth. The Aroras and Bhatias have commercial houses at Shikarpur,
Haidarabad, and even at Surat and Jaipur [321].[8.2.42]

=Brāhmans.=—Bishnoi is the most common sect of Brahmans in the desert
and Sind. The doctrines of Manu with them go for as much as they are
worth in the desert, where “they are a law unto themselves.” They wear
the _janeo_, or badge of their tribe, but it here ceases to be a mark of
clerical distinction, as no drones are respected; they cultivate, tend
cattle, and barter their superfluous _ghi_ for other necessaries. They
are most numerous in Dhat, having one hundred of their order in Chor,
the residence of the Sodha Rana, and several houses in Umarkot, Dharnas,
and Mitti.[8.2.43] They do not touch fish or smoke tobacco, but will eat
food dressed by the hands of a Mali (gardener), or even a Nai (barber
caste); nor do they use the _chauka_, or fireplace, reckoned
indispensable in more civilized regions. Indeed, all classes of Hindus
throughout Sind will partake of food dressed in the sarai, or inn, by
the hands of the Bhathiyarin. They use indiscriminately each other’s
vessels, without any process of purification but a little sand and
water. They do not even burn their dead, but bury them near the
threshold; and those who can afford it, raise small _chabutras_, or
altars, on which they place an image of Siva, and a _ghara_, or jar of
water. The _janeo_, or thread which marks the sacerdotal character in
Hindustan, is common in these regions to all classes, with the exception
of Kolis and Lohanas. This practice originated with their governors, in
order to discriminate them from those who have to perform the most
servile duties.[8.2.44]

=The Rabāri Tribe.=—This term is known throughout Hindustan only as
denoting persons employed in rearing and tending camels, who are there
always Muslims. Here they are a distinct tribe, and Hindus, employed
entirely in rearing camels, or in stealing them, in which they evince a
peculiar dexterity, uniting with the Bhattis in the practice as far as
Daudputra. When they come upon a herd grazing, the boldest and most
experienced strikes his lance into the first he reaches, then dips a
cloth in the blood, which at the end of his lance he thrusts close to
the nose of the next, and wheeling about, sets off at speed, followed by
the whole herd, lured by the scent of blood and the example of their
leader.[8.2.45]

=Jat Tribes.=—Jakhar, Asaich, Punia are all denominations of the Jat
race, a few of whom preserve under these ancient subdivisions their old
customs and religion; but the greater part are among the converts to
Islam, and retain the generic name, pronounced Zjat. Those enumerated
are harmless and industrious, and are found both in the desert and
valley. There are besides these a few scattered families of ancient
tribes [322], as the Sultana[8.2.46] and Khumra, of whose history we are
ignorant, Johyas, Sindhals, and others, whose origin has already been
noticed in the Annals of Marusthali.

We shall now leave this general account of the Hindu tribes, who
throughout Sind are subservient to the will of the Muhammadan, who is
remarkable, as before observed, for intolerance. The Hindu is always
second: at the well, he must wait patiently until his tyrant has filled
his vessel; or if, in cooking his dinner, a Muslim should require fire,
it must be given forthwith, or the shoe would be applied to the Hindu’s
head.

=The Sahariya Tribe.=—The Sahariya is the most numerous of the
Muhammadan tribes of the desert, said to be Hindu in origin, and
descendants of the ancient dynasty of Aror; but whether his descent is
derived from the dynasty of Siharas (written Sahir by Pottinger), or
from the Arabic word _sahra_, ‘a desert,’ of which he is the terror, is
of very little moment.[8.2.47]

=The Khosa Tribe.=—The Kosas or Khosas, etc., are branches of the
Sahariya, and their habits are the same. They have reduced their mode of
rapine to a system, and established _kuri_, or blackmail, consisting of
one rupee and five _daris_ of grain for every plough, exacted even from
the hamlets of the shepherds throughout the _thal_. Their bands are
chiefly mounted on camels, though some are on horseback; their arms are
the _sel_ or _sang_ (lances of bamboo or iron), the sword and shield,
and but few firearms. Their depredations used to be extended a hundred
coss around, even into Jodhpur and Daudputra, but they eschew coming in
contact with the Rajput, who says of a Sahariya, “he is sure to be
asleep when the battle _nakkara_ beats.” Their chief abode is in the
southern portion of the desert; and about Nawakot, Mitti, as far as
Baliari.[8.2.48] Many of them used to find service at Udaipur, Jodhpur,
and Suigam, but they are cowardly and faithless.

=The Samaicha Tribe.=—Samaicha is one of the _nayyad_, or proselytes to
Islam from the Sodha race, and numerous both in the _thal_ and the
valley, where they have many _puras_ or hamlets. They resemble the
Dhatis in their habits, but many of them associate with the Sahariyas,
and plunder their brethren. They never shave or touch the hair of their
heads, and consequently look more like brutes than human beings. They
allow no animal to die of disease, but kill it when they think there are
no hopes of recovery. The Samaicha women have the reputation of being
great scolds, and never veil their faces [323].

=The Rājar Tribe.=—They are said to be of Bhatti descent, and confine
their haunts to the desert, or the borders of Jaisalmer, as at Ramgarh,
Kiala, Jarela, etc.; and the _thal_ between Jaisalmer and Upper Sind:
they are cultivators, shepherds, and thieves, and are esteemed amongst
the very worst of the converts to Muhammadanism.[8.2.49]

=The Umar Sūmra Tribe.=—Umars and Sumras are from the Pramar or Puar
race, and are now chiefly in the ranks of the faithful, though a few are
to be found in Jaisalmer and in the _thal_ called after them; of whom we
have already said enough.[8.2.50]

=The Kalhora, Tālpuri Tribes.=—Kalhora and Talpuri are tribes of
celebrity in Sind, the first having furnished the late, and the other
its present, dynasty of rulers; and though the one has dared to deduce
its origin from the Abbasides of Persia, and the other has even advanced
pretensions to descent from the Prophet, it is asserted that both are
alike Baloch, who are said to be essentially Jat or Gete in origin. The
Talpuris, who have their name from the town (_pura_) of palms (_tal_ or
_tar_), are said to amount to one-fourth of the population of Lori or
Little Sind, which misnomer they affix to the dominion of Haidarabad.
There are none in the _thal_.

=Nūmri, Lūmri, or Lūka Tribe.=—This is also a grand subdivision of the
Baloch race, and is mentioned by Abu-l Fazl as ranking next to the
Kulmani, and being able to bring into the field three hundred cavalry
and seven thousand infantry. Gladwin has rendered the name Nomurdy, and
is followed by Rennel.[8.2.51] The Numris, or Lumris, also styled Luka,
a still more familiar term for fox,[8.2.52] are likewise affirmed to be
Jat in origin. What is the etymology of the generic term Baloch, which
they have assumed, or whether they took it from, or gave it to,
Baluchistan, some future inquirer into these subjects may
discover.[8.2.53]

=The Zott[8.2.54] or Jat Tribe.=—This very original race, far more
numerous than perhaps all the Rajput tribes put together, still retains
its ancient appellation throughout the whole of Sind, from the sea to
Daudputra, but there are few or none in the _thal_. Their habits differ
little from those who surround them. They are amongst the oldest
converts to Islam.

=The Mer, Mair Tribe.=—We should scarcely have expected to find a
mountaineer (_mera_) in the valley of Sind, but their Bhatti origin
sufficiently accounts for the term, as Jaisalmer is termed Mer.[8.2.55]

=The Mor, Mohor Tribe.=—Said to be also Bhatti in origin.[8.2.56]

=The Tāwari, Thori, or Tori Tribe.=—These engross the distinctive
epithet of _bhut_, or ‘evil spirits,’ and the yet more emphatic title of
‘sons of the devil.’ Their origin is doubtful, but [324] they rank with
the Bawariyas, Khengars, and other professional thieves scattered over
Rajputana, who will bring you either your enemy’s head or the turban
from it. They are found in the _thals_ of Daudputra, Bijnot, Nok,
Nawakot, and Udar. They are proprietors of camels, which they hire out,
and also find employment as convoys to caravans.

=Johya, Dahya, Mangalia Tribes.=—Once found amongst the Rajput tribes,
now proselytes to Islam, but few in number either in the valley or the
desert. There are also Bairawis, a class of Baloch, Khairawis, Jangrias,
Undars, Bagrias, descended from the Pramar and Sankhla Rajputs, but not
possessing, either in respect to numbers or other distinctive marks, any
claims on our attention.

=Dāūdputra, Bahāwalpur State.=—This petty State, though beyond the pale
of Hinduism, yet being but a recent formation out of the Bhatti State of
Jaisalmer, is strictly within the limits of Marusthali. Little is known
regarding the family who founded it, and we shall therefore confine
ourselves to this point, which is not adverted to by Mr. Elphinstone,
who may be consulted for the interesting description of its prince, and
his capital, Bahawalpur, during the halt of the embassy to
Kabul.[8.2.57]

Daud Khan, the founder of Daudputra, was a native of Shikarpur, west of
the Indus, where he acquired too much power for a subject, and
consequently drew upon himself the arms of his sovereign of Kandahar.
Unable to cope with them, he abandoned his native place, passed his
family and effects across the Indus, and followed them into the desert.
The royal forces pursued, and coming up with him at Sutiala, Daud had no
alternative but to surrender, or destroy the families who impeded his
flight or defence. He acted the Rajput, and faced his foes; who,
appalled at this desperate act, deemed it unwise to attack him, and
retreated. Daud Khan, with his adherents, then settled in the _kachhi_,
or flats of Sind, and gradually extended his authority into the _thal_.
He was succeeded by Mubarik Khan; he, by his nephew Bahawal Khan, whose
son is Sadik Muhammad Khan, the present lord of Bahawalpur, or
Daudputra, a name applied both to the country and to its possessors,
“the children of David.”[8.2.58] It was Mubarik who deprived the Bhattis
of the district called Khadal, so often mentioned in the Annals of
Jaisalmer, and whose chief town is Derawar, founded by Rawal Deoraj in
the eighth century; and where the successor of Daud established his
abode. Derawar was at that time inhabited by a branch of the Bhattis,
broken off at a very early period, its chief holding the title of Rawal,
and whose family since their expulsion have resided at Ghariala,
belonging to Bikaner, on [325] an allowance of five rupees a day,
granted by the conqueror. The capital of the “sons of David” was removed
to the south bank of the Gara by Bahawal Khan (who gave it his name), to
the site of an old Bhatti city, whose name I could not learn. About
thirty years ago[8.2.59] an army from Kandahar invaded Daudputra,
invested and took Derawar, and compelled Bahawal Khan to seek protection
with the Bhattis at Bikampur. A negotiation for its restoration took
place, and he once more pledged his submission to the Abdali king, and
having sent his son Mubarik Khan as a hostage and guarantee for the
liquidation of the imposition, the army withdrew. Mubarik continued
three years at Kabul, and was at length restored to liberty and made
Khan of Bahawalpur, on attempting which he was imprisoned by his father,
and confined in the fortress of Khangarh, where he remained nearly until
Bahawal Khan’s death. A short time previous to this, the principal
chiefs of Daudputra, namely, Badera Khairani, chief of Mozgarh,
Khudabakhsh of Traihara, Ikhtiyar Khan of Garhi, and Haji Khan of Uchh,
released Mubarik Khan from Khangarh and they had reached Murara, when
tidings arrived of the death of Bahawal Khan. He continued his route to
the capital; but Nasir Khan, son of Alam Khan, Gurgecha (Baloch), having
formerly injured him and dreading punishment, had him assassinated, and
placed his brother, the present chief, Sadik Muhammad, on the masnad:
who immediately shut up his nephews, the sons of Mubarik, together with
his younger brothers, in the fortress of Derawar. They escaped, raised a
force of Rajputs and Purbias, and seized upon Derawar; but Sadik
escaladed it, the Purbias made no defence [326], and both his brothers
and one nephew were slain. The other nephew got over the wall, but was
seized by a neighbouring chief, surrendered, and slain; and it is
conjectured the whole was a plot of Sadik Khan to afford a pretext for
their death. Nasir Khan, by whose instigation he obtained the masnad,
was also put to death, being too powerful for a subject. But the
Khairani lords have always been plotting against their liege; an
instance of which has been given in the Annals of Bikaner, when Traihara
and Mozgarh were confiscated, and the chiefs sent to the castle of
Khangarh, the State prison of Daudputra. Garhi still belongs to Abdulla,
son of Haji Khan, but no territory is annexed to it. Sadik Muhammad has
not the reputation of his father, whom Bijai Singh, of Marwar, used to
style his brother. The Daudputras are much at variance amongst each
other, and detested by the Bhattis, from whom they have hitherto exacted
a tribute to abstain from plunder. The fear of Kandahar no longer exists
at Bahawalpur, whose chief is on good terms with his neighbour of Upper
Sind, though he is often alarmed by the threats of Ranjit Singh of
Lahore, who asserts supremacy over “the children of David.”

=Diseases.=—Of the numerous diseases to which the inhabitants of the
desert are subjected, from poor and unwholesome diet, and yet more
unwholesome drink, _rataundha_ or night-blindness, the _narua_ or
Guinea-worm, and varicose veins, are the most common. The first and last
are mostly confined to the poorer classes, and those who are compelled
to walk a great deal, when the exertion necessary to extricate the limbs
from deep sand, acting as a constant drag upon the elasticity of the
fibres, occasions them to become ruptured. Yet such is the force of
habit that the natives of Dhat in my service, who had all their lives
been plying their limbs as kasids, or carriers of dispatches, between
all the cities on the Indus and in Rajputana, complained of the firmer
footing of the Indian plains, as more fatiguing than that of their
native sandhills. But I never was a convert to the Dhati’s reasoning;
with all his simplicity of character, even in this was there vanity, for
his own swelled veins, which could be compared to nothing but rattans
twisted round the calf of his limbs, if they did not belie his
assertion, at least proved that he had paid dearly for his pedestrianism
in the desert [327]. From the _narua_, or Guinea-worm, there is no
exemption, from the prince to the peasant, and happy is the man who can
boast of only one trial. The disease is not confined to the desert and
western Rajputana, being far from uncommon in the central States; but
beyond the Aravalli the question of “How is your _narua_?” is almost a
general form of greeting, so numerous are the sufferers from this
malady. It generally attacks the limbs and the integuments of the
joints, when it is excruciating almost past endurance. Whether it arises
from animalculae in sand or water, or porous absorption of minute
particles imbued with the latent vital principle, the natives are not
agreed. But the seat of the disease appears immediately under and
adhesive to the skin, on which it at first produces a small speck,
which, gradually increasing and swelling, at length reaches a state of
inflammation that affects the whole system. The worm then begins to
move, and as it attains the degree of vitality apparently necessary for
extricating itself, its motions are unceasing, and night and day it
gnaws the unhappy patient, who only exists in the hope of daily seeing
the head of his enemy pierce the cuticle. This is the moment for action:
the skilful _narua_-doctor is sent for, who seizes upon the head of the
worm, and winding it round a needle or straw, employs it as a windlass,
which is daily set in motion at a certain hour, when they wind out as
much line as they can without the risk of breaking it. Unhappy the
wretch whom this disaster befalls, when, happening to fall into a
feverish slumber, he kicks the windlass, and snaps the living thread,
which creates tenfold inflammation and suppuration. On the other hand,
if by patience and skill it is extracted entire, he recovers. I should
almost imagine, when the patriarch of Uz exclaims, “My flesh is clothed
with worms: my skin is broken and become loathsome. When I lie down, I
say, when shall I arise and the night be gone?” that he must have been
afflicted with the _narua_, than which none of the ills that flesh is
heir to can be more agonizing.[8.2.60]

They have the usual infantine and adult diseases, as in the rest of
India. Of these the _sitala_, or ‘smallpox,’ and the _tijari_, or
‘tertian,’ are the most common. For the first, they merely recommend the
little patient to Sitala Mata; and treat the other with astringents in
which infusion of the rind of the pomegranate is always (when
procurable) an ingredient. The rich, as in other countries, are under
the dominion of empirics, who entail worse diseases by administering
mineral poisons, of whose effects they are ignorant. Enlargement of the
spleen under the influence of these fevers is very common, and its cure
is mostly the actual cautery.

=Famines.=—Famine is, however, the grand natural disease of these
regions, whose legendary stanzas teem with records of visitations of
Bhukhi Mata, the ‘famished mother,’ from the remotest times. That which
is best authenticated in the traditions of several of these States,
occurred in the eleventh century, and continued during twelve years! It
is erroneously connected with the name of Lakha Phulani, who was the
personal foe of Siahji, the first Rathor emigrant from Kanauj, and who
slew this Robin Hood of the desert in S. 1268 (A.D. 1212). Doubtless the
desiccation of the Ghaggar River, in the time of Hamir Sodha, nearly a
century before, must have been the cause of this. Every third year they
calculate upon a partial visitation, and in 1812 one commenced which
lasted three or four years, extending even to the central States of
India, when flocks of poor creatures found their way to the provinces on
the Ganges, selling their infants, or parting with their own liberty, to
sustain existence.[8.2.61]

=Productions, Animal and Vegetable.=—The camel, ‘the ship of the
desert,’ deserves the first mention. There he is indispensable; he is
yoked to the plough, draws water from the well [328], bears it for his
lordly master in _mashaks_, or ‘skins,’ in the passage of the desert,
and can dispense with it himself altogether during several days. This
quality, the formation of his hoof, which has the property of
contracting and expanding according to the soil, and the induration of
his mouth, into which he draws by his tongue the branches of the
_babul_, the _khair_, and _jawas_, with their long thorns, sharp and
hard as needles, attest the beneficence of the Supreme Artist. It is
singular that the Arabian patriarch, who so accurately describes the
habits of various animals, domestic and ferocious, and who was himself
lord of three thousand camels, should not have mentioned the peculiar
properties of the camel, though in alluding to the incapacity of the
unicorn (rhinoceros) for the plough, he seems indirectly to insinuate
the use of others besides the ox for this purpose. The camels of the
desert are far superior to those of the plains, and those bred in the
_thals_ of Dhat and Barmer are the best of all. The Rajas of Jaisalmer
and Bikaner have corps of camels trained for war.[8.2.62] That of the
former State is two hundred strong, eighty of which belong to the
prince; the rest are the quotas of his chiefs; but how they are rated,
or in what ratio to the horsemen of the other principalities, I never
thought of inquiring. Two men are mounted on each camel, one facing the
head, the other the rear, and they are famous in a retreating action:
but when compelled to come to close quarters, they make the camel kneel
down, tie his legs, and retiring behind, make a breastwork of his body,
resting the matchlock over the pack-saddle. There is not a shrub in the
desert that does not serve the camel for fodder.

=The Wild Ass.=—Khar-gadha, Gorkhar, or the wild ass,[8.2.63] is an
inhabitant of the desert, but most abounds in the southern part, about
Dhat, and the deep _rui_ which extends from Barmer to Bankasar and
Baliari, along the north bank of the great Rann, or ‘salt desert.’

=Rojh or Nilgae, Lions, etc.=—The noble species of the deer, the nilgae,
is to be met with in numerous parts of the desert; and although it
enjoys a kind of immunity from the Rajput of the plains, who may hunt,
but do not eat its flesh, here, both for food and for its hide, it is of
great use.[8.2.64] Of the other wild animals common to India they have
the tiger, fox, jackal, hare, and also the nobler animal, the lion.

=Domestic Animals.=—Of domestic animals, as horses, oxen, cows, sheep,
goats, asses, there is no want, and even the last mentioned is made to
go in the plough.

Flocks (here termed _chang_) of goats and sheep are pastured in vast
numbers in the desert. It is asserted that the goat can subsist without
water from the month of Karttik to the middle of Chait, the autumnal to
the spring equinox [329]—apparently an impossibility: though it is well
known that they can dispense with it during six weeks when the grasses
are abundant. In the _thals_ of Daudputra and Bhattipo, they remove to
the flats of Sind in the commencement of the hot weather. The shepherds,
like their flocks, go without water, but find a substitute in the
_chhachh_, or buttermilk, after extracting the butter, which is made
into _ghi_, and exchanged for grain, or other necessaries. Those who
pasture camels also live entirely upon their milk, and the wild fruits,
scarcely ever tasting bread.

=Shrubs and Fruits.=—We have often had occasion to mention the _khair_
or _karil_; the _khejra_, whose pod converted, when dried, into flour,
is called _sangri_; the _jhal_, which serves to hut the shepherds, and
in Jeth and Raisakh affords them fruit; the _pilu_, used as
food;[8.2.65] the _babul_, which yields its medicinal gum; the _ber_, or
jujube, which also has a pleasant fruit; all of which serve the camel to
browse on, and are the most common and most useful of the shrubs: the
_jawas_, whose expressed juice yields a gum used in medicine; the
_phog_, with whose twigs they line their wells; and the alkaline plant,
the _sajji_, which they burn for its ashes. Of these, the first and last
are worthy of a more detailed notice.

The _karil_, or _khair_ (the capparis, or caper-bush), is well known
both in Hindustan and the desert: there they use it as a pickle, but
here it is stored up as a culinary article of importance. The bush is
from ten to fifteen feet in height, spreading very wide; there are no
leaves on its evergreen twig-like branches, which bear a red flower, and
the fruit is about the size of a large black currant. When gathered, it
is steeped for twenty-four hours in water, which is then poured off, and
it undergoes, afterwards, two similar operations, when the deleterious
properties are carried off; they are then boiled and eaten with a little
salt, or by those who can afford it, dressed in ghi and eaten with
bread. Many families possess a stock of twenty maunds.

The _sajji_ is a low, bushy plant, chiefly produced in the northern
desert, and most abundant in those tracts of Jaisalmer called Khadal,
now subject to Daudputra. From Pugal to Derawar, and thence by Muridkot,
Ikhtyar Khan-ki-garhi, to Khairpur (Dair Ali), is one extensive _thal_,
or desert, in which there are very considerable tracts of low, hard
flat, termed _chittram_,[8.2.66] formed by the lodgment of water [330]
after rain, and in these spots only is the _sajji_ plant produced. The
salt, which is a sub-carbonate of soda, is obtained by incineration, and
the process is as follows: Pits are excavated and filled with the plant,
which, when fired, exudes a liquid substance that falls to the bottom.
While burning, they agitate the mass with long poles, or throw on sand
if it burns too rapidly. When the virtue of the plant is extracted, the
pit is covered with sand, and left for three days to cool; the alkali is
then taken out, and freed from its impurities by some process. The purer
product is sold at a rupee the ser (two pounds weight); of the other
upwards of forty sers are sold for a rupee. Both Rajputs and Muhammadans
pursue this employment, and pay a duty to the lord paramount of a copper
pice on every rupee’s worth they sell. Charans and others from the towns
of Marwar purchase and transport this salt to the different marts,
whence it is distributed over all parts of India. It is a considerable
article of commerce with Sind, and entire caravans of it are carried to
Bakhar, Tatta, and Cutch. The virtue of the soda is well understood in
culinary purposes, a little _sajji_ added to the hard water soon
softening the mess of pulse and rice preparing for their meals; and the
tobacconists use considerable quantities in their trade, as it is said
to have the power of restoring the lost virtues of the plant.

=Grasses.=—Grasses are numerous, but unless accompanied by botanical
illustration, their description would possess little interest. There is
the gigantic _siwan_, or _siun_, classically known as the _kusa_, and
said to have originated the name of Kusa, the second son of Rama, and
his race the Kachhwaha. It is often eight feet in height; when young, it
serves as provender for animals, and when more mature, as thatch for the
huts, while its roots supply a fibre, converted by the weavers into
brushes indispensable to their trade. There is likewise the _sarkanda_,
the _dhaman_, the _duba_, and various others; besides the _gokhru_, the
_papri_, and the _bharut_, which adhering to their garments, are the
torment of travellers.[8.2.67]

=Melons.=—Of the cucurbitaceous genus, indigenous to the desert, they
have various kinds, from the gigantic _kharbuza_ and the _chitra_, to
the dwarf _guar_. The tomato, whose Indian name I have not preserved, is
also a native of these regions, and well known in other parts of
India.[8.2.68] We shall trespass no further with these details, than to
add, that the botanical names of all such trees, shrubs, or grains, as
occur in this work, will be given with the general _Index_, to avoid
unnecessary repetition [331].

------------------

ITINERARY[8.2.69]

Jaisalmer to Sehwan, on the right bank of the Indus, and Haidarabad, and
return by Umarkot to Jaisalmer

Kuldra (5 coss).—A village inhabited by Paliwal Brahmans; two hundred
houses; wells.

Gajia-ki-basti (2 do.).—Sixty houses; chiefly Brahmans; wells.

Khaba (3 do.).—Three hundred houses; chiefly Brahmans; a small fort of
four bastions on low hills, having a garrison of Jaisalmer.

Kanohi (5 do.).┐—An assemblage of hamlets of four or five huts on one
Sum (5 do.).┘ spot, about a mile distant from each other, conjointly
called Sum, having a _burj_ or tower for defence, garrisoned from
Jaisalmer; several large wells, termed _beria_; inhabitants, chiefly
Sindis of various tribes, pasture their flocks, and bring salt and
_khara_ (natron) from Deo Chandeswar, the latter used as a mordant in
fixing colours, exported to all parts. Half-way between Sum and Mulana
is the boundary of Jaisalmer and Sind.

Mulana[8.2.70] (24 coss).—A hamlet of ten huts; chiefly Sindis; situated
amidst lofty sandhills. From Sum, the first half of the journey is
over alternate sandhills, rocky ridges (termed _magra_), and
occasionally plain; for the next three, rocky ridges and sandhills
without any flats, and the remaining nine coss a succession of lofty
_tibas_. In all this space of twenty-four coss there are no wells,
nor is a drop of water to be had but after rain, when it collects in
some old tanks or reservoirs, called _nadi_ and _taba_, situated
half-way, where in past times there was a town.

It is asserted, that before the Muhammadans conquered Sind and these
regions, the valley and desert belonged to Rajput princes of the
Pramar and Solanki tribes; that the whole _thal_ (desert) was more
or less inhabited, and the remains of old tanks and temples,
notwithstanding the drifting of the sands, attest the fact.
Tradition records a famine of twelve years’ duration during the time
of Lakha Phulani, in the twelfth century, which depopulated the
country, when the survivors of the _thal_ fled to the _kachhi_, or
flats of the Sind. There are throughout still many oases or
cultivated patches, designated by the local terms from the [332]
indispensable element, water, which whether springs or rivulets, are
called _wah_, _bah_, _beria_, _rar_, _tar_, prefixed by the tribe of
those pasturing, whether Sodhas, Rajars, or Samaichas. The
inhabitants of one hamlet will go as far as ten miles to cultivate a
patch.

Bhor (2 do.). ┐ These are all hamlets of about ten huts, inhabited
Palri (3 do.). │ by Rajars, who cultivate patches of
Rajar-ki-basti │ land or pasture their flocks of buffaloes,
(2 do.). │ cows, camels, goats, amidst the _thal_; at
Hamlet of Rajars │ each of these hamlets there are plenty of
(2 do.). ┘ springs; at Rajar-ki-basti there is a pool
called Mahadeo-ka-dah. (See p. 1263 above.)

Deo Chandeswar Mahadeo (2 do.).—When the Sodha princes held sway in
these regions, there was a town here, and a temple to Mahadeo, the
ruins of which still exist, erected over a spring called Suraj kund,
or fountain of the Sun. The Islamite destroyed the temple, and
changed the name of the spring to Dinbawa, or ‘waters of the faith.’
The _kund_ is small, faced with brick, and has its margin planted
with date trees and pomegranates, and a Mulla, or priest from Sind,
resides there and receives tribute from the faithful. For twelve
coss around this spot there are numerous springs of water, where the
Rajars find pasture for their flocks, and patches to cultivate.
Their huts are conical like the wigwams of the African, and formed
by stakes tied at the apex and covered with grass and leaves, and
often but a large blanket of camel’s hair stretched on stakes.

Chandia-ki-basti (2 coss).—Hamlet inhabited by Muslims of the Chandia
tribe, mendicants who subsist on the charity of the traveller.

Rajar-ki-basti (2 do.). ┐ Purwas⓵, or hamlets of shepherds,
Samaichas,

Samaicha-ki-do (2 do.). │ Rajars, and others, who

Rajar do. (1 do.). │ are all migratory, and shift with their

Do. do. (2 do.). │ flocks as they consume the pastures.

Do. do. (2 do.). │ There is plenty of water in this space

Do. do. (2 do.). │ for all their wants, chiefly springs.

Do. do. (2 do.). │

Do. do. (2 do.). ┘

Udhania (7 do.).—Twelve huts; no water between it and the last hamlet.

Nala (5 do.).—Descent from the _thal_ or desert, which ceases a mile
east of the nala or stream, said to be the same which issues from
the Indus at Dara, above Rohri-Bakhar; thence it passes east of
Sohrab’s Khairpur, and by Jinar to Bersia-ka-rar, whence there is a
canal cut to Umarkot and Chor.

Mitrao (4 do.).—Village of sixty houses, inhabited by Baloch; a thana,
or post here from Haidarabad; occasional low sandhills.

Mir-ki-kui (6 do.).—Three detached hamlets of ten huts each, inhabited
by Aroras.

Sheopuri (3 do.).—One hundred and twenty houses, chiefly Aroras: small
fort of six bastions to the south-east, garrisoned from Haidarabad.

Kamera-ka-Nala (6 do.).—This _nala_ issues from the Indus between
Kakar-ki-basti and Sakrand, and passes eastward; probably the bed of
an old canal, with which the country is everywhere intersected.

Sakrand (2 do.).—One hundred houses, one-third of which are Hindus;
patches of cultivation; numerous watercourses neglected; everywhere
overgrown with jungle, chiefly _jhau_ and [333] _khejra_ (tamarisk
and acacia). Cotton, indigo, rice, wheat, barley, peas, grain, and
maize grow on the banks of the watercourses.

Jatui (2 do.).—Sixty houses; a nala between it and Jatui.

Kazi-ka-Shahr (4 do.).—Four hundred houses; two nalas intervene.

Makera (4 coss).—Sixty houses; a nala between it and Jatui.

Kakar-ki-basti (6 do.).—Sixteen houses; half-way the remains of an
ancient fortress; three canals or nalas intervening; the village
placed upon a mound four miles from the Indus, whose waters overflow
it during the periodic monsoon.

Pura _or_ Hamlet (1 do.).—A ferry.

The Indus (1 do.).—Took boat and crossed to

Sewan _or_ Sehwan (1½ do.).—A town of twelve hundred houses on the right
bank, belonging to Haidarabad[8.2.71] [334].

Sehwan to Haidarabad

Jat-ki-basti (2 coss).—The word _jāt_ or _jat_ is here pronounced Zjat.
This hamlet ‘basti,’ is of thirty huts, half a mile from the Indus:
hills close to the village.

Samaicha-ki-basti (2½ coss).—Small village.

Lakhi (2½ do.).—Sixty houses; one mile and a half from the river: canal
on the north side of the village; banks well cultivated. In the
hills, two miles west, is a spot sacred to Parbati and Mahadeo,
where are several springs, three of which are hot.[8.2.72]

Umri (2 do.).—Twenty-five houses, half a mile from River; the hills not
lofty, a coss west.

Sumri (3 do.).—Fifty houses, on the River hills; one and a half coss
west.

Sindu or San (4 do.).—Two hundred houses and a bazar, two hundred yards
from the River; hills one and a half coss west.

Manjhand (4½ do.).—On the River two hundred and fifty houses,
considerable trade; hills two coss west.

Umar-ki-basti (3 do.).—A few huts, near the river.

Sayyid-ki-basti (3 do.).

Shikarpur (4 do.).—On the river; crossed to the east side.

Haidarabad (3 coss).—One and a half coss from the river Indus.
Haidarabad to Nasarpur, nine coss; to Sheodadpur, eleven do.; to
Sheopuri, seventeen do.; to Rohri-Bakhar, six do.—total forty-three
coss.

Haidarabad via Umarkot, to Jaisalmer

Sindu Khan ki-basti (3 do.).—West bank of Phuleli river.

Tajpur (3 do.).—Large town, north-east of Haidarabad [335].

Katrel (1½ do.).—A hundred houses.

Nasarpur (1½ do.).—East of Tajpur, large town.

Alahyar-ka-Tanda (4 do.).—A considerable town built by Alahyar Khan,
brother of the late Ghulam Ali, and lying south-east of Nasarpur.
Two coss north of the town is the Sangra Nala or Bawa,[8.2.73] said
to issue from the Indus between Hala and Sakrand and passing
Jandila.

Mirbah (5 do.).—Forty houses; _Bah_, _Tanda_, _Got_, _Purwa_, are all
synonymous terms for habitations of various degrees.

Sunaria (7 do.).—Forty houses.

Dangana (4 do.).—To this hamlet extend the flats of Sind. Sandhills five
and six miles distant to the north. A small river runs under
Dangana.

Karsana (7 do.).—A hundred houses. Two coss east of Karsana are the
remains of an ancient city; brick buildings still remaining, with
well and reservoirs. Sandhills two to three coss to the northward.

Umarkot (8 do.).—There is one continued plain from Haidarabad to
Umarkot, which is built on the low ground at the very extremity of
the _thal_ or sand-hills of the desert, here commencing. In all this
space, estimated at forty-four kachha coss, or almost seventy miles
of horizontal distance, as far as Sunaria the soil is excellent, and
plentifully irrigated by bawahs, or canals from the Indus. Around
the villages there is considerable cultivation; but notwithstanding
the natural fertility, there is a vast quantity of jungle, chiefly
babul (_Mimosa arabica_), the evergreen _thal_, and _thal_ or
tamarisk. From Sunaria to Umarkot is one continued jungle, in which
there are a few cultivated patches dependent on the heavens for
irrigation; the soil is not so good as the first portion of the
route.

Katar (4 do.).—A mile east of Umarkot commences the _thal_ or sandhills,
the ascent a hundred and fifty to two hundred feet. A few huts of
Samaichas who pasture; two wells.

Dhat-ki-basti (4 do.).—A few huts; one well; Dhats, Sodhas, and Sindis
cultivate and pasture.

Dharnas (8 coss).—A hundred houses, chiefly Pokharna Brahmans and
Banias, who purchase up the _thal_ from the pastoral tribes, which
they export to Bhuj and the valley. It is also an entrepôt for
trade; caravans from the east exchange their goods for the _thal_,
here very cheap, from the vast flocks pastured in the Rui.

Kherlu-ka-Par (3 do.).—Numerous springs (_thal_) and hamlets scattered
throughout this tract.

Lanela (1½ do.).—A hundred houses; water brackish; conveyed by camels
from Kherlu.

Bhoj-ka-Par (3 do.).—Huts; wells; patches of cultivation.

Bhu (6 do.).—Huts.

Garara (10 do.).—A small town of three hundred houses, belonging to
Sawai Singh Sodha, with several _thal_ or hamlets attached to it.
This is the boundary between Dhat or the Sodha raj and Jaisalmer.
Dhat is now entirely incorporated in Sind. A _thal_, or collector of
the transit duties, resides here.

Harsani (10 do.).—Three hundred houses, chiefly Bhattis. It belongs to a
Rajput of this tribe, now dependent on Marwar [336].

Jinjiniali (10 do.).—Three hundred houses. This is the fief of the chief
noble of Jaisalmer; his name Ketsi,[8.2.74] Bhatti. It is the border
town of Jaisalmer. There is a small mud fortress, and several
talaos, or sheets of water, which contain water often during
three-fourths of the year; and considerable cultivation in the
little valleys formed by the _thal_, or sand-ridges. About two miles
north of Jinjiniali there is a village of Charans.

Gaj Singh-ki-basti (2 do.).—Thirty-five houses. Water scarce, brought on
camels from the Charan village.

Hamirdeora (5 do.).—Two hundred houses. There are several _thal_ or
pools, about a mile north, whither water is brought on camels, that
in the village being saline. The ridge of rocks from Jaisalmer here
terminates.

Chelak (5 do.).—Eighty houses; wells; Chelak on the ridge.

Bhopa (7 do.).—Forty houses; wells; small _thal_ or pool.

Bhao (2 do.).—Two hundred houses; pool to the west; small wells.

Jaisalmer (5 do.).—Eighty-five and a half coss from Umarkot to Jaisalmer
by this route, which is circuitous. That by Jinjiniali 26 coss,
Girab 7, Nilwa 12, Umarkot 25—in all 70 pakka coss, or about 150
miles. Caravans or kitars of camels pass in four days, kasids or
messengers in three and a half, travelling night and day. The last
25 coss, or 50 miles, is entire desert: add to this 44 short coss
from Haidarabad to Umarkot, making a total of 129½ coss. The most
direct road is estimated at 105 pakka coss, which, allowing for
sinuosities, is equal to about 195 English miles.

Total of this route, 85½ coss.

Jaisalmer to Haidarabad, by Baisnau

Kuldar (5 coss).

Khaba (5 do.).

Lakha-ka-ganw (30 do.).—Desert the whole way; no hamlets or water.

Baisnau (8 do.).

Bersia-ka-Rar (16 do.).—Wells.

Thipra (3 do.).

Mata-ka-dher (7 do.).—Umarkot distant 20 coss.

Jandila (8 do.).

Alahyar-ka-Tanda (10 do.).—Sankra, or Sangra _thal_.

┌ In the former route the distance from
Tajpur (4 do.). │ Alahyar-ka-Tanda, by the town of
Jam-ka-Tanda (2 do.). │ Nasarpur, is called 13 coss, or two
Haidarabad (5 do.). │ more than this. There are five nalas
└ or canals in the last five coss.

Total of this route, 103 coss.

Jaisalmer, by Shahgarh, to Khairpur of Mir Sohrab

Anasagar (2 do.).

Chonda (2 do.).

Pani-ka-tar (3 do.).—Tar or Tir, springs [337].

Pani-ki-kuchri (7 do.).—No village.

Kuriala (4 do.).

Shahgarh (20 do.[8.2.75]).—Rui or waste all this distance. Shahgarh is
the boundary; it has a small castle of six bastions, a post of Mir
Sohrab, governor of Upper Sind.

Garsia (6 do.).

Garhar (28 do.).—Rui or desert the whole way; not a drop of water. There
are two routes branching off from Garhar, one to Khairpur, the other
to Ranipur.

Baloch-ki-basti (5 do.). ┐ Hamlets of Baloch and Samaichas.
Samaicha-ki-basti (5 do.). ┘

Nala (2 do.).—The same stream which flows from Dara, and through the
ancient city of Alor; it marks the boundary of the desert.

Khairpur[8.2.76] (18 coss).—Mir Sohrab, governor of Upper Sind, and
brother of the prince of Haidarabad, resides here. He has erected a
stone fortress of twelve bastions, called Nawakot or New-castle. The
18 coss from the _thal_ to Khairpur is flat, and marks the breadth
of the valley here. The following towns are of consequence.

Khairpur to Larkhana.—Twenty coss west of the Indus, held by Karam Ali,
son of the prince of Haidarabad.

Khairpur to Lakhi.—Fifteen coss, and five from Shikarpur.

Khairpur to Shikarpur (20 do.).

Garhar to Ranipur

Pharara (10 do.).—A village of fifty houses, inhabited by Sindis and
Karars; several hamlets around. A dani, or collector of transit
dues, resides here on the part of Mir Sohrab, the route being
travelled by kitars or caravans of camels. The nala from Dara passes
two coss east of Pharara, which is on the extremity of the desert.
Commencement of the ridge called Takar, five coss west of Pharara,
extending to Rohri Bakhar, sixteen coss distant from Pharara. From
Pharara to the Indus, eighteen coss, or thirty miles breadth of the
valley here.

Ranipur[8.2.77] (18 do.).

Jaisalmer to Rohri Bakhar

Kuriala (18 do.).—See last route.

Banda (4 do.).—A tribe of Muslims, called Undar, dwell here.

Gotru (16 do.).—Boundary of Jaisalmer and Upper Sind. A small castle and
garrison of Mir Sohrab’s; two wells, one inside; and a hamlet of
thirty huts of Samaichas and Undars; _thal_ heavy.

Udat (32 do.).—Thirty huts of shepherds; a small mud fortress. Rui, a
deep and entire desert, throughout all this space; no water [338].

Sankram or Sangram (16 do.).—Half the distance sand-hills, the rest
numerous temporary hamlets constructed of the _thal_, or maize
stalks; several water-courses.

Nala-Sangra (½ do.).—This nala or stream is from Dara, on the Sind, two
coss and a half north of Rohri Bakhar; much cultivation; extremity
of the sand-hills.

Targatia (½ do.).—A large town; Bankers and Banias, here termed Karar
and Samaichas.

Low ridge of hills, called Takar (4 do.).—This little chain of silicious
rocks runs north and south; Nawakot, the Newcastle of Sohrab, is at
the foot of them; they extend beyond Pharara, which is sixteen coss
from Rohri Bakhar. Gumat is six coss from Nawakot.

Rohri (4 coss). ┐ On the ridge, on the left bank of the Indus. Crossed
Bakhar (½ do.). ├ over to Bakhar; breadth of the river near a mile.
Sakhar (½ do.). ┘ Bakhar is an island, and the other branch to Sakhar
is almost a mile over also. This insulated rock is of silex,
specimens of which I possess. There are the remains of the ancient
fortress of Mansura, named in honour of the Caliph Al-Mansur, whose
lieutenants made it the capital of Sind on the opening of their
conquests. It is yet more famed as the capital of the Sogdoi of
Alexander; in all probability a corruption of Sodha, the name of the
tribe which has ruled from immemorial ages, and who till very lately
held Umarkot.

_N.B._—Kasids or messengers engage to carry despatches from
Jaisalmer to Rohri Bakhar in four days and a half; a distance of
one hundred and twelve coss.

Bakhar to Shikarpur

Lakhi, also called Lakhisar (12 do.).

Sindu Nala (3½ do.).

Shikarpur (½ do.).

Total of this route, 16 do.

Bakhar to Larkhana (28 do.).

Shikarpur to Larkhana (20 do.).

Jaisalmer to Dahir Ali Khairpur

Kuriala (18 do.).

Khara (20 do.).—Rui or desert all the way. This is the _thal_, or mutual
boundary of Upper Sind and Jaisalmer, and there is a small _thal_ or
mud fort, jointly held by the respective troops; twenty huts and one
well.

Sutiala (20 do.).—Rui all the way. A _thal_ for the collection of
duties; six wells.

Khairpur (Dahir Ali) (20 do.).—Rui, and deep jungle of the evergreens
called _thal_ and _thal_, from Sutiala to Khairpur.

Total of this route, 78 do.

Khairpur (Dahir Ali) to Ahmadpur

Ubaura (6 do.).—Considerable town; Indus four coss west.

Sabzal-ka-kot (8 do.).—Boundary of Upper Sind and Daudputra. This
frontier castle, often disputed, was lately taken by Mir Sohrab from
Bahawal Khan. Numerous hamlets and watercourses [339].

Ahmadpur (8 coss).—Considerable garrison town of Daudputra; two
battalions and sixteen guns.

Total of this route, 22 coss.

Khairpur (Dahir Ali) to Haidarabad

Mirpur (8 do.).—Four coss from the Indus.

Matela (5 do.).—Four coss from the Indus.

Gotki (7 do.).—Two coss from the Indus.

Dadla (8 do.).—Two coss from the Indus.

Rohri Bakhar (20 do.).—Numerous hamlets and temporary villages, with
many water-courses for cultivation in all this space.

Coss.

Khairpur ┐ 8 ┐ Six coss from the Indus.
(Sohrab-ka-) ┘ │
Gumat 8 │
Ranipur 2 │
(See route to │ The coss in this distance seems a medium
it from Garhar). │ between the pakka of two coss and the
Hingor 5 │ kachha of one and a half. The medium of
Bhiranapur 5 ├ one and three quarter miles to each coss,
Haliani 1 │ deducting a tenth for windings, appears,
Kanjara 3 │ after numerous comparisons, to be just.
Naushahra 8 │ This is alike applicable to all Upper Sind.
Mora 7 │
Shahpura 3 │
Daulatpur 3 ┘
Mirpur 3 ┌ On the Indus. Here Madari crossed to
└ Sehwan, and returned to Mirpur.
Kazi-ka-Got 9 ┐
Sakrand 11 │
Hala 7 ├ The coss about two miles each; which, deducting
Khardao 4 │ one in ten for windings of the road,
Matari 4 │ may be protracted.
Haidarabad 6 ┘
——
TOTAL 145 coss.

Jaisalmer to Ikhtyar Khan-ki-Garhi

┌ These villages are all inhabited by Paliwal
Brahmsar (4 coss) │ Brahmans, and are in the tract termed
Mordesar (3 do.) ┤ Kandal or Khadal, of which Katori, eight
Gugadeo (3 do.) │ coss north of Jaisalmer, is the chief town of
Kaimsar (5 do.) │ about forty villages.—_N.B._ All towns with
└ the affix of _thal_ have pools of water.

Nohar-ki-Garhi (25 do.).—_thal_ or desert throughout this space. The
castle of Nohar is of brick, and now belongs to Daudputra, who
captured it from the Bhattis of Jaisalmer. About forty huts and
little cultivation. It is a place of toll for the kitars or
caravans; two rupees for each [340] camel-load of ghi, and four for
one with sugar; half a rupee for each camel, and a third for an ox
laden with grain.

Murid Kot (24 coss).—_thal_ or desert. Rangarh is four coss east of
this.

Ikhtyar-ki-Garhi (15 do.).—_thal_ until the last four coss, or eight
miles. Thence the descent from the _thal_ or sand-hills to the
valley of the Indus.

Total of this route, 79 coss. Ikhtyar to Ahmadpur 18 coss
” Khanpur 5 ”
” Sultanpur 8 ”

Jaisalmer to Sheo-Kotra, Kheralu, Chhotan, Nagar-Parkar, Mitti, and
return to Jaisalmer.

Dabla (3 do.).—Thirty houses, Pokharna Brahmans.

Akali (2 do.).—Thirty houses, Chauhans, well and small talao.

Chor (5 do.).—Sixty houses, mixed classes.

Devikot (2 do.).—A small town of two hundred houses; belongs to the
Jaisalmer fisc or khalisa. There is a little fort and garrison. A
talao or pool excavated by the Paliwals, in which water remains
throughout the year after much rain.

Sangar (6 do.).—_N.B._ This route is to the east of that (following) by
Chincha, the most direct road to Balotra, and the one usually
travelled; but the villages are now deserted.

Biasar (2 do.).—Forty houses, and talao. Bhikarae 2 coss distant.

Mandai (frontier) (2½ do.).—Two hundred and fifty houses. Sahib Khan
Sahariya with a hundred horse is stationed here; the town is khalisa
and the last of Jaisalmer. The ridge from Jaisalmer is close to all
the places on this route to Mandi.

Gunga (4½ do.).—_thal_, or post of Jodhpur.

Sheo (2 do.).—A large town of three hundred houses, but many deserted,
some through famine. Chief of a district. A Hakim resides here from
Jodhpur; collects the transit dues, and protects the country from
the depredations of the Sahariyas.

Kotra (3 do.).—Town of five hundred houses, of which only two hundred
are now inhabited. On the north-west side is a fort on the ridge. A
Rathor chief resides here. The district of Sheo Kotra was taken from
the Bhattis of Jaisalmer by the Rathors of Jodhpur.

Vesala (6 do.).—In ancient times a considerable place; now only fifty
houses. A fort on the ridge to the south-west, near two hundred feet
high; connected with the Jaisalmer ridge, but often covered by the
lofty _thal_ of sand.

Kheralu (7 coss).—Capital of Kherdhar, one of the ancient divisions of
Marusthali. Two coss south of Vesala crossed a pass over the hills.

Chhotan (10 do.).—An ancient city, now in ruins, having at present only
about eighty houses, inhabited by the Sahariyas [341].

Bankasar (11 do.). Formerly a large city, now only about three hundred
and sixty houses.

Bhil-ki-basti (5 do.) ┐ Few huts in each.
Chauhan-ka-pura (6 do.) ┘

Nagar (3 do.).—A large town, capital of Parkar, containing one thousand
five hundred houses, of which one-half are inhabited.

Kaim Khan Sahariya-ki-basti (18 do.).—Thirty houses in the _thal_;
wells, with water near the surface; three coss to the east the
boundary of Sind and the Chauhan Raj.

Dhat-ka-pura (15 do.).—A hamlet; Rajputs, Bhils, and Sahariyas.

Mitti or Mittri-ka-kot (3 do.).—A town of six hundred houses in Dhat, or
the division of Umarkot belonging to Haidarabad; a relative of whose
prince, with the title of Nawab, resides here; a place of great
commerce, and also of transit for the caravans; a fortified mahall
to the south-west. When the Shah of Kabul used to invade Sind, the
Haidarabad prince always took refuge here with his family and
valuables. The sand-hills are immensely high and formidable.

Chailasar (10 do.).—Four hundred houses, inhabited by Sahariyas,
Brahmans, Bijaranis, and Banias; a place of great importance to the
transit trade.

Samaicha-ki-basti (10 do.).—_thal_ from Chailasar.

Nur Ali, Pani-ka-Tar (9 do.).—Sixty houses of Charans, Sultana Rajputs
and Kauravas (qu. the ancient Kauravas?) water (_thal_) plenty in
the _thal_.

Rual (5 do.).—Twelve hamlets termed _thal_, scattered round a tract of
several coss, inhabited by different tribes, after whom they are
named, as Sodha, Sahariya, Kaurava, Brahman, Bania and Sutar, as
Sodha-ka-bas, Sahariya-ka-bas, or habitations of the Sodhas; of the
Sahariyas, etc. etc. (see p. 1263).

Deli (7 do.).—One hundred houses; a _thal_, or collector of duties,
resides here.

Garara (10 do.).—Described in route from Umarkot to Jaisalmer.

Raedana (11 do.).—Forty houses; a lake formed by damming up the water.
_thal_, or salt-pans.

Kotra (9 do.).

Sheo (3 do.).—The whole space from Nagar to Sheo-Kotra is a continuous
mass of lofty sand-hills (_thal_), scattered with hamlets (_thal_),
in many parts affording abundant pasture for flocks of sheep, goats,
buffaloes, and camels; the _thal_ extends south to Nawakot and
Balwar, about ten coss south of the former and two of the latter. To
the left of Nawakot are the flats of Talpura, or Lower Sind.

Jaisalmer to Sheo Kotra, Barmer, Nagar-Gura and Suigam.

Dhana (5 coss).—Two hundred houses of Paliwals; pool and wells; ridge
two to three hundred feet high, cultivation between the ridges.

Chincha (7 do.).—Small hamlet; Sara, half a coss east; ridge, low
_thal_, cultivation.

Jasrana (2 do.).—Thirty houses of Paliwals, as before; Kita to the right
half a coss.

Unda (1 do.).—Fifty houses of Paliwals and Jain Rajputs; wells and
pools; country as before [342].

Sangar (2 do.).—Sixty houses; only fifteen inhabited, the rest fled to
Sind during the famine of 1813; Charans. Grand _thal_ commences.

Sangar-ka-talao (½ do.).—Water remains generally eight months in the
talao or pool, sometimes the whole year.

┌ Between is the _thal_ or boundary of Jaisalmer
Bhikarae (1½ do.) │ and Jodhpur. Bhikarae has one
Kharel (4 do.) │ hundred and twenty houses of Paliwals;
└ wells and pools at both places.

Rajarel (1 do.).—Seventy houses; most deserted since famine.

Gonga (4 do.).—Hamlet of twenty huts; _thal_, or small wells and pools;
to this the ridge and _thal_ intermingle.

Sheo (2 do.).—Capital of the district.

Nimla (4 do.).—Forty houses; deserted.

Bhadka (2 do.).—Four hundred houses; deserted. This is “the third year
of famine!”

Kapulri (3 do.).—Thirty huts, deserted; wells.

Jalepa (3 do.).—Twenty huts; deserted.

Nagar (Gurha) (20 do.).—This is a large town on the west bank of the
Luni River, of four to five hundred houses, but many deserted since
the famine, which has almost depopulated this region. In 1813 the
inhabitants were flying as far as the Ganges, and selling themselves
and offspring into slavery to save life.

Barmer (6 do.).—A town of twelve hundred houses.

Guru (2 do.).—West side of the Luni; town of seven hundred houses; the
chief is styled Rana, and of the Chauhan tribe.

Bata (3 do.).—West side of river.

Patarna (1 do.) ┐West side of river.
Gadla (1 do.) ┘

Ranas (3 do.).—East side of river.

Charani (2 do.).—Seventy houses; east side.

Chitalwana (2 do.).—Town of three hundred houses; east side of river;
belonging to a Chauhan chief, styled Rana. Sanchor seven coss to the
south.

Ratra (2 coss).—East side of river; deserted.

Hotiganw (2 do.).—South side of river; temple to Phulmukheswar Mahadeo.

Dhuta (2 do.) ┌ North side. On the west side the _thal_ is very
Tapi (2 do.) └ heavy; east side is plain; both sides well cultivated.

Lalpura (2 do.).—West side.

Surpura (1 do.).—Crossed river.

Sanloti (2 do.).—Eighty houses, east side of river.

Butera (2 do.).—East side; relation of the Rana resides here.

Narke (4 do.).—South side river; Bhils and Sonigiras.

Karoi (4 do.).—Sahariyas [343].

Pitlana (2 do.).—Large village; Kolis and Pitals.

Dharanidhar (3 do.).—Seven or eight hundred houses, nearly deserted,
belonging to Suigam.

Bah (4 do.).—Capital of Rana Narayan Rao, Chauhan prince of Virawah.

Luna (5 do.).—One hundred houses.

Sui (7 do.).—Residence of Chauhan chief.

Balotra on the Luni River to Pokaran and Jaisalmer.

Panchbhadra (3 do.).—Balotra fair on the 11th Magh—continues ten days.
Balotra has four to five hundred houses in the tract called
Siwanchi; the ridge unites with Jalor and Siwana. Panchbhadra has
two hundred houses, almost all deserted since the famine. Here is
the celebrated Agar, or salt-lake, yielding considerable revenue to
the government.

Gopti (2 coss).—Forty houses; deserted; one coss north of this the deep
_thal_ commences.

Patod (4 do.).—A considerable commercial mart; four hundred houses;
cotton produced in great quantities.

Sivai (4 do.).—Two hundred houses, almost deserted.

Serara (1 do.).—Sixty houses. To Patod the tract is termed Siwanchi;
from thence Indhavati, from the ancient lords of the Indha tribe.

┌ Bungara has seventy houses, Solankitala four
│ hundred, and Pongali sixty. Throughout
Bungara (3 do.) │ sand-hills. This tract is called Thalecha,
Solankitala (4 do.) ┤ and the Rathors who inhabit it, Thalecha
Pongali (5 do.) │ Rathors. There are many of the Jat or
│ Jāt tribe as cultivators. Pongali a Charan
└ community.

Bakri (5 do.).—One hundred houses; inhabited by Charans.

Dholsar (4 do.).—Sixty houses, inhabited by Paliwal Brahmans.

Pokaran (4 do.).—From Bakri commences the Pokaran district; all flat,
and though sandy, no _thal_ or hills.

Udhania (6 coss).—Fifty houses; a pool the south side.

Lahti (7 do.).—Three hundred houses; Paliwal Brahmans.

Sodhakur (2 do.) ┌ Sodhakur has thirty houses and Chandan fifty;
Channda (4 do.) ┤ Paliwals. Dry _thal_ at the latter; water
└ obtained by digging in its bed.

Bhojka (3 do.).—One coss to the left is the direct road to Basanki,
seven coss from Chandan.

Basanki-talao (5 do.).—One hundred houses; Paliwals.

Moklet (1½ do.).—Twelve houses; Pokharna Brahmans.

Jaisalmer (4 do.).—From Pokaran to Udhania, the road is over a low ridge
of rocks; thence to Lahti is a well-cultivated plain, the ridge
being on the left. A small _thal_ intervenes at Sodhakur, thence to
Chandan, plain. From Chandan to Basanki the road again traverses the
low ridge, increasing in height, and with occasional cultivation, to
Jaisalmer [344].

Bikaner to Ikhtyar Khan-ki Garhi, on the Indus.

Nai-ki-basti (4 do.) ┐
Gajner (5 do.) │ Sandy plains; water at all these villages.
Gurha (5 do.) ├ From Girajsar, the Jaisalmer frontier, the
Bitnok (5 do.) │ _thal_, or sand-hills commence, and continue
Girajsar (8 do.) │ moderate to Bikampur.
Narai (4 do.) ┘
Bikampur (9 do.) ┌ Bikampur to Mohangarh, _thal_ or desert all
Mohangarh (16 do.) │ the way, having considerable sand-hills
└ and jungle.

Nachna (16 do.).—_thal_, or sand-hills throughout this space.

Narai (9 do.).—A Brahman village.

Nohar-ki-Garhi (24 do.).—Deep _thal_ or desert; the frontier garrison of
Sind; the garhi, or castle, held by Haji Khan.

Murid Kot (24 coss).—_thal_, high sand-hills.

Garhi Ikhtyar Khan-ki (18 do.)—The best portion of this through the
Kachhi, or flats of the valley. Garhi on the Indus.

Total 147 coss, equal to 220½ miles, the coss being about a mile and
a half each; 200 English miles of horizontal distance to be
protracted [345].

-----

Footnote 8.2.1:

From _par_, ‘beyond,’ and _kar_ or _khar_, synonymous with _Luni_, the
‘salt-river.’ We have several Khari Nadis, or salt-rivulets, in
Rajputana, though only one Luni. The sea is frequently called the
Luna-pani, ‘the salt-water,’ or Khara-pani, metamorphosed into
Kala-pani, or ‘the black water,’ which is by no means insignificant.
[The proposed etymology of Pārkar is impossible, and _Khārā_,
‘saline,’ has no connexion with _Kālā_, ‘black.’]

Footnote 8.2.2:

[An account of the travels of Withington or Whithington is given in
_Purchas his Pilgrimes_, ed. 1625, i. 483. Mr. W. Foster, who is
engaged on a new edition, describes the story as interesting, but
muddled in history and geography.]

Footnote 8.2.3:

[Briggs’ trans. i. 69, but compare Elliot-Dowson iv. 180.]

Footnote 8.2.4:

[See Vol. II. p. 807.]

Footnote 8.2.5:

[Dharanīdhar, the Kūrma or tortoise, ‘supporter of the earth,’ the
second incarnation of Vishnu. At Dhema in Tharād a fair is held in
honour of Dharanīdharji (_BG_, v. 300, 342).]

Footnote 8.2.6:

One of my journals mentions that a branch of the Luni passes by Sui,
the capital of Virawah, where it is four hundred and twelve paces in
breadth: an error, I imagine. [Sūigām is on the E. shore of the Rann,
and the Lūni does not pass by it or by Virawāh.]

Footnote 8.2.7:

_Pursa_, the standard measure of the desert, is here from six to seven
feet, or the average height of a man, to the tip of his finger, the
hand being raised vertically over the head. It is derived from
_purush_, ‘man.’

Footnote 8.2.8:

[Pital is another name for the Kalbi farming caste, Kalbi being
apparently the local form of the name Kanbi or Kunbi (_Census Report,
Mārwār_, 1891, ii. 343). The caste does not appear in the 1911 Census
Report of Rājputāna.]

Footnote 8.2.9:

[Arabic _zunnār_, probably Greek ζωνάριον The Hindi _janeo_ is Skt.
_yajnopavīta_, the investiture of youths with the sacred thread, and
later the thread itself.]

Footnote 8.2.10:

[For a full account of the Kolis see _BG_, ix. Part i. 237 ff.]

Footnote 8.2.11:

[Iguanas (Yule, _Hobson-Jobson_, 2nd ed. 379 f.)]

Footnote 8.2.12:

[That is to say, from Bahāwalpur on the N. to Baliāri on the N. shore
of the Rann of Cutch, a distance, as the crow flies, of some 380
miles.]

Footnote 8.2.13:

[The original is condensed. “The lands of the Rāthor, who rules nine
districts, are for the most part all sand; they have little or no
water. The wells in some places are so deep that the water is drawn
with the help of oxen. When water is to be drawn, those who set the
animals to work beat a drum as a warning that the pot is at the mouth
of the well, and they are about to draw water” (Manucci ii. 432).]

Footnote 8.2.14:

[About 15 miles N. of Umarkot. See Elliot-Dowson i. 532.]

Footnote 8.2.15:

[The name Dhāt has disappeared from modern maps, and is not to be
found in the _IGI_.]

Footnote 8.2.16:

See table of tribes, and sketch of the Pramaras, Vol. I. pp. 98
and 107.

Footnote 8.2.17:

_Ferishta_ [iv. 411], Abu-l Fazl [_Āīn_, ii. 337, 340 ff.].

Footnote 8.2.18:

[A better version runs:

“_Pirthī barā Panwār, Pirthi Panwārān tāni;
Ek Ujjaini Dhār, dūjē Ābū baithno._”

“The Panwār the greatest on earth, and the world belongs to the
Panwārs. Their early seats were Ujjain, Dhār, and Mount Ābū” (_Census
Report, Mārwār_, 1891, ii. 29).]

Footnote 8.2.19:

[St. Martin fixes the capital of the Sogdoi at Alor or Aror, but
Cunningham would place it higher up stream, about midway between Alor
and Uchh, at the village of Sirwahi (McCrindle, _Alexander_, 354).]

Footnote 8.2.20:

To convince the reader I do not build upon nominal resemblance, when
localities do not bear me out, he is requested to call to mind, that
we have elsewhere assigned to the Yadus of the Panjab the honour of
furnishing the well-known king named Porus; although the Puar, the
usual pronunciation of Pramar, would afford a more ready solution.
[This is doubtful (Smith, _EHI_, 40 note).]

Footnote 8.2.21:

Colonel Briggs, in his translation [iv. 406], writes it _Hully Sa_,
and in this very place remarks on the “mutilation of Hindu names by
the early Mahomedan writers, which are frequently not to be
recognized”; or, we might have learned that the adjunct _Sa_ to Hully
(_qu._ Heri), the son of Sehris, was the badge of his tribe, Soda. The
Roy-sahy, or Rae-sa of Abulfazil, means ‘Prince Sa’ or ‘Prince of the
Sodas.’ Of the same family was Dahir, whose capital, in A.H. 99, was
(says Abu-l fazil) “Alore or Debeil,” in which this historian makes a
geographical mistake: Alore or Arore being the capital of Upper Sinde,
and Debeil (correctly Dewul, _the_ temple), or Tatta, the capital of
Lower Sinde. In all probability Dahir held both. We have already
dilated, in the Annals of Mewar, on a foreign prince named “Dahir
Despati,” or the sovereign prince, Dahir, being amongst her defenders,
on the first Mooslem invasion, which we conjectured must have been
that of Mahomed Kasim, after he had subdued Sinde. Bappa, the lord of
Cheetore, was nephew of Raja Maun Mori, shewing a double motive in the
exiled son of Dahir to support Cheetore against his own enemy Kasim.
The Moris and Sodas were alike branches of the Pramar (see Vol. I. p.
111). It is also worth while to draw attention to the remark
elsewhere made (p. 286) on the stir made by Hejauje of Khorasan (who
sent Kasim to Sinde) amongst the Hindu princes of Zabulist’han:
dislocated facts, all demonstrating one of great importance, namely,
the wide dominion of the Rajpoot race, previous to the appearance of
Mahomed. Oriental literature sustained a loss which can scarcely be
repaired, by the destruction of the valuable MSS. amassed by Colonel
Briggs, during many years, for the purpose of a general history of the
early transactions of the Mahomedans. [This note has been reprinted as
it stands in the original text. Many statements must be received with
caution. See Elliot-Dowson i. 120 ff.]

Footnote 8.2.22:

Of the latter stock he gives us a list of seventeen princes. Gladwin’s
translation of _Ayeen Akberi_, vol. ii. p. 122. [This has been
replaced by that of Jarrett, _Āīn_, ii. 343 ff.]

Footnote 8.2.23:

See Briggs’ _Ferishta_, vol. iv. pp. 411 and 422.

Footnote 8.2.24:

[For Minnagara see Vol. I. p. 255.]

Footnote 8.2.25:

The four races called Agnikula (of which the Pramar was the most
numerous), at every step of ancient Hindu history are seen displacing
the dynasty of Yadu. Here the struggle between them is corroborated by
the two best Muhammadan historians, both borrowing from the same
source, the more ancient histories, few of which have reached us. It
must be borne in mind that the Sodhas, the Umars, the Sumras, were
Pramars (vulg. _Puar_); while the Sammas were Yadus, for whose origin
see Annals of Jaisalmer, p. #1185# above.

Footnote 8.2.26:

[This is very doubtful. See Yule, _Hobson-Jobson_, 2nd ed. 447.]

Footnote 8.2.27:

[Sora is supposed to represent the Chola Kingdom in S. India
(McCrindle, _Ptolemy_, 64 f.).]

Footnote 8.2.28:

Of these, the author was so fortunate as to obtain one of Menander and
three of Apollodotus, whose existence had heretofore been questioned:
the first of the latter from the wreck of Suryapura, the capital of
the Surasenakas of Manu [_Laws_, ii. 19, vii. 193] and Arrian; another
from the ancient Avanti, or Ujjain, whose monarch, according to
Justin, held a correspondence with Augustus; and the third, in company
with a whole jar of Hindu-Scythic and Bactrian medals, at Agra, which
was dug up several years since in excavating the site of the more
ancient city. This, I have elsewhere surmised, might have been the
abode of Aggrames, Agra-gram-eswar, the “lord of the city of Agra,”
mentioned by Arrian as the most potent monarch in the north of India,
who, after the death of Porus, was ready to oppose the further
progress of Alexander. Let us hope that the Panjab may yet afford us
another peep into the past. For an account of these medals, see
_Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society_, vol. i. p. 313.
[Aggrames, King of the Gangaridae and Prasii, also known as Xandrames,
probably the Hindu Chandra, belonged to the Nanda dynasty (Smith,
_EHI_, 40; McCrindle, _Ancient India in Classical Literature_, 43).]

Footnote 8.2.29:

Captain, now Colonel, Pottinger, in his interesting work on Sind and
Baluchistan, in extracting from the Persian work Mu’jamu-l Waridat,
calls the ancient capital of Sind, Ulaor, and mentions the overthrow
of the dynasty of ‘Sahir’ (the Siharas of Abu-l Fazl), whose ancestors
had governed Sind for two thousand years.

Footnote 8.2.30:

[The present population is 4924.]

Footnote 8.2.31:

[In Shikārpur, Sind, near the frontier of Bahāwalpur.]

Footnote 8.2.32:

[By another story, Abdu-n-nabi Khān, brother of Ghulām Nabi Khān,
prince of Sind, assassinated his too successful general, Mīr Bijar, in
A.D. 1781 (_IGI_, xxii. 399).]

Footnote 8.2.33:

The memoir adds: Fateh Ali was succeeded by his brother, the present
Ghulam Ali, and he by his son, Karam Ali. The general correctness of
this outline is proved by a very interesting work (which has only
fallen into my hands in time to make this note), entitled _Narrative
of a Visit to the Court of Sinde_, by Dr. Burnes. Bijar Khan was
minister to the Kalhora rulers of Sind, whose cruelties at length gave
the government to the family of the minister. As it is scarcely to be
supposed that Raja Bijai Singh would furnish assassins to the Kalhora,
who could have little difficulty in finding them in Sind, the insult
which caused the fate of Bijar may have proceeded from his master,
though he may have been made the scapegoat. It is much to be regretted
that the author of the _Visit to Sinde_ did not accompany the Amirs to
Sehwan (of which I shall venture an account obtained nearly twenty
years ago). With the above memoir and map (by his brother, Lieut.
Burnes) of the Rann, a new light has been thrown on the history and
geography of this most interesting and important portion of India. It
is to be desired that to a gentleman so well prepared may be entrusted
the examination of this still little-known region. I had long
entertained the hope of passing through the desert, by Jaisalmer to
Uchh, and thence, sailing down to Mansura, visiting Aror, Sehwan,
Sammanagari, and Bamanwasa. The rupture with Sind in 1820 gave me
great expectations of accomplishing this object, and I drew up and
transmitted to Lord Hastings a plan of marching a force through the
desert, and planting the cross on the insular capital of the Sogdoi;
but peace was the order of the day. I was then in communication with
Mir Sohrab, governor of Upper Sind, who, I have little doubt, would
have come over to our views.

Footnote 8.2.34:

[The chief connexion of the Sodhas with Cutch is through the marriage
of their daughters with leading Jāreja and Musalmān families. Their
women are of great natural ability, but ambitious and intriguing, not
scrupling to make away with their husbands in order that their sons
may obtain the estate (_BG_, v. 67).]

Footnote 8.2.35:

See sketch of the tribes, Vol. I. p. 98.

Footnote 8.2.36:

_Nayyad_ is the noviciate, literally new (_naya_), or original
converts, I suppose. [In other parts of India they are known as
Naumuslim.]

Footnote 8.2.37:

_Dagra_ is very common in Rajputana for a ‘path-way’; but the
substitute here used for _rassa_, a rope, I am not acquainted with.
[For a large collection of similar taboo names for persons, animals,
and things see Sir J. Frazer, _The Golden Bough_, “Taboo and Perils of
the Soul,” 318 ff.]

Footnote 8.2.38:

[The name cannot be traced in recent Census Reports.]

Footnote 8.2.39:

[_Salvadora oleoides_ or _persica_ (Watt, _Econ. Dict._ vi. Part ii.
447 ff.).]

Footnote 8.2.40:

[In Cutch they claim to be Rāthors from Multān, and are said to have
been driven by the Muhammadans from the Panjāb into Cutch. In Gujarāt
they are Vaishnavas, and are particular about their food and drink,
but in Sind they are more lax (_BG_, v. 54 ff., ix. Part i. 122;
Burton, _Sindh_, 314).]

Footnote 8.2.41:

[They are numerous in S.W. Panjāb, where Rose (_Glossary_, ii. 16 ff.)
gives a full account of them.]

Footnote 8.2.42:

[On their connexion with the Bhatti Rājputs see Crooke, _Tribes and
Castes N.W.P. and Oudh_, ii. 37; Russell, _Tribes and Castes Central
Provinces_, i. 380; _BG_, v. 37 f.]

Footnote 8.2.43:

[About 45 miles S. of Umarkot.]

Footnote 8.2.44:

[These desert Brāhmans, whose laxity of custom is notorious, have no
connexion with other orthodox Brāhmans, and are probably priests or
medicine-men who now claim that rank.]

Footnote 8.2.45:

[_Census Report, Bombay_, 1911, i. 298.]

Footnote 8.2.46:

Abu-l Fazl, in describing the province of Bajaur, inhabited by the
Yusufzais, says: “The whole of the tract [Swāt] of hill and plain is
the domain of the Yūsufzai clan. In the time of Mīrza Ulugh Beg of
Kābul, they migrated from Kābul to this territory and wrested it from
the Sultāns who affected to be descendants of Alexander Bicornutus”
_(Āīn_, ii. 392 f.). Mr. Elphinstone inquired in vain for this
offspring of Alexander the Great.

Footnote 8.2.47:

[These derivations are impossible; the name is possibly connected with
that of the Savara tribe.]

Footnote 8.2.48:

[Nawakot and Mitti in the interior of Thar-Pārkar; Baliāri on the
shore of the Great Rann.]

Footnote 8.2.49:

[The Rājar are recorded as a section of the Saman, an aboriginal tribe
in Sind (_Census Report, Bombay_, 1911, i. 233).]

Footnote 8.2.50:

[See Elliot-Dowson i. 489.]

Footnote 8.2.51:

[The true reading is Nohmardi (_Āīn_, ii. 337).]

Footnote 8.2.52:

[Cf. Hindi _lokri_ or _lokhri_.]

Footnote 8.2.53:

[Max Müller derived Baloch from Skt. _mlechchha_, ‘a barbarian,’ but
this is doubtful.]

Footnote 8.2.54:

[Zott is the Arabic form of Jat or Jāt (Sykes, _Hist. of Persia_, ii.
79).]

Footnote 8.2.55:

[The ascription of Bhatti origin to the Mers is obviously intended to
correspond with the assertion that they are a branch of the Mīna or
Maina tribe (Elliot-Dowson i. 523 f.).]

Footnote 8.2.56:

[In the Panjāb Mor is the name of a Jāt sept which worship the peacock
(_mor_) because it is said to have saved their ancestor from a snake
(Rose, _Glossary_, iii. 129). There was a settlement of this tribe at
Sārangpur on the Kāli Sind River (_ASR_, ii. 228).]

Footnote 8.2.57:

[_Account of the Kingdom of Caubul_, 2nd ed. (1842) i. 22 ff. For a
full account of the Abbāsi Dāūdputras of Bahāwalpur see the _State
Gazetteer_ by Malik Muhammad Din (1908), i. 47 ff..]

Footnote 8.2.58:

[The succession runs: Bahāwal Khān II. (A.D. 1772-1809); Sādik
Muhammad Khān (1809-25); Muhammad Bahāwal Khān III. (1825-52); Sādik
Muhammad Khān II. (1853-58); Muhammad Bahāwal Khān IV. (1858-66);
Sādik Muhammad Khān III., a minor, installed in 1879.]

Footnote 8.2.59:

This memorandum was written, I think, in 1811 or 1812.

Footnote 8.2.60:

My friend Dr. Joseph Duncan (attached to the Residency when I was
Political Agent at Udaipur) was attacked by the _narua_ in a very
aggravated form. It fixed itself in the ankle-joint, and being broken
in the attempt to extricate it, was attended by all the evil results I
have described, ending in lameness, and generally impaired health,
which obliged him to visit the Cape for recovery, where I saw him on
my way home eighteen months after, but he had even then not altogether
recovered from the lameness. [Guinea-worm (Dracontiasis), a disease
due to the _Filaria medinensis_ or _Dracunculus_, known in Persia as
rīshtah, infests the Persian Gulf and many parts of India. See Curzon,
_Persia_, ii. 234; Fryer, _New Account of East India and Persia_, ed.
1912, i. 175; Sleeman, _Rambles_, 76; _Asiatic Researches_, vi. 58
ff.; _EB_, 11th ed. xix. 361. The disease from which Job suffered (Job
ii. 7) is generally believed to be elephantiasis (A. B. Davidson, _The
Book of Job_, 13).]

Footnote 8.2.61:

[Since this was written Rājputāna has suffered from terrible famines
in 1868-69, 1877-78, 1891-92, and 1899-1900, besides several seasons
of scarcity.]

Footnote 8.2.62:

[These camel corps have been placed at the service of the Indian
Government, and have done excellent service in several recent
campaigns.]

Footnote 8.2.63:

[The wild ass (_Equus hemionus_) seems to have almost entirely
disappeared in Jaisalmer. It is seldom seen in Mārwār, and no specimen
has appeared in Bīkaner for many years (Erskine iii. A. 7, 50, 311;
Blanford, _Mammalia of India_, 470 f.). Herodotus (vii. 86) says that
the Indian chariots in the army of Xerxes were drawn by horses or wild
asses.]

Footnote 8.2.64:

[Nīlgāē, _Boselaphus tragocamelus_, is not a deer, but belongs to the
order Bovidae (Blanford, 517 ff.).]

Footnote 8.2.65:

[The fruits or small red berries of the _pilu_ (_Salvadora persica_)
have a strong aromatic smell and a pungent taste, like mustard or
garden cress, while the shoots and leaves are eaten as a salad (Watt,
_Econ. Dict._ vi. Part ii. 449; Burnes, _Travels into Bokhara_, iii.
122).]

Footnote 8.2.66:

_Chittram_, the name applied to these flats of hard soil (which Mr.
Elphinstone happily describes, by saying that it rings under the
horses’ hoofs in marching over it), is literally ‘the picture,’ from
the circumstance of such spots almost constantly presenting the
mirage, here termed _chittram_. How far the soil, so deeply
impregnated with alkaline matter, may tend to heighten, if not to
cause this, we have elsewhere noted in a general account of this
optical phenomenon in various parts of northern India.

Footnote 8.2.67:

[Sarkanda, _Saccharum sara_ or _arundinaceum_; dhāman, _Pennisetum
cenchroides_; dūb, _Cynodon dactylon_; gokhru, _Tribulus
lancigenosus_; bharūt, _Cenchrus catharticus_.]

Footnote 8.2.68:

[The tomato, introduced in modern times into India, generally called
_wilāyati baingan_, ‘the foreign egg-plant.’]

Footnote 8.2.69:

[Many of the places named in this Itinerary are merely temporary
halting-places in the desert, which do not appear in modern maps.
Hence, in several cases, the transliteration is conjectural, and
depends on the method of the Author in the case of well-known
localities. A series of similar routes is given by Lieut. A. H. E.
Boileau, _Narrative of a Tour through Rajwara in 1835_ (Calcutta,
1837), p. 192 ff.]

Footnote 8.2.70:

There are two routes from Mulana to Sehwan. The Dhati went the longest
on account of water. The other is by Sakrand, as follows:

Coss. Coss.
Palri 5 Sakrand 3 ┐ [8.2.70.A]
Padshah-ki-basti 6 Nala 0-½ │ This
Udani 5 Makrand 4 │ appears
Mitrao 10 Koka-ki-basti 6 │ very
Mir-ki-khoi 6 The Sind 10 │ circuitous.
Supari 5 Sehwan 0-½ ┘
Kambhar-ka-nala 9

Footnote 8.2.70.A:

Town high road from Upper to Lower Sind.

Footnote 8.2.71:

Sehwan is erected on an elevation within a few hundred yards of the
river, having many clumps of trees, especially to the south. The
houses are built of clay, often three stories high, with wooden
pillars supporting the floors. To the north of the town are the
remains of a very ancient and extensive fortress, sixty of its
bastions being still visible; and in the centre the vestiges of a
palace still known as Raja Bhartrihari-ka-Mahall, who is said to have
reigned here when driven from Ujjain by his brother Vikramaditya.
Although centuries have flown since the Hindus had any power in these
regions, their traditions have remained. They relate that Vikrama, the
eldest son of Gandharap Sen, was so devoted to his wife, that he
neglected the affairs of government, which made his brother
expostulate with him. This coming to his wife’s ears, she insisted on
the banishment of Vikrama. Soon after a celebrated ascetic reached his
court, and presented to Bhartrihari the Amarphul, or ‘fruit of
immortality,’ the reward of years of austere devotion at the shrine of
Mahadeo. Bhartrihari gave it to his wife, who bestowed it on an
elephant-driver, her paramour; he to a common prostitute, his
mistress; who expecting to be highly rewarded for it, carried it to
the raja. Incensed at such a decided proof of infidelity, Bhartrihari,
presenting himself before his queen, asked for the prize—she had lost
it. Having produced it, she was so overwhelmed with shame that she
rushed from his presence, and precipitating herself from the walls of
the palace, was dashed to pieces. Raja Bhartrihari consoled himself
with another wife, Rani Pingula, to whose charms he in like manner
became enslaved; but experience had taught him suspicion. Having one
day gone a-hunting, his huntsman shot a deer, whose doe coming to the
spot, for a short time contemplated the body, then threw herself on
his antlers and died. The Shikari, or huntsman, who had fallen asleep,
was killed by a huge snake. His wife came to seek him, supposing him
still asleep, but at length seeing he was dead, she collected leaves,
dried reeds, and twigs, and having made a pyre, placed the body under
it; after the usual perambulations she set fire to, and perished with
it. The raja, who witnessed these proceedings, went home and conversed
with Pingulani on these extraordinary Satis, especially the Shikari’s,
which he called unparalleled. Pingulani disputed the point, and said
it was the sacrifice of passion, not of love; had it been the latter,
grief would have required no pyre. Some time after, having again gone
a-hunting, Bhartrihari recalled this conversation, and having slain a
deer, he dipped his clothes in the blood, and sent them by a
confidential messenger to report his death in combat with a tiger.
Pingulani heard the details; she wept not, neither did she speak, but
prostrating herself before the sun, ceased to exist. The pyre was
raised, and her remains were consuming outside the city as the raja
returned from his excursion. Hastening to the spot of lamentation, and
learning the fatal issue of his artifice, he threw off the trappings
of sovereignty, put on the pilgrim’s garb, and abandoned Ujjain to
Vikrama. The only word which he uttered, as he wandered to and fro,
was the name of his faithful Pingulani! “Hae Pingula! Hae Pingula!”
The royal pilgrim at length fixed his abode at Sehwan; but although
they point out the ruins of a palace still known even to the Islamite
as the Am-khass of Raja Bhartrihari, it is admitted that the fortress
is of more ancient date. There is a _mandir_, or shrine, to the south
of the town, also called, after him, Bhartri-ka-mandir. In this the
Islamite has deposited the mortal remains of a saint named Lal Pir
Shahbaz, to whom they attribute their victorious possession of
Sind.[8.2.71.A] The cenotaph of this saint, who has the character of a
proselyte Hindu, is in the centre of the mandir, and surrounded by
wooden stakes. It is a curious spectacle to see both Islamite and
Hindu paying their devotions in the same place of worship; and
although the first is prohibited from approaching the sacred enceinte
of the Pir, yet both adore a large salagram, that vermiculated fossil
sacred to Vishnu, placed in a niche in the tomb. The fact is a curious
one, and although these Islamite adorers are the scions of conversion,
it perhaps shows in the strongest manner that this conversion was of
the sword, for, generally speaking, the converted Hindu makes the most
bigoted and intolerant Musalman. My faithful and intelligent
emissaries, Madari Lal and the Dhati, brought me a brick from the
ruins of this fortress of Sehwan. It was about a cubit in length, and
of symmetrical breadth and thickness, uncommonly well burnt, and rang
like a bell. They also brought me some charred wheat, from pits where
it had been burned. The grains were entire and reduced to a pure
carbon. Tradition is again at work, and asserts its having lain there
for some thousand years. There is very little doubt that this is the
site of one of the antagonists of the Macedonian conqueror, perhaps
Mousikanos,[8.2.71.B] or Mukh-Sehwan, the chief of Sehwan. The passage
of the Grecian down the Indus was marked by excesses not inferior to
those of the Ghaznavede king in later times, and doubtless they fired
all they could not plunder to carry to the fleet. There is also a
Nanak-bara, or place of worship sacred to Nanak, the great apostle of
the Sikhs, placed between the fortress and the river. Sehwan is
inhabited by Hindus and Islamites in equal proportions: of the former,
the mercantile tribe of Mahesri from Jaisalmer, is the most numerous,
and have been fixed here for generations. There are also many Brahmans
of the Pokharna[8.2.71.C] caste, Sunars or goldsmiths, and other Hindu
artisans; of the Muslims the Sayyid is said to be the most numerous
class. The Hindus are the monied men. Cotton and indigo, and great
quantities of rice in the husk (paddy), grown in the vicinage of
Sehwan, are exported to the ports of Tatta and Karachi Bandar by boats
of considerable burthen, manned entirely by Muhammadans. The Hakim of
Sehwan is sent from Haidarabad. The range of mountains which stretch
from Tatta nearly parallel with the Indus, approaches within three
miles of Sehwan, and there turns off to the north-west. All these
hills are inhabited as far as the shrine of Hinglaj Mata[8.2.71.D] on
the coast of Mekran (placed in the same range) by the Lumri, or Numri
tribe, who though styling themselves Baloch, are Jats in
origin.[8.2.71.E]

Footnote 8.2.71.A:

[The reference is to Lāl Shāhbāz, Qalandar, head of the Jalāli order,
who died at Sehwān, A.D. 1274. For a full account see R. F. Burton,
_Sindh_, 211 f.]

Footnote 8.2.71.B:

[Mousikanos was the stiff-necked king of Alor or Aror who opposed
Alexander, was captured and executed (Smith, _EHI_, 100 f.; McCrindle,
_Alexander_, 395).]

Footnote 8.2.71.C:

See Annals of Jaisalmer, Vol. II. p. 1256.

Footnote 8.2.71.D:

This famous shrine of the Hindu Cybele, yet frequented by numerous
votaries, is nine days’ journey from Tatta by Karachi Bandar, and
about nine miles from the seashore.

Footnote 8.2.71.E:

These are the Nomurdies of Rennel. [See p. 1299 above.]

Footnote 8.2.72:

These springs are frequented, despite the difficulties and dangers of
the route from the savage Numri, by numerous Hindu pilgrims. Two of
them are hot, and named Suryakund and Chandrakund, or fountains of the
sun and moon, and imbued with especial virtues; but before the pilgrim
can reap any advantage by purification in their waters, he must
undergo the rite of confession to the attendant priests, who, through
intercession with Mahadeo, have the power of granting absolution.
Should a sinner be so hardened as to plunge in without undergoing this
preparatory ordeal, he comes out covered with boils!!! This is a
curious confirmation that the confessional rite is one of very ancient
usage amongst the Hindus, even in the days of Rama of Kosala.—See Vol.
I. p. 94.

Footnote 8.2.73:

This is the Sankra of Nadir Shah’s treaty with Muhammad Shah of India,
which the conqueror made the boundary between India and Persia, by
which he obtained the whole of that fertile portion of the valley of
Sind, east of that stream. Others say it issues from Dara, above Rohri
Bakhar.

Footnote 8.2.74:

See Annals of Jaisalmer for an account of the murder of this
chieftain, Vol. II. p. 1233.

Footnote 8.2.75:

Shaikh Abu-l-barakat makes the distance only nine coss from Shahgarh
to Kuriala, and states the important fact of crossing the dry bed of
the Ghaggar, five coss west of Kuriala; water found plentifully by
digging in the bed. Numerous _thal_, to which the shepherds drive
their flocks.

Footnote 8.2.76:

[_IGI_, xv. 215 f.]

Footnote 8.2.77:

Considerable town on the high road from Upper to Lower Sind. See
subsequent route.

-----

BOOK IX
ANNALS OF AMBER,[9.1.1] OR DHŪNDHĀR

CHAPTER 1

By some conventional process, Europeans in India have adopted the habit
of designating the principalities of Rajputana by the names of their
respective capitals, instead of those of the countries. Thus Marwar and
Mewar are recognized under the titles of their chief cities, Jodhpur and
Udaipur; Kotah and Bundi are denominations indiscriminately applied to
Haravati, the general term of the region, which is rarely mentioned; and
Dhundhar is hardly known by that denomination to Europeans, who refer to
the State only by the names of its capitals, Amber or Jaipur, the last
of which is now universally used to designate the region inhabited by
the Kachhwahas [346].

=Boundaries of Jaipur State.=—The map defines the existing boundaries of
this principality, to which I shall indiscriminately apply the terms (as
is the practice of the natives) of Dhundhar, Amber, and Jaipur.

=Etymology of Dhūndhār.=—Like all the other Rajput States, the country
of the Kachhwahas is an assemblage of communities, the territories of
which have been wrested from the aboriginal tribes, or from independent
chieftains, at various periods; and therefore the term Dhundhar, which
was only one of their earliest acquisitions, had scarcely a title to
impose its name upon the aggregate. The etymology of Dhundhar is from a
once celebrated sacrificial mount (_thal_) on the western frontier, near
Kalakh Jobner.[9.1.2]

=The Kachhwāha Tribe.=—The Kachhwaha or Kachhwa race claims descent from
Kusa, the second son of Rama, King of Kosala, whose capital was Ayodhya,
the modern Oudh. Kusa, or some of his immediate offspring, is said to
have migrated from the parental abode, and erected the celebrated castle
of Rohtas, or Rohitas,[9.1.3] on the Son, whence, in the lapse of
several generations, another distinguished scion, Raja Nal, migrated
westward, and in S. 351, or A.D. 295, founded the kingdom and city of
Narwar, or classically, Naishadha.[9.1.4] Some of the traditional
chronicles record intermediate places of domicile prior to the erection
of this famed city: first, the town of Lahar, in the heart of a tract
yet named Kachhwahagar, or region (_thal_) of the Kachhwahas;[9.1.5] and
secondly, that of Gwalior. Be this as it may, the descendants of Raja
Nal adopted the affix of Pal (which appears to be the distinguishing
epithet of all the early Rajput tribes), until Sora Singh (thirty-third
in descent from Nal), whose son, Dhola Rae, was expelled the paternal
abode, and in S. 1023, A.D. 967, laid the foundation of the State of
Dhundhar [347].

A family, which traces its lineage from Rama of Kosala, Nala of
Naishadha, and Dhola the lover of Maroni, may be allowed ‘the boast of
heraldry’; and in remembrance of this descent, the Kachhwahas of India
celebrate with great solemnity ‘the annual feast of the sun,’ on which
occasion a stately car, called the chariot of the sun (_thal_), drawn by
eight horses, is brought from the temple, and the descendant of Rama,
ascending therein, perambulates his capital.

=Origin of Jaipur State. Dhola Rāē.=—A case of simple usurpation
originated the Kachhwaha State of Amber; but it would be contrary to
precedent if this event were untinged with romance. As the episode,
while it does not violate probability, illustrates the condition of the
aboriginal tribes, we do not exclude the tradition. On the death of Sora
Singh, prince of Narwar, his brother usurped the government, depriving
the infant, Dhola Rae, of his inheritance. His mother, clothing herself
in mean apparel, put the infant in a basket, which she placed on her
head, and travelled westward until she reached the town of Khoganw
(within five miles of the modern Jaipur), then inhabited by the Minas.
Distressed with hunger and fatigue, she had placed her precious burden
on the ground, and was plucking some wild berries, when she observed a
hooded serpent rearing its form over the basket.[9.1.6] She uttered a
shriek, which attracted an itinerant Brahman, who told her to be under
no alarm, but rather to rejoice at this certain indication of future
greatness in the boy. But the emaciated parent of the founder of Amber
replied, “What may be in futurity I heed not, while I am sinking with
hunger”; on which the Brahman put her in the way of Khoganw, where he
said her necessities would be relieved. Taking up the basket, she
reached the town, which is encircled by hills, and accosting a female,
who happened to be a slave of the Mina chieftain, begged any menial
employment for food. By direction of the Mina Rani, she was entertained
with the slaves. One day she was ordered to prepare dinner, of which
Ralansi, the Mina Raja, partook, and found it so superior to his usual
fare, that he sent for the cook, who related her story.[9.1.7] As soon
as the Mina chief discovered the rank of the illustrious fugitive, he
adopted her as his sister, and Dhola Rae as his nephew. When the boy had
attained the age of Rajput manhood (fourteen), he was sent to
Delhi,[9.1.8] with the tribute of Khoganw, to attend instead of the
Mina. The young Kachhwaha remained there five years, when he conceived
the idea of usurping his benefactor’s authority. Having consulted the
Mina Dharhi,[9.1.9] or bard, as to the best means of executing his plan,
he recommended [348] him to take advantage of the festival of the
Diwali, when it is customary to perform the ablutions _en masse_, in a
tank. Having brought a few of his Rajput brethren from Delhi, he
accomplished his object, filling the reservoirs in which the Minas
bathed with their dead bodies. The treacherous bard did not escape;
Dhola Rae put him to death with his own hands, observing, “He who had
proved unfaithful to one master could not be trusted by another.” He
then took possession of Khoganw. Soon after he repaired to
Dausa,[9.1.10] a castle and district ruled by an independent chief of
the Bargujar tribe of Rajputs, whose daughter he demanded in marriage.
“How can this be,” said the Bargujar, “when we are both Suryavansi, and
one hundred generations have not yet separated us?”[9.1.11] But being
convinced that the necessary number of descents had intervened, the
nuptials took place, and as the Bargujar had no male issue, he resigned
his power to his son-in-law. With the additional means thus at his
disposal, Dhola determined to subjugate the Sira[9.1.12] tribe of Minas,
whose chief, Rao Nata, dwelt at Machh. Again he was victorious, and
deeming his new conquest better adapted for a residence than Khoganw, he
transferred his infant government thither, changing the name of Machh,
in honour of his great ancestor, to Ramgarh.

Dhola subsequently married the daughter of the prince of Ajmer, whose
name was Maroni.[9.1.13] Returning on one occasion with her from
visiting the shrine of Jamwahi Mata,[9.1.14] the whole force of the
Minas of that region assembled, to the number of eleven thousand, to
oppose his passage through their country. Dhola gave them battle: but
after slaying vast numbers of his foes, he was himself killed, and his
followers fled. Maroni escaped, and bore a posthumous child, who was
named Kankhal, and who conquered the country of Dhundhar. His son,
Maidal Rao, made a conquest of Amber from the Susawat Minas, the
residence of their chief, named Bhato, who had the title of Rao, and was
head of the Mina confederation. He also subdued the Nandla Minas, and
added the district of Gatur-Ghati to his territory.

=Hūndeo, Kuntal.=—Hundeo succeeded, and, like his predecessors,
continued the warfare against the Minas. He was succeeded by Kuntal,
whose sway extended over all the hill-tribes round his capital. Having
determined to proceed to Bhatwar, where a Chauhan prince resided, in
order to marry his daughter, his Mina subjects, remembering the [349]
former fatality, collected from all quarters, demanding that, if he went
beyond the borders, he should leave the standards and nakkaras of
sovereignty in their custody. Kuntal refusing to submit, a battle
ensued, in which the Minas were defeated with great slaughter, which
secured his rule throughout Dhundhar.

=Pajūn.=—Kuntal was succeeded by Pajun, a name well known to the
chivalrous Rajput, and immortalized by Chand, in the poetic history
(_Raesa_) of the emperor Prithiraj. Before, however, we proceed further,
it may be convenient to give a sketch of the power and numbers of the
indigenous tribes at this period.

=The Mīna Tribe.=—We have already had frequent occasion to observe the
tendency of the aboriginal tribes to emerge from bondage and depression,
which has been seen in Mewar, Kotah, and Bundi, and is now exemplified
in the rise of the Kachhwahas in Dhundhar. The original, pure, unmixed
race of Minas, or Mainas, of Dhundhar, were styled Pachwara, and
subdivided into five grand tribes. Their original home was in the range
of mountains called Kalikoh, extending from Ajmer nearly to the Jumna,
where they erected Amber, consecrated to Amba, the universal
mother,[9.1.15] or, as the Minas style her, Ghata Rani, ‘Queen of the
pass.’ In this range were Khoganw, Machh, and many other large towns,
the chief cities of communities. But even so late as Raja Baharmall
Kachhwaha, the contemporary of Babur and Humayun, the Minas had retained
or regained great power, to the mortification of their Rajput superiors.
One of these independent communities was at the ancient city of Nain,
destroyed by Baharmall, no doubt with the aid of his Mogul connexions.
An old historical distich thus records the power of the Mina princes of
Nain:

_Bāwan kot, chhappan darvāja,
Mīna mard, Nāin kā rājā,
Vado rāj Nāin ko bhago,
Jab bhus-hī men vāmto māgo._

That is, 'There were fifty-two strongholds,[9.1.15] and fifty-six gates
belonging to the manly Mina, the Raja of Nain, whose sovereignty of Nain
was extinct, when even of chaff (_bhus_) he took a share.' If this is
not an exaggeration, it would appear that, during the distractions of
the first Islamite dynasties of Delhi, the Minas had attained their
primitive importance. Certainly from Pajun, the vassal chieftain of
Prithiraj [350], to Baharmall, the contemporary of Babur, the Kachhwahas
had but little increased their territory. When this latter prince
destroyed the Mina sovereignty of Nain, he levelled its half hundred
gates, and erected the town of Lohwan (now the residence of the Rajawat
chief) on its ruins.

A distinction is made in the orthography and pronunciation of the
designation of this race: _Maina_, meaning the _asl_, or ‘unmixed
class,’ of which there is now but one, the _Usara_; while _Mina_ is that
applied to the mixed, of which they reckon _barah pal_,[9.1.16] or
twelve communities, descended from Rajput blood, as Chauhan, Tuar,
Jadon, Parihar, Kachhwaha, Solanki, Sankhla, Guhilot, etc., and these
are subdivided into no less than five thousand two hundred distinct
clans, of which it is the duty of the Jaga, Dholi, or Dom, their
genealogists, to keep account. The unmixed Usara stock is now
exceedingly rare, while the mixed races, spread over all the hilly and
intricate regions of central and western India, boast of their descent
at the expense of ‘legitimacy.’ These facts all tend strongly to prove
that the Rajputs were conquerors, and that the mountaineers, whether
Kolis, Bhils, Minas, Gonds, Savaras or Sarjas, are the indigenous
inhabitants of India. This subject will be fully treated hereafter, in a
separate chapter devoted to the Mina tribes, their religion, manners,
and customs.

=Death of Pajūn.=—Let us return to Pajun, the sixth in descent from the
exile of Narwar, who was deemed of sufficient consequence to obtain in
marriage the sister of Prithiraj, the Chauhan emperor of Delhi, an
honour perhaps attributable to the splendour of Pajun’s descent, added
to his great personal merit. The chivalrous Chauhan, who had assembled
around him one hundred and eight chiefs of the highest rank in India,
assigned a conspicuous place to Pajun, who commanded a division of that
monarch’s armies in many of his most important battles. Pajun twice
signalized himself in invasions from the north, in one of which, when he
commanded on the frontier, he defeated Shihabu-d-din in the Khaibar
Pass, and pursued him towards Ghazni.[9.1.17] His valour mainly
contributed to the conquest of Mahoba, the country of the Chandels, of
which he was left governor; and he was one of the sixty-four chiefs who,
with a chosen body of their retainers, enabled Prithiraj to carry off
the princess of Kanauj. In this service, covering [351] the retreat of
his liege lord, Pajun lost his life, on the first of the five days’
continuous battle. Pajun was conjoined with Govind Guhilot, a chief of
the Mewar house;—both fell together. Chand, the bard, thus describes the
last hours of the Kachhwaha prince: “When Govind fell, the foe danced
with joy: then did Pajun thunder on the curtain of fight: with both
hands he plied the _khadga_ (sword) on the heads of the barbarian. Four
hundred rushed upon him; but the five brothers in arms, Kehari, Pipa,
and Boho, with Narsingh and Kachra, supported him. Spears and daggers
are plied—heads roll on the plain—blood flows in streams. Pajun assailed
Itimad; but as his head rolled at his feet, he received the Khan’s lance
in his breast; the Kurma[9.1.18] fell in the field, and the Apsaras
disputed for the hero. Whole lines of the northmen strew the plain: many
a head did Mahadeo add to his chaplet.[9.1.19] When Pajun and Govind
fell, one watch of the day remained. To rescue his kin came Palhan, like
a tiger loosed from his chain. The array of Kanauj fell back; the
cloudlike host of Jaichand turned its head. The brother of Pajun, with
his son, performed deeds like Karna:[9.1.20] but both fell in the field,
and gained the secret of the sun, whose chariot advanced to conduct them
to his mansion.

“Ganga shrunk with affright, the moon quivered, the Dikpals[9.1.21]
howled at their posts: checked was the advance of Kanauj, and in the
pause the Kurma performed the last rites to his sire (Pajun), who broke
in pieces the shields of Jaichand. Pajun was a buckler to his lord, and
numerous his gifts of the steel to the heroes of Kanauj: not even by the
bard can his deeds be described. He placed his feet on the head of
Sheshnag,[9.1.22] he made a waste of the forest of men, nor dared the
sons of the mighty approach him. As Pajun fell, he exclaimed, ‘One
hundred years are the limit of man’s life, of which fifty are lost in
night, and half this in childhood; but the Almighty taught me to wield
the brand.’ As he spoke, even in the arms of Yama, he beheld the arm of
his boy playing on the head of the foeman. His parting soul was
satisfied: seven wounds from the sword had Malasi received, whose steed
was covered with wounds: mighty were the deeds performed by the son of
Pajun.”

=Mālasi.=—This Malasi, in whose praise the bard of Prithiraj is so
lavish, succeeded (according to the chronicle) his father Pajun in the
Raj of Amber. There is little said of him in the transcript in my
possession. There are, however, abundance of traditional couplets to
prove that the successors of Pajun were not wanting in the chief duties
of the Rajput [352], the exercise of his sword. One of these mentions
his having gained a victory at Rutrahi over the prince of Mandu.[9.1.23]

We shall pass over the intermediate princes from Malasi to Prithiraj,
the eleventh in descent, with a bare enumeration of their names: namely,
Malasi, Bijal, Rajdeo, Kilan, Kuntal, Junsi, Udaikaran, Narsingh,
Banbir, Udharan, Chandrasen, Prithiraj.

=Prithirāj.=—Prithiraj had seventeen sons, twelve of whom reached man’s
estate. To them and their successors in perpetuity he assigned
appanages, styled the Barah Kothri, or ‘twelve chambers’ of the
Kachhwaha house. The portion of each was necessarily very limited; some
of the descendants of this hereditary aristocracy now hold estates equal
in magnitude to the principality itself at that period. Previous,
however, to this perpetual settlement of Kachhwaha fiefs, and indeed
intermediately between Malasi and Prithiraj, a disjunction of the junior
branches of the royal family took place, which led to the foundation of
a power for a long time exceeding in magnitude the parent State. This
was in the time of Udaikaran, whose son Baloji left his father’s house,
and obtained the town and small district of Amritsar, which in time
devolved on his grandson Shaikhji, and became the nucleus of an
extensive and singular confederation, known by the name of the founder,
Shaikhavati, at this day covering an area of nearly ten thousand square
miles. As this subject will be discussed in its proper place, we shall
no longer dwell on it, but proceed with the posterity of Prithiraj,
amongst the few incidents of whose life is mentioned his meritorious
pilgrimage to Dewal,[9.1.24] near the mouth of the Indus. But [353] even
this could not save him from foul assassination, and the assassin was
his own son, Bhim, “whose countenance (says the chronicle) was that of a
demon.” The record is obscure, but it would appear that one parricide
was punished by another, and that Askaran, the son of Bhim, was
instigated by his brethren to put their father to death, and “to expiate
the crime by pilgrimage.”[9.1.25] In one list, both these monsters are
enumerated amongst the ‘anointed’ of Amber, but they are generally
omitted in the genealogical chain, doubtless from a feeling of disgust.

=Bahār or Bihāri Mall, c. A.D. 1548-75.=—Baharmall was the first prince
of Amber who paid homage to the Muhammadan power. He attended the
fortunes of Babur, and received from Humayun (previous to the Pathan
usurpation), the mansab of five thousand as Raja of Amber.[9.1.26]

=Bhagwāndās, c. A.D. 1575-92.=—Bhagwandas, son of Baharmall, became
still more intimately allied with the Mogul dynasty. He was the friend
of Akbar, who saw the full value of attaching such men to his throne. By
what arts or influence he overcame the scruples of the Kachhwaha Rajput
we know not, unless by appealing to his avarice or ambition; but the
name of Bhagwandas is execrated as the first who sullied Rajput purity
by matrimonial alliance with the Islamite.[9.1.27] His daughter espoused
Prince Salim, afterwards Jahangir, and the fruit of the marriage was the
unfortunate Khusru.[9.1.28]

=Mān Singh, c. A.D. 1592-1614.=—Man Singh, nephew[9.1.29] and successor
of Bhagwandas, was the most brilliant character of Akbar’s court. As the
emperor’s lieutenant, he was entrusted with the most arduous duties, and
added conquests to the empire from Khotan to the ocean. Orissa was
subjugated by him,[9.1.30] Assam humbled and made tributary, and Kabul
maintained in her allegiance. He held in succession the governments of
Bengal and Behar,[9.1.31] the [354] Deccan and Kabul. Raja Man soon
proved to Akbar that his policy of strengthening his throne by Rajput
alliances was not without hazard; these alliances introducing a direct
influence in the State, which frequently thwarted the views of the
sovereign. So powerful was it, that even Akbar, in the zenith of his
power, saw no other method of diminishing its force, than the execrable
but common expedient of Asiatic despots—poison: it has been already
related how the emperor’s attempt recoiled upon him to his
destruction.[9.1.32]

Akbar was on his death-bed when Raja Man commenced an intrigue to alter
the succession in favour of his nephew, Prince Khusru, and it was
probably in this predicament that the monarch had recourse to the only
safe policy, that of seeing the crown fixed on the head of Salim,
afterwards Jahangir. The conspiracy for the time was quashed, and Raja
Man was sent to the government of Bengal; but it broke out again, and
ended in the perpetual imprisonment of Khusru,[9.1.33] and a dreadful
death to his adherents. Raja Man was too wise to identify himself with
the rebellion, though he stimulated his nephew, and he was too powerful
to be openly punished, being at the head of twenty thousand Rajputs; but
the native chronicle mentions that he was amerced by Jahangir in the
incredible sum of ten crores, or millions sterling. According to the
Muhammadan historian, Raja Man died in Bengal,[9.1.34] A.H. 1024 (A.D.
1615); while the chronicle says he was slain in an expedition against
the Khilji tribe in the north two years later.[9.1.35]

=Bhāo Singh, c. A.D. 1615-21.=—Rao Bhao Singh succeeded his father, and
was invested by the emperor with the Panjhazari, or dignity of a
legionary chief of five thousand. He was of weak intellect, and ruled a
few years without distinction. He died in A.H. 1030 of excessive
drinking.

=Mahā Singh, c. A.D. 1621-25.=—Maha succeeded, and in like manner died
from dissipated habits. These unworthy successors of Raja Man allowed
the princes of Jodhpur to take the lead at the imperial court. At the
instigation of the celebrated Jodha Bai (daughter of Rae Singh of
Bikaner), the Rajputni wife of Jahangir, Jai Singh, grandson of Jagat
Singh (brother of Man), was raised to the throne of Amber, to the no
small jealousy, says [355] the chronicle, of the favourite queen, Nur
Jahan. It relates that the succession was settled by the emperor and the
Rajputni in a conference at the balcony of the seraglio, where the
emperor saluted the youth below as Raja of Amber, and commanded him to
make his salaam to Jodha Bai, as the source of this honour. But the
customs of Rajwara could not be broken: it was contrary to etiquette for
a Rajput chief to salaam, and he replied: “I will do this to any lady of
your majesty’s family, but not to Jodha Bai”; upon which she
good-naturedly laughed, and called out, “It matters not; I give you the
raj of Amber.”

=Jai Singh, Mīrza Rājā, c. A.D. 1625-67.=—Jai Singh, the Mirza Raja, the
title by which he is best known, restored by his conduct the renown of
the Kachhwaha name, which had been tarnished by the two unworthy
successors of Raja Man. He performed great services to the empire during
the reign of Aurangzeb, who bestowed upon him the mansab of six
thousand. He made prisoner the celebrated Sivaji, whom he conveyed to
court, and afterwards, on finding that his pledge of safety was likely
to be broken, was accessary to his liberation. But this instance of
magnanimity was more than counterbalanced by his treachery to Dara, in
the war of succession, which crushed the hopes of that brave prince.
These acts, and their consequences, produced an unconquerable
haughtiness of demeanour, which determined the tyrannical Aurangzeb to
destroy him. The chronicle says he had twenty-two thousand Rajput
cavalry at his disposal, and twenty-two great vassal chiefs, who
commanded under him; that he would sit with them in darbar, holding two
glasses, one of which he called Delhi, the other Satara, and dashing one
to the ground, would exclaim, “There goes Satara; the fate of Delhi is
in my right hand, and this with like facility I can cast away.” These
vaunts reaching the emperor’s ear, he had recourse to the same
diabolical expedient which ruined Marwar, of making a son the assassin
of his father. He promised the succession to the _gaddi_ of Amber to
Kirat Singh, younger son of the Raja, to the prejudice of his elder
brother Ram Singh, if he effected the horrid deed.[9.1.36] The wretch
having perpetrated the crime by mixing poison in his father’s opium,
returned to claim the investiture: but the king only gave him the
district of Kama. From this period, says the chronicle, Amber declined.

=Rām Singh, Bishan Singh.=—Ram Singh, who succeeded, had the mansab of
four thousand conferred upon him, and was sent against the
Assamese.[9.1.37] Upon his death, Bishan Singh, whose mansab was further
reduced to the grade of three thousand, succeeded; but he enjoyed the
dignity only a short period [356].

-----

Footnote 9.1.1:

This account of the Amber or Jaipur State is nearly what I
communicated to the Marquess of Hastings in 1814-15. Amidst the
multiplicity of objects which subsequently engaged my attention, I had
deemed myself absolved from the necessity of enlarging upon it,
trusting that a more competent pen would have superseded this essay,
there having been several political authorities at that court since it
was written. Being, however, unaware that anything has been done to
develop its historical resources, which are more abundant than those
of any other court of India, I think it right not to suppress this
sketch, however imperfect.

Footnote 9.1.2:

The traditional history of the Chauhans asserts, that this mount was
the place of penance (_thal_) of their famed king Bisaldeo of Ajmer,
who, for his oppression of his subjects, was transformed into a
Rakshasa, or Demon, in which condition he continued the evil work of
his former existence, “devouring his subjects” (as literally
expressed), until a grandchild offered himself as a victim to appease
his insatiable appetite. The language of innocent affection made its
way to the heart of the Rakshasa, who recognized his offspring, and
winged his flight to the Jumna. It might be worth while to excavate
the dhundh of the transformed Chauhan king, which I have some notion
will prove to be his sepulchre. [According to Cunningham (_ASR_, ii.
251) there is no mound of this kind at Jobner. He derives the name of
the territory from the river Dhūndhu—Dhūndhwār, or Dhūndhār, meaning
the land by the river Dhūndhu—the river having obtained its name from
the demon-king Dhūndhu (see _IGI_, xiii. 385).]

Footnote 9.1.3:

Were this celebrated abode searched for inscriptions, they might throw
light on the history of the descendants of Rama. [For Rohtāsgarh in
Shāhābād District, Bengal, see _IGI_, xxi. 322 f.]

Footnote 9.1.4:

Prefixed to a descriptive sketch of the city of Narwar (which I may
append), the year S. 351 is given for its foundation by Raja Nal, but
whether obtained from an inscription or historical legend, I know not.
It, however, corroborates in a remarkable manner the number of
descents from Nal to Dhola Rae, namely, thirty-three, which,
calculated according to the best data (see Vol. I. p. 64), at
twenty-two years to a reign, will make 726 years, which subtracted
from 1023, the era of Dhola Rae’s migration, leaves 297, a difference
of only fifty-four years between the computed and settled eras; and if
we allowed only twenty-one years to a reign, instead of twenty-two, as
proposed in all long lines above twenty-five generations, the
difference would be trifling. [The story is legendary. The eighth in
descent from Vajradāman, the first historical chief of Gwalior, who
captured that fortress from Vijayapāla of Kanauj (_c._ A.D. 955-90)
was Tej Karan, otherwise known as Dulha Rāē, the Dhola Rāē of the
text, who left Gwalior about A.D. 1128 (Smith, _EHI_, 381; _IGI_,
xiii. 384).]

We may thus, without hesitation, adopt the date 351, or A.D. 295, for
the period of Raja Nal, whose history is one of the grand sources of
delight to the bards of Rajputana. The poem rehearsing his adventures
under the title of Nala and Damayanti (fam. Nal-Daman) was translated
into Persian at Akbar’s command, by Faizi, brother of Abu-l Fazl, and
has since been made known to the admirers of Sanskrit literature by
Professor Bopp of Berlin [_Āīn_, i. 106; Macdonell, _Hist. Sanskrit
Literature_, 296 ff.].

Footnote 9.1.5:

[Kachhwāhagār or Kachhwāhagarh, the former meaning the ‘water-soaked
land,’ the latter the ‘fort,’ of the Kachhwāhas, is a tract between
the Sind and Pahuj Rivers, ceded to the British by the Gwalior State
in payment of a British contingent (Elliot, _Supplementary Glossary_,
237, 283, note).]

Footnote 9.1.6:

[For the tale of a serpent identifying the heir see Vol. I. p.
342.]

Footnote 9.1.7:

[The hero in folk-tales often wins recognition by his skill in the
kitchen, as in the story of Shams-al-Dīn in the _Arabian Nights_; see
Tawney, _Kathāsarit-sāgara_, i. 567.]

Footnote 9.1.8:

The Tuar tribe were then supreme lords of India.

Footnote 9.1.9:

Dhārhi, Dholi, Dom, Jāga are all terms for the bards or minstrels of
the Mina tribes.

Footnote 9.1.10:

See Map for Dausa (written Daunsa), on the Banganga River, about
thirty miles east of Jaipur.

Footnote 9.1.11:

The Bargujar tribe claims descent from Lava or Lao, the elder son of
Rama. As they trace fifty-six descents from Rama to Vikrama, and
thirty-three from Raja Nala to Dhola Rae, we have only to calculate
the number of generations between Vikrama and Nal, to ascertain
whether Dhola’s genealogist went on good grounds. It was in S. 351
that Raja Nal erected Narwar, which, at twenty-two years to a reign,
gives sixteen to be added to fifty-six, and this added to thirty-three
is equal to one hundred and five generations from Rama to Dhola Rae.
[The traditional dates are worthless.]

Footnote 9.1.12:

[See Rose, _Glossary_, iii. 103.]

Footnote 9.1.13:

[The tale of the love of Dulha or Dhola Rāē for Mārwan, the Maroni of
the text, daughter of Rāja Pingal of Pingalgarh in Sinhaladwīpa, or
Ceylon, as sung by the Panjab bards, is told in Temple, _Legends of
the Panjāb_, ii. 276 ff., iii. 97.]

Footnote 9.1.14:

[The family deity of the Kachhwāha tribe, whose shrine is in the gorge
of the river Bānganga, in Jaipur State (_Census Report, Mārwār_, 1891,
ii. 28; _Rajputana Gazetteer_, 1880, iii. 212).]

Footnote 9.1.15:

Kot is ‘a fortress’; but it may be applied simply to the number of
bastions of Nain, which in the number of its gates might rival Thebes.
Lohwan, built on its ruins, contains three thousand houses, and has
eighty-four townships dependent on it. [In the third line of the verse
Major Luard’s Pandit reads for _vado_, _dūbo_, ‘annihilated’; in the
fourth for _vāmto_, he gives _muttha_, ‘a handful.’]

Footnote 9.1.16:

Pal is the term for a community of any of the aboriginal mountain
races; its import is a ‘defile,’ or ‘valley,’ fitted for cultivation
and defence. It is probable that Poligar may be a corruption of
Paligar, or the region (_gar_) of these _Pals_. Palita, Bhilita,
Philita are terms used by the learned for the Bhil tribes. Maina,
Maira, Mairot all designate mountaineers, from _Mair_, or _Mer_, a
hill. [The ‘Palita’ of the note is possibly from a vague recollection
of the Phyllītai or ‘leaf-clad’ applied to some aboriginal tribes by
Ptolemy (vii. 1. 66) (McCrindle, _Ptolemy_, 159 f.).]

Footnote 9.1.17:

[This is probably a fiction of the bards, based on the defeat of
Shihābu-d-dīn by Bhīmdeo of Nahrwāla in A.D. 1178 (Elliot-Dowson ii.
294; Ferishta i. 170).]

Footnote 9.1.18:

_Kurma_, or _Kachhua_, are synonymous terms, and indiscriminately
applied to the Rajputs of Ajmer; meaning ‘tortoise.’

Footnote 9.1.19:

The chaplet of the god of war is of skulls; his drinking-cup a
semi-cranium.

Footnote 9.1.20:

[The hero of the Mahābhārata.]

Footnote 9.1.21:

[Ganga, the Ganges; Dikpāls, regents of the four quarters of the
heavens.]

Footnote 9.1.22:

[The serpent which supports the world.]

Footnote 9.1.23:

I give this chiefly for the concluding couplet, to see how the Rajputs
applied the word _Khotan_ to the lands beyond Kabul, where the great
Raja Man commanded as Akbar’s lieutenant:

“_Pālan, Pajūn jītē,
Mahoba, Kanauj larē,
Māndu Mālasi jītē,
Rār Rutrāhi kā;
Rāj Bhagwāndās jītē,
Mavāsī lar.
Rājā Mān Singh jītē,_
KHOTAN _phauj dabāī_.”

“Palan and Pajun were victorious;
Fought at Mahoba and Kanauj;
Malasi conquered Mandu;
In the battle of Rutrahi,
Raja Bhagwandas vanquished.
In the Mawasi (fastnesses, probably, of Mewat),
Raja Man Singh was victorious;
Subjugating the army of KHOTAN.”

Footnote 9.1.24:

‘_The_ temple’; the Debal of the Muhammadan tribes: the Rajput seat of
power of the Rajas of Sind, when attacked by the caliphs of Bagdad
[Yule, _Hobson-Jobson_, 2nd ed. 320.]

Footnote 9.1.25:

The chronicle says of this Askaran, that on his return, the king
(Babur or Humayun) gave him the title of Raja of Narwar. These States
have continued occasionally to furnish representatives, on the
extinction of the line of either. A very conspicuous instance of this
occurred on the death of Raja Jagat Singh, the last prince of Amber,
who dying without issue, an intrigue was set on foot, and a son of the
ex-prince of Narwar was placed on the _gaddi_ of Amber.

Footnote 9.1.26:

[This is the first mention of the grading of Mansabdārs (Smith,
_Akbar, the Great Moghul_, 362). For Rāja Bihārimall and his son
Bhagwāndās, see _Āīn_, i. 328, 333; _Akbarnāma_, trans. Beveridge ii.
244.]

Footnote 9.1.27:

[Akbar had married the daughter of Bahārmall.]

Footnote 9.1.28:

It is pleasing to find almost all these outlines of Rajput history
confirmed by Muhammadan writers. It was in A.H. 993 (A.D. 1586) that
this marriage took place. Three generations of Kachhwahas, namely,
Bhagwandas, his adopted son Raja Man, and grandson, were all serving
in the imperial army with great distinction at this time. Raja Man,
though styled Kunwar, or heir-apparent, is made the most conspicuous.
He quelled a rebellion headed by the emperor’s brother, and while
Bhagwandas commanded under a prince of the blood against Kashmir, Man
Singh overcame an insurrection of the Afghans at Khaibar; and his son
was made viceroy of Kabul.—See Briggs’ _Ferishta_, vol. ii. p. 258 _et
seq._

Footnote 9.1.29:

Bhagwandas had three brothers, Surat Singh, Madho Singh, and Jagat
Singh; Man Singh was son of the last.

Footnote 9.1.30:

Ferishta confirms this, saying he sent one hundred and twenty
elephants to the king on this occasion.—Briggs’ _Ferishta_, vol. ii.
p. 268.

Footnote 9.1.31:

Ferishta confirms this likewise. According to this historian, it was
while Man was yet only Kunwar, or heir-apparent, that he was invested
with the governments of “Behar, Hajipoor, and Patna,” the same year
(A.D. 1589) that his uncle Bhagwandas died, and that following the
birth of Prince Khusru by the daughter of the Kachhwaha prince, an
event celebrated (says Ferishta) with great rejoicings. See Briggs’
_Ferishta_, vol. ii. p. 261. Col. Briggs has allowed the similarity of
the names _Khusru_ and _Khurram_ to betray him into a slight error, in
a note on the former prince. It was not Khusru, but Khurram, who
succeeded his father Jahangir, and was father to the monster Aurangzeb
(note, p. 261). Khusru was put to death by Khurram, afterwards Shah
Jahan.

Footnote 9.1.32:

_Annals of Rajasthan_, Vol. I. p. 408.

Footnote 9.1.33:

He was afterwards assassinated by order of Shah Jahan [“under the
walls of Azere” (Asīrgarh)]. See Dow’s _Ferishta_, ed. 1812, vol. iii.
p. 56. [Elphinstone (p. 563) calls his death suspicious, but refuses
to believe that Shāh Jahān procured his death. He died from colic in
the Deccan on January 16, 1622.]

Footnote 9.1.34:

Dow, ed. 1812, vol. iii. p. 42; the chronicle says in S. 1699, or A.D.
1613. [He died a natural death in July 1614, while he was on service
in the Deccan, and sixty of his fifteen hundred women are said to have
burned themselves on his pyre (_Āīn_, i. 341; _Memoirs of Jahāngīr_,
trans. Rogers-Beveridge 266).]

Footnote 9.1.35:

An account of the life of Raja Man would fill a volume; there are
ample materials at Jaipur.

Footnote 9.1.36:

[Jai Singh died, aged about sixty, at Burhānpur, July 12, 1667
(Manucci ii. 152).]

Footnote 9.1.37:

[According to Manucci (ii. 153), Rām Singh, as a piece of revenge for
the flight of Sivaji, was sent to Assam in the hope that, like Mīr
Jumla, he would die there; but on an appeal being made to Aurangzeb,
the order was cancelled, and he was banished beyond the river Indus.
The real fact is that Rām Singh was appointed to the Command in Assam
in December 1667, and arrived there in February 1669. After desultory
and unsuccessful fighting he was allowed to leave Bengal, and reached
the Imperial Court in June 1676 (Jadunath Sarkar, _History of
Aurangzib_, iii. 212 ff.).]

-----

CHAPTER 2

=Sawāi Jai Singh, c. A.D. 1693-1743.=—Jai II., better known by the title
of Sawai Jai Singh, in contradistinction to the first prince of this
name, entitled the ‘Mirza Raja,’ succeeded in S. 1755 (A.D.
1699),[9.2.1] in the forty-fourth year of Aurangzeb’s reign, and within
six years of that monarch’s death. He served with distinction in the
Deccan, and in the war of succession attached himself to the prince
Bedar Bakht, son of Azam Shah, declared successor of Aurangzeb; and with
these he fought the battle of Dholpur, which ended in their death and
the elevation of Shah Alam Bahadur Shah. For this opposition Amber was
sequestrated, and an imperial governor sent to take possession; but Jai
Singh entered his estates, sword in hand, drove out the king’s
garrisons, and formed a league with Ajit Singh of Marwar for their
mutual preservation.

It would be tedious to pursue this celebrated Rajput through his
desultory military career during the forty-four years he occupied the
_gaddi_ of Amber; enough is already known of it from its combination
with the Annals of Mewar and Bundi, of which house he was the implacable
foe. Although Jai Singh mixed in all the troubles and warfare of this
long period of anarchy, when the throne of Timur was rapidly crumbling
into dust, his reputation as a soldier would never have handed down his
name with honour to posterity; on the contrary, his courage had none of
the fire which is requisite to make a Rajput hero; though his talents
for civil government and court intrigue, in which he was the Machiavelli
of his day, were at that period far more notable auxiliaries.

=The Building of Jaipur: Work in Astronomy.=—As a statesman, legislator,
and man of science, the character of Sawai Jai Singh is worthy of an
ample delineation,[9.2.2] which would correct our opinion of the genius
and [357] capacity of the princes of Rajputana, of whom we are apt to
form too low an estimate. He was the founder of the new capital, named
after him Jaipur or Jainagar, which became the seat of science and art,
and eclipsed the more ancient Amber, with which the fortifications of
the modern city unite, although the extremity of the one is six miles
from the other. Jaipur is the only city in India built upon a regular
plan, with streets bisecting each other at right angles.[9.2.3] The
merit of the design and execution is assigned to Vidyadhar, a native of
Bengal, one of the most eminent coadjutors of the prince in all his
scientific pursuits, both astronomical and historical. Almost all the
Rajput princes have a smattering of astronomy, or rather of its spurious
relation, astrology; but Jai Singh went deep, not only into the theory,
but the practice of the science, and was so esteemed for his knowledge,
that he was entrusted by the emperor Muhammad Shah with the reformation
of the calendar. He had erected observatories with instruments of his
own invention at Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Benares, and Mathura, upon a
scale of Asiatic grandeur; and their results were so correct as to
astonish the most learned.[9.2.4] He had previously used such
instruments as those of Ulugh Beg (the royal astronomer of Samarkand),
which failed to answer his expectations.[9.2.5] From the observations of
seven years at the various observatories, he constructed a set of
tables. While thus engaged, he learned through a Portuguese missionary,
Padre Manuel, the progress which his favourite pursuit was making in
Portugal, and he sent “several skilful persons along with him”[9.2.6] to
the court of Emanuel. The king of Portugal dispatched Xavier de Silva,
who communicated to the Rajput prince the tables of De la Hire.[9.2.7]
“On examining and comparing the calculations of these tables (says the
Rajput prince) with actual observation, it appeared there was an error
in the former, in assigning the moon’s place, of half a degree; although
the error in the other planets was not so great, yet the times of solar
and lunar eclipses _he_[9.2.8] found to come out later or earlier than
the truth by the fourth part of a ghari, or fifteen pals (six minutes of
time).” In like manner, as he found fault with the instruments of brass
used by the Turki astronomer, and which he conjectures must have been
such as were used by Hipparchus and Ptolemy, so he attributes the
inaccuracies of De la Hire’s tables [358] to instruments of “inferior
diameters.” The Rajput prince might justly boast of his instruments.
With that at Delhi, he, in A.D. 1729, determined the obliquity of the
ecliptic to be 23° 28´; within 28´´ of what it was determined to be, the
year following, by Godin. His general accuracy was further put to the
test in A.D. 1793 by our scientific countryman, Dr. W. Hunter, who
compared a series of observations on the latitude of Ujjain with that
established by the Rajput prince. The difference was 24″; and Dr. Hunter
does not depend on his own observations within 15″. Jai Singh made the
latitude 23° 10´ N.; Dr. Hunter, 23° 10´ 24″ N.

From the results of his varied observations, Jai Singh drew up a set of
tables, which he entitled _Zij Muhammadshahi_, dedicated to that
monarch; by these, all astronomical computations are yet made, and
almanacks constructed. It would be wrong—while considering these labours
of a prince who caused Euclid’s Elements, the treatises on plain and
spherical trigonometry, ‘Don Juan,’ Napier on the construction and use
of logarithms, to be translated into Sanskrit—to omit noticing the high
strain of devotion with which he views the wonders of the “Supreme
Artificer”; recalling the line of one of our own best poets:[9.2.9]

An undevout astronomer is mad.

The Rajput prince thus opens his preface: “Praise be to God, such that
the minutely discerning genius of the most profound geometers, in
uttering the smallest particle of it, may open the mouth in confession
of inability; and such adoration, that the study and accuracy of
astronomers, who measure the heavens, may acknowledge their
astonishment, and utter insufficiency! Let us devote ourselves at the
altar of the King of Kings, hallowed be his name! in the book of the
register of whose power the lofty orbs of heaven are only a few leaves;
and the stars, and that heavenly courser the sun, small pieces of money,
in the treasury of the empire of the Most High.

“From inability to comprehend the all-encompassing beneficence of his
power, Hipparchus is an ignorant clown, who wrings the hands of
vexation; and in the contemplation of his exalted majesty, Ptolemy is a
bat, who can never arrive at the sun of truth: the demonstrations of
Euclid are an imperfect sketch of the forms of his contrivance.

“But since the well-wisher of the works of creation, and the admiring
spectator of the works of infinite wisdom, Sawai Jai Singh, from the
first dawning of reason in his mind, and during its progress towards
maturity, was entirely devoted to the study [359] of mathematical
science, and the bent of his mind was constantly directed to the
solution of its most difficult problems; by the aid of the Supreme
Artificer, he obtained a thorough knowledge of its principles and
rules,” etc.[9.2.10]

Besides the construction of these objects of science, he erected, at his
own expense, caravanserais for the free use of travellers in many of the
provinces. How far vanity may have mingled with benevolence in this act
(by no means uncommon in India), it were uncharitable to inquire: for
the Hindu not only prays for all those “who travel by land or by water,”
but aids the traveller by serais or inns, and wells dug at his own
expense, and in most capitals and cities, under the ancient princes,
there were public charities for necessitous travellers, at which they
had their meals, and then passed on.

=Assassination of Farrukhsiyar, May 16, 1719.=—When we consider that Jai
Singh carried on his favourite pursuits in the midst of perpetual wars
and court intrigues, from whose debasing influence he escaped not
untainted; when amidst revolution, the destruction of the empire, and
the meteoric rise of the Mahrattas, he not only steered through the
dangers, but elevated Amber above all the principalities around, we must
admit that he was an extraordinary man. Aware of the approaching
downfall of the Mogul empire, and determined to aggrandize Amber from
the wreck, he was, nevertheless, not unfaithful to his lord-paramount;
for, on the conspiracy which deprived Farrukhsiyar of empire and of
life, Jai Singh was one of the few princes who retained their fidelity,
and would have stood by him to the last, if he had possessed a particle
of the valour which belonged to the descendants of Timur.[9.2.11]

Enough has been said of his public life, in that portion of the Annals
of Mewar with which he was so closely connected, both by political and
family ties. The Sayyids, who succeeded to power on the murder of their
sovereign Farrukhsiyar, were too wise to raise enemies unnecessarily;
and Jai Singh, when he left the unhappy monarch to his fate, retired to
his hereditary dominions, devoting himself to his favourite pursuits,
astronomy and history. He appears to have enjoyed three years of
uninterrupted quiet, taking no part in the struggles, which terminated,
in A.D. 1721, with Muhammad Shah’s defeat of his rivals, and the
destruction of the Sayyids [360]. At this period Jai Singh was called
from his philosophical pursuits, and appointed the king’s lieutenant for
the provinces of Agra and Malwa in succession: and it was during this
interval of comparative repose, that he erected those monuments which
irradiate this dark epoch of the history of India.[9.2.12] Nor was he
blind to the interests of his nation or the honour of Amber, and his
important office was made subservient to obtaining the repeal of that
disgraceful edict, the jizya, and authority to repress the infant power
of the Jats, long a thorn in the side of Amber. But when, in A.D. 1732,
the Raja, once more lieutenant for Malwa, saw that it was in vain to
attempt to check the Mahratta invasion, or to prevent the partition of
the empire, he deemed himself justified in consulting the welfare of his
own house. We know not what terms Jai Singh entered into with the
Mahratta leader, Bajirao, who by his influence was appointed Subahdar of
Malwa; we may, however, imagine it was from some more powerful stimulant
than the native historian of this period assigns, namely, “a similarity
of religion.” By this conduct, Jai Singh is said emphatically, by his
own countrymen, to have given the key of Hindustan to the Southron. The
influence his character obtained, however, with the Mahrattas was even
useful to his sovereign, for by it he retarded their excesses, which at
length reached the capital. In a few years more (A.D. 1739), Nadir
Shah’s invasion took place, and the Rajputs, wisely alive to their own
interests, remained aloof from a cause which neither valour nor wisdom
could longer serve. They respected the emperor, but the system of
government had long alienated these gallant supporters of the throne. We
may exemplify the trials to which Rajput fidelity was exposed, by one of
“the hundred and nine deeds of Jai Singh” which will at the same time
serve further to illustrate the position, that half the political and
moral evils which have vexed the royal houses of Rajputana, take their
rise from polygamy.

=Rebellion of Bijai Singh.=—Maharaja Bishan Singh had two sons, Jai
Singh and Bijai Singh. The mother of Bijai Singh, doubtful of his
safety, sent him to her own family in Khichiwara.[9.2.13] When [361] he
had attained man’s estate, he was sent to court, and by bribes, chiefly
of jewels presented by his mother, he obtained the patronage of
Kamaru-d-din Khan, the wazir.[9.2.14] At first his ambition was limited
to the demand of Baswa,[9.2.15] one of the most fertile districts of
Amber, as an appanage; which being acceded to by his brother and
sovereign, Jai Singh, he was stimulated by his mother to make still
higher demands, and to offer the sum of five crores of rupees and a
contingent of five thousand horse, if he might supplant his brother on
the throne of Amber. The wazir mentioned it to the emperor, who asked
what security he had for the fulfilment of the contract; the wazir
offered his own guarantee, and the sanads of Amber were actually
preparing, which were thus to unseat Jai Singh, when his _pagri badal
bhai_, Khandauran Khan,[9.2.16] informed Kirparam, the Jaipur envoy at
court, of what was going on. The intelligence produced consternation at
Amber, since Kamaru-d-din was all-powerful. Jai Singh’s dejection became
manifest on reading the letter, and he handed it to the confidential
Nazir, who remarked “it was an affair in which _force_ could not be
used, in which wealth was useless, and which must be decided by
stratagem[9.2.17] alone; and that the conspiracy could be defeated only
through the conspirator.” At the Nazir’s recommendation he convened his
principal chiefs, Mohan Singh, chief of the Nathawats;[9.2.18] Dip
Singh, Khumbani, of Bansko; Zorawar Singh, Sheobaranpota; Himmat Singh,
Naruka; Kusal Singh of Jhalai; Bhojraj of Mozabad, and Fateh Singh of
Maoli; and thus addressed them on the difficulties of his position: “You
placed me on the _gaddi_ of Amber; and my brother, who would be
satisfied with Baswa, has Amber forced upon him by the Nawab
Kamaru-d-din.” They advised him to be of good cheer, and they would
manage the affair, provided he was sincere in assigning Baswa to his
brother. He made out the grant at the moment, ratified it with an oath,
and presented it with full powers to the chiefs to act for him. The
Panch (council) of Amber sent their ministers to Bijai Singh provided
with all the necessary arguments; but the prince replied, he had no
confidence in the promises or protestations of his brother. For
themselves, and in the name of the Barah kothri Amber ki (the twelve
great families), they gave their sitaram,[9.2.19] or security; adding
that if Jai Singh swerved [362] from his engagements, they were his, and
would themselves place him on the _gaddi_ of Amber.

He accepted their interposition and the grant, which being explained to
his patron, he was by no means satisfied; nevertheless he ordered
Khandauran and Kirparam to accompany him, to see him inducted in his new
appanage of Baswa. The chiefs, anxious to reconcile the brothers,
obtained Bijai Singh’s assent to a meeting, and as he declined going to
Amber, Chaumun was proposed and agreed to, but was afterwards changed to
the town of Sanganer, six miles south-west of Jaipur, where Bijai Singh
pitched his tents. As Jai Singh was quitting the darbar to give his
brother the meeting, the Nazir entered with a message from the
queen-mother, to know “why her eyes should not be blessed with
witnessing the meeting and reconciliation of the two Laljis.”[9.2.20]
The Raja referred the request to the chiefs, who said there could be no
objection.

The Nazir prepared the _mahadol_,[9.2.21] with three hundred chariots
for the females; but instead of the royal litter containing the
queen-mother, it was occupied by Ugar Sen, the Bhatti chief, and each
covered chariot contained two chosen Silahposhians, or men at arms. Not
a soul but the Nazir and his master were aware of the treachery. The
procession left the capital; money was scattered with profusion by the
attendants of the supposed queen-mother, to the people who thronged the
highways, rejoicing at the approaching conclusion of these fraternal
feuds.

=Bijai Singh entrapped.=—A messenger having brought the intelligence
that the queen-mother had arrived at the palace of Sanganer, the Raja
and his chiefs mounted to join her. The brothers first met and embraced,
when Jai Singh presented the grant of Baswa, saying, with some warmth,
that if his brother preferred ruling at Amber, he would abandon his
birthright and take Baswa. Bijai Singh, overcome with this kindness,
replied, that “all his wants were satisfied.” When the time to separate
had arrived, the Nazir came into the court with a message from the
queen-mother, to say, that if the chiefs would withdraw she would come
and see her children, or that they might come to her apartment. Jai
Singh referred his mother’s wish to the chiefs, saying he had no will
but theirs. Having advised the brothers to wait on the queen-mother,
they proceeded hand in hand to the interior of the mahall. When arrived
at the door, Jai Singh, taking his dagger from his girdle, delivered it
to an eunuch, saying, “What occasion for this here?” [363] and Bijai
Singh, not to be outdone in confidence, followed his example. As the
Nazir closed the door, Bijai Singh found himself, not in the embrace of
the queen-mother, but in the iron grip of the gigantic Bhatti, who
instantly bound him hand and foot, and placing him in the _mahadol_, the
mock female procession with their prisoner returned to Amber. In an
hour, tidings were conveyed to Jai Singh of the prisoner being safely
lodged in the castle, when he rejoined the conclave of his chiefs; who
on seeing him enter alone, attended by some of the ‘men at arms,’ stared
at each other, and asked “What had become of Bijai Singh?”—“_Hamare pet
men_,” 'in my belly'! was the reply. “We are both the sons of Bishan
Singh, and I the eldest. If it is your wish that he should rule, then
slay me and bring him forth. For you I have forfeited my faith, for
should Bijai Singh have introduced, as he assuredly would, your enemies
and mine, you must have perished.” Hearing this, the chiefs were amazed;
but there was no remedy, and they left the palace in silence. Outside
were encamped six thousand imperial horse, furnished by the wazir as the
escort of Bijai Singh, whose commander demanded what had become of their
trust. Jai Singh replied, “It was no affair of theirs,” and desired them
to be gone, “or he would request their horses of them.” They had no
alternative but to retrace their steps, and thus was Bijai Singh made
prisoner.[9.2.22]

Whatever opinion the moralist may attach to this specimen of 'the
hundred and nine _gun_' of the royal astronomer of Amber, which might
rather be styled _guna_[9.2.23] (vice) than _gun_ (virtue), no one will
deny that it was done in a most masterly manner, and where _chal_ or
stratagem is a necessary expedient, did honour to the talents of Jai
Singh and the Nazir, who alone, says the narrative, were accessory to
the plot. In this instance, moreover, it was perfectly justifiable; for
with the means and influence of the wazir to support him, Bijai Singh
must, sooner or later, have supplanted his brother. The fate of Bijai
Singh is not stated.

=Services of Jai Singh to Jaipur State.=—The Kachhwaha State, as well as
its capital, owes everything to Jai Singh: before his time, it had
little political weight beyond that which it acquired from the personal
character of its princes, and their estimation at the Mogul court. Yet,
notwithstanding the intimate connexion which existed between the Amber
Rajas and the imperial family, from Babur to Aurangzeb, their
patrimonial estates had been very little enlarged since Pajun, the
contemporary of the last Rajput emperor of Delhi. Nor was it till [364]
the troubles which ensued on the demise of Aurangzeb, when the empire
was eventually partitioned, that Amber was entitled to the name of a
_raj_. During those troubles, Jai Singh’s power as the king’s lieutenant
in Agra, which embraced his hereditary domains, gave him ample
opportunity to enlarge and consolidate his territory. The manner in
which he possessed himself of the independent districts of Deoti and
Rajor,[9.2.24] affords an additional insight into the national
character, and that of this prince.

=Limits of Jaipur State.=—At the accession of Jai Singh, the _raj_ of
Amber consisted only of three parganas or districts of Amber, Daosa, and
Baswa; the western tracts had been sequestrated, and added to the royal
domains attached to Ajmer. The Shaikhavati confederation was superior
to, and independent of, the parent State, whose boundaries were as
follows. The royal thana (garrison) of Chatsu,[9.2.25] to the south;
those of Sambhar to the west, and Hastina to the north-west; while to
the east, Daosa and Baswa formed its frontier. The Kothribands, as they
denominate the twelve great feudalities, possessed but very slender
domains, and were held cheap by the great vassals of Mewar, of whom the
Salumbar chief was esteemed, even by the first Peshwa, as the equal of
the prince of the Kachhwahas.

=Rajor.=—Rajor was a city of great antiquity, the capital of a petty
State called Deoti,[9.2.26] ruled by a chief of the Bargujar tribe,
descended, like the Kachhwahas, from Rama, but through Lava, the elder
son. The Bargujars of Rajor had obtained celebrity amongst the more
modern Rajputs, by their invincible repugnance to matrimonial alliance
with the Muhammadans; and while the Kachhwahas set the degrading
example, and by so doing eventually raised themselves to affluence, the
Bargujar ‘conquered renown in the song of the bard,’ by performing the
_sakha_ in defence of his honour. While, therefore, Sawai Jai Singh
ruled as a viceroy over kingdoms, the Bargujar was serving with his
contingent with the Baisi,[9.2.27] and at the period in question, in
Anupshahr, on the Ganges. When absent on duty, the safety of Rajor
depended on his younger brother. One day, while preparing for the chase
of the wild boar, he became so impatient for his dinner, that his
sister-in-law remarked, “One would suppose you were going to throw a
lance at Jai Singh, you are in such a hurry.” This was touching a tender
subject, for it will be recollected that the first territory in the
plains obtained by the Kachhwahas, on their migration from Narwar, was
Daosa, a Bargujar possession. “By Thakurji (the Lord), I shall do so,
ere I eat from your hands again,” was the fierce reply. With ten
horsemen he left Rajor, and took post [365] under the Dhulkot, or ‘mud
walls,’ of Amber.

=Attempted Assassination of Jai Singh.=—But weeks and months fled ere he
found an opportunity to execute his threat; he gradually sold all his
horses, and was obliged to dismiss his attendants. Still he lingered,
and sold his clothes, and all his arms, except his spear; he had been
three days without food, when he sold half his turban for a meal. That
day Jai Singh left the castle by the road called _mora_, a circuitous
path to avoid a hill. He was in his _sukhasan_;[9.2.28] as he passed, a
spear was delivered, which lodged in the corner of the litter. A hundred
swords flew out to slay the assassin; but the Raja called aloud to take
him alive, and carry him to Amber. When brought before him and asked who
he was, and the cause of such an act, he boldly replied, “I am the Deoti
Bargujar, and threw the spear at you merely from some words with my
Bhabhi;[9.2.29] either kill or release me.” He related how long he had
lain in wait for him, and added that “had he not been four days without
food, the spear would have done its duty.” Jai Singh, with politic
magnanimity, freed him from restraint, gave him a horse and dress of
honour (_khilat_), and sent him, escorted by fifty horse, in safety to
Rajor. Having told his adventure to his sister-in law, she replied, “You
have wounded the envenomed snake, and have given water to the State of
Rajor.” She knew that a pretext alone was wanting to Jai Singh and this
was now unhappily given. With the advice of the elders, the females and
children were sent to the Raja at Anupshahr,[9.2.30] and the castles of
Deoti and Rajor were prepared for the storm.

On the third day after the occurrence, Jai Singh, in a full meeting of
his chiefs, related the circumstance, and held out the _bira_[9.2.31]
against Deoti; but Mohan Singh of Chaumun[9.2.32] warned his prince of
the risk of such an attempt, as the Bargujar chief was not only
estimated at court, but then served with his contingent. This opinion of
the chief noble of Amber alarmed the assembly, and none were eager to
seek the dangerous distinction. A month passed, and war against Deoti
was again proposed; but none of the Kothribands seeming inclined to
oppose the opinion of their ostensible head, Fateh Singh Banbirpota, the
chieftain of one hundred and fifty vassals, accepted the _bira_, when
five thousand horse were ordered to assemble under his command. Hearing
that the Bargujar had left Rajor to celebrate the festival of
Ganggor,[9.2.33] he moved towards him, sending on some messengers with
“the compliments of Fateh Singh Banbirpota, and that he was at hand.”
The young Bargujar who, little expecting [366] any hostile visitation,
was indulging during this festive season, put the heralds to death, and
with his companions, completely taken by surprise, was in turn cut to
pieces by the Jaipur troops. The Rani of Rajor was the sister of the
Kachhwaha chief of Chaumun: she was about giving a pledge of affection
to her absent lord, when Rajor was surprised and taken. Addressing the
victor, Fateh Singh, she said, “Brother, give me the gift (_dan_) of my
womb”; but suddenly recollecting that her own unwise speech had
occasioned this loss of her child’s inheritance, exclaiming, “Why should
I preserve life to engender feuds?” she sheathed a dagger in her bosom
and expired. The heads of the vanquished Bargujars were tied up in
handkerchiefs, and suspending them from their saddle-horses, the victors
returned to their prince, who sent for that of his intended assassin,
the young Bargujar chieftain. As soon as Mohan Singh recognized the
features of his kinsman, the tears poured down his face. Jai Singh,
recollecting the advice of this, the first noble of his court, which
delayed his revenge a whole month, called his grief treason, and
upbraided him, saying, “When the spear was levelled for my destruction,
no tear fell.” He sequestrated Chaumun, and banished him from Dhundhar:
the chief found refuge with the Rana at Udaipur. “Thus (says the
manuscript), did Jai Singh dispossess the Bargujar of Deoti and Rajor,
which were added to his dominions: they embraced all the tract now
called Macheri.”[9.2.34]

Amongst the foibles of Jai Singh’s character was his partiality to
‘strong drink.’ What this beverage was, whether the juice of the _madhu_
(mead), or the essence (_arak_) of rice, the traditional chronicles of
Amber do not declare, though they mention frequent appeals from Jai
Singh drunk, to Jai Singh sober; one anecdote has already been
related.[9.2.35]

In spite of his many defects, Jai Singh’s name is destined to descend to
posterity as one of the most remarkable men of his age and nation.

=Erection of Buildings.=—Until Jai Singh’s time, the palace of Amber,
built by the great Raja Man, inferior to many private houses in the new
city, was the chief royal residence. The Mirza Raja made several
additions to it, but these were trifles compared with the edifice
added[9.2.36] by Sawai Jai Singh, which has made the residence of the
Kachhwaha princes [367] as celebrated as those of Bundi or Udaipur, or,
to borrow a more appropriate comparison, the Kremlin at Moscow. It was
in S. 1784 (A.D. 1728) that he laid the foundation of Jaipur. Raja Mall
was the Musahib,[9.2.37] Kirparam the stationary wakil at Delhi, and
Budh Singh Khumbani, with the urdu, or royal camp, in the Deccan: all
eminent men. The position he chose for the new capital enabled him to
connect it with the ancient castle of Amber, situated upon a peak at the
apex of the re-entering angle of the range called Kalikoh; a strong
circumvallation enclosed the gorge of the mountain, and was carried over
the crest of the hills, on either side, to unite with the castle, whilst
all the adjoining passes were strongly fortified.

=Sumptuary Laws: Tolerance.=—The sumptuary laws which he endeavoured to
establish throughout Rajputana for the regulation of marriages, in order
to check those lavish expenses that led to infanticide and satis, will
be again called forth when the time is ripe for the abolition of all
such unhallowed acts. For this end, search should be made for the
historical legends called the ‘hundred and nine acts,’ in the archives
of Jaipur, to which ready access could be obtained, and which should be
ransacked for all the traces of this great man’s mind.[9.2.38] Like all
Hindus, he was tolerant; and a Brahman, a Muhammadan, or a Jain, were
alike certain of patronage. The Jains enjoyed his peculiar estimation,
from the superiority of their knowledge, and he is said to have been
thoroughly conversant both in their doctrines and their histories.
Vidyadhar, one of his chief coadjutors in his astronomical pursuits, and
whose genius planned the city of Jaipur, was a Jain, and claimed
spiritual descent from the celebrated Hemacharya, of Nahrvala, minister
and spiritual guide of his namesake, the great Siddhraj Jai
Singh.[9.2.39]

=The Asvamedha.=—Amongst the vanities of the founder of Amber, it is
said that he intended to get up the ceremony of the Asvamedha yajna, or
‘sacrifice of the horse,’ a rite which his research into the traditions
of his nation must have informed him had entailed destruction on all who
had attempted it, from the days of Janamejaya the Pandu, to Jaichand,
the last Rajput monarch of Kanauj. It was a virtual assumption of
universal supremacy; and although, perhaps, in virtue of his office, as
the satrap of Delhi, the horse dedicated to the sun might have wandered
unmolested on the banks of the Ganges, he would most assuredly have
found his way into a Rathor stable had he roamed in the direction of the
desert: or at the risk both of _jiva_ and _gaddi_ (life and throne), the
Hara [368] would have seized him, had he fancied the pastures of the
Chambal.[9.2.40] He erected a sacrificial hall of much beauty and
splendour, whose columns and ceilings were covered with plates of
silver; nor is it improbable that the steed, emblematic of Surya, may
have been led round the hall, and afterwards sacrificed to the solar
divinity. The Yajnasala of Jai Singh, one of the great ornaments of the
city, was, however, stripped of its rich decoration by his profligate
descendant, the late Jagat Singh, who had not the grace even of
Rehoboam, to replace them with inferior ornaments; and the noble
treasures of learning which Jai Singh had collected from every quarter,
the accumulated results of his own research and that of his
predecessors, were divided into two portions, and one-half was given to
a common prostitute, the favourite of the day. The most remarkable MSS.
were, till lately, hawking about Jaipur.

Sawai Jai Singh died in S. 1799 (A.D. 1743), having ruled forty-four
years. Three of his wives and several concubines ascended his funeral
pyre, on which science expired with him.

-----

Footnote 9.2.1:

[The dates of the Rājas of Jaipur are uncertain. Those in the margin
are given on the authority of Beale, _Oriental Biographical Dict._
193.]

Footnote 9.2.2:

For such a sketch, the materials of the Amber court are abundant; to
instance only the _Kalpadruma_, a miscellaneous diary, in which
everything of note was written, and a collection entitled _Ek sad nau
gun Jai Singh ke_, or ‘the one hundred and nine actions of Jai Singh’
of which I have heard several narrated and noted. His voluminous
correspondence with all the princes and chiefs of his time would alone
repay the trouble of translation, and would throw a more perfect light
on the manners and feelings of his countrymen than the most laborious
lucubrations of any European. I possess an autograph letter of this
prince, on one of the most important events of Indian history at this
period, the deposal of Farrukhsiyar. It was addressed to the Rana.

Footnote 9.2.3:

[For a graphic account of Jaipur city see Rudyard Kipling, _From Sea
to Sea_, chap. ii.]

Footnote 9.2.4:

[For these observatories see A. ff. Garrett and Pandit Chandradha
Guleri, _The Jaipur Observatory and its Builder_, Allahabad, 1902;
Fanshawe, _Delhi Past and Present_, 247 f.; Sherring, _The Sacred City
of the Hindus_, 131 ff. The observatory at Mathura was in the Fort,
but it has disappeared; at Ujjain only scanty remains exist (Growse,
_Mathura_, 3rd ed. 140; _IGI_, xviii. 73, xxiv. 113).]

Footnote 9.2.5:

[Ulugh Beg, son of Shāh Rukh and grandson of Amīr Timūr, succeeded his
father A.D. 1447, and was put to death by his son, Mīrza Abdul Latīf,
in 1449. His astronomical tables were published in Latin by John
Gregory, Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, and were edited by Thomas
Hyde in 1665 (Sykes, _Hist. of Persia_, ii. 218; _EB_, 11th ed. xxvii.
573 f.).]

Footnote 9.2.6:

It would be worth ascertaining whether the archives of Lisbon refer to
this circumstance.

Footnote 9.2.7:

Second edition, published in A.D. 1702. Jai Singh finished his in A.D.
1728.

Footnote 9.2.8:

Jai Singh always speaks of himself in the third person.

Footnote 9.2.9:

[Young, _Night Thoughts_, ix. 771.]

Footnote 9.2.10:

See “Account of the Astronomical Labours of Jya Sing, Raja of Amber,”
by Dr. W. Hunter (_Asiatic Researches_, vol. v. p. 177), to whom I
refer the reader for the description of the instruments used by the
Raja. The Author has seen those at Delhi and Mathura. There is also an
equinoctial dial constructed on the terrace of the palace of Udaipur,
and various instruments at Kotah and Bundi, especially an armillary
sphere, at the former, of about five feet diameter, all in brass, got
up under the scholars of Jai Singh. Dr. Hunter gives a most
interesting account of a young pandit, whom he found at Ujjain, the
grandson of one of the coadjutors of Jai Singh, who held the office of
Jyotishrae, or Astronomer-Royal, and an estate of five thousand rupees
annual rent, both of which (title and estate) descended to this young
man; but science fled with Jai Singh, and the barbarian Mahrattas had
rendered his estate desolate and unproductive. He possessed, says Dr.
H., a thorough acquaintance with the Hindu astronomical science
contained in the various Siddhantas, and that not confined to the
mechanical practice of rules, but founded on a geometrical knowledge
of their demonstration. This inheritor of the mantle of Jai Singh died
at Jaipur, soon after Dr. Hunter left Ujjain, in A.D. 1793.

Footnote 9.2.11:

J. Scott, in his excellent history of the successors of Aurangzeb [ed.
1794, ii. 156 ff.], gives a full account of this tragical event, on
which I have already touched in Vol. I. p. 474 of this work;
where I have given a literal translation of the autograph letter of
Raja Jai Singh on the occasion.

Footnote 9.2.12:

The Raja says he finished his tables in A.D. 1728, and that he had
occupied himself seven years previously in the necessary observations;
in fact, the first quiet years of Muhammad Shah’s reign, or indeed
that India had known for centuries.

Footnote 9.2.13:

[In Mālwa (_IGI_, xxi. 34).]

Footnote 9.2.14:

[Kamaru-d-dīn, Mīr Muhammad Fāzil, son of Itmādu-d-daula, Muhammad
Amīn Khān Wazīr, was appointed to that office A.D. 1724: killed at
Sarhind, March 11, 1728.]

Footnote 9.2.15:

[Forty-five miles N.N.W. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.2.16:

[‘Brother by exchange of turbans.’ Khāndaurān Khān, Abdu-l-Samad Khān,
governor of Lahore and Multān, died A.D. 1739.]

Footnote 9.2.17:

The Nazir is here harping on three of the four predicaments which
(borrowed originally from Manu [_Laws_, viii. 159, 165, 168], and
repeated by the great Rajput oracle, the bard Chand) govern all human
events, _sham_, _dan_, _bhed_, _dand_, ‘arguments, gifts, stratagem,
force.’

Footnote 9.2.18:

He is the hereditary premier noble of this house (as is Salumbar of
Mewar, and the Awa chief of Marwar), and is familiarly called the
‘Patel of Amber.’ His residence is Chaumun, which is the place of
rendezvous of the feudality of Amber, whenever they league against the
sovereign.

Footnote 9.2.19:

[An appeal to the deities Rāma and his wife Sīta.]

Footnote 9.2.20:

_Lalji_ is an epithet of endearment used by all classes of Hindus
towards their children, from the Sanskrit _lal_, _lad_, ‘to sport.’

Footnote 9.2.21:

[A state litter, generally used by ladies of the Court.]

Footnote 9.2.22:

I have made a _verbatim_ translation of this _gun_.

Footnote 9.2.23:

This is a singular instance of making the privative an affix instead
of prefix; _a-gun_, ‘without virtue,’ would be the common form. [(?)
_guna_ may mean ‘virtue,’ or the reverse (Monier-Williams, _Sanskrit
Dict._ s.v.; _Brāhmanism and Hinduism_, 4th ed. 30).]

Footnote 9.2.24:

[Both now in Mācheri of the Alwar State.]

Footnote 9.2.25:

[Thirty miles E. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.2.26:

[Now in Mācheri, Alwar State.]

Footnote 9.2.27:

[‘The twenty-two,’ a term originally applied to the Mughal army,
because it was supposed to contain twenty-two lakhs of men. The
twenty-two nobles of Jaipur were a later creation.]

Footnote 9.2.28:

A litter, literally 'seat (_asan_) of ease (_sukh_).'

Footnote 9.2.29:

[_Bhābhi_, ‘sister-in-law.’]

Footnote 9.2.30:

The descendants of this chieftain still occupy lands at Anupshahr.

Footnote 9.2.31:

[The betel leaf eaten before battle.]

Footnote 9.2.32:

[About 20 miles N. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.2.33:

[See Vol. II. p. 665.]

Footnote 9.2.34:

Rajor is esteemed a place of great antiquity, and the chief seat of
the Bargujar tribe for ages, a tribe mentioned with high respect in
the works of the bard Chand, and celebrated in the wars of Prithiraj.
I sent a party to Rajor in 1813.

Footnote 9.2.35:

Annals of Mārwār, Vol. II. p. 1048.

Footnote 9.2.36:

The manuscript says, “On the spot where the first Jai Singh erected
the three mahalls, and excavated the tank called the Talkatora, he
erected other edifices.” As Hindu princes never throw down the works
of their predecessors, this means that he added greatly to the old
palace.

Footnote 9.2.37:

[Aide-de-camp.]

Footnote 9.2.38:

By such researches we should in all probability recover those sketches
of ancient history of the various dynasties of Rajputana, which he is
said to have collected with great pains and labour, and the
genealogies of the old races, under the titles of Rajavali and
Rajatarangini; besides, the astronomical works, either original or
translations, such as were collected by Jai Singh, would be a real
gift to science.

Footnote 9.2.39:

He ruled from S. 1150 to S. 1201, A.D. 1094-1143. [Hemāchārya, or
Hemachandra, was a famous scholar who flourished in the reigns of
Siddharāja Jayasingha and Kumārapāla. He is said to have been
converted to Islām (_BG_, i. Part i. 180 f., 182 f., ix. Part ii. 26,
note.)]

Footnote 9.2.40:

See Vol. I. p. 91, for a description of the rite of _Asvamedha_.

-----

CHAPTER 3

=The Rājput League.=—The league formed at this time by the three chief
powers of Rajputana has already been noticed in the Annals of Mewar. It
was one of self-preservation; and while the Rathors added to Marwar from
Gujarat, the Kachhwahas consolidated all the districts in their
neighbourhood under Amber. The Shaikhavati federation was compelled to
become tributary, and but for the rise of the Jats, the State of Jaipur
would have extended from the lake of Sambhar to the Jumna [369].

=Īsari Singh, A.D. 1743-60.=—Isari Singh succeeded to a well-defined
territory, heaps of treasure, an efficient ministry, and a good army;
but the seeds of destruction lurked in the social edifice so lately
raised, and polygamy was again the immediate agent. Isari Singh was the
successor of Jai Singh, according to the fixed laws of primogeniture;
but Madho Singh, a younger son, born of a princess of Mewar, possessed
conventional rights which vitiated those of birth. These have already
been discussed, as well as their disastrous issue to the unfortunate
Isari Singh, who was not calculated for the times, being totally
deficient in that nervous energy of character, without which a Rajput
prince can enforce no respect. His conduct on the Abdali invasion
admitted the construction of cowardice, though his retreat from the
field of battle, when the commander-in-chief, Kamaru-d-din Khan, was
killed, might have been ascribed to political motives, were it not
recorded that his own wife received him with gibes and reproaches. There
is every appearance of Jai Singh having repented of his engagement on
obtaining the hand of the Sesodia princess, namely, that her issue
should succeed, as he had in his lifetime given an appanage unusually
large to Madho Singh, namely, the four parganas of Tonk, Rampura,
Phaggi, and Malpura.[9.3.1] The Rana also, who supported his nephew’s
claims, assigned to him the rich fief of Rampura Bhanpura in
Mewar,[9.3.2] which as well as Tonk Rampura, constituting a petty
sovereignty, were, with eighty-four lakhs (£840,000 sterling),
eventually made over to Holkar for supporting his claims to the
‘cushion’ of Jaipur. The consequence of this barbarous intervention in
the international quarrels of the Rajputs annihilated the certain
prospect they had of national independence, on the breaking up of the
empire, and subjected them to a thraldom still more degrading, from
which a chance of redemption is now offered to them.

=Mādho Singh, A.D. 1760-78.=—Madho Singh, on his accession, displayed
great vigour of mind, and though faithful to his engagements, he soon
showed the Mahrattas he would admit of no protracted interference in his
affairs; and had not the rising power of the Jats distracted his
attention and divided his resources, he would, had his life been
prolonged, in conjunction with the Rathors, have completely humbled
their power. But this near enemy embarrassed all his plans. Although the
history of the Jats is now well known, it may not be impertinent shortly
to commemorate the rise of a power, which, from a rustic condition, in
little more than half a century was able to baffle the armies of
Britain, led by the most popular commander it ever had in the East; for
till the siege of Bharatpur the name of Lake was always coupled with
victory [370].

=The Jāts of Bharatpur.=—The Jats[9.3.3] are a branch of the great Getic
race, of which enough has been said in various parts of this work.
Though reduced from the rank they once had amongst the ‘Thirty-six Royal
Races,’ they appear never to have renounced the love of independence,
which they contested with Cyrus in their original haunts in Sogdiana.
The name of the Cincinnatus of the Jats, who abandoned his plough to
lead his countrymen against their tyrants, was Churaman. Taking
advantage of the sanguinary civil wars amongst the successors of
Aurangzeb, they erected petty castles in the villages (whose lands they
cultivated) of Thun and Sansani,[9.3.4] and soon obtained the
distinction of Kazaks, or ‘robbers,’ a title which they were not slow to
merit, by their inroads as far as the royal abode of Farrukhsiyar. The
Sayyids, then in power, commanded Jai Singh of Amber to attack them in
their strongholds, and Thun and Sansani were simultaneously invested.
But the Jats, even in the very infancy of their power, evinced the same
obstinate skill in defending mud walls, which in later times gained them
so much celebrity. The royal astronomer of Amber was foiled, and after
twelve months of toil, was ingloriously compelled to raise both sieges.

Not long after this event, Badan Singh, the younger brother of Churaman,
and a joint proprietor of the land, was for some misconduct placed in
restraint, and had remained so for some years, when, through the
intercession of Jai Singh and the guarantee of the other Bhumia Jats, he
was liberated. His first act was to fly to Amber, and to bring its
prince, at the head of an army, to invest Thun, which, after a gallant
defence of six months, surrendered and was razed to the ground. Churaman
and his son, Mohkam Singh, effected their escape, and Badan Singh was
proclaimed chief of the Jats, and installed, as Raja, by Jai Singh in
the town of Dig, destined also in after times to have its share of fame.

Badan Singh had a numerous progeny, and four of his sons obtained
notoriety, namely, Surajmall, Sobharam, Partap Singh, and Birnarayan.
Badan Singh subjected several of the royal districts to his authority.
He abdicated his power in favour of his elder son, Surajmall, having in
the first instance assigned the district of Wer,[9.3.5] on which he had
constructed a fort, to his son Partap.

Surajmall inherited all the turbulence and energy requisite to carry on
the plans of his predecessors. His first act was to dispossess a
relative, named Kaima, of the castle [371] of Bharatpur, afterwards the
celebrated capital of the Jats.[9.3.6] In the year S. 1820 (A.D. 1764),
Surajmall carried his audacity so far as to make an attempt upon the
imperial city; but here his career was cut short by a party of Baloch
horse, who slew him while enjoying the chase. He had five sons, namely,
Jawahir Singh, Ratan Singh, Newal Singh, Nahar Singh, Ranjit Singh, and
also an adopted son, named Hardeo Bakhsh, picked up while hunting. Of
these five sons, the first two were by a wife of the Kurmi[9.3.7] tribe;
the third was by a wife of the Malin, or horticultural class; while the
others were by Jatnis or women of his own race.

Jawahir Singh, who succeeded, was the contemporary of Raja Madho Singh,
whose reign in Jaipur we have just reached; and to the Jat’s
determination to measure swords with him were owing, not only the
frustration of his schemes for humbling the Mahratta, but the
dismemberment of the country by the defection of the chief of Macheri.
Jawahir Singh, in A.H. 1182, having in vain solicited the district of
Kamona, manifested his resentment by instantly marching through the
Jaipur territories to the sacred lake of Pushkar, without any previous
intimation. He there met Raja Bijai Singh of Marwar, who, in spite of
his Jat origin, condescended to ‘exchange turbans,’ the sign of
friendship and fraternal adoption. At this period, Madho Singh’s health
was on the decline, and his counsels were guided by two brothers, named
Harsahai and Gursahai, who represented the insulting conduct of the Jat
and required instructions. They were commanded to address him a letter
warning him not to return through the territories of Amber, and the
chiefs were desired to assemble their retainers in order to punish a
repetition of the insult. But the Jat, who had determined to abide the
consequences, paid no regard to the letter, and returned homewards by
the same route. This was a justifiable ground of quarrel, and the united
Kothribands marched to the encounter, to maintain the pretensions of
their equestrian order against the plebeian Jat. A desperate conflict
ensued, which, though it terminated in favour of the Kachhwahas and in
the flight of the leader of the Jats, proved destructive to Amber, in
the loss of almost every chieftain of note[9.3.8] [372].

=Separation of Mācheri or Alwar State, A.D. 1771-76.=—This battle was
the indirect cause of the formation of Macheri into an independent
State, which a few words will explain. Partap Singh, of the Naruka clan,
held the fief of Macheri; for some fault he was banished the country by
Madho Singh, and fled to Jawahir Singh, from whom he obtained _saran_
(sanctuary), and lands for his maintenance. The ex-chieftain of Macheri
had, as conductors of his household affairs and his agents at court, two
celebrated men, Khushhaliram[9.3.9] and Nandram, who now shared his
exile amongst the Jats. Though enjoying protection and hospitality at
Bharatpur, they did not the less feel the national insult, in that the
Jat should dare thus unceremoniously to traverse their country. Whether
the chief saw in this juncture an opening for reconciliation with his
liege lord, or that a pure spirit of patriotism alone influenced him, he
abandoned the place of refuge, and ranged himself at his old post, under
the standard of Amber, on the eve of the battle, to the gaining of which
he contributed not a little. For this opportune act of loyalty his past
errors were forgiven, and Madho Singh, who only survived that battle
four days, restored him to his favour and his fief of Macheri.

Madho Singh died of a dysentery, after a rule of seventeen years. Had he
been spared, in all human probability he would have repaired the
injurious effects of the contest which gave him the _gaddi_ of Amber;
but a minority, and its accustomed anarchy, made his death the point
from which the Kachhwaha power declined. He built several cities, of
which that called after him Madhopur, near the celebrated fortress of
Ranthambhor, the most secure of the commercial cities of Rajwara, is the
most remarkable. He inherited no small portion of his father’s love of
science, which continued to make Jaipur the resort of learned men, so as
to eclipse even the sacred Benares.

=Prithi Singh II., A.D. 1778.=—Prithi Singh II., a minor, succeeded,
under the guardianship of the mother of his younger brother, Partap. The
queen-regent, a Chondawatni, was of an ambitious and resolute character,
but degraded by her paramour, Firoz, a Filban, or ‘elephant-driver,’
whom she made member of her council, which disgusted the chiefs, who
alienated themselves from court and remained at their estates.
Determined, however, to dispense with their aid, she entertained a
mercenary army under the celebrated Ambaji, with which she enforced the
collection of the revenue. Arath Ram was at [373] this period the Diwan,
or prime minister, and Khushhaliram Bohra, a name afterwards conspicuous
in the politics of this court, was associated in the ministry. But
though these men were of the highest order of talent, their influence
was neutralized by that of the Filban, who controlled both the regent
Rani and the State. Matters remained in this humiliating posture during
nine years, when Prithi Singh died through a fall from his horse, though
not without suspicions that a dose of poison accelerated the vacancy of
the _gaddi_, which the Rani desired to see occupied by her own son. The
scandalous chronicle of that day is by no means tender of the reputation
of Madho Singh’s widow. Having a direct interest in the death of Prithi
Singh, the laws of common sense were violated in appointing her
guardian, notwithstanding her claims as Patrani, or chief queen of the
deceased. Prithi Singh, though he never emerged from the trammels of
minority and the tutelage of the Chondawatni, yet contracted two
marriages, one with Bikaner, the other with Kishangarh. By the latter he
had a son, Man Singh. Every court in Rajputana has its pretender, and
young Man was long the bugbear to the court of Amber. He was removed
secretly, on his father’s death, to the maternal roof at Kishangarh; but
as this did not offer sufficient security, he was sent to Sindhia’s
camp, and has ever since lived on the bounty of the Mahratta chief at
Gwalior.[9.3.10]

=Partāp Singh, A.D. 1778-1803.=—Partap Singh[9.3.11] was immediately
placed upon the _gaddi_ by the queen-regent, his mother, and her
council, consisting of the Filban, and Khushhaliram, who had now
received the title of Raja, and the rank of prime minister. He employed
the power thus obtained to supplant his rival Firoz, and the means he
adopted established the independence of his old master, the chief of
Macheri. This chief was the only one of note who absented himself from
the ceremony of the installation of his sovereign. He was countenanced
by the minister, whose plan to get rid of his rival was to create as
much confusion as possible. In order that distress might reach the
court, he gave private instructions that the zemindars should withhold
their payments; but these minor stratagems would have been unavailing,
had he not associated in his schemes the last remnants of power about
the Mogul throne. Najaf Khan[9.3.12] was at this time the imperial
commander, who, aided by the Mahrattas, proceeded to expel the [374]
Jats from the city of Agra. He then attacked them in their stronghold of
Bharatpur. Nawal Singh was then the chief of the Jats. The Macheri chief
saw in the last act of expiring vigour of the imperialists an opening
for the furtherance of his views, and he united his troops to those of
Najaf Khan. This timely succour, and his subsequent aid in defeating the
Jats, obtained for him the title of Rao Raja, and a sanad for Macheri,
to hold direct of the crown. Khushhaliram, who, it is said, chalked out
this course, made his old master’s success the basis of his own
operations to supplant the Filban. Affecting the same zeal that he
recommended to the chief of Macheri, he volunteered to join the imperial
standard with all the forces of Amber. The queen-regent did not oppose
the Bohra’s plan, but determined out of it still higher to exalt her
favourite: she put him at the head of the force, which post the minister
had intended for himself. This exaltation proved his ruin. Firoz, in
command of the Amber army, met the Rao Raja of Macheri on equal terms in
the tent of the imperial commander. Foiled in these schemes of attaining
the sole control of affairs, through the measure adopted, the Macheri
chief, at the instigation of his associate, resolved to accomplish his
objects by less justifiable means. He sought the friendship of the
Filban, and so successfully ingratiated himself in his confidence as to
administer a dose of poison to him, and in conjunction with the Bohra
succeeded to the charge of the government of Amber. The regent queen
soon followed the Filban, and Raja Partap was yet too young to guide the
state vessel without aid. The Rao Raja and the Bohra, alike ambitious,
soon quarrelled, and a division of the imperialists, under the
celebrated Hamidan Khan, was called in by the Bohra. Then followed those
interminable broils which brought in the Mahrattas. Leagues were formed
with them against the imperialists one day, and dissolved the next; and
this went on until the majority of Partap, who determined to extricate
himself from bondage, and formed that league, elsewhere mentioned, which
ended in the glorious victory of Tonga, and for a time the expulsion of
all their enemies, whether imperial or Mahrattas.

To give a full narrative of the events of this reign, would be to
recount the history of the empire in its expiring moments. Throughout
the twenty-five years’ rule of Partap, he and his country underwent many
vicissitudes. He was a gallant prince, and not deficient in judgment;
but neither gallantry nor prudence could successfully apply the
resources of his petty State against its numerous predatory foes and its
internal dissensions. The defection of Macheri was a serious blow to
Jaipur, and the necessary subsidies soon lightened the hoards
accumulated by his predecessors. Two payments [375] to the Mahrattas
took away eighty lakhs of rupees (£800,000); yet such was the mass of
treasure, notwithstanding the enormous sums lavished by Madho Singh for
the support of his claims, besides those of the regency, that Partap
expended in charity alone, on the victory of Tonga, A.D. 1789, the sum
of twenty-four lakhs, or a quarter of a million sterling.

In A.D. 1791, after the subsequent defeats at Patan, and the disruption
of the alliance with the Rathors, Tukaji Holkar invaded Jaipur, and
extorted an annual tribute, which was afterwards transferred to Amir
Khan, and continues a permanent incumbrance on the resources of Jaipur.
From this period to A.D. 1803, the year of Partap’s death, his country
was alternately desolated by Sindhia’s armies, under De Boigne or
Perron, and the other hordes of robbers, who frequently contested with
each other the possession of the spoils.[9.3.13]

=Jagat Singh, A.D. 1803-18.=—Jagat Singh succeeded in A.D. 1803, and
ruled for seventeen [fifteen] years, with the disgraceful distinction of
being the most dissolute prince of his race or of his age. The events
with which his reign is crowded would fill volumes were they worthy of
being recorded. Foreign invasions, cities besieged, capitulations and
war-contributions, occasional acts of heroism, when the invader forgot
the point of honour, court intrigues, diversified, not unfrequently, by
an appeal to the sword or dagger, even in the precincts of the court.
Sometimes the daily journals (_akhbars_) disseminated the scandal of the
Rawala (female apartments), the follies of the libertine prince with his
concubine Raskafur, or even less worthy objects, who excluded from the
nuptial couch his lawful mates of the noble blood of Jodha, or Jaisal,
the Rathors and Bhattis of the desert. We shall not disgrace these
annals with the history of a life which discloses not one redeeming
virtue amidst a cluster of effeminate vices, including the rankest, in
the opinion of a Rajput—cowardice. The black transaction respecting the
princess of Udaipur, has already been related (Vol. I. p. 536),
which covered him with disgrace, and inflicted a greater loss, in his
estimation, even than that of character—a million sterling. The
treasures of the Jai Mandir were rapidly dissipated, to the grief of
those faithful hereditary guardians, the Minas of Kalikoh, some of whom
committed suicide rather than see these sacred deposits squandered on
their prince’s unworthy pursuits. The lofty walls which surrounded the
beautiful city of Jai Singh were insulted by every marauder; commerce
was interrupted, and agriculture rapidly declined, partly from
insecurity, but still more from the perpetual exactions of his minions
[376]. One day a tailor[9.3.14] ruled the councils, the next a Bania,
who might be succeeded by a Brahman, and each had in turn the honour of
elevation to the donjon keep of Nahargarh, the castle where criminals
are confined, overlooking the city. The feodal chiefs held both his
authority and his person in utter contempt, and the pranks he played
with the ‘Essence of Camphor’ (_ras-kafur_),[9.3.15] at one time led to
serious thoughts of deposing him; which project, when near maturity, was
defeated by transferring “this queen of half of Amber,” to the prison of
Nahargarh. In the height of his passion for this Islamite concubine, he
formally installed her as queen of half his dominions, and actually
conveyed to her in gift a moiety of the personality of the crown, even
to the invaluable library of the illustrious Jai Singh which was
despoiled, and its treasures distributed amongst her base relations. The
Raja even struck coin in her name, and not only rode with her on the
same elephant, but demanded from his chieftains those forms of reverence
towards her which were paid only to his legitimate queens. This their
pride could not brook, and though the Diwan or prime minister, Misr
Sheonarayan, albeit a Brahman, called her ‘daughter,’ the brave Chand
Singh of Duni[9.3.16] indignantly refused to take part in any ceremony
at which she was present. This contumacy was punished by a mulet of
£20,000, nearly four years’ revenue of the fief of Duni!

=Death of Jagat Singh.=—Manu allows that sovereigns may be
deposed,[9.3.17] and the aristocracy of Amber had ample justification
for such an act. But unfortunately the design became known, and some
judicious friend, as a salvo for the Raja’s dignity, propagated a report
injurious to the fair fame of his Aspasia, which he affected to believe;
a mandate issued for the sequestration of her property, and her
incarceration in the castle allotted to criminals. There she was lost
sight of, and Jagat continued to dishonour the _gaddi_ of Jai Singh
until his death, on a day held especially sacred by the Rajput, the 21st
of December 1818, the winter solstice, when, to use their own
metaphorical language, “the door of heaven is reopened.”

Raja Jagat Singh left no issue, legitimate or illegitimate, and no
provision had been made for a successor during his life. But as the laws
of Rajputana, political or religious, admit of no interregnum, and the
funereal pyre must be lit by an adopted child if there be no natural
issue, it was necessary at once to inaugurate a successor [377]; and the
choice fell on Mohan Singh, son of the ex-prince of Narwar. As this
selection, in opposition to the established rules of succession, would,
but for a posthumous birth, have led to a civil war, it may be proper to
touch briefly upon the subject of heirs-presumptive in Rajputana, more
especially those of Jaipur: the want of exact knowledge respecting this
point, in those to whom its political relations with us were at that
time entrusted, might have had the most injurious effects on the British
character. To set this in its proper light, we shall explain the
principles of the alliance which rendered Jaipur a tributary of Britain.

-----

Footnote 9.3.1:

[Tonk now in the State of that name; Rāmpura 65 miles E., Phaggi 32
miles E., Mālpura about 50 miles S.W. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.3.2:

[Now lost to Mewār, being included in Indore State.]

Footnote 9.3.3:

It has been seen how the Yadu-Bhatti princes, when they fell from
their rank of Rajputs, assumed that of Jats, or Jāts, who are
assuredly a mixture of the Rajput and Yuti, Jat or Gete races. See
Vol. I. p. 127. [The Author possibly refers to the attack of
Cyrus on the Massagetae, whose connexion with the Jāts is not
supported by evidence (Herodotus i. 204 ff.).]

Footnote 9.3.4:

[Sansani about 10 miles N.W. of Bharatpur city: Thūn 12 miles W. of
Sansani. For the sieges of Thūn by Jai Singh in 1716 and 1722, see
Irvine, _Army of the Indian Moghuls_, 285 ff.; for Sansani, Manucci
ii. 320 f. iv. 242.]

Footnote 9.3.5:

[About 28 miles S.W. of Bharatpur city.]

Footnote 9.3.6:

[In 1761 he captured Agra, which the Jāts held till they were ousted
by the Marāthas in 1770 (_IGI_, v. 83).]

Footnote 9.3.7:

The Kurmi (the Kulumbi of the Deccan) is perhaps the most numerous,
next to the Jats, of all the agricultural classes. [In 1911 there were
7 million Jāts and 3¾ million Kurmis in India.]

Footnote 9.3.8:

Having given a slight sketch of the origin of the Jats, I may here
conclude it. Ratan Singh, the brother of Jawahir, succeeded him. He
was assassinated by a Gosain Brahman from Bindraban, who had
undertaken to teach the Jat prince the transmutation of metals, and
had obtained considerable sums on pretence of preparing the process.
Finding the day arrive on which he was to commence operations, and
which would reveal his imposture, he had no way of escape but by
applying the knife to his dupe. Kesari Singh, an infant, succeeded,
under the guardianship of his uncle, Newal Singh. Ranjit Singh
succeeded him, a name renowned for the defence of Bharatpur against
Lord Lake. He died A.D. 1805, and was succeeded by the eldest of four
sons, namely, Randhir Singh, Baldeo Singh, Hardeo Singh, and Lachhman
Singh. The infant son of Randhir succeeded, under the tutelage of his
uncle; to remove whom the British army destroyed Bharatpur, and
plundered it of its wealth, both public and private. [The son of
Randhīr Singh was Balwant Singh, who was cast into prison by his
cousin, Dūrjansāl. He was captured by Lord Combermere when he stormed
Bharatpur in 1826. Balwant Singh was restored, and dying in 1853, was
succeeded by Jaswant Singh, who died in 1893, and was succeeded by his
son Rām Singh, deposed for misconduct in 1900, and succeeded by his
son Kishan Singh, born in 1899 (_IGI_, viii. 74 ff).]

Footnote 9.3.9:

Father of two men scarcely less celebrated than himself, Chhatarbhuj
and Daula Ram.

Footnote 9.3.10:

Two or three times he had a chance of being placed on the _gaddi_
(_vide_ letter of Resident with Sindhia to Government, March 27,
1812), which assuredly ought to be his: once, about 1810, when the
nobles of Jaipur were disgusted with the libertine Jagat Singh; and
again, upon the death of this dissolute prince, in 1820. The last
occasion presented a fit occasion for his accession; but the British
Government were then the arbitrators, and I doubt much if his claims
were disclosed to it, or understood by those who had the decision of
the question, which nearly terminated in a civil war.

Footnote 9.3.11:

[The Author’s dates do not agree with those of Prinsep (_Useful
Tables_, ed. 1834, p. 112) which are given in the margin.]

Footnote 9.3.12:

[Najaf Khān, Amīru-l-Umara, Zulfikāru-d-daula, died A.D. 1782.]

Footnote 9.3.13:

[For these campaigns see Compton, _European Military Adventurers_, 145
ff., 237 ff.]

Footnote 9.3.14:

Rorji Khawass was a tailor by birth, and, I believe, had in early life
exercised the trade. He was, however, amongst the Musahibs, or privy
councillors of Jagat Singh, and (I think) one of the ambassadors sent
to treat with Lord Lake.

Footnote 9.3.15:

_Ras-Karpūr_ or _Kapūr_, I am aware, means ‘corrosive sublimate,’ but
it may also be interpreted ‘essence of camphor’ [Kāfūr].

Footnote 9.3.16:

[About 75 miles S. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.3.17:

[The reference is possibly to the text: “That king who through folly
rashly oppresses the kingdom will, with his relations, ere long be
deprived of his life and of his kingdom” (_Laws_, vii. 111).]

-----

CHAPTER 4

=The British Alliance, A.D. 1818.=—Jaipur was the last of the
principalities of Rajputana to accept the protection tendered by the
government of British India. To the latest moment, she delayed her
sanction to a system which was to banish for ever the enemies of order.
Our overtures and expostulations were rejected, until the predatory
powers of India had been, one after another, laid prostrate at our feet.
The Pindaris were annihilated; the Peshwa was exiled from Poona to the
Ganges; the Bhonsla was humbled; Sindhia palsied by his fears; and
Holkar, who had extensive lands assigned him, besides a regular tribute
from Jaipur, had received a death-blow to his power in the field of
Mahidpur.[9.4.1]

Procrastination is the favourite expedient of all Asiatics; and the
Rajput, though a fatalist, often, by protracting the irresistible
_honhar_ (destiny), works out his deliverance. Amir Khan, the lieutenant
of Holkar, who held the lands and tribute of Jaipur in _jaedad_, or
assignment for his troops, was the sole enemy of social order left to
operate on the fears of Jaipur, and to urge her to take refuge in our
alliance; and even he was upon the point of becoming one of the
illustrious allies, who were to enjoy the “perpetual friendship” of
Great Britain. The Khan was at that very moment [378] battering
Madhorajpura, a town almost within the sound of cannon-shot of Jaipur,
and we were compelled to make an indirect use of this incident to hasten
the decision of the Kachhwaha prince. The motives of his backwardness
will appear from the following details.

=Hesitation to accept the Treaty.=—Various considerations combined to
check the ardour with which we naturally expected our offer of
protection would be embraced. The Jaipur court retained a lively, but no
grateful remembrance, of the solemn obligations we contracted with her
in 1803, and the facility with which we extricated ourselves from them
when expediency demanded, whilst we vainly attempted to throw the blame
of violating the treaty upon our ally. To use the words of one who has
been mixed up with all the political transactions of that eventful
period, with reference to the letter delivered by the envoy at the
Jaipur court from our viceroy in the East, notifying the dissolution of
the alliance: “The justice of these grounds was warmly disputed by the
court, which, under a lively sense of that imminent danger to which it
had become exposed from this measure, almost forgot for a moment the
temper and respect which it owed to the English nation.” But the native
envoy from Jaipur, attending the camp of the gallant Lake, took a still
higher tone, and with a manly indignation observed, that “this was the
first time, since the English government was established in India, that
it had been known to make its faith subservient to its convenience”: a
reproach the more bitter and unpalatable from its truth.[9.4.2]

The enlarged and prophetic views of Marquess Wellesley, which suggested
the policy of uniting all these regular governments in a league against
the predatory powers, were counteracted by the timid, temporizing policy
of Lord Cornwallis, who could discover nothing but weakness in this
extension of our influence.[9.4.3] What misery would not these States
have been spared, had those engagements, executed through the noble Lake
(a name never mentioned in India, by European or native, without
reverence), been maintained; for the fifteen years which intervened
between the two periods produced more mischief to Rajwara than the
preceding half century, and half a century more will not repair it!

A circumstance that tended to increase this distrust was our tearing
Wazir Ali from his sanctuary at Jaipur, which has cast an indelible
stain upon the Kachhwaha name.[9.4.4] We have elsewhere[9.4.5] explained
the privileges of _saran_, or ‘sanctuary,’ which, when claimed by the
unfortunate or criminal, is sacred in the eye of the Rajput [379]. This
trust we forced the Jaipur State to violate, though she was then
independent of us. It was no excuse for the act that the fugitive was a
foul assassin: we had no right to demand his surrender.[9.4.6]

There were other objections to the proffered treaty of no small weight.
The Jaipur court justly deemed one-fifth (eight lakhs) of the gross
revenues of the crown, a high rate of insurance for protection; but when
we further stipulated for a prospective increase[9.4.7] of nearly
one-third of all surplus revenue beyond forty lakhs, they saw, instead
of the generous Briton, a sordid trafficker of mercenary protection,
whose rapacity transcended that of the Mahratta.

Independent of these state objections, there were abundance of private
and individual motives arrayed in hostility to the British offer. For
example: the ministers dreaded the surveillance of a resident agent, as
obnoxious to their authority and influence; and the chieftains, whom
rank and ancient usage kept at court as the counsellors of their prince,
saw in prospect the surrender of crown-lands, which fraud, favour, or
force had obtained for them. Such were the principal causes which
impeded the alliance between Amber and the Government-general of British
India; but it would have marred the uniformity of Lord Hastings’ plan to
have left a gap in the general protective system by the omission of
Jaipur. The events rapidly happening around them—the presence of Amir
Khan—the expulsion of the orange flag of the Mahratta, and the
substitution of the British banner on the battlements of Ajmer—at length
produced a tardy and ungracious assent, and, on the 2nd of April 1818, a
treaty of ten articles was concluded, which made the Kachhwaha princes
the friends and tributaries in perpetuity of Great Britain.

=Disputed Succession.=—On the 21st of December of the same year, Jagat
Singh died, and the choice of a successor speedily evinced to the
ministers the impracticability of their exercising, as in days of yore,
that “absolute power over their country and dependants,” guaranteed to
them by the treaty.[9.4.8] Our office of arbitrating the differences
between the Raja and [380] his vassals on the subject of the usurpations
from the crown-lands, was easy, and left no unpleasant feeling; but when
we intermeddled with the intrigues respecting the succession, our
ignorance of established rights and usage rendered the interference
offensive, and made the Jaipur chiefs repent the alliance which
temporary policy had induced their prince to accept.

=Law of Succession in Rājputāna.=—It may be of use in future
negotiations, to explain the usages which govern the different States of
Rajputana in respect to succession. The law of primogeniture prevails in
all Rajput sovereignties; the rare instances in which it has been set
aside, are only exceptions to the rule. The inconclusive dicta of Manu,
on this as on many other points, are never appealed to by the Rajputs of
modern days.[9.4.9] Custom and precedent fix the right of succession,
whether to the _gaddi_ of the State, or to a fief, in the eldest son,
who is styled Rajkumar, Patkumar, or simply Kumarji, ‘the prince’; while
his brothers have their proper names affixed, as Kumar Jawan Singh,
‘Prince Jawan.’ Seniority is, in fact, a distinction pervading all ranks
of life, whether in royal families or those of chieftains; all have
their Patkumar, and Patrani, or ‘head child,’ and ‘head queen.’ The
privileges of the Patrani are very considerable. In minorities, she is
the guardian, by custom as well as nature, of her child; and in Mewar
(the oldest sovereignty in India), she is publicly enthroned with the
Rana. Seniority in marriage bestows the title of Patrani, but as soon as
an heir is given to the State, the queen-mother assumes this title, or
that of Maji, simply ‘the mother.’[9.4.10] In the duties of guardian,
she is assisted by the chiefs of certain families, who with certain
officers of the household enjoy this as an established hereditary
distinction.

On the demise of a prince without lawful issue of his body, or that of
near kindred, brothers or cousins, there are certain families in every
principality (_raj_) of Rajwara, in whom is vested the right of
presumptive heirship to the _gaddi_. In order to restrict the circle of
claimants, laws have been established in every State limiting this right
to the issue of a certain family in each principality. Thus, in Mewar,
the elder of the Ranawat clans, styled Babas, or ‘the infants,’
possesses the latent right of heir-presumptive. In Marwar, the
independent house of Idar, of the family of Jodha; in Bundi, the house
of Dagari,[9.4.11] in Kotah, the Apjis of Pulaitha[9.4.12]; in Bikaner,
the family of [381] Mahajan[9.4.13]; and in Jaipur, the branch Rajawat
(according to seniority) of the stock of Raja Man. Even in this stock
there is a distinction between those prior, and those posterior, to Raja
Madho Singh; the former are styled simply Rajawat, or occasionally
conjoined, Mansinghgot; the other Madhani. The Rajawats constitute a
numerous frerage, of which the Jhalai house takes the lead; and in
which, provided there are no mental or physical disabilities, the right
of furnishing heirs to the _gaddi_ of Jaipur is a long-established,
incontrovertible, and inalienable privilege.

We have been thus minute, because, notwithstanding the expressed wish of
the government not to prejudge the question, the first exercise of its
authority as lord-paramount was to justify a proceeding by which these
established usages were infringed, in spite of the eighth article of the
treaty: “The Maharaja and his heirs and successors shall remain absolute
rulers of their country and dependants according to long-established
usage,” etc. “_C’est premier pas qui coute_”; and this first step, being
a wrong one, has involved an interference never contemplated, and fully
justifying that wariness on the part of Jaipur, which made her hesitate
to link her destiny with ours.

Both the sixth and seventh articles contain the seeds of disunion,
whenever it might suit the chicanery or bad faith of the protected, or
the avarice of the protector. The former has already been called into
operation, and the ‘absolute rulers’ of Jaipur have been compelled to
unfold to the resident Agent the whole of their financial and
territorial arrangements, to prove that the revenues did not exceed the
sum of forty lakhs, as, of the sum in excess (besides the stipulated
tributary fifth), our share was to be three-sixteenths.[9.4.14]

While, therefore, we deem ourselves justified in interfering in the
two chief branches of government, the succession and finances, how is
it possible to avoid being implicated in the acts of the
government-functionaries, and involved in the party views and
intrigues of a court, stigmatised even by the rest of Rajwara with the
epithet of _jhutha darbar_, the ‘lying court’? While there is a
resident Agent at Jaipur, whatever [382] his resolves, he will find it
next to impossible to keep aloof from the vortex of intrigue. The
purest intentions, the highest talents, will scarcely avail to
counteract this systematic vice, and with one party at least, but
eventually with all, the reputation of his government will be
compromised.

This brings us back to the topic which suggested these remarks, the
installation of a youth upon the _gaddi_ of Jaipur. We shall expose the
operation of this transaction by a literal translation of an authentic
document, every word of which was thoroughly substantiated. As it
presents a curious picture of manners, and is valuable as a precedent,
we shall give it entire in the Appendix, and shall here enter no further
into details than is necessary to unravel the intrigue which violated
the established laws of succession.

=The Installation of Mohan Singh.=—The youth, named Mohan Singh, who was
installed on the _gaddi_ of Jaipur, on the morning succeeding Jagat
Singh’s decease, was the son of Manohar Singh, the ex-Raja of Narwar,
who was chased from his throne and country by Sindhia. We have stated
that the Jaipur family sprung from that of Narwar eight centuries ago;
but the parent State being left without direct lineage, they applied to
Amber and adopted a son of Prithiraj I., from whom the boy now brought
forward was fourteen generations in descent. This course of proceeding
was in direct contravention of usage, which had fixed, as already
stated, the heirs-presumptive, on failure of lineal issue to the _gaddi_
of Amber, in the descendants of Raja Man, and the branch Madhani,
generally styled Rajawat, of whom the first claimant was the chief of
Jhalai,[9.4.15] and supposing his incompetency, Kama, and a dozen other
houses of the ‘infantas’ of Jaipur.

The causes of departure from the recognized rule, in this respect, were
the following. At the death of Jagat Singh, the reins of power were, and
had been for some time, in the hands of the chief eunuch of the _rawala_
(seraglio), whose name was Mohan Nazir,[9.4.16] a man of considerable
vigour of understanding, and not without the reputation of good
intention in his administration of affairs, although the system of
chicanery and force,[9.4.17] by which he attempted to carry his object,
savoured more of self-interest than of loyalty. The youth was but nine
years of age; and a long minority, with the exclusive possession of
power, suggests the true motives of the Nazir. His principal coadjutor,
amongst the great vassals of the State, was Megh Singh of Diggi,[9.4.18]
a chief who [383] had contrived by fraud and force to double his
hereditary fief by usurpations from the crown-lands, to retain which he
supported the views of the Nazir with all the influence of his clan (the
Khangarot), the most powerful of the twelve great families of
Amber.[9.4.19] The personal servants of the crown, such as the Purohits,
Dhabhais (domestic chaplains and foster-brothers), and all the
subordinate officers of the household, considered the Nazir’s cause as
their own: a minority and his favour guaranteed their places, which
might be risked by the election of a prince who could judge for himself,
and had friends to provide for.

=Objections raised by the Government of India.=—A reference to the
“Summary of Transactions” (in the Appendix) will show there was no
previous consultation or concert amongst the military vassals, or the
queens; on the contrary, acting entirely on his own responsibility, the
Nazir, on the morning succeeding the death of his master, placed young
Mohan in ‘the car of the sun,’ to lead the funeral procession, and light
the pyre of his adopted sire. Scarcely were the ablutions and necessary
purifications from this rite concluded, when he received the
congratulations of all present as lord of the Kachhwahas, under the
revived name of Man Singh the Second. The transactions which followed,
as related in the diary, until the final _dénouement_, distinctly show,
that having committed himself, the Nazir was anxious to obtain through
the resident agents of the chieftains at court, their acquiescence in
the measure under their signs-manual. It will be seen that the
communications were received and replied to in that cautious, yet
courteous manner, which pledged the writer to nothing, and gained him
time for the formation of a deliberate opinion: the decision was thus
suspended; all eyes were directed to the paramount power; and the Nazir,
whose first desire was to propitiate this, entreated the British
functionary at Delhi to send his confidential Munshi to Jaipur without
delay. This agent reached Jaipur from Delhi six days after the death of
Jagat. He was the bearer of instructions, “requiring a full account of
the reasons for placing the son of the Narwar Raja on the masnad; of his
family, lineage, right of succession, and by whose counsels the measure
was adopted.” On the 11th of January this requisition was reiterated;
and it was further asked, whether the measure had the assent of the
queens and chiefs, and a declaration to this effect, under their
signatures, was required to be forwarded. Nothing could be more
explicit, or more judicious, than the tenor of these instructions [384].

The replies of the Nazir and confidential Munshi were such, that on the
7th of February the receipt of letters of congratulation from the
British Agent, accompanied by one from the supreme authority, was
formally announced, which letters being read in full court, “the naubat
(kettledrum) again sounded, and young Man Singh was conducted to the
Partap Mahall, and seated on the masnad.” On this formal recognition by
the British government, the agents of the chieftains at their
sovereign’s court, in reply to the Nazir’s demand, “to know the opinions
of the chiefs,” answered that “if he called them, they were ready to
obey”; but at the same time they rested their adhesion on that of the
chief queen, sister of the Raja of Jodhpur, who breathed nothing but
open defiance of the Nazir and his junta. Early in March, public
discontent became more manifest: and the Rajawat chief of Jhalai
determined to appeal to arms in support of his rights as
heir-presumptive, and was soon joined by the chiefs of Sarwar and
Isarda,[9.4.20] junior but powerful branches of the same stock.

Another party seemed inclined, on this emergency, to revive the rights
of that posthumous son of Prithi Singh, whom we have already described
as living in exile at Gwalior, on the bounty of Sindhia; and nothing but
the unfavourable report of his intellect and debased habits prevented
the elder branch of the sons of Madho Singh recovering their lost
honours.

While the paramount authority was thus deluded, and the chieftains were
wavering amidst so many conflicting opinions, the queens continued
resolute, and the Rajawats were arming—and the Nazir, in this dilemma,
determined as a last resource, to make Raja Man of Jodhpur the umpire,
hoping by this appeal to his vanity, to obtain his influence over his
sister to an acquiescence in the irremediable step, which had been taken
“in obedience (as he pretended) to the will of the deceased prince.”
Raja Man’s reply is important: “That there could be no occasion for his
or his sister’s signature to the required declaration on the right of
succession to the masnad of Jaipur, which depended upon, and was vested
in, the elders of the twelve tribes of Kachhwahas; that if they approved
and signed the declaration, the queen his sister, and afterwards
himself, would sign it, if requisite.”

The Nazir and his faction, though aided by the interposition of the
Munshi, were now in despair, and in these desperate circumstances, he
attempted to get up a marriage between the puppet he had enthroned and
the granddaughter of the Rana of Mewar. It was well contrived, and not
ill received by the Rana; but there was an influence at his court which
at once extinguished the plot, though supported at [385] Delhi by the
Rana’s most influential agent. It was proposed that, at the same time,
the Rana should consummate his nuptials with the Jaipur Raja’s sister,
the preliminaries of which had been settled a dozen years back. Money in
abundance was offered, and the Rana’s passion for pageantry and
profusion would have prevented any objection to his proceeding to the
Jaipur capital. To receive the chief of the universal Hindu race with
due honour, the whole nobility of Amber would have left their estates,
which would have been construed into, and accepted as, a voluntary
acquiescence in the rights of the Nazir’s choice, which the marriage
would have completely cemented. Foiled in this promising design, the
knot, which the precipitate and persevering conduct of the Nazir had
rendered too indissoluble even for his skill to undo, was cut by the
annunciation of the advanced pregnancy of the Bhattiani queen.

=Birth of a Posthumous Heir.=—This timely interposition of Mata Janami
(the Juno Lucina of Rajwara) might well be regarded as miraculous; and
though the sequel of this event was conducted with such publicity as
almost to choke the voice of slander, it still found utterance.[9.4.21]
It was deemed a sort of prodigy, that an event, which would have caused
a jubilee throughout Dhundhar, should have been kept secret until three
months after the Raja’s death.[9.4.22] The mysteries of the Rawalas of
Rajput princes find their way to the public out of doors; and in
Udaipur, more especially, are the common topics of conversation. The
variety of character within its walls, the like variety of communicants
without, the conflicting interests, the diversified objects of
contention of these little worlds, render it utterly impossible that any
secret can long be maintained, far less one of such magnitude as the
pregnancy of the queen of a prince without issue. That this event should
be revealed to the Nazir, the superintendent of the queen’s palace, with
all the formality of a new discovery, _three months_ after Jagat Singh’s
death, must excite surprise; since to have been the bearer of such
joyful intelligence to his master, to whom he was much attached, must
have riveted his influence [386].

At three o’clock on the 1st of April, a council of sixteen queens, the
widows of the late prince, and the wives of all the great vassals of the
State, “assembled to ascertain the fact of pregnancy,” whilst all the
great barons awaited in the antechambers of the Zanana Deori the
important response of this council of matrons. When it announced that
the Bhattiani queen was pregnant beyond a doubt, they consulted until
seven, when they sent in a written declaration, avowing their unanimous
belief of the fact; and that “should a son be born, they would
acknowledge him as their lord, and to none else pledge allegiance.” A
transcript of this was given to the Nazir, who was recommended to
forward an attested copy to the British Agent at Delhi. From these
deliberations, from which there was no appeal, the Nazir was excluded by
express desire of the Rathor queen. He made an ineffectual effort to
obtain from the chiefs a declaration, that the adoption of the Narwar
youth was in conformity to the desire of the deceased prince, their
master; but this attempt to obtain indemnity for his illegal acts was
defeated immediately on the ground of its untruth.[9.4.23]

By this lawful and energetic exertion of the powers directly vested in
the queen-mother and the great council of the chiefs, the tongue of
faction was rendered mute; but had it been otherwise, another queen was
pronounced to be in the same joyful condition.[9.4.24] On the morning of
the 25th of April, four months and four days after Jagat Singh’s death,
a son was ushered into the world with the usual demonstrations of joy,
and received as the Autocrat of the Kachhwahas; while the infant
interloper was removed from the _gaddi_, and thrust back to his original
obscurity. Thus terminated an affair which involved all Rajwara in
discussion, and at one time threatened a very serious result. That it
was disposed of in this manner was fortunate for all parties, and not
least for the protecting power.

Having thus given a connected, though imperfect, sketch of the history
of the Jaipur State, from its foundation to the present time, before
proceeding with any account of its resources, or the details of its
internal administration, we shall delineate the rise, progress, and
existing condition of the Shaikhavati federation, which has risen out
of, and almost to an equality with, the parent State [387].

-----

Footnote 9.4.1:

[Mahīdpur, in the Indore State, 24 miles N. of Ujjain, when Sir John
Malcolm defeated the Marāthas on December 21, 1817.]

Footnote 9.4.2:

_Vide_ Malcolm’s _Political History of India_, p. 434.

Footnote 9.4.3:

[The Author, an enthusiastic political officer, ignores the
considerations based on the state of the finances of India and the
danger of the political situation in Europe which suggested a cautious
policy in India. See J. Mill, _Hist. of British India_, ed. 1817, iii.
702; Seton-Karr, _The Marquess Cornwallis_, 178 ff.; J. W. Kaye, _Life
of Lord Metcalfe_, i. 326 ff. On the negotiations with Jaipur see
Kaye, _op. cit._ i. 348 ff.]

Footnote 9.4.4:

[Wazīr Ali, the deposed Nawāb of Oudh, murdered Mr. Cherry, the
British Resident at Benares, on January 14, 1799. He took refuge in
Jaipur, and the Rāja, having made terms with the British,
“treacherously delivered him up.” He was confined in Fort William,
Calcutta, where he died in 1817 (J. Mill, _op. cit._ iii. 469 ff).]

Footnote 9.4.5:

Vol. II. p. 613.

Footnote 9.4.6:

A better commentary on the opinions held by the natives upon this
subject could not be given than the speech of Holkar’s envoy to the
agent of the Governor-General of India, then with Lord Lake: “Holcar’s
vakeel demanded, with no slight degree of pertinacity, the cession of
the Jeipoor and Boondi tributes; and one of them, speaking of the
former, stated, that he no doubt would continue to enjoy the
friendship of the English, as he had disgraced himself to please that
nation, by giving up Vizier Alli (who had sought his protection) to
their vengeance. The vakeel was severely rebuked by the agent
(Colonel, now Sir John Malcolm) for this insolent reflection on the
conduct of an ally of the British Government, who had delivered up a
murderer whom it would have been infamy to shelter”; though the author
of the _Political History of India_ might have added—but whom it was
still greater infamy, according to their code, to surrender. See
Malcolm’s _Political History of India_, p. 432.

Footnote 9.4.7:

See Article 6 of the Treaty, Appendix, No. IV.

Footnote 9.4.8:

See Article 8 of the Treaty.

Footnote 9.4.9:

[_Laws_, ix. 105 ff. On the general question see Baden-Powell, _The
Indian Village Community_, 305 f.]

Footnote 9.4.10:

In Mewar, simply Maji; at Jaipur, where they have long used the
language and manners of Delhi, they affix the Persian word Sahibah, or
‘lady mother.’

Footnote 9.4.11:

[Dagāri or Dugāri, about 20 miles N. of Būndi city, with a picturesque
palace (_Rājputāna Gazetteer_, 1879, i. 216.)]

Footnote 9.4.12:

[A short distance S. of Kotah city.]

Footnote 9.4.13:

[Mahājan, about 50 miles N.N.W. of Bikaner city.]

Footnote 9.4.14:

Mewar was subjected to the same premium on her reviving prosperity.
The Author unsuccessfully endeavoured to have a limit fixed to the
demand; but he has heard with joy that some important modifications
have since been made in these tributary engagements both with Mewar
and Amber: they cannot be made too light. Discontent in Rajputana will
not be appeased by a few lakhs of extra expenditure. I gave my
opinions fearlessly when I had everything at stake; I will not
suppress them now, when I have nothing either to hope or to fear but
for the perpetuity of the British power in these regions, and the
revival of the happiness and independence of those who have sought our
protection. He will prove the greatest enemy to his country, who, in
ignorance of the true position of the Rajputs, may aim at further
trenching upon their independence. Read the thirty years’ war between
Aurangzeb and the Rathors! where is the dynasty of their tyrant? Look
at the map: a desert at their back, the Aravalli in front; no enemies
to harass or disturb them! How different would a Rajput foe prove from
a contemptible Mahratta, or the mercenary array of traitorous Nawabs,
whom we have always found easy conquests! Cherish the native army:
conciliate the Rajputs; then, laugh at foes!

Footnote 9.4.15:

[Jhalai, about 42 miles S.S.W. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.4.16:

_Nazir_ is the official name, a Muhammadan one, denoting his capacity,
as emasculated guardian of the seraglio. Jaipur and Bundi are the only
two of the Rajput principalities who, adopting the Muslim custom, have
contaminated the palaces of their queens with the presence of these
creatures.

Footnote 9.4.17:

See “Summary of Transactions,” Appendix, No. V. [The Author omitted to
print this paper owing to its length.]

Footnote 9.4.18:

[Forty miles S.S.W. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.4.19:

The Khangarot clan enumerates twenty-two fiefs, whose united
rent-rolls amount to 402,806 rupees annually, and their united quotas
for the service of the State, six hundred and forty-three horse. Megh
Singh, by his turbulence and intelligence, though only the sixth or
seventh in the scale of rank of this body, had taken the lead, and
become the organ of his clan at court.

Footnote 9.4.20:

[Sarwar, 45 miles S. of Ajmer; Isarda, 60 miles S.S.W. of Jaipur
city.]

Footnote 9.4.21:

The publicity, on this occasion, is precisely of the same character as
marked the accouchement of the Duchess de Berri, who, it is said, not
only had the usual witnesses to silence the voice of doubt, but
absolutely insisted on the Maréchaux as well as the Maréchales of
France being in the room at the moment of parturition.

Footnote 9.4.22:

Raja Jagat Singh died December 21, 1818, and the announcement of the
Bhattiani being in “the eighth month of her pregnancy,” was on March
24, 1819.

Footnote 9.4.23:

Deeming a record of these transactions useful, not only as descriptive
of manners, but as a precedent, inasmuch as they show the powers and
position of the different authorities composing a Rajput State in
cases of succession, I have inserted it in the Appendix. [As before
stated, the Author omitted this paper.]

Footnote 9.4.24:

No notice, that I am aware of, was ever taken of this second
annunciation. [The posthumous son of Jagat Singh, Jai Singh III., who
succeeded, lived till 1835, during which period the State was a scene
of misgovernment and corruption. He was succeeded by Mahārāja Rām
Singh (A.D. 1835-80). His adopted son, Kāim Singh, succeeded under the
title of Sawāi Mādho Singh II., and has administered the State with
conspicuous ability.]

-----

SHAIKHĀWAT FEDERATION
CHAPTER 5

We proceed to sketch the history of the Shaikhawat confederation, which,
springing from the redundant feodality of Amber, through the influence
of age and circumstances, has attained a power and consideration almost
equalling that of the parent State; and although it possesses neither
written laws, a permanent congress, nor any visible or recognized head,
subsists by a sense of common interest. It must not be supposed,
however, that no system of policy is to be found in this confederation,
because the springs are not always visible or in action; the moment any
common or individual interest is menaced, the grand council of the
Barons of Shaikhavati assembles at Udaipur[9.5.1] to decide the course
of action to be pursued.

=The Origin of the Shaikhāwats.=—The Shaikhawat chieftains are descended
from Balaji, the third son of Raja Udaikaran, who succeeded to the
throne of Amber in S. 1445, A.D. 1389. At this period, if we look back
to the political state of society, we find that nearly the whole of the
tracts, which now obey the Shaikhavati federation, were parcelled out
amongst numerous chieftains of the Chauhan or Tuar tribes,[9.5.2] the
descendants of the ancient Hindu emperors of Delhi, who evinced no more
submission than the sword and their Islamite successors exacted from
them.

Balaji, who was the actual founder of the numerous families now
designated by the more distinguished name of Shaikhji, his grandson,
obtained as an appanage the district of Amritsar,[9.5.3] but whether by
his own prowess or by other means, is not mentioned. He had three sons:
Mokalji, Khemraj, and Kharad. The first succeeded to the patrimony of
Amritsar; the second had a numerous issue styled Balapota, one of whom
was adopted into the twelve chambers (_barahkothri_) of Kachhwahas. The
third had a son called Kaman, whose descendants were styled Kamawat, but
are now early extinct.

=Shaikhji.=—Mokal had a son who was named Shaikhji, in compliment to a
miracle-working Islamite saint, to whose prayers the childless chief was
indebted for a son destined to be the patriarch of a numerous race,
occupying, under the term Shaikhawat, an important [389] portion of the
surface of Rajputana. Shaikh Burhan was the name of this saint, whose
shrine (still existing) was about six miles from Achrol, and fourteen
from the residence of Mokal. As the period of time was shortly after
Timur’s invasion, it is not unlikely he was a pious missionary, who
remained behind for the conversion of the warlike but tolerant Rajput,
with whom, even if he should fail in his purpose, he was certain of
protection and hospitality. The Shaikh in one of his peregrinations had
reached the confines of Amritsar, and was passing over an extensive
meadow, in which was Mokalji. The Mangta (mendicant) approached with the
usual salutation, “Have you anything for me?” “Whatever you please to
have, Babaji (sire),” was the courteous reply. The request was limited
to a draught of milk, and if our faith were equal to the Shaikhawat’s,
we should believe that Shaikh Burhan drew a copious stream from the
exhausted udder of a female buffalo. This was sufficient to convince the
old chief that the Shaikh could work other miracles; and he prayed that,
through his means, he might no longer be childless. In due time he had
an heir, who, according to the injunctions of Burhan, was styled, after
his own tribe, Shaikh. He directed that he should wear the
baddhiya,[9.5.4] which, when laid aside, was to be suspended at the
saint’s dargah; and further, that he should assume the blue tunic and
cap, abstain from hog’s flesh, and eat no meat “in which the blood
remained.” He also ordained that at the birth of every Shaikhawat male
infant a goat should be sacrificed, the Kalima (Islamite creed) read,
and the child sprinkled with the blood. Although four centuries have
passed away since these obligations were contracted by Mokal, they are
still religiously maintained by the little nation of his descendants,
occupying a space of ten thousand square miles. The wild hog, which,
according to immemorial usage, should be eaten once a year by every
Rajput, is rarely even hunted by a Shaikhawat; and though they have
relaxed in that ordinance, which commanded the suspension of the
baddhiyas at the shrine of Burhan, still each infant wears them, as well
as the blue tunic and cap, for two years after his birth; and a still
greater mark of respect to the memory of the saint is evinced in the
blue pennon which surmounts the yellow banner, or national flag, of the
Shaikhawats. It is even gravely asserted that those who, from indolence,
distance, or less justifiable motives, have neglected the least
important injunction, that of depositing the initiatory strings or
baddhiyas, have never prospered. But a still stronger proof is furnished
of the credulity, the toleration, and yet [390] immutability of the
Rajput character, in the fact, that, although Amritsar,[9.5.5] and the
lands around the dargah, are annexed to the fisc of Amber, yet the
shrine of Shaikh Burhan continues a _saran_ (sanctuary), while lands are
assigned to almost a hundred families, the descendants of the saint, who
reside in the adjacent town of Tala.

Shaikhji, when he attained man’s estate, greatly augmented the territory
left by his father, and had consolidated three hundred and sixty
villages under his sway, by conquest from his neighbours, when his
reputation and power attracted the jealous notice of the lord paramount
of Amber. He was attacked; but by the aid of the Panni Pathans[9.5.6] he
successfully withstood the reiterated assaults of his suzerain. Up to
this period, they had acknowledged the Amber princes as liege lords, and
in token of alliance paid as tribute all the colts reared on the
original estate.[9.5.7] A dispute on this point was the ostensible cause
(though subordinate to their rapid prosperity), which occasioned a total
separation of the Shaikhawat colonies from the parent State, until the
reign of Sawai Jai Singh who, with his means as lieutenant of the
empire, compelled homage, submission, and pecuniary relief from them.
Shaikhji left a well-established authority to his son, Raemall, of whom
nothing is recorded. Raemall was followed by Suja, who had three sons,
namely, Nunkaran, Raesal, and Gopal. The elder succeeded to the
patrimony of Amritsar and its three hundred and sixty townships, while
to his brothers, the fiefs of Lambi and Jharli[9.5.8] were respectively
assigned. With the second brother, Raesal, the fortunes of the
Shaikhawats made a rapid stride, from an occurrence in which the Rajput
appears in the position we desire to see him occupy.

Nunkaran, the chief of the Shaikhawats, had a minister named Devidas, of
the Bania or mercantile caste, and, like thousands of that caste,
energetic, shrewd, and intelligent. He one day held an argument with his
lord (which the result proves he maintained with independence), that
“genius with good fortune was the first gift of heaven, and to be far
more prized than a man’s mere inheritance.” Nunkaran warmly disputed the
point, which ended by his telling the minister he might go to Lambi
[391] and make experiment of the truth of his argument on his brother
Raesal. Devidas lost no time, on this polite dismissal from his office,
in proceeding with his family and property to Lambi. He was received
with the usual hospitality; but soon discovered that Raesal’s means were
too confined to bear an additional burden, and that the field was too
restricted to enable him to demonstrate the truth of the argument which
lost him his place. He made known his determination to proceed to the
imperial city, and advised Raesal to accompany him, and try his luck at
court. Raesal, who was valiant and not without ambition, could only
equip twenty horse, with which he arrived at Delhi just as an army was
forming to oppose one of those Afghan invasions, so common at that
period. In the action which ensued, Raesal had the good fortune to
distinguish himself by cutting down a leader of the enemy, in the
presence of the imperial general, which had a decided influence on the
event of the day. Inquiries were made for the brave unknown, who had
performed this heroic deed; but as, for reasons which will be perceived,
he kept aloof from the quarters of his countrymen, the argument of
Devidas would never have been illustrated, had not the imperial
commander determined to seek out and reward merit. He ordered a grand
ziyafat, or ‘entertainment’ to be prepared for the chiefs of every grade
in the army, who were commanded afterwards to pay their respects to the
general. As soon as Raesal appeared, he was recognized as the individual
of whom they were in search. His name and family being disclosed, his
brother, Nunkaran, who was serving with his quota, was called, whose
anger was peremptorily expressed at his presuming to appear at court
without his permission; but this ebullition of jealousy was of little
avail. Raesal was at once introduced to the great Akbar, who bestowed
upon him the title of Raesal Darbari,[9.5.9] and a more substantial mark
of royal favour, in a grant of the districts of Rewasa and Khasali, then
belonging to the Chandela Rajputs. This was but the opening of Raesal’s
career, for scarcely had he settled his new possessions, when he was
recalled to court to take part in an expedition against Bhatner. Fresh
services obtained new favours, and he received a grant of Khandela and
Udaipur, then belonging to the Nirwan Rajputs, who disdained to pay
allegiance to the empire, and gave themselves up to unlicensed rapine.

=Khandela, the Shaikhawat Capital.=—Raesal, finding it would be a work
of difficulty to expel the brave Nirwans from [392] their ancient
_bapota_ (patrimony), had recourse to stratagem to effect his object.
Previous to the expedition to Bhatner, Raesal had espoused the daughter
of the chief of Khandela, and it is related that a casual expression,
dropped on that occasion, suggested his desire to obtain it for himself.
Being dissatisfied with the dower (_daeja_) given with his bride, he,
with no commendable taste, pertinaciously insisted upon an increase;
upon which the Nirwan chief, losing patience, hastily replied, “We have
nothing else to give, unless you take the stones of the hill.” The
attendant Saguni (augur), immediately turning to Raesal, said, in an
undertone, “Tie a knot on the skirt of your garment in remembrance of
this.” An expression like this from a prophetic tongue gave birth to the
wish to be lord of Khandela; while his services to the king, and the
imbecility of its Nirwan possessor, conspired to fulfil it. Watching his
opportunity, he marched against the place, and being in all probability
supported by his liege lord, it was abandoned without defence, and the
inhabitants tendered their submission to him. Henceforth, Khandela was
esteemed the principal city of the Shaikhawat confederation; and the
descendants of Raesal, using his name as a patronymic, are styled
Raesalot, occupying all southern Shaikhavati; while another branch of
later origin, called Sadhani, holds the northern tracts. Immediately
after the occupation of Khandela, Raesal obtained possession of Udaipur,
formerly called Kausambi, also belonging to the Nirwans.[9.5.10]

Raesal accompanied his proper liege lord, the great Raja Man of Amber,
against the heroic Rana Partap of Mewar. He was also in the expedition
to Kabul, against the Afghans of Kohistan, in all of which enterprises
he obtained fresh distinctions. Regarding his death, there is no
record;[9.5.11] but his history is another illustration of the Rajput
character, whilst it confirms the position of the Bania, that “genius
and good fortune are far superior to inheritance.”

Raesal, at his death, had a compact and well-managed territory, out of
which he assigned appanages to his seven sons, from whom are descended
the various families, who, with relative distinctive patronymics,
Bhojansi Sadhanis, Larkhanis, Tajkhanis, Parasurampotas, Harrampotas,
are recognized throughout Rajwara by the generic name of Shaikhawat
[393].

1. Girdhar Had Khandela and Rewasa.
2. Larkhan ” Kachriawas.
3. Bhojraj ” Udaipur.
4. Tirmall Rao ” Kasli and eighty-four villages.
5. Parasuram ” Bai.
6. Harramji ” Mundari.
7. Tajkhan ” No appanage.

We shall not break the thread of the narrative of the elder branch of
Khandela, “chief of the sons of Shaikhji,” to treat of the junior line,
though the issue of Bhojraj have eclipsed, both in population and
property, the senior descendants of Raesal.

=Girdharji Shaikhāwat.=—Girdharji succeeded to the prowess, the energy,
and the estates of his father, and for a gallant action obtained from
the emperor the title of Raja of Khandela. At this period, the empire
was in a most disordered state, and the mountainous region, called
Mewat, was inhabited by a daring and ferocious banditti, called Meos,
who pillaged in gangs even to the gates of the capital. The task of
taking, dead or alive, the leader of this banditti, was assigned to the
chief of Khandela, who performed it with signal gallantry and success.
Aware that, by the display of superior force, his enemy would remain in
his lurking places, Girdhar put himself on terms of equality with his
foe, and with a small but select band hunted the Mewati leader down, and
in the end slew him in single combat. The career of Girdhar, short as it
was brilliant, was terminated by assassination, while bathing in the
Jumna. The anecdote is descriptive of the difference of manners between
the rustic Rajput and the debauched retainer of the court.

=Assassination of Girdharji.=—One of the Khandela chief’s men was
waiting, in a blacksmith’s shop, while his sword was repaired and
sharpened. A Muslim, passing by, thought he might have his jest with the
unpolished Rajput, and after asking some impertinent questions, and
laughing at the unintelligible replies in the Bhakha of Rajwara, slipped
a heated cinder in the turban of the soldier: the insult was borne with
great coolness, which increased the mirth of the Musalman, and at length
the turban took fire. The sword was then ready, and the Thakur, after
feeling the edge, with one blow laid the jester’s head at his feet. He
belonged to one of the chief nobles of the court, who immediately led
his retainers to the Khandela chief’s quarters, and thence to where he
was performing his religious ablutions in the Jumna, and whilst engaged
in which act, unarmed and almost unattended, basely murdered him.
Girdhar left several children [394].

=Dwārkadās.=—Dwarkadas, his eldest son, succeeded, and soon after his
accession nearly fell a victim to the jealousy of the Manoharpur chief,
the representative of the elder branch of the family, being the lineal
descendant of Nunkaran. The emperor had caught a lion in the toils, and
gave out a grand hunt, when the Manoharpur chief observed that his
relative, the Raesalot, who was a votary of Naharsingh,[9.5.12] was the
proper person to engage the king of the forest. Dwarkadas saw through
his relative’s treachery, but cheerfully accepted the proposal. Having
bathed and prayed, to the astonishment of the king and court, he entered
the arena unarmed, with a brazen platter containing the various articles
used in _puja_ (worship), as grains of rice, curds, and sandal ointment,
and going directly up to the monster, made the _tilak_ on his forehead,
put a chaplet round his neck, and prostrated himself in the usual
attitude of adoration before the lion; when, to the amazement of the
spectators, the noble beast came gently up, and with his tongue
repeatedly licked his face, permitting him to retire without the least
indication of anger. The emperor, who concluded that his subject must
“wear a charmed life,” desired the Khandela chief to make any request,
with the assurance of compliance; when he received a delicate reproof,
in the desire “that his majesty would never place another person in the
same predicament from which he had happily escaped.”

Dwarkadas was slain by the greatest hero of the age in which he lived,
the celebrated Khan Jahan Lodi,[9.5.13] who, according to the legends of
the Shaikhawats, also fell by the hand of their lord; and they throw an
air of romance upon the transaction, which would grace the annals of
chivalry in any age or country. Khan Jahan and the chieftain of Khandela
were sworn friends, and when nothing but the life of the gallant Lodi
would satisfy the king, Dwarka gave timely notice to his friend of the
hateful task imposed upon him, advising either submission or flight. His
fate, which forms one of the most interesting episodes in Ferishta’s
history,[9.5.14] involved that of the Shaikhawat chief.

=Bīrsinghdeo.=—He was succeeded by his son, Birsinghdeo, who served with
his contingent in the conquest of the Deccan, and was made governor of
Parnala, which he had materially assisted in reducing.[9.5.15] The
Khandela annalist is desirous to make it appear that his service was
independent of his liege lord of Amber; but the probability is that he
was under the immediate command of the Mirza Raja Jai Singh, at that
period the most distinguished general of his nation or of the court.

Birsinghdeo had seven sons, of whom the heir-apparent, Bahadur Singh,
remained at [395] Khandela; while estates were assigned to his brothers,
namely, Amar Singh, Shyam Singh, Jagdeo, Bhopal Singh, Mukri Singh, and
Pem Singh, who all increased the stock of Raesalots. While the Raja was
performing his duties in the Deccan, intelligence reached him that his
son at home had usurped his title and authority; upon which, with only
four horsemen, he left the army for his capital. When within two coss of
Khandela, he alighted at the house of a Jatni, of whom he requested
refreshment, and begged especial care of his wearied steed, lest he
should be stolen; to which she sharply replied, “Is not Bahadur Singh
ruler here? You may leave gold in the highway, and no one dare touch
it.” The old chieftain was so delighted with this testimony to his son’s
discharge of a prince’s duties, that, without disclosing himself or his
suspicions, he immediately returned to the Deccan, where he died.

=Bahādur Singh.=—Bahadur Singh succeeded, and on his father’s death
repaired to the armies in the south, commanded by Aurangzeb in person.
Being insulted by a Muslim chief bearing the same name with himself, and
obtaining no redress from the bigoted prince, he left the army in
disgust, upon which his name was erased from the list of mansabdars. It
was at this time the tyrant issued his mandate for the capitation-tax on
all his Hindu subjects, and for the destruction of their
temples.[9.5.16]

=Gallantry of Shujāwan Singh.=—To the personal enemy of the Shaikhawat
was intrusted the twofold duty of exacting tribute, and the demolition
of the temple, the ornament of Khandela, whose chief, degrading the name
of Bahadur (warrior), abandoned his capital; and the royal army had
arrived within two coss without the appearance of opposition. The news
spread over the lands of the confederacy, that Bahadur had fled from
Khandela, and that the Turk was bent on the destruction of its shrines.
It reached the ear of Shujawan Singh, the chieftain of Chapauli, a
descendant of Bhojraj, the second son of Raesal. Imbued with all the
spirit of this hero, the brave Bhojani resolved to devote himself to the
protection of the temple, or perish in its defence. At the moment the
tidings reached him, he was solemnizing his nuptials on the Marwar
frontier. Hastening home with his bride, he left her with his mother,
and bade both a solemn [396] farewell. In vain his kindred, collecting
round him, dissuaded him from his design, urging that it was Bahadur
Singh’s affair, not his. “Am not I,” he said, “also of Raesal’s stock,
and can I allow the Turk to destroy the dwelling of the Thakur (lord),
and not attempt to save it? Would this be acting the part of a Rajput?”
As their entreaties were vain, they, to the number of sixty, resolved to
accompany him, and share his fate. They were joined by a party of
Bahadur’s adherents, and succeeded in entering Khandela. The imperial
commander, to whom this unlooked-for opposition was reported, well aware
of what a Rajput is capable when excited to action, and perhaps moved by
a generous feeling at seeing a handful of men oppose an army, requested
that two of their number might be deputed to his camp to confer with
him. He told them, that notwithstanding it was the king’s command that
he should raze the temple to the ground, he would be satisfied (if
accompanied by proper submission) with taking off the _kalas_, or golden
ball which surmounted its pinnacle. They endeavoured to dissuade him;
offered money to the utmost possible amount of their means; but the
answer was, “The kalas must come down.” One of these noble delegates, no
longer able to contain himself, exclaimed, “Break down the kalas!” as
with some moist clay at his feet he moulded a ball, which he placed on a
little mound before him: and drawing his sword, repeated, “Break down
the kalas! I dare you even to break this ball of clay!” The intrepidity
of this action gained the applause even of the foe, and they had
safe-conduct to rejoin their brethren, and prepare them for the worst.

=The Siege of Khandela.=—At this time, Khandela had no fortifications;
there was, however, a gateway half-way up the hill in the route of
ascent, which led to the place of residence of its chieftains, adjoining
which was the temple. One party was stationed in the gateway, while
Shujawan reserved for himself the defence of the temple, in which he
took post with his kinsmen. When the mercenaries of the tyrant advanced,
the defenders of the gateway, alter dealing many a distant death,
marched upon them sword in hand, and perished. When they pushed on to
the chief object of attack, the band issued forth in small detached
parties, having first made their obeisances to the image, and carried
destruction along with them. Shujawan was the last who fell. The temple
was levelled to the earth, the idol broken in pieces, and the fragments
thrown into the foundation of a mosque erected on its ruins. There is
hardly a town of note in Rajwara that has not to relate a similar tale
of desperate valour in the defence of their household gods against the
iniquitous and impolitic Aurangzeb. Khandela received a royal garrison;
but the old officers, both territorial and financial, were retained by
the conqueror [397].

Bahadur Singh continued to reside in an adjacent township, and through
his Diwan obtained a certain share of the crops and transit duties,
namely, a ser out of every maund of the former, and one pice in every
rupee of the latter. In process of time the family residence and gardens
were given up to him, and when the Sayyids obtained power he regained
his country, though a garrison of the royal troops was retained, whose
expenses he paid. He left three sons, namely, Kesari Singh, Fateh Singh,
and Udai Singh.

=Kesari Singh.=—Kesari, solicitous to hold his lands on the same terms
as his ancestors, namely, service to the lord-paramount, assembled his
adherents, and with his second brother, Fateh Singh, departed for the
imperial camp, to proffer his service. The Manoharpur chief, the elder
branch of the family, was in the royal camp, and having regained his
lost consequence by the depression of Khandela, was by no means willing
again to part with it. He intrigued with the second brother, Fateh
Singh, to whom he proposed a division of the lands; the latter lent
himself to the intrigue, and the Diwan, seeing that a family quarrel
would involve the destruction of them all, repaired to Khandela, and
through the mother, a Gaur Rajputni, he advocated the partition. A
census was accordingly made of the population, and a measurement of the
lands, of which two portions were assigned to Fateh Singh, and the three
remaining to the Raja. The town itself was partitioned in the same
manner. Henceforth, the brothers held no intercourse with each other,
and Kesari preferred Khatu[9.5.17] as his residence, though whenever he
came to Khandela, Fateh Singh withdrew. Things remained in this state
until the Diwan prompted his master to get rid of the agreement which
had secured the ascendancy of Manoharpur in the Shaikhawat federation,
by destroying his brother. The Diwan arranged a friendly meeting at
Khatu for the avowed purpose of reconciliation, when Fateh Singh fell a
victim to assassination; but the instigator to the crime met his proper
reward, for a splinter of the sword which slew Fateh Singh entered his
neck, and was the occasion of his death.

Kesari Singh, having thus recovered all his lost authority, from the
contentions at court conceived he might refuse the tribute of Rewasa,
hitherto paid to the Ajmer treasury, while that of Khandela went to
Narnol.[9.5.18] Sayyid Abdulla,[9.5.19] then wazir, found leisure to
resent this insult, and sent a force against Khandela. Every Raesalot in
the country assembled to resist the Turk, and even his foe of Manoharpur
sent his quota, led by the Dhabhai (foster-brother), to aid the national
cause. Thus strengthened, Kesari determined to oppose the royal forces
hand to hand in the plain, and [398] the rival armies encountered at the
border town of Deoli.[9.5.20] While victory manifested a wish to side
with the confederated Shaikhawats, the old jealousies of Manoharpur
revived, and he withdrew his quota from the field, at the same moment
that the Kasli chief, on whom much depended, was slain. To crown these
misfortunes, the Larkhani chief of Danta, basely deeming this an
opportunity to consult his own interest, abandoned the field, to take
possession of Rewasa. The ‘lion’ of Khandela (Kesari), observing these
defections, when the shout of “_Jai! jai!_” (victory, victory), already
rang in his ears, could not help exclaiming, in the bitterness of
despair, “Had Fateh Singh been here, he would not have deserted me.” He
disdained, however, to give way, and prepared to meet his fate like a
true Raesalot. Sending to where the battle yet raged for his youngest
brother, Udai Singh, he urged him to save himself; but the young Rajput
scorned obedience to such a behest, until Kesari made known his
determination not to quit the field, adding that if he also were slain,
there would be an end of his line. Others joined their persuasions, and
even attempted to turn Kesari from his purpose. “No,” replied the chief,
“I have no desire for life; two black deeds press upon me; the murder of
my brother, and the curse of the Charans of Bikaner, whom I neglected at
the distribution of the nuptial gifts. I will not add a third by
dastardly flight.” As Udai Singh reluctantly obeyed, while the swords
rang around him, Kesari made a hasty sacrifice to Avanimata (mother
earth), of which flesh, blood, and earth are the ingredients. He cut
pieces from his own body, but as scarcely any blood flowed, his own
uncle, Mohkam Singh of Aloda, parted with some of his, for so grand an
obligation as the retention of Khandela. Mixing his own flesh, and his
uncle’s blood, with a portion of his own sandy soil, he formed small
balls in _dan_ (gift), for the maintenance of the land to his posterity.
The Dom (bard), who repeated the incantations, pronounced the sacrifice
accepted, and that seven generations of his line should rule in
Khandela.[9.5.21] The brave Kesari was slain, the town taken, and Udai
Singh carried to Ajmer, where he remained three years in captivity. At
this time, the chiefs of Udaipur and Kasli determined to cut off the
royal garrison in Khandela; but apprehensive of the danger it might
occasion to their chief, they sent a special messenger to Ajmer, to
acquaint the viceroy of their scheme, previous to its execution, to
prevent his being implicated. Khandela was surprised, and Deonath and
three hundred Turks put to the sword. The viceroy [399], desirous to
recover the place, consulted his prisoner, who offered to reinstate him
if he granted him liberty. The Nawab demanded a hostage, but the young
Rajput said he knew of none but his own mother, who willingly became the
pledge for her son. He fulfilled his agreement, and the viceroy was so
pleased with his frank and loyal conduct, that on paying a large
_nazarana_, he restored him to his capital.

=Udai Singh.=—Udai Singh’s first act was to assemble his brethren, in
order to punish Manoharpur, whose treachery had caused them so much
misery. The foster-brother, who commanded on that occasion, was again
entrusted with the command; but he fled after a sharp encounter, and
Manoharpur was invested. Seeing he had no chance of salvation, he had
again recourse to _chal_ (stratagem). There were two feudatories of
Nunkaran’s line, joint-holders of Khajroli, who had long been at
variance with Dip Singh of Kasli, the principal adviser of the young
Raja of Khandela. They were gained over to the purpose of the Manoharpur
chief, who sent them with a private message to Dip Singh, that no sooner
should Manoharpur fall than he would be deprived of Kasli. These
treacherous proceedings were but too common amongst ‘the sons of
Shaikhji.’ Dip Singh fell into the snare, and at break of day, when the
trumpets sounded for the assault, the drums of the Kasli chief were
heard in full march to his estate. Udai Singh, thus deprived of his
revenge, followed Dip Singh who, aware of his inability to cope with his
immediate chief, fled for succour to Jaipur, and Kasli fell a sacrifice
to the artifices which preserved Manoharpur. The great Jai Singh then
ruled Amber; he received the suppliant chief, and promised him ample
redress, on his swearing to become his vassal and tributary. Dip Singh
swore allegiance to the _gaddi_ of Jai Singh, and signed a tributary
engagement of four thousand rupees annually!

=Supremacy of Jaipur in Shaikhawati.=—Thus recommenced the supremacy of
Amber over the confederated Shaikhawats, which had been thrown off ever
since the dispute regarding the colts of Amritsar, the ancient mark of
homage, when ‘the sons of Shaikhji’ consisted only of a few hundred
armed men. Shortly after this transaction, Jai Singh proceeded to the
Ganges to fulfil certain rites upon an eclipse, and while performing his
ablutions in the sacred stream, and the gifts for distribution to the
priests being collected on the bank, he inquired “who was present to
receive _dan_ that day?” The Kasli chief, spreading out the skirt of his
garment, replied, he was an applicant. Such _dan_ (gifts) being only
given to mangtas, or mendicants, in which class they put priests, poets,
and [400] the poor, the Raja asked, laughing, “What is your desire,
Thakur?” To which Dip Singh replied, that through his intercession the
son of Fateh Singh might obtain his father’s share of Khandela; which
request was complied with.

This occurrence was in A.D. 1716, when the Jats were rising into power,
and when all the minor Rajas served with their contingents under the
great Jai Singh, as lieutenant of the emperor. Along with the princes of
Karauli, Bhadauria, Sheopur, and many others of the third rank, was Udai
Singh of Khandela. During the siege of Thun, the Shaikhawat chief was
reprimanded for neglect of duty, and although he owed a double
allegiance to Jai Singh, as his natural liege lord and lieutenant of the
king, he would not brook the censure from one of his own race, and
indignantly withdrew from the siege. Churaman the Jat, having contrived
to make his peace with the Sayyid wazir, when Thun was upon the eve of
surrender, and Udai Singh being implicated in this intrigue, Jai Singh,
who was mortified at an occurrence which prevented the gratification of
a long-cherished resentment against the upstart Jats, determined that
the Khandela chief should suffer for his audacity. Attended by the
imperialists under Bazid Khan, and all his home clans, he laid siege to
the citadel called Udaigarh. Udai Singh held out a month in this castle
he had constructed and called by his own name, when his resources
failing, he fled to Naru[9.5.22] in Marwar, and his son, Sawai Singh,
presented the keys, throwing himself on the clemency of the conqueror.
He was well received, and pardoned, on condition of becoming tributary
to Amber. He followed the example of the Kasli chief, and signed an
engagement to pay annually one lakh of rupees. From this a deduction of
fifteen thousand was subsequently made, and in time being reduced twenty
thousand more, sixty-five thousand continued to be the tribute of
Khandela, until the decay of both the parent State and its scion, when
the weakness of the former, and the merciless outrages of the predatory
powers, Pathan and Mahratta, rendered its amount uncertain and difficult
to realize. Moreover, recalling his promise to Dip Singh, he restored
the division of the lands as existing prior to the murder of Fateh
Singh, namely, three shares to Sawai Singh, with the title of chief of
the Shaikhawats, and two to Dhir Singh, son of Fateh Singh. The young
cousin chieftains, now joint-holders of Khandela, attended their liege
lord with their contingent; and Udai Singh, taking advantage of their
absence, with the aid of a band of outlawed Larkhanis, surprised and
took Khandela. Attended by the Jaipur troops, the son performed the
dutiful task of expelling his father from his inheritance, who again
fled to Naru, where he resided [401] upon a pension of five rupees a
day, given by his son, until his death. He, however, outlived Sawai
Singh, who left three sons: Bindraban, who succeeded to Khandela;
Shambhu, who had the appanage of Ranauli; and Kusal, having that of
Piprauli.

-----

Footnote 9.5.1:

[This Udaipur must not be confounded with the capital of Mewār: it is
about 60 miles N. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.5.2:

The lovers of antiquity have only to make the search to find an
abundant harvest, throughout all these countries, of ancient capitals
and cities, whose names are hardly known even to the modern
inhabitants. Of the ancient Rajor I have already spoken, and I now
draw the attention of my countrymen to Abhaner, which boasts a very
remote antiquity; and from an old stanza, we might imagine that its
princes were connected with the Kaian dynasty of Persia. I copied it,
some twenty years ago, from an itinerant bard, who had an imperfect
knowledge of it himself, and I have doubtless made it more so, but it
is still sufficiently intelligible to point at a remarkable
coincidence:

_Rājā Chand-kā Ābhāner
Bīahah Sanjog, āyo Girnār.
Dekh Bharat līyo bulāi.
Kiyo bidit, man bikasāi.
Byāo Sanjog, Parmalā barī.
Kos sāth-so man chit dharī;
“Tū betī Kaikum kī,
Nām Parmalā[9.4.2.A] ho.
Lekhā huā Kartār ko.
Yā jāna sabb ko”_[9.4.2.A] [388]

[For the above version of the corrupt lines in the original, the
Editor is indebted to Sir G. Grierson, who remarks that the meaning is
not clear, and that in the original more than one dialect is used. He
offers the following tentative translation: “Sanjog [dwelt] in the
midst of Ābhāner of Rāja Chand. He came to Girnār. When Bharat saw him
he summoned him. He [Sanjog] made known [his object], and his
[Bharat’s] heart expanded. Sanjog married, he chose Parmalā for his
bride. From a distance of sixty kos his heart and mind had attracted
her. [He said to her] ‘Thou art the daughter of Kaikum. Thy name is
Parmalā [_i.e._ “fairy garland”]. It was the writing of the Creator
[_i.e._ “it was so fated”], this every one knew.’” There is no reason
to suppose that the lady was a Persian.]

This is a fragment of a long poem relative to the rivalry of Raja
Chand of Abhaner, and Raja Sursen of Indrapuri, who was betrothed to
Parmala, daughter of Kaikum, and had gone to Girner, or Girnar, to
espouse her, when the Abhaner prince abducted her. Raja Sursen of
Indrapuri (Delhi), if the ancestor of the Suraseni, and founder of
Surpuri, existed probably twelve hundred years before Christ. That
sun-worshippers had established themselves in the peninsula of
Saurashtra (whose capital was Junagarh-Girnar), its appellation, in
the days of the Greeks of Bactria, as now, proves (see Strabo, Justin,
etc.), but whether Kaikum, the father of Parmala, is the Kaiomurs of
Firdausi, we shall not stop to inquire. The connexion between this
peninsula and Persia was intimate in later times, so as even to give
rise to the assertion that the Ranas of Mewar were descended from the
Sassanian kings. It was my good fortune to discover Surpuri, on the
Jumna, the residence of the rival of Chand of Abhaner, which city I
leave to some one imbued with similar taste to visit, and merely add,
he will find there an inscription in a kund or fountain dedicated to
the Sun. The distance, however, seven hundred coss (_kos sath so_),
whether from Indrapuri or Abhaner, to Girnar, even admitting them to
be _gao coss_, would be too much. I believe this would make it eight
hundred miles, and certainly, as the crow flies, it is not seven
hundred. Interwoven with the story there is much about Raja Chambha,
prince of Jajnagar, a city of great antiquity in Orissa, and
containing some of the finest specimens of sculpture I ever saw. There
is also mention of a Raja Saer (_qu._ Sahir or Siharas of Aror) of
Parman. In 1804, I passed through Jajnagar, after the conquest of the
province of Cuttack, with my regiment. At Jajnagar, my earliest
friend, the late Captain Bellet Sealy, employed his pencil for several
days with the sculptured remains. These drawings were sent to the
authorities at Calcutta: perhaps this notice may rescue from oblivion
the remains of Jajnagar, and of my deceased friend’s talent, for
Captain Bellet Sealy was an ornament equally to private life and to
his profession. He fell a victim to the fever contracted in the Nepal
war. The ruins of Abhaner are on the Banganga, three coss east of
Lalsont. [The speculations in this note are of no value. For the town
of Jājpur in Cuttack, see a full account by Sir W. Hunter, _Orissa_,
i. 265 f.; _IGI_, xiv. 10 f.]

Footnote 9.4.2.A:

_Parī-mālā_ means ‘fairy garland.’

Footnote 9.5.3:

[About 15 miles N.E. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.5.4:

Strings, or threads, worn crossways by Muhammadan children. [See
Herklots, _Qanoon-e-Islam_, 156, 158.]

Footnote 9.5.5:

The town of Amritsar and forty-five villages are still left to the
Manoharpur branch.

Footnote 9.5.6:

The Pannis are a tribe of Duranis, regarding whom Mr. Elphinstone’s
account of Kabul may be consulted. In after times, there was a
chieftain of this tribe so celebrated for his generosity and
hospitality, that his name has become proverbial:

_Banē, to banē
Nahīn, Dāūd Khān Panni_:

that is, if they failed elsewhere, there was always Daud Khan in
reserve. His gallant bearing, and death in Farrukhsiyar’s reign, are
related in Scott’s excellent _History of the Dekhan_. [Ed. 1794, ii.
140 ff. The Panni are a sept of the Kākar or Ghurghusthi Pathāns; see
Rose, _Glossary_, iii. 198, 223.]

Footnote 9.5.7:

This will recall to the reader’s recollection a similar custom in the
ancient Persian empire, where the tribute of the distant Satrapies was
of the same kind. Armenia, according to Herodotus, alone gave an
annual tribute of twenty thousand colts. [The statement is made by
Strabo p. 529.]

Footnote 9.5.8:

[Jhārli is about 40 miles N. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.5.9:

It is always agreeable to find the truth of these simple annals
corroborated in the historical remains of the conquerors of the
Rajputs. The name of Raesal Darbari will be found, in the
Ain-i-Akbari, amongst the mansabdars of twelve hundred and fifty
horse; a rank of high importance, being equivalent to that conferred
on the sons of potent Rajas. [In _Āīn_ (i. 419) he is called Rāē Sāl
Darbāri, son of Rāēmall, Shaikhāwat. The Author represents him to be
son of Sūja, and apparently grandson of Rāēmall. He is mentioned in
the _Akbarnāma_ (trans. H. Beveridge ii. 390).]

Footnote 9.5.10:

The Nirwan is a _sakha_, or ramification of the Chauhan race. They
had long held possession of these regions, of which Kes, or Kausambi,
now Udaipur, was the capital, the city where the grand council of the
confederation always meets on great occasions. This may throw light on
the Kausambi mentioned on the triumphal pillar at Delhi; the Nirwan
capital is more likely to be the town alluded to than Kausāmbi on the
Ganges. [The inscription refers to the city in the United Provinces,
of which the site is uncertain (V. A. Smith, _JRAS_, 1898, p. 503).]

Footnote 9.5.11:

[He died, at an advanced age, in the Deccan (_Āīn_, i. 419).]

Footnote 9.5.12:

[Narasinha, the man-lion incarnation of Vishnu.]

Footnote 9.5.13:

[Khān Jahān Lodi, an Afghān, commanded in the Deccan under Prince
Parvez. In 1628, suspected of disloyalty, he took refuge in Bāglān,
the headmen of which place refused to surrender him. But he was
obliged to fly and, with his son, was killed by the royal troops on
January 28, 1631 (Beale, _Dict. Oriental Biography_, s.v.; _BG_, i.
Part ii. 624 f.; Elliot-Dowson vii. 20 ff.).]

Footnote 9.5.14:

[Not in Ferishta, but in Dow’s continuation (ed. 1812, iii. 112 ff.).]

Footnote 9.5.15:

[Parnāla or Panhāla in the Kolhapur District, taken in 1701 (Manucci
iii. 257; _BG_, xxiv. 314.)]

Footnote 9.5.16:

The numerous ruined shrines and mutilated statues in every town and
village, still attest the zeal with which the bigot’s orders were
obeyed; nor is there an image of any antiquity with an entire set of
features (except in spots impervious to his myrmidons), from Lahore to
Cape Comorin. Omkarji, whose temple is on a small island of the
Nerbudda, alone, it is said, supported his dignity in the
indiscriminate attack on the deities of Hind. “If they are gods (said
the tyrannical but witty iconoclast), let them evince their power, and
by some miracle resist my commands.” Omkarji received the first blow
on his head, as if imbued with mortal feeling, for the blood gushed
from his nose and mouth, which prevented a repetition of the injury!
This sensibility, though without the power of avenging himself, made
Omkar’s shrine doubly respected, and it continues to be one of the
best frequented and most venerated in these regions. [Numerous
accounts of the destruction of Hindu temples by Aurangzeb have been
collected by Jadunath Sarkar (_History of Aurangzib_, iii. 319 ff.).
The Omkār temple at Māndhāta in the Nimār District, Central Provinces,
is served by a priest of the Bhīlāla caste, half Bhīl, half Rājput,
illustrating the mode by which aboriginal deities have been imported
into Hinduism (_IGI_, xvii. 152; Russell, _Tribes and Castes Central
Provinces_, ii. 294).]

Footnote 9.5.17:

[This is probably the “Kaotah” of the text.]

Footnote 9.5.18:

[Now in the Patiāla State, Panjāb.]

Footnote 9.5.19:

[Sayyid Abdulla of Bārha became wazīr of Farrukhsīyar in A.D. 1713,
and died in prison in 1723.]

Footnote 9.5.20:

[About 70 miles S.W. of Ajmer.]

Footnote 9.5.21:

The fifth, as will be seen hereafter, has been expelled, and authority
usurped by the Kasli branch of the family, and unless some fortunate
change should occur, the devotion of Kesari was useless, and the
prophecy must fall to the ground.

Footnote 9.5.22:

[About 25 miles N.W. of Jodhpur city.]

-----

CHAPTER 6

=Bindrabandās.=—Bindrabandas steadfastly adhered to Madho Singh in the
civil wars which ensued for the _gaddi_ of Amber, and the latter, when
success attended his cause, wished to reward the important services of
his feudatory. At his request, he consented that the partition of the
lands which had caused so much bloodshed should be annulled, and that
Bindraban should rule as sole lord of Khandela. Five thousand men were
placed under his command for the expulsion of the minor, Indar Singh,
grandson of Deo Singh, who made a stout resistance for many months; but
at length his little castle was no longer tenable, and he fled to
Parsoli, where he again defended himself, and was again on the point of
surrender, when an unexpected accident not only saved him from exile,
but restored him to his rights.

=Brāhmans commit Suicide.=—The mercenaries were supported at the sole
charge of Bindraban, and as his ancestors left no treasury, he was
compelled to resort to the contribution called _dand_ from his subjects,
not even exempting the hierarchy. Piqued at this unusual demand, some of
the wealthiest Brahmans expostulated with the Raja on this indignity to
the order. But their appeals were disregarded by their chief, whose
existence depended on supplies. The loss of influence as well as wealth
being the fruit of this [402] disregard of their remonstrance, they had
recourse to that singular species of revenge termed _chandni_, or
self-immolation, and poignarded themselves in his presence, pouring
maledictions on his head with their last breath. The blood of Brahmans
now rested on the head of Bindraban; even amongst his personal friends
he laboured under a species of excommunication, and his liege lord,
Madho Singh of Amber, in order to expiate his indirect share in the
guilt, recalled his troops, and distributed twenty thousand rupees to
the Brahmans of his own capital. Indar Singh had thus time to breathe,
and having collected all his retainers, wisely joined the Jaipur army
assembling under the command of the celebrated Khushhaliram Bohra to
chastise the Rao of Macheri, who was expelled and obliged to seek refuge
with the Jats. In this service Indar Singh so much distinguished
himself, that, on the payment of a _nazarana_ of fifty thousand rupees,
he recovered his lost share of Khandela, by a regular _patta_, or grant,
of the Raja.

=Tribal Feuds.=—Perpetual feuds, however, raged between these two kings
of Khandela, each of whom had his castle, or fortified palace. Each day
“there was war even in the gates” of Khandela, and at the hazard of
prolixity we shall state how it was conducted, challenging the records
of any civil war to produce an instance in which all the ties of blood
and kindred were more disregarded than in this _bellum plusquam civile_.

Indar Singh had popularity on his side to balance the other’s superior
power, and he was briskly pushing an attack on Udaigarh, the castle of
his opponent, when he was joined by Raghunath Singh, the younger son of
his foeman. This youth, who had the township of Kuchor in appanage,
helped himself to three more, to retain which he sided with his father’s
foe. Bindraban, in order to create a diversion, sallied out to attack
Kuchor; to oppose which, his son, together with his nephew, Prithi Singh
of Ranoli and his retainers, withdrew from the batteries to defend it.
But the attack on Kuchor had already failed, and Bindraban was on his
retreat to regain Khandela when he was intercepted. The battle took
place outside the city, whose gates were shut against friend and foe, to
prevent a pell-mell entry. At the same time, the siege of Udaigarh was
not slackened; it was defended by Govind Singh, the eldest son of
Bindraban, while the batteries against it were commanded by another near
kinsman, Nahar Singh of Cherana. For several days daily combats ensued,
in which were to be seen father and son, uncles and nephews, and cousins
within every degree of affinity, destroying each other. At length, both
parties were exhausted and a compromise ensued, in which Indar Singh
obtained the rights he had so manfully vindicated [403].

=Attack by Najaf Kuli Khān.=—At this time, a dying and desultory effort
to regain his lost power was made by Najaf Kuli Khan, at the head of the
imperialists, who, conducted by the traitorous Macheri Rao, led the
royal army into the lands of the confederacy to raise contributions, for
which he was cordially and laudably detested. Nawal Singh of Nawalgarh,
Bagh Singh of Khetri, Surajmall of Baswa,[9.6.1] all chieftains of the
Sadhanis, unable to comply with the requisitions, were carried off, and
retained captive till ransomed for many lakhs of rupees; all eventually
raised upon the impoverished husbandman and industrious merchant.

The din of civil war having ended, the ministers of religion never
ceased pouring into the ears of Bindraban the necessity of expiation and
oblations for the murder of their brethren, and he was daily sacrificing
the birthright of his children, in grants of the best lands of Khandela,
to these drones of society, when Govind, the heir-apparent,
remonstrated, which was followed by the abdication of Bindraban, who,
appropriating five townships and the impost duties of Khandela for his
support, left the cares of government to his son.[9.6.2]

=Abdication of Bindraban: Govind Singh succeeds.=—Govind Singh did not
long enjoy the honours of chief of the Raesalots. The year of his
elevation having produced an unfavourable harvest, at the request of his
vassal of Ranoli he proceeded to inspect the crops preparatory to a
reduction in the assessment. Less superstitious than his father, he
persevered in spite of the predictions of the astrologer, who told him,
“to beware the ides (_amavas_) of Pus,“[9.6.3] and not to go abroad that
day. In the course of the excursion, one of his personal attendants, a
Rajput of Kajroli, had lost some valuable article entrusted to his
charge, and the impetuous chief broadly taxed him with theft. His
protestations of innocence were unavailing, and considering himself
dishonoured by the imputation, which might possibly be followed by some
disgraceful punishment, he determined to anticipate his chief, and
murdered him that night. Govind left five sons, Narsingh, Surajmall (who
had Dodia), Bagh Singh, Jawan Singh, and Ranjit, all of whom had
families.

=Murder of Govind Singh: Narsinghdās succeeds.=—Narsinghdas, his eldest
son, succeeded. In spite of internal dissensions, occasional
chastisement, and pecuniary exactions from the imperial armies, or those
of their immediate liege lord of Amber, the confederated frerage of
Shaikhavati had increased their territory and population. Only the
shadow of a name now remained to the empire of the Great Mogul; and
their own lord-paramount, satisfied with a certain degree of homage,
tribute, and service on emergencies, was little inclined to trench [404]
further upon their national independence. But a new enemy had now
arisen, and though of their own faith, far more destructive than even
the tolerant Islamite. Happy were the inhabitants of the desert who had
an ocean of sand between them and this scourge of India, the insatiable
Mahratta. After the fatal day of Merta, where the evil genius of
Rajputana enabled De Boigne to give the last blow to her independence,
the desultory hordes roved in bands through the lands of the
confederation, plundering, murdering, and carrying off captive the
principal chiefs or their children, as hostages for contributions they
could not realise. These were dragged about after their armies, until
the hardships and indignities they underwent made them sell every
article of value, or until the charge of keeping, or the trouble of
guarding them, rendered their prolonged captivity burdensome to the
wandering Southrons.

=Marātha Inroads.=—Let us follow the path of the barbarians, and trace
only one day’s acts of outrage. When the Mahrattas entered the lands of
the federation, soon after the battle of Merta, they first attacked
Bai.[9.6.4] The inhabitants, knowing that they had no hope of mercy from
these marauders, fled, carrying away all the effects they could to the
larger towns, while a garrison of eighty Rajputs took post in the little
castle, to defend the point of honour against this new assailant. Bai
was stormed; not one Rajput would accept of quarter, and all were put to
the sword. The enemy proceeded to Khandela, the route marked by similar
tracks of blood. When within two coss of the town, the horde halted at
Hodiganw, and a Pandit[9.6.5] was sent to Rao Indar Singh to settle the
contribution, which was fixed at twenty thousand rupees, besides three
thousand in _ghus_[9.6.6] (bribe), for the Brahman negotiator. The two
chiefs, who negotiated on the part of the joint Rajas of Khandela,
proceeded with the Pandit to the enemy’s camp; their names were Nawal
and Dalil. As it was out of their power to realise so large a sum, they
were accompanied by the joint revenue officers of Khandela as _ol_, or
hostage, when to their dismay, the Southron commander demurred, and said
they themselves must remain. One of the chieftains, with the sang-froid
which a Rajput never loses, coolly replied, that should not be, and
taking his _hukka_ from his attendant, began unceremoniously to smoke,
when a rude Deccani knocked the pipe from his hand [405]. The Thakur’s
sword was unsheathed in an instant, but ere he had time to use it a
pistol-ball passed through his brain. Dalil Singh’s party, attempting to
avenge their companion, were cut off to a man; and Indar Singh, who had
left Khandela to learn how the negotiations sped, arrived just in time
to see his clansmen butchered. He was advised to regain Khandela: “No,”
replied the intrepid Raesalot; “better that I should fall before the
gates of Khandela than enter them after such disgrace, without avenging
my kinsmen.” Dismounting from his horse, he turned him loose, his
adherents following his example; and sword in hand they rushed on the
host of assassins and met their fate. Indar Singh was stretched beside
his vassals, and, strange to say, Dalil was the only survivor: though
covered with wounds, he was taken up alive, and carried to the hostile
camp.

Such was the opening scene of the lengthened tragedy enacted in
Shaikhavati, when Mahratta actors succeeded to Pathans and Moguls: heirs
to their worst feelings, without one particle of their magnanimity or
courtesy. But the territory of the confederacy was far too narrow a
stage; even the entire plain of India appeared at one time too
restricted for the hydra-headed banditti, nor is there a principality,
district, or even township, from the Sutlej to the sea, where similar
massacres have not been known, and but for our interposition, such
scenes would have continued to the present hour.

=Partāp Singh.=—Partap Singh, who succeeded his brave father in his
share of the patrimony, was at this crisis with his mother at Sikrai, a
strong fort in the hills, ten miles from Khandela. To save the town, the
principal men dug up the grain-pits, selling their property to release
their minor chief from further trouble. Having obtained all they could,
the enemy proceeded to the lands of the Sadhanis. Udaipur was the first
assaulted, taken, and sacked; the walls were knocked down, and the
floors dug up in search of treasure. After four days’ havoc, they left
it a ruin, and marched against the northern chieftains of Singhana,
Jhunjhunu, and Khetri. On the departure of the foe, young Partap and his
kinsman, Narsingh, took up their abode in Khandela; but scarcely had
they recovered from the effects of the Deccani incursion, before demands
were made by their liege lord of Amber for the tribute. Partap made his
peace by assigning a fourth of the harvest; but Narsingh, in the
procrastinating and haughty spirit of his ancestors, despised an
arrangement which, he said (and with justice), would reduce him to the
level of a common Bhumia landholder.

=Devi Singh.=—At this period, a remote branch of the Khandela
Shaikhawats began to disclose a spirit that afterwards gained him
distinction. Devi Singh, chieftain of Sikar, a [406] descendant of Rao
Tirmall of Kasli, had added to his patrimony by the usurpation of no
less than twenty-five large townships, as Lohagarha, Koh, etc.; and he
deemed this a good opportunity, his chief being embroiled with the
court, to make an attack on Rewasa; but death put a stop to the
ambitious views of the Sikar chieftain. Having no issue, he had adopted
Lachhman Singh, son of the Shahpura Thakur; but the Jaipur court, which
had taken great umbrage at these most unjustifiable assaults of the
Sikar chief on his weaker brethren, commanded Nandram Haldia (brother of
the prime minister Daulat Ram), collector of the Shaikhawat tribute, to
attack and humble him. No sooner were the orders of the court
promulgated, than all the Barwatias[9.6.7] gathered round the standard
of the collector, to aid in the redemption of their patrimonies wrested
from them by Sikar. Besides the Khandela chief in person, there were the
Pattawats of Kasli, Bilara, and others of Tirmall’s stock; and even the
Sadhanis, who little interfered in the affairs of the Raesalots,
repaired with joy with their tribute and their retainers to the camp of
the Jaipur commander, to depress the Sikar chief, who was rapidly rising
over them all. Nearly the whole troops of the confederacy were thus
assembled. Devi Singh, it may be imagined, was no common character, to
have excited such universal hatred; and his first care had been to make
strong friends at court, in order to retain what he had acquired. He had
especially cultivated the minister’s friendship, which was now turned to
account. A deputation, consisting of a Chondawat chief, the Diwan of
Sikar, and that important character the Dhabhai, repaired to the Haldia,
and implored him in the name of the deceased, not to give up his infant
son to hungry and revengeful Barwatias. The Haldia said there was but
one way by which he could avoid the fulfilment of his court’s command,
which was for them, as he approached the place, to congregate a force so
formidable from its numbers, as to exonerate him from all suspicion of
collusion. With the treasury of Devi Singh, overflowing from the
spoliation of the Kaimkhani of Fatehpur, it was easy to afford such
indemnity to the Haldia, at whose approach to Sikar ten thousand men
appeared to oppose him. Having made a show of investing Sikar, and
expended a good deal of ammunition, he addressed his court, where his
brother was minister, stating he could make nothing of Sikar without
great loss, both of time, men, and money, and advising an acceptance of
the proffered submission. Without waiting a reply, he took two lakhs as
a fine for his [407] sovereign, and a present of one for himself. The
siege was broken up, and Sikar was permitted to prosecute his schemes;
in which he was not a little aided by the continued feuds of the
co-partner chiefs of Khandela. Partap took advantage of Narsingh’s
non-compliance with the court’s requisition, and his consequent
disgrace, to settle the feud of their fathers, and unite both shares in
his own person; and stipulated in return to be responsible for the whole
tribute, be ready with his contingent to serve the court, and pay
besides a handsome _nazarana_ or investiture. The Haldia was about to
comply, when Rawal Indar Singh of Samod,[9.6.8] chief of the Nathawat
clan, interceded for Narsingh, and inviting him on his own
responsibility to the camp, acquainted him with the procedure of his
rival, in whose name the patent for Khandela was actually made out; “but
even now,” said this noble chief, “I will stay it if you comply with the
terms of the court.” But Narsingh either would not, or could not, and
the Samod chief urged his immediate departure; adding that as he came
under his guarantee, he was desirous to see him safe back, for “such
were the crooked ways of the Amber house,” that if he prolonged his
stay, he might be involved in ruin in his desire to protect him.
Accordingly, at dusk, with sixty of his own retainers, he escorted him
to Nawalgarh, and the next morning he was in his castle of Govindgarh.
The precautions of the Samod chief were not vain, and he was reproached
and threatened with the court’s displeasure, for permitting Narsingh’s
departure; but he nobly replied, “he had performed the duty of a Rajput,
and would abide the consequences.” As the sequel will further exemplify
the corruptions of courts, and the base passions of kindred, under a
system of feudal government, we shall trespass on the reader’s patience
by recording the result.

=Quarrel between Samod and Chaumūn.=—Samod and Chaumun are the chief
houses of the Nathawat clan; the elder branch enjoying the title of
Rawal, with supremacy over the numerous vassalage. But these two
families had often contested the lead, and their feuds had caused much
bloodshed. On the disgrace of Indar Singh, as already related, his rival
of Chaumun repaired to court, and offered so large a _nazarana_ as to be
invested with rights of seniority. Avarice and revenge were good
advocates: a warrant was made out and transmitted to Indar Singh (still
serving with the collector of the tribute) for the sequestration of
Samod. Placing, like a dutiful subject, the warrant to his forehead, he
instantly departed for Samod, and commanded the removal of his family,
his goods and chattels, from the seat of his ancestors, and went into
exile in Marwar. In after times, his Rani had a grant of the village of
Piplai, to which the magnanimous, patriotic [408], and loyal Indar
Singh, when he found the hand of death upon him, repaired, that he might
die in the hands of the Kachhwahas, and have his ashes buried amongst
his fathers. This man, who was naturally brave, acted upon the abstract
principle of swamidharma, or ‘fealty,’ which is not even now exploded,
in the midst of corruption and demoralization. Indar Singh would have
been fully justified, according to all the principles which govern these
States, in resisting the iniquitous mandate. Such an act might have been
deemed rebellion by those who look only at the surface of things; but
let the present lords-paramount go deeper, when they have to decide
between a Raja and his feudatories, and look to the origin and condition
of both, and the ties which alone can hold such associations together.

=Partāp Singh secures Possession of Khandela.=—To return: Partap Singh,
having thus obtained the whole of Khandela, commenced the demolition of
a fortified gate, whence during the feuds his antagonist used to play
some swivels against his castle. While the work of destruction was
advancing, an omen occurred, foreboding evil to Partap. An image of
Ganesa, the god of wisdom and protector of the arts (more especially of
architecture), was fixed in the wall of this gate, which an ill-fated
and unintentional blow knocked from its elevated position to the earth,
and being of terra-cotta, his fragments lay dishonoured and scattered on
the pavement. Notwithstanding this, the demolition was completed, and
the long obnoxious gateway levelled with the earth. Partap, having
adjusted affairs in the capital, proceeded against Rewasa, which he
reduced, and then laid siege to Govindgarh,[9.6.9] aided by a detachment
of the Haldia. Having encamped at Gura, two coss from it, and twice that
distance from Ranoli, its chief, who still espoused the cause of his
immediate head, the unfortunate Narsingh, sent his minister to the
Haldia, offering not only to be responsible for all arrears due by
Narsingh, but also a handsome douceur, to restore him to his rights. He
repaired to Khandela, stationed a party in the fortified palace of
Narsingh, and consented that they should be expelled, as if by force of
his adherents, from Govindgarh. Accordingly, Surajmall and Bagh Singh,
the brothers of Narsingh, in the dead of night, with one hundred and
fifty followers, made a mock attack on the Haldia’s followers, expelled
them, and made good a lodgment in their ancient dwelling. Partap was
highly exasperated; and to render the acquisition useless, he ordered
the possession of a point which commanded the mahall; but here he was
anticipated by his opponent, whose party now poured into Khandela. He
then cut off their supplies of water, by fortifying the reservoirs and
wells, and this brought matters to a crisis. An action ensued, in which
many were killed on each side, when [409] the traitorous Haldia
interposed the five-coloured banner, and caused the combat to cease.
Narsingh, at this juncture, joined the combatants in person, from his
castle of Govindgarh, and a treaty was forthwith set on foot, which left
the district of Rewasa to Partap, and restored to Narsingh his share of
Khandela.

These domestic broils continued, however, and occasions were perpetually
recurring to bring the rivals in collision. The first was on the
festival of the Ganggor;[9.6.10] the next on the Ranoli chief placing in
durance a vassal of Partap, which produced a general gathering of the
clans: both ended in an appeal to the lord-paramount, who soon merged
the office of arbitrator in that of dictator.

The Sadhanis, or chieftains of northern Shaikhavati, began to feel the
bad effects of these feuds of the Raesalots, and to express
dissatisfaction at the progressive advances of the Jaipur court for the
establishment of its supremacy. Until this period they had escaped any
tributary engagements, and only recognized their connexion with Amber by
marks of homage and fealty on lapses, which belonged more to kindred
than political superiority. But as the armies of the court were now
perpetually on the frontiers, and might soon pass over, they deemed it
necessary to take measures for their safety. The township of Tui,
appertaining to Nawalgarh, had already been seized, and Ranoli was
battered for the restoration of the subject of Partap. These were
grievances which affected all the Sadhanis, who, perceiving they could
no longer preserve their neutrality, determined to abandon their
internal dissensions, and form a system of general defence. Accordingly,
a general assembly of the Sadhani lords, and as many of the Raesalots as
chose to attend, was announced at the ancient place of rendezvous,
Udaipur. To increase the solemnity of the occasion, and to banish all
suspicion of treachery, as well as to extinguish ancient feuds, and
reconcile chiefs who had never met but in hostility, it was unanimously
agreed that the most sacred pledge of good faith, the _Nundab_,[9.6.11]
or dipping the hand in the salt, should take place.

The entire body of the Sadhani lords, with all their retainers, met at
the appointed time, as did nearly all the Raesalots, excepting the joint
chieftains of Khandela, too deeply tainted with mutual distrust to take
part in this august and national congress of all ‘the children of
Shaikhji.’ It was decided in this grand council, that all internal
strife should cease; and that for the future, whenever it might occur,
there should [410] be no appeals to the arbitration of Jaipur; but that
on all such occasions, or where the general interests were endangered, a
meeting should take place at ‘the Pass of Udaipur,’ to deliberate and
decide, but above all to repel by force of arms, if necessary, the
further encroachments of the court. This unusual measure alarmed the
court of Amber, and when oppression had generated determined resistance,
it disapproved and disowned the proceedings of its lieutenant, who was
superseded by Rora Ram, with orders to secure the person of his
predecessor. His flight preserved him from captivity in the dungeons of
Amber, but his estates, as well as those of the minister his brother,
were resumed, and all their property was confiscated.

=Treaty between the Shaikhāwats and Jaipur.=—The new commander, who was
a tailor by caste, was ordered to follow the Haldia to the last
extremity; for, in these regions, displaced ministers and rebels are
identical. It was expected, if they did not lose their heads, to see
them in opposition to the orders of their sovereign lord, whose slaves
they had so lately proclaimed themselves: in fact, a rebel minister in
Rajwara is like an ex-Tory or ex-Whig elsewhere, nor does restoration to
the councils of his sovereign, perhaps in a few short months after he
carried arms against him, plundered his subjects, and carried
conflagration in his towns, excite more than transient emotion. The new
commander was eager to obtain the services of the assembled Shaikhawats
against the Haldias, but experience had given them wisdom; and they not
only exacted stipulations befitting their position, as the price of this
aid, but, what was of more consequence, negotiated the conditions of
their future connexion with the lord-paramount.

The _first_ article was the immediate restoration of the townships which
the Haldia had seized upon, as Tui, Gwala, etc.

The _second_, that the court should disavow all pretensions to exact
tribute beyond what they had voluntarily stipulated, and which they
would remit to the capital.

_Third_, that on no account should the armies of the court enter the
lands of the confederation, the consequences of which had been so
strongly marked in the atrocities at Khandela.

_Fourth_, that the confederacy would furnish a contingent for the
service of the court, which should be paid by the court while so
employed.

The treaty being ratified through the intervention of the new commander,
and having received in advance 10,000 rupees for their expenses, the
chiefs with their retainers repaired to the capital, and after paying
homage to their liege lord, zealously set to work to execute its orders
on the Haldia faction, who were dispossessed of their [411] estates.
But, as observed in the annals of the parent State, Jaipur had obtained
the distinction of the _jhutha darbar_, or ‘lying court,’ of the
justness of which epithet it afforded an illustration in its conduct to
the confederated chieftains, who soon discovered the difference between
promises and performance. They had done their duty, but they obtained
not one of the advantages for which they agreed to serve the court; and
they had the mortification to see they had merely displaced the
garrisons of the Haldia for those of Rora Ram. After a short
consultation, they determined to seek themselves the justice that was
denied them; accordingly, they assaulted in succession the towns
occupied by Rora Ram’s myrmidons, drove them out, and made them over to
their original proprietors.

=Treacherous Arrest of Narsingh and other Chiefs.=—At the same time, the
court having demanded the usual tribute from Narsinghdas, which was
always in arrear, he had the imprudence to stone the agent, who was a
relation of the minister. He hastened to the Presence, “threw his turban
at the Raja’s feet,” saying, he was dishonoured for ever. A mandate was
instantaneously issued for the sequestration of Khandela and the capture
of Narsingh, who bade his liege lord defiance from his castle of
Govindgarh: but his co-partner, Partap Singh, having no just cause of
apprehension, remained in Khandela, which was environed by the Jaipur
troops under Asaram. His security was his ruin; but the wily Bania
(Asaram), who wished to seize at once the joint holders of the estate,
offered no molestation to Partap, while he laid a plot for the other. He
invited his return, on the _bachan_, or ‘pledge of safety,’ of the
Manoharpur chief. Narsingh did not hesitate, for rank as was the
character of his countrymen in these degenerate days, no Rajput had ever
incurred the epithet of Bachanchuk, tenfold more odious than that of
murderer, and which no future action, however brilliant, could
obliterate, even from his descendants to the latest posterity. On the
faith of this _bachan_, Narsingh came, and a mock negotiation was
carried on for the arrears of tribute, and a time fixed for payment.
Narsingh returned to Khandela, and Asaram broke up his camp and moved
away. The crafty Bania, having thus successfully thrown him off his
guard, on the third day rapidly retraced his steps, and at midnight
surrounded Narsingh in his abode, who was ordered to proceed forthwith
to the camp. Burning with indignation, he attempted self-destruction,
but was withheld; and accompanied by a few Rajputs who swore to protect
or die with him, he joined Asaram to see the issue.

A simple plan was adopted to secure Partap, and he fearlessly obeyed the
summons. Both parties remained in camp; the one was amused with a
negotiation for [412] his liberation on the payment of a fine; the other
had higher hopes; and in the indulgence of both, their vassals relaxed
in vigilance. While they were at dinner, a party planted in ambuscade
rushed out, and before they could seize their arms, made captive both
the chiefs. They were pinioned like felons, put into a covered carriage,
despatched under the guard of five hundred men to the capital, and found
apartments ready for them in the state-prison of Amber. It is an axiom
with these people, that the end sanctifies the means; and the prince and
his minister congratulated each other on the complete success of the
scheme. Khandela was declared khalisa (fiscal), and garrisoned by five
hundred men from the camp, while the inferior feudatories, holding
estates detached from the capital, were received on terms, and even
allowed to hold their fiefs on the promise that they did not disturb the
sequestrated lands.

-----

Footnote 9.6.1:

[Nawalgarh, about 30 miles N.W. of Khandela; Khetri, about the same
distance N.E.; Baswa, about 85 miles N.N.W. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.6.2:

His second son, Raghunath, had Kuchor in appanage.

Footnote 9.6.3:

[The Amāvas, or last day of the month, is unlucky for all
undertakings, and is kept as a day of rest by traders, shopkeepers,
and craftsmen. If the last day falls on a Monday, it is specially
taboo, and people bathe in a river or pool and make gifts to Brāhmans
(_BG_, ix. Part i. 397). Pūs falls in January and February.]

Footnote 9.6.4:

[Close to the Jodhpur frontier, about 40 miles N.W. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.6.5:

The ministers of religion were the only clerks amongst this race of
depredators, and they were not behind the most illiterate in cupidity,
and to say the truth, courage, when required; and as for skill in
negotiation, a Mahratta Brahman stands alone; keen, skilful, and
imperturbable, he would have baffled Machiavelli himself.

Footnote 9.6.6:

_Ghus_ is literally ‘a bribe’; and no treaty or transaction was ever
carried on without this stipulation. So sacred was the _ghus_ held,
from tyrant usage, that the Peshwa ministers, when they ruled the
destinies of their nation, stipulated that the _ghus_ should go to the
privy purse!

Footnote 9.6.7:

Barwatia is ‘one expatriated,’ from '_bar_' [_bāhir_] ‘out of,’ and
_watan_, ‘a country,’ and it means either an exile or an outlaw,
according to the measure of crime which caused his banishment from his
country. [See Vol. II. p. 797.]

Footnote 9.6.8:

[About 20 miles N. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.6.9:

[About 30 miles N. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.6.10:

[See Vol. II. p. 665, for an account of this festival.]

Footnote 9.6.11:

_Nūn_ or _lūn_, ‘salt,’ and _dābnā_, ‘to dip, bespatter, or sprinkle.’
[Salt, apparently from its power of checking decay, is used in magical
rites, and is believed to be efficacious for scaring evil spirits.]

-----

CHAPTER 7

=Dīnarām Bohra organizes an Attack on the Sadhānis.=—Dinaram Bohra was
now (A.D. 1798-9) prime minister of Jaipur, and he no sooner heard of
the success of Asaram, than he proceeded to join him in person, for the
purpose of collecting the tribute due by the Sadhani chiefs. Having
formed a junction with Asaram at Udaipur, they marched to Parasurampur,
a town in the heart of the Sadhanis, whence they issued commands for the
tribute to be brought; [413] to expedite which, the ministers sent
_dhus_[9.7.1] to all the townships of the confederacy. This insulting
process irritated the Sadhanis to such a degree that they wrote to
Dinaram to withdraw his parties instantly, and retrace his steps to
Jhunjhunu, or abide the consequences; declaring, if he did so, that the
collective tribute, of which ten thousand was then ready, would be
forthcoming. All had assented to this arrangement but Bagh Singh,
brother of the captive prince of Khandela, who was so incensed at the
faithless conduct of the court, after the great services they had so
recently performed, that he determined to oppose by force of arms this
infraction of their charter, which declared the inviolability of the
territory of the confederation so long as the tribute was paid. He was
joined by five hundred men of Khetri, with which having levied
contributions at Singhana and Fatehpur from the traitorous lord of
Sikar, he invited to their aid the celebrated George Thomas, then
carving out his fortunes amongst these discordant political elements.

=Battle of Fatehpur, Defeat of Jaipur Army by George Thomas, A.D.
1799=.—Nearly the whole of the Jaipur mercenary and feudal army was
embodied on this occasion, and although far superior in numbers to the
confederation, yet the presence of Thomas and his regulars more than
counterpoised their numerical inferiority. The attack of Thomas was
irresistible; the Jaipur lines led by Rora Ram gave way, and lost
several pieces of artillery. To redeem what the cowardice and
ill-conduct of the general-in-chief had lost, the chieftain of Chaumun
formed a _gol_ or dense band of the feudal chivalry, which he led in
person against Thomas’s brigade, charging to the mouths of his guns. His
object, the recovery of the guns, was attained with great slaughter on
each side. The Chaumun chief (Ranjit Singh) was desperately wounded, and
Bahadur Singh, Pahar Singh, chiefs of the Khangarot clans, with many
others, were slain by discharges of grape; the guns were retrieved, and
Thomas and his auxiliaries were deprived of a victory, and ultimately
compelled to retreat.[9.7.2]

The captive chiefs of Khandela deemed this revolt and union of their
countrymen favourable to their emancipation, and addressed them to this
effect. A communication was made to the discomfited Rora Ram, who
promised his influence, provided an efficient body of Raesalots joined
his camp, and by their services seconded their [414] requests. Bagh
Singh was selected; a man held in high esteem by both parties, and even
the court manager of Khandela found it necessary to retain his services,
as it was by his influence only over his unruly brethren that he was
enabled to make anything of the new fiscal lands. For this purpose, and
to preserve the point of honour, the manager permitted Bagh Singh to
remain in the fortified palace of Khandela, with a small party of his
brethren; but on being selected to lead the quotas of his countrymen
with the court commander, he left his younger brother, Lachhman Singh,
as his deputy.

=Hanwant Singh captures Khandela.=—No sooner did it reach the ears of
Hanwant Singh of Saledi, son of the captive Partap, that Bagh Singh had
joined the army, than, in the true spirit of these relentless feuds, he
determined to attempt the castle. As soon as the darkness of night
favoured his design, he hastened its accomplishment, escaladed it, and
put the unprepared garrison to the sword. Intelligence of this event
reached Bagh Singh at Ranoli, who instantly countermarched, and
commenced the assault, into which even the townspeople entered heartily,
inspired as they were with indignation at the atrocious murder of the
young chief. The day was extremely hot; the defendants fought for their
existence, for their leader could not hope for mercy. The assailants
were served with the best food; such was the enthusiasm, that even the
women forgot their fears, and cheered them on as the ladders were
planted against the last point of defence. Then the white flag was
displayed, and the gate opened, but the murderer had fled.

Manjidas succeeded Dinaram as minister of Jaipur; and Rora Ram,
notwithstanding his disgraceful defeat and the lampoons of the bards,
continued to be collector of the Shaikhawat tribute, and farmed the
fiscal lands of Khandela to a Brahman for twenty thousand rupees
annually. This Brahman, in conjunction with another speculative brother,
had taken a lease of the Mapa Rahdari, or town and transit duties at
Jaipur, which having been profitable, they now agreed to take on lease
the sequestrated lands of Khandela. Having not only fulfilled their
contract the first year, but put money in their pocket, they renewed it
for two more. Aided by a party of the Silahposhians[9.7.3] of the court,
the minister of religion showed he was no messenger of peace, and
determined to make the most of his ephemeral power, he not only levied
contributions on the yet independent feudatories, but attacked those who
resisted, and carried several of their castles sword in hand. The brave
‘sons of Raesal’ could not bear this new mark of contumely and bad faith
of the court,—“to be made the sport of a tailor and a Brahman,”—and
having received intimation from the captive [415] chiefs that there was
no hope of their liberty, they at once threw away the scabbard and
commenced a scene of indiscriminate vengeance, which the Rajput often
has recourse to when urged to despair. They at once assailed Khandela,
and in spite of the resistance of seven thousand Dadupanthis,[9.7.4]
dispossessed the Purohit, and sacked it. Then advancing within the
Jaipur domains, they spread terror and destruction, pillaging even the
estates of the queen. Fresh troops were sent against them, and after
many actions the confederacy was broken up. The Ranoli chief and others
of the elder branches made their peace, but the younger branches fled
the country, and obtained saran (sanctuary) and subsistence in Marwar
and Bikaner: Sangram Singh of Sujawas (cousin to Partap) sought the
former, Bagh Singh and Suraj Singh the latter, whose prince gave them
lands. There they abode in tranquillity for a time, looking to that
justice from the prince which tributary collectors knew not; but when
apathy and neglect mistook the motive of this patient suffering, he was
aroused from his indifference to the fate of the brave Barwatias, by the
tramp of their horses’ feet even at the gates of his capital.

Sangram Singh headed the band of exiles, which spread fear and
desolation over a great portion of Dhundhar. In many districts they
established _rakhwali_;[9.7.5] and wherever they succeeded in surprising
a thana (garrison) of their liege lord, they cut it up without mercy.
They sacked the town of Koh, within a few miles of the city of Jaipur,
from under whose walls they carried off horses to mount their gang.
Animated by successful revenge, and the excitement of a life so suited
to the Rajput, Sangram became the leader of a band of several hundred
horse, bold enough to attempt anything. Complaints for redress poured in
upon the court from all quarters, to which a deaf ear might have been
turned, had they not been accompanied with applications for reduction of
rent. The court at length, alarmed at this daring desperado, made
overtures to him through Shyam Singh Sadhani, the chief of Baswa, on
whose _bachan_ (pledge) Sangram consented to appear before his liege
lord. As soon as he arrived under the walls of the city, his cavalcade
was surrounded by all classes, but particularly the Sikh mercenaries,
all of whom recognized their property, some a horse, some a camel,
others arms, etc.; but none durst advance a claim to their own, so
daring was their attitude and so guarded their conduct. The object of
the minister was to secure the person of Sangram, regardless of the
infamy which would attach to the chief who, at his desire, had pledged
himself for his safety. But Shyam Singh [416], who had heard of the
plot, gave Sangram warning. In forty-eight hours, intelligence reached
the court that Sangram was in Tuarvati,[9.7.6] and that, joined by the
Tuars and Larkhanis, he was at the head of one thousand horse. He now
assailed the large fiscal towns of his prince; contributions were
demanded, and if they could not be complied with, he carried off in _ol_
(hostage) the chief citizens, who were afterwards ransomed. If a delay
occurred in furnishing either, the place was instantly given over to
pillage, which was placed upon a body of camels. The career of this
determined Barwatia was at length closed. He had surrounded the town of
Madhopur, the estate of one of the queens, when a ball struck him in the
head. His body was carried to Ranoli and burnt, and he had his cenotaph
amongst the Jujhars[9.7.7] (those slain in battle) of his fathers. The
son of Sangram succeeded to the command and the revenge of his father,
and he continued the same daring course, until the court restored his
patrimony of Sujawas. Such were the tumultuous proceedings in
Shaikhavati, when an event of such magnitude occurred as to prove an
epoch in the history of Rajputana, and which not only was like oil
effused upon their afflictions, but made them prominent to their own
benefit in the transaction.

=The War on account of Krishna Kunwāri.=—That grand international war,
ostensibly for the hand of the Helen of Rajwara, was on the point of
bursting forth. The opening scene was in Shaikhavati, and the actors
chiefly Sadhanis. It will be recollected, that though this was but the
underplot of a tragedy, chiefly got up for the deposal of Raja Man of
Jodhpur, in favour of Dhonkal Singh, Racchand was then Diwan, or prime
minister, of Jaipur; and to forward his master’s views for the hand of
Krishna, supported the cause of the pretender.

=New Treaty with Jaipur.=—The minister sent his nephew, Kirparam, to
obtain the aid of the Shaikhawats, who appointed Kishan Singh as
interpreter of their wishes, while the Kher[9.7.8] assembled at ‘the
Pass of Udaipur.’ There a new treaty was formed, the main article of
which was the liberation of their chieftains, the joint Rajas of
Khandela, and the renewal of the ancient stipulations regarding the
non-interference of the court in their internal arrangements, so long as
they paid the regulated tribute. Kishan Singh, the organ of the
confederation, together with Kirparam, left the assembly for the
capital, where they soon returned with the ratification of their wishes.
On these conditions ten thousand of the sons of Shaikhji were embodied,
and ready to accompany their lord-paramount wherever he might lead them,
receiving _peti_, or subsistence, while out of their own lands.

These preliminaries settled, Shyam Singh Champawat (nephew of the
Pokaran [417] chief), with Kirparam repaired to Khetri, whence they
conveyed the young pretender, Dhonkal Singh, to the camp of the
confederates. They were met by a deputation headed by the princess
Anandi Kunwar (daughter of the late Raja Partap, and one of the widows
of Raja Bhim of Marwar, father of the pretender), who received the boy
in her arms as the child of her adoption, and forthwith returned to the
capital, where the army was forming for the invasion of Marwar.

It moved to Khatu, ten coss from Khandela, where they waited the
junction of the Bikaner Raja and other auxiliaries. The Shaikhawat lords
here sent in their imperative demand for the liberation of the sons of
Raesal, “that they might march under a leader of their own, equal in
celebrity to the proudest of that assembled host.” Evasion was
dangerous; and in a few days their chiefs were formally delivered to
them. Even the self-abdicated Bindraban could not resist this general
appeal to arms. The princes encamped in the midst of their vassals, nor
was there ever such a convocation of ‘the sons of Shaikhji’: Raesalots,
Sadhanis, Bhojanis, Larkhanis, and even the Barwatias, flocked around
the ‘yellow banner of Raesal.’ The accounts of the expedition are
elsewhere narrated,[9.7.9] and we shall only add that the Shaikhawats
participated in all its glory and all its disgrace, and lost both Rao
Narsingh and his father ere they returned to their own lands.

=Abhai Singh.=—Abhai Singh, the son of Narsingh, succeeded, and
conducted the contingent of his countrymen until the ill-starred
expedition broke up, when they returned to Khandela. But the faithless
court had no intention of restoring the lands of Khandela. Compelled to
look about for a subsistence, with one hundred and fifty horse, they
went to Raja Bakhtawar Singh of Macheri; but he performed the duties of
kindred and hospitality so meanly, that they only remained a fortnight.
In this exigence, Partap and his son repaired to the Mahratta leader,
Bapu Sindhia, at Dausa,[9.7.10] while Hanwant, in the ancient spirit of
his race, determined to attempt Govindgarh. In disguise, he obtained the
necessary information, assembled sixty of his resolute clansmen, whom he
concealed at dusk in a ravine, whence, as soon as silence proclaimed the
hour was come, he issued, ascended the well-known path, planted his
ladders, and cut down the sentinels ere the garrison was alarmed. It was
soon mastered, several being killed and the rest turned out. The
well-known beat of the Raesalot nakkaras awoke the Larkhanis, Minas, and
all the Rajputs in the vicinity, who immediately repaired to the castle.
In a few weeks the gallant Hanwant was at the head of two thousand men,
prepared to act offensively against [418] his faithless liege lord.
Khandela and all the adjacent towns surrendered, their garrisons flying
before the victors, and Khushhal Daroga, a name of note in all the
intrigues of the darbar of that day, carried to court the tidings of his
own disgrace, which, his enemies took care to proclaim, arose from his
cupidity: for though he drew pay and rations for a garrison of one
hundred men, he only had thirty. Accompanied by Ratan Chand, with two
battalions and guns, and the reproaches of his sovereign, he was
commanded at his peril to recover Khandela. The gallant Hanwant
disdained to await the attack, but advanced outside the city to meet it,
drove Khushhal back, and had he not in the very moment of victory been
wounded, while the Larkhanis hung behind, would have totally routed
them. Hanwant was compelled to retreat within the walls, where he stood
two assaults, in one of which he slew thirty Silahposh, or men in
armour, the body-guard of the prince; but the only water of the garrison
being from _tankhas_ (reservoirs), he was on the point of surrendering
at discretion, when an offer of five townships being made, he accepted
the towns.

Another change took place in the ministry of Amber at this period; and
Khushhaliram, at the age of fourscore and four years, was liberated from
the state-prison of Amber, and once more entrusted with the
administration of the government. This hoary-headed politician, who,
during more than half a century, had alternately met the frowns and the
smiles of his prince, at this the extreme verge of existence, entered
with all the alacrity of youth into the tortuous intrigues of office,
after witnessing the removal of two prime ministers, his rivals, who
resigned power and life together. Khushhaliram had remained incarcerated
since the reign of Raja Partap, who, when dying, left three injunctions;
the first of which was, that ‘the Bohra’ (his caste) should never be
enfranchised; but if in evil hour his successor should be induced to
liberate him “he should be placed uncontrolled at the head of
affairs.”[9.7.11]

When this veteran politician, whose biography would fill a
volume,[9.7.12] succeeded to the helm at Jaipur, a solemn deputation of
the principal Shaikhawat chieftains repaired to the capital, and begged
that through his intercession they might be restored to the lands of
their forefathers. The Bohra, who had always kept up, as well from [419]
sound principle as from personal feeling, a good understanding with the
feudality, willingly became their advocate with his sovereign, to whom
he represented that the defence of the State lay in a willing and
contented vassalage: for, notwithstanding their disobedience and
turbulence, they were always ready, when the general weal was
threatened, to support it with all their power. He appealed to the late
expedition, when ten thousand of the children of Shaikhji were embodied
in his cause, and what was a better argument, he observed, the Mahrattas
had only been able to prevail since their dissensions amongst
themselves. The Bohra was commanded to follow his own goodwill and
pleasure; and having exacted an engagement, by which the future tribute
of the Raesalots was fixed at sixty thousand rupees annually, and the
immediate payment of a _nazarana_ of forty thousand, fresh _pattas_ of
investiture were made out for Khandela and its dependencies. There are
so many conflicting interests in all these courts, that it by no means
follows that obedience runs on the heels of command; even though the
orders of the prince were countersigned by the minister, the
Nagas,[9.7.13] who formed the garrison of Khandela, and the inferior
fiefs, showed no disposition to comply. The gallant Hanwant, justly
suspecting the Bohra’s good faith, proposed to the joint rajas a _coup
de main_, which he volunteered to lead. They had five hundred retainers
amongst them; of these Hanwant selected twenty of the most intrepid, and
repaired to Udaigarh, to which he gained admission as a messenger from
himself; twenty more were at his heels, who also got in, and the rest
rapidly following, took post at the gateway. Hanwant then disclosed
himself, and presented the fresh _patta_ of Khandela to the Nagas, who
still hesitating to obey, he drew his sword, when seeing that he was
determined to succeed or perish, they reluctantly withdrew, and Abhai
and Partap were once more inducted into the dilapidated abodes of their
ancestors. The adversity they had undergone, added to their youth and
inexperience, made them both yield a ready acquiescence to the advice of
their kinsman, to whose valour and conduct they owed the restoration of
their inheritance, and the ancient feuds, which were marked on every
stone of their castellated mahalls, were apparently appeased.

=The Shaikhāwats attack Amīr Khān.=—Shortly after this restoration, the
Shāikhawat contingents were called out to serve against the common enemy
of Rajputana, the notorious Amir Khan, whose general, Muhammad Shah
Khan, was closely blockaded in the fortress of Bhumgarh, near Tonk, by
the whole strength of Jaipur, commanded by Rao Chand Singh of Dhani An
incident occurred, while the siege was approaching a successful
conclusion, which [420] well exemplifies the incorrigible imperfections
of the feudal system, either for offensive or defensive operations. This
incident, trivial as it is in its origin, proved a death-blow to these
unfortunate princes, so long the sport of injustice, and appears
destined to falsify the Dom, who prophesied, on the acceptance of his
self-sacrifice, that seven successive generations of his issue should
occupy the _gaddi_ of Khandela. In the disorderly proceedings of this
feudal array, composed of all the quotas of Amber, a body of Shaikhawats
had sacked one of the townships of Tonk, in which a Gugawat inhabitant
was slain, and his property plundered, in the indiscriminate pell-mell.
The son of the Gugawat instantly carried his complaints to the besieging
general, Chand Singh, the head of his clan, who gave him a party of the
Silahposh (men in armour) to recover his property. The Shaikhawats
resisted, and reinforced their party; Chand Singh did the same; the
Khandela chiefs repaired in person, accompanied by the whole confederacy
with the exception of Sikar: and the Gugawat chief, who had not only the
ties of clanship, but the dignity of commander-in-chief, to sustain,
sent every man he could spare from the blockade. Thus nearly the whole
feudal array of Amber was collected round a few hackeries[9.7.14]
(carts), ready to cut each other to pieces for the point of honour:
neither would relinquish the claim, and swords were already drawn, when
the Khangarot chief stepped between them as peacemaker, and proposed an
expedient which saved the honour of both, namely, that the plundered
property should be permitted to proceed to its destination, the Khandela
prince’s quarters, who should transmit it, “of his own accord,” to the
commander-in-chief of the army. The Shaikhawats assented; the havoc was
prevented; but the pride of Chand Singh was hurt, who saw in this a
concession to the commander of the army, but none to the leader of the
Gugawats.

Lachhman Singh, the chief of Sikar, who, as before stated, was the only
Shaikhawat who kept aloof from the affray, saw the moment was arrived
for the accomplishment of his long-concealed desire to be lord of
Khandela. The siege of Bhumgarh being broken up, in consequence of these
dissensions and the defection of the confederated Shaikhawats, the Sikar
chief no sooner saw them move by the circuitous route of the capital,
than he marched directly for his estates, and throwing aside all
disguise, attacked Sisa, which by an infamous stratagem he secured, by
inveigling the commandant, the son of the late Bohra minister. Then
making overtures to the enemy, against whom he had just been fighting,
for the sum of two lakhs of rupees, he obtained a brigade of the
mercenary Pathans, under their leaders Manu and Mahtab Khan [421], the
last of whom, but a few days before, had entered into a solemn
engagement with Hanwant, as manager for the minor princes, to support
whose cause, and to abstain from molesting their estates, he had
received fifty thousand rupees! Such nefarious acts were too common at
that period even to occasion remark, far less reprehension.

=Siege of Khandela.=—The gallant Hanwant now prepared for the defence of
the lands which his valour had redeemed. His foeman made a lavish
application of the wealth which his selfish policy had acquired, and
Rewasa and other fiefs were soon in his possession. The town of
Khandela, being open, soon followed, but the castle held out
sufficiently long to enable him to strengthen and provision Kot, which
he determined to defend to the last. Having withstood the attacks of the
enemy, during three weeks, in the almost ruined castle, he sallied out
sword in hand, and gained Kot, where he assembled all those yet faithful
to the family, and determined to stand or fall with the last stronghold
of Khandela. The other chiefs of the confederation beheld with
indignation this unprovoked and avaricious aggression on the minor
princes of Khandela, not only because of its abstract injustice, but of
the undue aggrandizement of this inferior branch of the Raesalots, and
the means employed, namely, the common enemy of their country. Many
leagued for its prevention, but some were bribed by the offer of a part
of the domain, and those who were too virtuous to be corrupted, found
their intentions defeated by the necessity of defending their own homes
against the detachments of Amir Khan, sent by desire of Sikar to
neutralize their efforts. The court was steeled against all
remonstrance, from the unhappy rupture at Bhumgarh, the blockade of
which, it was represented, was broken by the conduct of the followers of
Khandela.

=Death of Hanwant Singh.=—Hanwant and some hundreds of his brave
clansmen were thus left to their own resources. During three months they
defended themselves in a position outside the castle, when a general
assault was made on his intrenchments. He was advised to retreat into
the castle, but he nobly replied, “Khandela is gone for ever, if we are
reduced to shelter ourselves behind walls”; and he called upon his
brethren to repel the attack or perish. Hanwant cheered on his kinsmen,
who charged the battalions sword in hand, drove them from their guns,
and completely cleared the intrenchments. But the enemy returned to the
conflict, which lasted from morn until nightfall. Another sortie was
made; again the enemy was ignominiously dislodged, but the gallant
Hanwant, leading his men to the very muzzle of the guns, received a shot
which ended his career. The victory remained with the besieged, but the
death of their leader [422] disconcerted his clansmen, who retired
within the fort. Five hundred of the mercenary Pathans and men of Sikar
(a number equal to the whole of the defenders) accompanied to the shades
the last intrepid Raesalot of Khandela.

The next morning an armistice for the removal of the wounded and
obsequies of the dead was agreed to, during which terms were offered,
and refused by the garrison. As soon as the death of Hanwant was known,
the Udaipur chief, who from the first had upheld the cause of justice,
sent additional aid both in men and supplies; and had the Khetri chief
been at his estates, the cause would have been further supported; but he
was at court, and had left orders with his son to act according to the
advice of the chief of Baswa, who had been gained over to the interests
of Sikar by the bribe of participation in the conquered lands.
Nevertheless, the garrison held out, under every privation, for five
weeks longer, their only sustenance at length being a little Indian corn
introduced by the exertions of individual Minas. At this extremity, an
offer being made of ten townships, they surrendered. Partap Singh took
his share of this remnant of his patrimony, but his co-heir Abhai Singh
inherited too much of Raesal’s spirit to degrade himself by owing aught
to his criminal vassal and kinsman. It would have been well for Partap
had he shown the same spirit; for Lachhman Singh, now lord of Khandela,
felt too acutely the injustice of his success, to allow the rightful
heir to remain upon his patrimony; and he only allowed sufficient time
to elapse for the consolidation of his acquisition, before he expelled
the young prince. Both the co-heirs, Abhai Singh and Partap, now reside
at Jhunjhunu, where each receives five rupees a day, from a joint purse
made for them by the Sadhanis, nor at present[9.7.15] is there a ray of
hope of their restoration to Khandela.

In 1814, when Misr Sheonarayan, then minister of Jaipur, was involved in
great pecuniary difficulties, to get rid of the importunities of Amir
Khan, he cast his eyes towards the Sikar chief, who had long been
desirous to have his usurpation sanctioned by the court; and it was
stipulated that on the payment of nine lakhs of rupees (namely, five
from himself, with the authority and force of Jaipur to raise the rest
from the Sadhanis), he should receive the _patta_ of investiture of
Khandela. Amir Khan, the mutual agent on this occasion, was then at
Ranoli, where Lachhman Singh met him and paid the amount, receiving his
receipt, which was exchanged for the grant under the great seal.

=Lachhman Singh gains Influence at Jaipur.=—Immediately after, Lachhman
Singh proceeded to court, and upon the further payment [423] of one
year’s tribute in advance, henceforth fixed at fifty-seven thousand
rupees, he received from the hands of his liege lord, the Raja Jagat
Singh, the khilat of investiture. Thus, by the ambition of Sikar, the
cupidity of the court, and the jealousies and avarice of the Sadhanis,
the birthright of the lineal heirs of Raesal was alienated.

Lachhman Singh, by his talents and wealth, soon established his
influence at the court of his sovereign; but the jealousy which this
excited in the Purohit minister of the day very nearly lost him his
dearly bought acquisition. It will be recollected that a Brahman
obtained the lease of the lands of Khandela, and that for his extortions
he was expelled with disgrace. He proceeded, however, in his career of
ambition; subverted the influence of his patron Sheonarayan Misr,
forcing him to commit suicide, ruined the prospects of his son, and by
successful and daring intrigue established himself in the ministerial
chair of Amber. The influence of Lachhman Singh, who was consulted on
all occasions, gave him umbrage, and he determined to get rid of him. To
drive him into opposition to his sovereign was his aim, and to effect
this there was no better method than to sanction an attack upon
Khandela. The Sadhanis, whose avarice and jealousies made them overlook
their true interests, readily united to the troops of the court, and
Khandela was besieged. Lachhman Singh, on this occasion, showed he was
no common character. He tranquilly abided the issue at Jaipur, thus
neutralizing the malignity of the Purohit, while, to ensure the safety
of Khandela, a timely supply of money to the partisan, Jamshid Khan,
brought his battalions to threaten the Purohit in his camp. Completely
foiled by the superior tact of Lachhman Singh, the Brahman was compelled
to abandon the undertaking and to return to the capital, where his anger
made him throw aside the mask, and attempt to secure the person of his
enemy. The Sikar chief had a narrow escape: he fled with fifty horse,
hotly pursued by his adversary, while his effects, and those of his
partisans (amongst whom was the Samod chief) were confiscated. The
Sadhanis, led by the chiefs of Khetri and Baswa, even after the Purohit
had left them, made a bold attempt to capture Khandela, which was
defeated, and young Abhai Singh, who was made a puppet on the occasion,
witnessed the last defeat of his hopes.

If necessity or expediency could palliate or justify such nefarious
acts, it would be shown in the good consequences that have resulted from
evil. The discord and bloodshed produced by the partition of authority
between the sons of Bahadur [424] Singh are now at an end. Lachhman
Singh is the sole tyrant in Khandela, and so long as the system which he
has established is maintained, he may laugh at the efforts, not only of
the Sadhanis, but of the court itself, to supplant him.

Let us, in a few words, trace the family of Lachhman Singh. It will be
recollected that Raesal, the first Raja amongst the sons of Shaikhji,
had seven sons, the fourth of whom, Tirmall (who obtained the title of
Rao), held Kasli and its eighty-four townships in appanage. His son,
Hari Singh, wrested the district of Bilara, with its one hundred and
twenty-five townships, from the Kaimkhanis of Fatehpur, and shortly
after, twenty-five more from Rewasa. Sheo Singh, the son of Hari,
captured Fatehpur itself, the chief abode of the Kaimkhanis, where he
established himself. His son, Chand Singh, founded Sikar, whose lineal
descendant, Devi Singh, adopted Lachhman Singh, son of his near kinsman,
the Shahpura Thakur. The estates of Sikar were in admirable order when
Lachhman succeeded to his uncle, whose policy was of the exterminating
sort. Lachhman improved upon it; and long before he acquired Khandela,
had demolished all the castles of his inferior feudatories, not even
sparing that of Shahpura, the place of his nativity, as well as Bilara,
Bathoti, and Kasli; and so completely did he allow the ties of adoption
to supersede those of blood, that his own father preferred exile, to
living under a son who, covered with ‘the turban of Sikar,’ forgot the
author of his life, and retired to Jodhpur.

Lachhman Singh has now a compact and improving country, containing five
hundred towns and villages, yielding a revenue of eight lakhs of rupees.
Desirous of transmitting his name to posterity, he erected the castle of
Lachhmangarh,[9.7.16] and has fortified many other strongholds, for the
defence of which he has formed a little army, which, in these regions,
merits the title of regulars, consisting of eight battalions of
Aligol,[9.7.17] armed with matchlocks, with a brigade of guns to each
battalion. He has besides an efficient cavalry, consisting of one
thousand horse, half of which are Bargirs,[9.7.18] or stipendiary; the
other half Jagirdars, having lands assigned for their support. With such
means, and with his ambition, there is very little doubt that, had not
the alliance of his liege lord of Amber with the English Government put
a stop to the predatory system, he would, by means of the same worthy
allies by whose [425] aid he obtained Khandela,[9.7.19] before this time
have made himself supreme in Shaikhavati.

Having thus brought to a conclusion the history of the princes of
Khandela, we shall give a brief account of the other branches of the
Shaikhawats, especially the most powerful, the Sadhani.

=The Sādhāni Shaikhāwats.=—The Sadhanis are descended from Bhojraj, the
third son of Raesal, and in the division of fiefs amongst his seven
sons, obtained Udaipur and its dependencies. Bhojraj had a numerous
issue, styled Bhojani, who arrogated their full share of importance in
the infancy of the confederacy, and in process of time, from some
circumstance not related, perhaps the mere advantage of locality, their
chief city became the rendezvous for the great council of the
federation, which is still in the defile of Udaipur.[9.7.20]

Several generations subsequent to Bhojraj, Jagram succeeded to the lands
of Udaipur. He had six sons, the eldest of whom, Sadhu, quarrelled with
his father, on some ceremonial connected with the celebration of the
military festival, the Dasahra,[9.7.21] and quitting the paternal roof,
sought his fortunes abroad. At this time, almost all the tract now
inhabited by the Sadhanis was dependent on Fatehpur (Jhunjhunu), the
residence of a Nawab of the Kaimkhani tribe of Afghans,[9.7.22] who held
it as a fief of the empire. To him Sadhu repaired, and was received with
favour, and by his talents and courage rose in consideration, until he
was eventually intrusted with the entire management of affairs. There
are two accounts of the mode of his ulterior advancement: both may be
correct. One is, that the Nawab, having no children, adopted young
Sadhu, and assigned to him Jhunjhunu and its eighty-four dependencies,
which he retained on the Kaimkhani’s death. The other, and less
favourable though equally probable account, is that, feeling his
influence firmly established, he hinted to his patron, that the township
of —— was prepared for his future residence, where he should enjoy a
sufficient pension, as he intended to retain possession of his delegated
authority. So completely had he supplanted the Kaimkhani, that he found
himself utterly unable to make a party against the ungrateful
Shaikhawat. He therefore fled from Jhunjhunu to Fatehpur, the other
division of his authority, or at [426] least one of his own kin, who
espoused his cause, and prepared to expel the traitor from Jhunjhunu.
Sadhu, in this emergency, applied to his father, requesting him to call
upon his brethren, as it was a common cause. The old chief, who, in his
son’s success, forgave and forgot the conduct which made him leave his
roof, instantly addressed another son, then serving with his liege lord,
the Mirza Raja Jai Singh, in the imperial army, to obtain succour for
him; and some regular troops with guns were immediately dispatched to
reinforce young Sadhu and maintain his usurpation, which was
accomplished, and moreover Fatehpur was added to Jhunjhunu. Sadhu
bestowed the former with its dependencies, equal in value to his own
share, on his brother, for his timely aid, and both, according to
previous stipulation, agreed to acknowledge their obligations to the
Raja by an annual tribute and _nazarana_ on all lapses, as
lord-paramount. Sadhu soon after wrested Singhana, containing one
hundred and twenty-five villages, from another branch of the Kaimkhanis;
Sultana, with its Chaurasi, or division of eighty-four townships, from
the Gaur Rajputs; and Khetri and its dependencies from the Tuars, the
descendants of the ancient emperors of Delhi: so that, in process of
time, he possessed himself of a territory comprising more than one
thousand towns and villages. Shortly before his death he divided the
conquered lands amongst his five sons, whose descendants, adopting his
name as the patronymic, are called Sadhani; namely, Zorawar Singh,
Kishan Singh, Nawal Singh, Kesari Singh, and Pahar Singh.

Zorawar Singh, besides the paternal and original estates, had, in virtue
of primogeniture, the town of Chokri and its twelve subordinate
villages, with all the other emblems of state, as the elephants, palkis,
etc.; and although the cupidity of the Khetri chief, the descendant of
the second son, Kishan, has wrested the patrimony from the elder branch,
who has now only Chokri, yet the distinctions of birth are never lost in
those of fortune, and the petty chief of Chokri, with its twelve small
townships, is looked upon as the superior of Abhai Singh, though the
lord of five hundred villages.

The descendants of the other four sons, now the most distinguished of
the Sadhanis, are,[9.7.23]

Abhai Singh of Khetri;
Shyam Singh of Baswa;
Gyan Singh of Nawalgarh;[9.7.24]
Sher Singh of Sultana [427].

Besides the patrimonies assigned to the five sons of Sadhu, he left the
districts of Singhana, Jhunjhunu, and Surajgarh (the ancient Oricha), to
be held in joint heirship by the junior members of his stock. The first,
with its one hundred and twenty-five villages, has been usurped by Abhai
Singh of Khetri, but the others still continue to be frittered away in
sub-infeudations among this numerous and ever-spreading frerage.

Abhai Singh has assumed the same importance amongst the Sadhanis that
Lachhman Singh has amongst the Raesalots, and both by the same means,
crime and usurpation. The Sikar chief has despoiled his senior branch of
Khandela; and the Khetri chief has not only despoiled the senior, but
also the junior, of the five branches of Sadhu. The transaction which
produced the last result, whereby the descendant of Sher Singh lost
Sultana, is so peculiarly atrocious, that it is worth relating, as a
proof to what lengths the Rajput will go ‘to get land.’

=Bāgh Singh seizes Sultāna.=—Pahar Singh had an only son, named Bhopal,
who being killed in an attempt on Loharu, he adopted the younger son of
his nephew, Bagh Singh of Khetri. On the death of his adopted father,
the Sultana chief, being too young to undertake the management of his
fief in person, remained under the paternal roof. It would appear as if
this alienation of political rights could also alienate affection and
rupture all the ties of kindred, for this unnatural father imbrued his
hands in the blood of his own child, and annexed Sultana to Khetri. But
the monster grievously suffered for the deed; he became the scorn of his
kinsmen, “who spit at him and threw dust on his head,” until he secluded
himself from the gaze of mankind. The wife of his bosom ever after
refused to look upon him; she managed the estates for her surviving son,
the present Abhai Singh. During twelve years that Bagh Singh survived,
he never quitted his apartment in the castle of Khetri, until carried
out to be burned, amidst the execrations and contempt of his kinsmen.

=The Lārkhānis.=—Having made the reader sufficiently acquainted with the
genealogy of the Sadhanis, as well as of the Raesalots, we shall
conclude with a brief notice of the Larkhanis, which term, translated
‘the beloved lords,’ ill accords with their occupation, as the most
notorious marauders in Rajputana. Larla is a common infantine
appellation, meaning ‘beloved’; but whether the adjunct of Khan to this
son of Raesal, as well as to that of his youngest, Tajkhan (the crown of
princes), was out of compliment to some other Muslim saint, we know not.
Larkhan conquered his own [428] appanage, Danta Ramgarh, on the
frontiers of Marwar, then a dependency of Sambhar. It is not unlikely
that his father’s influence at court secured the possession to him.
Besides this district, they have the _tappa_ of Nosal, and altogether
about eighty townships, including some held of the Rajas of Marwar, and
Bikaner, to secure their abstinence from plunder within their bounds.
The Larkhanis are a community of robbers; their name, like Pindari and
Kazzak, is held in these regions to be synonymous with ‘freebooter,’ and
as they can muster five hundred horse, their raids are rather
formidable. Sometimes their nominal liege lord calls upon them for
tribute, but being in a difficult country, and Ramgarh being a place of
strength, they pay little regard to the call, unless backed by some of
the mercenary partisans, such as Amir Khan, who contrived to get payment
of arrears of tribute to the amount of twenty thousand rupees.

=Revenues.=—We conclude this sketch with a rough statement of the
revenues of Shaikhavati, which might yield in peace and prosperity, now
for the first time beginning to beam upon them, from twenty-five to
thirty lakhs of rupees; but at present they fall much short of this sum,
and full one-half of the lands of the confederation are held by the
chiefs of Sikar and Khetri—

Rupees.
Lachhman Singh, of Sikar, including Khandela 800,000
Abhai Singh, of Khetri, including Kotputli, given by
Lord Lake 600,000
Shyam Singh, of Baswa, including his brother Ranjit’s
share of 40,000 (whom he killed) 190,000
Gyan Singh, of Nawalgarh, including Mandao, each fifty
villages 70,000
Lachhman Singh, Mendsar, the chief sub-infeudation of
Nawalgarh 30,000
Tain and its lands, divided amongst the twenty-seven
great-grandsons of Zorawar Singh, eldest son of Sadhu 100,000
Udaipurvati 100,000
Manoharpur[9.7.25] 30,000
Larkhanis 100,000
Harramjis 40,000
Girdharpotas 40,000
Smaller estates 200,000
————-
2,300,000
—————
[429.]

The tribute established by Jaipur is as follows:—

Rupees.
Sadhanis 200,000
Fatehpur 64,000
Udaipur and Babhai 22,000
Kasli 4,000
————
350,000
————

Thus, supposing the revenues, as stated, at twenty-three lakhs, to be
near the truth, and the tribute at three and a half, it would be an
assessment of one-seventh of the whole, which is a fair proportion, and
a measure of justice which the British Government would do well to
imitate.

-----

Footnote 9.7.1:

_Dhūs_ is an expedient to hasten the compliance of a demand from a
dependent. A party of horse proceeds to the township, and are
commanded to receive so much per day till the exaction is complied
with. If the _dhūs_ is refused, it is considered tantamount to an
appeal to arms. [_Dhūsnā_ means ‘to butt like an ox,’ hence ‘to
coerce.’]

Footnote 9.7.2:

Franklin, in his Life of George Thomas, describes this battle
circumstantially; but makes it appear an affair of the Jaipur court,
with Thomas and the Mahrattas, in which the Shaikhawats are not
mentioned. Thomas gives the Rajput chivalry full praise for their
gallant bearing.—_Memoir of George Thomas_, p. 109. [The battle was
fought early in 1799 at Fatehpur, about 145 miles N.W. of Jaipur city
(Compton, _European Military Adventurers_, 146 ff.).]

Footnote 9.7.3:

[Men clad in armour (Irvine, _Army of the Indian Moghuls_, 164).]

Footnote 9.7.4:

[See Vol. II. p. 863.]

Footnote 9.7.5:

The _salvamenta_, or blackmail of our own feudal system. See Vol. I.
p. 203.

Footnote 9.7.6:

[See Vol. II. p. 876.]

Footnote 9.7.7:

[Such cenotaphs, known as _pāliya_, are common in Gujarāt (Forbes,
_Rās Māla_, 691; Tod, _Western India_, 301).]

Footnote 9.7.8:

[Tribal levy.]

Footnote 9.7.9:

[Vol. II. p. 1095.]

Footnote 9.7.10:

[Twenty-five miles E. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.7.11:

The second injunction was to keep the office of Faujdar, or commander
of the forces, in the family of Shambhu Singh, Gugawat, a tribe always
noted for their fidelity, and like the Mertias of Marwar, even a blind
fidelity, to the _gaddi_ whoever was the occupant. The third
injunction is left blank in my manuscript.

Footnote 9.7.12:

His first act, after his emancipation from the dungeons of Amber, was
the delicate negotiation at Dhani, the castle of Chand Singh, Gugawat.
He died at Baswa, April 22, 1812, on his return from Macheri to
Jaipur, where he had been unsuccessfully attempting a reconciliation
between the courts. It will not be forgotten that the independence of
the Naruka chief in Macheri had been mainly achieved by the Bohra, who
was originally the homme d’affaires of the traitorous Naruka.

Footnote 9.7.13:

[These corps of militant devotees were commonly employed in Indian
Native armies in the eighteenth century (Irvine, _Army of the Indian
Moghuls_, 163; Broughton, _Letters from a Mahratta Camp_, 96, 106,
123; Russell, _Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces_, iii.
157).]

Footnote 9.7.14:

[A corruption of Hindi _chhakra_ (Yule, _Hobson-Jobson_, 2nd ed. 407
f.).]

Footnote 9.7.15:

This was written in 1813-14.

Footnote 9.7.16:

Lachhmangarh, or ‘the castle of Lachhman,’ situated upon a lofty
mountain [about 75 miles N.W. of Jaipur city], was erected in S. 1862,
or A.D. 1806, though probably on the ruins of some more ancient
fortress. It commands a most extensive prospect, and is quite a beacon
in that country, studded with hill-castles. The town is built on the
model of Jaipur, with regular streets intersecting each other at right
angles, in which there are many wealthy merchants, who enjoy perfect
security.

Footnote 9.7.17:

[The Ālīgol, ‘lofty, exalted troop,’ were irregular infantry in the
Marātha service. Sometimes they were identified with the fanatical
Ghāzis of the Afghān frontier (Irvine, _Army of the Indian Moghuls_,
164; Yule, _Hobson-Jobson_, 2nd ed. 15).]

Footnote 9.7.18:

[Cavalry provided with horses by the State, Vol. II. p. 819.]

Footnote 9.7.19:

Khandela is said to have derived its name from the Khokhar Rajputs
[?]. The Khokhar is often mentioned in the Bhatti Annals, whom I have
supposed to be the Ghakkar, who were certainly Indo-Scythic. [The
Khokhars and Ghakkars or Gakkhars are often confounded (Rose,
_Glossary_, ii. 540).] Khandela has four thousand houses, and eighty
villages dependent on it.

Footnote 9.7.20:

The ancient name of Udaipur is said to be Kais; it contains three
thousand houses, and has forty-five villages attached to it, divided
into four portions.

Footnote 9.7.21:

[See Vol. II. p. 680.]

Footnote 9.7.22:

[The Kāimkhāni or Qāimkhāni are a sept of Muslim Chauhān Rājputs found
in the Jīnd State and in Jaipur (Rose, _Glossary_, iii. 257). In the
_Rājputāna Census Report_ of 1911, however, they are classed among
“Miscellaneous” Rājput septs (i. 286).]

Footnote 9.7.23:

It must be borne in mind that this was written in 1814.

Footnote 9.7.24:

Nawalgarh contains four thousand houses, environed by a shahrpanāh or
rampart. It is on a more ancient site called Rolani, whose old castle
in ruins is to the south-east, and the new one midway between it and
the town, built by Nawal Singh in S. 1802, or A.D. 1746.

Footnote 9.7.25:

The Manoharpur chief was put to death by Raja Jagat Singh (_vide_
Madari Lal’s Journal of A.D. 1814), and his lands were sequestrated
and partitioned amongst the confederacy: the cause, his inciting the
Rahtis or Ratis (an epithet for the proselyte Bhatti plunderers of
Bhattiana) to invade and plunder the country.

-----

CHAPTER 8

We have thus developed the origin and progress of the Kachhwaha tribe,
as well as its scions of Shaikhavati and Macheri. To some, at least, it
may be deemed no uninteresting object to trace in continuity the issue
of a fugitive individual, spreading, in the course of eight hundred
years, over a region of fifteen thousand square miles; and to know that
forty thousand of his flesh and blood have been marshalled in the same
field, defending, sword in hand, their country and their prince. The
name of ‘country’ carries with it a magical power in the mind of the
Rajput. The name of his wife or his mistress must never be mentioned at
all, nor that of his country but with respect, or his sword is instantly
unsheathed. Of these facts, numerous instances abound in these Annals;
yet does the ignorant Pardesi (foreigner) venture to say there are no
indigenous terms either for patriotism or gratitude in this country.

=Boundaries and Extent.=—The boundaries of Amber and its dependencies
are best seen by an inspection of the map. Its greatest breadth lies
between Sambhar, touching the Marwar frontier on the west, and the town
of Suraut, on the Jat frontier, east. This line is one hundred and
twenty British miles, whilst its greatest breadth from north to south,
including Shaikhavati, is one hundred and eighty. Its form is [430] very
irregular. We may, however, estimate the surface of the parent State,
Dhundhar or Jaipur, at nine thousand five hundred square miles, and
Shaikhavati at five thousand four hundred; in all, fourteen thousand
nine hundred square miles.[9.8.1]

=Population.=—It is difficult to determine with exactitude the amount of
the population of this region; but from the best information, one
hundred and fifty souls to the square mile would not be too great a
proportion in Amber, and eighty in Shaikhavati; giving an average of one
hundred and twenty-four to the united area, which consequently contains
185,670; and when we consider the very great number of large towns in
this region, it may not be above, but rather below, the truth. Dhundhar,
the parent country, is calculated to contain four thousand townships,
exclusive of _purwas_, or hamlets, and Shaikhavati about half that
number, of which Lachhman Singh of Sikar and Khandela, and Abhai Singh
of Khetri, have each about five hundred, or the half of the lands of the
federation.[9.8.2]

=Classification of Inhabitants.=—Of this population, it is still more
difficult to classify its varied parts, although it may be asserted with
confidence that the Rajputs bear but a small ratio to the rest,[9.8.3]
whilst they may equal in number any individual class, except the
aboriginal Minas, who, strange to say, are still the most numerous. The
following are the principal tribes, and the order in which they follow
may be considered as indicative of their relative numbers. 1. Minas; 2.
Rajputs; 3. Brahmans; 4. Banias; 5. Jats; 6. Dhakar, or Kirar (qu.
Kirata?); 7. Gujars.[9.8.4]

=The Mīna Tribe.=—The Minas are subdivided into no less than thirty-two
distinct clans or classes, but it would extend too much the Annals of
this State to distinguish them. Moreover, as they belong to every State
in Rajwara, we shall find a fitter occasion to give a general account of
them. The immunities and privileges preserved to the Minas best attest
the truth of the original induction of the exiled prince of Narwar to
the sovereignty of Amber; and it is a curious fact, showing that such
establishment must have been owing to adoption, not conquest, that this
event was commemorated on every installation by a Mina of Kalikoh
marking with his blood the _tika_ of sovereignty on the forehead of the
prince. The blood was obtained by incision of the great toe, and though,
like many other antiquated usages, this has fallen into desuetude here
(as has the same mode of inauguration of the Ranas by the Oghna Bhils),
yet both in the one case and in the other, there cannot be more
convincing evidence that these now outcasts were originally the masters.
The Minas still enjoy the most confidential posts about the persons of
the princes of Amber, having charge of the archives [431] and treasure
in Jaigarh; they guard his person at night, and have that most delicate
of all trusts, the charge of the _rawala_, or seraglio. In the earlier
stages of Kachhwaha power, these their primitive subjects had the whole
insignia of state, as well as the person of the prince, committed to
their trust; but presuming upon this privilege too far, when they
insisted that, in leaving their bounds, he should leave these emblems,
the nakkaras and standards, with them, their pretensions were cancelled
in their blood. The Minas, Jats, and Kirars are the principal
cultivators, many of them holding large estates.[9.8.5]

=Jāts.=—The Jats nearly equal the Minas in numbers, as well as in extent
of possessions, and are, as usual, the most industrious of all
husbandmen.

=Brāhmans.=—Of Brahmans, following secular as well as sacred
employments, there are more in Amber than in any other State in Rajwara;
from which we are not to conclude that her princes were more religious
than their neighbours, but, on the contrary, that they were greater
sinners.

=Rājputs.=—It is calculated that, even now, on an emergency, if a
national war roused the patriotism of the Kachhwaha feudality, they
could bring into the field thirty thousand of their kin and clan, or, to
repeat their own emphatic phrase, “the sons of one father,” which
includes the Narukas and the chiefs of the Shaikhawat federation.[9.8.6]
Although the Kachhwahas, under their popular princes, as Pajun, Raja
Man, and the Mirza Raja, have performed exploits as brilliant as any
other tribes, yet they do not now enjoy the same reputation for courage
as either the Rathors or Haras. This may be in part accounted for by the
demoralization consequent upon their proximity to the Mogul court, and
their participation in all enervating vices; but still more from the
degradations they have suffered from the Mahrattas, and to which their
western brethren have been less exposed. Every feeling, patriotic or
domestic, became corrupted wherever their pernicious influence
prevailed.

=Soil, Husbandry, Products.=—Dhundhar contains every variety of soil,
and the _kharif_ and _rabi_, or autumnal and spring crops, are of nearly
equal importance. Of the former _bajra_ predominates over _juar_, and in
the latter barley over wheat. The other grains, pulses, and vegetables,
reared all over Hindustan, are here produced in abundance, and require
not to be specified [432]. The sugar-cane used to be cultivated to a
very great extent, but partly from extrinsic causes, and still more from
its holding out such an allurement to the renters, the husbandman has
been compelled to curtail this lucrative branch of agriculture; for
although land fit for _ikh_ (cane) is let at four to six rupees per
bigha, sixty have been exacted before it was allowed to be reaped.
Cotton of excellent quality is produced in considerable quantities in
various districts, as are indigo and other dyes common to India. Neither
do the implements of husbandry or their application differ from those
which have been described in this and various other works sufficiently
well known.[9.8.7]

=Farming System.=—It is the practice in this State to farm its lands to
the highest bidder; and the mode of farming is most pernicious to the
interests of the State and the cultivating classes, both of whom it must
eventually impoverish. The farmers-general are the wealthy bankers and
merchants, who make their offers for entire districts; these they
underlet in _tappas_, or subdivisions, the holders of which again
subdivide them into single villages, or even shares of a village. With
the profits of all these persons, the expenses attending collections,
quartering of _barkandazes_, or armed police, are the poor Bhumias and
Ryots saddled. Could they only know the point where exaction must stop,
they would still have a stimulus to activity; but when the crops are
nearly got in, and all just demands satisfied, they suddenly hear that a
new renter has been installed in the district, having ousted the holder
by some ten or twenty thousand rupees, and at the precise moment when
the last toils of the husbandman were near completion. The renter has no
remedy; he may go and “throw his turban at the door of the palace, and
exclaim _dohai, Raja Sahib!_” till he is weary, or marched off to the
Kotwal’s _chabutra_, and perhaps fined for making a disturbance.[9.8.8]
Knowing, however, that there is little benefit to be derived from such a
course, they generally submit, go through the whole accounts, make over
the amount of collections, and with the host of vultures in their train,
who, never unprepared for such changes, have been making the most of
their ephemeral power by battening on the hard earnings of the
peasantry, retire for this fresh band of harpies to pursue a like
course. Nay, it is far from uncommon for three different renters to come
upon the same district in one season, or even the crop of one season,
for five or ten thousand rupees, annulling the existing engagement, no
matter how far advanced. Such was the condition of this State; and when
to these evils were superadded the exactions called _dand_, or _barar_,
forced contributions to pay those armies of robbers who swept the lands,
language cannot exaggerate the extent of misery. The love of country
must be powerful indeed which can enchain man to a land so misgoverned,
so unprotected [433].

=Revenues.=—It is always a task of difficulty to obtain any correct
account of the revenues of these States, which are ever fluctuating. We
have now before us several schedules, both of past and present reigns,
all said to be copied from the archives, in which the name of every
district, together with its rent, town and transit duties, and other
sources of income, are stated; but the details would afford little
satisfaction, and doubtless the resident authorities have access to the
fountain-head. The revenues of Dhundhar, of every description, fiscal,
feudal, and tributary, or impost, are stated, in round numbers, at one
crore of rupees, or about a million of pounds sterling, which,
estimating the difference of the price of labour, may be deemed
equivalent to four times that sum in England.[9.8.9] Since this estimate
was made, there have been great alienations of territory, and no less
than sixteen rich districts have been wrested from Amber by the
Mahrattas, or her own rebel son, the Naruka chief of Macheri.

The following is the schedule of alienations:—

1. Kama[9.8.10] ┐ Taken by General Perron, for his master Sindhia;
2. Khori │ since rented to the Jats, and retained by them.
3. Pahari ┘
4. Kanti ┐
5. Ukrod │
6. Pandapan │
7. Ghazi-ka-thana │ Seized by the Macheri Rao
8. Rampara (karda) ├ [now in Alwar State]
9. Ganwnri │
10. Reni │
11. Parbeni │
12. Mozpur Harsana ┘
13. Kanod or Kanaund[9.8.11] ┌ Taken by De Boigne and given to
14. Narnol │ Murtaza Khan, Baraich, confirmed
└ in them by Lord Lake.
┌ Taken in the war of 1803-4, from the Mahrattas,
15. Kotputli │ and given by Lord Lake to Abhai Singh of
└ Khetri.
16. Tonk ┌ Granted to Holkar by Raja Madho Singh; confirmed
17. Rampura │ in sovereignty to Amir Khan by Lord
└ Hastings.

It must, however, be borne in mind, that almost all these alienated
districts had but for a comparatively short period formed an integral
portion of Dhundhar; and that the major part were portions of the
imperial domains, held in _jaedad_, or ‘assignment,’ by the princes of
this country, in their capacity of lieutenants of the emperor. In Raja
Prithi Singh’s reign, about half a century ago, the rent-roll of Amber
and her tributaries was [434] seventy-seven lakhs: and in a very minute
schedule formed in S. 1858 (A.D. 1802), the last year of the reign of
Raja Partap Singh, they were estimated at seventy-nine lakhs: an ample
revenue, if well administered, for every object. We shall present the
chief items which form the budget of ways and means of Amber.

_Schedule of the Revenues of Amber for S. 1858,_ (A.D. 1802-3),
_the year of Raja Jagat Singh’s accession.
Khalisa, or Fiscal Land._

Rupees.
Managed by the Raja, or rented 2,055,000
Deori taluka, expenses of the queen’s household 500,000

Shagirdpesha, servants of the household 300,000
Ministers, and civil officers 200,000
Jagirs for the Silahposh, or men-at-arms 150,000
Jagirs to army, namely, ten battalions of infantry 714,000
with cavalry
Total Fiscal Land ———————— 3,919,000

Feudal lands (of Jaipur Proper) 1,700,000
Udak,[9.8.12] or charity lands, chiefly to 1,600,000
Brahmans
Dan and Mapa, or transit and impost duties of the 190,000
country
Kachahri, of the capital, includes town-duties, 215,000
fines, contributions, etc., etc.
Mint 60,000
Hundi-bara, insurance, and dues on bills of 60,000
exchange
Faujdari, or commandant of Amber (annual fine) 12,000
Do. do. of city Jaipur 8,000
Bid’at, petty fines from the Kachahri, or hall of 16,000
justice
Sabzimandi, vegetable market 3,000
————————
Total Lakhs 7,783,000
┌ Shaikhavati 350,000
Tribute ┤ Rajawat and other feudatories of
│ Jaipur[9.8.13] 30,000
└ Kothris of Haraoti[9.8.14] 20,000
———————
Total Tribute 400,000
———————
Add Tribute 400,000
————————
Grand Total Rs. 8,183,000

[435].

If this statement is correct, and we add thereto the Shaikhawat,
Rajawat, and Hara tributes, the revenues fiscal, feudal, commercial, and
tributary, of Amber, when Jagat Singh came to the throne, would exceed
eighty lakhs of rupees, half of which is khalisa, or appertaining to the
Raja—nearly twice the personal revenue of any other prince in Rajwara.
This sum (forty lakhs) was the estimated amount liable to tribute when
the treaty was formed with the British Government, and of which the Raja
has to pay eight lakhs annually, and five-sixteenths of all revenue
surplus to this amount. The observant reader will not fail to be struck
with the vast inequality between the estates of the defenders of the
country, and these drones the Brahmans,—a point on which we have
elsewhere treated:[9.8.15] nor can anything more powerfully mark the
utter prostration of intellect of the Kachhwaha princes, than their thus
maintaining an indolent and baneful hierarchy, to fatten on the revenues
which would support four thousand Kachhwaha cavaliers. With a proper
application of her revenues, and princes like Raja Man to lead a brave
vassalage, they would have foiled all the efforts of the Mahrattas; but
their own follies and vices have been their ruin.

=Foreign Army.=—At the period (A.D. 1803) this schedule was formed of
the revenues of Amber, she maintained a foreign army of thirteen
thousand men, consisting of ten battalions of infantry with guns, a
legion of four thousand Nagas, a corps of Aligols[9.8.16] for police
duties, and one of cavalry, seven hundred strong. With these, the
regular contingent of feudal levies, amounting to about four thousand
efficient horse, formed a force adequate to repel any insult; but when
the _kher_, or _levée en masse_, was called out, twenty thousand men,
horse and foot, were ready to back the always embodied force.[9.8.17]

A detailed schedule of the feudal levies of Amber may diversify the dry
details of these annals, obviate repetition, and present a perfect
picture of a society of clanships. In this list we shall give precedence
to the _kothriband_, the holders of the twelve great fiefs
(_barah-kothri_) of Amber—

_Schedule of the names and appanages of the twelve sons of Raja
Prithiraj, whose descendants form the_ Barah-kothri, _or twelve great
fiefs of Amber_[9.8.18] [436].

──────────────────┬──────────────┬──────────┬─────────────────┬─────────┬───────
Sons of │Names of │Names of │Present Chiefs. │Revenues.│Personal
Prithiraj. │Families. │Fiefs. │ │ │ Quotas.
──────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────┼─────────────────┼────────┼────────
1. Chhattarbhuj │Chhattarbhujot│Pinar and │ │ │
│ │Bhagru │Bagh Singh │ 18,000│ 28
2. Kalyan │Kalyanot │Lotwara │Ganga Singh │ 25,000│ 47
3. Nathu │Nathawat │Chaumun │Kishan Singh │ 115,000│ 205
4. Balbhadar │Balbhadarot │Achrol │Kaim Singh │ 28,850│ 57
5. Jagmall his ┐│ │ │ │ │
son Khangar ┘│Khangarot │Thodri │Prithi Singh │ 25,000│ 40
6. Sultan │Sultanot │Chandsar │ — │ —│ —
7. Pachain │Pachainot │Sambra │Sali Singh │ 17,700│ 32
8. — │Gugawat │Dhuni │Rao Chand Singh │ 70,000│ 88
9. Kaim │Kumbhani │Banskoh │Padam Singh │ 21,535│ 31
10. Kumbha │Kumbhawat │Mahar │Rawat Sarup Singh│ 27,538│ 45
11. Surat │Sheobaranpota │Nindar │Rawat Hari Singh │ 10,000│ 19
12. Banbir │Banbirpota │Balkoh │Sarup Singh │ 19,000│ 35
──────────────────┴──────────────┴──────────┴─────────────────┴────────┴────────

It will be remarked that the estates of these, the chief vassals of
Amber, are, with the exception of two, far inferior in value to those of
the sixteen great chiefs of Mewar, or the eight of Marwar; and a
detailed list of all the inferior feudatories of each Kothri, or clan,
would show that many of them have estates greater than those of their
leaders: for instance, Kishan Singh of Chaumun has upwards of a lakh,
while Beri Sal of Samod, the head of the clan (Nathawat), has only forty
thousand; again, the chief of Balaheri holds an estate of thirty-five
thousand, while that of the head of his clan is but twenty-five
thousand. The representative of the Sheobaranpotas has an estate of only
ten thousand, while the junior branch of Gura has thirty-six thousand.
Again, the chief of the Khangarots has but twenty-five thousand, while
no less than three junior branches hold lands to double that amount; and
the inferior of the Balbhadarots holds upwards of a lakh, while the
superior of Achrol has not a third of this rental. The favour of the
prince, the turbulence or talents of individuals, have caused these
inequalities; but, however disproportioned the gifts of fortune, the
attribute of honour always remains with the lineal descendant and
representative of the original fief.

We shall further illustrate this subject of the feudalities of Amber by
inserting a general list of all the clans, with the number of
subdivisions, the resources of each, and the quotas they ought to
furnish. At no remote period this was held to be correct, and will serve
to give a good idea of the Kachhwaha aristocracy. It was my [437]
intention to have given a detailed account of the subdivisions of each
fief, their names, and those of their holders, but on reflection, though
they cost some diligence to obtain, they would have little interest for
the general reader.

_Schedule of the Kachhwaha clans; the number of fiefs or estates in
each; their aggregate value, and quotas of horse for each
estate._[9.8.19]

─────────────┬──────────────────────┬────────────────┬────────────┬──────────
│ Names of Clans. │Number of Fiefs │ Aggregate │Aggregate
│ │in each Clanship│ Revenue. │ Quotas.
│ │ or Clan. │ │
─────────────┼──────────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────┼──────────
┌│Chhattarbhujot │ 6 │ 53,800│ 92
││Kalyanot │ 19 │ 245,196│ 422
││Nathawat │ 10 │ 220,800│ 371
││Balbhadarot │ 2 │ 130,850│ 157
││Khangarot │ 22 │ 402,806│ 643
12[9.8.20] ┤│Sultanot │ — │ —│ —
││Pachainot │ 3 │ 24,700│ 45
││Gugawat │ 13 │ 167,900│ 273
││Kumbhani [or Kumani] │ 2 │ 23,787│ 35
││Kumbhawat │ 6 │ 40,738│ 68
││Sheobaranpota │ 3 │ 49,500│ 73
└│Banbirpota │ 3 │ 26,575│ 48
┌│Rajawat │ 16 │ 198,137│ 392
4[9.8.21] ┤│Naruka[9.8.21] │ 6 │ 91,069│ 92
││Bankawat │ 4 │ 34,600│ 53
└│Puranmallot │ 1 │ 10,000│ 19
┌│Bhatti │ 4 │ 104,039│ 205
││Chauhan │ 4 │ 30,500│ 61
││Bargujar │ 6 │ 32,000│ 58
││Chandarawat │ 1 │ 14,000│ 21
10[9.8.22] ┤│Sakarwar │ 2 │ 4,500│ 8
││Gujars │ 3 │ 15,300│ 30
││Rangras │ 6 │ 291,105│ 549
││Khatris │ 4 │ 120,000│ 281
││Brahmans │ 12 │ 312,000│ 606
└│Musalman │ 9 │ 141,400│ 274
│ │ │ │ [438].
─────────────┴──────────────────────┴────────────────┴────────────┴──────────

=Ancient Towns.=—We shall conclude the annals of Amber with the names of
a few of the ancient towns, in which research may recover something of
past days.

=Mora.=—Nine coss east of Dausa or Daosa; built by Mordhwaj, a Chauhan
Raja.

=Abhaner.=—Three coss east of Lalsont; very ancient; capital of a
Chauhan sovereignty.

=Bangarh.=—Five coss from Tholai; the ruins of an ancient town and
castle in the hills, built by the old princes of Dhundhar, prior to the
Kachhwahas.

=Amargarh.=—Three coss from Kushalgarh; built by the Nagvansa.

=Bairat.=[9.8.23]—Three coss from Basai in Macheri, attributed to the
Pandus.

=Patan= and =Ganipur=.—Both erected by the ancient Tuar kings of Delhi.

=Kharar=, or =Khandar=.—Near Ranthambhor.

=Utgir.=—On the Chambal.

=Amber=, or =Ambikeswara=, a title of Siva, whose symbol is in the
centre of a _kund_ or tank in the middle of the old town. The water
covers half the _lingam_; and a prophecy prevails, that when it is
entirely submerged the State of Amber will perish! There are
inscriptions [439].

-----

Footnote 9.8.1:

[The area of the Jaipur State, according to the last surveys, is
15,579 square miles.]

Footnote 9.8.2:

[According to the census of 1911, the population of Jaipur State was
2,636,647, 169 per square mile.]

Footnote 9.8.3:

[The proportion of Rājputs to the total population was, in 1911, 45
per 1000.]

Footnote 9.8.4:

[The present order, in numbers, of the castes is—Brāhmans, Jāts,
Mīnas, Chamārs, Banias or Mahājans, Gūjars, Rājputs, Mālis. Dhākar
Rājputs are found in the Central Ganges-Jumna Duāb, and in Rohilkhand
(Elliot, _Supplementary Glossary_, 263). There are now 89,000 Dhākars
in Rājputāna. Kirār is a term generally applied in the Panjāb to
traders to distinguish them from the Banias of Hindustān, and the name
has no connexion with the Kirāta, a forest tribe of E. India (Rose,
_Glossary_, ii. 552; Russell, _Tribes and Castes of the Central
Provinces_, iii. 485 ff.).]

Footnote 9.8.5:

[The Mīnas are a notorious criminal tribe (M. Kennedy, _Notes on the
Criminal Tribes in the Bombay Presidency_, 207 ff.; C. Hervey, _Some
Records of Crime_, i. 328 ff.).]

Footnote 9.8.6:

[In 1911 there were 96,242 Kachhwāhas in Rājputāna, of whom about
two-thirds are in Jaipur.]

Footnote 9.8.7:

[Reference may be made to the artistic industry in brass-work
(Hendley, _Jaipur Museum Catalogue_; _Journal Indian Art_, 1886, i.
No. 12, 1891, i. No. 11).]

Footnote 9.8.8:

[_Chabūtra_, the platform on which the Kotwāl or chief police officer
does business. For the cry _dohāi_ see Yule, _Hobson-Jobson_, 2nd ed.
321.]

Footnote 9.8.9:

[The normal revenue is now believed to be about 65 lakhs of rupees,
roughly speaking, £433,000 (_IGI_, xiii. 395).]

Footnote 9.8.10:

[This may possibly be Kamban in Bharatpur State.]

Footnote 9.8.11:

Kanod was the fief of Amir Singh, Khangarot, one of the twelve great
lords of Amber.

Footnote 9.8.12:

[_Udaka_ means the rite of offering water to deceased relations;
hence, assignments of lands to Brāhmans at such rites (H. T.
Colebrooke, _Essays on the Religion and Philosophy of the Hindus_, ed.
1858, p. 115; Monier-Williams, _Brāhmanism and Hinduism_, 4th ed. p.
304).]

Footnote 9.8.13:

Barwara, Khirni, Sawar, Isarda, etc., etc.

Footnote 9.8.14:

Antardah, Balwan, and Indargarh.

Footnote 9.8.15:

See Dissertation on the Religious Establishments of Mewār, Vol. II. p.
590.

Footnote 9.8.16:

[See pp. 1416, 1422.]

Footnote 9.8.17:

[At present the military forces of the State consist of about 5000
infantry, 5000 Nāgas, 700 cavalry, 860 artillery-men, and 100 mounted
on camels (_IGI_, xiii. 397).]

Footnote 9.8.18:

[There have been several changes in this list of fiefs since the
Author’s time. A later, but apparently inaccurate, list is given in
_Rājputāna Gazetteer_, 1879, ii. 139. An earlier list, made in 1790 by
W. Hunter, appears in “A Narrative of a Journey from Agra to Oujein,”
_Asiatic Researches_, vi. 69.]

Footnote 9.8.19:

[A fuller and more correct list will be found in _Rājputāna Census
Report_, 1911, i. 255.]

Footnote 9.8.20:

The first twelve are the Barah-kothris, or twelve great fiefs of
Amber.

Footnote 9.8.21:

The next four are of the Kachhwaha stock, but not reckoned amongst the
Kothribands.

Footnote 9.8.22:

The last ten are foreign chieftains, of various tribes and classes.

No doubt great changes have taken place since this list was formed,
especially amongst the mercenary Pattayats, or Jagirdars. The quotas
are also irregular, though the qualification of a cavalier in this
State is reckoned at five hundred rupees of income.

Footnote 9.8.23:

[Forty-two miles N.N.E. of Jaipur city, the ancient Vairāta (_IGI_,
vi. 217; _ASR_, ii. 242 ff.).]

-----

[Illustration:

RAGHUBĪR SINGH, MĀHĀRAO RĀJA OF BŪNDI.
_To face page 1441._
]

BOOK X
ANNALS OF HĀRAVATI
BUNDI

CHAPTER 1

=Hāravati.=—Haravati, or Haraoti, ‘the country of the Haras,’
comprehends two principalities, namely, Kotah and Bundi. The Chambal
intersects the territory of the Hara race, and now serves as their
boundary, although only three centuries have elapsed since the younger
branch separated from and became independent of Bundi.

The Hara is the most important of the twenty-four Chauhan _sakha_, being
descended from Anuraj, the son of Manik Rae, king of Ajmer, who in S.
741 (A.D. 685) sustained the first shock of the Islamite arms.[10.1.1]

=The Origin of the Chauhāns.=—We have already sketched the pedigree of
the Chauhans,[10.1.2] one of the most illustrious of the ‘Thirty-six
Royal Races’ of India.[10.1.3] We must, however, in this place, enter
into it somewhat more fully; and in doing so, we must not discard even
the fables of their origin, which will at least demonstrate that the
human understanding has been similarly constructed in all ages and
countries, before the thick veil of ignorance and superstition was
withdrawn from it. So scanty are the remote records of the Chauhans,
that it would savour of affectation to attempt a division of the periods
of their history, or the improbable, the probable, and the certain. Of
the first two, a separation would be impracticable, and we cannot trace
the latter beyond the seventh century.

“When the impieties of the kings of the warrior race drew upon them the
vengeance of Parasurama, who twenty-one times extirpated that race,
some, in order to save their lives, called themselves bards; others
assumed the guise of women; and thus the _singh_ (horn) of the Rajputs
was preserved, when dominion was assigned to the Brahmans. The impious
avarice of Sahasra Arjuna, of the Haihaya race, king of Maheswar[10.1.4]
on the Nerbudda, provoked the last war, having slain the father of
Parasurama [440].

“But as the chief weapon of the Brahman is his curse or blessing, great
disorders soon ensued from the want of the strong arm. Ignorance and
infidelity spread over the land; the sacred books were trampled under
foot, and mankind had no refuge from the monstrous brood.[10.1.5] In
this exigence, Viswamitra, the instructor in arms[10.1.6] of Bhagwan,
revolved within his own mind, and determined upon, the re-creation of
the Chhattris. He chose for this rite the summit of Mount Abu,[10.1.7]
where dwell the hermits and sages (Munis and Rishis) constantly occupied
in the duties of religion, and who had carried their complaints even to
the _khir samudra_ (sea of curds), where they saw the Father of Creation
floating upon the hydra (emblem of eternity). He desired them to
regenerate the warrior race, and they returned to Mount Abu with Indra,
Brahma, Rudra, Vishnu, and all the inferior divinities, in their train.
The fire-fountain (_analkund_) was lustrated with the waters of the
Ganges; expiatory rites were performed, and, after a protracted debate,
it was resolved that Indra should initiate the work of re-creation.
Having formed an image (_putli_) of the _durva_ grass, he sprinkled it
with the water of life, and threw it into the fire-fountain. Thence, on
pronouncing the _sanjivan mantra_ (incantation to give life), a figure
slowly emerged from the flame, bearing in the right hand a mace, and
exclaiming, '_Mar! mar!_' (slay, slay). He was called Pramar; and Abu,
Dhar, and Ujjain were assigned to him as a territory.

“Brahma was then entreated to frame one from his own essence (_ansa_).
He made an image, threw it into the pit, whence issued a figure armed
with a sword (_khadga_) in one hand, with the Veda in the other, and a
_janeo_ round his neck. He was named Chalukya or Solanki, and Anhilpur
Patan was appropriated to him.

“Rudra formed the third. The image was sprinkled with the water of the
Ganges, and on the incantation being read, a black ill-favoured figure
arose, armed with the _dhanush_ or bow. As his foot slipped when sent
against the demons, he was called Parihar, and placed as the _pauliya_,
or guardian of the gates. He had the Naunangal Marusthali, or ‘nine
habitations of the desert,’ assigned him.

“The fourth was formed by Vishnu; when an image like himself four-armed,
each having a separate weapon, issued from the flames, and was thence
styled Chaturbhuja Chauhan, or the ‘four-armed.’ The gods bestowed their
blessing upon him, and Mahishmati-nagari as a territory. Such was the
name of Garha-Mandla in the Dwapur, or silver age [441].[10.1.8]

“The Daityas were watching the rites, and two of their leaders were
close to the fire-fountain; but the work of regeneration being over, the
new-born warriors were sent against the infidels, when a desperate
encounter ensued. But as fast as the blood of the demons was shed, young
demons arose; when the four tutelary divinities, attendant on each
newly-created race, drank up the blood, and thus stopped the
multiplication of evil. These were—

Asapurna of the Chauhan.
Gajan Mata of the Parihar.
Keonj Mata of the Solanki.
Sancher Mata of the Pramara.[10.1.9]

“When the Daityas were slain, shouts of joy rent the sky; ambrosial
showers were shed from heaven; and the gods drove their cars (_vahan_)
about the firmament, exulting at the victory thus achieved.

“Of all the Thirty-six Royal Races (says Chand, the great bard of the
Chauhans), the Agnikula is the greatest: the rest were born of woman;
these were created by the Brahmans![10.1.10]—Gotracharya of the
Chauhans, Sama Veda, Somvansa, Madhuvani sakha, Vacha gotra, Panch
parwar janeo, Laktankari nikas, Chandrabhaga Nadi, Brighu nishan,
Ambika-Bhavani, Balan Putra, Kalbhairon, Abu Achaleswar Mahadeo,
Chaturbhuja Chauhan.”

The period of this grand convocation of the gods on Mount Abu, to
regenerate the warrior race of Hind, and to incite them against ‘the
infidel races who had spread over the land,’ is dated so far back as the
opening of the second age of the Hindus: a point which we shall not
dispute. Neither shall we throw a doubt upon the chronicles which claim
Prince Salya, one of the great heroes of the Mahabharata, as an
intermediate link between Anhal Chauhan and Satpati, who founded
Mahishmati, and conquered the Konkan; while another son, called Tantar
Pal, conquered Asir and Gualkund (Golkonda), planted his garrisons in
every region, and possessed nine hundred elephants to carry _pakhals_,
or water-skins [442].

Let us here pause for a moment before we proceed with the chronicle, and
inquire who were these warriors, thus regenerated to fight the battles
of Brahmanism, and brought within the pale of their faith. They must
have been either the aboriginal debased classes, raised to moral
importance, by the ministers of the pervading religion, or foreign races
who had obtained a footing amongst them. The contrasted physical
appearance of the respective races will decide this question. The
aborigines are dark, diminutive, and ill-favoured; the Agnikulas are of
good stature, and fair, with prominent features, like those of the
Parthian kings. The ideas which pervade their martial poetry are such as
were held by the Scythian in distant ages, and which even Brahmanism has
failed to eradicate; while the tumuli, containing ashes and arms,
discovered throughout India, especially in the south about Gualkund,
where the Chauhans held sway,[10.1.11] indicate the nomadic warrior of
the north as the proselyte of Mount Abu.

Of the four Agnikula races, the Chauhans were the first who obtained
extensive dominions. The almost universal power of the Pramaras is
proverbial; but the wide sway possessed by the Chauhans can only be
discovered with difficulty. Their glory was on the wane when that of the
Pramaras was in the zenith; and if we may credit the last great bard of
the Rajputs, the Chauhans held _in capite_ of the Pramaras of Telingana,
in the eighth century of Vikrama, though the name of Prithiraj threw a
parting ray of splendour upon the whole line of his ancestry, even to
the fire-fountain on the summit of classic Abu.

The facts to be gleaned in the early page of the chronicle are contained
in a few stanzas, which proclaim the possession of paramount power,
though probably of no lengthened duration. The line of the Nerbudda,
from Mahishmati, Maheswar, was their primitive seat of sovereignty,
comprehending all the tracts in its vicinity both north and south.
Thence, as they multiplied, they spread over the peninsula, possessing
Mandu, Asir, Golkonda, and the Konkan;[10.1.12] while to the north,
[443] they stretched even to the fountains of the Ganges. The following
is the bard’s picture of the Chauhan dominion:—

“From ‘the seat of government’ (_rajasthan_) Mahishmati, the oath of
allegiance (_an_) resounded in fifty-two castles. The land of Tatta,
Lahore, Multan, Peshawar,[10.1.13] the Chauhan in his might arose and
conquered even to the hills of Badarinath. The infidels (Asuras) fled,
and allegiance was proclaimed in Delhi and Kabul, while the country of
Nepal he bestowed on the Mallani.[10.1.14] Crowned with the blessing of
the gods, he returned to Mahishmati.”

It has already been observed, that Mahishmati-Nagari was the ancient
name of Garha-Mandla, whose princes for ages continued the surname of
Pal, indicative, it is recorded by tradition, of their nomadic
occupation. The Ahirs, who occupied all Central India, and have left in
one nook (_Ahirwara_) a memorial of their existence, was a branch of the
same race, Ahir being a synonym for Pal.[10.1.15] Bhilsa, Bhojpur, Dip,
Bhopal, Eran, Garaspur, are a few of the ancient towns established by
the Pals or Palis; and could we master the still unknown characters
appertaining to the early colonists of India, more light would be thrown
on the history of the Chauhans.[10.1.16]

A scion from Mahishmati, named Ajaipal, established himself at
Ajmer,[10.1.17] and erected its castle of Taragarh. The name of Ajaipal
is one of the most conspicuous that tradition has preserved, and is
always followed by the epithet of Chakravartin, or universal potentate.
His era must ever remain doubtful, unless, as already observed, we
should master the characters said to belong to this race, and which are
still extant, both on stone and on copper.[10.1.18] From what cause is
not stated (most probably a failure of [444] lineal issue), Prithi Pahar
was brought from Mahishmati to Ajmer. By a single wife (for polygamy was
then unknown to these races) he had twenty-four sons, whose progeny
peopled these regions, one of whose descendants, Manika Rae, was lord of
Ajmer and Sambhar, in the year S. 741, or A.D. 685.

=Mānika Rāē.=—With the name of Manika Rae, the history of the Chauhan
emerges from obscurity, if not fable; and although the bard does not
subsequently entertain us with much substantial information, we can
trace his subject, and see his heroes fret their hour upon the uncertain
stage, throughout a period of twelve hundred years. It was at this era
(A.D. 685) that Rajputana was first visited by the arms of Islam, being
the sixty-third year of the Hejira. Manika Rae, then prince of Ajmer,
was slain by the Asuras, and his only child, named Lot, then an infant
of seven years of age, was killed by an arrow while playing on the
battlements (_kunguras_). The invasion is said to have been from Sind,
in revenge for the ill-treatment of an Islamite missionary named Roshan
Ali, though the complexion of the event is more like an enterprise
prompted by religious enthusiasm. The missionary being condemned to lose
his thumb “the disjointed member flew to Mecca,” and gave evidence
against the Rajput idolater; when a force was prepared, disguised as a
caravan of horse-merchants, which surprised and slew Dhola Rae and his
son, and obtained possession of Garhbitli, the citadel.

Puerile as is the transaction, its truth is substantiated by the fact
that the Caliph Omar at this very time sent an army to Sind, whose
commander, Abu-l-lais, was slain in an attempt on the ancient capital,
Alor.[10.1.19] Still nothing but the enthusiasm of religious frenzy
could have induced a band to cross the desert in order to punish this
insult to the new faith.

Whatever were the means, however, by which Ajmer was captured, and Dhola
Rae slain, the importance of the event has been deeply imprinted on the
Chauhans; who, in remembrance of it, deified the youthful heir of Ajmer:
“Lot putra” is still the most conspicuous of the Chauhan penates. The
day on which he was killed is sanctified, and his effigy then receives
divine honours from all who have the name of Chauhan. Even the anklet of
bells which he wore has become an object of veneration, and is forbidden
to be used by the children of this race.

“Of the house of Dhola Rae of Chauhan race, Lotdeo, the heir-apparent by
the decree of Siva, on Monday the 12th of the month of Jeth, went to
heaven.”

Manika Rae, the uncle of the youth (_putra_) (who is still the object of
general homage, especially of the Chauhan fair), upon the occupation of
Ajmer, retired upon [445] Sambhar, which event another couplet fixes, as
we have said, in S. 741.[10.1.20] Here the bard has recourse to
celestial interposition in order to support Manika Rae in his adversity.
The goddess Sakambhari appears to him, while seeking shelter from the
pursuit of this merciless foe, and bids him establish himself in the
spot where she manifested herself, guaranteeing to him the possession of
all the ground he could encompass with his horse on that day; but
commanded him not to look back until he had returned to the spot where
he left her. He commenced the circuit, with what he deemed his steed
could accomplish, but forgetting the injunction, he was surprised to see
the whole space covered as with a sheet. This was the desiccated _sar_,
or salt-lake, which he named after his patroness Sakambhari, whose
statue still exists on a small island in the lake, now corrupted to
Sambhar.[10.1.21]

However jejune these legends of the first days of Chauhan power, they
suffice to mark with exactness their locality; and the importance
attached to this settlement is manifested in the title of ‘Sambhari
Rao,’ maintained by Prithiraj, the descendant of Manika Rae, even when
emperor of all Northern India.

Manika Rae, whom we may consider as the founder of the Chauhans of the
north, recovered Ajmer. He had a numerous progeny, who established many
petty dynasties throughout Western Rajwara, giving birth to various
tribes, which are spread even to the Indus. The Khichi,[10.1.22] the
Hara, the Mohil, Nirwana, Bhadauria, Bhaurecha, Dhanetia, and Baghrecha,
are all descended from him.[10.1.23] The Khichis were established in the
remote Duab, called Sind-Sagar, comprising all the tract between the
Behat and the Sind, a space of sixty-eight coss, whose capital was
Khichpur-Patan. The Haras obtained or founded Asi (Hansi) in Hariana;
while another tribe held Gualkund, the celebrated Golkonda, now
Haidarabad, and when thence expelled, regained Asir. The Mohils had the
tracts round Nagor.[10.1.24] The Bhadaurias had an appanage on the
Chambal, in a tract which bears their name, and [446] is still subject
to them. The Dhanetias settled at Shahabad, which by a singular fatality
has at length come into the possession of the Haras of Kotah. Another
branch fixed at Nadol, but never changed the name of Chauhan.[10.1.25]

Many chieftainships were scattered over the desert, either trusting to
their lances to maintain their independence, or holding of superiors;
but a notice of them, however interesting, would here, perhaps, be out
of place. Eleven princes are enumerated in the Jaga’s catalogue, from
Manika Rae to Bisaldeo,[10.1.26] a name of the highest celebrity in the
Rajput annals, and a landmark to various authorities, who otherwise have
little in common even in their genealogies, which I pass over in
silence, with the exception of the intermediate name of
Harsraj,[10.1.27] common to the Hamir Raesa as well as the Jaga’s list.
The authority of Harsraj stretched along the Aravalli mountains to Abu,
and east of the Chambal. He ruled from S. 812 to 827 (A.H. 138 to 153),
and fell in battle against the Asuras, having attained the title of
Arimurdan.[10.1.28] Ferishta says, that “in A.H. 143, the Muslims
greatly increased, when issuing from their hills they obtained
possession of Karman, Peshawar, and all the lands adjacent; and that the
Raja of Lahore, who was of the family of the Raja of Ajmer, sent his
brother[10.1.29] against these Afghans, who were reinforced by the
tribes of Khilj, of Ghor and Kabul, just become proselytes to
Islam”;[10.1.29] and he adds, that during five months, seventy battles
were fought with success; or, to use the historian’s own words, “in
which Sipahi sarma (General Frost) was victorious over the infidel, but
who returned when the cold season was passed with fresh force. The
armies met [447] between Karman and Peshawar; sometimes the infidel
(Rajput) carried the war to the Kohistan, ‘mountainous regions,’ and
drove the Musalmans before him; sometimes the Musalmans, obtaining
reinforcements, drove the infidel by flights of arrows to their own
borders, to which they always retired when the torrents swelled the
Nilab (Indus).”

Whether the Raja of Ajmer personally engaged in these distant combats
the chronicle says not. According to the Hamir Raesa, Harsraj was
succeeded by Dujgandeo, whose advanced post was Bhatner, and who
overcame Nasiru-d-din, from whom he captured twelve hundred horse, and
hence bore the epithet of Sultan Graha, or ‘King-seizer.’ Nasiru-d-din
was the title of the celebrated Sabuktigin, father to the still more
celebrated Mahmud. Sabuktigin repeatedly invaded India during the
fifteen years’ reign of his predecessor Alptigin.

=Bīsaldeo.=—Passing over the intermediate reigns, each of which is
marked by some meagre and unsatisfactory details of battles with the
Islamite, we arrive at Bisaldeo. The father of this prince, according to
the Hara genealogists, was Dharmagaj, apparently a title—'in faith like
an elephant'—as in the Jaga’s list is Bir Bilandeo, confirmed by the
inscription on the triumphal column at Delhi. The last of Mahmud’s
invasions occurred during the reign of Bilandeo, who, at the expense of
his life, had the glory of humbling the mighty conqueror, and forcing
him to relinquish the siege of Ajmer.[10.1.30] Before we condense the
scanty records of the bards concerning Visaladeva,[10.1.31] we may spare
a few words to commemorate a Chauhan who consecrated his name, and that
of all his kin, by his deeds in the first passage of Mahmud into India.

=Gūga, Gugga Chauhān.=—Guga Chauhan was the son of Vacha Raja, a name of
some celebrity. He held the whole of Jangaldes, or the forest lands from
the Sutlej to Hariana; his capital, called Mahara, or, as pronounced,
Guga ka Mahra, was on the Sutlej. In defending this he fell, with
forty-five sons and sixty nephews; and as it occurred on Sunday
(_Rabiwar_), the ninth (_naumi_) of the month, that day is held sacred
to the manes of Guga by the ‘Thirty-six Classes’[10.1.32] throughout
Rajputana, but especially in the desert, a portion of which is yet
called Gugadeo ka thal. Even his steed, Javadia,[10.1.33] has been
immortalized [448] and has become a favourite name for a war-horse
throughout Rajputana, whose mighty men swear 'by the _sakha_ of Guga,'
for maintaining the Rajput fame when Mahmud crossed the Sutlej.

This was probably the last of Mahmud’s invasions, when he marched direct
from Multan through the desert. He attacked Ajmer, which was abandoned,
and the country around given up to devastation and plunder. The citadel,
Garhbitli, however, held out, and Mahmud was foiled, wounded, and
obliged to retreat by Nadol,[10.1.34] another Chauhan possession, which
he sacked, and then proceeded to Nahrwala, which he captured. His
barbarities promoted a coalition, which, by compelling him to march
through the western deserts to gain the valley of Sind, had nearly
proved fatal to his army.

The exploits of Bisaldeo form one of the books of Chand the bard. The
date assigned to Bisaldeo in the Raesa (S. 921) is interpolated—a vice
not uncommon with the Rajput bard, whose periods acquire verification
from less mutable materials than those out of which he weaves his
song.[10.1.35]

Chand gives an animated picture of the levy of the Rajput chivalry,
which assembled under Bisaldeo, who, as the champion of the Hindu faith,
was chosen to lead its warriors against the Islamite invader. The
Chalukya king of Anhilwara alone refused to join the confederation, and
in terms which drew upon him the vengeance of the Chauhan. A literal
translation of the passage may be interesting:

“To the Goelwal Jeth, the prince entrusted Ajmer, saying, ‘On your
fealty I depend’; where can this Chalukya find refuge? He moved from the
city (Ajmer) and encamped on the lake Visala,[10.1.36] and summoned his
tributaries and vassals to meet him. Mansi Parihar with the array of
Mandor, touched his feet.[10.1.37] Then came the Guhilot, the ornament
of the throng;[10.1.38] and the Pawasar [449], with Tuar,[10.1.39] and
Rama the Gaur;[10.1.40] with Mohes the lord of Mewat.[10.1.41] The Mohil
of Dunapur with tribute sent excuse.[10.1.42] With folded hands arrived
the Baloch,[10.1.43] but the lord of Bamani abandoned Sind.[10.1.44]
Then came the Nazar from Bhatner,[10.1.45] and the Nalbandi from
Tatta[10.1.46] and Multan.[10.1.46] When the summons reached the Bhumia
Bhatti of Derawar,[10.1.47] all obeyed; as did the Jadon of
Malanwas.[10.1.48] The Mori[10.1.49] and Bargujar[10.1.49] also joined
with the Kachhwahas of Antarved.[10.1.49] The subjugated Meras
worshipped his feet.[10.1.50] Then came the array of Takatpur, headed by
the Goelwal Jeth.[10.1.51] Mounted in haste came Udaya Pramar,[10.1.52]
with the Nirwan[10.1.53] and the Dor,[10.1.54] the Chandel,[10.1.54] and
the Dahima.”[10.1.55]

In this short passage, a text is afforded for a dissertation on the
whole genealogical history of Rajputana at that period. Such extracts
from the more ancient bards, incorporated in the works of their
successors, however laconic, afford decisive evidence [450] that their
poetic chronicles bore always the same character; for this passage is
introduced by Chand merely as a preface to the history of his own
prince, Prithiraj, the descendant of Bisaldeo.

A similar passage was given from the ancient chronicles of Mewar,
recording an invasion of the Muslims, of which the histories of the
invaders have left no trace (Vol. I. p. 287). The evidence of both
is incontestable; every name affords a synchronism not to be disputed;
and though the isolated passage would afford a very faint ray of light
to the explorer of those days of darkness, yet when the same industrious
research has pervaded the annals of all these races, a flood of
illumination pours upon us, and we can at least tell who the races were
who held sway in these regions a thousand years ago.

Amidst meagre, jejune, and unsatisfactory details, the annalist of
Rajputana must be content to wade on, in order to obtain some solid
foundation for the history of the tribes; but such facts as these
stimulate his exertions and reward his toil: without them, his task
would be hopeless. To each of the twenty tribes enumerated, formed under
the standard of the Chauhan, we append a separate notice, for the
satisfaction of the few who can appreciate their importance, while some
general remarks may suffice as a connexion with the immediate object of
research, the Haras, descended from Bisaldeo.

In the first place, it is of no small moment to be enabled to adjust the
date of Bisaldeo, the most important name in the annals of the Chauhans
from Manik Rae to Prithiraj, and a slip from the genealogical tree will
elucidate our remarks [451].[10.1.56]

=The Delhi Pillar.=—The name of Bisaldeo (Visaladeva) heads the
inscription on the celebrated column erected in the centre of Firoz
Shah’s palace at Delhi. This column, alluded to by Chand, as “telling
the fame of the Chohan,” was “placed at Nigambhod,” a place of
pilgrimage on the Jumna, a few miles below Delhi, whence it must have
been removed to its present singular position.[10.1.57]

CHAUHĀN GENEALOGY

[From Anhal to Bilandeo, these are but a few of the leading names. From
Bilandeo the chain is continuous to the last Chauhan king, Prithiraj.]

┌ Or Agnipala, ‘offspring of fire,’
│ the first Chauhan; probable period
│ 650 before Vikrama, when an
Anhal ┤ invasion of the Turushkas took
│ │ place;established Mahishmati-nagari
│ │ (Garha-mandala); conquered the
│ └ Konkan, Asir, Golkonda.
Savacha
│ ┌ In all probability this is the
Malan ┤ patriarch of the Mallani tribe,
│ └ see p. 1272.
Ganal Sur
│ ┌ Or universal potentate; founder of
│ │ Ajmer. Same authorities say, in
S. 202 Ajaipala Chakravartin ┤ 202 of the Vikrama; others of the
│ │ Virat-Samvat: the latter is the
│ └ most probable.
│ ┌ Slain, and lost Ajmer, on the first
Dhola Rae ┤ irruption of the Muhammadans, S.
│ └ 741, A.D. 685.
│ ┌ Founded Sambhar: hence the title
S. 741 Manika Rae ┤ of Sambhari-Rao borne by the
│ └ Chauhan princes, his issue.
│ ┌ Defeated Nasiru-d-din (_qu._
S. 827 Harsraj ┤ Sabuktigin?),
│ └ thence styled 'Sultan-graha.
Bir Bilandeo ┌ Or Dharmagaj; slain defending
│ └ Ajmer against Mahmud of Ghazni.
S. 1065 to │ ┌ (Classically, Visaladeva); his
1130 Bisaldeo ┤ period, from various inscriptions,
│ └ S. 1066 to S. 1130.
Sarangdeo Died in nonage.
│
Ana ┌ Constructed the Ana-Sagar at
│ └ Ajmer; still bears his name.
┌────────────────────┐
Jaipal. Harspal.
│
├──────────────┬───────────┐
Ajaideo, Bijaideo. Udaideo.
or
Ananddeo.
├───────────────┬─────────────┐
│ │ │
Someswar: Kan Rae. Jeth, Goelwal.
married Ruka Bai, │
daughter of Anangpal │
Tuar king of Delhi. │
│ Isardas;
│ turned Muhammadan.
│
├────────────────────┐
│ │
Prithiraj; Chahirdeo.
obtained Delhi; slain by │
Shihabu-d-din, S. 1249, │
A.D. 1193. │
│ Vijaya Raj. ┌ Adopted successor to Prithiraj;
│ │ └ his name is on the pillar at Delhi.
│ ┌─────┘
│ │
│ │ ┌ Had twenty-one sons; seven of whom were
│ │ │ legitimate, the others illegitimate, and
Rainsi; │ │ and founders of mixed tribes. From
slain in the sack Lakhansi┤ Lakhansi there are twenty-six generations
of Delhi. │ to Noniddh Singh, the present chieftain
│ of Nimrana, the nearest lineal descendant
└ of Ajaipal and Prithiraj.

[452]

The inscription commences and ends with the same date, namely, 15th of
the month Baisakh, S. 1220. If correctly copied, it can have no
reference to Bisaldeo, excepting as the ancestor of Prativa Chahumana
tilaka Sakambhari bhupati; or ‘Prithiraja Chauhan, the anointed of
Sambhar, Lord of the earth,’ who ruled at Delhi in S. 1220, and was
slain in S. 1249, retaining the ancient epithet of ‘Lord of Sambhar,’
one of the early seats of their power.[10.1.58] The second stanza,
however, tells us we must distrust the first of the two dates, and read
1120 (instead of 1220), when Visaladeva “exterminated the barbarians”
from Aryavarta. The numerals 1 and 2 in Sanskrit are easily mistaken.
If, however, it is decidedly 1220, then the whole inscription belongs to
Prativa Chahumana, between whom and Visala no less than six princes
intervene,[10.1.59] and the opening is merely to introduce Prithiraja’s
lineage, in which the sculptor has foisted in the date.

I feel inclined to assign the first stanza to Visaladeva (Bisaldeo), and
what follows to his descendant Prithiraj, who by a conceit may have
availed himself of the anniversary of the victory of his ancestor, to
record his own exploits. These exploits were precisely of the same
nature—successful war against the Islamite, in which each drove him from
Aryavarta; for even the Muslim writers acknowledge that Shihabu-d-din
was often ignominiously defeated before he finally succeeded in making a
conquest of northern India [453].

=Date of Visaladeva.=—If, as I surmise, the first stanza belongs to
Bisaldeo, the date is S. 1120, or A.D. 1064, and this grand
confederation described by the Chauhan bard was assembled under his
banner, preparatory to the very success, to commemorate which the
inscription was recorded.

In the passage quoted from Chand, recording the princes who led their
household troops under Bisaldeo, there are four names which establish
synchronisms: one by which we arrive directly at the date, and three
indirectly. The first is Udayaditya Pramar, king of Dhar (son of Raja
Bhoj), whose period I established from numerous inscriptions,[10.1.60]
as between S. 1100 and S. 1150; so that the date of his joining the
expedition would be about the middle of his reign. The indirect but
equally strong testimony consists of,

First, The mention of “the Bhumia Bhatti from Derawar”;[10.1.61] for had
there been anything apocryphal in Chand, Jaisalmer, the present capital,
would have been given as the Bhatti abode.[10.1.62]

Second, The Kachhwahas, who are also described as coming from Antarved
(the region between the Jumna and Ganges); for the infant colony
transmitted from Narwar to Amber was yet undistinguished.

The third proof is in the Mewar inscription, when Tejsi, the grandfather
of Samarsi, is described as in alliance with Bisaldeo. Bisaldeo is said
to have lived sixty-four years. Supposing this date, S. 1120, to be the
medium point of his existence, this would make his date S. 1088 to S.
1152, or A.D. 1032 to A.D. 1096; but as his father, Dharmagaj, ‘the
elephant in faith,’ or Bir Bilandeo (called Malandeo, in the Hamir
Raesa), was killed defending Ajmer on the last invasion of Mahmud, we
must necessarily place Bisal’s birth (supposing him an infant on that
event), ten years earlier, or A.D. 1022 (S. 1078), to A.D. 1086 (S.
1142), comprehending the date on the pillar of Delhi, and by computation
all the periods mentioned in the catalogue. We may therefore safely
adopt the date of the Raesa, namely S. 1066 to S. 1130.

Bisaldeo was, therefore, contemporary with Jaipal, the Tuar king of
Delhi; with [454] Durlabha and Bhima of Gujarat; with Bhoj and
Udayaditya of Dhar; with Padamsi and Tejsi of Mewar; and the confederacy
which he headed must have been that against the Islamite king Maudud,
the fourth from Mahmud of Ghazni, whose expulsion from the northern
parts of Rajputana (as recorded on the pillar of Delhi) caused Aryavarta
again to become ‘the land of virtue.’ Mahmud’s final retreat from India
by Sind, to avoid the armies collected “by Bairamdeo and the prince of
Ajmer” to oppose him, was in A.H. 417, A.D. 1026, or S. 1082, nearly the
same date as that assigned by Chand, S. 1086.[10.1.63]

We could dilate on the war which Bisaldeo waged against the prince of
Gujarat, his victory, and the erection of Bisalnagar,[10.1.64] on the
spot where victory perched upon his lance; but this we reserve for the
introduction of the history of the illustrious Prithiraj. There is much
fable mixed up with the history of Bisaldeo, apparently invented to hide
a blot in the annals, warranting the inference that he became a convert,
in all likelihood a compulsory one, to the doctrines of Islam. There is
also the appearance of his subsequent expiation of this crime in the
garb of a penitent; and the mound (_dhundh_), where he took up his
abode, still exists, and is called after him, Bisal-ka-dhundh, at Kalakh
Jobner.[10.1.65]

According to the Book of Kings of Govind Ram (the Hara bard), the Haras
were descended from Anuraj, son of Bisaldeo; but Mogji, the Khichi
bard,[10.1.66] makes Anuraj progenitor of the Khichis, and son of Manika
Rae. We follow the Hara bard.

Anuraj had assigned to him in appanage the important frontier fortress
of Asi (_vulg._ Hansi). His son Ishtpal, together with Aganraj, son of
Ajairao, the founder of Khichpur Patan in Sind-Sagar, was preparing to
seek his fortunes with Randhir Chauhan, prince of Gualkund: but both Asi
and Golkonda were almost simultaneously assailed by an army “from the
wilds of Kujliban.” Randhir performed the _sakha_; and only a single
female, his daughter, named Surabhi, survived, and she fled for
protection towards Asi, then attacked by the same furious invader.
Anuraj prepared to fly; but his son, Ishtpal, determined not to wait the
attack, but seek the foe. A battle ensued, when the invader was slain,
and Ishtpal, grievously wounded, pursued him till he fell, near the spot
where Surabhi was awaiting death under the shade of a _pipal_: for
“hopes of life were extinct, and fear and hunger had [455] reduced her
to a skeleton.” In the moment of despair, however, the _asvattha_
(pipal) tree under which she took shelter was severed, and Asapurna, the
guardian goddess of her race, appeared before her. To her, Surabhi
related how her father and twelve brothers had fallen in defending
Golkonda against ‘the demon of Kujliban.’ The goddess told her to be of
good cheer, for that a Chauhan of her own race had slain him, and was
then at hand; and led her to where Ishtpal lay senseless from his
wounds. By her aid he recovered,[10.1.67] and possessed himself of that
ancient heirloom of the Chauhans, the famed fortress of Asir.

Ishtpal, the founder of the Haras, obtained Asir in S. 1081[10.1.68] (or
A.D. 1025); and as Mahmud’s last destructive visit to India, by Multan
through the desert to Ajmer, was in A.H. 714, or A.D. 1022, we have
every right to conclude that his father Anuraj lost his life and Asi to
the king of Ghazni; at the same time that Ajmer was sacked, and the
country laid waste by this conqueror, whom the Hindu bard might well
style “the demon from Kujliban.”[10.1.69] The Muhammadan historians give
us no hint even of any portion of Mahmud’s army penetrating into the
peninsula, though that grasping ambition, which considered the shores of
Saurashtra but an intermediate step from Ghazni to the conquest of
Ceylon and Pegu, may have pushed an army during his long halt at
Anhilwara, and have driven Randhir from Golkonda.[10.1.70] But it is
idle to speculate upon such slender materials; let them suffice to
illustrate one new fact, namely, that these kingdoms of the south as
well as the north were held by Rajput sovereigns, whose offspring,
blending with the original population, produced that mixed race of
Mahrattas, inheriting with the names the warlike propensities of their
ancestors, but who assume the name of their abodes as titles, as the
Nimbalkars, the Phalkias, the Patankars, instead of their tribes of
Jadon, Tuar, Puar, etc. etc.

Ishtpal had a son called Chandkaran; his son, Lokpal, had Hamir and
Gambhir, names well known in the wars of Prithiraj. The brothers were
enrolled amongst his [456] one hundred and eight great vassals, from
which we may infer that, though Asir was not considered absolutely as a
fief, its chief paid homage to Ajmer, as the principal seat of the
Chauhans.

In the Kanauj Samaya, that book of the poems of Chand devoted to the
famous war in which the Chauhan prince carries off the princess of
Kanauj, honourable mention is made of the Hara princes in the third
day’s fight, when they covered the retreat of Prithiraj:

“Then did the Hara Rao Hamir, with his brother Gambhir, mounted on Lakhi
steeds,[10.1.71] approach their lord, as thus they spoke: ‘Think of thy
safety, Jangales,[10.1.72] while we make offerings to the array of
Jaichand. Our horses’ hoofs shall plough the field of fight, like the
ship of the ocean.’”

The brothers encountered the contingent of the prince of Kasi (Benares),
one of the great feudatories of Kanauj. As they joined, “the shout
raised by Hamir reached Durga on her rock-bound throne.” Both brothers
fell in these wars, though one of the few survivors of the last battle
fought with Shihabu-d-din for Rajput independence, was a Hara—

Hamir had Kalkaran, who had Mahamagd: his son was Rao Bacha; his, Rao
Chand.

=Rāo Chand.=—Amongst the many independent princes of the Chauhan race to
whom Alau-d-din was the messenger of fate, was Rao Chand of Asir. Its
walls, though deemed impregnable, were not proof against the skill and
valour of this energetic warrior; and Chand and all his family, with the
exception of one son, were put to the sword. This son was prince Rainsi,
a name fatal to Chauhan heirs, for it was borne by the son of Prithiraj
who fell in the defence of Delhi: but Rainsi of Asir was more fortunate.
He was but an infant of two years and a half old, and being nephew of
the Rana of Chitor, was sent to him for protection. When he attained
man’s estate, he made a successful attempt upon the ruined castle of
Bhainsror, from which he drove Dunga, a Bhil chief, who, with a band of
his mountain brethren, had made it his retreat. This ancient fief of
Mewar had been dismantled by Alau-d-din in his attack on Chitor, from
which the Ranas had not yet recovered when the young Chauhan came
amongst them for protection.

Rainsi had two sons, Kolan and Kankhal. Kolan being afflicted with an
incurable disease, commenced a pilgrimage to the sacred Kedarnath, one
of the towns of the [457] Ganges. To obtain the full benefit of this
meritorious act, he determined to measure his length on the ground the
whole of this painful journey. In six months he had only reached the
Binda Pass, where, having bathed in a fountain whence flows the rivulet
Banganga, he found his health greatly restored. Kedarnath[10.1.73] was
pleased to manifest himself, to accept his devotions, and to declare him
‘King of the Patar,’ or plateau of Central India.[10.1.74] The whole of
this tract was under the princes of Chitor, but the sack of this famed
fortress by Ala, and the enormous slaughter of the Guhilots, had so
weakened their authority, that the aboriginal Minas had once more
possessed themselves of all their native hills, or leagued with the
subordinate vassals of Chitor.

=Angatsi, the Hun.=—In ancient times, Raja Hun, said to be of the
Pramara race, was lord of the Patar, and held his court at Menal. There
are many memorials of this Hūn or Hun prince, and even so far back as
the first assault of Chitor, in the eighth century, its prince was aided
in his defence by ‛Angatsi, lord of the Huns.' The celebrated temples of
Barolli are attributed to this Hun Raja, who appears in so questionable
a shape, that we can scarcely refuse to believe that a branch of this
celebrated race must in the first centuries of Vikrama have been
admitted, as their bards say, amongst the Thirty-six Royal Races of the
Rajputs. Be this as it may, Rao Banga, the grandson of Kolan, took
possession of the ancient Menal, and on an elevation commanding the
western face of the Pathar erected the fortress of Bumbaoda. With
Bhainsror on the east, and Bumbaoda and Menal on the west, the Haras now
occupied the whole extent of the Patar. Other conquests were made, and
Mandalgarh, Bijolli, Begun, Ratnagarh, and Churetagarh, formed an
extensive, if not a rich, chieftainship.

Rao Banga had twelve sons, who dispersed their progeny over the Patar.
He was succeeded by Dewa, who had three sons, namely, Harraj,[10.1.75]
Hatiji, and Samarsi.

=Rāo Dewa.=—The Haras had now obtained such power as to attract the
attention of the emperor, and Rae Dewa was summoned to attend the court
when Sikandar Lodi ruled.[10.1.76] He [458] therefore installed his son
Harraj in Bumbaoda, and with his youngest, Samarsi, repaired to Delhi.
Here he remained, till the emperor coveting a horse of the ‘king of the
Patar,’ the latter determined to regain his native hills. This steed is
famed both in the annals of the Haras and Khichis, and, like that of the
Mede, had no small share in the future fortunes of his master. Its birth
is thus related. The king had a horse of such mettle, that “he could
cross a stream without wetting his hoof.” Dewa bribed the royal equerry,
and from a mare of the Patar had a colt, to obtain which the king broke
that law which is alike binding on the Muslim and the Christian. Dewa
sent off his family by degrees, and as soon as they were out of danger,
he saddled his charger, and lance in hand appeared under the balcony
where the emperor was seated. “Farewell, king,” said the Rangra; “there
are three things your majesty must never ask of a Rajput: his horse, his
mistress, and his sword.” He gave his steed the rein, and in safety
regained the Patar. Having resigned Bumbaoda to Harraj, he came to
Bandunal, the spot where his ancestor Kolan was cured of disease. Here
the Minas of the Usara tribe dwelt, under the patriarchal government of
Jetha, their chief. There was then no regular city; the extremities of
the valley (_thal_[10.1.77]) were closed with barriers of masonry and
gates, and the huts of the Minas were scattered wherever their fancy led
them to build. At this time the community, which had professed obedience
to the Rana on the sack of Chitor, was suffering from the raids of Rao
Ganga, the Khichi, who from his castle of Ramgarh (Relawan) imposed
'_barchhidohai_'[10.1.78] on all around. To save themselves from Ganga,
who used “to drive his lance at the barrier of Bandu,” the Minas entered
into terms, agreeing, on the full moon of every second month, to suspend
the tribute of the chauth over the barrier. At the appointed time, the
Rao came, but no bag of treasure appeared. “Who has been before me?”
demanded Ganga; when forth issued the ‘lord of the Patar,’ on the steed
coveted by the Lodi king. Ganga of Relawan bestrode a charger not less
famed than his antagonist’s, “which owed his birth to the river-horse of
the Par, and a mare of the Khichi chieftain’s, as she grazed on its
margin.[10.1.79] Mounted on this steed, no obstacle could stop him, and
even the Chambal was no impediment to his seizing the tribute at all
seasons from the Minas” [459].

The encounter was fierce, but the Hara was victorious, and Ganga turned
his back on the lord of the Patar, who tried the mettle of this son of
the Par, pursuing him to the banks of the Chambal. What was his
surprise, when Ganga sprang from the cliff, and horse and rider
disappeared in the flood, but soon to reappear on the opposite bank!
Dewa, who stood amazed, no sooner beheld the Rao emerge, than he
exclaimed, “Bravo, Rajput! Let me know your name.” “Ganga Khichi,” was
the answer. “And mine is Dewa Hara; we are brothers, and must no longer
be enemies. Let the river be our boundary.”

=The Foundation of Būndi.=—It was in S. 1398 (A.D. 1342)[10.1.80] that
Jetha and the Usaras acknowledged Rae Dewa as their lord, who erected
Bundi in the centre of the Bandu-ka-Nal, which henceforth became the
capital of the Haras. The Chambal, which, for a short time after the
adventure here related, continued to be the barrier to the eastward, was
soon overpassed, and the bravery of the race bringing them into contact
with the emperor’s lieutenants, the Haras rose to favour and power,
extending their acquisitions, either by conquest or grant, to the
confines of Malwa. The territory thus acquired obtained the geographical
designation of Haravati or Haraoti.[10.1.81]

-----

Footnote 10.1.1:

[The name is said to be derived from that of the Hāra Hūnas or Huns
(_IA_, xi. 5) or from Rāo Hado or Harrāj.]

Footnote 10.1.2:

See Vol. I. p. 112.

Footnote 10.1.3:

According to Herodotus, the Scythic _sakae_ enumerated eight races
with the epithet of royal, and Strabo mentions one of the tribes of
the Thyssagetae as boasting the title of Basilii. [Herodotus (iv. 22)
speaks of the Thyssagetae, possibly meaning ‘lesser,’ Getae, as
contrasted with the Massagetae or ‘greater’ Getae, but he does not
call them ‘royal’; and, in any case, they have no connexion with the
Rājputs (see Rawlinson, _Herodotus_, 3rd ed. iii. 209).] The Rajputs
assert that in ancient times they only enumerated eight royal sakham
or branches, namely, Surya, Soma, Haya or Aswa (_qu._ Asi?) Nima, and
the four tribes of Agnivansa, namely, Pramara, Parihara, Solanki, and
Chauhan. Abulghazi states that the Tatars or Scythians were divided
into six grand families. The Rajputs have maintained these ideas,
originally brought from the Oxus.

Footnote 10.1.4:

[The ancient Māhishmati (_IGI_, xvii. 8 ff.). Sahasra or Sahasra Vāhu
Arjuna, ‘the thousand-armed,’ of the Haihaya tribe, is the reputed
ancestor of the Kalachuris of Chedi (_BG_, i. Part ii. 293, 410;
Smith, _EHI_, 394).]

Footnote 10.1.5:

Or, as the bard says, Daityas, Asuras, and Danavas, or demons and
infidels, as they style the Indo-Scythic tribes from the north-west,
who paid no respect to the Brahmans.

Footnote 10.1.6:

Āyudh-guru. [In the previous version (Vol. I. p. 113) the priest
is Vasishtha.]

Footnote 10.1.7:

My last pilgrimage was to Abu.

Footnote 10.1.8:

[There is no local tradition corroborating the connexion of the
Chauhāns with Garha-Mandla, and it is merely a fiction of the Chauhān
bards (C. Grant, _Gazetteer Central Provinces_, Introd. i.).]

Footnote 10.1.9:

[Another title of the Parihār tribal goddess is Chāwanda Māta, whose
temple is in the Jodhpur fort (_Census Report, Mārwār_, 1891, ii. 31).
In Gujarāt the Jādejas worship Āsāpūrna; the Jhālas Ādya; the Gohils
Khodiyār Māta; the Jethvas Vindhyavāsini; the Pramārs Mandavri; the
Chāvadas and Vāghelas Chāmunda (_BG_, ix. Part i. 136).]

Footnote 10.1.10:

It is by no means uncommon for this arrogant priesthood to lay claim
to powers co-equal with those of the Divinity, nay, often superior to
them. Witness the scene in the Ramayana, where they make the deity a
mediator, to entreat the Brahman Vashishta to hearken to King
Vishwamitra’s desire for his friendship. Can anything exceed this?
Parallel it, perhaps, we may, in that memorable instance of Christian
idolatry, where the Almighty is called on to intercede with St.
Januarius to perform the annual miracle of liquefying the congealed
blood.

Footnote 10.1.11:

[This is a fiction of the bards, and the S. Indian burial-mounds have
no connexion with the Chauhāns (see _IGI_, ii. 94).]

Footnote 10.1.12:

[This S. Indian Chauhān empire is a fiction, the object being to
provide a princely genealogy for the S. Indian royal families (see
_BG_, ix. Part i. 484).]

Footnote 10.1.13:

The Muhammadan writers confirm this account, for in their earliest
recorded invasion, in A.H. 143, the princes of Lahore and Ajmer, said
to be of the same family, are the great opponents of Islam, and
combated its advance in fields west of the Indus. We know beyond a
doubt that Ajmer was then the chief seat of Chauhan power.

Footnote 10.1.14:

The Mallani is (or rather was) one of the Chauhan Sakha and may be the
Malloi who opposed Alexander at the confluent arms of the Indus. The
tribe is extinct, and was so little known even five centuries ago,
that a prince of Bundi, of the Hara tribe, intermarried with a
Mallani, the book of genealogical affinities not indicating her being
within the prohibited canon. A more skilful bard pointed out the
incestuous connexion, when divorce and expiation ensued. _Vide_ p.
1266.

Footnote 10.1.15:

[When Alāu-d-dīn stormed Asīrgarh in A.D. 1295 it was a Chauhān
stronghold. The existence of this Ahīr kingdom rests on the authority
of Ferishta (iv. 287). This is doubtful, but it may be based on a line
of Ahīr chieftains in the Tapti valley (Russell, _Tribes and Castes,
Central Provinces_, ii. 20).]

Footnote 10.1.16:

All these towns contain remains of antiquity, especially in the
district of Dip, Bhojpur, and Bhilsa. Twenty years ago, in one of my
journeys, I passed the ruins of Eran, where a superb column stands at
the junction of its two streams. It is about thirty feet in height,
and is surmounted by a human figure, having a glory round his head; a
colossal bull is at the base of the column. I sent a drawing of it to
Mr. Colebrooke at the time, but possess no copy. [The Eran pillar was
erected A.D. 484-5, as the flag-staff of the four-armed Vishnu, by
Budhagupta (Smith, _HFA_, 174, with an illustration; _IGI_, xii. 25).]

Footnote 10.1.17:

It is indifferently called Ajaimer, and Ajaidurg, the invincible hill
(_meru_), or invincible castle (_durg_). Tradition, however, says that
the name of this renowned abode, the key of Rajputana, is derived from
the humble profession of the young Chauhan, who was a goatherd; _Aja_
meaning ‘a goat’ in Sanskrit; still referring to the original pastoral
occupation of the Palis. [Ajmer was founded by Ajayadeva about A.D.
1100.]

Footnote 10.1.18:

I obtained at Ajmer and at Pushkar several very valuable medals,
Bactrian, Indo-Scythic, and Hindu, having the ancient Pali on one
side, and the effigy of a horse on the other.

Footnote 10.1.19:

[Umar-bin-Khaltāb, the second Khalīfa (A.D. 634-44). The “Abul Aas” of
the original text possibly represents Abu-l-lais, “the ancestor of the
Laisi Sayyids, Abu-l-lais-i-Hindi, who is mentioned in the
_Chachnāmah_, who came into Sind with the Arabs, and was present at
the battle in which Rāja Dāhir was slain” (C. Raverty, _Notes on
Afghanistan_, 1888, p. 671, note).]

Footnote 10.1.20:

“_Samvat sāt sau iktālīs
Mālat bāli bes
Sāmbhar āya tūti sarasē
Mānik Rāē, Narēs._”

[This quotation is so incorrect that neither Dr. Tessitori nor Major
Luard’s Pandit is able to restore it. The latter cannot make any sense
of the second line. The date is impossible.]

Footnote 10.1.21:

An inscription on the pillar at Firoz Shāh’s palace at Delhi,
belonging to this family, in which the word _sākambhari_ occurs, gave
rise to many ingenious conjectures by Sir W. Jones, Mr. Colebrooke,
and Colonel Wilford.

Footnote 10.1.22:

Called Khichkot by Babur.

Footnote 10.1.23:

[The Bhaurecha and Bāghrecha do not appear in modern lists of the
Chauhān clans (_Census Report Rājputāna_, 1911, _i._ 255 f.).]

Footnote 10.1.24:

In the Annals of Marwar it will be shown, that the Rathors conquered
Nagor, or Naga-durg (the ‘serpent’s castle’), from the Mohils, who
held fourteen hundred and forty villages so late as the fifteenth
century. So many of the colonies of Agnikulas bestowed the name of
serpent on their settlements, that I am convinced all were of the Tak,
Takshak, or Nagvansa race from Sakadwipa, who, six centuries anterior
to Vikramaditya, under their leader Seshnaga, conquered India, and
whose era must be the limit of Agnikula antiquity [?].

Footnote 10.1.25:

The importance of Nadol was considerable, and is fully attested by
existing inscriptions as well as by the domestic chronicle. Midway
from the founder, in the eighth century, to its destruction in the
twelfth, was Rao Lakhan, who in S. 1039 (A.D. 983) successfully coped
with the princes of Nahrvala.

“_Samaya das sai unchālīs
Bār ikauta, Pātan pela paul
Dān Chauhān ugāvi
Mēwār Dhanni dand bhari
Tis par Rāo Lākhan thappi
Jo arambha, so kari._”

Literally: “In S. 1039, at the farther gate of the city of Pātan, the
Chauhān collected the commercial duties (_dān_). He took tribute from
the lord of Mēwār, and performed whatever he had a mind to.” [This
verse is so corrupt that Dr. Tessitori has been unable to correct it.]

Lakhan drew upon him the arms of Sabuktigin, and his son Mahmud, when
Nadol was stripped of its consequence; its temples were thrown down,
and its fortress was dilapidated. But it had recovered much of its
power, and even sent forth several branches, who all fell under
Alau-d-din in the thirteenth century. On the final conquest of India
by Shihabu-d-din, the prince of Nadol appears to have effected a
compromise, and to have become a vassal of the empire. This conjecture
arises from the singularity of its currency, which retains on the one
side the names in Sanskrit of its indigenous princes, and on the other
that of the conqueror.

Footnote 10.1.26:

[Vighraharāja, or Vīsaladeva, who is said, with doubtful truth, to
have wrested Delhi from the Tomaras (Smith, _EHI_, 387).]

Footnote 10.1.27:

Harsraj and Bijai Raj were sons of Ajaipal, king of Ajmer, according
to the chronicle.

Footnote 10.1.28:

['Destroyer of foes.']

Footnote 10.1.29:

This is a very important admission of Ferishta, concerning the
proselytism of all these tribes, and confirms my hypothesis, that the
Afghans are converted Jadons or Yadus, not Yahudis, or Jews. [The
extract in the text is an inaccurate abstract of Ferishta’s statement
(i. 7 f.). The Gaur Rājputs have no connexion with Ghor.] The Gaur is
also a well-known Rajput tribe, and they had only to convert it into
Ghor. _Vide_ Annals of the Bhattis.

Footnote 10.1.30:

[The account of Ferishta (i. 69) lacks confirmation: see Elliot-Dowson
ii. 434 ff.]

Footnote 10.1.31:

The classical mode of writing the name of Bisaldeo.

Footnote 10.1.32:

_Chattispun._

Footnote 10.1.33:

It is related by the Rajput romancers that Guga had no children; that
lamenting this his guardian deity gave him two barley-corns (_java_ or
_jau_), one of which he gave to his queen, another to his favourite
mare, which produced the steed (Javadia) which became as famous as
Guga himself. The Rana of Udaipur gave the Author a blood-horse at
Kathiawar, whose name was Javadia. Though a lamb in disposition, when
mounted he was a piece of fire, and admirably broken in to all the
manège exercise. A more perfect animal never existed. The Author
brought him, with another (Mirgraj), from Udaipur to the ocean,
intending to bring them home; but the grey he gave to a friend, and
fearful of the voyage, he sent Javadia back six hundred miles to the
Rana, requesting “he might be the first worshipped on the annual
military festival”: a request which he doubts not was complied with.

Footnote 10.1.34:

See note, p. 1450, for remarks on Nadol, whence the author obtained
much valuable matter, consisting of coins, inscriptions on stone and
copper, and MSS., when on a visit to this ancient city in 1821.

Footnote 10.1.35:

We have abundant checks, which, could they have been detailed in the
earlier stage of inquiry into Hindu literature, would have excited
more interest for the hero whose column at Delhi has excited the
inquiries of Jones, Wilford, and Colebrooke.

Footnote 10.1.36:

This lake still bears the name of Bisal-ka-tal notwithstanding the
changes which have accrued during a lapse of one thousand years, since
he formed it by damming up the springs. [About A.D. 1150 (Watson i. A.
50).] It is one of the reservoirs of the Luni river. The emperor
Jahangir erected a palace on the bank of the Bisla Talao, in which he
received the ambassador of James I. of England.

Footnote 10.1.37:

This shows that the Parihars were subordinate to the Chauhans of
Ajmer.

Footnote 10.1.38:

The respectful mention of the Guhilot as ‘the ornament of the throng,’
clearly proves that the Chitor prince came as an ally. How rejoicing
to an antiquary to find this confirmed by an inscription found amidst
the ruins of a city of Mewar, which alludes to this very coalition!
The inscription is a record of the friendship maintained by their
issue in the twelfth century—Samarsi of Chitor, and Prithiraj the last
Chauhan king of India—on their combining to chastise the king of Patan
Anhilwara, “in like manner as did Bisaldeo and Tejsi of old unite
against the foe, so,” etc. etc. Now Tejsi was the grandfather of Rawal
Samarsi, who was killed in opposing the final Muslim invasion, on the
Ghaggar, after one of the longest reigns in their annals: from which
we calculate that Tejsi must have sat on the throne about the year S.
1120 (A.D. 1064). [Tej Singh is mentioned in inscriptions of A.D.
1260, 1265, 1267 (Erskine ii. B. 10).] His youth and inexperience
would account for his acting subordinately to the Chauhan of Ajmer.
The name of Udayaditya further confirms the date, as will be mentioned
in the text. His date has been fully settled by various inscriptions
found by the author. (See _Transactions Royal Asiatic Society_, vol.
i. p. 223.)

Footnote 10.1.39:

This Tuar must have been one of the Delhi vassals, whose monarch was
of this race.

Footnote 10.1.40:

The Gaur was a celebrated tribe, and amongst the most illustrious of
the Chauhan feudatories; a branch until a few years ago held Sui-Supar
and about nine lakhs of territory. I have no doubt the Gaur appanage
was west of the Indus, and that this tribe on conversion became the
Ghor [?].

Footnote 10.1.41:

The Meo race of Mewat is well known; all are Muhammadans now.

Footnote 10.1.42:

The Mohils have been sufficiently discussed.

Footnote 10.1.43:

The Baloch was evidently Hindu at this time; and as I have repeatedly
said, of Jat or Gete origin.

Footnote 10.1.44:

‘The lord of Bamani,’ in other places called Bamanwasa, must apply to
the ancient Bahmanabad, or Dewal, on whose site the modern Tatta is
built. [See Smith, _EHI_, 103.]

Footnote 10.1.45:

See Annals of Jaisalmer.

Footnote 10.1.46:

All this evinces supremacy over the princes of this region: the Sodha,
the Samma, and Sumra.

Footnote 10.1.47:

Of Derawar we have spoken in the text.

Footnote 10.1.48:

Malanwas we know not.

Footnote 10.1.49:

The Moris, the Kachhwahas and Bargujars require no further notice.
[Antarved, the Ganges-Jumna Duāb.]

Footnote 10.1.50:

The Meras inhabited the Aravalli.

Footnote 10.1.51:

Takatpur is the modern Toda, near Tonk, where there are fine remains.

Footnote 10.1.52:

Udayaditya, now a landmark in Hindu history.

Footnote 10.1.53:

See Annals of Shaikhavati for the Nirwans, who held Khandela as a fief
of Ajmer.

Footnote 10.1.54:

The Dor and Chandel were well-known tribes; the latter contended with
Prithiraj, who deprived them of Mahoba and Kalanjar, and all modern
Bundelkhand.

Footnote 10.1.55:

The renowned Dahima was lord of Bayana; also called Druinadhar. [The
ancient name was Srīpathā (_IGI_, vii. 137). This catalogue of the
chiefs is the work of the Chauhān bard, desirous of exalting the
dignity of his tribe, and is not historical.]

Footnote 10.1.56:

[These statements regarding the Chauhān dynasty are inconsistent with
the Bijolli inscription, and Cunningham (_ASR_, i. 157) finds it
impossible to make any satisfactory arrangement, either of the names
of the princes, or of the length of their reigns. The facts, as far as
they can be ascertained, are given by Smith (_EHI_, 386 ff.).
Cunningham (_op. cit._ ii. 256) points out the author twice ignores
the date of A.D. 1163 of Vīsaladeva on the Delhi pillar, to make him
an opponent of Mahmūd in the beginning of the eleventh century. “In
one place he gives to Hansrāj, whom the Hāra bard assigns to the year
A.D. 770, the honour of conquering Sabuktigīn, which in another place
he gives to his successor Dujgandeo.” He concludes that the chief
cause of error is the identification of two different princes of the
name of Vīsaladeva as one person. For his discussion see _ASR_, ii.
256 f.]

Footnote 10.1.57:

See _Asiatic Researches_, vol. i. p. 379, vol. vii. p. 180, and vol.
ix. p. 453. [Nigambhod Ghāt is immediately outside the north wall of
Shāhjahānābād, and above, not below, the city of Delhi (_ASR_, i. 136,
161, 164).]

Footnote 10.1.58:

I brought away an inscription of this, the last Chauhan emperor, from
the ruins of his palace at Hasi or Hansi, dated S. 1224. See comments
thereon, _Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society_, vol. i. p. 133.

Footnote 10.1.59:

These inscriptions, while they have given rise to ingenious
interpretations, demonstrate the little value of mere translations,
even when made by first-rate scholars, who possess no historical
knowledge of the tribes to whom they refer. This inscription was first
translated by Sir W. Jones in 1784 (_Asiatic Researches_, vol. i.). A
fresh version (from a fresh transcript I believe) was made by Mr.
Colebrooke in 1800 (_Asiatic Researches_, vol. vii.), but rather
darkening than enlightening the subject, from attending to his
pandit’s emendation, giving to the prince’s name and tribe a
metaphorical interpretation. Nor was it till Wilford had published his
hodge-podge Essay on Vikramaditya and Salivahana, that Mr. Colebrooke
discovered his error, and amended it in a note to that volume; but
even then, without rendering the inscription useful as a historical
document. I call Wilford’s essay a hodge-podge advisedly. It is a
paper of immense research; vast materials are brought to his task, but
he had an hypothesis, and all was confounded to suit it. Chauhans,
Solankis, Guhilots, all are amalgamated in his crucible. It was from
the Sarangadhar Padhati, written by the bard of Hamira Chauhan, not
king of Mewar (as Wilford has it), but of Ranthambhor, lineally
descended from Visaladeva, and slain by Alau-d-din. Sarangadhar was
also author of the Hamir Raesa, and the Hamir Kavya, bearing this
prince’s name, the essence of both of which I translated with the aid
of my Guru. [For these works see Grierson, _Modern Literature of
Hindustan_, 6.] I was long bewildered in my admiration of Wilford’s
researches; but experience inspired distrust, and I adopted the useful
adage in all these matters, '_nil admirari_.' [Cunningham, while
admitting the wild speculations of Wilford, says that important facts
and classical references are to be found in his Essays (_ASR_, i.
Introd. xviii. note).]

Footnote 10.1.60:

See _Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society_, vol. i. p. 133.

Footnote 10.1.61:

See Annals of Jaisalmer, for foundation of Derawar, Vol. II. p.
1196.

Footnote 10.1.62:

In transcribing the Annals of the Khichis, an important branch of the
Chauhans, their bards have preserved this passage; but ignorant of
Derawar and Lodorva (both preserved in my version of Chand), they have
inserted Jaisalmer. By such anachronisms, arising from the emendations
of ignorant bards, their poetic chronicles have lost half their value.
To me the comparison of such passages, preserved in Chand from the
older bards, and distorted by the moderns, was a subject of
considerable pleasure. It reconciled much that I might have thrown
away, teaching me the difference between absolute invention, and
ignorance creating errors in the attempt to correct them. The Khichi
bard, no doubt, thought he was doing right when he erased Derawar and
inscribed Jaisalmer.

Footnote 10.1.63:

[The correct dates are as follows: Vīsaladeva, middle of 12th century
A.D. (Smith, _EHI_, 386); Jayapāla of Delhi succeeded 1005 (_ASR_, i.
149); Durlabha Chaulukya and Bhīma, respectively 1010-22, 1022-64
(_BG_, i. Part i. 1626); Tej Singh or Tejsi, Rāwal of Chitor about
1260-67 (Erskine ii. B. 10); Bhoja of Mālwa, 1018-60 (Smith, _EHI_,
395).]

Footnote 10.1.64:

This town—another proof of the veracity of the chronicle—yet exists in
Northern Gujarat. [15 miles N. of Baroda. It is doubtful if it takes
its name from Vīsaladeva of Delhi. At any rate, it is said to have
been restored by Vīsaladeva Vāghela (A.D. 1243-61) (_BG_, i. Part i.
203).]

Footnote 10.1.65:

[See p. 1328.] The pickaxe, if applied to this mound (which gives its
name to Dhundhar), might possibly show it to be a place of sepulture,
and that the Chauhans, even to this period, may have entombed at least
the bones of their dead. The numerous tumuli about Haidarabad, the
ancient Gualkund, one of the royal abodes of the Chauhans, may be
sepultures of this race, and the arms and vases they contain all
strengthen my hypothesis of their Scythic origin. [See p. 1445.]

Footnote 10.1.66:

[Grierson, _Modern Literature of Hindustan_, 143, 164.]

Footnote 10.1.67:

Or, as the story goes, his limbs, which lay dissevered, were collected
by Surabhi, and the goddess sprinkling them with ‘the water of life,’
he arose! Hence the name Hara, which his descendants bore, from _har_,
or ‘bones,’ thus collected; but more likely from having lost (_hara_)
Asi. [See p. 1441.]

Footnote 10.1.68:

The Hara chronicle says S. 981, but by some strange, yet uniform
error, all the tribes of the Chauhans antedate their chronicles by a
hundred years. Thus Bisaldeo’s taking possession of Anhilpar Patan is
“nine hundred, fifty, thirty and six” (S. 986), instead of S. 1086.
But it even pervades Chand the poet of Prithiraj, whose birth is made
1115, instead of S. 1215; and here, in all probability, the error
commenced, by the ignorance (wilful we cannot imagine) of some rhymer.

Footnote 10.1.69:

‘The elephant wilds.’ [Skt. _kunjari_, ‘a female elephant,’ _vana_,
Hindi _ban_, ‘forest.’] They assert that Ghazni is properly Gajni,
founded by the Yadus: and in a curious specimen of Hindu geography
(presented by me to the Royal Asiatic Society), all the tract about
the glaciers of the Ganges is termed Kujliban, the ‘Elephant Forest.’
There is a Gajangarh mentioned by Abul-i-fazl in the region of Bajaur,
inhabited by the Sultana, Jadon, and Yusufzai tribes. [This place does
not appear in Jarrett’s translation of the _Āīn_, ii. 391 f.]

Footnote 10.1.70:

See Ferishta i. 75 f. [Mahmūd never reached Golkonda.]

Footnote 10.1.71:

[Horses from the Lākhi jungle; see Vol. II. p. 1156.]

Footnote 10.1.72:

Jangales, ‘lord of the forest lands,’ another of Prithiraj’s titles.

Footnote 10.1.73:

‘The lord of Kedar,’ the gigantic _pine_ of the Himalaya, a title of
Siva. [Kedārnāth in Garhwāl District. The derivation of Kedār is
unknown: it certainly does not mean ‘pine or cedar.’]

Footnote 10.1.74:

He bestowed in appanage on his brother Kankhalji a tenth of the lands
in his possession. From Kankhal are descended the class of Bhats,
called Kroria Bhat.

Footnote 10.1.75:

Harraj had twelve sons, the eldest of whom was Alu, who succeeded to
Bumbaoda. Alu Hara’s name will never die as long as one of his race
inhabits the Patar; and there are many Bhumias descended from him
still holding lands, as the Kumbhawat and Bhojawat Haras. The end of
Alu Hara, and the destruction of Bumbaoda (which the author has
visited), will be related in the Personal Narrative.

Footnote 10.1.76:

[A.D. 1489-1517.]

Footnote 10.1.77:

Thal and Nal are both terms for a valley, though the latter is oftener
applied to a defile.

Footnote 10.1.78:

[The ‘appeal to the spear.’]

Footnote 10.1.79:

The Par, or Parbati River, flows near Ramgarh Relawan.—See Map.

Footnote 10.1.80:

[This conflicts with the statement above that Rāo Dewa reigned in the
time of Sikandar Lodi.]

Footnote 10.1.81:

In Muhammadan authors, Hādāoti. (_Āīn_, ii. 271.)

-----

CHAPTER 2

=Recapitulation of Hāra History.=—Having sketched the history of this
race, from the regeneration of Anhal,[10.2.1] the first Chauhan (at a
period which it is impossible to fix), to the establishment of the first
Hara prince in Bundi, we shall here recapitulate the most conspicuous
princes, with [460] their dates, as established by synchronical events
in the annals of other States, or by inscriptions; and then proceed with
the history of the Haras as members of the great commonwealth of India.

Anuraj, obtained Asi or Hansi.

Ishtpal, son of Anuraj; he was expelled from Asi, S. 1081 (A.D. 1025),
and obtained Asir. He was founder of the Haras; the chronicle says not
how long after obtaining Asi, but evidently very soon.

Hamir, killed in the battle of the Ghaggar, on the invasion of
Shihabu-d-din, S. 1249, or A.D. 1193.

Rao Chand, slain in Asir, by Alau-d-din, in S. 1351.

Rainsi, fled from Asir, and came to Mewar, and in S. 1353 obtained
Bhainsror.

Rao Banga, obtained Bumbaoda, Menal, etc.

Rao Dewa, S. 1398 (A.D. 1342), took the Bandu valley from the Minas,
founded the city of Bundi, and styled the country Haravati.

Rao Dewa, whose Mina subjects far outnumbered his Haras, had recourse,
in order to consolidate his authority, to one of those barbarous acts
too common in Rajput conquests. The Rajput chronicler so far palliates
the deed, that he assigns a reason for it, namely, the insolence of the
Mina leader, who dared to ask a daughter of the ‘lord of the Patar.’ Be
this as it may, he called in the aid of the Haras of Bumbaoda and the
Solankis of Toda, and almost annihilated the Usaras.

=Abdication of Rāo Dewa.=—How long it was after this act of barbarity
that Dewa abdicated in favour of his son, is not mentioned, though it is
far from improbable that this crime influenced his determination. This
was the second time of his abdication of power: first, when he gave
Bumbaoda to Harraj, and went to Sikandar Lodi; and now to Samarsi, the
branches of Bundi and the Patar remaining independent of each other. The
act of abdication confers the title of Jugraj;[10.2.2] or when they
conjoin the authority of the son with the father, the heir is styled
Jivaraj. Four instances of this are on record in the annals of Bundi;
namely, by Dewa, by Narayandas, by Raj Chhattar Sal, and by Sriji Ummed
Singh. It is a rule for a prince never to enter the capital after
abandoning the government; the king is virtually defunct; he cannot be a
subject, and he is no longer a king. To render the act more impressive,
they make an effigy of the abdicated king, and on the twelfth day
following the act (being the usual period of [461] mourning) they commit
it to the flames.[10.2.3] In accordance with this custom, Dewa never
afterwards entered the walls either of Bundi or Bumbaoda,[10.2.4] but
resided at the village of Umarthuna, five coss from the former, till his
death.

=Rāo Napuji.=—Samarsi had three sons: 1. Napuji, who succeeded; 2.
Harpal, who obtained Jajawar, and left numerous issue, called
Harpalpotas; and 3. Jethsi, who had the honour of first extending the
Hara name beyond the Chambal. On his return from a visit to the Tuar
chief of Kaithan, he passed the residence of a community of Bhils, in an
extensive ravine near the river. Taking them by surprise, he attacked
them, and they fell victims to the fury of the Haras. At the entrance of
this ravine, which was defended by an outwork, Jethsi slew the leader of
the Bhils, and erected there a _hathi_ (elephant) to the god of battle,
Bhairon. He stands on the spot called Char-jhopra, near the chief portal
of the castle of Kotah, a name derived from a community of Bhils called
Kotia.[10.2.5]

=Napuji.=—Napuji, a name of no small note in the chronicles of Haravati,
succeeded Samarsi. Napuji had married a daughter of the Solanki, chief
of Toda,[10.2.6] the lineal descendant of the ancient kings of
Anhilwara. While on a visit to Toda, a slab of beautiful marble
attracted the regard of the Hara Rao, who desired his bride to ask it of
her father. His delicacy was offended, and he replied, “he supposed the
Hara would next ask him for his wife”; and desired him to depart. Napuji
was incensed, and visited his anger upon his wife, whom he treated with
neglect and even banished from his bed. She complained to her father. On
the Kajri Tij, the joyous third of the [462] month Sawan, when a Rajput
must visit his wife, the vassals of Bundi were dismissed to their homes
to keep the festival sacred to ‘the mother of births.’ The Toda Rao,
taking advantage of the unguarded state of Bundi, obtained admittance by
stealth, and drove his lance through the head of the Hara Rao. He
retired without observation, and was relating to his attendants the
success of his revenge, when, at this moment, they passed one of the
Bundi vassals, who, seated in a hollow taking his _amal-pani_
(opium-water), was meditating on the folly of going home, where no
endearing caresses awaited him from his wife, who was deranged, and had
determined to return to Bundi. While thus absorbed in gloomy
reflections, the trampling of horses met his ear, and soon was heard the
indecent mirth of the Toda Rao’s party, at the Hara Rao dismissing his
vassals and remaining unattended. The Chauhan guessed the rest, and as
the Toda Rao passed close to him, he levelled a blow, which severed his
right arm from his body and brought him from his horse. The Solanki’s
attendants took to flight, and the Chauhan put the severed limb, on
which was the golden bracelet, in his scarf, and proceeded back to
Bundi. Here all was confusion and sorrow. The Solanki queen, true to her
faith, determined to mount the pyre with the murdered body of her lord;
yet equally true to the line whence she sprung, was praising the vigour
of her brother’s arm, “which had made so many mouths,[10.2.7] that she
wanted hands to present a pan to each.” At the moment she was
apostrophizing the dead body of her lord, his faithful vassal entered,
and undoing the scarf presented to her the dissevered arm, saying,
“Perhaps this may aid you.” She recognized the bracelet, and though, as
a Sati, she had done with this world, and should die in peace with all
mankind, she could not forget, even at that dread moment, that “to
revenge a feud” was the first of all duties. She called for pen and ink,
and before mounting the pyre wrote to her brother, that if he did not
wipe off that disgrace, his seed would be stigmatized as the issue of
“the one-handed Solanki.” When he perused the dying words of his Sati
sister, he was stung to the soul, and being incapable of revenge,
immediately dashed out his brains against a pillar of the hall.

=Hamuji. Alu.=—Napuji had four sons, Hamuji, Naurang (whose descendants
are Naurangpotas), Tharad (whose descendants are Tharad Haras), and
Hamu, who succeeded in S. 1440. We have already mentioned the separation
of the branches, when Harraj retained Bumbaoda, at the period when his
father established himself at Bundi. Alu Hara [463] succeeded; but the
lord of the Patar had a feud with the Rana, and he was dispossessed of
his birthright. Bumbaoda was levelled, and he left no heirs to his
revenge.

=Mewār attempts to regain Influence in Būndi.=—The princes of Chitor,
who had recovered from the shock of Ala’s invasion, now re-exerted their
strength, the first act of which was the reduction of the power of the
great vassals, who had taken advantage of their distresses to render
themselves independent: among these they included the Haras. But the
Haras deny their vassalage, and allege, that though they always
acknowledged the supremacy of the _gaddi_ of Mewar, they were indebted
to their swords, not his _pattas_, for the lands they conquered on the
Alpine Patar. Both to a certain degree are right. There is no room to
doubt that the fugitive Hara from Asir owed his preservation, as well as
his establishment, to the Rana, who assuredly possessed the whole of the
Plateau till Ala’s invasion. But then the Sesodia power was weakened;
the Bhumias and aboriginal tribes recovered their old retreats, and from
these the Haras obtained them by conquest. The Rana, however, who would
not admit that a temporary abeyance of his power sanctioned any
encroachment upon it, called upon Hamu “to do service for Bundi.” The
Hara conceded personal homage in the grand festivals of the Dasahra and
Holi, to acknowledge his supremacy and receive the _tika_ of
installation; but he rejected at once the claim of unlimited attendance.
Nothing less, however, would satisfy the king of Chitor, who resolved to
compel submission, or drive the stock of Dewa from the Patar. Hamu
defied, and determined to brave, his resentment. The Rana of Mewar
marched with all his vassals to Bundi, and encamped at Nimera, only a
few miles from the city. Five hundred Haras, ‘the sons of one father,’
put on the saffron robe, and rallied round their chief, determined to
die with him. Having no hope but from an effort of despair, they marched
out at midnight, and fell upon the Rana’s camp, which was completely
surprised; and each Sesodia sought safety in flight. Hamu made his way
direct to the tent of Hindupati;[10.2.8] but the sovereign of the
Sesodias was glad to avail himself of the gloom and confusion to seek
shelter in Chitor, while his vassals fell under the swords of the Haras.

Humiliated, disgraced, and enraged at being thus foiled by a handful of
men, the Rana re-formed his troops under the walls of Chitor, and swore
he would not eat until he was master of Bundi. The rash vow went round;
but Bundi was sixty miles distant, and defended by brave hearts. His
chiefs expostulated with the Rana on the absolute impossibility of
redeeming his vow; but the words of kings are sacred: Bundi must fall,
ere the king of the Guhilots could dine. In this exigence, a childish
[464] expedient was proposed to release him from hunger and his oath;
“to erect a mock Bundi and take it by storm.”[10.2.9] Instantly the
mimic town arose under the walls of Chitor; and, that the deception
might be complete, the local nomenclature was attended to, and each
quarter had its appropriate appellation. A band of Haras of the Patar
were in the service of Chitor, whose leader, Kumbha-Bersi, was returning
with his kin from hunting the deer, when their attention was attracted
by this strange bustle. The story was soon told, that Bundi must fall
ere the Rana could dine. Kumbha assembled his brethren of the Patar,
declaring that even the mock Bundi must be defended. All felt the
indignity to the clan, and each bosom burning with indignation, they
prepared to protect the mud walls of the pseudo Bundi from insult. It
was reported to the Rana that Bundi was finished. He advanced to the
storm: but what was his surprise when, instead of the blank-cartridge,
he heard a volley of balls whiz amongst them! A messenger was
dispatched, and was received by Bersi at the gate, who explained the
cause of the unexpected salutation, desiring him to tell the Rana that
“not even the mock capital of a Hara should be dishonoured.” Spreading a
sheet at the little gateway, Bersi and the Kumbhawats invited the
assault, and at the threshold of “Gar-ki-Bundi” (the Bundi of clay) they
gave up their lives for the honour of the race.[10.2.10] The Rana wisely
remained satisfied with this salvo to his dignity, nor sought any
further to wipe off the disgrace incurred at the real capital of the
Haras, perceiving the impolicy of driving such a daring clan to
desperation, whose services he could command on an emergency.

=Rāo Bīr Singh.=—Hamu, who ruled sixteen years, left two sons: 1.
Birsingh; and 2. Lala, who obtained Khatkar, and had two sons, Nauvarma
and Jetha, each of whom left clans called after them Nauvarma-pota and
Jethawat. Birsingh ruled fifteen years, and left three sons: Biru,
Jabdu, who founded three tribes,[10.2.11] and Nima, descendants
Nimawats. Biru, who died S. 1526, ruled fifty years, and had seven sons:
1. Rao Bandu; 2. Sanda; 3. Aka; 4. Uda; 5. Chanda; 6. Samarsingh; 7.
Amarsingh;—the first five founded clans named after them Akawat, Udawat,
Chondawat, but the last two abandoned their faith for that of Islam
[465].

=Rāo Banda, _c._ A.D. 1485.=—Banda has left a deathless name in Rajwara
for his boundless charities, more especially during the famine which
desolated that country in S. 1542 (A.D. 1486).[10.2.12] He was
forewarned, says the bard, in a vision, of the visitation. Kal (Time or
the famine personified) appeared riding on a lean black buffalo.
Grasping his sword and shield, the intrepid Hara assaulted the
apparition. “Bravo, Banda Hara,” it exclaimed; “I am Kal (Time); on me
your sword will fall in vain. Yet you are the only mortal who ever dared
to oppose me. Now listen: I am Byalis (forty-two); the land will become
a desert; fill your granaries, distribute liberally, they will never
empty.” Thus saying, the spectre vanished. Rao Banda obeyed the
injunction; he collected grain from every surrounding State. One year
passed and another had almost followed, when the periodical rains
ceased, and a famine ensued which ravaged all India. Princes far and
near sent for aid to Bundi, while his own poor had daily portions served
out gratis: which practice is still kept up in memory of Rao Banda, by
the name of Langar-ki-gagari, or ‘anchor of Banda.’[10.2.13]

But the piety and charity of Rao Banda could not shield him from
adversity. His two youngest brothers, urged by the temptation of power,
abandoned their faith, and with the aid of the royal power expelled him
from Bundi, where, under their new titles of Samarkandi and Amarkandi,
they jointly ruled eleven years. Banda retired to Matunda, in the hills,
where he died after a reign of twenty-one years, and where his cenotaph
still remains. He left two sons: 1. Narayandas; and 2. Nirbudh, who had
Matunda.

=Rāo Nārāyandās.=—Narayan had grown up to manhood in this retreat; but
no sooner was he at liberty to act for himself, than he assembled the
Haras of the Patar, and revealed his determination to obtain Bundi, or
perish in the attempt. They swore to abide his fortunes. After the days
of _matam_ (mourning) were over, he sent to his Islamite uncles a
complimentary message, intimating his wish to pay his respects to them;
and not suspecting danger from a youth brought up in obscurity, it was
signified that he might come.

With a small but devoted band, he reached the _chauk_ (square), where he
left his adherents, and alone repaired to the palace. He ascended to
where both the uncles were seated almost unattended. They liked not the
resolute demeanour of the youth, and tried to gain a passage which led
to a subterranean apartment; but no sooner was this intention perceived,
than the _khanda_, or ‘double-edged sword,’ of Banda’s son cut the elder
to the ground, while his lance reached the other before he got to a
[466] place of security. In an instant, he severed both their heads,
with which he graced the shrine of Bhavani, and giving a shout to his
followers in the _chauk_, their swords were soon at work upon the
Muslims. Every true Hara supported the just cause, and the dead bodies
of the apostates and their crew were hurled with ignominy over the
walls. To commemorate this exploit and the recovery of Bundi from these
traitors, the pillar on which the sword of the young Hara descended,
when he struck down Samarkandi, and which bears testimony to the vigour
of his arm, is annually worshipped by every Hara on the festival of the
Dasahra.[10.2.14]

Narayandas became celebrated for his strength and prowess. He was one of
those undaunted Rajputs who are absolutely strangers to the impression
of fear, and it might be said of danger and himself, “that they were
brothers whelped the same day, and he the elder.” Unfortunately, these
qualities were rendered inert from the enormous quantity of opium he
took, which would have killed most men; for it is recorded “he could at
one time eat the weight of seven pice.”[10.2.15] The consequence of this
vice, as might be expected, was a constant stupefaction, of which many
anecdotes are related. Being called to aid the Rana Raemall, then
attacked by the Pathans of Mandu, he set out at the head of five hundred
select Haras. On the first day’s march he was taking his siesta, after
his usual dose, under a tree, his mouth wide open, into which the flies
had unmolested ingress, when a young Telin[10.2.16] came to draw water
at the well, and on learning that this was Bundi’s prince on his way to
aid the Rana in his distress, she observed, “If he gets no other aid
than his, alas for my prince!” “The _amaldar_ (opium-eater) has quick
ears, though no eyes,” is a common adage in Rajwara. “What is that you
say, _rand_ (widow)?” roared the Rao, advancing to her. Upon her
endeavouring to excuse herself, he observed, “Do not fear, but repeat
it.” In her hand she had an iron crowbar, which the Rao, taking it from
her, twisted until the ends met round her neck. “Wear this garland for
me,” said he, “until I return from aiding the Rana, unless in the
interim you can find some one strong enough to unbind it.”

=The Siege of Chitor.=—Chitor was closely invested; the Rao moved by the
intricacies of the Patar, took the royal camp by surprise, and made
direct for the tent of the generalissimo, cutting down all in his way.
Confusion and panic seized the Muslims, who fled in [467] all
directions.[10.2.17] The Bundi nakkaras (drums) struck up; and as the
morning broke, the besieged had the satisfaction to behold the invaders
dispersed and their auxiliaries at hand. Rana Raemall came forth, and
conducted his deliverer in triumph to Chitor. All the chiefs assembled
to do honour to Bundi’s prince, and the ladies ‘behind the curtain’ felt
so little alarm at their opium-eating knight, that the Rana’s niece
determined to espouse him, and next day communicated her intentions to
the Rana. ‘The slave of Narayan'’ was too courteous a cavalier to let
any fair lady die for his love; the Rana was too sensible of his
obligation not to hail with joy any mode of testifying his gratitude,
and the nuptials of the Hara and Ketu were celebrated with pomp. With
victory and his bride, he returned to the Banda valley; where, however,
‘the flower of gloomy Dis’ soon gained the ascendant even over
Kamdeo,[10.2.18] and his doses augmented to such a degree, that “he
scratched his lady instead of himself, and with such severity that he
marred the beauty of the Mewari.” In the morning, perceiving what had
happened, yet being assailed with no reproach, he gained a reluctant
victory over himself, and “consigned the opium-box to her keeping.”
Narayandas ruled thirty-two years, and left his country in tranquillity,
and much extended, to his only son.

=Rāo Sūrajmall, _c._ A.D. 1533.=—Surajmall ascended the gaddi in S. 1590
(A.D. 1534). Like his father, he was athletic in form and dauntless in
soul; and it is said possessed in an eminent degree that unerring sign
of a hero, long arms, his (like those of Rama and Prithiraj) “reaching
far below his knees.”

The alliance with Chitor was again cemented by intermarriage. Suja
Bai, sister to Surajmall, was espoused by Rana Ratna, who bestowed his
own sister on the Rao. Rao Suja, like his father, was too partial to
his _amal_. One day, at Chitor, he had fallen asleep in the Presence,
when a Purbia chief felt an irresistible inclination to disturb him,
and “tickled the Hara’s ear with a straw.” He might as well have
jested with a tiger: a back stroke with his _khanda_ stretched the
insulter on the carpet. The son of the Purbia treasured up the feud,
and waited for revenge, which he effected by making the Rana believe
the Rao had other objects in view, besides visiting his sister Suja
Bai, at the Rawala. The train thus laid, the slightest incident
inflamed it. The fair Suja had prepared a repast, to which she invited
both her brother and her husband: she had not only attended the
culinary process herself, but waited on these objects of her love to
drive the flies from the food. Though the wedded fair of Rajputana
clings to the husband, yet she is ever more solicitous for [468] the
honour of the house from whence she sprung, than that into which she
has been admitted; which feeling has engendered numerous quarrels.
Unhappily, Suja remarked, on removing the dishes, that “her brother
had devoured his share like a tiger, while her husband had played with
his like a child (_balak_).” The expression, added to other insults
which he fancied were put upon him, cost the Rao his life, and sent
the fair Suja an untimely victim to Indraloka.[10.2.19] The dictates
of hospitality prevented the Rana from noticing the remark at the
moment, and in fact it was more accordant with the general tenor of
his character to revenge the affront with greater security than even
the isolated situation of the brave Hara afforded him. On the latter
taking leave, the Rana invited himself to hunt on the next spring
festival in the _ramnas_ or preserves of Bundi. The merry month of
Phalgun arrived; the Rana and his court prepared their suits of
_amaua_ (green), and ascended the Patar on the road to Bundi, in spite
of the anathema of the prophetic Sati, who, as she ascended the pyre
at Bumbaoda, pronounced that whenever Rao and Rana met to hunt
together at the Aheria, such meeting, which had blasted all her hopes,
would always be fatal. But centuries had rolled between the
denunciation of the daughter of Alu Hara and Suja Bai of Bundi; and
the prophecy, though in every mouth, served merely to amuse the
leisure hour; the moral being forgotten it was only looked upon as ‘a
tale that was past.’

=Murder of Rāo Sūrajmall.=—The scene chosen for the sport was on the
heights of Nanta, not far from the western bank of the Chambal, in whose
glades every species of game, from the lordly lion to the timid hare,
abounded. The troops were formed into lines, advancing through the
jungles with the customary noise and clamour, and driving before them a
promiscuous herd of tenants of the forest—lions, tigers, hyenas, bears,
every species of deer, from the enormous barahsinghae and
nilgae[10.2.20] to the delicate antelope, with jackals, foxes, hares,
and the little wild dog. In such an animated scene as this, the Rajput
forgets even his opium; he requires no exhilaration beyond the stimulus
before him; a species of petty war, not altogether free from danger.

It was amidst the confusion of such a scene that the dastard Rana
determined to gratify his malice. The princes had convenient stations
assigned them, where they could securely assail the game as it passed,
each having but one or two confidential attendants. With the Rana was
the Iago of his revenge, the son of the Purbia, whom the Hara prince had
slain. “Now is the moment,” said the Rana to his companion, “to slay the
boar,” and instantly an arrow from the bow of the Purbia was [469] sped
at the Rao. “With an eagle’s eye he saw it coming, and turned it off
with his bow.” This might have been chance, but another from the
foster-brother of the Rana convinced him there was treachery. Scarcely
had he warded off the second, when the Rana darted at him on horseback,
and cut him down with his _khanda_. The Rao fell, but recovering, took
his shawl and tightly bound up the wound, and as his foe was making off
he called aloud, “Escape you may, but you have sunk Mewar.” The Purbia,
who followed his prince, when he saw the Rao bind up his wound, said,
“The work is but half done”; and like a coward, Ratna once more charged
the wounded Rao. As his arm was raised to finish the deed of shame, like
a wounded tiger the Hara made a dying effort, caught the assassin by the
robe, and dragged him from his steed. Together they came to the ground,
the Rana underneath. The Rao knelt upon his breast, while, with
preternatural strength, with one hand he grasped his victim by the
throat, with the other he searched for his dagger. What a moment for
revenge! He plunged the weapon into his assassin’s heart, and saw him
expire at his feet. The Rao was satisfied; there was no more life left
him than sufficed for revenge, and he dropped a corpse upon the dead
body of his foeman.

The tidings flew to Bundi, to the mother of the Rao, that her son was
slain in the Aheria. “Slain!” exclaimed this noble dame, “but did he
fall alone? Never could a son, who has drunk at this breast, depart
unaccompanied”; and as she spoke, “maternal feeling caused the milk to
issue from the fount with such force, that it rent the slab on which it
fell.”

=The Satis.=—The dread of dishonour, which quenched the common
sympathies of nature for the death of her son, had scarcely been thus
expressed, when a second messenger announced the magnitude of his
revenge. The Rajput dame was satisfied, though fresh horrors were about
to follow. The wives of the murdered princes could not survive, and the
pyres were prepared on the fatal field of sport. The fair Suja expiated
her jest, which cost her a husband and a brother, in the flames, while
the sister of Rana Ratna, married to the Rao, in accordance with custom
or affection, burned with the dead body of her lord. The cenotaphs of
the princes were reared where they fell; while that of Suja Bai was
erected on a pinnacle of the Pass, and adds to the picturesque beauty of
this romantic valley, which possesses a double charm for the traveller,
who may have taste to admire the scene, and patience to listen to the
story [470].[10.2.21]

=Rāo Surthān, _c._ A.D. 1534.=—Surthan succeeded in S. 1591 (A.D. 1535),
and married the daughter of the celebrated Sakta, founder of the
Saktawats of Mewar. He became an ardent votary of the bloodstained
divinity of war, Kal-Bhairava, and like almost all those ferocious
Rajputs who resign themselves to his horrid rites, grew cruel and at
length deranged. Human victims are the chief offerings to this
brutalized personification of war, though Surthan was satisfied with the
eyes of his subjects, which he placed upon the altar of ‘the mother of
war.’ It was then time to question the divine right by which he ruled.
The assembled nobles deposed and banished him from Bundi, assigning a
small village on the Chambal for his residence, to which he gave the
name Surthanpur, which survives to bear testimony to one of many
instances of the deposition of their princes by the Rajputs, when they
offend custom or morality. Having no offspring, the nobles elected the
son of Nirbudh, son of Rao Banda, who had been brought up in his
patrimonial village of Matunda.

=Rāo Arjun.=—Rao Arjun, the eldest of the eight sons[10.2.22] of
Nirbudh, succeeded his banished cousin. Nothing can more effectually
evince the total extinction of animosity between these valiant races,
when once ‘a feud is balanced,’ than the fact of Rao Arjun, soon after
his accession, devoting himself and his valiant kinsmen to the service
of the son of that Rana who had slain his predecessor. The memorable
attack upon Chitor by Bahadur of Gujarat has already been
related,[10.2.23] and the death of the Hara prince and his vassals at
the post of honour, the breach. Rao Arjun was this prince, who was blown
up at the Chitori burj (bastion). The Bundi bard makes a striking
picture of this catastrophe, in which the indomitable courage of their
prince is finely imagined. The fact is also confirmed by the annals of
Mewar:

“Seated on a fragment of the rock, disparted by the explosion of the
mine, Arjun drew his sword, and the world beheld his departure with
amazement.”[10.2.24]

Surjan, the eldest of the four sons[10.2.25] of Arjun, succeeded in S.
1589 (A.D. 1533) [471].

-----

Footnote 10.2.1:

_Anhal_ [_anal_] and _Agni_ have the same signification, namely,
‘fire.’

Footnote 10.2.2:

Yuga-Raj, ‘sacrifice of the government.’ [Possibly confused with
Yuvarāja, ‘heir-apparent.’]

Footnote 10.2.3:

[Durlabha Chaulukya of Gujarāt went on a pilgrimage and abdicated.
“Such a resignation of royal state seems to have been a constant
practice in ancient times, the Rājput princes esteeming a death in the
holy land of Gaya as the safe passage to beatitude” (Forbes,
_Rāsmāla_, 54). A defeated king was required to resign his throne
(Elliot-Dowson ii. 27). See Frazer, _Golden Bough_, 3rd ed. Part iii.
148 ff.]

Footnote 10.2.4:

Harraj (elder son of Dewa), lord of Bumbaoda, had twelve sons; of whom
Alu Hara, the eldest, held twenty-four castles upon the Patar. With
all of these the author is familiar, having trod the Patar in every
direction: of this, anon.

Footnote 10.2.5:

[This is a folk etymology, the real name of the Bhīl sept being
Khota.] The descendants of Jethsi retained the castle and the
surrounding country for several generations; when Bhonangsi, the fifth
in descent, was dispossessed of them by Rao Surajmall of Bundi. Jethsi
had a son, Surjan, who gave the name of Kotah to this abode of the
Bhils, round which he built a wall. His son Dhirdeo excavated twelve
lakes, and dammed up that east of the town, still known by his name,
though better by its new appellation of Kishor Sagar. His son was
Kandhal, who had Bhonangsi, who lost and regained Kotah in the
following manner. Kotah was seized by two Pathans, Dhakar and Kesar
Khan. Bhonang, who became mad from excessive use of wine and opium,
was banished to Bundi, and his wife, at the head of his household
vassals, retired to Kaithan, around which the Haras held three hundred
and sixty villages. Bhonang, in exile, repented of his excesses; he
announced his amendment and his wish to return to his wife and kin.
The intrepid Rajputni rejoiced at his restoration, and laid a plan for
the recovery of Kotah, in which she destined him to take part. To
attempt it by force would have been to court destruction, and she
determined to combine stratagem and courage. When the jocund festival
of spring approached, when even decorum is for a while cast aside in
the Rajput Saturnalia, she invited herself, with all the youthful
damsels of Kaithan, to play the Holi with the Pathans of Kotah. The
libertine Pathans received the invitation with joy, happy to find the
queen of Kaithan evince so much amity. Collecting three hundred of the
finest Hara youths, she disguised them in female apparel, and Bhonang,
attended by the old nurse, each with a vessel of the crimson _abir_,
headed the band. While the youths were throwing the crimson powder
amongst the Pathans, the nurse led Bhonang to play with their chief.
The disguised Hara broke his vessel on the head of Kesar Khan. This
was the signal for action: the Rajputs drew their swords from beneath
their _ghaghras_ (petticoats), and the bodies of Kesar and his gang
strewed the terrace. The _masjid_ of Kesar Khan still exists within
the walls. Bhonang was succeeded by his son Dungarsi, whom Rao
Surajmall dispossessed and added Kotah to Bundi.

Footnote 10.2.6:

[About 60 miles S.W. of Ajmer city.]

Footnote 10.2.7:

“Poor dumb mouths.”

Footnote 10.2.8:

[‘Lord of the Hindu,’ a title assumed by the Rānas of Mewār.]

Footnote 10.2.9:

[This was probably, as in the cases of Dhār and Amber, a form of
sympathetic magic to ensure the capture of Būndi.]

Footnote 10.2.10:

Somewhat akin to this incident is the history of that summer abode of
kings of France in the Bois de Boulogne at Paris, called “Madrid.”
When Francis I. was allowed to return to his capital, he pledged his
parole that he would return to Madrid. But the delights of liberty and
Paris were too much for honour; and while he wavered, a hint was
thrown out similar to that suggested to the Rana when determined to
capture Bundi. A mock Madrid arose in the Bois de Boulogne, to which
Francis retired.

Footnote 10.2.11:

Jabdu had three sons: each founded clans. The eldest, Bacha, had two
sons, Sewaji and Seranji. The former had Meoji, the latter had Sawant,
whose descendants are styled Meo and Sawant Haras.

Footnote 10.2.12:

[There was a great drought in Hindustān about A.D. 1491 (Balfour,
_Cyclopaedia of India_, i. 1072).]

Footnote 10.2.13:

[_Langar_ means ‘an anchor,’ then ‘a distribution of food to the
poor.’ The most famous instance is that at Haidarābād
(Bilgrami-Willmott, _Sketch of H.H. The Nizam’s Dominions_, ii. 875
ff.). The _googri_ of the original text is possibly _gagari_, ‘a
little pot.’]

Footnote 10.2.14:

Though called a pillar, it is a slab in the staircase of the old
palace, which I have seen.

Footnote 10.2.15:

The copper coin of Bundi, equal to a halfpenny. One pice weight is a
common dose for an ordinary Rajput, but would send the uninitiated to
eternal sleep. [According to Cheevers (_Medical Jurisprudence in
India_, 227) in Bengal some wretches eat as much as a rupee weight,
180 grains, of pure opium daily. If his pice was anything like the
weight of that of the East India Company (100 grains), the dose of
Nārāyandās must have been enormous.]

Footnote 10.2.16:

Wife or daughter of a _teli_, or oilman.

Footnote 10.2.17:

[Rāna Rāēmall’s opponent is said to have been Ghayāsu-d-dīn of Mālwa
(A.D. 1469-99): but he is reported to have been a debauchee who never
left his palace (_BG_, i. Part i. 362 ff.).]

Footnote 10.2.18:

[Ketu, the demon who causes eclipses; Kāmdeo, god of love.]

Footnote 10.2.19:

[Deathland, the realm of Indra.]

Footnote 10.2.20:

[The twelve-tined deer, _Cervus duvanceli_; _Boselaphus tragocamelus_
(Blanford, _Mammalia_, 538, 517 ff.).]

Footnote 10.2.21:

The Author has seen the cenotaphs of the princes at Nanta, a place
which still affords good hunting.

Footnote 10.2.22:

Four of these had appanages and founded clans, namely, Bhim, who had
Thakurda; Pura, who had Hardoi; Mapal and Pachain, whose abodes are
not recorded.

Footnote 10.2.23:

See Vol. I. p. 361.

Footnote 10.2.24:

_Sor ne kiya bahut jor
Dhar parbat ori silla;
Tain kari tarwār
Ad pātiya, Hāra Uja._[10.2.24.A]

Footnote 10.2.24.A:

Uja, the familiar contraction for Arjuna.

Footnote 10.2.25:

Ram Singh, clan Rama Hara; Akhairaj, clan Akhairajpota; Kandhal, clan
Jasa Hara.

-----

CHAPTER 3

=Rāo Surjan, A.D. 1554.=—With Rao Surjan commenced a new era for
Bundi.[10.3.1] Hitherto her princes had enjoyed independence, excepting
the homage and occasional service on emergencies which are maintained as
much from kinship as vassalage. But they were now about to move in a
more extended orbit, and to occupy a conspicuous page in the future
history of the empire of India.

Sawant Singh, a junior branch of Bundi, upon the expulsion of the
Shershahi dynasty, entered into a correspondence with the Afghan
governor of Ranthambhor, which terminated in the surrender of this
celebrated fortress, which he delivered up to his superior, the Rao
Surjan. For this important service, which obtained a castle and
possession far superior to any under Bundi, lands were assigned near the
city to Sawantji, whose name became renowned, and was transmitted as the
head of the clan, Sawant-Hara.

The Chauhan chief of Bedla,[10.3.2] who was mainly instrumental to the
surrender of this famed fortress, stipulated that it should be held by
Rao Surjan, as a fief of Mewar. Thus Ranthambhor, which for ages was an
appanage of Ajmer, and continued until the fourteenth century in a
branch of the family descended from Bisaldeo, when it was [472] captured
from the valiant Hamir[10.3.3] after a desperate resistance, once more
reverted to the Chauhan race.

=Siege of Ranthambhor by Akbar.=—Ranthambhor was an early object of
Akbar’s attention, who besieged it in person. He had been some time
before its impregnable walls without the hope of its surrender, when
Bhagwandas of Amber and his son, the more celebrated Raja Man, who had
not only tendered their allegiance to Akbar, but allied themselves to
him by marriage, determined to use their influence to make Surjan Hara
faithless to his pledge, “to hold the castle as a fief of
Chitor.”[10.3.4] That courtesy, which is never laid aside amongst
belligerent Rajputs, obtained Raja Man access to the castle, and the
emperor accompanied him in the guise of a mace-bearer. While conversing,
an uncle of the Rao recognized the emperor, and with that sudden impulse
which arises from respect, took the mace from his hand and placed Akbar
on the ‘cushion’ of the governor of the castle. Akbar’s presence of mind
did not forsake him, and he said, “Well, Rao Surjan, what is to be
done?” which was replied to by Raja Man, “Leave the Rana, give up
Ranthambhor, and become the servant of the king, with high honours and
office.” The proffered bribe was indeed magnificent; the government of
fifty-two districts, whose revenues were to be appropriated without
inquiry, on furnishing the customary contingent, and liberty to name any
other terms, which should be solemnly guaranteed by the king.[10.3.5]

A treaty was drawn up upon the spot, and mediated by the prince of
Amber, which presents a good picture of Hindu feeling:

1. That the chiefs of Bundi should be exempted from that custom,
degrading to a Rajput, of sending a _dola_[10.3.6] to the royal harem.

2. Exemption from the jizya, or poll-tax.

3. That the chiefs of Bundi should not be compelled to cross the Attock.

4. That the vassals of Bundi should be exempted from the obligation of
sending [473] their wives or female relatives ‘to hold a stall in the
Mina Bazar’ at the palace, on the festival of Nauroza.[10.3.7]

5. That they should have the privilege of entering the Diwan-i-amm, or
‘hall of audience,’ completely armed.

6. That their sacred edifices should be respected.

7. That they should never be placed under the command of a Hindu leader.

8. That their horses should not be branded with the imperial
dagh.[10.3.8]

9. That they should be allowed to beat their nakkaras, or ‘kettledrums,’
in the streets of the capital as far as the Lal Darwaza or ‘red-gate’;
and that they should not be commanded to make the ‘prostration’[10.3.9]
on entering the Presence.

10. That Bundi should be to the Haras what Delhi was to the king, who
should guarantee them from any change of capital.

In addition to these articles, which the king swore to maintain, he
assigned the Rao a residence at the sacred city of Kasi, possessing that
privilege so dear to the Rajput, the right of sanctuary, which is
maintained to this day.[10.3.10] With such a bribe, and the full
acceptance of his terms, we cannot wonder that Rao Surjan flung from him
the remnant of allegiance he owed to Mewar, now humbled by the loss of
her capital, or that he should agree to follow the victorious car of the
Mogul. But this dereliction of duty was effaced by the rigid virtue of
the brave Sawant Hara, who, as already stated, had conjointly with the
Kotharia Chauhan[10.3.11] obtained Ranthambhor. He put on the saffron
robes, and with his small but virtuous clan determined, in spite of his
sovereign’s example, that Akbar should only gain possession over their
lifeless bodies.

Previous to this explosion of useless fidelity, he set up a pillar with
a solemn anathema engraved thereon, on “whatever Hara of gentle blood
should ascend the castle of Ranthambhor, or who should quit it alive.”
Sawant and his kin made the sacrifice to honour; “they gave up their
life’s blood to maintain their fidelity to the Rana,” albeit himself
without a capital; and from that day, no Hara ever [474] passes
Ranthambhor without averting his head from an object which caused
disgrace to the tribe. With this transaction all intercourse ceased with
Mewar, and from this period the Hara bore the title of ‘Rao Raja’ of
Bundi.

=Rāo Surjan in the Imperial Service.=—Rao Surjan was soon called into
action, and sent as commander to reduce Gondwana, so named from being
the ‘region of the Gonds.’[10.3.12] He took their capital, Bari, by
assault, and to commemorate the achievement erected the gateway still
called the Surjanpol. The Gond leaders he carried captives to the
emperor, and generously interceded for their restoration to liberty, and
to a portion of their possessions. On effecting this service, the king
added seven districts to his grant, including Benares and Chunar. This
was in S. 1632, or A.D. 1576, the year in which Rana Partap of Mewar
fought the battle of Haldighat against Sultan Salim.[10.3.13]

Rao Surjan resided at his government of Benares, and by his piety,
wisdom, and generosity, benefited the empire and the Hindus at large,
whose religion through him was respected. Owing to the prudence of his
administration and the vigilance of his police, the most perfect
security to person and property was established throughout the province.
He beautified and ornamented the city, especially that quarter where he
resided, and eighty-four edifices, for various public purposes, and
twenty baths, were constructed under his auspices. He died there, and
left three legitimate sons: 1. Rao Bhoj; 2. Duda, nicknamed by Akbar,
Lakar Khan; 3. Raemall, who obtained the town and dependencies of
Puleta, now one of the fiefs of Kotah and the residence of the Raemallot
Haras.

=The Campaign in Gujarāt.=—About this period, Akbar transferred the seat
of government from Delhi to Agra, which he enlarged and called
Akbarabad. Having determined on the reduction of Gujarat, he dispatched
thither an immense army, which he followed with a select force mounted
on camels. Of these, adopting the custom of the desert princes of India,
he had formed a corps of five hundred, each having two fighting men in a
pair of panniers. To this select force, composed chiefly of Rajputs,
were attached Rao Bhoj and Duda his brother. Proceeding with the utmost
celerity, Akbar joined his army besieging Surat, before which many
desperate encounters took place.[10.3.14] In the final assault the Hara
Rao slew the leader of the enemy; on which occasion the king commanded
him to “name his reward.” The Rao limited his request to leave to visit
his estates annually during the periodical rains, which was granted.

The perpetual wars of Akbar, for the conquest and consolidation of the
universal [475] empire of India, gave abundant opportunity to the Rajput
leaders to exert their valour; and the Haras were ever at the post of
danger and of honour. The siege and escalade of the famed castle of
Ahmadnagar afforded the best occasion for the display of Hara
intrepidity; again it shone forth, and again claimed distinction and
reward.[10.3.15] To mark his sense of the merits of the Bundi leader,
the king commanded that a new bastion should be erected, where he led
the assault, which he named the Bhoj burj; and further presented him his
own favourite elephant. In this desperate assault, Chand Begam, the
queen of Ahmadnagar, and an armed train of seven hundred females, were
slain, gallantly fighting for their freedom.

Notwithstanding all these services, Rao Bhoj fell under the emperor’s
displeasure. On the death of the queen, Jodha Bai, Akbar commanded a
court-mourning; and that all might testify a participation in their
master’s affliction, an ordinance issued that all the Rajput chiefs, as
well as the Muslim leaders, should shave the moustache and the
beard.[10.3.16] To secure compliance, the royal barbers had the
execution of the mandate. But when they came to the quarters of the
Haras, in order to remove these tokens of manhood, they were repulsed
with buffets and contumely. The enemies of Rao Bhoj aggravated the crime
of this resistance, and insinuated to the royal ear that the outrage
upon the barbers was accompanied with expressions insulting to the
memory of the departed princess, who, it will be remembered, was a
Rajputni of Marwar. Akbar, forgetting his vassal’s gallant services,
commanded that Rao Bhoj should be pinioned and forcibly deprived of his
‘mouche.’ He might as well have commanded the operation on a tiger. The
Haras flew to their arms; the camp was thrown into tumult, and would
soon have presented a wide scene of bloodshed, had not the emperor,
seasonably repenting of his folly, repaired to the Bundi quarters in
person. He expressed his admiration (he might have said his fear) of
Hara valour, alighted from his elephant to expostulate with the Rao, who
with considerable tact pleaded his father’s privileges, and added “that
an eater of pork like him was unworthy the distinction of putting his
lip into mourning for the queen.” Akbar, happy to obtain even so much
acknowledgment, embraced the Rao, and carried him with him to his own
quarters.

=Death of Akbar.=—In this portion of the Bundi memoirs is related the
mode of Akbar’s death.[10.3.17] He had designed to take off the great
Raja Man by means of a poisoned confection formed into pills. To throw
the Raja off his guard, he had prepared other pills which were [476]
innocuous; but in his agitation he unwittingly gave these to the Raja,
and swallowed those which were poisoned. On the emperor’s death, Rao
Bhoj retired to his hereditary dominions, and died in his palace of
Bundi, leaving three sons, Rao Ratan, Harda Narayan,[10.3.18] and
Keshodas.[10.3.19]

=Rāo Ratan.=—Jahangir was now sovereign of India. He had nominated his
son Parvez to the government of the Deccan, and having invested him in
the city of Burhanpur, returned to the north. But Prince Khurram,
jealous of his brother, conspired against and slew him.[10.3.20] This
murder was followed by an attempt to dethrone his father Jahangir, and
as he was popular with the Rajput princes, being son of a princess of
Amber, a formidable rebellion was raised; or, as the chronicle says,
“the twenty-two Rajas turned against the king, all but Rao Ratan”:

“_Sarwar phūtā, jal bahā;
Ab kya karo jatanna?
Jātā ghar Jahāngīr kā,
Rākhā Rāo Ratanna._

“The lake had burst, the waters were rushing out; where now the remedy?
The house of Jahangir was departing; it was sustained by Rao Ratan.”

=Partition of Hāraoti.=—With his two sons, Madho Singh and Hari, Ratan
repaired to Burhanpur, where he gained a complete victory over the
rebels. In this engagement, which took place on Tuesday the full moon of
Kartika, S. 1635 (A.D. 1579), both his sons were severely wounded. For
these services Rao Ratan was rewarded with the government of Burhanpur;
and Madho his second son received a grant of the city of Kotah and its
dependencies, which he and his heirs were to hold direct of the crown.
From this period, therefore, dates the partition of Haraoti, when the
emperor, in his desire to reward Madho Singh, overlooked the greater
services of his father. But in this Jahangir did not act without design;
on the contrary, he dreaded the union of so much power in the hands of
this brave race as pregnant with danger, and well knew that by dividing
he could always rule both, the one through the other. Shah Jahan
confirmed the grant to Madho Singh, whose history will be resumed in its
proper place, the Annals of Kotah.

Rao Ratan, while he held the government of Burhanpur, founded a township
which still bears his name, Ratanpur. He performed another important
service [477], which, while it gratified the emperor, contributed
greatly to the tranquillity of his ancient lord-paramount, the Rana of
Mewar. A refractory noble of the court, Dariyau Khan, was leading a life
of riot and rapine in that country, when the Hara attacked, defeated,
and carried him captive to the king. For this distinguished exploit, the
king gave him honorary naubats, or kettledrums; the grand yellow banner
to be borne in state processions before his own person, and a red flag
for his camp; which ensigns are still retained by his successors. Rao
Ratan obtained the suffrages not only of his Rajput brethren, but of the
whole Hindu race, whose religion he preserved from innovation. The Haras
exultingly boast that no Muslim dared pollute the quarters where they
might be stationed with the blood of the sacred kine. After all his
services, Ratan was killed in an action near Burhanpur, leaving a name
endeared by his valour and his virtues to the whole Hara race.

=Gopināth.=—Rao Ratan left four sons, Gopinath, who had Bundi; Madho
Singh, who had Kotah; Hariji, who had Gugor;[10.3.21] Jagannath, who had
no issue; and Gopinath, the heir of Bundi, who died before his father.
The manner of his death affords another trait of Rajput character, and
merits a place amongst those anecdotes which form the romance of
history. Gopinath carried on a secret intrigue with the wife of a
Brahman of the Baldia class, and in the dead of night used to escalade
the house to obtain admittance. At length the Brahman caught him, bound
the hands and feet of his treacherous prince, and proceeding direct to
the palace, told the Rao he had caught a thief in the act of stealing
his honour, and asked what punishment was due to such offence. “Death,”
was the reply. He waited for no other, returned home, and with a hammer
beat out the victim’s brains, throwing the dead body into the public
highway. The tidings flew to Rao Ratan, that the heir of Bundi had been
murdered, and his corpse ignominiously exposed; but when he learned the
cause, and was reminded of the decree he had unwittingly passed, he
submitted in silence.[10.3.22]

=The Fiefs of Būndi.=—Gopinath left twelve sons, to whom Rao Ratan
assigned domains still forming the principal _kothris_, or fiefs, of
Bundi:

1. Rao Chhattarsal, who succeeded to Bundi.

2. Indar Singh, who founded Indargarh [478].[10.3.23]

3. Berisal, who founded Balwan and Phalodi, and had Karwar and Pipalda.

4. Mohkam Singh, who had Antardah.

5. Maha Singh, who had Thana.[10.3.24]

It is useless to specify the names of the remainder, who left no issue.

=Rāo Chhattarsāl, A.D. 1652-58.=—Chhattarsal, who succeeded his
grandfather, Rao Ratan, was not only installed by Shah Jahan in his
hereditary dominions, but declared governor of the imperial capital, a
post which he held nearly throughout this reign. When Shah Jahan
partitioned the empire into four vice-royalties, under his sons, Dara,
Aurangzeb, Shuja, and Murad, Rao Chhattarsal had a high command under
Aurangzeb, in the Deccan. The Hara distinguished himself by his bravery
and conduct in all the various sieges and actions, especially at the
assaults of Daulatabad and Bidar; the last was led by Chhattarsal in
person, who carried the place, and put the garrison to the sword. In S.
1709 (A.D. 1653), Kulbarga fell after an obstinate defence, in which
Chhattarsal again led the escalade. The last resort was the strong fort
of Damauni, which terminated all resistance, and the Deccan was
tranquillized.[10.3.25]

=Death of Shāh Jahān. War of Succession.=—“At this period of the
transactions in the south, a rumour was propagated of the emperor’s
(Shah Jahan) death; and as during twenty days the prince (Aurangzeb)
held no court, and did not even give private audience, the report
obtained general belief.[10.3.26] Dara Shikoh was the only one of the
emperor’s sons then at court, and the absent brothers determined to
assert their several pretensions to the throne. While Shuja marched from
Bengal, Aurangzeb prepared to quit the Deccan, and cajoled Murad to join
him with all his forces; assuring him that he, a darvesh from principle,
had no worldly desires, for his only wish was to dwell in retirement
[479], practising the austerities of a rigid follower of the Prophet;
that Dara was an infidel, Shuja a free-thinker, himself an anchorite;
and that he, Murad, alone of the sons of Shah Jahan, was worthy to
exercise dominion, to aid in which purpose he proffered his best
energies.[10.3.27]

“The emperor, learning the hostile intentions of Aurangzeb, wrote
privately to the Hara prince to repair to the Presence. On receiving the
mandate, Chhattarsal revolved its import, but considering “that, as a
servant of the _gaddi_ (throne), his only duty was obedience,” he
instantly commenced his preparations to quit the Deccan. This reaching
the ear of Aurangzeb, he inquired the cause of his hasty departure,
observing, that in a very short time he might accompany him to court.
The Bundi prince replied, “his first duty was to the reigning
sovereign,” and handed him the farman or summons to the Presence.
Aurangzeb commanded that he should not be permitted to depart, and
directed his encampment to be surrounded. But Chhattarsal, foreseeing
this, had already sent on his baggage, and forming his vassals and those
of other Rajput princes attached to the royal cause into one compact
mass, they effected their retreat to the Nerbudda in the face of their
pursuers, without their daring to attack them. By the aid of some
Solanki chieftains inhabiting the banks of this river, the Bundi Rao was
enabled to pass this dangerous stream, then swollen by the periodical
rains. Already baffled by the skill and intrepidity of Chhattarsal,
Aurangzeb was compelled to give up the pursuit, and the former reached
Bundi in safety. Having made his domestic arrangements, he proceeded
forthwith to the capital, to help the aged emperor, whose power, and
even existence, were alike threatened by the ungrateful pretensions of
his sons to snatch the sceptre from the hand which still held it.”

If a reflection might be here interposed on the bloody wars which
desolated India in consequence of the events of which the foregoing were
the initial scenes, it would be to expose the moral retribution
resulting from evil example. Were we to take but a partial view of the
picture, we should depict the venerable Shah Jahan, arrived at the verge
of the grave, into which the unnatural contest of his sons for empire
wished to precipitate him, extending his arms for succour in vain to the
nobles of his own faith and kin; while the Rajput, faithful to his
principle, ‘allegiance to the throne,’ staked both life and land to help
him in his need. Such a picture would enlist all our sympathies on the
side of the helpless king. But when we recall the past, and consider
that [480] Shah Jahan, as Prince Khurram, played the same part (setting
aside the mask of hypocrisy), which Aurangzeb now attempted; that, to
forward his guilty design, he murdered his brother Parvez,[10.3.28] who
stood between him and the throne of his parent, against whom he levied
war, our sympathies are checked, and we conclude that unlimited monarchy
is a curse to itself and all who are subjected to it.

The battle of Fatehabad followed not long after this event,[10.3.29]
which, gained by Aurangzeb, left the road to the throne free from
obstruction. We are not informed of the reason why the prince of Bundi
did not add his contingent to the force assembled to oppose Aurangzeb
under Jaswant Singh of Marwar, unless it be found in that article of the
treaty of Rao Surjan, prohibiting his successors from serving under a
leader of their own faith and nation. The younger branch of Kotah
appears, on its separation from Bundi, to have felt itself exonerated
from obedience to this decree; for four royal brothers of Kotah, with
many of their clansmen, were stretched on this field in the cause of
swamidharma and Shah Jahan. Before, however, Aurangzeb could tear the
sceptre from the enfeebled hands of his parent, he had to combat his
elder brother Dara, who drew together at Dholpur all those who yet
regarded ‘the first duty of a Rajput.’ The Bundi prince, with his Haras
clad in their saffron robes, the ensigns of death or victory, formed the
vanguard of Dara on this day, the opening scene of his sorrows, which
closed but with his life; for Dholpur was as fatal to Dara the Mogul, as
Arbela was to the Persian Darius. Custom rendered it indispensable that
the princely leaders should be conspicuous to the host, and in
conformity thereto Dara, mounted on his elephant, was in the brunt of
the battle, in the heat of which, when valour and fidelity might have
preserved the sceptre of Shah Jahan, Dara suddenly disappeared. A panic
ensued, which was followed by confusion and flight. The noble Hara, on
this disastrous event, turned to his vassals, and exclaimed, “Accursed
be he who flies! Here, true to my salt, my feet are rooted to this
field, nor will I quit it alive, but with victory.” Cheering on his men,
he mounted his elephant, but whilst encouraging them by his voice and
example, a cannon-shot hitting his elephant, the animal turned and fled.
Chhattarsal leaped from his back and called for his steed, exclaiming,
“My elephant may turn his back on the enemy, but never shall his
master.” Mounting his horse, and forming his men into a dense mass
(_gol_), he led them to the charge against Prince Murad, whom he singled
out, and had his lance balanced for the issue, when a ball pierced his
forehead.[10.3.30] The contest was nobly maintained by his youngest son,
Bharat Singh, who accompanied his father in death [481], and with him
the choicest of his clan. Mohkam Singh, brother of the Rao, with two of
his sons, and Udai Singh, another nephew, sealed their fidelity with
their lives. Thus in the two battles of Ujjain and Dholpur no less than
twelve princes of the blood, together with the heads of every Hara clan,
maintained their fealty (_swamidharma_) even to death. Where are we to
look for such examples?

“Rao Chhattarsal had been personally engaged in fifty-two combats, and
left a name renowned for courage and incorruptible fidelity.” He
enlarged the palace of Bundi by adding that portion which bears his
name,—the Chhattar Mahall,—and the temple of Keshorai, at Patan, was
constructed under his direction.[10.3.31] It was in S. 1715 he was
killed; he left four sons, Rao Bhao Singh, Bhim Singh, who got Gugorha,
Bhagwant Singh, who obtained Mau, and Bharat Singh, who was killed at
Dholpur.

=Rāo Bhāo Singh, A.D. 1658-78. Mughal Attack on Būndi.=—Aurangzeb, on
the attainment of sovereign power, transferred all the resentment he
harboured against Chhattarsal to his son and successor, Rao Bhao. He
gave a commission to Raja Atmaram, Gaur, the prince of Sheopur, to
reduce “that turbulent and disaffected race, the Hara,” and annex Bundi
to the government of Ranthambhor, declaring that he should visit Bundi
shortly in person, on his way to the Deccan, and hoped to congratulate
him on his success. Raja Atmaram, with an army of twelve thousand men,
entered Haravati and ravaged it with fire and sword. Having laid siege
to Khatoli, a town of Indargarh, the chief fief of Bundi,[10.3.32] the
clans secretly assembled, engaged Atmaram at Gotarda, defeated and put
him to flight, capturing the imperial ensigns and all his baggage. Not
satisfied with this, they retaliated by blockading Sheopur, when the
discomfited Raja continued his flight to court to relate this fresh
instance of Hara audacity. The poor prince of the Gaurs was received
with gibes and jests, and heartily repented of his inhuman inroads upon
his neighbours in the day of their disgrace. The tyrant, affecting to be
pleased with this instance of Hara courage, sent a farman to Rao Bhao of
grace and free pardon, and commanding his presence at court. At first
the Rao declined; but having repeated pledges of good intention, he
complied and was honoured with the government of Aurangabad under Prince
Muazzam. Here he evinced his independence by shielding Raja Karan of
Bikaner from a plot against his life. He performed many gallant deeds
with his Rajput brethren in arms, the brave Bundelas of Orchha and
Datia. He erected many public edifices at Aurangabad, where he acquired
so much fame by his valour, his charities, and the sanctity[10.3.33] of
his manners, that miraculous cures were (said to be) effected by him. He
[482] died at Aurangabad in S. 1738 (A.D. 1682),[10.3.34] and, being
without issue, was succeeded by Aniruddh Singh, the grandson of his
brother Bhim.[10.3.35]

=Rāo Aniruddh Singh, A.D. 1678.=—Aniruddh’s accession was confirmed by
the emperor, who, in order to testify the esteem in which he held his
predecessor, sent his own elephant, Gajgaur, with the khilat of
investiture. Aniruddh accompanied Aurangzeb in his wars in the Deccan,
and on one occasion performed the important service of rescuing the
ladies of the harem out of the enemy’s hands. The emperor, in testimony
of his gallantry, told him to name his reward; on which he requested he
might be allowed to command the vanguard instead of the rearguard of the
army. Subsequently, he was distinguished in the siege and storm of
Bijapur.

An unfortunate quarrel with Durjan Singh, the chief vassal of Bundi,
involved the Rao in trouble. Making use of some improper expression, the
Rao resentfully replied, “I know what to expect from you”; which
determined Durjan to throw his allegiance to the dogs. He quitted the
army, and arriving at his estates, armed his kinsmen, and, by a _coup de
main_, possessed himself of Bundi. On learning this, the emperor
detached Aniruddh with a force which expelled the refractory Durjan,
whose estates were sequestrated. Previous to his expulsion, Durjan drew
the _tika_ of succession on the forehead of his brother of Balwan.
Having settled the affairs of Bundi, the Rao was employed, in
conjunction with Raja Bishan Singh of Amber, to settle the northern
countries of the empire, governed by Shah Alam, as lieutenant of the
king, and whose headquarters were at Lahore, in the execution of which
service he died.

=Rāo Budh Singh. The Death of Aurangzeb.=—Aniruddh left two sons, Budh
Singh and Jodh Singh. Budh Singh succeeded to the honours and
employments of his father. Soon after, Aurangzeb, who had fixed his
residence at Aurangabad, fell ill, and finding his end approach, the
nobles and officers of state, in apprehension of the event, requested
him to name a successor. The dying emperor replied, that the succession
was in the hands of God, with whose will and under whose decree he was
desirous that his son Bahadur Shah Alam should succeed; but that he was
apprehensive that Prince Azam would endeavour by force of arms to seat
himself on the throne.[10.3.36] As the king said, so it happened; Azam
Shah, being supported in his pretensions by the army of the Deccan,
prepared to dispute [483] the empire with his elder brother, to whom he
sent a formal defiance to decide their claims to empire on the plains of
Dholpur. Bahadur Shah convened all the chieftains who favoured his
cause, and explained his position. Amongst them was Rao Budh, now
entering on manhood, and he was at that moment in deep affliction for
the untimely loss of his brother, Jodh Singh.[10.3.37] When the king
desired him to repair to Bundi to perform the offices of mourning, and
console his relations and kindred, Budh Singh replied, “It is not to
Bundi my duty calls me, but to attend my sovereign in the field—to that
of Dholpur, renowned for many battles and consecrated by the memory of
the heroes who have fallen in the performance of their duty”: adding
“that there his heroic ancestor Chhattarsal fell, whose fame he desired
to emulate, and by the blessing of heaven, his arms should be crowned
with victory to the empire.”

=Battle of Jājau, June 10, 1707.=—Shah Alam advanced from Lahore, and
Azam, with his son Bedar Bakht, from the Deccan; and both armies met on
the plains of Jajau, near Dholpur. A more desperate conflict was never
recorded in the many bloody pages of the history of India. Had it been a
common contest for supremacy, to be decided by the Muslim supporters of
the rivals, it would have ended like similar ones,—a furious onset,
terminated by a treacherous desertion. But here were assembled the brave
bands of Rajputana, house opposed to house, and clan against clan. The
princes of Datia and Kotah, who had long served with Prince Azam, and
were attached to him by favours, forgot the injunctions of Aurangzeb,
and supported that prince’s pretensions against the lawful heir. A
powerful friendship united the chiefs of Bundi and Datia, whose lives
exhibited one scene of glorious triumph in all the wars of the Deccan.
In opposing the cause of Shah Alam, Ram Singh of Kotah was actuated by
his ambition to become the head of the Haras, and in anticipation of
success had actually been invested with the honours of Bundi. With such
stimulants on each side did the rival Haras meet face to face on the
plains of Jajau, to decide at the same time the pretensions to empire,
and what affected them more, those of their respective heads to
superiority. Previous to the battle, Ram Singh sent a perfidious message
to Rao Budh, inviting him to desert the cause he espoused, and come over
to Azam; to which he indignantly replied: “That the field which his
ancestor had illustrated by his death, was not that whereon he would
disgrace his memory by the desertion of his prince.”

Budh Singh was assigned a distinguished post, and by his conduct and
courage [484] mainly contributed to the victory which placed Bahadur
Shah without a rival on the throne. The Rajputs on either side sustained
the chief shock of the battle, and the Hara prince of Kotah, and the
noble Bundela, Dalpat of Datia, were both killed by cannon-shot,
sacrificed to the cause they espoused; while the pretensions of Azam and
his son Bedar Bakht were extinguished with their lives.

For the signal services rendered on this important day, Budh Singh was
honoured with the title of Rao Raja, and was admitted to the intimate
friendship of the emperor, which he continued to enjoy until his death,
when fresh contentions arose, in which the grandsons of Aurangzeb all
perished. Farrukhsiyar succeeded to the empire, under whom the Sayyids
of Barha held supreme power, and ruined the empire by their exactions
and tyranny. When they determined to depose the king, the Hara prince,
faithful to his pledge, determined to release him, and in the attempt a
bloody conflict ensued in the (_chauk_) square, in which his uncle Jeth
Singh, and many of his clansmen, were slain.

=Rivalry between Kotah and Būndi.=—The rivalry which commenced between
the houses of Kotah and Bundi, on the plains of Jajau, in which Ram
Singh was slain, was maintained by his son and successor, Raja Bhim, who
supported the party of the Sayyids. In the prosecution of his views and
revenge, Raja Bhim so far lost sight of the national character of the
Rajput, as to compass his end by treachery, and beset his foe unawares
while exercising his horse in the Maidan, outside the walls of the
capital. His few retainers formed a circle round their chief, and
gallantly defended him, though with great loss, until they reached a
place of safety. Unable to aid the king, and beset by treachery, Rao
Budh was compelled to seek his own safety in flight.[10.3.38]
Farrukhsiyar was shortly after murdered, and the empire fell into
complete disorder; when the nobles and Rajas, feeling their insecurity
under the bloody and rapacious domination of the Sayyids, repaired to
their several possessions.[10.3.39]

=Jai Singh of Jaipur attacks Būndi.=—At this period, Raja Jai Singh of
Amber thought of dispossessing Budh Singh of Bundi. Rao Budh Singh was
at this time his guest, having accompanied him from court to Amber. The
cause of the quarrel is thus related: The Hara prince was married to a
sister of Jai Singh; she had been betrothed to the emperor Bahadur [485]
Shah, who, as one of the marks of his favour for the victory of Dholpur,
resigned his pretensions to the fair in favour of Rao Budh.
Unfortunately, she bore him no issue, and viewed with jealousy his two
infant sons by another Rani, the daughter of Kalamegh of Begun, one of
the sixteen chiefs of Mewar. During her lord’s absence, she feigned
pregnancy, and having procured an infant, presented it as his lawful
child. Rao Budh was made acquainted with the equivocal conduct of his
queen, to the danger of his proper offspring, and took an opportunity to
reveal her conduct to her brother. The lady, who was present, was
instantly interrogated by her brother; but, exasperated either at the
suspicion of her honour or the discovery of her fraud, she snatched her
brother’s dagger from his girdle, and rating him as “the son of a
tailor,”[10.3.40] would have slain him on the spot, had he not fled from
her fury.

To revenge the insult thus put upon him, the Raja of Amber determined to
expel Rao Budh from Bundi, and offered the _gaddi_ to the chief of its
feudatories, the lord of Indargarh; but Deo Singh had the virtue to
refuse the offer. He then had recourse to the chieftain of
Karwar,[10.3.41] who could not resist the temptation. This chief, Salim
Singh, was guilty of a double breach of trust; for he held the
confidential office of governor of Taragarh, the citadel commanding both
the city and palace.

The family dispute was, however, merely the underplot of a
deeply-cherished political scheme of the prince of Amber, for the
maintenance of his supremacy over the minor Rajas, to which his office
of viceroy of Malwa, Ajmer, and Agra gave full scope, and he skilfully
availed himself of the results of the civil wars of the Moguls. In the
issue of Farrukhsiyar’s dethronement he saw the fruition of his schemes,
and after a show of defending him, retired to his dominions to prosecute
his views.

Amber was yet circumscribed in territory, and the consequence of its
princes arose out of their position as satraps of the empire. He
therefore determined to seize upon all the districts on his frontiers
within his grasp, and moreover to compel the services of the chieftains
who served under his banner as lieutenants of the king.

At this period there were many allodial chieftains within the bounds of
Amber; as the Pachwana Chauhans about Lalsont, Gura, Nimrana, who owed
neither service nor tribute to Jaipur, but led their quotas as distinct
dignitaries of the empire under the flag of Amber. Even their own stock,
the confederated Shaikhawats, deemed [486] themselves under no such
obligation. The Bargujars of Rajor, the Jadons of Bayana, and many
others, the vassalage of older days, were in the same predicament.
These, being in the decline of the empire unable to protect themselves,
the more readily agreed to hold their ancient allodial estates as fiefs
of Amber, and to serve with the stipulated quota. But when Jai Singh’s
views led him to hope he could in like manner bring the Haras to
acknowledge his supremacy, he evinced both ignorance and presumption. He
therefore determined to dethrone Budh Singh, and to make a Raja of his
own choice hold of him in chief.

The Hara, who was then reposing on the rites of hospitality and family
ties at Amber, gave Jai Singh a good opportunity to develop his views,
which were first manifested to the Bundi prince by an obscure offer that
he would make Amber his abode, and accept five hundred rupees daily for
his train. His uncle, the brother of Jeth, who devoted himself to save
his master at Agra, penetrated the infamous intentions of Jai Singh. He
wrote to Bundi, and commanded that the Begun Rani should depart with her
children to her father’s; and having given time for this, he by stealth
formed his clansmen outside the walls of Amber, and having warned his
prince of his danger, they quitted the treacherous abode. Raja Budh, at
the head of three hundred Haras, feared nothing. He made direct for his
capital, but they were overtaken at Pancholas, on the mutual frontier,
by the select army under the five principal chieftains of Amber. The
little band was enclosed, when a desperate encounter ensued, Rajput to
Rajput. Every one of the five leaders of Amber was slain, with a
multitude of their vassals; and the cenotaphs of the lords of Isarda,
Sarwar, and Bhawar still afford evidence of Hara revenge. The uncle of
Bundi was slain, and the valiant band was so thinned, that it was deemed
unwise to go to Bundi, and by the intricacies of the Plateau they
reached Begun in safety. This dear-bought success enabled Jai Singh to
execute his plan, and Dalil Singh, of Karwar, espoused the daughter of
Amber, and was invested with the title of Rao Raja of Bundi.

Taking advantage of the distress of the elder branch of his house, Raja
Bhim of Kotah, now strictly allied with Ajit of Marwar and the Sayyids,
prosecuted the old feud for superiority, making the Chambal the
boundary, and seizing upon all the fiscal lands of Bundi east of this
stream (excepting the Kothris), which he attached to Kotah.

=Death of Rāo Būdh Singh.=—Thus beset by enemies on all sides, Budh
Singh, after many fruitless attempts to [487] recover his patrimony, in
which much Hara blood was uselessly shed, died in exile at Begun,
leaving two sons, Ummed Singh and Dip Singh.

The sons of Rao Budh were soon driven even from the shelter of the
maternal abode; for, at the instigation of their enemy of Amber, the
Rana sequestrated Begun. Pursued by this unmanly vengeance, the brave
youths collected a small band, and took refuge in the wilds of Pachel,
whence they addressed Durjansal, who had succeeded Raja Bhim at Kotah.
This prince had a heart to commiserate their misfortunes, and the
magnanimity not only to relieve them, but to aid them in the recovery of
their patrimony.

-----

Footnote 10.3.1:

[The dates are uncertain: that in the margin is from _IGI_, ix. 80.
Prinsep (_Useful Tables_, 105) gives 1575. Blochmann (_Āīn_, i. 410)
says, “he had been dead for some time in 1001 Hijri,” A.D. 1592.]

Footnote 10.3.2:

[4 miles N. of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 10.3.3:

His fame is immortalized by a descendant of the bard Chand, in the
works already mentioned, as bearing his name, the Hamir-raesa and
Hamir-kavya.

Footnote 10.3.4:

The Raja Man of Amber is styled, in the poetic chronicle of the Haras,
‘the shade of the Kali Yuga’: a powerful figure, to denote that his
baneful influence and example, in allying himself by matrimonial ties
with the imperialists, denationalized the Rajput character. In
refusing to follow this example, we have presented a picture of
patriotism in the life of Rana Partap of Mewar. Rao Surjan avoided by
convention what the Chitor prince did by arms.

Footnote 10.3.5:

We may here remark that the succeeding portion of the annals of Bundi
is a free translation of an historical sketch drawn up for me by the
Raja of Bundi from his own records, occasionally augmented from the
bardic chronicle. [This was Akbar’s second attack on Ranthambhor, the
first (A.D. 1558-60) having been unsuccessful. It was taken on 19th
March 1569 (_Akbarnāma_, ii. 132 f., 494). Smith (_Akbar, the Great
Mogul_, 98 ff.) quotes the narrative in the text, which he considers
trustworthy.]

Footnote 10.3.6:

_Dola_ is the term for a princess affianced to the king.

Footnote 10.3.7:

An ancient institution of the Timurian kings, derived from their
Tartar ancestry. For a description of this festival see Vol. I. p.
400, and _Āīn_, i. 276 f. [See the lively account of these fairs
by Bernier (p. 272 f.). They were held in the Mīna, or ‘heavenly,’
bāzār, near the Mīna Masjid, or mosque, in the Agra Fort (Syad
Muhammad Latif, _Agra_, 75 f.).]

Footnote 10.3.8:

This brand (_dagh_) was a flower on the forehead [Vol. II. p.
972].

Footnote 10.3.9:

Sijdah, similar to the kotow of China. Had our ambassador possessed
the wit of Rao Surthan of Sirohi, who, when compelled to pay homage to
the king, determined at whatever hazard not to submit to this
degradation, he might have succeeded in his mission to the ‘son of
heaven.’ For the relation of this anecdote see Vol. II. p. 990.
[For the Mughal forms of salutation see _Āīn_, i. 158 f.]

Footnote 10.3.10:

[The Mahārāo Rāo of Būndi still has a house, somewhat dilapidated,
near the Rāj Mandir and Sītala Ghāt at Benares. The right of sanctuary
has ceased (E. Graves, _Kashi_, 1909, p. 55).]

Footnote 10.3.11:

This conjoint act of obtaining the castle of Ranthambhor is confirmed
in the annals of the chieftains of Kotharia, of the same original
stock as the Haras: though a Purbia Chauhan. I knew him very well, as
also one of the same stock, of Bedla, another of the sixteen Pattayats
of Mewar.

Footnote 10.3.12:

[Gondwāna is the term applied to the Sātpura plateau in the Central
Provinces (_IGI_, xii. 321 ff.). The campaign was begun by Āsaf Khan
in A.D. 1564. The Bāri in the text, a word meaning ‘dwelling,’
possibly refers to Chauragarh, now in the Narsinghpur District (Smith,
_Akbar, the Great Mogul_, 69 ff.). Rāo Surjan was governor of
Garha-Katanka or Gondwāna, whence he was transferred to Chunār (_Āīn_,
i. 409).]

Footnote 10.3.13:

See Vol. I. p. 393.

Footnote 10.3.14:

[Akbar began to reside at Agra in A.D. 1558, and built the fort in
1565-6. The first campaign in Gujarāt took place in 1572. Surat was
captured in February 1573.]

Footnote 10.3.15:

[Ahmadnagar was stormed in August 1600. According to Ferishta (iii.
312) Chānd Bībi was killed by her Deccan troops because she was
treating for surrender. By another story, she was poisoned (Smith,
_Akbar, the Great Mogul_, 272).]

Footnote 10.3.16:

[There is an error here. Akbar died in 1605; Jodh Bāi died, it is said
by poison, in 1619 or 1622.]

Footnote 10.3.17:

See Vol. I. p. 408. [The tale seems almost incredible, but Akbar
did remove some of his enemies by poison, and the story was the
subject of Court gossip (Manucci i. 150). Akbar seems to have died
from cancer of the bowels (Elliot-Dowson v. 541, vi. 115, 168 f.).
Smith (_Akbar, the Great Mogul_, 325 f.) disbelieves the story, but
suspects that he may have been poisoned by some one. See Irvine’s note
on Manucci iv. 420.]

Footnote 10.3.18:

He held Kotah in separate grant from the king during fifteen years.

Footnote 10.3.19:

He obtained the town of Dipri (on the Chambal), with twenty-seven
villages, in appanage.

Footnote 10.3.20:

[Parvez died from apoplexy at Burhānpur, 28th October 1626 (Beale,
_Dict. Oriental Biography_, _s.v._ Parwīz Sultān; Dow 2nd ed. iii.
88).]

Footnote 10.3.21:

There are about fifty families, his descendants, forming a community
round Nimoda.

Footnote 10.3.22:

This trait in the character of Rao Ratan forcibly reminds us of a
similar case which occurred at Ghazni, and is related by Ferishta [i.
86 f.] in commemoration of the justice of Mahmud.

Footnote 10.3.23:

These, the three great fiefs of Bundi,—Indargarh, Balwan, and
Antardah,—are now all alienated from Bundi by the intrigues of Zalim
Singh of Kotah. It was unfortunate for the Bundi Rao, when both these
States were admitted to an alliance, that all these historical points
were hid in darkness. It would be yet abstract and absolute justice
that we should negotiate the transfer of the allegiance of these
chieftains to their proper head of Bundi. It would be a matter of
little difficulty, and the honour would be immense to Bundi and no
hardship to Kotah, but a slight sacrifice of a power of protection to
those who no longer require it. All of these chiefs were the founders
of clans, called after them, Indarsalot, Berisalot, Mohkamsinghot; the
first can muster fifteen hundred Haras under arms. Jaipur having
imposed a tribute on these chieftains, Zalim Singh undertook, in the
days of predatory warfare, to be responsible for it; for which he
received that homage and service due to Bundi, then unable to protect
them. The simplest mode of doing justice would be to make these chiefs
redeem their freedom from tribute to Jaipur, by the payment of so many
years’ purchase, which would relieve them altogether from Zalim Singh,
and at the same time be in accordance with our treaties, which
prohibit such ties between the States.

Footnote 10.3.24:

Thana [about 20 miles E. of Jhalāwar], formerly called Jajawar, is the
only fief of the twelve sons of Ratan which now pays obedience to its
proper head. The Maharaja Bikramajit is the lineal descendant of Maha
Singh, and if alive, the earth bears not a more honourable, brave, or
simple-minded Rajput. He was the devoted servant of his young prince,
and my very sincere and valued friend; but we shall have occasion to
mention the ‘lion-killer’ in the Personal Narrative.

Footnote 10.3.25:

[For this campaign see Jadunath Sarkar, _History of Aurangzib_, i. 264
ff.; Grant Duff 70. Bidar was stormed in March 1657. The gallantry of
Chhattarsāl is commended by Jadunath Sarkar i. 272, ii. 6.]

Footnote 10.3.26:

The reader will observe, as to the phraseology of these important
occurrences, that the language is that of the original: it is, in
fact, almost a verbatim translation from the memoirs of these princes
in the Bundi archives.

Footnote 10.3.27:

The Rajput prince, who drew up this character, seems to have well
studied Aurangzeb, and it is gratifying to find such concurrence with
every authority. But could such a character be eventually mistaken?

Footnote 10.3.28:

[See p. 1486.]

Footnote 10.3.29:

[Or Samūgarh, 29th May 1658.]

Footnote 10.3.30:

[The defeat of Dāra Shikoh at Dholpur preceded the battle of
Samūgarh-Fatehābād: it was at Samūgarh that Chhattarsāl was killed
(Jadunath Sarkar, ii. 37 ff.).]

Footnote 10.3.31:

[The temple of Keshorāi, or Kesava Krishna, is on the N. bank of the
Chambal, 12 miles below Kotah (_Rājputāna Gazetteer_, 1879, i. 238).]

Footnote 10.3.32:

[Indargarh about 30 miles N. of Būndi city: Khatoli 20 miles E. of
Indargarh.]

Footnote 10.3.33:

It is a fact worthy of notice, that the most intrepid of the Rajput
princely cavaliers are of a very devout frame of mind.

Footnote 10.3.34:

[Rāo Bhāo Singh died between March 1677 and February 1678 (Manucci ii.
402).]

Footnote 10.3.35:

Bhim Singh, who had the fief of Gugor bestowed on him, had a son,
Kishan Singh, who succeeded him, and was put to death by Aurangzeb.
Aniruddh was the son of Kishan.

Footnote 10.3.36:

It is useless to repeat that this is a literal translation from the
records and journals of the Hara princes, who served the emperors.

Footnote 10.3.37:

This catastrophe will be related in the Personal Narrative.

Footnote 10.3.38:

_Vide_ Vol. I. p. 473, _et passim_, in which the Bundi Annals are
corroborated by the Annals of Mewar, and by an autograph letter of
Raja Jai Singh of Amber, dated the 19th Phalgun, S. 1775 (A.D. 1719).

Footnote 10.3.39:

These subjects being already discussed in Vol. I. would have had no
place here, were it not necessary to show how accurately the Bundi
princes recorded events, and to rescue them from the charge of having
no historical documents.

Footnote 10.3.40:

This lady was sister to Chamanji, elder brother to Jai Singh, and
heir-apparent to the _gaddi_ of Amber, who was put to death by Jai
Singh. To this murder the Rathor bard alludes in the couplet given in
their Annals, see Vol. II. p. 1059. ‘Chamanji’ ['flower-bed'] is
the title of the heirs-apparent of Amber. I know not whether Chamanji,
which is merely a term of endearment, may not be Bijai Singh, whose
captivity we have related. See p. 1349.

Footnote 10.3.41:

[About 35 miles N. of Būndi city.]

-----

CHAPTER 4

=Mahārāo Ummed Singh, A.D. 1743-1804.=—Ummeda was but thirteen years of
age on the death of his house’s foe, the Raja of Amber, in S. 1800 (A.D.
1744). As soon as the event was known to him, putting himself at the
head of his clansmen, he attacked and carried Patan and Gainoli.[10.4.1]
“When it was heard that the son of Budh Singh was awake, the ancient
Haras flocked to his standard,” and Durjansal of Kotah, rejoicing to see
the real Hara blood thus displayed, nobly sent his aid.

=Jaipur attacks Kotah.=—Isari Singh, who was now lord of Amber, pursuing
his father’s policy, determined that Kotah should bend to his supremacy
as well as the elder branch of Bundi. The defiance of his power avowed
in the support of young Ummeda brought his views into [488] action, and
Kotah was invested. But the result does not belong to this part of our
history. On the retreat from Kotah, Isari sent a body of
Nanakpanthis[10.4.2] to attack Ummeda in his retreat at Burh (old)
Lohari, amongst the Minas, the aboriginal lords of these mountain-wilds,
who had often served the cause of the Haras, notwithstanding they had
deprived them of their birthright. The youthful valour and distress of
young Ummeda so gained their hearts, that five thousand bowmen assembled
and desired to be led against his enemies. With these auxiliaries, he
anticipated his foes at Bichori, and while the nimble mountaineers
plundered the camp, Ummeda charged the Jaipur army sword in hand, and
slaughtered them without mercy, taking their kettledrums and standards.
On the news of this defeat, another army of eighteen thousand men, under
Narayandas Khatri, was sent against Ummeda. But the affair of Bichori
confirmed the dispositions of the Haras: from all quarters they flocked
to the standard of the young prince, who determined to risk everything
in a general engagement. The foe had reached Dablana.[10.4.3] On the eve
of attack, young Ummeda went to propitiate ‘the lady of Situn,’[10.4.4]
the tutelary divinity of his race; and as he knelt before the altar of
Asapurna (the fulfiller of hope), his eyes falling upon the turrets of
Bundi, then held by a traitor, he swore to conquer or die.

=Battle of Dablāna.=—Inspired with like sentiments, his brave clansmen
formed around the orange flag, the gift of Jahangir to Rao Ratan; and as
they cleared the pass leading to Dablana, the foe was discovered
marshalled to receive them. In one of those compact masses, termed
_gol_, with serried lances advanced, Ummeda led his Haras to the charge.
Its physical and moral impression was irresistible; and a vista was cut
through the dense host opposed to them. Again they formed; and again, in
spite of the showers of cannon-shot, the sword renewed its blows; but
every charge was fatal to the bravest of Ummeda’s men. In the first
onset fell his maternal uncle, Prithi Singh, Solanki, with the Maharaja
Marjad Singh of Motra, a valiant Hara, who fell just as he launched his
_chakra_ (discus) at the head of the Khatri commander of Amber. Prayag
Singh, chief of Soran, a branch of the Thana fief, was also slain, with
many of inferior note. The steed of Ummeda was struck by a cannon-ball,
and the intestines protruded from the wound. The intrepidity of the
youthful hero, nobly seconded by his kin and clan, was unavailing; and
the chieftains, fearing he would throw away a life the preservation of
which they all desired, entreated he would abandon the contest;
observing, “that if he survived, Bundi must be theirs; but if he was
slain, there was an end of all their hopes [489].”

With grief he submitted; and as they gained the Sawali Pass, which leads
to Indargarh, he dismounted to breathe his faithful steed; and as he
loosened the girths, it expired. Ummeda sat down and wept. Hanja was
worthy of such a mark of his esteem: he was a steed of Irak, the gift of
the king to his father, whom he had borne in many an encounter. Nor was
this natural ebullition of the young Hara a transient feeling: Hanja’s
memory was held in veneration, and the first act of Ummeda, when he
recovered his throne, was to erect a statue to the steed who bore him so
nobly on the day of Dablana. It stands in the square (_chauk_) of the
city, and receives the reverence of each Hara, who links his history
with one of the brightest of their achievements, though obscured by
momentary defeat.[10.4.5]

Ummeda gained Indargarh, which was close at hand, on foot; but this
traitor to the name of Hara, who had acknowledged the supremacy of
Amber, not only refused his prince a horse in his adversity, but warned
him off the domain, asking “if he meant to be the ruin of Indargarh as
well as Bundi?” Disdaining to drink water within its bounds, the young
prince, stung by this perfidious mark of inhospitality, took the
direction of Karwain. Its chief made amends for the other’s
churlishness: he advanced to meet him, offered such aid as he had to
give, and presented him with a horse. Dismissing his faithful kinsmen to
their homes, and begging their swords when fortune might be kinder, he
regained his old retreat, the ruined palace of Rampura, amongst the
ravines of the Chambal.

=Būndi recovered by Ummed Singh.=—Durjansal of Kotah, who had so bravely
defended his capital against the pretensions to supremacy of Isari Singh
and his auxiliary, Apa Sindhia, felt more interest than ever in the
cause of Ummeda. The Kotah prince’s councils were governed and his
armies led by a Bhat (bard), who, it may be inferred, was professionally
inspired by the heroism of the young Hara to lend his sword as well as
his muse towards reinstating him in the halls of his fathers.
Accordingly, all the strength of Kotah, led by the Bhat, was added to
the kinsmen and friends of Ummeda; and an attempt on Bundi was resolved.
The city, whose walls were in a state of dilapidation from this
continual warfare, was taken without difficulty; and the assault of the
citadel of Taragarh had commenced, when the heroic Bhat received a fatal
shot from a treacherous hand in his own party. His death was concealed,
and a cloth thrown [490] over his body. The assailants pressed on; the
usurper, alarmed, took to flight; the ‘lion’s hope’[10.4.6] was
fulfilled, and Ummeda was seated on the throne of his fathers.

=Būndi occupied by Jaipur.=—Dalil fled to his suzerain at Amber, whose
disposable forces, under the famous Khatri Keshodas, were immediately
put in motion to re-expel the Hara. Bundi was invested, and having had
no time given to prepare for defence, Ummeda was compelled to abandon
the walls so nobly won, and “the flag of Dhundhar waved over the
_kunguras_ (battlements) of Dewa-Banga.” And let the redeeming virtue of
the usurper be recorded; who, when his suzerain of Amber desired to
reinstate him on the _gaddi_, refused “to bring a second time the stain
of treason on his head, by which he had been disgraced in the opinion of
mankind.”

=Ummed Singh in Exile.=—Ummeda, once more a wanderer, alternately
courting the aid of Mewar and Marwar, never suspended his hostility to
the usurper of his rights, but carried his incursions, without
intermission, into his paternal domains. One of these led him to the
village of Banodia: hither the Kachhwaha Rani, the widowed queen of his
father, and the cause of all their miseries, had retired, disgusted with
herself and the world, and lamenting, when too late, the ruin she had
brought upon her husband, herself, and the family she had entered.
Ummeda paid her a visit, and the interview added fresh pangs to her
self-reproach. His sufferings, his heroism, brightened by adversity,
originating with her nefarious desire to stifle his claims of
primogeniture by a spurious adoption, awakened sentiments of remorse, of
sympathy, and sorrow. Determined to make some amends, she adopted the
resolution of going to the Deccan, to solicit aid for the son of Budh
Singh. When she arrived on the banks of the Nerbudda a pillar was
pointed out to her on which was inscribed a prohibition to any of her
race to cross this stream, which like the Indus was also styled _atak_,
or ‘forbidden.’[10.4.7] Like a true Rajputni, she broke the tablet in
pieces, and threw it into the stream, observing with a jesuitical
casuistry, that there was no longer any impediment when no ordinance
existed. Having passed the Rubicon, she proceeded forthwith to the camp
of Malhar Rao Holkar. The sister of Jai Singh, the most potent Hindu
prince of India, became a suppliant to this goatherd leader[10.4.8] of a
horde of plunderers, nay, adopted him as her brother to effect the
redemption of Bundi for the exiled Ummeda.

=Malhār Rāo Holkar assists Ummed Singh.=—Malhar, without the accident of
noble birth, possessed the sentiments which belong to it, and he
promised all she asked. How far his compliance might be promoted by
[491] another call for his lance from the Rana of Mewar, in virtue of
the marriage-settlement which promised the succession of Amber to a
princess of his house, the Bundi records do not tell: they refer only to
the prospects of its own prince. But we may, without any reflection on
the gallantry of Holkar, express a doubt how far he would have lent the
aid of his horde to this sole object, had he not had in view the
splendid bribe of sixty-four lakhs from the Rana, to be paid when Isari
Singh should be removed, for his nephew Madho Singh.[10.4.9]

Be this as it may, the Bundi chronicle states that the lady, instead of
the temporary expedient of delivering Bundi, conducted the march of the
Mahrattas direct on Jaipur. Circumstances favoured her designs. The
character of Isari Singh had raised up enemies about his person, who
seized the occasion to forward at once the views of Bundi and Mewar,
whose princes had secretly gained them over to their views.

The Amber prince no sooner heard of the approach of the Mahrattas to his
capital than he quitted it to offer them battle. But their strength had
been misrepresented, nor was it till he reached the castle of
Bagru[10.4.10] that he was undeceived and surrounded. When too late, he
saw that ‘treason had done its worst,’ and that the confidence he had
placed in the successor of a minister whom he had murdered, met its
natural reward. The bard has transmitted in a sloka the cause of his
overthrow:

_Jabhī chhodī Īsra
Rāj karan kī ās,
Mantrī moto māriyo
Khatri Kesodās,_

‘Isari forfeited all hopes of regality, when he slew that great minister
Keshodas.’

=Jaipur forced to restore Ummed Singh.=—The sons of this minister, named
Harsahai and Gursahai, betrayed their prince to the ‘Southron,’ by a
false return of their numbers, and led him to the attack with means
totally inadequate. Resistance to a vast numerical superiority would
have been madness: he retreated to the castle of this fief of Amber,
where, after a siege of ten days, he was forced not only to sign a deed
for the surrender of Bundi, and the renunciation of all claims to it for
himself and his descendants, but to put, in full acknowledgment of his
rights, the _tika_ on the forehead of Ummeda. With this deed, and
accompanied by the contingent of Kotah, they proceeded to Bundi; the
traitor was expelled; and while rejoicings were making to celebrate the
installation of Ummeda, the funereal pyre was lighted at Amber, to
consume the mortal remains of his foe. Raja Isari could [492] not
survive his disgrace, and terminated his existence and hostility by
poison, thereby facilitating the designs both of Bundi and Mewar.

Thus in S. 1805 (A.D. 1749) Ummeda regained his patrimony, after
fourteen years of exile, during which a traitor had pressed the royal
‘cushion’ of Bundi. But this contest deprived it of many of its
ornaments, and, combined with other causes, at length reduced it almost
to its intrinsic worth, ‘a heap of cotton.’ Malhar Rao, the founder of
the Holkar State, in virtue of his adoption as the brother of the
widow-queen of Budh Singh, had the title of Mamu, or uncle, to young
Ummeda. But true to the maxims of his race, he did not take his buckler
to protect the oppressed, at the impulse of those chivalrous notions so
familiar to the Rajput, but deemed a portion of the Bundi territory a
better incentive, and a more unequivocal proof of gratitude, than the
titles of brother and uncle. Accordingly, he demanded, and obtained by
regular deed of surrender, the town and district of Patan on the left
bank of the Chambal.[10.4.11]

The sole equivalent (if such it could be termed) for these fourteen
years of usurpation, were the fortifications covering the palace and
town, now called Taragarh (the ‘Star-fort’), built by Dalil Singh. Madho
Singh, who succeeded to the _gaddi_ of Jaipur, followed up the designs
commenced by Jai Singh, and which had cost his successor his life, to
render the smaller States of Central India dependent on Amber. For this
Kotah had been besieged, and Ummeda expelled, and as such policy could
not be effected by their unassisted means, it only tended to the benefit
of the auxiliaries, who soon became principals, to the prejudice and
detriment of all. Madho Singh, having obtained the castle of
Ranthambhor, a pretext was afforded for these pretensions to supremacy.
From the time of its surrender by Rao Surjan to Akbar, the importance of
this castle was established by its becoming the first Sarkar, or
‘department,’ in the province of Ajmer, consisting of no less than
‘seventy-three mahals,’[10.4.12] or extensive fiefs, in which were
comprehended not only Bundi and Kotah, and all their dependencies, but
the entire State of Sheopur, and all the petty fiefs south of the
Banganga, the aggregate of which now constitutes the State of Amber. In
fact, with the exception of Mahmudabad in Bengal,[10.4.13] Ranthambhor
was the most extensive Sarkar of the empire. In the decrepitude of the
empire, this castle was maintained by a veteran commander [493] as long
as funds and provisions lasted; but these failing, in order to secure it
from falling into the hands of the Mahrattas, and thus being lost for
ever to the throne, he sought out a Rajput prince, to whom he might
entrust it. He applied to Bundi; but the Hara, dreading to compromise
his fealty if unable to maintain it, refused the boon; and having no
alternative, he resigned it to the prince of Amber as a trust which he
could no longer defend.

Out of this circumstance alone originated the claims of Jaipur to
tribute from the Kothris, or fiefs in Haraoti; claims without a shadow
of justice; but the maintenance of which, for the sake of the display of
supremacy and paltry annual relief, has nourished half a century of
irritation, which it is high time should cease.[10.4.14]

=Zālim Singh of Kotah.=—It was the assertion of this supremacy over
Kotah as well as Bundi which first brought into notice the most
celebrated Rajput of modern times, Zalim Singh of Kotah. Rao Durjansal,
who then ruled that State, had too much of the Hara blood to endure such
pretensions as the casual possession of Ranthambhor conferred upon his
brother prince of Amber, who considered that, as the late lieutenant of
the king, he had a right to transfer his powers to himself. The battle
of Bhatwara, in S. 1817 (A.D. 1761), for ever extinguished these
pretensions, on which occasion Zalim Singh, then scarcely of age, mainly
contributed to secure the independence of the State he was ultimately
destined to govern. But this exploit belongs to the annals of Kotah, and
would not have been here alluded to, except to remark, that had the
Bundi army joined Kotah in this common cause, they would have redeemed
its fiefs from the tribute they are still compelled to pay to Jaipur.

Ummeda’s active mind was engrossed with the restoration of the
prosperity which the unexampled vicissitudes of the last fifteen years
had undermined; but he felt his spirit cramped and his energies
contracted by the dominant influence and avarice of the insatiable
Mahrattas, through whose means he recovered his capital; still there was
as yet no fixed principle of government recognized, and the Rajputs, who
[494] witnessed their periodical visitations like flights of locusts
over their plains, hoped that this scourge would be equally transitory.
Under this great and pernicious error, all the Rajput States continued
to mix these interlopers in their national disputes, which none had more
cause to repent than the Haras of Bundi. But the hold which the
Mahrattas retained upon the lands of ‘Dewa Banga’ would never have
acquired such tenacity, had the bold arm and sage mind of Ummeda
continued to guide the vessel of the State throughout the lengthened
period of his natural existence: his premature political decease adds
another example to the truth, that patriarchal, and indeed all
governments are imperfect where the laws are not supreme.

=Ummed Singh’s Revenge on Indargarh.=—An act of revenge stained the
reputation of Ummeda, naturally virtuous, and but for which deed we
should have to paint him as one of the bravest, wisest, and most
faultless characters which Rajput history has recorded. Eight years had
elapsed since the recovery of his dominions, and we have a right to
infer that his wrongs and their authors had been forgotten, or rather
forgiven, for human nature can scarcely forget so treacherous an act as
that of his vassal of Indargarh, on the defeat of Dablana. As so long a
time had passed since the restoration without the penalty of his treason
being exacted, it might have been concluded that the natural generosity
of this high-minded prince had co-operated with a wise policy, in
passing over the wrong without forgoing his right to avenge it. The
degenerate Rajput, who could at such a moment witness the necessities of
his prince and refuse to relieve them, could never reflect on that hour
without self-abhorrence; but his spirit was too base to offer reparation
by a future life of duty; he cursed the magnanimity of the man he had
injured; hated him for his very forbearance, and aggravated the part he
had acted by fresh injuries, and on a point too delicate to admit of
being overlooked. Ummeda had ‘sent the coco-nut,’ the symbol of
matrimonial alliance, to Madho Singh, in the name of his sister. It was
received in a full assembly of all the nobles of the court, and with the
respect due to one of the most illustrious races of Rajputana. Deo Singh
of Indargarh was at that time on a visit at Jaipur, and the compliment
was paid him by the Raja of asking “what fame said of the daughter of
Budh Singh?” It is not impossible that he might have sought this
opportunity of further betraying his prince; for his reply was an
insulting innuendo, leading to doubts as to the purity of her blood.
That it was grossly false, was soon proved by the solicitation of her
hand by Raja Bijai Singh of Marwar. “The coco-nut was returned to
Bundi,”—an insult never to be forgiven by a Rajput [495].

In S. 1813 (A.D. 1757), Ummeda went to pay his devotions at the shrine
of Bijaiseni Mata (‘the mother of victory’), near Karwar.[10.4.15] Being
in the vicinity of Indargarh, he invited its chief to join the assembled
vassals with their families; and though dissuaded, Deo Singh obeyed,
accompanied by his son and grandson. All were cut off at one fell swoop,
and the line of the traitor was extinct: as if the air of heaven should
not be contaminated by the smoke of their ashes, Ummeda commanded that
the bodies of the calumnious traitor and his issue should be thrown into
the lake. His fief of Indargarh was given to his brother, between whom
and the present incumbent four generations have passed away.

Fifteen years elapsed, during which the continual scenes of disorder
around him furnished ample occupation for his thoughts. Yet, in the
midst of all, would intrude the remembrance of this single act, in which
he had usurped the powers of Him to whom alone it belongs to execute
vengeance. Though no voice was lifted up against the deed, though he had
a moral conviction that a traitor’s death was the due of Deo Singh, his
soul, generous as it was brave, revolted at the crime, however
sanctified by custom,[10.4.16] which confounds the innocent with the
guilty. To appease his conscience, he determined to abdicate the throne,
and pass the rest of his days in penitential rites, and traversing, in
the pilgrim’s garb, the vast regions of India, to visit the sacred
shrines of his faith.

=Abdication of Mahārāo Ummed Singh.=—In S. 1827 (A.D. 1771), the
imposing ceremony of ‘Jugraj,’ which terminated the political existence
of Ummeda, was performed. An image of the prince was made, and a pyre
was erected, on which it was consumed. The hair and whiskers of Ajit,
his successor, were taken off, and offered to the Manes; lamentation and
wailing were heard in the _ranwas_,[10.4.17] and the twelve days of
_matam_, or ‘mourning,’ were passed as if Ummeda had really
deceased;[10.4.18] on the expiration of which, the installation of his
successor took place, when Ajit Singh was proclaimed prince of the Haras
of Bundi.

The abdicated Ummeda, with the title of Sriji (by which alone he was
henceforth known), retired to that holy spot in the valley sanctified by
the miraculous cure of the first ‘lord of the Patar,’[10.4.19] and which
was named after one of the fountains of the Ganges, Kedarnath. To this
spot, hallowed by a multitude of associations, the warlike pilgrim
brought

The fruit and flower of many a province,

and had the gratification to find these exotics, whether the hardy
offspring of the [496] snow-clad Himalaya, or the verge of ocean in the
tropic, fructify and flourish amidst the rocks of his native abode. It
is curious even to him who is ignorant of the moral vicissitudes which
produced it, to see the pine of Tibet, the cane of Malacca, and other
exotics, planted by the hand of the princely ascetic, flourishing around
his hermitage, in spite of the intense heats of this rock-bound abode.

When Ummeda resigned the sceptre of the Haras, it was from the
conviction that a life of meditation alone could yield the consolation,
and obtain the forgiveness which he found necessary to his repose. But
in assuming the pilgrim’s staff, he did not lay aside any feeling
becoming his rank or his birth. There was no pusillanimous prostration
of intellect; no puling weakness of bigoted sentiment, but the same
lofty mind which redeemed his birthright, accompanied him wherever he
bent his steps to seek knowledge in the society of devout and holy men.
He had read in the annals of his own and of other States, that “the
trappings of royalty were snares to perdition, and that happy was the
man who in time threw them aside and made his peace with heaven.” But in
obeying, at once, the dictates of conscience and of custom, he felt his
mind too much alive to the wonders of creation, to bury himself in the
fane of Kanhaiya, or the sacred baths on the Ganges; and he determined
to see all those holy places commemorated in the ancient epics of his
nation, and the never-ending theme of the wandering devotee. In this
determination he was, perhaps, somewhat influenced by that love of
adventure in which he had been nurtured, and it was a balm to his mind
when he found that arms and religion were not only compatible, but that
his pious resolution to force a way through the difficulties which beset
the pilgrim’s path, enhanced the merit of his devotion. Accordingly, the
royal ascetic went forth on his pilgrimage, not habited in the hermit’s
garb, but armed at all points. Even in this there was penance, not
ostentation, and he carried or buckled on his person one of every
species of offensive or defensive weapon then in use: a load which would
oppress any two Rajputs in these degenerate times. He wore a quilted
tunic, which would resist a sabre-cut; besides a matchlock, a lance, a
sword, a dagger, and their appurtenances of knives, pouches, and
priming-horn, he had a battle-axe, a javelin, a tomahawk, a discus, bow
and quiver of arrows; and it is affirmed that such was his muscular
power, even when threescore and ten years had blanched his beard in
wandering to and fro thus accoutred, that he could place the whole of
this panoply within his shield, and with one arm not only raise it, but
hold it for some seconds extended [497].

=The Wanderings of Ummed Singh.=—With a small escort of his gallant
clansmen, during a long series of years he traversed every region, from
the glacial fountains of the Ganges to the southern promontory of
Rameswaram;[10.4.20] and from the hot-wells of Sita in Arakan,[10.4.21]
and the Moloch of Orissa,[10.4.22] to the shrine of the Hindu Apollo at
‘the world’s end.’[10.4.23] Within these limits of Hinduism, Ummeda saw
every place of holy resort, of curiosity, or of learning; and whenever
he revisited his paternal domains, his return was greeted not only by
his own tribe, but by every prince and Rajput of Rajwara, who deemed his
abode hallowed if the princely pilgrim halted there on his route. He was
regarded as an oracle, while the treasures of knowledge which his
observation had accumulated, caused his conversation to be courted and
every word to be recorded. The admiration paid to him while living
cannot be better ascertained than by the reverence manifested by every
Hara to his memory. To them his word was a law, and every relic of him
continues to be held in veneration. Almost his last journey was to the
extremity of his nation, the temples at the Delta of the Indus, and the
shrine of the Hindu Cybele, the terrific Agnidevi of Hinglaj, on the
shores of Makran, even beyond the Rubicon of the Hindus.[10.4.24] As he
returned by Dwarka he was beset by a band of Kabas,[10.4.25] a
plundering race infesting these regions. But the veteran, uniting the
arm of flesh to that of faith, valiantly defended himself, and gained a
complete victory, making prisoner their leader, who, as the price of his
ransom, took an oath never again to molest the pilgrims to Dwarka.

The warlike pilgrimage of Ummeda had been interrupted by a tragical
occurrence, which occasioned the death of his son, and compelled him to
abide for a time at the seat of government to superintend the education
of his grandchild. This eventful catastrophe, interwoven in the border
history of Mewar and Haraoti, is well worthy of narration, as
illustrative of manners and belief, and fulfilled a prophecy pronounced
centuries before by the dying Sati of Bumbaoda, that “the Rao and the
Rana should never meet at the Aheria (or spring hunt) without death
ensuing.” What we are about to relate was the fourth repetition of this
sport with the like fatal result.

The hamlet of Bilaita, which produced but a few good mangoes, and for
its population a few Minas, was the ostensible cause of dispute. The
chief of Bundi, either deeming it within his territory, or desiring to
consider it so, threw up a fortification, in which he placed a garrison
to overawe the freebooters, who were instigated by the discontented
chiefs of Mewar to represent this as an infringement of their prince’s
rights. Accordingly, the Rana marched with all his chieftains, and a
mercenary [498] band of Sindis, to the disputed point, whence he invited
the Bundi prince, Ajit, to his camp. He came, and the Rana was so
pleased with his manners and conduct, that Bilaita and its mango grove
were totally forgotten. Spring was at hand; the joyous month of Phalgun,
when it was necessary to open the year with a sacrifice of the boar to
Gauri (see Vol. II. p. 660). The young Hara, in return for the
courtesies of the Rana, invited him to open the Aheria, within the
_ramnas_ or preserves of Bundi. The invitation was accepted; the prince
of the Sesodias, according to usage, distributed the green turbans and
scarfs, and on the appointed day, with a brilliant cavalcade, repaired
to the heights of Nanta.

=Murder of Rāna Ari Singh.=—The abdicated Rao, who had lately returned
from Badarinath, no sooner heard of the projected hunt, than he
dispatched a special messenger to remind his son of the anathema of the
Sati. The impetuous Ajit replied that it was impossible to recall his
invitation on such pusillanimous grounds. The morning came, and the
Rana, filled with sentiments of friendship for the young Rao, rode with
him to the field. But the preceding evening, the minister of Mewar had
waited on the Rao, and in language the most insulting told him to
surrender Bilaita, or he would send a body of Sindis to place him in
restraint, and he was vile enough to insinuate that he was merely the
organ of his prince’s commands. This rankled in the mind of the Rao
throughout the day; and when the sport was over, and he had the Rana’s
leave to depart, a sudden idea passed across his mind of the intended
degradation, and an incipient resolution to anticipate this disgrace
induced him to return. The Rana, unconscious of any offence, received
his young friend with a smile, repeated his permission to retire, and
observed that they should soon meet again. Irresolute, and overcome by
this affable behaviour, his half-formed intent was abandoned, and again
he bowed and withdrew. But scarcely had he gone a few paces when, as if
ashamed of himself, he summoned up the powers of revenge, and rushed,
spear in hand, upon his victim. With such unerring force did he ply it,
that the head of the lance, after passing through the Rana, was
transfixed in the neck of his steed. The wounded prince had merely time
to exclaim, as he regarded the assassin on whom he had lavished his
friendship, “Oh, Hara! what have you done?” when the Indargarh chief
finished the treachery with his sword. The Hara Rao, as if glorying in
the act, carried off the _chhattar-changi_, ‘the golden sun in the sable
disk,’ the regal insignia of Mewar, which he lodged in the palace of
Bundi. The abdicated Ummeda, whose gratified revenge had led to a life
of repentance, was horror-struck at this fresh atrocity in his house
[499]: he cried, “Shame on the deed!” nor would he henceforth look on
the face of his son.

A highly dramatic effect is thrown around the last worldly honours paid
to the murdered king of Mewar; and although his fate has been elsewhere
described, it may be proper to record it from the chronicle of his
foeman.

=The Obsequies of Rāna Ari Singh.=—The Rana and the Bundi prince had
married two sisters, daughters of the prince of Kishangarh, so that
there were ties of connexion to induce the Rana to reject all suspicion
of danger, though he had been warned by his wife to beware of his
brother-in-law. The ancient feud had been balanced in the mutual death
of the last two princes, and no motive for enmity existed. On the day
previous to this disastrous event, the Mewar minister had given a feast,
of which the princes and their nobles had partaken, when all was harmony
and friendship; but the sequel to the deed strongly corroborates the
opinion that it was instigated by the nobles of Mewar, in hatred of
their tyrannical prince; and other hints were not wanting in addition to
the indignant threats of the minister to kindle the feeling of revenge.
At the moment the blow was struck, a simple mace-bearer alone had the
fidelity to defend his master; not a chief was at hand either to
intercept the stroke, or pursue the assassin; on the contrary, no sooner
was the deed consummated, than the whole chivalry of Mewar, as if
panic-struck and attacked by a host, took to flight, abandoning their
camp and the dead body of their master.

A single concubine remained to perform the last rites to her lord. She
commanded a costly pyre to be raised, and prepared to become his
companion to a world unknown. With the murdered corpse in her arms, she
reared her form from the pile, and, as the torch was applied, she
pronounced a curse on his murderer, invoking the tree under whose shade
it was raised to attest the prophecy, “that, if a selfish treachery
alone prompted the deed, within two months the assassin might be an
example to mankind; but if it sprung from a noble revenge of any ancient
feud, she absolved him from the curse: a branch of the tree fell in
token of assent, and the ashes of the Rana and the Sati whitened the
plain of Bilaita.”

=Death of Mahārāo Ajīt Singh.=—Within the two months, the prophetic
anathema was fulfilled; the Rao of the Haras was a corpse, exhibiting an
awful example of divine vengeance: “the flesh dropped from his bones,
and he expired, an object of loathing and of misery.” Hitherto these
feuds had been balanced by the _lex talionis_, or its substitutes, but
this last remains unappeased, strengthening the belief that it was
prompted from Mewar [500].

=Mahārāo Bishan Singh, A.D. 1770-1821.=—Bishan Singh, the sole offspring
of Ajit, and who succeeded to the _gaddi_, was then an infant, and it
became a matter of necessity that Sriji should watch his interests.
Having arranged the affairs of the infant Rao, and placed an intelligent
Dhabhai (foster-brother) at the head of the government, he recommenced
his peregrinations, being often absent four years at a time, until
within a few years of his death, when the feebleness of age confined him
to his hermitage of Kedarnath.

It affords an additional instance of Rajput instability of character, or
rather of the imperfection of their government, that, in his old age,
when a life of austerity had confirmed a renunciation which reflection
had prompted, the venerable warrior became an object of distrust to his
grandchild. Miscreants, who dreaded to see wisdom near the throne, had
the audacity to add insult to a prohibition of Sriji’s return to Bundi,
commanding him “to eat sweetmeats and tell his beads at Benares.” The
messenger, who found him advanced as far as Nayashahr,[10.4.27]
delivered the mandate, adding that his ashes should not mingle with his
fathers'. But such was the estimation in which he was held, and the
sanctity he had acquired from these pilgrimages, that the sentence was
no sooner known than the neighbouring princes became suitors for his
society. The heroism of his youth, the dignified piety of his age,
inspired the kindred mind of Partap Singh of Amber with very different
feelings from those of his own tribe. He addressed Sriji as a son and a
servant, requesting permission to '_darshankar_' (worship him), and
convey him to his capital. Such was the courtesy of the flower of the
Kachhwahas! Sriji declined this mark of homage, but accepted the
invitation. He was received with honour, and so strongly did the gallant
and virtuous Partap feel the indignity put upon the abdicated prince,
that he told him, if “any remnant of worldly association yet lurked
within him,” he would in person, at the head of all the troops of Amber,
place him on the throne both of Bundi and Kotah. Sriji’s reply was
consistent with his magnanimity: “They are both mine already—on the one
is my nephew, on the other my grandchild.” On this occasion, Zalim Singh
of Kotah appeared on the scene as mediator; he repaired to Bundi, and
exposed the futility of Bishan Singh’s apprehensions; and armed with
full powers of reconciliation, sent Lalaji Pandit to escort the old Rao
to his capital. The meeting was such as might have been expected,
between a precipitate youth tutored by artful knaves, and the venerable
chief who had renounced every mundane feeling but affection for his
offspring. It drew tears from all eyes: “My child,” said the
pilgrim-warrior, presenting his sword, “take this; apply it yourself if
you think I can have any bad intentions towards you; but let not the
base defame me” [501]. The young Rao wept aloud as he entreated
forgiveness; and the Pandit and Zalim Singh had the satisfaction of
seeing the intentions of the sycophants, who surrounded the minor
prince, defeated. Sriji refused, however, to enter the halls of Bundi
during the remainder of his life, which ended about eight years after
this event, when his grandchild entreated “he would close his eyes
within the walls of his fathers.” A remnant of that feeling inseparable
from humanity made the dying Ummeda offer no objection, and he was
removed in a _sukhpal_[10.4.28] (litter) to the palace, where he that
night breathed his last. Thus, in S. 1860 (A.D. 1804), Ummeda Singh
closed a varied and chequered life; the sun of his morning rose amidst
clouds of adversity, soon to burst forth in a radiant prosperity; but
scarcely had it attained its meridian glory ere crime dimmed its
splendour and it descended in solitude and sorrow.

Sixty years had passed over his head since Ummeda, when only thirteen
years of age, put himself at the head of his Haras, and carried Patan
and Gandoli. His memory is venerated in Haraoti, and but for the stain
which the gratification of his revenge has left upon his fame, he would
have been the model of a Rajput prince. But let us not apply the
European standard of abstract virtue to these princes, who have so few
checks and so many incentives to crime, and whose good acts deserve the
more applause from an appalling _honhar_ (predestination) counteracting
moral responsibility.

=Colonel Monson’s Campaign.=—The period of Sriji’s death was an
important era in the history of the Haras. It was at this time that a
British army, under the unfortunate Monson, for the first time appeared
in these regions, avowedly for the purpose of putting down Holkar, the
great foe of the Rajputs, but especially of Bundi.[10.4.29] Whether the
aged chief was yet alive and counselled this policy, which has since
been gratefully repaid by Britain, we are not aware; but whatever has
been done for Bundi has fallen short of the chivalrous deserts of its
prince. It was not on the advance of our army, when its ensigns were
waving in anticipation of success, but on its humiliating flight, that a
safe passage was not only cheerfully granted, but aided to the utmost of
the Raja’s means, and with an almost culpable disregard of his own
welfare and interests. It was, indeed, visited with retribution, which
we little knew, or, in the pusillanimous policy of that day, little
heeded. Suffice it to say, that, in 1817, when we called upon the
Rajputs to arm and coalesce with us in the putting down of rapine, Bundi
was one of the foremost to join the alliance. Well she might be; for the
Mahratta flag waved in unison with her own within the walls of the
capital, while the revenues collected scarcely [502] afforded the means
of personal protection to its prince. Much of this was owing to our
abandonment of the Rao in 1804.

=Compensation to Būndi after the Pindāri War.=—Throughout the contest of
1817, Bundi had no will but ours; its prince and dependents were in arms
ready to execute our behest; and when victory crowned our efforts in
every quarter, on the subsequent pacification, the Rao Raja Bishan Singh
was not forgotten. The districts held by Holkar, some of which had been
alienated for half a century, and which had become ours by right of
conquest, were restored to Bundi without a qualification; while, at the
same time, we negotiated the surrender to him of the districts held by
Sindhia, on his paying, through us, an annual sum calculated on the
average of the last ten years’ depreciated revenue. The intense
gratitude felt by the Raja was expressed in a few forcible words: “I am
not a man of protestation; but my head is yours whenever you require
it.” This was not an unmeaning phrase of compliment; he would have
sacrificed his life, and that of every Hara who “ate his salt,” had we
made experiment of his fidelity. Still, immense as were the benefits
showered upon Bundi, and with which her prince was deeply penetrated,
there was a drawback. The old Machiavelli of Kotah had been before him
in signing himself ‘_fidwi Sarkar Angrez_’ (the slave of the English
government), and had contrived to get Indargarh, Balwan, Antardah, and
Khatoli, the chief feudatories of Bundi, under his protection.

The frank and brave Rao Raja could not help deeply regretting an
arrangement, which, as he emphatically said, was “clipping his wings.”
The disposition is a bad one, and both justice and political expediency
enjoin a revision of it, and the bringing about a compromise which would
restore the integrity of the most interesting and deserving little State
in India.[10.4.30] Well has it repaid the anxious care we manifested for
its interests; for while every other principality has, by some means or
other, caused uneasiness or trouble to the protecting power, Bundi has
silently advanced to comparative prosperity, happy in her independence,
and interfering with no one. The Rao Raja survived the restoration of
his independence only four short years, when he was carried off by that
scourge, the cholera morbus. In his extremity, writhing under a disease
which unmans the strongest frame and mind, he was cool and composed. He
interdicted his wives from following him to the pyre, and bequeathing
his son and successor [503] to the guardianship of the representative of
the British government, breathed his last in the prime of life.

=Death and Character of Mahārāo Bishan Singh.=—The character of Bishan
Singh may be summed up in a few words. He was an honest man, and every
inch a Rajput. Under an unpolished exterior, he concealed an excellent
heart and an energetic soul; he was by no means deficient in
understanding, and possessed a thorough knowledge of his own interests.
When the Mahrattas gradually curtailed his revenues, and circumscribed
his power and comforts, he seemed to delight in showing how easily he
could dispense with unessential enjoyments; and found in the pleasures
of the chase the only stimulus befitting a Rajput. He would bivouac for
days in the lion’s lair, nor quit the scene until he had circumvented
the forest king, the only prey he deemed worthy of his skill. He had
slain upwards of one hundred lions with his own hand, besides many
tigers, and boars innumerable had been victims to his lance. In this
noble pastime, not exempt from danger, and pleasurable in proportion to
the toil, he had a limb broken, which crippled him for life, and
shortened his stature, previously below the common standard. But when he
mounted his steed and waved his lance over his head, there was a
masculine vigour and dignity which at once evinced that Bishan Singh,
had we called upon him, would have wielded his weapon as worthily in our
cause as did his glorious ancestors for Jahangir or Shah Alam. He was
somewhat despotic in his own little empire, knowing that fear is a
necessary incentive to respect in the governed, more especially amongst
the civil servants of his government; and, if the Court Journal of Bundi
may be credited, his audiences with his chancellor of the exchequer, who
was his premier, must have been amusing to those in the antechamber. The
Raja had a reserved fund, to which the minister was required to add a
hundred rupees daily; and whatever plea he might advance for the neglect
of other duties, on this point none would be listened to, or the appeal
to Indrajit was threatened. “The conqueror of Indra” was no superior
divinity, but a shoe of superhuman size suspended from a peg, where a
more classic prince would have exhibited his rod of empire. But he
reserved this for his barons, and the shoe, thus misnamed, was the
humiliating corrective for an offending minister.

=The Ministers of Būndi.=—At Bundi, as at all these patriarchal
principalities, the chief agents of power are few. They are four in
number, namely: 1. The Diwan, or Musahib; 2. The Faujdar, or Kiladar; 3.
The Bakhshi; 4. The Risala, or Comptroller of Accounts [504].[10.4.31]

This little State became so connected with the imperial court, that,
like Jaipur, the princes adopted several of its customs. The Pardhan, or
premier, was entitled Diwan and Musahib; and he had the entire
management of the territory and finances. The Faujdar or Kiladar is the
governor of the castle, the Maire de Palais, who at Bundi is never a
Rajput, but some Dhabhai or foster-brother, identified with the family,
who likewise heads the feudal quotas or the mercenaries, and has lands
assigned for their support. The Bakhshi controls generally all accounts;
the Risala those of the household expenditure. The late prince’s
management of his revenue was extraordinary. Instead of the surplus
being lodged in the treasury, it centred in a mercantile concern
conducted by the prime minister, in the profits of which the Raja
shared. But while he exhibited but fifteen per cent gain in the
balance-sheet, it was stated at thirty. From this profit the troops and
dependents of the court were paid, chiefly in goods and grain, and at
such a rate as he chose to fix.[10.4.32] Their necessities, and their
prince being joint partner in the firm, made complaint useless; but the
system entailed upon the premier universal execration.

Bishan Singh left two legitimate sons: the Rao Raja Ram Singh, then
eleven years of age, who was installed in August 1821; and the Maharaja
Gopal Singh, a few months younger. Both were most promising youths,
especially the Raja. He inherited his father’s passion for the chase,
and even at this tender age received from the nobles[10.4.33] their
nazars and congratulations on the first wild game he slew. Hitherto his
pigmy sword had been proved only on kids or lambs. His mother, the
queen-regent, is a princess of Kishangarh, amiable, able, and devoted to
her son. It is ardently hoped that this most interesting State and
family will rise to their ancient prosperity, under the generous
auspices of the government which rescued it from ruin. In return, we may
reckon on a devotion to which our power is yet a stranger—strong hands
and grateful hearts, which will court death in our behalf with the same
indomitable spirit that has been exemplified in days gone by. Our wishes
are for the prosperity of the Haras! [505].

[Illustration:

CITY OF KOTAH FROM THE EAST.
_To face page 1521._
]

KOTAH
CHAPTER 5

=Formation of Kotah State.=—The early history of the Haras of Kotah
belongs to Bundi, of which they were a junior branch. The separation
took place when Shah Jahan was emperor of India, who bestowed Kotah and
its dependencies on Madho Singh, the second son of Rao Ratan, for his
distinguished gallantry in the battle of Burhanpur.[10.5.1]

=Rāo Mādho Singh, _c._ A.D. 1625-30.=—Madho Singh was born in S. 1621
(A.D. 1565). At the early age of fourteen, he displayed that daring
intrepidity which gave him the title of Raja, and Kotah with its three
hundred and sixty townships (then the chief fief of Bundi, and yielding
two lakhs of rent), independent of his father.

It has already been related, that the conquest of this tract was made
from the Khota Bhils of the Ujla, the ‘unmixed,’ or aboriginal race.
From these the Rajput will eat, and all classes will ‘drink water’ at
their hands.[10.5.2] Kotah was at that time but a series of hamlets, the
abode of the Bhil chief, styled Raja, being the ancient fortress of
Ekelgarh, five coss south of Kotah. But when Madho Singh was enfeoffed
by the king, Kotah had already attained extensive limits. To the south
it was bounded by Gagraun and Ghatoli, then held by the Khichis; on the
east, by Mangrol and [506] Nahargarh, the first belonging to the Gaur,
the last to a Rathor Rajput, who had apostatized to save his land and
was now a Nawab; to the north, it extended as far as Sultanpur, on the
Chambal, across which was the small domain of Nanta. In this space were
contained three hundred and sixty townships, and a rich soil fertilized
by numerous large streams.

The favour and power Madho Singh enjoyed, enabled him to increase the
domain he held direct of the crown, and his authority at his death
extended to the barrier between Malwa and Haraoti. Madho Singh died in
S. 1687, leaving five sons, whose appanages became the chief fiefs of
Kotah. To the holders and their descendants, in order to mark the
separation between them and the elder Haras of Bundi, the patronymic of
the founder was applied, and the epithet Madhani is sufficiently
distinctive whenever two Haras, bearing the same name, appear together.
These were—

1. Mukund Singh, who had Kotah.

2. Mohan Singh, who had Paleta.

3. Jujarh Singh, who had Kotra, and subsequently Ramgarh, Rilawan.

4. Kaniram, who had Koila.[10.5.3]

5. Kishor Singh who obtained Sangod.

=Rāo Mukund Singh, A.D. 1630-57.=—Raja Mukund Singh succeeded. To this
prince the chief pass in the barrier dividing Malwa from Haraoti owes
its name of Mukunddarra[10.5.4] which gained an unfortunate celebrity on
the defeat and flight of the British troops under Brigadier Monson, A.D.
1804. Mukund erected many places of strength and utility; and the palace
and petta[10.5.5] of Anta are both attributable to him.

Raja Mukund gave one of those brilliant instances of Rajput devotion to
the principle of legitimate rule, so many of which illustrate his
national history. When Aurangzeb formed his parricidal design to
dethrone his father Shah Jahan, nearly every Rajput rallied round the
throne of the aged monarch; and the Rathors and the Haras were most
conspicuous. The sons of Madho Singh, besides the usual ties of
fidelity, forgot not that to Shah Jahan they owed their independence,
and they determined to defend him to the death. In S. 1714, in the field
near Ujjain, afterwards named by the victor Fatehabad, the five brothers
led their vassals, clad in the saffron-stained garment, with the bridal
_maur_ (coronet) on their head, denoting death or victory.[10.5.6] The
imprudent intrepidity of the Rathor commander denied them the latter,
but a [507] glorious death no power could prevent, and all the five
brothers fell in one field. The youngest, Kishor Singh, was afterwards
dragged from amidst the slain, and, though pierced with wounds,
recovered. He was afterwards one of the most conspicuous of the intrepid
Rajputs serving in the Deccan, and often attracted notice, especially in
the capture of Bijapur. But the imperial princes knew not how to
appreciate or to manage such men, who, when united under one who could
control them, were irresistible.

=Rāo Jagat Singh, A.D. 1657-70.=—Jagat Singh, the son of Mukund,
succeeded to the family estates, and to the mansab or dignity of a
commander of two thousand, in the imperial army. He continued serving in
the Deccan until his death in S. 1726, leaving no issue.

=Rāo Pem Singh, A.D. 1670.=—Pem Singh, son of Kaniram of Koila,
succeeded; but was so invincibly stupid that the Panch (council of
chiefs) set him aside after six months’ rule, and sent him back to
Koila, which is still held by his descendants.[10.5.7]

=Rāo Kishor Singh I. A.D. 1670-86.=—Kishor Singh, who so miraculously
recovered from his wounds, was placed upon the _gaddi_. When the throne
was at length obtained by Aurangzeb, Kishor was again serving in the
south, and shedding his own blood, with that of his kinsmen, in its
subjugation. He greatly distinguished himself at the siege of Bijapur,
and was finally slain at the escalade of Arkatgarh (Arcot), in S. 1742.
He was a noble specimen of a Hara; and, it is said, counted fifty wounds
on his person. He left three sons, Bishan Singh, Ram Singh, and Harnath
Singh. The eldest, Bishan Singh, was deprived of his birthright for
refusing to accompany his father to the south; but had the appanage and
royal palace of Anta conferred upon him. His issue was as follows:
Prithi Singh, chief of Anta, whose son, Ajit Singh, had three sons,
Chhattarsal, Guman Singh, and Raj Singh.

=Rāo Rām Singh, A.D. 1686-1707.=—Ram Singh, who was with his father when
he was killed, succeeded to all his dignities, and was inferior to none
in the contests which fill the page of imperial history, and in opposing
the rise of the Mahrattas. In the war of succession, he embraced the
cause of Prince Azam, the viceroy in the Deccan, against the elder,
Muazzam, and was slain in the battle of Jajau, in S. 1764. In this
memorable conflict, which decided the succession to the throne, the
Kotah prince espoused the opposite cause to [508] the head of his house
of Bundi, and Hara met Hara in that desperate encounter, when a
cannon-shot terminated the life of Ram Singh in the very zenith of his
career.

=Rāo Bhīm Singh, A.D. 1707-20.=—Bhim Singh succeeded; and with him Kotah
no longer remained a raj of the third order. On the death of Bahadur
Shah, and the accession of Farrukhsiyar, Raja Bhim espoused the cause of
the Sayyids, when his mansab was increased to “five thousand,” a rank
heretofore confined to princes of the blood and rajas of the first
class. The elder branch of the Haras maintained its fealty to the throne
against these usurping ministers, and thus the breach made at the battle
of Jajau was widened by their taking opposite sides. The disgraceful
attempt of Raja Bhim on the life of Rao Raja Budh of Bundi has already
been recorded. Having completely identified himself with the designs of
the Sayyids and Jai Singh of Amber, he aided all the schemes of the
latter to annihilate Bundi, an object the more easy of accomplishment
since the unmerited and sudden misfortunes of Rao Budh had deprived him
of his reason. Raja Bhim obtained the royal sanad or grant for all the
lands on the Patar, from Kotah west, to the descent into Ahirwara east;
which comprehended much land of the Khichis as well as of Bundi. He thus
obtained the celebrated castle of Gagraun, now the strongest in Haraoti,
and rendered memorable by its defence against Alau-d-din; likewise Mau
Maidana, Shirgarh, Bara, Mangrol, and Barod, all to the eastward of the
Chambal, which was formally constituted the western boundary of the
State. The aboriginal Bhils of Ujla, or ‘pure’ descent, had recovered
much of their ancient inheritance in the intricate tracts on the
southern frontier of Haraoti. Of these, Manohar Thana, now the most
southern garrison of Kotah, became their chief place, and here dwelt
‘the king of the Bhils,’ Raja Chakarsen, whose person was attended by
five hundred horse and eight hundred bowmen, and to whom all the various
tribes of Bhils, from Mewar to the extremity of the plateau, owed
obedience. This indigenous race, whose simple life secured their
preservation amidst all the vicissitudes of fortune, from Raja Bhoj of
Dhar to Raja Bhim of Kotah, were dispossessed and hunted down without
mercy, and their possessions added to Kotah. On the occasion of the
subjugation of Bhilwara, the latter assigned tracts of land to the Umat
chiefs of Narsingarh and Rajgarh Patan, with townships in _thali_, in
Kotah proper, and hence arose the claim of Kotah on these independent
States for the tribute termed tankhwah.[10.5.8] At the same time all the
[509] chieftains acknowledged the supremacy of Kotah, under articles of
precisely the same nature as those which guaranteed the safety and
independence of Rajwara by Britain; with this difference, that the Umats
could not be installed without the khilat of recognition of the princes
of Kotah. Had Raja Bhim lived, he would further have extended the
borders of Haraoti, which were already carried beyond the mountains.
Onarsi, Dig, Perawa, and the lands of the Chandarawats, were brought
under subjection, but were lost with his death, which, like that of his
predecessors, was an untimely sacrifice to duty towards the throne.

When the celebrated Kilich Khan,[10.5.9] afterwards better known to
history as Nizamu-l-mulk, fled from the court to maintain himself by
force of arms in his government of the Deccan, Raja Jai Singh of Amber,
as the lieutenant of the king, commanded Bhim Singh of Kotah and Gaj
Singh of Narwar to intercept him in his passage. The Nizam was the Pagri
badal Bhai, or ‘turban-exchanged brother,’ of the Hara prince, and he
sent him a friendly epistle, entreating him “not to credit the reports
to his disadvantage, telling him that he had abstracted no treasures of
the empire, and that Jai Singh was a meddling knave, who desired the
destruction of both; and urging him to heed him not, nor offer any
molestation to his passage to the south.” The brave Hara replied, that
“He knew the line between friendship and duty; he was commanded to
intercept him, and had advanced for that purpose; it was the king’s
order; fight him he must, and next morning would attack him.” The
courtesy of the Rajput, who mingled no resentment with his hostility,
but, like a true cavalier, gave due warning of his intention, was not
thrown away upon the wily Muslim. The Nizam took post amidst the broken
ground of the Sindh, near the town of Kurwai Borasa.[10.5.10] There was
but one approach to his position without a circuitous march, which
suited not the impatient Rajput; and there his antagonist planted a
battery, masked by some brushwood. At the _pila badal_ (morning-dawn)
Raja Bhim, having taken his _amal-pani_, or opium-water, mounted his
elephant, and uniting his vassals to those of the Kachhwaha, the
combined clans moved on to the attack, in one of those dense masses,
with couched lances, whose shock is irresistible. They were within
musket-shot of the Nizam; had they reached him, Haidarabad would never
have arisen on the ruins of Gualkund,[10.5.11] the ancient Hara abode;
but the battery opened, and in an instant the elephants with their
riders, Raja Bhim and Raja Gaj, were destroyed. Horse and foot became
commingled, happy to emerge from the toils into which the blind
confidence of their leaders had carried them; and Kilich Khan pursued
the career that destiny had marked out for him [510].

=Loss of the Hāra Tribal God.=—On this occasion the Haras sustained a
double loss: their leader, and their titular divinity, Brajnath, the god
of Braj. This palladium of the Haras is a small golden image, which is
borne on the saddle-bow of their princely leader in every conflict. When
the _gol_ is formed and the lances are couched, the signal of onset is
the shout of ‘Jai Brajnathji!’ ‘Victory to Brajnath!’ and many a
glorious victory and many a glorious death has he witnessed. After being
long missing, the representative of the god was recovered and sent to
Kotah, to the great joy of every Hara. It was in S. 1776 (A.D. 1720)
that Bhim Singh perished, having ruled fifteen years, during which short
period he established the affairs of his little dominion on a basis
which has never been shaken.

=Rāo Bhīm Singh attacks Būndi.=—The rivalry that commenced between the
houses, when Hara encountered Hara on the plains of Dholpur, and each
princely leader sealed his fidelity to the cause he espoused with his
blood, was brought to issue by Raja Bhim, whose attack upon Rao Budh of
Bundi, while defending the forlorn Farrukhsiyar, has already been
related, though without its consequences. These were fatal to the
supremacy of the elder branch; for, taking advantage of his position and
the expulsion of Rao Budh, in which he aided, Raja Bhim made an attempt
upon Bundi, and despoiled that capital of all the insignia of sovereign
rule, its nakkaras, or kettle-drums, with the celebrated ran-sankh, or
war-shell, an heirloom descended from the heroes of antiquity. Even the
military band, whose various discordant instruments are still in use,
may be heard in pseudo concert from the guardroom over the chief gate of
the citadel, at Kotah; while the “orange flag,” the gift of Jahangir to
Rao Ratan, around which many a brave Hara has breathed his last, is now
used by the junior house in all processions or battles.

To recover these ensigns of fallen dignity, many a stratagem has been
tried. False keys of the city gates of Kotah and its citadel had been
procured, and its guards won over by bribery to favour admission; but an
unceasing vigilance defeated the plan when on the brink of execution:
since which the gates of Kotah are always closed at sunset, and never
opened even to the prince. This custom has been attended with great
inconvenience; of which the following anecdote affords an instance. When
Raja Durjan after his defeat reached Kotah at midnight, with a few
attendants, he called aloud to the sentinel for admittance; but the
orders of the latter were peremptory and allowed of no discretion. The
soldier desired the Raja to be gone; upon which, expostulation being
vain, he revealed himself as the prince. At this the soldier laughed
[511]; but, tired of importunity, bade his sovereign “go to hell,”
levelled his match-lock, and refused to call the officer on guard. The
prince retired, and passed the night in a temple close at hand. At
daybreak the gates were opened, and the soldiers were laughing at their
comrade’s story of the night, when the Raja appeared. All were
surprised, but most of all the sentinel, who, taking his sword and
shield, placed them at his sovereign’s feet, and in a manly but
respectful attitude awaited his decision. The prince raised him, and
praising his fidelity, bestowed the dress he then wore upon him, besides
a gift of money.

The Hara chronicler states, that Raja Bhim’s person was seamed with
scars, and so fastidious was he, through the fear of incurring the
imputation of vanity, that he never undressed in presence of his
attendants. Nor was it till his death-wound at Kurwai that this
singularity was explained, on one of his confidential servants
expressing his surprise at the numerous scars; which brought this
characteristic reply: “He who is born to govern Haras, and desires to
preserve his land, must expect to get these: the proper post for a
Rajput prince is ever at the head of his vassals.”

Raja Bhim was the first prince of Kotah who had the dignity of
Panj-hazari, or ‘leader of five thousand,’ conferred upon him. He was
likewise the first of his dynasty who bore the title of Maharao, or
‘Great Prince’; a title confirmed though not conferred by the paramount
sovereign, but by the head of their own princely tribes, the Rana of
Mewar. Previous to Gopinath of Bundi, whose issue are the great feudal
chiefs of Haraoti, their titular appellation was Apji, which has the
same import as herself (or rather himself), applied to highland chiefs
of Scotland; but when Indarsal went to Udaipur, he procured the title of
Maharaja for himself and his brothers; since which Apji has been applied
to the holders of the secondary fiefs, the Madhani of Kotah. Raja Bhim
left three sons, Arjun Singh, Shyam Singh, and Durjansal.

=Mahārāo Arjun Singh, A.D. 1720-24.=—Maharao Arjun married the sister of
Madho Singh, ancestor of Zalim Singh Jhala; but died without issue,
after four years’ rule. On his death, there arose a civil war respecting
the succession, in which the vassals were divided. Clan encountered clan
in the field of Udaipura, when the fate of Shyam Singh was sealed in his
blood. It is said, the survivor would willingly have given up dominion
to have restored his brother to life; that he cursed his ambitious
rashness, and wept bitterly over the dead body. By these contentions the
rich districts of Rampura, Bhanpura, and Kalapet, which [512] the king
had taken from the ancient family and bestowed on Raja Bhim, were lost
to the Haras, and regained by their ancient possessors.

=Mahārāo Durjansāl, A.D. 1724-56. The Marātha Invasion.=—Durjansal
assumed ‘the rod’ in S. 1780 (A.D. 1724). His accession was acknowledged
by Muhammad Shah, the last of the Timurian kings who deserved the
appellation, and at whose court the prince of Kotah received the khilat
and obtained the boon of preventing the slaughter of kine in every part
of the Jumna frequented by his nation. Durjansal succeeded on the eve of
an eventful period in the annals of his country. It was in his reign
that the Mahrattas under Bajirao first invaded Hindustan. On this
memorable occasion, they passed by the Taraj Pass, and skirting Haraoti
on its eastern frontier, performed a service to Durjansal, by attacking
and presenting to him the castle of Nahargarh, then held by a Musalman
chief. It was in S. 1795[10.5.12] (A.D. 1739) that the first connexion
between the Haras and the ‘Southrons’ took place; and this service of
the Peshwa leader was a return for stores and ammunition necessary for
his enterprise. But a few years only elapsed before this friendly act
and the good understanding it induced were forgotten.

=Jaipur claims to control Kotah.=—We have recorded, in the Annals of
Bundi, the attempts of the princes of Amber, who were armed with the
power of the monarchy, to reduce the chiefs of Haraoti to the condition
of vassals. This policy, originating with Jai Singh, was pursued by his
successor, who drove the gallant Budh Singh into exile, to madness and
death, though the means by which he effected it ultimately recoiled upon
him, to his humiliation and destruction. Having, however, driven Budh
Singh from Bundi, and imposed the condition of homage and tribute upon
the creature of his installation, he desired to inflict his supremacy on
Kotah. In this cause, in S. 1800, he invited the three great Mahratta
leaders, with the Jats under Surajmall, when, after a severe conflict at
Kotri, the city was invested. During three months, every effort was
made, but in vain; and after cutting down the trees and destroying the
gardens in the environs, they were compelled to decamp, the leader, Jai
Apa Sindhia,[10.5.13] leaving one of his hands, which was carried off by
a cannon-shot.

=Birth of Zālim Singh.=—Durjansal was nobly seconded by the courage and
counsel of the Faujdar, or ‘commandant of the garrison,’ Himmat Singh, a
Rajput of the Jhala tribe. It was through Himmat Singh that the
negotiations were carried on, which added Nahargarh to Kotah; and to him
were confided those in which Kotah was compelled to follow the [513]
general denationalization, and become subservient to the Mahrattas.
Between these two events, S. 1795 and S. 1800, Zalim Singh was born, a
name of such celebrity that his biography would embrace all that remains
to be told of the history of the Haras.

When Isari Singh was foiled, the brave Durjansal lent his assistance to
replace the exiled Ummeda on the throne which his father had lost. But
without Holkar’s aid, this would have been vain; and, in S. 1805 (A.D.
1749), the year of Ummeda’s restoration, Kotah was compelled to become
tributary to the Mahrattas.

=Death and Character of Durjansāl.=—Durjansal added several places to
his dominions. He took Phul-Barod from the Khichis, and attempted the
fortress of Gugor, which was bravely defended by Balbhaddar in person,
who created a league against the Hara composed of the chiefs of Rampura,
Sheopur, and Bundi. The standard of Kotah was preserved from falling
into the hands of the Khichis by the gallantry of Ummeda Singh of Bundi.
The battle between the rival clans, both of Chauhan blood, was in S.
1810; and in three years more, Durjansal departed this life. He was a
valiant prince, and possessed all the qualities of which the Rajput is
enamoured; affability, generosity, and bravery. He was devoted to
field-sports, especially the royal one of tiger-hunting; and had
_ramnas_ or preserves in every corner of his dominions (some of immense
extent, with ditches and palisadoes, and sometimes circumvallations), in
all of which he erected hunting-seats.

[Illustration:

COUNTRY SEAT OF THE KOTAH PRINCE.
_To face page 1530._
]

In these expeditions, which resembled preparations for war, he
invariably carried the queens. These Amazonian ladies were taught the
use of the matchlock, and being placed upon the terraced roofs of the
hunting-seats, sent their shots at the forest-lord, when driven past
their stand by the hunters. On one of these occasions the Jhala Faujdar
was at the foot of the scaffolding; the tiger, infuriated with the
uproar, approached him open-mouthed; but the prince had not yet given
the word, and none dared to fire without his signal. The animal eyed his
victim, and was on the point of springing, when the Jhala advanced his
shield, sprung upon him, and with one blow of his sword laid him dead at
his feet. The act was applauded by the prince and his court, and
contributed not a little to the character he had already attained.

Durjansal left no issue. He was married to a daughter of the Rana of
Mewar. Being often disappointed, and at length despairing of an heir,
about three years before his death, he told the Rani it was time to
think of adopting an heir to fill the _gaddi_, “for it was evident that
the Almighty disapproved of the usurpation which changed the order of
succession.” It will be remembered that Bishan Singh, son of Ram Singh
[514], was set aside for refusing, in compliance with maternal fears, to
accompany his father in the wars of the Deccan. When dispossessed of his
birthright, he was established in the fief of Antha on the
Chambal.[10.5.14] At the death of Durjansal, Ajit Singh, grandson of the
disinherited prince, was lord of Antha, but he was in extreme old age.
He had three sons, and the eldest, whose name of Chhattarsal revived
ancient associations, was formally “placed in the lap of the Rani
Mewari; the _asis_ (blessing) was given; he was taught the names of his
ancestors (being no longer regarded as the son of Ajit of Antha),
Chhattar Singh, son of Durjansal, Bhimsinghgot, Ram Singh, Kishor Singh,
etc., etc.,” and so on, to the fountain-head, Dewa Banga, and thence to
Manikrae of Ajmer. Though the adoption was proclaimed, and all looked to
Chhattarsal as the future lord of the Haras of Kotah, yet on the death
of Durjan, the Jhala Faujdar took upon him to make an alteration in this
important act, and he had power enough to effect it.

=Mahārāo Ajīt Singh, A.D. 1756-59. Mahārāo Chhattarsāl, A.D.
1759-66.=—The old chief of Antha was yet alive, and the Faujdar said,
“It was contrary to nature that the son should rule and the father
obey”; but doubtless other motives mingled with his piety, in which,
besides self-interest, may have been a consciousness of the dangers
inseparable from a minority. The only difficulty was to obtain the
consent of the chief himself, then “fourscore years and upwards,” to
abandon his peaceful castle on the Kali Sind for the cares of
government. But the Faujdar prevailed; old Ajit was crowned, and
survived his exaltation two years and a half. Ajit left three sons,
Chhattarsal, Guman Singh, and Raj Singh. Chhattarsal was proclaimed the
Maharao of the Haras. The celebrated Himmat Singh Jhala died before his
accession, and his office of Faujdar was conferred upon his nephew,
Zalim Singh.

At this epoch, Madho Singh, who had acceded to the throne of Amber on
the suicide of his predecessor, Isari, instead of taking warning by
example, prepared to put forth all his strength for the revival of those
tributary claims upon the Haras, which had cost his brother his life.
The contest was between Rajput and Rajput; the question at issue was
supremacy on the one hand, and subserviency on the other, the sole plea
for which was that the Kotah contingent had acted under the princes of
Amber, when lieutenants of the empire. But the Haras held in utter scorn
the attempt to compel this service in their individual capacity, in
which they only recognized them as equals.

=Jaipur attacks Kotah.=—It was in S. 1817 (A.D. 1761) that the prince of
Amber assembled all his clans to force the Haras to acknowledge
themselves tributaries. The invasion of the Abdali[10.5.15] [515], which
humbled the Mahrattas and put a stop to their pretensions to universal
sovereignty, left the Rajputs to themselves. Madho Singh, in his march
to Haraoti, assaulted Uniara, and added it to his territory. Thence he
proceeded to Lakheri, which he took, driving out the crestfallen
Southrons. Emboldened by this success, he crossed at the Pali Ghat, the
point of confluence of the Par and the Chambal. The Hara chieftain of
Sultanpur, whose duty was the defence of the ford, was taken by
surprise; but, like a true Hara, he gathered his kinsmen outside his
castle, and gave battle to the host. He made amends for his supineness,
and bartered his life for his honour. It was remarked by the invaders,
that, as he fell, his clenched hand grasped the earth, which afforded
merriment to some, but serious reflection to those who knew the tribe,
and who converted it into an omen “that even in death the Hara would
cling to his land.” The victors, flushed with this fresh success,
proceeded through the heart of Kotah until they reached
Bhatwara,[10.5.16] where they found five thousand Haras, _ek bap ka
beta_, all ‘children of one father,’ drawn up to oppose them. The
numerical odds were fearful against Kotah; but the latter were defending
their altars and their honour. The battle commenced with a desperate
charge of the whole Kachhwaha horse, far more numerous than the brave
legion of Kotah; but, too confident of success, they had tired their
horses ere they joined. It was met by a dense mass, with perfect
coolness, and the Haras remained unbroken by the shock. Fresh numbers
came up; the infantry joined the cavalry, and the battle became
desperate and bloody. It was at this moment that Zalim Singh made his
debut. He was then twenty-one years of age, and had already, as the
adopted son of Himmat Singh, “tied his turban on his head,” and
succeeded to his post of Faujdar. While the battle was raging, Zalim
dismounted, and at the head of his quota, fought on foot, and at the
most critical moment obtained the merit of the victory, by the first
display of that sagacity for which he has been so remarkable throughout
his life [516].

Malhar Rao Holkar was encamped in their vicinity, with the remnant of
his horde, but so crestfallen since the fatal day of Panipat,[10.5.17]
that he feared to side with either. At this moment young Zalim, mounting
his steed, galloped to the Mahratta, and implored him, if he would not
fight, to move round and plunder the Jaipur camp: a hint which needed no
repetition.

The little impression yet made on the Kotah band only required the
report that “the camp was assaulted,” to convert the lukewarm courage of
their antagonists into panic and flight: “the host of Jaipur fled, while
the sword of the Hara performed _tirath_ (pilgrimage) in rivers of
blood.xxxx

The chiefs of Macheri, of Isarda, Watka, Barol, Achrol, with all the
_ots_ and _awats_ of Amber, turned their backs on five thousand Haras of
Kotah; for the Bundi troops, though assembled, did not join, and lost
the golden opportunity to free its Kothris, or fiefs, from the tribute.
Many prisoners were taken, and the five-coloured banner of Amber fell
into the hands of the Haras, whose bard was not slow to turn the
incident to account in the stanza, still repeated whenever he celebrates
the victory of Bhatwara, and in which the star (_tara_) of Zalim
prevailed:

_Jang Bhatwārā jīt
Tārā Jālim Jhālā.
Ring ek rang chīt,
Chādyo rang pach-rang kē._[10.5.18]

“In the battle of Bhatwara, the star of Zalim was triumphant. In that
field of strife (_ringa_) but one colour (_rang_) covered that of the
five-coloured (_panch-ranga_) banner”: meaning that the Amber standard
was dyed in blood.

The battle of Bhatwara decided the question of tribute, nor has the
Kachhwaha since this day dared to advance the question of supremacy,
which, as lieutenant of the empire, he desired to transfer to himself.
In derision of this claim, ever since the day of Bhatwara, when the
Haras assemble at their Champ de Mars to celebrate the annual military
festival, they make a mock castle of Amber, which is demolished amidst
shouts of applause.[10.5.19]

Chhattarsal survived his elevation and this success but a few years; and
as he died without offspring, he was succeeded by his brother [517].

-----

Footnote 10.4.1:

[Pātan, about 25 miles E. of Būndi city: ‘Gainoli’ in the text is
probably Gondoli, about 10 miles E. of Pātan.]

Footnote 10.4.2:

[A Sikh sect founded by Nānak, the Sikh Guru (A.D. 1469-1539) (Rose,
_Glossary_, iii. 152 ff.).]

Footnote 10.4.3:

[About 10 miles N. of Būndi city.]

Footnote 10.4.4:

[Probably Sātur, with a temple of Rakt Dantika Devi, ‘she with the
blood-stained teeth’ (_Rājputāna Gazetteer_, 1879, i. 240).]

Footnote 10.4.5:

I have made my salaam to the representative of Hanja, and should have
graced his neck with a chaplet on every military festival, had I dwelt
among the Haras.

Footnote 10.4.6:

_Ummeda_, ‘hope’; _Singh_, ‘a lion.’

Footnote 10.4.7:

[On the Nerbudda as a barrier see Vol. II. p. 971.]

Footnote 10.4.8:

[The Holkar family belonged to the Dhangar, or Marātha shepherd caste,
taking their name from the village of Hol on the Nīra River in Poona
District (Grant Duff 212; _BG_, xviii. Part ii. 244).]

Footnote 10.4.9:

See Annals of Mewar, Vol. I. p. 495.

Footnote 10.4.10:

[10 miles S. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 10.4.11:

As in those days when Mahratta spoliation commenced, a joint-stock
purse was made for all such acquisitions, so Patan was divided into
shares, of which the Peshwa had one, and Sindhia another; but the
Peshwa’s share remained nominal, and the revenue was carried to
account by Holkar for the services of the Poona State. In the general
pacification of A.D. 1817, this long-lost and much-cherished district
was once more incorporated with Bundi, to the unspeakable gratitude
and joy of its prince and people. In effecting this for the grandson
of Ummeda, the Author secured for himself a gratification scarcely
less than his.

Footnote 10.4.12:

[_Āīn_, ii. 102, 274 f. Jarrett writes Sūi Sūpar or Sūi Sopar.]

Footnote 10.4.13:

[_Āīn_, ii. 132 f.]

Footnote 10.4.14:

The universal arbitrator, Zalim Singh of Kotah, having undertaken to
satisfy them, and save them from the annual visitations of the Jaipur
troops, withdrew the proper allegiance of Indargarh, Balwan, and
Antardah to himself. The British government, in ignorance of these
historical facts, and not desirous to disturb the existing state of
things, were averse to hear the Bundi claims for the restoration of
her proper authority over these her chief vassals. With all his
gratitude for the restoration of his political existence, the brave
and good Bishan Singh could not suppress a sigh when the author said
that Lord Hastings refused to go into the question of the Kothris, who
had thus transferred their allegiance to Zalim Singh of Kotah. In
their usual metaphorical style, he said, with great emphasis and
sorrow, “My wings remain broken.” It would be a matter of no
difficulty to negotiate the claims of Jaipur, and cause the regent of
Kotah to forgo his interposition, which would be attended with no loss
of any kind to him, but would afford unspeakable benefit and pride to
Bundi, which has well deserved the boon at our hands.

Footnote 10.4.15:

[About 30 miles N.E. of Būndi city: for Bijaiseni Māta see Vol. II. p.
1193.]

Footnote 10.4.16:

The laws of revenge are dreadfully absolute: had the sons of Deo Singh
survived, the feud upon their liege lord would have been entailed with
their estate. It is a nice point for a subject to balance between
fidelity to his prince, and a father’s feud, _bap ka vair_.

Footnote 10.4.17:

The queens’ apartments.

Footnote 10.4.18:

[In early Hindu times a similar performance of mock funereal rites
took place in the event of contumacious disregard of the rules of
caste (Barnett, _Antiquities of India_, 120).]

Footnote 10.4.19:

See p. 1463.

Footnote 10.4.20:

[In the island of Pāmban, Madura District, Madras (_IGI_, xxi. 173
ff.).]

Footnote 10.4.21:

[Sītakund, in Chittagong District, Bengal (_ibid._ xxiii. 50).]

Footnote 10.4.22:

[Jagannāth, not “a Moloch”: religious suicides under his car are
infrequent (Hunter, _Orissa_, i. 133 f.).]

Footnote 10.4.23:

[Krishna, at Dwārka.]

Footnote 10.4.24:

[Kāli, Pārvati, Māta, or Nāni, not Agnidevi, is worshipped at Hinglāj
(_IGI_, xiii. 142).]

Footnote 10.4.25:

[See Vol. II. p. 1170.]

Footnote 10.4.27:

[Perhaps the town of that name in the Sahāranpur District, United
Provinces.]

Footnote 10.4.28:

[_Sukhpāl_, “happiness-protecting,” a luxurious litter, like the
_sukhāsan_ or _mahādol_ (p. 1349).]

Footnote 10.4.29:

[For a full account of the disastrous retreat of Hon. Lieut.-Col.
William Monson see Mill, _Hist. of India_, vol. iii. (1817) 672 ff. He
was son of John, 2nd Baron Monson: born in 1760: went to India with
the 52nd Regiment in 1780. He shared in the attack on Seringapatam in
1792: in the Marātha war of 1803 commanded a brigade under Lord Lake:
led the storming party, and was seriously wounded at the capture of
Aligarh, 4th September 1803. After his famous retreat to Agra in 1804
he was again employed under Lord Lake in his campaign against Holkar:
was present at the battle of Dīg, 14th November 1804,and led the last
of the four assaults on Bharatpur in 1805. He returned to England in
1806, and was elected member for Lincoln. He died in December 1807.
(C. E. Buckland, _Dict. Indian Biography_, _s.v._).]

Footnote 10.4.30:

The Author had the distinguished happiness of concluding the treaty
with Bundi in February 1818. His previous knowledge of her deserts was
not disadvantageous to her interests, and he assumed the
responsibility of concluding it upon the general principles which were
to regulate our future policy as determined in the commencement of the
war; and setting aside the views which trenched upon these in our
subsequent negotiations. These general principles laid it down as a
_sine qua non_ that the Mahrattas should not have a foot of land in
Rajputana west of the Chambal; and he closed the door to recantation
by sealing the reunion in perpetuity to Bundi, of Patan and all land
so situated. [In 1847, with the consent of Sindhia, his share of the
Pātan district was made over in perpetuity to Būndi on payment of a
further sum of Rs. 80,000, to be credited to Gwalior. Under the treaty
of 1860 with Sindhia the sovereignty of this tract was transferred to
the British Government, from whom Būndi now holds it as a perpetual
fief, subject to the payment of Rs. 80,000 per annum, in addition to
the tribute of Rs. 40,000 payable under the treaty of 1818 (_IGI._ ix.
81 f.).]

Footnote 10.4.31:

[Risāla properly means ‘a letter, account.’ Risāladār has, in the
British service, the special sense of a native officer commanding a
troop of cavalry (Yule, _Hobson-Jobson_, 2nd ed. 761 f.).]

Footnote 10.4.32:

The truck system, called _parna_, is well known in Rajputana.

Footnote 10.4.33:

And from the Author with the rest, whose nephew he was by courtesy and
adoption. [Rām Singh succeeded his father in 1821. He behaved with
apathy and lukewarmness in the Mutiny of 1857, but he was given the
right of adoption in 1862, and died in 1889. He was “the most
conservative prince in conservative Rājputāna, and a grand specimen of
a true Rājput gentleman.” He was succeeded by his son Mahārāo Rāja
Raghbīr Singh (_IGI._ ix. 82).]

Footnote 10.5.1:

[See Elliot-Dowson vi. 395, 418.]

Footnote 10.5.2:

[Rājputs in early days used to intermarry and eat with Bhīls, who were
regarded, not as a menial tribe, but as lords of the soil (Russell,
_Tribes and Castes Central Provinces_, ii. 281).]

Footnote 10.5.3:

He held also the districts of Dah and Gura in grant direct of the
empire.

Footnote 10.5.4:

[‘The defile of Mukund,’ also written Mukunddwāra, ‘door or gate of
Mukund,’ about 25 miles S. of Kotah city.]

Footnote 10.5.5:

[The extra-mural suburb of a fortress (Yule, _Hobson-Jobson_, 2nd ed.
702).]

Footnote 10.5.6:

[15th April 1658 (Jadunath Sarkar, _Hist. of Aurangzib_, ii. 1 ff.).]

Footnote 10.5.7:

A descendant of his covered Monson’s retreat even before this general
reached the Mukunddarra Pass, and fell defending the ford of the
Amjar, disdaining to retreat. His simple cenotaph marks the spot where
in the gallant old style this chief “spread his carpet” to meet the
Deccani host, while a British commander, at the head of a force
capable of sweeping one end of India to the other, fled! The Author
will say more of this in his Personal Narrative, having visited the
spot.

Footnote 10.5.8:

This is one more of the numerous inexplicable claims which the British
Government has had to decide upon, since it became the universal
arbitrator. Neither party understanding their origin, the difficulty
of a just decision must be obvious. This sets it at rest. [Tankhwāh,
‘wages, an assignment of revenue.’ For its technical sense _tankhwāh
jāgīr_ see Rogers-Beveridge, _Memoirs of Jahāngīr_, 74.]

Footnote 10.5.9:

[Kamaru-d-dīn, Āsaf Jāh, son of Ghāziu-d-dīn Khān Jang, born 1671,
received the title of Chīn Qilīch Khān in 1690-91; governor of
Morādābād and Mālwa under Farrukhsīyar; gained supreme power in the
Deccan in 1720; died May 22, 1748, the present Nizāms of Haidarābād
being his successors (Manucci iv. 140; Grant Duff, _History of the
Mahrattas_, 190; Elliot-Dowson vii. _passim_).]

Footnote 10.5.10:

[On the river Betwa, about 45 miles S.S.W. of Lalitpur.]

Footnote 10.5.11:

[See p. 1449.]

Footnote 10.5.12:

In this year, when Bajirao invaded Hindustan, passing through Haraoti,
Himmat Singh Jhala was Faujdar of Kotah. In that year Sheo Singh, and
in the succeeding the celebrated Zalim Singh, was born.

Footnote 10.5.13:

[Jai Āpa Sindhia succeeded his father, Rānoji Sindhia. His dates are
uncertain, but he was probably killed at Nāgor in 1759 (Beale, _Dict.
Oriental Biography_, _s.v._; _IGI_, xii. 421; Grant Duff, _Hist. of
the Mahrattas_, 270).]

Footnote 10.5.14:

[Antha is not on the Chambal: it is about 25 miles E. of Kotah city.]

Footnote 10.5.15:

[Ahmad Shāh Durrāni defeated the Marāthas at Pānipat, 7th January
1761.]

Footnote 10.5.16:

[Near Māngrol, about 40 miles N.E. of Kotah city.]

Footnote 10.5.17:

It is singular enough, that Zalim Singh was born in the year of Nadir
Shah’s invasion, and made his political _entrée_ in that of the
Abdali.

Footnote 10.5.18:

[Dr. Tessitori, whose version has been followed, writes: “The second
line is quite wrong, and I should not be surprised if it was made up
by Col. Tod’s Pandit. I believe there was some other word in place of
_tārā_.”]

Footnote 10.5.19:

[See Vols. II. p. 1199, III. p. 1471.]

-----

CHAPTER 6

=Mahārāo Gumān Singh, A.D. 1766-71.=—Guman Singh, in S. 1822 (A.D.
1766), ascended the _gaddi_ of his ancestors. He was in the prime of
manhood, full of vigour and intellect, and well calculated to contend
with the tempests collecting from the south, ready to pour on the
devoted lands of Rajputana. But one short lustrum of rule was all that
fate had ordained for him, when he was compelled to resign his rod of
power into the hands of an infant. But ere we reach this period, we must
retrace our steps, and introduce more prominently the individual whose
biography is the future history of this State; for Zalim Singh is Kotah,
his name being not only indissolubly linked with hers in every page of
her existence, but incorporated with that of every State of Rajputana
for more than half a century. He was the _primum mobile_ of the region
he inhabited, a sphere far too confined for his genius, which required a
wider field for its display, and might have controlled the destinies of
nations.

=Zālim Singh Jhāla.=—Zalim Singh is a Rajput of the Jhala tribe. He was
born in S. 1796 (A.D. 1740), an ever memorable epoch (as already
observed) in the history of India, when the victorious Nadir Shah led
his hordes into her fertile soil, and gave the finishing blow to the
dynasty of Timur. But for this event, its existence might have been
protracted, though its recovery was hopeless: the principle of decay had
been generated by the policy of Aurangzeb. Muhammad Shah was at this
time emperor of India,[10.6.1] and the valiant Durjansal sat on the
throne of Kotah. From this period (A.D. 1740) five princes have passed
away and a sixth has been enthroned; and, albeit one of these reigns
endured for half a century, Zalim Singh has outlived them all,[10.6.2]
and though blind, his [518] moral perceptions are as acute as on the day
of Bhatwara. What a chain of events does not this protracted life
embrace! An empire then dazzling in glory, and now mouldering in the
dust. At its opening, the highest noble of Britain would have stood at a
reverential distance from the throne of Timur, in the attitude of a
suppliant, and now—

None so poor
To do him reverence.

To do anything like justice to the biography of one who for so long a
period was a prominent actor in the scene, is utterly impossible; this
consideration, however, need not prevent our attempting a sketch of this
consummate politician, who can scarcely find a parallel in the varied
page of history.

The ancestors of Zalim Singh were petty chieftains of Halwad,[10.6.3] in
the district of Jhalawar, a subdivision of the Saurashtra peninsula.
Bhao Singh was a younger son of this family, who, with a few adherents,
left the paternal roof to seek fortune amongst the numerous conflicting
armies that ranged India during the contests for supremacy amongst the
sons of Aurangzeb. His son, Madho Singh, came to Kotah when Raja Bhim
was in the zenith of his power. Although he had only twenty-five horse
in his train, it is a proof of the respectability of the Jhala, that the
prince disdained not his alliance, and even married his son, Arjun, to
the young adventurer’s sister. Not long after, the estate of Nanta was
entailed upon him, with the confidential post of Faujdar, which includes
not only the command of the troops, but that of the castle, the
residence of the sovereign. This family connexion gave an interest to
his authority, and procured him the respectful title of Mama,[10.6.4]
from the younger branches of the prince’s family, an epithet which habit
has continued to his successors, who are always addressed Mama Sahib,
‘Sir, Uncle!’ Madan Singh succeeded his father in the office of Faujdar.
He had two sons, Himmat Singh and Prithi Singh.

Bhao Singh, left Halwad with twenty-five horse.
│
Madho Singh.
│
Madan Singh.
│
┌─────────────┴──────────┐
│ │
Himmat Singh. Prithi Singh.
│
┌───────────┴──────────┐
│ │
Sheo Singh, Zalim Singh,
born in S. 1795. born S. 1796.
│
Madho Singh,
present regent.
│
Bapa Lall,
twenty-one years of age [519].

The office of Faujdar, which, like all those of the east, had become
hereditary, was advantageously filled by Himmat Singh, whose bravery and
skill were conspicuous on many trying emergencies. He directed, or at
least seconded, the defence of Kotah, when first assailed by the
combined Mahratta and Jaipur troops, and conducted the treaty which made
her tributary to the former, till at length so identified was his
influence with that of the Haras, that with their concurrence he
restored the ancient line of succession. Though neither the prince,
Durjansal, nor his Major Domo, had much merit in this act, it was made
available by Zalim Singh in support of his pretensions to power, and in
proof of the ingratitude of his sovereign, “whose ancestors recovered
their rights at the instigation of his own.” But Zalim Singh had no
occasion to go back to the virtues of his ancestors for an argument on
which to base his own claims to authority. He could point to the field
of Bhatwara, where his bravery and skill mainly aided to vanquish the
enemies of Kotah, and to crush for ever those arrogant pretensions to
supremacy which the Jaipur State strained every nerve to establish.

=Zālim Singh retires to Mewār.=—It was not long after the accession of
Guman Singh to the sceptre of the Haras, that the brave and handsome
Major Domo, having dared to cross his master’s path in love, lost his
favour, and the office of Faujdar, which he had attained in his
twenty-first year. It is probable he evinced little contrition for his
offence, for the confiscation of Nanta soon followed. This estate, on
the west bank of the Chambal, still enjoyed as a fief in perpetuity by
the Jhala family, was the original appanage of the Kotah State when a
younger branch of Bundi. From hence may be inferred the consideration in
which the Jhala ancestor of our subject was held, which conferred upon
him the heirloom of the house. Both the office and the estate thereto
attached, thus resumed, were bestowed upon the maternal uncle of the
prince, Bhopat Singh, of the Bhangrot tribe. By this step, the door of
reconciliation being closed against the young Jhala, he determined to
abandon the scene of his disgrace, and court fortune elsewhere. He was
not long in determining the path he should pursue: Amber was shut
against him, and Marwar held out no field for his ambition. Mewar was at
hand, and a chief of his own tribe and nation then ruled the councils of
Rana Arsi, who had lately succeeded to power, but a power paralysed by
faction and by a pretender to the throne. The Jhala chieftain of
Delwara, one of the sixteen great barons of Mewar, had headed the party
which placed his sovereign on the throne; and he felt no desire to part
with the influence which this service gave him. He entertained [520]
foreign guards about the person of his prince, and distributed estates
at pleasure among those who supported his measures; while from the crown
domain, or from the estates of those who were hostile to his influence,
he seized upon lands, which doubled his possessions. Such was the court
of Rana Arsi, when the ex-Major Domo of Kotah came to seek a new master.
His reputation at once secured him a reception, and his talents for
finesse, already developed, made the Rana confide to him the subjection
in which he was held by his own vassal-subject. It was then that Zalim,
a youth and a stranger, showed that rare union of intrepidity and
caution which has made him the wonder of the age. By a most daring plan,
which cost the Delwara chief his life, in open day and surrounded by
attendants, the Rana was released from this odious tutelage. For this
service, the title of Raj Rana[10.6.5] and the estate of Chitarkhera on
the southern frontier were conferred upon Zalim, who was now a noble of
the second rank in Mewar. The rebellion still continued, however, and
the pretender and his faction sought the aid of the Mahrattas; but under
the vigorous councils of Zalim, seconded by the spirit of the Rana, an
army was collected which gave battle to the combined rebels and
Mahrattas. The result of this day has already been related.[10.6.6] The
Rana was discomfited and lost the flower of his nobles when victory was
almost assured to them, and Zalim was left wounded and a prisoner in the
field. He fell into the hands of Trimbakrao, the father of the
celebrated Ambaji Inglia, and the friendship then formed materially
governed the future actions of his life.

=Zālim Singh returns to Kotah.=—The loss of this battle left the Rana
and Mewar at the mercy of the conqueror. Udaipur was invested, and
capitulated, after a noble defence, upon terms which perpetuated her
thraldom. Zalim, too wise to cling to the fortunes of a falling house,
instead of returning to Udaipur, bent his steps to Kotah, in company
with the Pandit, Lalaji Balal, the faithful partaker of his future
fortunes. Zalim foresaw the storm about to spread over Rajwara, and
deemed himself equal to guide and avert it from Kotah, while the
political levity of Mewar gave him little hopes of success at that
court.

Raja Guman, however, had neither forgotten nor forgiven his competitor,
and refused to receive him: but in no wise daunted, he trusted to his
address, and thrust himself unbidden on the prince. The moment he chose
proved favourable; and he was not only pardoned, but employed [521].

=Gallant Death of Mādho Singh.=—The Mahrattas had now reached the
southern frontier, and invested the castle of Bakhani,[10.6.7] which was
defended by four hundred Haras of the Sawant clan,[10.6.8] under its
chief, Madho Singh. The enemy had been foiled in repeated attempts to
escalade, and it furnishes a good idea of the inadequate means of the
‘Southrons’ for the operations of a siege, when their besieging
apparatus was confined to an elephant, whose head was the substitute for
a petard, to burst open the gate. Repeated instances, however, prove
that this noble animal is fully equal to the task, and would have
succeeded on this occasion, had not the intrepidity of the Hara
chieftain prompted one of those desperate exploits which fill the pages
of their annals. Armed with his dagger, Madho Singh leaped from the
walls upon the back of the elephant, stabbed the rider, and with
repeated blows felled the animal to the earth. That he should escape
could not be expected; but his death and the noble deed kindled such
enthusiasm, that his clan threw wide the gate, and rushing sword in hand
amidst the multitude, perished to a man. But they died not unavenged:
thirteen hundred of the bravest of the Mahrattas accompanied them to
Suryaloka, the warrior’s heaven. The invaders continued their inroad,
and invested Sohet: but the prince sent his commands to the garrison to
preserve their lives for Kotah, and not again sacrifice them, as the
point of honour had been nobly maintained. Accordingly, at midnight,
they evacuated the place; but whether from accident or treachery, the
grass jungle which covered their retreat was set fire to, and cast so
resplendent a light, that the brave garrison had to fight their way
against desperate odds, and many were slain. Malharrao Holkar, who had
been greatly disheartened at the loss sustained at Bakhani, was revived
at this success, and prepared to follow it up. Raja Guman deemed it
advisable to try negotiation, and the Bhangrot Faujdar was sent with
full powers to treat with the Mahratta commander; but he failed and
returned.

=Zālim Singh appointed Guardian of the Heir.=—Such was the moment chosen
by young Zalim to force himself into the presence of his offended
prince. In all probability he mentioned the day at Bhatwara, where by
his courage, and still more by his tact, he released Kotah from the
degradation of being subordinate to Amber; and that it was by his
influence with the same Malharrao Holkar, who now threatened Kotah, he
was enabled to succeed. He was invested with full powers; the
negotiation was renewed, and terminated successfully: for the sum of six
lakhs of rupees the Mahratta leader withdrew his horde from the
territory of Kotah. His [522] prince’s favour was regained, his estate
restored, and the unsuccessful negotiator lost the office of Faujdar,
into which young Zalim was reinducted. But scarcely had he recovered his
rights, before Guman Singh was taken grievously ill, and all hopes of
his life were relinquished. To whom could the dying prince look at such
a moment, as guardian of his infant son, but the person whose skill had
twice saved the State from peril? He accordingly proclaimed his will to
his chiefs, and with all due solemnity placed Ummed Singh, then ten
years of age, ‘in the lap’ of Zalim Singh.

=Mahārāo Ummed Singh, A.D. 1771-1819.=—Ummed Singh was proclaimed in S.
1827 (A.D. 1771). On the day of inauguration, the ancient Rajput custom
of the _tika-daur_ was revived, and the conquest of Kelwara[10.6.9] from
the house of Narwar marked with éclat the accession of the Maharao of
the Haras of Kotah, and gave early indication that the genius of the
regent would not sleep in his office of protector. More than half a
century of rule, amidst the most appalling vicissitudes, has amply
confirmed the prognostication.

The retention of a power thus acquired, it may be concluded, could never
be effected without severity, nor the vigorous authority, wielded
throughout a period beyond the ordinary limits of mortality, be
sustained without something more potent than persuasion. Still, when we
consider Zalim’s perilous predicament, and the motives to perpetual
reaction, his acts of severity are fewer than might have been expected,
or than occur in the course of usurpation under similar circumstances.
Mature reflection initiated all his measures, and the sagacity of their
conception was only equalled by the rapidity of their execution. Whether
the end in view was good or evil, nothing was ever half-done; no spark
was left to excite future conflagration. Even this excess of severity
was an advantage; it restrained the repetition of what, whether morally
right or wrong, he was determined not to tolerate. To pass a correct
judgment on these acts is most difficult. What in one case was a measure
of barbarous severity, appears in another to have been one indispensable
to the welfare of the State. But this is not the place to discuss the
character or principles of the regent; let us endeavour to unfold both
in the exhibition of those acts which have carried him through the most
tempestuous sea of political convulsion in the whole history of India.
When nought but revolution and rapine stalked through the land, when
State after State was crumbling into dust, or sinking into the abyss of
ruin, he guided the vessel entrusted to his care safely through all
dangers, adding yearly to her riches, until he placed her in security
under the protection of Britain [523].

=Zālim Singh Regent of Kotah.=—Scarcely had Zalim assumed the
protectorate, when he was compelled to make trial of those Machiavellian
powers which have never deserted him, in order to baffle the schemes
devised to oppose him. The duties of Faujdar, to which he had hitherto
been restricted, were entirely of a military nature; though, as it
involved the charge of the castle, in which the sovereign resided, it
brought him in contact with his councils. This, however, afforded no
plea for interference in the Diwani, or civil duties of the government,
in which, ever since his own accession to power, he had a coadjutor in
Rae Akhairam, a man of splendid talents, and who had been Diwan or prime
minister throughout the reign of Chhattarsal and the greater part of
that of his successor. To his counsel is mainly ascribed the advantages
gained by Kotah throughout these reigns; yet did he fall a sacrifice to
jealousies a short time before the death of his prince, Guman Singh. It
is not affirmed that they were the suggestions of young Zalim; but
Akhairam’s death left him fewer competitors to dispute the junction in
his own person of the civil as well as military authority of the State.
Still he had no slight opposition to overcome, in the very opening of
his career. The party which opposed the pretensions of Zalim Singh to
act as regent of the State, asserting that no such power had been
bequeathed by the dying prince, consisted of his cousin, the Maharaja
Sarup Singh, and the Bhangrot chief, whose disgrace brought Zalim into
power. There was, besides, the Dhabhai Jaskaran, foster-brother to the
prince, a man of talent and credit, whose post, being immediately about
his person, afforded opportunities for carrying their schemes into
effect.

=Murder of Sarūp Singh.=—Such was the powerful opposition arrayed
against the protector in the very commencement of his career. The
conspiracy was hardly formed, however, before it was extinguished by the
murder of the Maharaja by the hands of the Dhabhai, the banishment of
the assassin, and the flight of the Bhangrot. The rapidity with which
this drama was enacted struck terror into all. The gaining over the
foster-brother, the making him the instrument of punishment, and
banishing him for the crime, acted like a spell, and appeared such a
masterpiece of daring and subtilty combined, that no one thought himself
secure. There had been no cause of discontent between the Maharaja and
the Dhabhai, to prompt revenge; yet did the latter, in the glare of open
day, rush upon him in the garden of Brajvilas,[10.6.10] and with a blow
of his scimitar end his days. The regent was the loudest in execrating
the author of the crime, whom he instantly seized and confined, and soon
after expelled from Haraoti. But however well acted, this dissimulation
passed not with the world; and, whether innocent or guilty, they lay to
Zalim’s charge the plot for the murder of the Maharaja. The Dhabhai died
in exile and contempt at [524] Jaipur; and in abandoning him to his fate
without provision, Zalim, if guilty of the deed, showed at once his
knowledge and contempt of mankind. Had he added another murder to the
first, and in the fury of an affected indignation become the sole
depository of his secret, he would only have increased the suspicion of
the world; but in turning the culprit loose on society to proclaim his
participation in the crime, he neutralized the reproach by destroying
the credibility of one who was a self-convicted assassin when he had it
in his power to check its circulation. In order to unravel this tortuous
policy, it is necessary to state that the Dhabhai was seduced from the
league by the persuasion of the regent, who insinuated that the Maharaja
formed plans inimical to the safety of the young prince, and that his
own elevation was the true object of his hostility to the person
entrusted with the charge of the minor sovereign. Whatever truth there
might be in this, which might be pleaded in justification of the foul
crime, it was attended with the consequences he expected. Immediately
after, the remaining member of the adverse junta withdrew, and at the
same time many of the nobles abandoned their estates and their country.
Zalim evinced his contempt of their means of resistance by granting them
free egress from the kingdom, and determined to turn their retreat to
account. They went to Jaipur and to Jodhpur; but troubles prevailed
everywhere; the princes could with difficulty keep the prowling Mahratta
from their own doors, and possessed neither funds nor inclination to
enter into foreign quarrels for objects which would only increase their
already superabundant difficulties. The event turned out as Zalim
anticipated; and the princes, to whom the refugees were suitors, had a
legitimate excuse in the representations of the regent, who described
them as rebels to their sovereign and parties to designs hostile to his
rule. Some died abroad, and some, sick of wandering in a foreign land
dependent on its bounty, solicited as a boon that “their ashes might be
burned with their fathers'.” In granting this request, Zalim evinced
that reliance on himself, which is the leading feature of his character.
He permitted their return, but received them as traitors who had
abandoned their prince and their country, and it was announced to them,
as an act of clemency, that they were permitted to live upon a part of
their estates; which, as they had been voluntarily abandoned, were
sequestrated and belonged to the crown.

=Zālim Singh’s Triumph over his Opponents.=—Such was Zalim Singh’s
triumph over the first faction formed against his assumption of the full
powers of regent of Kotah. Not only did the aristocracy feel humiliated,
but were subjugated by the rod of iron held over them; and no
opportunity [525] was ever thrown away of crushing this formidable body,
which in these States too often exerts its pernicious influence to the
ruin of society. The thoughtlessness of character so peculiar to
Rajputs, furnished abundant opportunities for the march of an
exterminating policy, and, at the same time, afforded reasons which
justified it.

The next combination was more formidable; it was headed by Deo Singh of
Aton,[10.6.11] who enjoyed an estate of sixty thousand rupees rent. He
strongly fortified his castle, and was joined by all the discontented
nobles, determined to get rid of the authority which crushed them. The
regent well knew the spirits he had to cope with, and that the power of
the State was insufficient. By means of ‘the help of Moses’ (such is the
interpretation of Musa Madad, his auxiliary on this occasion), this
struggle against his authority also only served to confirm it; and their
measures recoiled on the heads of the feudality. The condition of
society since the dissolution of the imperial power was most adverse to
the institutions of Rajwara, the unsupported valour of whose nobles was
no match for the mercenary force which their rulers could now always
command from those bands, belonging to no government, but roaming
whither they listed over this vast region, in search of pay or plunder.
The ‘help of Moses’ was the leader of one of these associations—a name
well known in the history of that agitated period; and he not only led a
well-appointed infantry brigade, but had an efficient park attached to
it, which was brought to play against Aton. It held out several months,
the garrison meanwhile making many sallies, which it required the
constant vigilance of Moses to repress. At length, reduced to extremity,
they demanded and obtained an honourable capitulation, being allowed to
retire unmolested whither they pleased. Such was the termination of this
ill-organized insurrection, which involved almost all the feudal chiefs
of Kotah in exile and ruin, and strengthened the regent, or as he would
say, the state, by the escheat of the sequestrated property. Deo Singh
of Aton, the head of this league, died in exile. After several years of
lamentation in a foreign soil for the _janam bhum_, the ‘land of their
birth,’ the son pleaded for pardon, though his heart denied all crime,
and was fortunate enough to obtain his recall, and the estate of
Bamolia, of fifteen thousand rupees rent. The inferior members of the
opposition were treated with the same contemptuous clemency; they were
admitted into Kotah, but deprived of the power of doing mischief. What
stronger proof of the political courage of the regent can be adduced,
than his shutting up such combustible materials within the social
edifice, and even living amongst and with them, as if he deserved their
friendship rather than their hatred [526].

In combating such associations, and thus cementing his power, time
passed away. His marriage with one of the distant branches of the royal
house of Mewar, by whom he had his son and successor Madho Singh, gave
Zalim an additional interest in the affairs of that disturbed State, of
which he never lost sight amidst the troubles which more immediately
concerned him. The motives which, in S. 1847 (A.D. 1791), made him
consider for a time the interests of Kotah as secondary to those of
Mewar, are related at length in the annals of that State;[10.6.12] and
the effect of this policy on the prosperity of Kotah, drained of its
wealth in the prosecution of his views, will appear on considering the
details of his system. Referring the reader, therefore, to the Annals of
Mewar, we shall pass from S. 1847 to S. 1856 (A.D. 1800), when another
attempt was made by the chieftains to throw off the iron yoke of the
protector.

=Conspiracy against Zālim Singh.=—Many attempts at assassination had
been tried, but his vigilance baffled them all; though no bold
enterprise was hazarded since the failure of that (in S. 1833) which
ended in the death and exile of its contriver, the chieftain of Aton,
until the conspiracy of Mohsen, in S. 1856, just twenty years
ago.[10.6.13] Bahadur Singh, of Mohsen, a chieftain of ten thousand
rupees’ annual rent, was the head of this plot, which included every
chief and family whose fortunes had been annihilated by the
exterminating policy of the regent. It was conducted with admirable
secrecy; if known at all, it was to Zalim alone, and not till on the eve
of accomplishment. The proscription-list was long; the regent, his
family, his friend and counsellor the Pandit Lalaji, were amongst the
victims marked for sacrifice. The moment for execution was that of his
proceeding to hold his court, in open day; and the mode was by a _coup
de main_ whose very audacity would guarantee success. It is said that he
was actually in progress to darbar, when the danger was revealed. The
paegah or ‘select troop of horse’ belonging to his friend, and always at
hand, was immediately called in and added to the guards about his
person; thus the conspirators were assailed when they deemed the prey
rushing into the snare they had laid. The surprise was complete; many
were slain; some were taken, others fled. Amongst the latter was the
head of the conspiracy, Bahadur Singh, who gained the Chambal, and took
refuge in the temple of the tutelary deity of the Haras at Patan. But he
mistook the character of the regent when he supposed that either the
sanctuary (_sarana_) of Keshorai,[10.6.14] or the respect due to the
prince in whose dominions (Bundi) it lay, could shield him from his
fate. He was dragged forth, and expiated his crime or folly with his
life [527].

According to the apologists of the regent, this act was one of just
retribution, since it was less to defend himself and his immediate
interests than those of the prince whose power and existence were
threatened by the insurrection, which had for its object his deposal and
the elevation of one of his brothers. The members of the Maharao’s
family at this period were his uncle Raj Singh, and his two brothers,
Gordhan and Gopal Singh. Since the rebellion of Aton, these princes had
been under strict surveillance; but after this instance of reaction, in
which their names were implicated as having aspired to supplant their
brother, a more rigorous seclusion was adopted; and the rest of their
days was passed in solitary confinement. Gordhan, the elder, died about
ten years after his incarceration; the younger, Gopal, lived many years
longer; but neither from that day quitted the walls of their prison,
until death released them from this dreadful bondage. Kaka Raj Singh
lived to extreme old age; but, as he took no part in these turmoils, he
remained unmolested, having the range of the temples in the city, beyond
which limits he had no wish to stray.

We may in this place introduce a slip from the genealogical tree of the
forfeited branch of Bishan Singh, but which, in the person of his
grandson Ajit, regained its rights and the _gaddi_. The fate of this
family will serve as a specimen of the policy pursued by the regent
towards the feudal interests of Kotah. It is appalling, when thus
marshalled, to view the sacrifices which the maintenance of power will
demand in these feudal States, where individual will is law.

The plots against the existence and authority of the Protector were of
every description, and no less than eighteen are enumerated, which his
never-slumbering vigilance detected and baffled. The means were force,
open and concealed, poison, the dagger—until at length he became sick of
precaution. “I could not always be on my guard,” he would say. But the
most dangerous of all was a female conspiracy, got up in the palace, and
which discovers an amusing mixture of tragedy and farce, although his
habitual wariness would not have saved him from being its victim, had he
not been aided by the boldness of a female champion, from a regard for
the personal attractions of the handsome regent. He was suddenly sent
for by the queen-mother of one of the young princes, and while waiting
in an antechamber, expecting every instant ‘the voice behind the
curtain,’ he found himself encircled by a band of Amazonian Rajputnis,
armed with sword and dagger, from whom, acquainted as he was with the
nerve, physical and moral, of his countrywomen, he saw no hope of
salvation [528]. Fortunately, they were determined not to be satisfied
merely with his death, they put him upon his trial; and the train of
interrogation into all the acts of his life was going on, when his
preserving angel, in the shape of the chief attendant of the dowager
queen, a woman of masculine strength and courage, rushed in, and, with
strong dissembled anger, drove him forth amidst a torrent of abuse for
presuming to be found in such a predicament.

While bathing, and during the heat of the chase, his favourite pursuit,
similar attempts have been made, but they always recoiled on the heads
of his enemies. Yet, notwithstanding the multitude of these plots, which
would have unsettled the reason of many, he never allowed a blind
suspicion to add to the victims of his policy; and although, for his
personal security, he was compelled to sleep in an iron cage, he never
harboured unnecessary alarm, that parent of crime and blood in all
usurpations. His lynx-like eye saw at once who was likely to invade his
authority, and these knew their peril from the vigilance of a system
which never relaxed. Entire self-reliance, a police such as perhaps no
country in the world could equal, establishments well paid, services
liberally rewarded, character and talent in each department of the
State, himself keeping a strict watch over all, and trusting implicitly
to none, with a daily personal supervision of all this complicated
state-machinery—such was the system which surmounted every peril, and
not only maintained but increased the power and political reputation of
Zalim Singh, amidst the storms of war, rapine, treason, and political
convulsions of more than half a century’s duration.

-----

Footnote 10.6.1:

[The Empire was now breaking up, and his dominions were gradually
reduced to the region held by the later Tughlak dynasty.]

Footnote 10.6.2:

This was written in A.D. 1821, when Maharao Kishor Singh [died 1828]
succeeded.

Footnote 10.6.3:

[Formerly capital of Dhrāngadhra State in Kāthiāwār (_IGI_, xiii.
13).]

Footnote 10.6.4:

Māmā is ‘maternal uncle’; Kākā, ‘paternal uncle.’

Footnote 10.6.5:

Not Rāna, which he puts upon his seal.

Footnote 10.6.6:

See Vol. I. p. 500.

Footnote 10.6.7:

[About 60 miles S. of Kotah city.]

Footnote 10.6.8:

The reader is requested to refer to p. 1483, for evidence of the
loyalty and heroism of Sawant Hara, the founder of this clan.

Footnote 10.6.9:

[About 70 miles E. of Kotah city.]

Footnote 10.6.10:

[Brajvilās, the ‘garden of enjoyment,’ like that in which Krishna
sported with the Gopis in the land of Braj or Mathura.]

Footnote 10.6.11:

[About 40 miles S.E. of Kotah city.]

Footnote 10.6.12:

Vol. I. p. 516.

Footnote 10.6.13:

This was written at Kotah, in S. 1876 (A.D. 1820).

Footnote 10.6.14:

[Kesavarāē, Krishna.]

-----

CHAPTER 7

=Legislation of Zālim Singh.=—We are now to examine the Protector in
another point of view, as the legislator and manager of the State whose
concerns he was thus determined to rule. For a series of years Kotah was
but the wet-nurse to the child of his ambition, a design upon Mewar
[529], which engulfed as in a vortex all that oppression could extort
from the industry of the people confided to his charge. From this first
acquaintance with the court of the Rana, in S. 1827 to the year 1856, he
never relinquished the hope of extending the same measure of authority
over that State which he exerted in his own. To the prosecution of this
policy Haraoti was sacrificed, and the cultivator lowered to the
condition of a serf. In the year 1840, oppression was at its height; the
impoverished ryot, no longer able to pay the extra calls upon his
industry, his cattle and the implements of his labour distrained, was
reduced to despair. Many died from distress; some fled, but where could
they find refuge in the chaos around them? The greater part were
compelled to plough for hire, with the cattle and implements once their
own, the very fields, their freehold, which had been torn from them.
From this system of universal impoverishment, displayed at length in
unthatched villages and untilled lands, the regent was compelled to
become farmer-general of Kotah.

Fortunately for his subjects, and for his own reputation, his sense of
gratitude and friendship for the family of Inglia—whose head, Bala Rao,
was then a prisoner in Mewar—involved him, in the attempt to obtain his
release, in personal conflict with the Rana, and he was compelled to
abandon for ever that long-cherished object of his ambition. It was then
he perceived he had sacrificed the welfare of all classes to a phantom,
and his vigorous understanding suggested a remedy, which was instantly
adopted.

=Superstition of Zālim Singh.=—Until the conspiracy of Mohsen in 1856,
the regent had resided in the castle, acting the part of the Maire du
palais of the old French monarchy; but on his return from the release of
Bala Rao, in S. 1860 (A.D. 1803-4), when the successes of the British
arms disturbed the combination of the Mahrattas, and obliged them to
send forth their disunited bands to seek by rapine what they had lost by
our conquests, the regent perceived the impolicy of such permanent
residence, and determined to come nearer to the point of danger. He had
a double motive, each of itself sufficiently powerful to justify the
change: the first was a revision of the revenue system; the other, to
seek a more central position for a disposable camp, which he might move
to any point threatened by these predatory bodies. Though these were
doubtless the real incentives to the project, according to those who
ought to have known the secret impulse of his mind, the change from the
castle on the Chambal to the tented field proceeded from no more potent
cause than an ominous owl [530], telling his tale to the moon from the
pinnacle of his mansion. A meeting of the astrologers, and those versed
in prodigies, was convened, and it was decided that it would be tempting
_honhar_ (fate) to abide longer in that dwelling. If this were the true
motive, Zalim Singh’s mind only shared the grovelling superstition of
the most illustrious and most courageous of his nation, to whom there
was no presage more appalling than a _ghugghu_ on the house-top. But, in
all likelihood, this was a political owl conjured up for the occasion;
one seen only in the mind’s eye of the regent, and serving to cloak his
plans.

=His Permanent Camp.=—The soothsayers having in due form desecrated the
dwelling of the Protector, he commenced a perambulation and survey of
the long-neglected territory, within which he determined henceforth to
limit his ambition. He then saw, and perhaps felt for, the miseries his
mistaken policy had occasioned; but the moral evil was consummated; he
had ruined the fortunes of one-third of the agriculturists, and the rest
were depressed and heart-broken. The deficiency in his revenues spoke a
truth no longer to be misinterpreted; for his credit was so low in the
mercantile world at this period, that his word and his bond were in
equal disesteem. Hitherto he had shut his ears against complaint; but
funds were necessary to forward his views, and all pleas of inability
were met by confiscation. It was evident that this evil, if not checked,
must ultimately denude the State of the means of defence, and the
fertility of his genius presented various modes of remedy. He began by
fixing upon a spot, near the strong fortress of Gagraun, for a permanent
camp, where he continued to reside, with merely a shed over his tent;
and although the officers and men of rank had also thrown up sheds, he
would admit of nothing more. All the despatches and newspapers were
dated “from the Chhaoni,” or camp.

The situation selected was most judicious, being nearly equidistant from
the two principal entrances to Haraoti from the south, and touching the
most insubordinate part of the Bhil population; while he was close to
the strong castles of Shirgarh and Gagraun, which he strengthened with
the utmost care, making the latter the depot of his treasures and his
arsenal. He formed an army; adopted the European arms and discipline;
appointed officers with the title of captain to his battalions, which
had a regular nomenclature, and his ‘royals’ (_Raj Paltan_) have done as
gallant service as any that ever bore the name. These were ready at a
moment’s warning to move to any point, against any foe. Moreover, by
this change, he was extricated from many perplexities and delays which a
residence in a capital necessarily engenders [531].

=Land Revenue Collections.=—Up to this period of his life, having been
immersed in the troubled sea of political intrigue, the Protector had no
better knowledge of the systems of revenue and landed economy than other
Rangra[10.7.1] chieftains; and he followed the immemorial usage termed
_lattha_ and _batai_,[10.7.2] or rent in kind by weight or measure, in
proportion to the value of the soil or of the product. The regent soon
found the disadvantages of this system, which afforded opportunity for
oppression on the part of the collectors, and fraud on that of the
tenant, both detrimental to the government, and serving only to enrich
that vulture, the Patel. When this rapacious yet indispensable medium
between the peasant and ruler leagued with the collectors—and there was
no control to exaction beyond the conscience of this constituted
attorney of each township, either for the assessment or collection—and
when, as we have so often stated, the regent cared not for the means so
that the supplies were abundant, nothing but ruin could ensue to the
ryot.

Having made himself master of the complicated details of the _batai_,
and sifted every act of chicanery by the most inquisitorial process, he
convoked all the Patels of the country, and took their depositions as to
the extent of each pateli, their modes of collection, their credit,
character, and individual means; and being thus enabled to form a rough
computation of the size and revenues of each, he recommenced his tour,
made a _chakbandi_, or measurement of the lands of each township, and
classified them, according to soil and fertility, as _piwal_, or
irrigated; _gorma_, or good soil, but dependent on the heavens; and
_mormi_, including pasturage and mountain-tracts. He then, having formed
an average from the accounts of many years, instituted a fixed
money-rent, and declared that the _batai_ system, or that of payment in
kind, was at an end. But even in this he showed severity; for he reduced
the _jarib_,[10.7.3] or standard measure, by a third, and added a fourth
to his averages. Doubtless he argued that the profit which the Patels
looked forward to would admit of this increase, and determined that his
vigilance should be more than a match for their ingenuity.

Having thus adjusted the rents of the fisc, the dues of the Patel were
fixed at one and a half annas per bigha, on all the lands constituting a
pateli; and as his personal lands were on a favoured footing and paid a
much smaller rate than the ryot’s, he was led to understand that any
exaction beyond what was authorized would subject him to confiscation.
Thus the dues on collection would realize to the Patel from five to
fifteen thousand rupees annually. The anxiety of these men to be
reinstated in their trusts [532] was evinced by the immense offers they
made, of ten, twenty, and even fifty thousand rupees. At one stroke he
put ten lakhs, or £100,000 sterling, into his exhausted treasury, by the
amount of _nazaranas_, or fines of relief on their reinduction into
office. The ryot hoped for better days; for notwithstanding the
assessment was heavy, he saw the limit of exaction, and that the door
was closed to all subordinate oppression. Besides the spur of hope, he
had that of fear, to quicken his exertions; for with the promulgation of
the edict substituting money-rent for _batai_, the ryot was given to
understand that 'no account of the seasons’ would alter or lessen the
established dues of the State, and that uncultivated lands would be made
over by the Patel to those who would cultivate them; or if none would
take them, they would be incorporated with the _khas_ or personal farms
of the regent. In all cases the Patels were declared responsible for
deficiencies of revenue.

Hitherto this body of men had an incentive, if not a licence, to
plunder, being subject to an annual or triennial tax termed
_patel-barar_. This was annulled; and it was added, that if they
fulfilled their contract with the State without oppressing the subject,
they should be protected and honoured. Thus these Patels, the elected
representatives of the village and the shields of the ryot, became the
direct officers of the crown. It was the regent’s interest to conciliate
a body of men on whose exertions the prosperity of the State mainly
depended; and they gladly and unanimously entered into his views. Golden
bracelets and turbans, the signs of inauguration, were given, with a
“grant of office,” to each Patel, and they departed to their several
trusts.

=Possibility of Representative Government.=—A few reflections obtrude
themselves on the contemplation of such a picture. It will hardly fail
to strike the reader, how perfect are the elements for the formation of
a representative government in these regions;[10.7.4] for every State of
Rajwara is similarly constituted; _ex uno disce omnes_. The Patels would
only require to be joined by the representatives of the commercial body,
and these are already formed, of Rajput blood, deficient neither in
nerve nor political sagacity, compared with any class on earth; often
composing the ministry, or heading the armies in battle. It is needless
to push the parallel farther; but if it is the desire of Britain to
promote this system in the east to enthrone liberty on the ruins of
bondage, and call forth the energies of a grand national Panchayat, the
materials are ample without the risk of innovation beyond the mere
extent of members. We should have the aristocratic Thakurs (the Rajput
barons), the men of wealth, and the representatives of agriculture, to
[533] settle the limits and maintain the principles of their ancient
patriarchal system. A code of criminal and civil law, perfectly
adequate, could be compiled from their sacred books, their records on
stone, or traditional customs, and sufficient might be deducted from the
revenues of the State to maintain municipal forces, which could unite if
public safety were endangered, while the equestrian order would furnish
all State parade, and act as a movable army.

=A Revenue Board.=—But to return to our subject. Out of this numerous
body of Patels, Zalim selected four of the most intelligent and
experienced, of whom he formed a council attached to the Presence. At
first their duties were confined to matters of revenue; soon those of
police were superadded, and at length no matter of internal regulation
was transacted without their advice. In all cases of doubtful decision
they were the court of appeal from provincial panchayats, and even from
those of the cities and the capital itself. Thus they performed the
threefold duties of a board of revenue, of justice, and of police, and
perhaps throughout the world there never was a police like that of Zalim
Singh: there was not one Fouché, but four; and a net of espionage was
spread over the country, out of whose meshes nothing could escape.

Such was the Patel system of Kotah. A system so rigid had its alloy of
evil; the veil of secrecy, so essential to commercial pursuits, was
rudely drawn aside; every transaction was exposed to the regent, and no
man felt safe from the inquisitorial visits of the spies of this
council. A lucky speculation was immediately reported, and the regent
hastened to share in the success of the speculator. Alarm and disgust
were the consequence; the spirit of trade was damped; none were assured
of the just returns of their industry; but there was no security
elsewhere, and at Kotah only the Protector dared to injure them.

The council of Venice was not more arbitrary than the Patel board of
Kotah; even the ministers saw the sword suspended over their heads,
while they were hated as much as feared by all but the individual who
recognized their utility.

It would be imagined that with a council so vigilant the regent would
feel perfectly secure. Not so: he had spies over them. In short, to use
the phrase of one of his ministers—a man of acute perception and
powerful understanding, when talking of the vigour of his mental
vision—when his physical organs had failed, _pani pina, aur mut tolna_,
which we will not translate.

=The Bohra.=—The Patel, now the virtual master of the peasantry, was
aware that fine and confiscation would follow the discovery of direct
oppression of the ryots; but there were [534] many indirect modes by
which he could attain his object, and he took the most secure, the
medium of their necessities. Hitherto, the impoverished husbandman had
his wants supplied by the Bohra, the sanctioned usurer of each village;
now, the privileged Patel usurped his functions, and bound him by a
double chain to his purposes. But we must explain the functions of the
Bohra, in order to show the extent of subordination in which the ryot
was placed.

The Bohra of Rajputana is the Métayer of the ancient system of France.
He furnishes the cultivator with whatever he requires for his pursuits,
whether cattle, implements, or seed; and supports him and his family
throughout the season until the crop is ready for the sickle, when a
settlement of accounts takes place. This is done in two ways: either by
a cash payment, with stipulated interest according to the risk
previously agreed upon; or, more commonly, by a specified share of the
crop, in which the Bohra takes the risk of bad seasons with the
husbandman. The utility of such a person under an oppressive government,
where the ryot can store up nothing for the future, may readily be
conceived; he is, in fact, indispensable. Mutual honesty is required;
for extortion on the part of the Bohra would lose him his clients, and
dishonesty on that of the peasant would deprive him of his only resource
against the sequestration of his patrimony. Accordingly, this monied
middleman enjoyed great consideration, being regarded as the patron of
the husbandman. Every peasant had his particular Bohra, and not
unfrequently from the adjacent village in preference to his own.

Such was the state of things when the old system of _lattha batai_ was
commuted for _bighoti_, a specific money-rent apportioned to the area of
the land. The Patel, now tied down to the simple duties of collection,
could touch nothing but his dues, unless he leagued with or overturned
the Bohra; and in either case there was risk from the lynx-eyed scrutiny
of the regent. They, accordingly, adopted the middle course of alarming
his cupidity, which the following expedient effected. When the crop was
ripe, the peasant would demand permission to cut it. “Pay your rent
first,” was the reply. The Bohra was applied to; but his fears had been
awakened by a caution not to lend money to one on whom the government
had claims. There was no alternative but to mortgage to the harpy Patel
a portion of the produce of his fields. This was the precise point at
which he aimed; he took the crop at his own valuation, and gave his
receipt that the dues of government were satisfied; demanding a
certificate to the effect “that having no funds forthcoming [535] when
the rent was required, and being unable to raise it, the mortgager
voluntarily assigned, at a fair valuation, a share of the produce.” In
this manner did the Patels hoard immense quantities of grain, and as
Kotah became the granary of Rajputana, they accumulated great wealth,
while the peasant, never able to reckon on the fruits of his industry,
was depressed and impoverished. The regent could not long be kept in
ignorance of these extortions; but the treasury overflowed, and he did
not sufficiently heed the miseries occasioned by a system which added
fresh lands by sequestration to the home farms, now the object of his
especial solicitude.

=Suppression of the Patel System.=—Matters proceeded thus until the year
1867 (A.D. 1811), when, like a clap of thunder, mandates of arrest were
issued, and every Patel in Kotah was placed in fetters, and his property
under the seal of the State; the ill-gotten wealth, as usual, flowing
into the exchequer of the Protector. Few escaped heavy fines; one only
was enabled altogether to evade the vigilance of the police, and he had
wisely remitted his wealth, to the amount of seven lakhs, or £70,000, to
a foreign country; and from this individual case, a judgment may be
formed of the prey these cormorants were compelled to disgorge.

It is to be inferred that the regent must have well weighed the present
good against the evil he incurred, in destroying in one moment the
credit and efficacy of such an engine of power as the Pateli system he
had established. The Council of Four maintained their post,
notwithstanding the humiliated condition of their compeers; though their
influence could not fail to be weakened by the discredit attached to the
body. The system Zalim had so artfully introduced being thus entirely
disorganized, he was induced to push still further the resources of his
energetic mind, by the extension of his personal farms. In describing
the formation and management of these, we shall better portray the
character of the regent than by the most laboured summary; the acts will
paint the man.

Before, however, we enter upon this singular part of his history, it is
necessary to develop the ancient agricultural system of Haraoti, to
which he returned when the pateli was broken up. In the execution of
this design, we must speak both of the soil and the occupants, whose
moral estimation in the minds of their rulers must materially influence
their legislative conduct.

The ryot of India, like the progenitor of all tillers of the earth,
bears the brand of vengeance on his forehead; for as Cain was cursed by
the Almighty, so were the cultivators of India by Ramachandra, as a
class whom no lenity could render honest or [536] contented. When the
hero of Ayodhya left his kingdom for Lanka, he enjoined his minister to
foster the ryots, that he might hear no complaints on his return. Aware
of the fruitlessness of the attempt, yet determined to guard against all
just cause of complaint, the minister reversed the _mauna_, or grain
measure, taking the share of the crown from the smaller end, exactly
one-half of what was sanctioned by immemorial usage. When Rama returned,
the cultivators assembled in bodies at each stage of his journey, and
complained of the innovations of the minister. “What had he done?”
“Reversed the _mauna_.” The monarch dismissed them with his curse, as “a
race whom no favour could conciliate, and who belonged to no one”; a
phrase which to this hour is proverbial, '_ryot kisi ka nahin hai_'; and
the sentence is confirmed by the historians of Alexander, who tell us
that they lived unmolested amidst all intestine wars; that “they only
till the ground and pay tribute to the king,” enjoying an amnesty from
danger when the commonwealth suffered, which must tend to engender a
love of soil more than patriotism.[10.7.5] It would appear as if the
regent of Kotah had availed himself of the anathema of Rama in his
estimation of the moral virtues of his subjects, who were Helots in
condition if not in name.

=Modes of realizing Land-Rent.=—We proceed to the modes of realizing the
dues of the State, in which the character and condition of the peasant
will be further developed. There are four modes of levying the land-tax,
three of which are common throughout Rajwara; the fourth is more
peculiar to Haraoti and Mewar. The first and most ancient is that of
_batai_, or ‘payment in kind,’ practised before metallic currency was
invented. The system of _batai_ extends, however, only to corn; for
sugar-cane, cotton, hemp, poppy, al, kusumbha,[10.7.6] ginger, turmeric,
and other dyes and drugs, and all garden stuffs, pay a rent in money.
This rent was arbitrary and variable, according to the necessities or
justice of the ruler. In both countries five to ten rupees per bigha are
demanded for sugar-cane; three to five for cotton, poppy, hemp, and
oil-plant; and two to four for the rest. But when heaven was bounteous,
avarice and oppression rose in their demands, and seventy rupees per
bigha were exacted for the sugar-cane, thus paralysing the industry of
the cultivator, and rendering abortive the beneficence of the Almighty.

_Batai_, or ‘division in kind,’ varies with the seasons and their
products:

1st. The _unalu_, or ‘summer harvest,’ when wheat, barley, and a variety
of pulses, as gram, moth, mung, til,[10.7.7] are raised. The share of
the State in these varies with the fertility of the soil, from
one-fourth, one-third, and two-fifths, to one-half—the extreme fractions
being the maximum and minimum; those of one-third and two-fifths [537]
are the most universally admitted as the share of the crown. But besides
this, there are dues to the artificers and mechanics, whose labour to
the village is compensated by a share of the harvest from each
cultivator; which allowances reduce the portion of the latter to
one-half of the gross produce of his industry, which if he realize, he
is contented and thrives.

The second harvest is the _siyalu_, or ‘autumnal,’ and consists of
_makkai_ or _bhutta_ (Indian corn), of juar, bajra, the two chief kinds
of maize,[10.7.8] and _til_ or sesamum, with other small seeds, such as
_kangni_,[10.7.9] with many of the pulses. Of all these, one-half is
exacted by the State.

Such is the system of _batai_; let us describe that of _kut_.[10.7.10]
_Kut_[10.7.11] is the conjectural estimate of the quantity of the
standing crop on a measured surface, by the officers of the government
in conjunction with the proprietors, when the share of the State is
converted into cash at the average rate of the day, and the peasant is
debited the amount. So exactly can those habitually exercised in this
method estimate the quantity of grain produced on a given surface, that
they seldom err beyond one-twentieth part of the crop. Should, however,
the cultivator deem his crop over-estimated, he has the power to cut and
weigh it; and this is termed _lattha_.

The third is a tax in money, according to admeasurement of the field,
assessed previously to cultivation.

The fourth is a mixed tax, of both money and produce.

None of these modes is free from objection. That of _kut_, or
conjectural estimate of the standing crop, is, however, liable to much
greater abuse than _lattha_, or measurement of the grain. In the first
case, it is well known that by a bribe to the officer, he will _kut_ a
field at ten maunds, which may realize twice the quantity; for the chief
guarantees to honesty are fear of detection, and instinctive morality;
feeble safeguards, even in more civilized States than Rajwara. If he be
so closely watched that he must make a fair _kut_, or estimate, he will
still find means to extort money from the ryot, one of which is, by
procrastinating the estimate when the ear is ripe, and when every day’s
delay is a certain loss. In short, a celebrated superintendent of a
district, of great credit both for zeal and honesty [538], confessed,
“We are like tailors; we can cheat you to your face, and you cannot
perceive it.” The ryot prefers the _kut_; the process is soon over, and
he has done with the government; but in _lattha_, the means are varied
to perplex and cheat it; beginning with the reaping, when, with a
liberal hand, they leave something for the gleaner; then, a “tithe for
the _khurpi_, or 'sickle'”; then, the thrashing; and though they muzzle
the ox who treads out the corn, they do not their own mouths, or those
of their family. Again, if not convertible into coin, they are debited
and allowed to store it up, and “the rats are sure to get into the
pits.” In both cases the _shahnahs_, or field-watchmen, are appointed to
watch the crops, as soon as the ear begins to fill; yet all is
insufficient to check the system of pillage; for the ryot and his family
begin to feed upon the heads of Indian corn and millet the moment they
afford the least nourishment. The _shahnah_, receiving his emoluments
from the husbandman as well as from the crown, inclines more to his
fellow-citizen; and it is asserted that one-fourth of the crop, and even
a third, is frequently made away with before the share of the government
can be fixed.

Yet the system of _lattha_ was pursued by the regent before he commenced
that of pateli, which has no slight analogy to the permanent system of
Bengal,[10.7.12] and was attended with similar results,—distress,
confiscation, and sale, to the utter exclusion of the hereditary
principle, the very corner-stone of Hindu society.

-----

Footnote 10.7.1:

[See Vol. I. p. 535.]

Footnote 10.7.2:

[_Lattha_, literally a ‘measuring pole’; _batāi_, division of crop
between landlord and tenant.]

Footnote 10.7.3:

[In the United Provinces the _jarīb_ is 55 yards, and one square
_jarīb_ = 1 _bīgha_. The standard _bīgha_ is five-eighths of an acre
(Wilson, _Glossary of Indian Terms_, _s.v._).]

Footnote 10.7.4:

[On the prospects of representative government, in Rājputāna see the
statement of the Mahārāja of Bīkaner—_The Times_, 10th May 1917.]

Footnote 10.7.5:

[McCrindle, _Megasthenes_, 41.]

Footnote 10.7.6:

[_Āl_, _Morinda citrifolia_, from which a dye is made; _kusumbha_,
safflower, _Carthamus tinctorius_, also a dye (Watt, _Econ. Prod._ 783
f., 276 ff.).]

Footnote 10.7.7:

[_Moth_, _Phaseolus aconitifolius_; _mūng_, _P. mungo_; _til_,
_Sesamum indicum_.]

Footnote 10.7.8:

[Juār and bājra are millets; makkai is maize.]

Footnote 10.7.9:

_Panicum Italicum_ [_Setaria italica_], produced abundantly in the
valley of the Rhine, as well as _makkai_, there called Velsh corn;
doubtless the maizes would alike grow in perfection. [Watt, _Comm.
Prod._ 988.]

Footnote 10.7.10:

It would be more correct to say that _batai_, or ‘payment in kind,’ is
divided into two branches, namely, _kut_ and _lattha_; the first being
a portion of the standing crop by conjectural estimate; the other by
actual measure, after reaping and thrashing.

Footnote 10.7.11:

[_Kūt_ means ‘valuation, appraisement.’]

Footnote 10.7.12:

The patel of Haraoti, like the zemindar of Bengal, was answerable for
the revenues; the one, however, was hereditary only during pleasure;
the other perpetually so. The extent of their authorities was equal.

-----

CHAPTER 8

=The Farming Monopoly.=—Let us proceed with the most prominent feature
of the regent’s internal administration—his farming monopoly—to which he
is mainly indebted for the reputation he [539] enjoys throughout
Rajputana. The superficial observer, who can with difficulty find a path
through the corn-fields which cover the face of Haraoti, will dwell with
rapture upon the effects of a system in which he discovers nothing but
energy and efficiency: he cannot trace the remote causes of this
deceptive prosperity, which originated in moral and political injustice.
It was because his own tyranny had produced unploughed fields and
deserted villages, starving husbandmen and a diminishing population; it
was with the distrained implements and cattle of his subjects, and in
order to prevent the injurious effects of so much waste land upon the
revenue, that Zalim commenced a system which has made him farmer-general
of Haraoti; and he has carried it to an astonishing extent. There is not
a nook or a patch in Haraoti where grain can be produced which his
ploughs do not visit. Forests have disappeared; even the barren rocks
have been covered with exotic soil, and the mountain’s side,
inaccessible to the plough, is turned up with a spud, and compelled to
yield a crop.

In S. 1840 (A.D. 1784), Zalim possessed only two or three hundred
ploughs, which in a few years increased to eight hundred. At the
commencement of what they term the new era (_naya samvat_) in the
history of landed property of Kotah, the introduction of the pateli
system, the number was doubled; and at the present time[10.8.1] no less
than four thousand ploughs, of double yoke, employing sixteen thousand
oxen, are used in the farming system of this extraordinary man; to which
may be added one thousand more ploughs and four thousand oxen employed
on the estates of the prince and the different members of his family.

This is the secret of the Raj Rana’s power and reputation; and to the
wealth extracted from her soil, Kotah owes her preservation from the
ruin which befell the States around her during the convulsions of the
last half-century, when one after another sank into decay. But although
sagacity marks the plan, and unexampled energy superintends its details,
we must, on examining the foundations of the system either morally or
politically, pronounce its effects a mere paroxysm of prosperity,
arising from stimulating causes which present no guarantee of
permanence. Despotism has wrought this magic effect: there is not one,
from the noble to the peasant, who has not felt, and who does not still
feel, its presence. When the arm of the octogenarian Protector shall be
withdrawn, and the authority transferred to his son, who possesses none
of the father’s energies, then will the impolicy of the system become
apparent. It [540] was from the sequestrated estates of the valiant Hara
chieftain, and that grinding oppression which thinned Haraoti of its
agricultural population, and left the lands waste, that the regent found
scope for his genius. The fields, which had descended from father to son
through the lapse of ages, the unalienable right of the peasant, were
seized, in spite of law, custom, or tradition, on every defalcation; and
it is even affirmed that he sought pretexts to obtain such lands as from
their contiguity or fertility he coveted, and that hundreds were thus
deprived of their inheritance. In vain we look for the peaceful hamlets
which once studded Haraoti: we discern instead the _ori_, or farmhouse
of the regent, which would be beautiful were it not erected on the
property of the subject; but when we inquire the ratio which the
cultivators bear to the cultivation, and the means of enjoyment this
artificial system has left them, and find that the once independent
proprietor, who claimed a sacred right of inheritance,[10.8.2] now
ploughs like a serf the fields formerly his own, all our perceptions of
moral justice are shocked.

The love of country and the passion for possessing land are strong
throughout Rajputana: while there is a hope of existence the cultivator
clings to the _bapota_, and in Haraoti this _amor patriae_ is so
invincible, that, to use their homely phrase, “he would rather fill his
_pet_ in slavery there, than live in luxury abroad.” But where could
they fly to escape oppression? All around was desolation; armies
perambulated the country, with rapid strides, in each other’s train,
“one to another still succeeding.” To this evil Kotah was comparatively
a stranger; the Protector was the only plunderer within his domains.
Indeed, the inhabitants of the surrounding States, from the year 1865,
when rapine was at its height, flocked into Kotah, and filled up the
chasm which oppression had produced in the population. But with the
banishment of predatory war, and the return of industry to its own field
of exertion, this panacea for the wounds which the ruler has inflicted
will disappear; and although the vast resources of the regent’s mind may
check the appearance of decay, while his faculties survive to
superintend this vast and complicated system, it must ultimately, from
the want of a principle of permanence, fall into rapid disorganization.
We proceed to the details [541] of the system, which will afford fresh
proofs of the talent, industry, and vigilance of this singular
character.

=Agriculture in Kotah.=—The soil of Kotah is a rich tenacious mould,
resembling the best parts of lower Malwa. The single plough is unequal
to breaking it up, and the regent has introduced the plough of double
yoke from the Konkan. His cattle are of the first quality, and equally
fit for the park or the plough. He purchases at all the adjacent fairs,
chiefly in his own dominions, and at the annual _mela_ (fair) of his
favourite city Jhalrapatan.[10.8.3] He has tried those of Marwar and of
the desert, famed for a superior race of cattle; but he found that the
transition from their sandy regions to the deep loam of Haraoti soon
disabled them.

Each plough or team is equal to the culture of one hundred bighas;
consequently 4000 ploughs will cultivate 400,000 during each harvest,
and for both 800,000, nearly 300,000 English acres. The soil is deemed
poor which does not yield seven to ten maunds[10.8.4] of wheat per
bigha, and five to seven of millet and Indian corn. But to take a very
low estimate, and allowing for bad seasons, we may assume four maunds
per bigha as the average produce (though double would not be deemed an
exaggerated average): this will give 3,200,000 maunds of both products,
wheat and millet, and the proportion of the former to the latter is as
three to two. Let us estimate the value of this. In seasons of
abundance, twelve rupees per _mauni_,[10.8.5] in equal quantities of
both grains, is the average; at this time (July 1820), notwithstanding
the preceding season has been a failure throughout Rajwara (though there
was a prospect of an excellent one), and grain a dead weight, eighteen
rupees per _mauni_ is the current price, and may be quoted as the
average standard of Haraoti: above is approximating to dearness, and
below to the reverse. But if we take the average of the year of actual
plenty, or twelve rupees[10.8.6] per _mauni_ of equal quantities of
wheat and juar, or one rupee per maund, the result is thirty-two lakhs
of rupees annual income.

Let us endeavour to calculate how much of this becomes net produce
towards the expenses of the government, and it will be seen that the
charges are about one-third gross amount [542].

_Expenses._

Establishments—namely, feeding cattle 400,000
and servants, tear and wear of gear,
and clearing the fields—one-eighth
of the gross amount,[10.8.7] or
Seed 600,000
Replacing 4000 oxen annually, at 80,000
20s.[10.8.8]
Extras 20,000
—————
1,100,000

We do not presume to give this, or even the gross amount, as more than
an approximation to the truth; but the regent himself has mentioned that
in one year the casualties in oxen amounted to five thousand! We have
allowed one-fourth, for an ox will work well seven years, if taken care
of. Thus, on the lowest scale, supposing the necessities of the
government required the grain to be sold in the year it was raised,
twenty lakhs will be the net profit of the regent’s farms. But he has
abundant resources without being forced into the market before the
favourable moment; until when, the produce is hoarded up in subterranean
granaries. Everything in these regions is simple, yet efficient: we will
describe the grain-pits.

=Storage of Grain.=—These pits or trenches are fixed on elevated dry
spots; their size being according to the nature of the soil. All the
preparation they undergo is the incineration of certain vegetable
substances, and lining the sides and bottom with wheat or barley
stubble. The grain is then deposited in the pit, covered over with
straw, and a terrace of earth, about eighteen inches in height, and
projecting in front beyond the orifice of the pit, is raised over it.
This is secured with a coating of clay and cow-dung, which resists even
the monsoon, and is renewed as the torrents injure it. Thus the grain
may remain for years without injury, while the heat which is extricated
checks germination, and deters rats and white ants. Thus the regent has
seldom less than fifty lakhs of maunds in various parts of the country,
and it is on emergencies, or in bad seasons, that these stores see the
light; when, instead of twelve rupees, the _mauni_ runs as high as
forty, or the famine price of sixty. Then these pits are mines of gold;
the regent having frequently sold in one year sixty lakhs of maunds. In
S. 1860 (or A.D. 1804), during the Mahratta war, when Holkar was in the
Bharatpur State, and predatory armies were moving in every direction,
and when famine and war [543] conjoined to desolate the country, Kotah
fed the whole population of Rajwara, and supplied all these roving
hordes. In that season, grain being fifty-five rupees per _mauni_, he
sold to the enormous amount of one crore of rupees, or a million
sterling!

Reputable merchants of the Mahajan tribe refrain from speculating in
grain, from the most liberal feelings, esteeming it _dharm nahin hai_,
‘a want of charity.’ The humane Jain merchant says, “to hoard up grain,
for the purpose of taking advantage of human misery, may bring riches,
but never profit.”

According to the only accessible documents, the whole crown-revenue of
Kotah from the tax in kind, amounted, under bad management, to
twenty-five lakhs of rupees. This is all the regent admits he collects
from (to use his own phrase) his handful (_pachiwara_) of soil: of
course he does not include his own farming system, but only the amount
raised from the cultivator. He confesses that two-thirds of the
superficial area of Kotah were waste; but that this is now reversed,
there being two-thirds cultivated, and only one-third waste, and this
comprises mountain, forest, common, etc.

=Extortionate Taxes.=—In S. 1865 (A.D. 1809), as if industry were not
already sufficiently shackled, the regent established a new tax on all
corn exported from his dominions. It was termed _lattha_, and amounted
to a rupee and a half per _mauni_. This tax—not less unjust in origin
than vexatious in operation—worse than even the infamous _gabelle_, or
the _droit d’aubaine_ of France—was another fruit of monopoly. It was at
first confined to the grower, though of course it fell indirectly on the
consumer; but the Jagatya,[10.8.9] or chief collector of the customs, a
man after the regent’s own heart, was so pleased with its efficiency on
the very first trial, that he advised his master to push it farther, and
it was accordingly levied as well on the farmer as the purchaser. An
item of ten lakhs was at once added to the budget; and as if this were
insufficient to stop all competition between the regent-farmer-general
and his subjects, three, four, nay even five _latthas_, have been levied
from the same grain before it was retailed for consumption. Kotah
exhibited the picture of a people, if not absolutely starving, yet
living in penury in the midst of plenty. Neither the lands of his chiefs
nor those of his ministers were exempt from the operation of this tax,
and all were at the mercy of the Jagatya, from whose arbitrary will
there was no appeal. It had reached the very height of oppression about
the period of the alliance with the British Government. This collector
had become a part of his system; and if the regent required a few lakhs
of ready money, _Jo hukm_, ‘your commands,’ was the reply. A list was
made out of 'arrears of _lattha_,' and friend and foe, minister, banker,
trader, and farmer, had a circular. Remonstrance was not only vain but
[544] dangerous: even his ancient friend, the Pandit Balal, had
twenty-five thousand rupees to pay in one of these schedules; the _homme
d’affaires_ of one of his confidential chiefs, five thousand; his own
foreign minister a share, and many bankers of the town, four thousand,
five thousand, and ten thousand each. The term _lattha_ was an abuse of
language for a forced contribution; in fact the obnoxious and well-known
_dand_ of Rajwara. It alienated the minds of all men, and nearly
occasioned the regent’s ruin; for scarcely was their individual sympathy
expressed, when the Hara princes conspired to emancipate themselves from
his interminable and galling protection.

When the English Government came in contact with Rajwara, it was a
primary principle of the universal protective alliance to proclaim that
it was for the benefit of the governed as well as the governors, since
it availed little to destroy the wolves without if they were consigned
to the lion within. But there are and must be absurd inconsistencies,
even in the policy of western legislators, where one set of principles
is applied to all. Zalim soon discovered that the fashion of the day was
to _parwarish_, ‘foster the ryot.’ The odious character of the tax was
diminished, and an edict limited its operation to the farmer, the
seller, and the purchaser; and so anxious was he to conceal this weapon
of oppression, that the very name of _lattha_ was abolished, and _sawai
hasil_, or ‘extraordinaries,’ substituted. This item is said still to
amount to five lakhs of rupees.

Thus did the skill and rigid system of the regent exact from his
_pachiwara_ of soil, full fifty lakhs of rupees. We must also recollect
that nearly five more are to be added on account of the household lands
of the members of his own and the prince’s family, which is almost
sufficient to cover their expenses.

What will the European practical farmer, of enlarged means and
experience, think of the man who arranged this complicated system, and
who, during forty years, has superintended its details? What opinion
will he form of his vigour of mind, who, at the age of fourscore years,
although blind and palsied, still superintends and maintains this
system? What will he think of the tenacity of memory, which bears graven
thereon, as on a tablet, an account of all these vast depositories of
grain, with their varied contents, many of them the store of years past;
and the power to check the slightest errors of the intendant of this
vast accumulation; while, at the same time, he regulates the succession
of crops throughout this extensive range? Such is the minute
topographical knowledge which the regent possesses of his country, that
every field in every farm is familiar [545] to him; and woe to the
superintendent Havaldar[10.8.10] if he discovers a fallow nook that
ought to bear a crop.

Yet vast as this system is, overwhelming as it would seem to most minds,
it formed but a part of the political engine conducted and kept in
action by his single powers. The details of his administration, internal
as well as external, demanded unremitted vigilance. The formation, the
maintenance, and discipline of an army of twenty thousand men, his
fortresses, arsenals, and their complicated minutiae, were amply
sufficient for one mind. The daily account from his police, consisting
of several hundred emissaries, besides the equally numerous reports from
the head of each district, would have distracted an ordinary head, “for
the winds could not enter and leave Haraoti without being reported.” But
when, in addition to all this, it is known that the regent was a
practical merchant, a speculator in exchanges, that he encouraged the
mechanical arts, fostered foreign industry, pursued even horticulture,
and, to use his own words, “considered no trouble thrown away which made
the rupee return sixteen and a half annas, with whom can he be
compared?”[10.8.11] Literature, philosophy, and _excerptae_ from the
grand historical epics, were the amusements of his hours of relaxation;
but here we anticipate, for we have not yet finished the review of his
economical character. His monopolies, especially that of grain, not only
influenced his own market, but affected all the adjacent countries; and
when speculation in opium ran to such a demoralizing excess in
consequence of the British Government monopolizing the entire produce of
the poppy cultivated throughout Malwa, he took advantage of the mania,
and by his sales or purchases raised or depressed the market at
pleasure. His gardens, scattered throughout the country, still supply
the markets of the towns and capital with vegetables, and his forests
furnish them with fuel.

So rigid was his system of taxation that nothing escaped it. There was a
heavy tax on widows who remarried. Even the gourd of the mendicant paid
a tithe, and the ascetic in his cell had a domiciliary visit to
ascertain the gains of mendicity, in order that a portion should go to
the exigencies of the State. The _tumba barar_, or ‘gourd-tax,’ was
abolished after forming for a twelvemonth part of the fiscal code of
Haraoti, and then not through any scruples of the regent, but to satisfy
his friends. Akin to this, and even of a lower grade, was the _jharu
barar_, or ‘broom-tax,’ which continued for ten years; but the many
lampoons it provoked from the satirical Bhat operated on the more
sensitive feelings of his son, Madho Singh, who obtained its repeal
[546].

=Zālim Singh and the Bards.=—Zalim was no favourite with the bards; and
that he had little claim to their consideration may be inferred from the
following anecdote. A celebrated rhymer was reciting some laudatory
stanzas, which the regent received rather coldly, observing with a sneer
that “they told nothing but lies, though he should be happy to listen to
their effusions when truth was the foundation.” The poet replied that
“he found truth a most unmarketable commodity; nevertheless, he had some
of that at his service”; and stipulating for forgiveness if they
offended, he gave the protector his picture in a string of improvised
stanzas, so full of _vish_ (poison), that the lands of the whole
fraternity were resumed, and none of the order have ever since been
admitted to his presence.

Though rigid in his observance of the ceremonies of religion, and
sharing in the prevailing superstitions of his country, he never allows
the accidental circumstance of birth or caste to affect his policy.
Offences against the State admit of no indemnity, be the offender a
Brahman or a bard; and if these classes engage in trade, they experience
no exemption from imposts.

Such is an outline of the territorial arrangements of the regent Zalim
Singh. When power was assigned to him, he found the State limited to
Kelwara on the east; he has extended it to the verge of the Plateau, and
the fortress which guards its ascent, at first rented from the
Mahrattas, is now by treaty his own. He took possession of the reins of
power with an empty treasury and thirty-two lakhs of accumulating debt.
He found the means of defence a few dilapidated fortresses, and a brave
but unmanageable feudal army. He has, at an immense cost, put the
fortresses into the most complete state of defence, and covered their
ramparts with many hundred pieces of cannon; and he has raised and
maintains, in lieu of about four thousand Hara cavaliers, an
army—regular we may term it—of twenty thousand men, distributed into
battalions, a park of one hundred pieces of cannon, with about one
thousand good horse, besides the feudal contingents.

But is this prosperity? Is this the greatness which the Raja Guman
intended should be entailed upon his successors, his chiefs, and his
subjects? Was it to entertain twenty thousand mercenary soldiers from
the sequestrated fields of the illustrious Hara, the indigenous
proprietor? Is this government, is it good government according to the
ideas of more civilized nations, to extend taxation to its limit, in
order to maintain this cumbrous machinery. We may admit that, for a
time, such a system may have been requisite, not only for the
maintenance of his delegated [547] power, but to preserve the State from
predatory spoliation; and now, could we see the noble restored to his
forfeited estates, and the ryot to his hereditary rood of land, we
should say that Zalim Singh had been an instrument in the hand of
Providence for the preservation of the rights of the Haras. But, as it
is, whilst the corn which waves upon the fertile surface of Kotah
presents not the symbol of prosperity, neither is his well-paid and
well-disciplined army a sure means of defence; moral propriety has been
violated; rights are in abeyance, and until they be restored, even the
apparent consistency of the social fabric is obtained by means which
endanger its security.

-----

Footnote 10.8.1:

This was drawn up in 1820-21.

Footnote 10.8.2:

Throughout the Bundi territory, where no regent has innovated on the
established laws of inheritance, by far the greater part of the land
is the absolute property of the cultivating ryot, who can sell or
mortgage it. There is a curious tradition that this right was obtained
by one of the ancient princes making a general sale of the crown land,
reserving only the tax. In Bundi, if a ryot becomes unable, from
pecuniary wants or otherwise, to cultivate his lands, he lets them;
and custom has established four annas per bīgha of irrigated land, and
two annas for _gorma_, that dependent on the heavens, or a share of
the produce in a similar proportion, as his right. If in exile, from
whatever cause, he can assign this share to trustees; and, the more
strongly to mark his inalienable right in such a case, the trustees
reserve on his account two sers on every maund of produce, which is
emphatically termed '_hakk bapota ka bhum_,' the ‘dues of the
patrimonial soil.’

Footnote 10.8.3:

[Now the commercial capital of Jhālawār State, on the Kotah border.]

Footnote 10.8.4:

A maund is seventy-five pounds.

Footnote 10.8.5:

_Grain Measure of Rajputana._ —75 pounds = 1 ser [? 1·7 lbs. The
standard ser is a little over 2 lbs.]
43 sers = 1 maund.
12 maunds = 1 mauni.
100 maunis = 1 manasa.

Footnote 10.8.6:

It does descend as low as eight rupees per mauni for wheat and barley,
and four for the millets, in seasons of excessive abundance.

Footnote 10.8.7:

It is not uncommon in Rajwara, when the means of individuals prevent
them from cultivating their own lands, to hire out the whole with men
and implements; for the use of which one-eighth of the produce is the
established consideration. We have applied this in the rough estimate
of the expenses of the regent’s farming system.

Footnote 10.8.8:

[To illustrate the rise in prices, the average value of a plough
bullock is now Rs. 40, or about £2:13s.]

Footnote 10.8.9:

[Jagātya, a Marāthi word derived from _jakāt_, Arabic _zakāt_, the
religious alms which a Musalmān is bound to pay.]

Footnote 10.8.10:

[_Havāldār_, _havāladār_, the officer in charge of the collection of
grain.]

Footnote 10.8.11:

There are sixteen annas to a rupee.

-----

CHAPTER 9

=Foreign Policy of Zālim Singh.=—The foregoing reflections bring us back
to political considerations, and these we must separate into two
branches, the foreign and domestic. We purposely invert the discussion
of these topics for the sake of convenience.

Zalim’s policy was to create, as regarded himself, a kind of balance of
power; to overawe one leader by his influence with another, yet, by the
maintenance of a good understanding with all, to prevent individual
umbrage, while his own strength was at all times sufficient to make the
scale preponderate in his favour.

Placed in the very heart of India, Kotah was for years the centre around
which revolved the desultory armies, or ambulant governments, ever
strangers to repose; and though its wealth could not fail to attract the
cupidity of these vagabond powers, yet, by the imposing attitude which
he assumed, Zalim Singh maintained, during more than half a century, the
respect, the fear, and even the esteem of all; and Kotah alone,
throughout this lengthened period, so full of catastrophes, never saw an
enemy [548] at her gates. Although an epoch of perpetual change and
political convulsion—armies destroyed, States overturned, famine and
pestilence often aiding moral causes in desolating the land—yet did the
regent, from the age of twenty-five to eighty-two,[10.9.1] by his
sagacity, his energy, his moderation, his prudence, conduct the bark
intrusted to his care through all the shoals and dangers which beset her
course. It may not excite surprise that he was unwilling to relinquish
the helm when the vessel was moored in calm waters; or, when the
unskilful owner, forgetting these tempests, and deeming his own science
equal to the task, demanded the surrender, that he should hoist the flag
of defiance.

There was not a court in Rajwara, not even the predatory governments,
which was not in some way influenced by his opinions, and often guided
by his councils. At each he had envoys, and when there was a point to
gain, there were irresistible arguments in reserve to secure it. The
necessities, the vanities, and weaknesses of man he could enlist on his
side, and he was alternately, by adoption, the father, uncle, or brother
of every person in power during this eventful period, from the prince
upon the throne to the brat of a Pindari. He frequently observed that
“none knew the shifts he had been put to”; and when entreated not to use
expressions of humility, which were alike unsuited to his age and
station, and the reverence he compelled, he would reply, “God grant you
long life, but it is become a habit.” For the last ten years he not only
made his connexion with Amir Khan subservient to avoiding a collision
with Holkar, but converted the Khan into the make-weight of his balance
of power; “he thanked God the time was past when he had to congratulate
even the slave of a Turk on a safe accouchement, and to pay for this
happiness.”

Though by nature irascible, impetuous, and proud, he could bend to the
extreme of submission. But while he would, by letter or conversation,
say to a marauding Pindari or Pathan, “let me petition to your notice,”
or “if my clodpole understanding (_bhumia buddh_) is worth consulting”;
or reply to a demand for a contribution, coupled with a threat of
inroad, “that the friendly epistle had been received; that he lamented
the writer’s distresses, etc. etc.,” with a few thousand more than was
demanded, and a present to the messenger, he would excite a feeling
which at least obtained a respite; on the other hand, he was always
prepared to repel aggression, and if a single action would have decided
his quarrel, he would not have hesitated to engage any power in the
circle. But he knew even success, in such a case, to be ruin, and the
general [549] feature of his external policy was accordingly of a
temporizing and very mixed nature. Situated as he was, amidst
conflicting elements, he had frequently a double game to play. Thus, in
the coalition of 1806-7, against Jodhpur, he had three parties to
please, each requesting his aid, which made neutrality almost
impossible. He sent envoys to all; and while appearing as the universal
mediator, he gave assistance to none.

It would be vain as well as useless to attempt the details of his
foreign policy; we shall merely allude to the circumstances which first
brought him in contact with the British Government, in A.D. 1803-4, and
then proceed to his domestic administration.

=Monson’s Campaign. Gallantry of the Koila Chief.=—When the ill-fated
expedition under Monson traversed Central India to the attack of Holkar,
the regent of Kotah, trusting to the invincibility of the British arms,
did not hesitate, upon their appearance within his territory, to
co-operate both with supplies and men. But when the British army
retreated, and its commander demanded admission within the walls of
Kotah, he met a decided and very proper refusal. “You shall not bring
anarchy and a disorganized army to mix with my peaceable citizens; but
draw up your battalions under my walls; I will furnish provisions, and I
will march the whole of my force between you and the enemy, and bear the
brunt of his attack.” Such were Zalim’s own expressions; whether it
would have been wise to accede to his proposal is not the point of
discussion. Monson continued his disastrous flight through the Bundi and
Jaipur dominions, and carried almost alone the news of his disgrace to
the illustrious Lake. It was natural he should seek to palliate his
error by an attempt to involve others; and amongst those thus
calumniated, first and foremost was the regent of Kotah, “the head and
front of whose offending”—non-admission to a panic-struck, beef-eating
army within his walls—was translated into treachery, and a connivance
with the enemy; a calumny which long subsisted to the prejudice of the
veteran politician. But never was there a greater wrong inflicted, or a
more unjust return for services and sacrifices, both in men and money,
in a cause which little concerned him; and it nearly operated hurtfully,
at a period (1817) when the British Government could not have dispensed
with his aid. It was never told, it is hardly yet known at this distant
period, what devotion he evinced in that memorable retreat, as it is
misnamed, when the troops of Kotah and the corps of the devoted Lucan
were sacrificed to ensure the safety of the army until it left the
Mukunddarra Pass in its rear. If there be any incredulous supporter of
the commander in that era of our shame, let him repair to the altar of
the Koila chief, who, like a true Hara, ‘spread his carpet’ at the ford
of the Amjar, and there awaited the myrmidons [550] of the Mahrattas,
and fell protecting the flight of an army which might have passed from
one end of India to the other. Well might the veteran allude to our
ingratitude in 1804, when in A.D. 1817 he was called upon to co-operate
in the destruction of that predatory system, in withstanding which he
had passed a life of feverish anxiety. If there was a doubt of the part
he acted, if the monuments of the slain will not be admitted as
evidence, let us appeal to the opinion of the enemy, whose testimony
adds another feature to the portrait of this extraordinary man.

Besides the Koila chief, and many brave Haras, slain on the retreat of
Monson, the Bakhshi, or commander of the force, was made prisoner. As
the price of his liberation, and as a punishment for the aid thus given
to the British, the Mahratta leader exacted a bond of ten lakhs of
rupees from the Bakhshi, threatening on refusal to lay waste with fire
and sword the whole line of pursuit. But when the discomfited Bakhshi
appeared before the regent, he spurned him from his presence, disavowed
his act, and sent him back to Holkar to pay the forfeiture as he
might.[10.9.2] Holkar satisfied himself then with threatening vengeance,
and when opportunity permitted, he marched into Haraoti and encamped
near the capital. The walls were manned to receive him; the signal had
been prepared which would not have left a single house inhabited in the
plains, while the Bhils would simultaneously pour down from the hills on
Holkar’s supplies or followers. The bond was again presented, and
without hesitation disavowed; hostilities appeared inevitable, when the
friends of both parties concerted an interview. But Zalim, aware of the
perfidy of his foe, declined this, except on his own conditions. These
were singular, and will recall to mind another and yet more celebrated
meeting. He demanded that they should discuss the terms of peace or war
upon the Chambal, to which Holkar acceded. For this purpose Zalim
prepared two boats, each capable of containing about twenty armed men.
Having moored his own little bark in the middle of the stream, under the
cannon of the city, Holkar, accompanied by his cavalcade, embarked in
his boat and rowed to meet him. Carpets were spread, and there these
extraordinary men, with only one eye[10.9.3] between them, settled the
conditions of peace, and the endearing epithets of ‘uncle’ and ‘nephew’
were bandied, with abundant mirth on the peculiarity of their situation;
while—for the fact is beyond a doubt—each boat was plugged, and men were
at hand on the first appearance of treachery to have sent them all to
the bottom of the river.[10.9.4] But Holkar’s [551] necessities were
urgent, and a gift of three lakhs of rupees averted such a catastrophe,
though he never relinquished the threat of exacting the ten lakhs; and
when at length madness overtook him, “the bond of Kaka Zalim Singh” was
one of the most frequently repeated ravings of this soldier of fortune,
whose whole life was one scene of insanity.

=Relations with Marāthas and Pindāris.=—It will readily be conceived
that the labours of his administration were quite sufficient to occupy
his attention without intermeddling with his neighbours; yet, in order
to give a direct interest in the welfare of Kotah, he became a
competitor for the farming of the extensive districts which joined his
southern frontier, belonging to Sindhia and Holkar. From the former he
rented the Panj-mahals, and from the latter the four important districts
of Dig, Pirawa, etc.,[10.9.5] which, when by right of conquest they
became British, were given in sovereignty to the regent. Not satisfied
with this hold of self-interest on the two great predatory powers, he
had emissaries in the persons of their confidential ministers, who
reported every movement; and to ‘make assurance doubly sure,’ he had
Mahratta pandits of the first talent in his own administration, through
whose connexions no political measure of their nation escaped his
knowledge. As for Amir Khan, he and the regent were essential to each
other. From Kotah the Khan was provided with military stores and
supplies of every kind; and when his legions mutinied (a matter of daily
occurrence) and threatened him with the bastinado, or fastening to a
piece of ordnance under a scorching sun, Kotah afforded a place of
refuge during a temporary retreat, or ways and means to allay the tumult
by paying the arrears. Zalim allotted the castle of Shirgarh for the
Khan’s family, so that this leader had no anxiety on their account while
he was pursuing his career of rapine in more distant scenes.

Even the Pindaris were conciliated with all the respect and courtesy
paid to better men. Many of their leaders held grants of land in Kotah:
so essential, indeed, was a good understanding with this body, that when
Sindhia, in A.D. 1807, entrapped and imprisoned in the dungeons of
Gwalior the celebrated Karim,[10.9.6] Zalim not only advanced the large
sum required for his ransom, but had the temerity to pledge himself for
his future good conduct: an act which somewhat tarnished his reputation
for sagacity, but eventually operated as a just punishment on Sindhia
for his avarice.

The scale of munificence on which the regent exercised the rites of
sanctuary (saran) towards the chiefs of other countries claiming his
protection, was disproportioned to the means of the State. The exiled
nobles of Marwar and Mewar [552] have held estates in Kotah greater than
their sequestrated patrimonies. These dazzling acts of beneficence were
not lost on a community amongst whom hospitality ranks at the head of
the virtues. In these regions, where the strangest anomalies and the
most striking contradictions present themselves in politics, such
conduct begets no astonishment, and rarely provokes a remonstrance from
the State whence the suppliant fled. The regent not only received the
refugees, but often reconciled them to their sovereigns. He gloried in
the title of ‘peace-maker,’ and whether his conduct proceeded from
motives of benevolence or policy, he was rewarded with the epithet,
sufficiently exalted in itself. “They all come to old Zalim with their
troubles,” he remarked, “as if he could find food for them all from 'his
handful of soil.'”

To conclude: his defensive was, in its results, the reverse of his
offensive policy. Invariable and brilliant success accompanied the one;
defeat, disappointment, and great pecuniary sacrifices were the constant
fruits of the other. Mewar eluded all his arts, and involved Kotah in
embarrassments from which she will never recover, while his attempt to
take Sheopur, the capital of the Gaurs, by a _coup de main_, was
signally defeated. Had he succeeded in either attempt, and added the
resources of these acquisitions to Kotah, doubtless his views would have
been still more enlarged. At an early period of his career, an offer was
made to him, by the celebrated Partap Singh of Jaipur, to undertake the
duties of chief minister of that State: it is vain to speculate on what
might have been the result to the State or himself, had he been able to
wield her resources, at that time so little impaired.

=Zālim Singh’s Domestic Policy. Character of Mahārāo Ummed Singh.=—Let
us now view the domestic policy of the regent; for which purpose we must
again bring forward the pageant prince of Kotah, the Raja Ummed Singh,
who was destined never to be extricated from the trammels of a
guardianship which, like most offices in the East, was designed to be
hereditary; and at the age of threescore and ten, Ummed Singh found
himself as much a minor as when his dying father ‘placed him in the lap’
of the Protector Zalim Singh. The line of conduct he pursued towards his
sovereign, through half a century’s duration, was singularly consistent.
The age, the character, the very title of Nana, or ‘grandsire,’ added
weight to his authority, and the disposition of the prince seemed little
inclined to throw it off. In short, his temperament appeared exactly
suited to the views of the regent, who, while he consulted his wishes in
every step, acted entirely from himself. The Maharao was a prince of
excellent understanding, and possessed many of those qualities inherent
in a Rajput. He was fond of the chase, and was the best horseman and
marksman in the country; and the [553] regent gained such entire
ascendancy over him, that it is doubtful whether he was solicitous of
change. Besides, there was no appearance of constraint; and his
religious occupations, which increased with his age, went far to wean
him from a wish to take a more active share in the duties of government.
His penetration, in fact, discovered the inutility of such a desire, and
he soon ceased to entertain it; while in proportion as he yielded, the
attentions of the minister increased. If an envoy came from a foreign
State, he was introduced to the prince, delivered his credentials to
him; and from him received a reply, but that reply was his minister’s.
If a foreign noble claimed protection, he received it from the prince;
he was the dispenser of the favours, though he could neither change
their nature or amount. Nay, if the regent’s own sons required an
addition to their estates, it could only be at the express desire of the
Maharao; and to such a length did the minister carry this deference,
that an increase to his personal income required being pressed upon him
by the prince. If horses arrived from foreign countries for sale, the
best were set aside for the Maharao and his sons. The archives, the
seal, and all the emblems of sovereignty remained as in times past in
the custody of the personal servants of the prince, at the castle,
though none durst use them without consent of the regent. He banished
his only son, Madho Singh, during three years, to the family estate at
Nanta, for disrespect to the heir-apparent, Kishor Singh, when training
their horses together; and it was with difficulty that even the entreaty
of the Maharao could procure his recall. There are many anecdotes
related to evince that habitual deference to everything attached to his
sovereign, which, originating in good feeling, greatly aided his policy.
The regent was one day at prayer, in the family temple in the castle,
when the younger sons of the Maharao, not knowing he was there, entered
to perform their devotions. It was the cold season, and the pavement was
damp; he took the quilt which he wore from his shoulders, and spread it
for them to stand upon. On their retiring, a servant, deeming the quilt
no longer fit to be applied to the regent’s person, was putting it
aside; but, guessing his intention, Zalim eagerly snatched it from him,
and re-covering himself, observed it was now of some value, since it was
marked with the dust of the feet of his sovereign’s children. These are
curious anomalies in the mind of a man who had determined on unlimited
authority. No usurpation was ever more meek, or yet more absolute; and
it might be affirmed that the prince and the regent were made for each
other and the times in which they lived.

=Zālim Singh and his Servants.=—It was to be expected that a man whose
name was long synonymous with wisdom [554] should show discernment in
the choice of his servants. He had the art of attaching them to his
interests, of uniting their regard with a submissive respect, and no
kindness, no familiarity, ever made them forget the bounds prescribed.
But while he generously provided for all their wants, and granted them
every indulgence, he knew too well the caprice of human nature to make
them independent of himself. He would provide for them, for their
relations and their dependents; his hand was ever bestowing gratuities
on festivals, births, marriages, or deaths; but he never allowed them to
accumulate wealth. It is to be remarked that his most confidential
servants were either Pathans or Mahratta pandits: the first he employed
in military posts, the other in the more complicated machinery of
politics. He rarely employed his own countrymen; and the post of
Faujdar, now held by Bishan Singh, a Rajput of the Saktawat clan, is the
exception to the rule. Dalil Khan and Mihrab Khan were his most faithful
and devoted servants and friends. The stupendous fortifications of the
capital, with which there is nothing in India to compete, save the walls
of Agra, were all executed by the former. By him also was raised that
pride of the regent, the city called after him, Jhalrapatan;[10.9.7]
while all the other forts were put into a state which makes Kotah the
most defensible territory in India. Such was the affectionate esteem in
which Dalil was held by the regent, that he used often to say, “he hoped
he should not outlive Dalil Khan.” Mihrab Khan was the commander of the
infantry, which he maintained in a state of admirable discipline and
efficiency;[10.9.8] they received their _bis roza_, or twenty days’ pay,
each month, with their arrears at the end of every second year [555].

-----

Footnote 10.9.1:

I may once more repeat, this was written in A.D. 1820-21, when Zalim
Singh had reached the age of fourscore and two. [He died, aged 84, in
1824.]

Footnote 10.9.2:

If my memory betrays me not, this unfortunate commander, unable to
bear his shame, took poison.

Footnote 10.9.3:

It should be remembered that Zalim was quite blind, and that Holkar
had lost the use of one eye. [See Vol. II. p. 1234.]

Footnote 10.9.4:

[Compare the meeting of Alexander I. of Russia and Napoleon at Tilsit
on June 25, 1807.]

Footnote 10.9.5:

[Dīg, in Bharatpur State; Pirāwa, one of the Central India districts
included in Tonk State (_IGI_, xx. 151).]

Footnote 10.9.6:

[Karīm Khān surrendered to the British in 1818, and was given an
estate in Gorakhpur District.]

Footnote 10.9.7:

Jhālarapātan, ‘the city of the Jhāla,’ the regent’s tribe. [Others
explain the name to mean city (_pātan_) of springs (_jhālra_): or city
of bells, because it contained 108 temples (_IGI_, xiv. 123).]

Footnote 10.9.8:

Mihrab Khan was the commandant of one division of Zalim’s contingent,
placed at my disposal, which in eight days took possession of every
district of Holkar’s adjacent to Haraoti, and which afterwards gained
so much credit by the brilliant escalade of the Saudi fortress, when
co-operating with General Sir John Malcolm. The Royals (_Raj-Paltan_)
were led by Saif Ali, a gallant soldier, but who could not resist
joining the cause of the Maharao and legitimacy in the civil war of
1821.

-----

CHAPTER 10

=Alliance with the British.=—We now enter upon that period of the
regent’s history, when the march of events linked him with the policy of
Britain. When in A.D. 1817, the Marquess of Hastings proclaimed war
against the Pindaris, who were the very lees of the predatory hordes,
which the discomfiture of the greater powers had thrown off, neutrality
was not to be endured; and it was announced that all those who were not
for us in this grand enterprise, which involved the welfare of all,
would be considered against us. The Rajput States, alike interested with
ourselves in the establishment of settled government, were invited to an
alliance offensive and defensive with us, which was to free them for
ever from the thraldom of the predatory armies; in return for which, we
demanded homage to our power, and a portion of their revenues as the
price of protection. The eagle-eye of Zalim saw at once the virtue of
compliance, and the grace attendant on its being quickly yielded.
Accordingly, his envoy was the first to connect Kotah in the bonds of
alliance, which soon united all Rajwara to Britain. Meanwhile, all India
was in arms; two hundred thousand men were embodied, and moving on
various points to destroy the germ of rapine for ever. As the first
scene of action was expected to be in the countries bordering upon
Haraoti, the presence of an agent with Zalim Singh appeared
indispensable. His instructions were to make available the resources of
Kotah to the armies moving round him, and to lessen the field [556] of
the enemy’s manœuvres, by shutting him out of that country. So
efficient were these resources, that in five days after the agent
reached the regent’s camp,[10.10.1] every pass was a post; and a corps
of fifteen hundred men, infantry and cavalry, with four guns, was
marched to co-operate with General Sir John Malcolm, who had just
crossed the Nerbudda with a weak division of the army of the Deccan, and
was marching northward, surrounded by numerous foes and doubtful
friends. Throughout that brilliant and eventful period in the history of
British India, when every province from the Ganges to the ocean was
agitated by warlike demonstrations, the camp of the regent was the pivot
of operations and the focus of intelligence. The part he acted was
decided, manly, and consistent; and if there were moments of
vacillation, it was inspired by our own conduct, which created doubts in
his mind as to the wisdom of his course. He had seen and felt that the
grand principle of politics, expediency, guided all courts and councils,
whether Mogul, Mahratta, or British: the disavowal of the alliances
formed by Lord Lake, under Marquess Wellesley’s administration, proved
this to demonstration, and he was too familiar with the history of our
power to give more credit than mere politeness required to our boasted
renunciation of the rights of anticipated conquest. A smile would play
over the features of the orbless politician when the envoy disclaimed
all idea of its being a war of aggrandisement. To all such protestations
he would say, “Maharaja, I cannot doubt you believe what you say; but
remember what old Zalim tells you; the day is not distant when only one
emblem of power (_ekhi sikka_) will be recognized throughout India.”
This was in A.D. 1817-18; and the ten years of life since granted to him
must have well illustrated the truth of this remark; for although no
absolute conquest or incorporation of Rajput territory has taken place,
our system of control, and the establishment of our monopoly within
these limits (not then dreamed of by ourselves), has already verified in
part his prediction. It were indeed idle to suppose that any
protestations could have vanquished the arguments present to a mind
which had pondered on every page of the history of our power; which had
witnessed its development from the battle of Plassey under Clive to
Lake’s exploits at the altars of Alexander. He had seen throughout, that
the fundamental rule which guides the Rajput prince, ‘obtain land,’ was
one both practically and theoretically understood by viceroys from [557]
the west, who appeared to act upon the four grand political principles
of the Rajput, _sham_, _dan_, _bed_, _dand_; or, persuasion, gifts,
stratagem, force; by which, according to their great lawgiver, kingdoms
are obtained and maintained, and all mundane affairs conducted. When,
therefore, in order to attain our ends, we expatiated upon the
disinterestedness of our views, his co-operation was granted less from a
belief in our professions, than upon a dispassionate consideration of
the benefits which such alliance would confer upon Kotah, and of its
utility in maintaining his family in the position it had so long held in
that State. He must have balanced the difficulties he had mastered to
maintain that power, against the enemies, internal and external, which
had threatened it, and he justly feared both would speedily be
sacrificed to the incapacity of his successors. To provide a stay to
their feebleness was the motive which induced him to throw himself heart
and hand into the alliance we sought; and of signal benefit did he prove
to the cause he espoused. But if we read aright the workings of a mind,
which never betrayed its purpose either to friend or foe, we should find
that there was a moment wherein, though he did not swerve from the path
he had chalked out, or show any equivocation in respect to the pledge he
had given, the same spirit which had guided him to the eminence he had
acquired, suggested what he might have done at a conjuncture when all
India, save Rajputana, was in arms to overthrow the legions of Britain.
All had reason to dread her colossal power, and hatred and revenge
actuated our numerous allies to emancipate themselves from a yoke which,
whether they were bound by friendship or by fear, was alike galling. If
there was one master-mind that could have combined and wielded their
resources for our overthrow, it was that of Zalim Singh alone. Whether
the aspirations of his ambition, far too vast for its little field of
action, soared to this height, or were checked by the trammels of nearly
eighty winters, we can only conjecture. Once, and once only, the dubious
oracle came forth. It was in the very crisis of operations, when three
English divisions were gradually closing upon the grand Pindari horde,
under Karim Khan, in the very heart of his dominions, and his troops,
his stores, were all placed at our disposal, he heard that one of these
divisions had insulted his town of Bara; then, the ideas which appeared
to occupy him burst forth in the ejaculation, “that if twenty years
could be taken from his life, Delhi and Deccan should be one”; and
appeared to point to the hidden thoughts of a man whose tongue never
spoke but in parables.

There is also no doubt that his most confidential friends and ministers,
who were [558] Mahrattas, were adverse to his leaguing with the English,
and for a moment he felt a repugnance to breaking the bond which had so
long united him with their policy. He could not but enumerate amongst
the arguments for its maintenance, his ability to preserve that
independence which fifty years had strengthened, and he saw that, with
the power to which he was about to be allied, he had no course but
unlimited obedience; in short, that his part must now be subordinate. He
preferred it, however, for the security it afforded; and as in the
course of nature he must soon resign his trust, there was more hope of
his power descending to his posterity than if left to discord and
faction. But when hostilities advanced against the freebooters, and the
more settled governments of the Peshwa, Bhonsla, Holkar, and Sindhia,
determined to shake off our yoke, we could urge to him irresistible
arguments for a perfect identity of interests. The envoy had only to
hint that the right of conquest would leave the districts he rented from
Holkar at our disposal; and that as we wanted no territory in Central
India for ourselves, we should not forget our friends at the conclusion
of hostilities. If ever there were doubts, they were dissipated by this
suggestion; and on the grand horde being broken up, it was discovered
that the families of its leaders were concealed in his territory.
Through his indirect aid we were enabled to secure them, and at once
annihilated the strength of the marauders. For all these important
services, the sovereignty of the four districts he rented from Holkar
was guaranteed to the regent. The circumstances attending the conveyance
of this gift afforded an estimate of Zalim’s determination never to
relinquish his authority; for, when the sanad was tendered in his own
name, he declined it, desiring the insertion of that of “his master, the
Maharao.” At the time, it appeared an act of disinterested magnanimity,
but subsequent acts allowed us to form a more correct appreciation of
his motives. The campaign concluded, and the noble commander and his
enlightened coadjutor[10.10.2] left the seat of war impressed with the
conviction of the great services, and the highest respect for the
talents, of the veteran politician, while the envoy, who had acted with
him during the campaign, was declared the medium of his future political
relations.

In March A.D. 1818, profound repose reigned from the Sutlej to the
ocean, of which Rajput history presented no example. The magic Runes, by
which the north-man could “hush the stormy wave,” could not be more
efficacious than the rod of our power in tranquillizing this wide space,
which for ages had been the seat of conflict. The _satya_[559] _yuga_,
the golden age of the Hindu, alone afforded a parallel to the calm which
had succeeded the eras of tumultuous effervescence.

=Death of Mahārāo Ummed Singh. Disputed Succession.=—Thus matters
proceeded till November 1819, when the death of the Maharao Ummed Singh
engendered new feelings in the claimants to the succession, and placed
the regent in a position from which not even his genius might have
extricated him, unaided by the power whose alliance he had so timely
obtained. And here it becomes requisite to advert to the terms of this
alliance. The treaty[10.10.3] was concluded at Delhi, on the 26th of
December 1817, by the envoys of the regent, in the name of his lawful
sovereign, the Maharao Ummed Singh, ratified by the contracting parties,
and the deeds were interchanged at the regent’s court early in January.
To this treaty his sovereign’s seal and his own were appended; but no
guarantee of the regent’s power was demanded pending the negotiation,
nor is he mentioned except in the preamble, and then only as the
ministerial agent of the Maharao Ummed Singh, in whose behalf alone the
treaty was virtually executed. This excited the surprise of the British
representative,[10.10.4] who, in his official dispatch detailing the
progress and conclusion of the negotiations, intimated that he not only
expected such stipulation, but was prepared for admitting it. There was
no inadvertence in this omission; the regent saw no occasion for any
guarantee, for the plenary exercise of the powers of sovereign during
more than half a century had constituted him, _de facto_, prince of
Kotah. Moreover, we may suppose had he felt a desire for such
stipulation, that a feeling of pride might have stifled its expression,
which by making the choice of ministers dependent on a foreign power
would have virtually annulled the independent sovereignty of Kotah.
Whatever was the reason of the omission, at a season when his
recognition might have had the same formal sanction of all the parties
as the other articles of the treaty, it furnished the future opponents
of the regent’s power with a strong argument against its maintenance in
perpetuity on the death of the Maharao Ummed Singh.

It has been already said that the treaty was concluded at Delhi in
December 1817, and interchanged in January 1818. In March of the same
year, two supplemental articles were agreed to at Delhi, and transmitted
direct to the regent, guaranteeing the administration of affairs to his
sons and successors for ever.

Having premised so much, let us give a brief notice of the parties,
whose future fate was involved in this policy [560].

The Maharao Ummed Singh had three sons, Kishor Singh, Bishan Singh, and
Prithi Singh. The heir-apparent, who bore a name dear to the
recollection of the Haras, was then forty years of age. He was mild in
his temper and demeanour; but being brought up in habits of seclusion,
he was more conversant with the formulas of his religion, and the sacred
epics, than with the affairs of mankind. He was no stranger to the
annals of his family, and had sufficient pride and feeling to kindle at
the recollection of their glory; but the natural bent of his mind,
reinforced by education, had well fitted him to follow the path of his
father, and to leave himself and his country to be governed as best
pleased the Nana Sahib,[10.10.5] the regent.

Bishan Singh was about three years younger; equally placid in
disposition, sensible and sedate, and much attached to the regent.

Prithi Singh was under thirty; a noble specimen of a Hara, eager for
action in the only career of a Rajput—arms. To him the existing state of
things was one of opprobrium and dishonour, and his mind was made up to
enfranchize himself and family from the thraldom in which his father had
left them, or perish in the attempt. The brothers were attached to each
other, and lived in perfect harmony, though suspicions did exist that
Bishan Singh’s greater docility and forbearance towards the regent’s son
and successor, arose from interested, perhaps traitorous, views. Each of
them had estates of twenty-five thousand rupees’ annual rent, which they
managed through their agents.

The regent had two sons, the elder, Madho Singh, legitimate; the
younger, Gordhandas, illegitimate; but he was regarded with more
affection, and endowed with almost equal authority with the declared
successor to the regency. Madho Singh was about forty-six at the period
we speak of. A physiognomist would discover in his aspect no feature
indicative of genius, though he might detect amidst traits which denoted
indolence, a supercilious tone of character, the effect of indulgence.
This was fostered in a great degree by the late Maharao, who supported
the regent’s son against his own in all their dissensions, even from
their infancy, which had increased the natural arrogance developed by
power being too early entrusted to him: for when the regent, as before
related, quitted the capital for the camp, Madho Singh was nominated to
the office of Faujdar, the hereditary post of his father, and left as
his locum tenens at Kotah. This office, which included the command and
pay of all the [561] troops, left unlimited funds at his disposal; and
as the checks which restrained every other officer in the State were
inoperative upon his sons, who dared to inform against the future
regent? Accordingly, he indulged his taste in a manner which engendered
dislike to him: his gardens, his horses, his boats, were in a style of
extravagance calculated to provoke the envy of the sons of his
sovereign; while his suite eclipsed that of the prince himself. In
short, he little regarded the prudent counsel of his father, who, in
their metaphorical language, used to express his fears “that when he was
a hundred years old” (_i.e._ dead), the fabric which cost a life in
rearing would fall to pieces.

Gordhandas,[10.10.6] the natural son of the regent, was then about
twenty-seven,[10.10.7] quick, lively, intelligent, and daring. His
conduct to his sovereign’s family has been precisely the reverse of his
brother’s, and in consequence he lived on terms of confidential
friendship with them, especially with the heir-apparent and prince,
Prithi Singh, whose disposition corresponded with his own. His father,
who viewed this child of his old age with perhaps more affection than
his elder brother, bestowed upon him the important office of Pardhan,
which comprehends the grain-department of the State. It gave him the
command of funds, the amount of which endangered the declared
succession. The brothers cordially detested each other, and many
indignities were cast upon Gordhandas by Madho Singh, such as putting
him in the guard, which kindled an irreconcilable rancour between them.
Almost the only frailty in the character of the regent was the defective
education of his sons: both were left to the indulgence of arrogant
pretensions, which ill accorded with the tenor of his own behaviour
through life, or the conduct that was demanded of them. Dearly, bitterly
has the regent repented this error, which in its consequence has thrown
the merits of an active and difficult career into the shade, and made
him regret that his power was not to die with him.

Such was the state of parties and politics at Kotah in November 1819,
when the death of the Maharao developed views that had long been
concealed, and that produced the most deplorable results. The regent was
at the Chhaoni, his standing camp at Gagraun, when this event occurred,
and he immediately repaired to the capital, to see that the last offices
were properly performed, and to proclaim the _an_, or oath of
allegiance, and the accession of the Maharao Kishor Singh [562].

The Political Agent received the intelligence[10.10.8] on his march from
Marwar to Mewar, and immediately addressed his government on the
subject, requesting instructions. Meanwhile, after a few days’ halt at
Udaipur, he repaired to Kotah to observe the state of parties, whose
animosities and expectations were forebodings of a change which menaced
the guaranteed order of things. On his arrival, he found the aged
regent, still a stranger to the luxury of a house, encamped a mile
beyond the city, with his devoted bands around him; while his son, the
heir to his power, continued in his palace in the town. The prince and
brothers, as heretofore, resided at the palace in the castle, where they
held their coteries, of which Gordhandas and Prithi Singh were the
principals, moulding the new Maharao to their will, and from which the
second brother, Bishan Singh, was excluded. Although the late prince had
hardly ceased to breathe, before the animosities so long existing
between the sons of the regent burst forth, and threatened ‘war within
the gates’; and although nothing short of the recovery of rights so long
in abeyance was determined upon by the prince; yet—and it will hardly be
believed—these schemes escaped the vigilance of the regent.

The death of his friend and sovereign, added to care and infirmity,
brought on a fit of illness, the result of which was expected to crown
the hopes of the parties who were interested in the event; and when, to
their surprise and regret, he recovered, the plans of his prince and
natural son were matured, and as notorious as the sun at noon to every
person of note but the regent himself. He was not, indeed, the first
aged ruler, however renowned for wisdom, who had been kept in ignorance
of the cabals of his family. It required a prophet to announce to David
the usurpation of Adonijah;[10.10.9] and the same cause, which kept
David ignorant that his son had supplanted him, concealed from the
penetrating eye of Zalim Singh the plot which had for its object that
his power should perish with him, and that his son Gordhan should
supersede [563] the heir to his hereditary staff of office. Strange as
it must appear, the British Agent acted the part of Nathan on this
occasion, and had to break the intelligence to the man who had swayed
for sixty years, with despotic authority, the destinies of Kotah, that
his sons were arming against each other, and that his prince was
determined that his wand (_chhari_) of power should (to speak in their
metaphorical style) be consumed in the same pyre with himself whenever
the ‘decree of Bhagwan’ went forth.

It was then that the supplemental articles, guaranteeing Madho Singh in
the succession to the regency, proved a stumbling-block in the path of
our mediation between parties, the one called on to renounce that
dear-bought power, the other determined to regain what time and accident
had wrested from him. Had the emergency occurred while the predatory
system was predominant, not a whisper would have been raised; the point
in all probability would never have been mooted: it would have been
considered as a matter of course, where

Amurath to Amurath succeeds,

that the Maharao Kishor should continue the same puppet in the hands of
Madho Singh that his father had been in Zalim’s. This would have excited
no surprise, nor would such a proceeding have afforded speculation for
one hour. Nay, the usurper might have advanced to the ulterior step;
and, like the Frank Maire du Palais, have demanded of the pontiff of
Nathdwara, as did Pepin of Pope Zacharias, “whether he who had the
power, should not also have the title, of king”;[10.10.10] and the same
plenary indulgence would have awaited the first Jhala Raja of Kotah as
was granted to the first of the Carlovingian kings! It, therefore,
became a matter of astonishment, especially to the unreflecting, whence
arose the general sympathy, amounting to enthusiasm, towards this
hitherto disregarded family, not only from chief and peasant, within the
bounds of Haraoti, and the foreign mercenary army raised and maintained
by the regent, but from the neighbouring princes and nobles, who had
hitherto looked upon the usurpation in silence.

A short explanation will solve what was then enigmatical, even to those
most interested in forming a just opinion. The practice of the moral
virtues amongst any portion of civilized society may be uncertain, but
there is one invariable estimate or standard of them in theory. The
policy of 1817 changed the moral with the political [564] aspect of
Rajasthan. If, previous thereto, no voice was raised against usurpation
and crime, it was because all hope that their condition could be
ameliorated was extinct. But this was to them a _naya samvat_, a ‘new
era,’ a day of universal regeneration. Was the sovereign not to look for
the restoration of that power which had been guaranteed by treaty—nor
the chiefs to claim the restitution of their estates—nor the peasant to
hope for the lands now added to the crown domain;—and were not all
foreign potentates interested in calling for an example of retributive
justice for ministerial usurpation, however mildly exercised towards the
prince? With more rational than political argument, they appealed to our
high notions of public justice to accomplish these objects. Unhappy
position, in which circumstances—nay, paradoxical as it may appear,
political gratitude and justice—dictated a contrary course, and
marshalled British battalions in line with the retainers of usurpation
to combat the lawful sovereign of the country! The case was one of the
most difficult that ever beset our policy in the East, which must always
to a certain extent be adapted to the condition of those with whom we
come in contact; and perhaps, on this occasion, no caution or foresight
could have averted the effects of this affiance.

=Effects of the British Treaty.=—There is not a shadow of doubt that the
supplemental articles of the treaty of Kotah, which pledged our faith to
two parties in a manner which rendered its maintenance towards both an
impossibility, produced consequences that shook the confidence of the
people of Rajwara in our political rectitude. They established two
pageants instead of one, whose co-existence would have been miraculous;
still, as a measure ought not to be judged entirely by its results, we
shall endeavour to assign the true motive and character of the act.

If these articles were not dictated by good policy; if they cannot be
defended on the plea of expediency; if the omission in the original
treaty of December could not be supplied in March, without questioning
the want of foresight of the framer; he might justify them on the ground
that they were a concession to feelings of gratitude for important
services, rendered at a moment when the fate of our power in India was
involved to an extent unprecedented since its origin. To effect a treaty
with the Nestor of Rajwara, was to ensure alliances with the rest of the
States, which object was the very essence of Lord Hastings’ policy.
Thus, on general views, as well as for particular reasons (for the
resources of Kotah were absolutely indispensable), the co-operation of
the regent was a measure vitally important. Still it may be urged that
as the regent himself, from whatever motive, had allowed [565] the time
to go by when necessity might have compelled us to incorporate such an
article in the original treaty, was there no other mode of reimbursing
these services besides a guarantee which was an apple of discord? The
war was at an end; and we might with justice have urged that ‘the State
of Kotah,’ with which we had treated, had, in the destruction of all the
powers of anarchy and sharing in its spoils, fully reaped the reward of
her services. Such an argument would doubtless have been diplomatically
just; but we were still revelling in the excitement of unparalleled
success, to which Zalim had been no mean contributor, and the future
evil was overlooked in the feverish joy of the hour. But if cold
expediency may not deem this a sufficient justification, we may find
other reasons. When the author of the policy of 1817 had maturely
adjusted his plans for the union of all the settled governments in a
league against the predatory system, it became necessary to adopt a
broad principle with respect to those with whom we had to treat. At such
a moment he could not institute a patient investigation into the moral
discipline of each State, or demand of those who wielded the power by
what tenure they held their authority. It became, therefore, a matter of
necessity to recognize those who were the rulers _de facto_, a principle
which was publicly promulgated and universally acted upon. Whether we
should have been justified in March, when all our wishes had been
consummated, in declining a proposal which we would most gladly have
submitted to in December, is a question which we shall leave
diplomatists to settle,[10.10.11] and proceed to relate the result of
the measure.

The counsellors of the new Maharao soon expounded to him the terms of
the treaty, and urged him to demand its fulfilment according to its
literal interpretation. The politic deference, which the regent had
invariably shown to the late prince, was turned skilfully into an
offensive weapon against him. They triumphantly appealed to the tenth
article of the treaty, “the Maharao, his heirs and successors, shall
remain absolute rulers of their country”; and demanded how we could
reconcile our subsequent determination to guarantee Madho Singh and his
heirs in the enjoyment of power, which made him _de facto_ the prince,
and “reduced the _gaddi_ of Kotah to a simple heap of cotton?”—with the
fact before our eyes, that the seals of all the contracting parties were
to the original treaty, but that of the supplemental articles the late
Maharao died in absolute ignorance [566].

All friendly intercourse between the prince and the regent, and
consequently with Madho Singh, was soon at an end, and every effort was
used whereby the political enfranchisement of the former could be
accomplished. The eloquence of angels must have failed to check such
hopes, still more to give a contrary interpretation to the simple
language of the treaty, to which, with a judicious pertinacity, they
confined themselves. It would be useless to detail the various
occurrences pending the reference to our Government. The prince would
not credit, or affected not to credit, its determination, and founded
abundant and not easily-refutable arguments upon its honour and justice.
When told that its instructions were, “that no pretensions of the
titular Raja can be entertained by us in opposition to our positive
engagement with the regent; that he alone was considered as the head of
the Kotah State, and the titular Raja no more deemed the ruler of Kotah,
than the Raja of Satara the leader of the Mahrattas, or the Great Mogul
the emperor of Hindustan,” the Maharao shut his ears against the
representation of the Agent, and professed to regard the person who
could compare his case to others so little parallel to it, as his enemy.
While his brother, Prithi Singh, and Gordhandas formed part of the
council of Kishor Singh, it was impossible to expect that he would be
brought to resign himself to his destiny; and he was speedily given to
understand that the removal of both from his councils was indispensable.

=Outbreak at Kotah.=—But as it was impossible to effect this without
escalading the castle, in which operation the prince, in all human
probability, might have perished, it was deemed advisable to blockade it
and starve them into surrender. When reduced to extremity, the Maharao
took the determination of trusting his cause to the country, and placing
himself at the head of a band of five hundred horse, chiefly Haras, with
the tutelary deity at his saddle-bow, with drums beating and colours
flying, he broke through the blockade. Fortunately, no instructions had
been given for resistance, and his cavalcade passed on to the southward
unmolested. As soon as the movement was reported, the Agent hastened to
the regent’s camp, which he found in confusion; and demanded of the
veteran what steps he had taken, or meant to take, to prevent the
infection spreading. His conduct, at such a crisis, was most
embarrassing. Beset by scruples, real or affected, the Agent could only
obtain ill-timed if not spurious declarations of loyalty; “that he would
cling to his sovereign’s skirts, and _chakari kar_ (serve him); that he
would rather retire to Nathdwara, than blacken his face by any treason
towards his master.” Rejoiced at the mere hint of a sentiment which
afforded the least presage of the only [567] mode of cutting the Gordian
knot of our policy, the Agent eagerly replied, “there was no earthly bar
to his determination, which he had only to signify”; but abhorring
duplicity and cant at such a moment, when action of the most decisive
kind was required, and apprehensive of the consequences of five hundred
unquiet spirits being thrown loose on a society so lately disorganized,
he hastily bid the veteran adieu, and galloped to overtake the prince’s
cavalcade. He found it bivouacked at the Rangbari,[10.10.12] a
country-seat six miles south of the capital. His followers and their
horses, intermingled, were scattered in groups outside the garden-wall;
and the prince, his chiefs, and advisers, were in the palace,
deliberating on their future operations. There was no time for ceremony;
and he reached the assembly before he could be announced. The rules of
etiquette and courtesy were not lost even amidst impending strife;
though the greeting was short, a warm expostulation with the prince and
the chiefs was delivered with rapidity; and the latter were warned that
their position placed them in direct enmity to the British Government,
and that, without being enabled to benefit their sovereign, they
involved themselves in destruction. The courtesy which these brave men
had a right to was changed into bitter reproof, as the Agent turned to
Gordhandas, whom he styled a traitor to his father, and from whom his
prince could expect no good, guided as he was solely by interested
motives, and warned him that punishment of no common kind awaited him.
His hand was on his sword in an instant; but the action being met by a
smile of contempt, and his insolent replies passing unheeded, the Agent,
turning to the prince, implored him to reflect before the door would be
closed to accommodation; pledging himself, at the same time, to
everything that reason and his position could demand, except the
surrender of the power of the regent, which our public faith compelled
us to maintain; and that the prince’s dignity, comforts, and happiness,
should be sedulously consulted. While he was wavering, the Agent called
aloud, “The prince’s horse!” and taking his arm, Kishor Singh suffered
himself to be led to it, observing as he mounted, “I rely implicitly on
your friendship.” His brother, Prithi Singh, spoke; the chiefs
maintained silence; and the impetuosity of Gordhan and one or two of the
coterie was unheeded. The Agent rode side by side with the prince,
surrounded by his bands, in perfect silence, and in this way they
re-entered the castle, nor did the Agent quit him till he replaced him
on his _gaddi_, when he reiterated his expressions of desire for his
welfare, but urged the necessity of his adapting his conduct to the
imperious circumstances of his position; and intimated that both his
brother and Gordhandas must be removed from his person, the latter
altogether from [568] Haraoti. This was in the middle of May; and in
June, after the public deportation of Gordhandas as a state-criminal to
Delhi, and ample provision being made for the prince and every member of
his family, a public reconciliation took place between him and the
regent.

=Reconciliation of Mahārāo Kishor Singh with Zālim Singh.=—The meeting
partook of the nature of a festival, and produced a spontaneous
rejoicing, the populace, with the loudest acclamations, crowding every
avenue to the palace by which the regent and his son were to pass. The
venerable Zalim appeared like their patriarch; the princes as
disobedient children suing for forgiveness. They advanced bending to
embrace his knees, whilst he, vainly attempting to restrain this
reverential salutation to his age and to habit, endeavoured by the same
lowly action to show his respect to his sovereign. Expressions, in
keeping with such forms of affection and respect, from the Maharao, of
honour and fidelity from the ‘guardian of his father’ and himself, were
exchanged with all the fervour of apparent sincerity. Anomalous
condition of human affairs! strange perversity, which prevented this
momentary illusion from becoming a permanent reality!

=Re-installation of Kishor Singh.=—This much-desired reconciliation was
followed on the 8th of Sawan, or 17th August A.D. 1820, by the
solemnities of a public installation of the Maharao on the _gaddi_ of
his ancestors: a pageantry which smoothed all asperities for the time,
and, in giving scope to the munificence of the regent, afforded to the
mass, who judge only by the surface of things, a theme for approbation.
We leave for another place[10.10.13] the details of this spectacle;
merely observing that the representative of the British Government was
the first (following the priest) to make the _tika_, or unction of
sovereignty[10.10.14] on the forehead of the prince; and having tied on
the jewels, consisting of aigrette, necklace, and bracelets, he girded
on, amidst salutes of ordnance, the sword of investiture. The Maharao,
with an appropriate speech, presented one hundred and one gold mohurs,
as the _nazar_ or fine of relief, professing his homage to the British
Government. At the same time, a khilat, or dress of honour, was
presented, in the name of the Governor-General of India, to the regent,
for which he made a suitable acknowledgment, and a _nazar_ of
twenty-five gold mohurs.

Madho Singh then fulfilled the functions of hereditary Faujdar, making
the _tika_, girding on the sword, and presenting the gift of accession,
which was returned by [569] the Maharao presenting to Madho Singh the
khilat of ultimate succession to the regency: the grand difficulty to
overcome, and which originated all these differences. The Agent remained
an entire month after the ceremony, to strengthen the good feeling thus
begun; to adapt the Maharao’s mind to the position in which an imperious
destiny had placed him; and also to impress on the successor to the
regency the dangerous responsibility of the trust which a solemn treaty
had guaranteed, if by his supineness, want of feeling, or misconduct, it
were violated. On the 4th of September, previous to leaving Kotah, the
Agent was present at another meeting of all the parties, when there was
as much appearance of cordiality manifested as could be expected in so
difficult a predicament. The old regent, the Maharao, and Madho Singh,
joined hands in reciprocal forgiveness of the past, each uttering a
solemn asseveration that he would cultivate harmony for the future.

It was on this occasion that the regent performed two deliberate acts,
which appear suitable accompaniments to the close of his political life,
both as respects his prince and his subjects. He had prepared a covenant
of surety for his old and faithful servants after his death, demanding
the Maharao’s, his son Madho Singh’s, and the Agent’s signatures
thereto, stipulating that “if his successor did not choose to employ
their services, they should be free agents, be called to no account for
the past, but be permitted to reside wherever they pleased.” The Maharao
and Madho Singh having signed the deed, the British Agent, at the desire
of the regent, placed his signature as a guarantee for its execution. In
this act, we not only have proof that to the last the regent maintained
the supremacy of his master, but evidence of the fears he entertained
respecting the conduct of his successor.

=Reforms in Taxation.=—The other act was a brilliant victory over the
most inveterate habits of his age and country,—the revocation of _dand_,
or forced contributions, throughout the dominion of Kotah. This
spontaneous abolition of a practice so deeply rooted in Rajasthan, is
another proof of the keen penetration of the regent, and of his desire
to conciliate the opinions of the protecting power, as to the duties of
princes towards their subjects; duties regarding which, as he said,
“theoretically we are not ignorant”; and on which he has often forcibly
descanted before his son, whilst laying down rules of conduct when he
should be no more. At such moments, he entered fully and with energy
into his own conduct; condemning it; pointing out its inevitable
results, and the benefits he had observed to attend an opposite course
of action. “My word, son, was not worth a copper,” he would say; “but
now nobody would refuse anything to old Zalim.” It [570] was, therefore,
as much from a conviction of the benefit to himself and the State which
would attend the renunciation of this tax, as with a view of courting
golden opinion, that he commanded a stone to be raised in the chief town
of every district of his country, on which was inscribed the edict of
perpetual abolition of _dand_, with the denunciation of eternal
vengeance on whoever should revoke it. The effigies of the sun, the
moon, the cow and the hog, animals reverenced or execrated by all
classes, were carved in relief, to attest the imprecation.

Such was the pacific termination of a contest for authority, which
threatened to deluge Kotah with blood. Whether we had a right to hope
that such high and natural pretensions could rest satisfied with the
measures of conciliation and concession that were pursued, the sequel
will disclose to those who judge only by results.

-----

Footnote 10.10.1:

The Author of those annals, then Assistant Resident at Sindhia’s
court, was deputed by Lord Hastings to the Raj Rana Zalim Singh. He
left the residency at Gwalior on the 12th November 1817, and reached
the regent’s camp at Rauta, about twenty-five miles S.S.E. of Kotah,
on the 23rd.

Footnote 10.10.2:

I allude to Mr. Adam, who divided with the noble Marquess the entire
merits of that ever memorable period. [John Adam, political secretary
to the Marquess of Hastings (1779-1825) (C. E. Buckland, _Dict. Indian
Biography_ _s.v._).]

Footnote 10.10.3:

Copy of this is inserted in Appendix, No. VI., p. 1833.

Footnote 10.10.4:

C. T. Metcalfe, Esq., then resident at Delhi, now Sir C. T. Metcalfe,
Bart., member of council in Bengal. [Sir Charles Metcalfe (1785-1846):
Resident at Delhi; Lieutenant-Governor North-western Provinces
(1836-38); Governor of Jamaica (1839-42); Governor-General of Canada
(1843-45); raised to the peerage 1845; died 5th September 1846
(Buckland, _op. cit._ _s.v._; _Life and Correspondence_ by Sir J. W.
Kaye, 1854).]

Footnote 10.10.5:

This was the parental epithet always applied to the regent by Ummed
Singh and his sons, who it will be remembered mingled some of the
Jhala blood in their veins. Nāna-sāhib, ‘sir grandsire.’

Footnote 10.10.6:

_Anglicé_, ‘the slave of Gordhan,’ one of the names of Krishna, the
tutelary divinity of the regent.

Footnote 10.10.7:

Let me again remind the reader that this was written in 1820-21; for
many reasons, the phraseology and chronology of the original MS. are
retained.

Footnote 10.10.8:

The following is a translation of the letter written by the regent,
announcing the decease of his master, dated 1st Safar, A.H. 1235, or
November 21, 1819:—

“Until Sunday, the eve of the 1st Safar, the health of the Maharao
Ummed Singh was perfectly good. About an hour after sunset, he went to
worship Sri Brajnathji [Lord of Braj or Mathura]. Having made six
prostrations, and while performing the seventh, he fainted and
remained totally insensible. In this state he was removed to his
bed-chamber, when every medical aid was given, but unavailingly; at
two in the morning he departed for heaven.

“Such affliction is not reserved even for a foe; but what refuge is
there against the decree? You are our friend, and the honour and
welfare of those whom the Maharao has left behind are now in your
hands. The Maharao Kishor Singh, eldest son of the Maharao deceased,
has been placed upon the throne. This is written for the information
of friendship.”

Footnote 10.10.9:

“Nathan spake unto Bathsheba, 'hast thou not heard that Adonijah, the
son of Haggith, doth reign, and David our Lord knoweth it not?'” [1
Kings i. 11.]

Footnote 10.10.10:

Such was the question propounded, and answered as Pepin expected,
regarding the deposal of Childeric III., the last of the Merovingian
race. [Pope Zacharias (A.D. 741-52), by whose sanction Boniface
crowned Pippin King of the Franks at Soissons.]

Footnote 10.10.11:

The overture for these supplementary articles, in all probability,
originated not with the regent, but with the son. Had the Author (who
was then the medium of the political relations with Kotah) been
consulted regarding their tendency, he was as well aware then as now,
what he ought to have advised. Whether his feelings, alike excited by
the grand work in which he bore no mean part, would have also clouded
his judgment, it were useless to discuss. It is sufficient, in all the
spirit of candour, to suggest such reasons as may have led to a
measure, the consequences of which have been so deeply lamented.

Footnote 10.10.12:

['The Garden of Enjoyment.']

Footnote 10.10.13:

The details of this ceremony will be given in the Personal Narrative.

Footnote 10.10.14:

‘Anointing’ appears to have been, in all ages, the mode of
installation. The unguent on this occasion is of sandalwood and _itr_
of roses made into a paste, or very thick ointment, of which a little
is placed upon the forehead with the middle finger of the right hand.

-----

CHAPTER 11

=Banishment of Gordhandās.=—The sole measure of severity which arose out
of these commotions was exercised on the natural son of the regent, who
was banished in the face of open day from the scene of his turbulent
intrigue. Gordhandas, or, as his father styled him, ‘Gordhanji,’ was the
‘child of love’ and of his old age, and to his mother the regent, it is
said, felt the most ardent attachment. The perpetual banishment of this
firebrand was essential to tranquillity; yet, notwithstanding his
misdeeds, political and filial, it was feared that the sentiments of the
Jewish monarch, rather than the sternness of the Roman father, would
have influenced the Rajput regent, whose bearing, when [571] the
sentence of condemnation was enforced, was to be regarded as the test of
a suspicion that the Maharao had been goaded to his course through this
channel by ulterior views which he dared not openly promulgate. But
Zalim’s fiat was worthy of a Roman, and sufficed to annihilate
suspicion—“Let the air of Haraoti never more be tainted by his
presence.” Delhi and Allahabad were the cities fixed upon, from which he
was to select his future residence, and unfortunately the first was
chosen. Here he resided with his family upon a pension sufficiently
liberal, and had a range abundantly excursive for exercise, attended by
some horsemen furnished by the British local authority.

About the close of 1821, permission was imprudently granted to the exile
to visit Malwa, to fulfil a marriage-contract with an illegitimate
daughter of the chieftain of Jhabua.[10.11.1] Scarcely had he set his
foot in that town, when symptoms of impatience, in lieu of perfect
tranquillity, began to be visible at Kotah, and a correspondence both
there and at Bundi was hardly detected, before a spirit of revolt was
reported to have infected the tried veterans of the regent. Saif Ali,
the commander of the ‘Royals’ (_Raj Paltan_), an officer of thirty
years’ standing, distinguished for his zeal, fidelity, and gallantry,
was named as having been gained over to the cause of his nominal
sovereign. This was looked upon as a slander; but too wise entirely to
disregard it, the regent interposed a force between the disaffected
battalion and the castle, which brought the matter to issue. The Maharao
immediately proceeded by water, and conveyed Saif Ali and a part of his
battalion to the palace; which was no sooner reported, than the blind
regent put himself into his litter, and headed a force with which he
attacked the remainder, while two twenty-four pounders, mounted on a
cavalier, which commanded not only every portion of the city, but the
country on both sides the Chambal, played upon the castle. In the midst
of this firing (probably unexpected), the Maharao, his brother Prithi
Singh, and their adherents, took to boat, crossed the river, and retired
to Bundi, while the remainder of the mutinous ‘Royals’ laid down their
arms. By this energetic conduct, the new attempt upon his power was
dissolved as soon as formed, and the _gaddi_ of the Haras was abandoned.
Bishan Singh escaped from his brothers in the midst of the fray, and
joined the regent, whose views regarding him, in this crisis, however
indirectly manifested, could not be mistaken; but our system of making
and unmaking kings in these distant regions, though it may have enlarged
our power, had not added to our reputation; and the Agent had the most
rooted repugnance to sanction the system in the new range of our
alliances, however it might have tended to allay the discord [572] which
prevailed, or to free the paramount power from the embarrassment in
which its diplomatic relations had placed it, and from whence there was
no escape without incurring the too just reproach of violating the
conditions we had imposed. Common decency forbade our urging the only
plea we could in forming the treaty, namely, our considering the prince
as a mere phantom; and if we had been bold enough to do so, the reply
would have been the same: “Why did you treat with a phantom?” while he
would have persisted in the literal interpretation of the bond.

=British Intervention.=—There was but one way to deal with the
perplexity—to fulfil the spirit of the treaty, by which public peace
would be ensured. Instructions were sent to the prince of Bundi, that
there was no restraint upon his performing the rites of hospitality and
kindred to the fugitive princes, but that he would be personally
responsible if he permitted them to congregate troops for the purpose of
hostility against the regent: while, at the same time, the commander of
the British troops at Nimach[10.11.2] was desired to interpose a light
corps on the line of Jhabua and Bundi, and to capture Gordhandas, dead
or alive, if he attempted to join the Maharao. He, however, contrived,
through the intricacies of the plateau, to elude the well-arranged plan;
but finding that the prince of Bundi had the same determination, he made
direct for Marwar, where being also denied an asylum, he had no
alternative but to return to Delhi, and to a more strict surveillance.
This, however, may have been concerted; for soon after, the Maharao
broke ground from Bundi, giving out a pilgrimage to Brindaban;[10.11.3]
and it was hoped that the tranquillity and repose he would find amidst
the fanes of his tutelary deity, Brajnathji, might tempt a mind prone to
religious seclusion, to pass his days there. While he remained at Bundi,
public opinion was not at all manifested; the distance was trifling to
Kotah, and being with the head of his race, the act was deemed only one
of those hasty ebullitions so common in those countries, and which would
be followed by reconciliation. But as soon as the prince moved
northward, expectation being excited that his cause would meet attention
elsewhere, he had letters of sympathy and condolence from every chief of
the country, and the customary attentions to sovereignty were paid by
those through whose States he passed, with the sole exception of that
most contiguous to our provinces, Bharatpur. The prince of this
celebrated place sent a deputation to the frontier, excusing himself on
account of his age and blindness; but the Hara prince, knowing what was
due from a Jat zemindar, however favoured by the accessions of fortune,
repelled with disdain both his gifts and his mission. For this haughty,
though not unbecoming maintenance of precedent, the [573] Maharao was
warned off the bounds of Bharatpur. Having remained some time among the
‘groves of Vraja,’ there was reason to believe that the canticles of
Jayadeva had rendered an earthly crown a mere bauble in the eyes of the
abdicated Hara, and that the mystical effusions of Kanhaiya and Radha
had eradicated all remembrance of the rhapsodies of Chand, and the
glories of the Chauhan: he was accordingly left at discretion to wander
where he listed. As it was predicted, he soon felt the difference
between his past and present mode of life, surrounded by a needy crew in
a strange land; and towards the middle of April he had reached Muttra,
on his return from Brindaban to Kotah. But his evil genius, in the shape
of Gordhandas, had destined this should not be; and notwithstanding the
rigorous surveillance, or, in fact, imprisonment, which had been
enjoined, this person found an opportunity to carry on cabals with
natives of high rank and office.

=The Mahārāo marches on Kotah.=—Intrigues multiplied, and false hopes
were inspired through these impure channels, which were converted by his
corrupt emissaries into fountain-heads of political control, superseding
the only authorized medium of communication between the misguided prince
and the paramount power. Accordingly, having collected additional troops
about him, he commenced his march to Haraoti, giving out to the chiefs
through whose dominions he passed, that he was returning by the consent
of the paramount power for the resumption of all his sovereign rights,
so long in abeyance. Men with badges in his train, belonging to the
persons alluded to, and an agent from the native treasurer of Delhi, who
supplied the prince with funds, gave a colour of truth which deceived
the country, and produced ardent expressions of desire for his success.
As he proceeded, this force increased, and he reached the Chambal,
towards the close of the monsoon 1821, with about three thousand men.
Having crossed the river, he issued his summons in a language neither to
be misunderstood nor disobeyed by a Rajput; he conjured them by their
allegiance to join his cause, “that of seeking justice according to the
treaty”: and the call was obeyed by every Hara of the country. His
conduct afforded the most powerful illustration of the Rajput’s theory
of fidelity, for even those closely connected by ties of blood and by
every species of benefit, withdrew from the regent, to whom they owed
everything, in order to join their hereditary and lawful prince, whom
some had never seen, and of whom they knew nothing. Negotiation, and
expostulation the most solemn and earnest on the personal dangers he was
incurring, were carried on, and even public tranquillity was hazarded,
rather than have recourse to the last argument, which was the less
necessary, as universal peace [574] reigned around us, and the means of
quelling revolt were at hand. An entire month was thus consumed: but the
ultimatum[10.11.4] left no means of putting a stop to increasing
disorders but that appeal which from various considerations had been so
long delayed.

The tried troops of the regent could not be depended on; he confessed
it; and in this confession, what an evidence is afforded of the nature
of his rule, and of the homage to immutable justice in all parts of the
world! Every corps, foreign or indigenous, was ready to range on the
side of legitimate authority against the hand which had fed and
cherished them. So completely did this feeling pervade every part of the
political fabric, that the regent himself said, in his forcible manner,
on his escape from the danger, “even the clothes on his back smelt of
treason to him.” It was hoped that “the wisdom which called aloud (even)
in the streets” would not be disregarded by the veteran; that disgust at
such marks of perfidy would make him spurn from him the odium of
usurpation, and thus free the paramount power from a situation the most
painful and embarrassing. Abundant opportunities were afforded, and
hints were given that he alone could cut the knot, which otherwise must
be severed [575] by the sword. But all was fruitless: “he stood upon his
bond,” and the execution of the treaty. The Maharao, his nominal
sovereign, took the same ground, and even sent a copy of the treaty to
the Agent, tauntingly asking whether it was to be recognized or not. All
this embarrassment would have been avoided, had the supplemental
articles been embodied in the original treaty; then the literal
interpretation and its spirit would not have been at variance, nor have
afforded a pretext to reproach the paramount power with a breach of
faith and justice: charges which cannot in fact be supported, inasmuch
as the same contracting parties, who executed the original document,
amended it by this supplemental deed. The dispute then resolves itself
into a question of expediency, already touched on, namely, whether we
might not have provided better for the future, and sought out other
modes of reward for services we had acknowledged, than the maintenance
of two pageants of sovereignty, both acknowledged, the one _de facto_,
the other _de jure_. It was fortunate, however, that the magnitude of
the titular prince’s pretensions placed him completely in opposition to
the other contracting parties, inasmuch as he would not abide by either
the spirit or the letter of the treaty or its supplement, in the most
modified sense. His demand for “a personal guard of three thousand of
his kinsmen, that he might allot estates at pleasure to his chiefs,
appoint the governors of fortresses, and be head of the army,” was a
virtual repudiation of every principle of the alliance; while the
succession to the administrative powers of the State, secured to the
issue of the regent, was made to depend on his pleasure: rather a frail
tenure whether in Europe or Rajputana.

Everything that could be done to withdraw the infatuated prince from the
knot of evil advisers and fiery spirits who daily flocked to his
standard, carrying with them their own and their ancestors’ wrongs,
being ineffectual and hopeless, the troops which had been called upon to
maintain the treaty moved forward in combination with the army of the
regent. As the force reached the Kali Sind, which alone divided the
rivals for power, torrents of rain, which during several days swelled it
to an impassable flood, afforded more time to try all that friendship or
prudence could urge to save the Maharao from the impending ruin. But all
was vain; he saw the storm, and invited its approach with mingled
resolution and despair, proclaiming the most submissive obedience to the
paramount power, and avowing a conviction of the good intentions and
friendship of its representative; but to every remonstrance he replied,
“what was life without honour; what was a sovereign without authority?
Death, or the full sovereignty of his ancestors!” [576].

The conduct of the regent was not less perplexing than that of the
prince; for while he affected still to talk of fealty, “to preserve his
white beard from stain,” he placed before him the ample shield of the
treaty, although he expected that his power should be maintained without
any active measures on his own part for its defence: a degree of
irresponsibility not for a moment to be tolerated. It was in vain he
hinted at the spirit, more than doubtful, of his army; that in the
moment of conflict they might turn their guns against us; even this he
was told we would hazard: and, it was added, if he desired, at whatever
cost, to preserve the power guaranteed to his family, he must act
offensively as well as defensively; for it would shortly be too late to
talk of reconciling fealty with the preservation of his power. The wily
regent desired to have his work done for him; to have all the benefit
which the alliance compelled us to afford, with none of the obloquy it
entailed. The Agent had some hope, even at the twelfth hour, that rather
than incur the opprobrium of the world, and the penalty denounced
against the violation of _swamidharma_, in committing to the chance of
battle the lives of all those to whom he was protector, he would draw
back and compromise his power; but the betrayal of his half-formed
designs in hypocritical cant adapted only for the multitude, soon
dispelled the illusion; and though there was a strong internal struggle,
the love of dominion overcame every scruple.

The combination of the troops was discussed in his presence and that of
his officers; and in order that unity of action might be ensured, a
British officer was at his request attached to his force.[10.11.5]

=Battle of Māngrol.=—At daybreak on the 1st of October, the troops moved
down to the attack.[10.11.6] The regent’s army consisted of eight
battalions of infantry, with thirty-two pieces of cannon and fourteen
strong _paegahs_, or squadrons of horse. Of these, five battalions, with
fourteen pieces and ten squadrons, composed the advance; while the rest
formed a reserve with the regent in person, five hundred yards in the
rear. The British troops, consisting of two weak battalions and six
squadrons of cavalry, with a light battery of horse-artillery, formed on
the right of the regent’s force as it approximated to the Maharao’s
position. The ground over which the troops moved was an extensive plain,
gradually shelving to a small shallow stream, whence it again rose
rather abruptly. The Maharao’s camp was placed upon a rising ground, a
short distance [577] beyond the stream: he left his tents standing, and
had disposed his force on the margin of the rivulet. The ‘Royals,’ who
had deserted their old master, with their leader, Saif Ali, were posted
on the left; the Maharao with the élite, a band of full five hundred
Hara cavaliers, upon the right, and the interval was filled by a
tumultuous rabble. The combined force was permitted to choose its
position, within two hundred yards of the foe, without the slightest
demonstration of resistance or retreat. The Agent took advantage of the
pause to request the British commander to halt the whole line, in order
that he might make a last attempt to withdraw the infatuated prince and
his devoted followers from the perils that confronted them. He advanced
midway between the lines, and offered the same conditions and an amnesty
to all; to conduct and replace the prince on the _gaddi_ of his
ancestors with honour. Yet, notwithstanding ruin stared him in the face,
he receded from none of his demands; he insisted on the _sine qua non_,
and would only re-enter Kotah surrounded by three thousand of his Hara
kinsmen. During the quarter of an hour allowed him to deliberate ere the
sword should be drawn, movements in position on both sides took place;
the Maharao’s chosen band, condensing all their force on the right,
opposed the regent’s advance, while the British troops formed so in
echelon as to enfilade their dense masses.

The time having expired, and not an iota of the pretensions being
abated, the signal, as agreed upon, was given, and the action commenced
by a discharge of cannon and firearms from the regent’s whole line,
immediately followed by the horse-artillery on the right. With all the
gallantry that has ever distinguished the Haras, they acted as at
Fatehabad and Dholpur, and charged the regent’s line, when several were
killed at the very muzzle of the guns, and but for the advance of three
squadrons of British cavalry, would have turned his left flank, and
probably penetrated to the reserve, where the regent was in
person.[10.11.7] Defeated in this design, they had no resource but a
precipitate retreat from the unequal conflict, and the Maharao,
surrounded by a _gol_ of about four hundred horse, all Haras, his
kinsmen, retired across the stream, and halted on the rising ground
about half a mile distant, while his auxiliary foot broke and dispersed
in all directions. The British troops rapidly crossed the stream, and
while the infantry made a movement to cut off [578] retreat from the
south, two squadrons were commanded to charge the Maharao. Determined
not to act offensively, even in this emergency he adhered to his
resolution, and his band awaited in a dense mass and immovable attitude
the troops advancing with rapidity against them, disdaining to fly and
yet too proud to yield. A British officer headed each troop; they and
those they led had been accustomed to see the foe fly from the shock;
but they were Pindaris, not Rajputs. The band stood like a wall of
adamant; our squadrons rebounded from the shock, leaving two brave
youths[10.11.8] dead on the spot, and their gallant commander[10.11.9]
was saved by a miracle, being stunned by a blow which drove in his
casque, his reins cut, and the arm raised to give the _coup de grâce_,
when a pistol-shot from his orderly levelled his assailant. The whole
was the work of an instant. True to the determination he expressed, the
Maharao, satisfied with repelling the charge, slowly moved off; nor was
it till the horse-artillery again closed, and poured round and grape
into the dense body, that they quickened their retreat; while, as three
fresh squadrons had formed for the charge, they reached the _makkai_
fields, amongst the dense crops of which they were lost.

=Death of Prithi Singh.=—Prithi Singh, younger brother of the prince,
impelled by that heroic spirit which is the birthright of a Hara, and
aware that Haraoti could no longer be a home for him while living,
determined at least to find a grave in her soil. He returned, with about
five-and-twenty followers, to certain destruction, and was found in a
field of Indian corn as the line advanced, alive, but grievously
wounded. He was placed in a litter, and, escorted by some of Skinner’s
horse, was conveyed to the camp. Here he was sedulously attended; but
medical skill was of no avail, and he died the next day. His demeanour
was dignified and manly; he laid the blame upon destiny, expressed no
wish for life, and said, looking to the tree near the tent, that “his
ghost would be satisfied in contemplating therefrom the fields of his
forefathers.” His sword and ring had been taken from him by a trooper,
but his dagger, pearl necklace, and other valuables, he gave in charge
to the Agent, to whom he bequeathed the care of his son, the sole heir
to the empty honours of the sovereignty of Kotah.

It was not from any auxiliary soldier that the prince received his
death-wound; it was inflicted by a lance, propelled with unerring force
from behind, penetrating the lungs, the point appearing through the
chest. He said it was a revengeful blow from some determined hand, as he
felt the steeled point twisted in the wound to ensure its [579] being
mortal. Although the squadrons of the regent joined in the pursuit, yet
not a man of them dared to come to close quarters with their enemy; it
was therefore supposed that some treacherous arm had mingled with his
men, and inflicted the blow which relieved the regent from the chief
enemy to his son and successor.

The Maharao and his band were indebted for safety to the forest of corn,
so thick, lofty, and luxuriant, that even his elephant was lost sight
of. This shelter extended to the rivulet, only five miles in advance,
which forms the boundary of Haraoti; but it was deemed sufficient to
drive him out of the Kotah territory, where alone his presence could be
dangerous. The infantry and foreign levies, who had no moral courage to
sustain them, fled for their lives, and many were cut to pieces by
detached troops of our cavalry.

The calm, undaunted valour of the Maharao and his kin could not fail to
extort applause from those gallant minds which can admire the bravery of
a foe, though few of those who had that day to confront them were aware
of the moral courage which sustained their opponents, and which
converted their _vis inertiae_ into an almost impassable barrier.

=Devotion of Two Hāras.=—But although the gallant conduct of the prince
and his kin was in keeping with the valour so often recorded in these
annals, and now, alas! almost the sole inheritance of the Haras, there
was one specimen of devotion which we dare not pass over, comparable
with whatever is recorded of the fabled traits of heroism of Greece or
Rome. The physiography of the country has been already described; the
plains, along which the combined force advanced, gradually shelved to
the brink of a rivulet whose opposite bank rose perpendicularly, forming
as it were the buttress to a tableland of gentle acclivity. The regent’s
battalions were advancing in columns along this precipitous bank, when
their attention was arrested by several shots fired from an isolated
hillock rising out of the plain across the stream. Without any order,
but as by a simultaneous impulse, the whole line halted, to gaze at two
audacious individuals, who appeared determined to make their mound a
fortress. A minute or two passed in mute surprise, when the word was
given to move on; but scarcely was it uttered, ere several wounded from
the head of the column were passing to the rear, and shots began to be
exchanged very briskly, at least twenty in return for one. But the long
matchlocks of the two heroes told every time in our lengthened line,
while they seemed to have ‘a charmed life,’ and the shot fell like hail
around them innocuous, one continuing to load behind the mound, while
the [580] other fired with deadly aim. At length, two twelve-pounders
were unlimbered; and as the shot whistled round their ears, both rose on
the very pinnacle of the mound, and made a profound salaam for this
compliment to their valour; which done, they continued to load and fire,
whilst entire platoons blazed upon them. Although more men had suffered,
an irresistible impulse was felt to save these gallant men; orders were
given to cease firing, and the force was directed to move on, unless any
two individuals chose to attack them manfully hand to hand. The words
were scarcely uttered when two young Rohillas drew their swords, sprung
down the bank, and soon cleared the space between them and the foemen.
All was deep anxiety as they mounted to the assault; but whether their
physical frame was less vigorous, or their energies were exhausted by
wounds or by their peculiar situation, these brave defenders fell on the
mount, whence they disputed the march of ten battalions of infantry and
twenty pieces of cannon.[10.11.10] They were Haras! But Zalim was the
cloud which interposed between them and their fortunes; and to remove
it, they courted the destruction which at length overtook them.

The entire devotion which the vassalage of Haraoti manifested for the
cause of the Maharao, exemplified, as before observed, the nature and
extent of _swamidharma_ or fealty, which has been described as the
essential quality of the Rajput character; while, at the same time, it
illustrates the severity of the regent’s yoke. Even the chief who
negotiated the treaty could not resist the defection (one of his sons
was badly wounded), although he enjoyed estates under the regent which
his hereditary rank did not sanction, besides being connected with him
by marriage.

The Maharao gained the Parbati, which, it is said, he swam over. He had
scarcely reached the shore when his horse dropped dead from a grape-shot
wound. With about three hundred horse he retired upon Baroda. We had no
vengeance to execute; we could not, therefore, consider the brave men,
who abandoned their homes and their families from a principle of honour,
in the light of the old enemies of our power, to be pursued and
exterminated. They had, it is true, confronted us in the field; yet only
defensively, in a cause at least morally just and seemingly sanctioned
by authorities which they could not distrust.

=Reflections on the Outbreak.=—The pretensions so long opposed to the
treaty were thus signally and efficiently subdued. The chief instigators
of the revolt were for ever removed, one by death, the other by exile;
and the punishment which overtook the deserters from the regular [581]
forces of the regent would check its repetition. Little prepared for the
reverse of that day, the chiefs had made no provision against it, and at
our word every door in Rajwara would have been closed against them. But
it was not deemed a case for confiscation, or one which should involve
in proscription a whole community, impelled to the commission of crime
by a variety of circumstances which they could neither resist nor
control, and to which the most crafty views had contributed.[10.11.11]
The Maharao’s camp being left standing, all his correspondence and
records fell into our hands, and developed such complicated intrigues,
such consummate knavery, that he, and the brave men who suffered from
espousing his pretensions, were regarded as entitled to every
commiseration.[10.11.12] As soon, therefore, as the futility of their
pretensions was disclosed, by the veil being thus rudely torn from their
eyes, they manifested a determination to submit. The regent was
instructed to grant a complete amnesty, and to announce to the chiefs
that they might repair to their homes without a question being put to
them. In a few weeks, all was tranquillity and peace; the chiefs and
vassals returned to their families, who blessed the power which tempered
punishment with clemency.[10.11.13]

The Maharao continued his course to Nathdwara in Mewar, proving that the
sentiment of religious abstraction alone can take the place of ambition.
The individuals who, for their own base purposes, had by
misrepresentation and guile guided him to ruin, now deserted him; the
film fell from his eyes, and he saw, though too late, the only position
in which he could exist. In a very short time every pretension inimical
to the spirit and letter of the treaty, original and supplemental, was
relinquished; when, with the regent’s concurrence, a note was
transmitted to him, containing the basis on which his return to Kotah
was practicable. A transcript with his acceptance being received, a
formal deed was drawn up, executed by the Agent and attested by the
regent, not only defining the precise position of both parties, but
establishing a barrier between the titular and executive authorities,
which must for ever prevent all collision of interests; nothing was left
to chance or cavil. The grand object was to provide for the safety,
comfort, and dignity of the prince, and this was done on a scale of
profuse liberality; far beyond what his father, or indeed any prince of
Kotah had enjoyed, and incommensurate with the revenue of the State, of
which it is about the twentieth portion. The amount equals the household
expenditure of the Rana of Udaipur, the avowed head of the whole Rajput
race, but which can be better afforded from the flourishing revenues of
Kotah than the slowly improving finances of Mewar.

=Restoration of the Mahārāo.=—These preliminaries being satisfactorily
adjusted, it became important to inspire this misguided prince with a
confidence that his welfare would be as anxiously watched as the
stipulations of the treaty whose infringement had cost him so much
misery. He had too much reason to plead personal alarm as one of the
causes of his past conduct, and which tended greatly to neutralize all
the endeavours to serve him. Even on the very day that he was to leave
Nathdwara, on his return, when after great efforts his mind had been
emancipated from distrust, a final and diabolical attempt was made to
thwart the measures for his restoration. A mutilated wretch was made to
personate his brother Bishan Singh, and to give out that he had been
maimed by command [583] of the regent’s son, and the impostor had the
audacity to come within a couple of miles of the Maharao; a slight
resemblance to Bishan Singh aided the deceit, which, though promptly
exposed, had made the impression for which it was contrived, and it
required some skill to remove it. The Rana of Udaipur no sooner heard of
this last effort to defeat all the good intentions in which he
co-operated towards the Maharao, to whose sister he was married, than he
had the impostor seized and brought to the city, where his story had
caused a powerful sensation. His indiscreet indignation for ever
destroyed the clue by which the plot might have been unravelled; for he
was led immediately to execution, and all that transpired was, that he
was a native of the Jaipur State, and had been mutilated for some crime.
Could the question have been solved, it might have afforded the means of
a different termination of those unhappy quarrels, to which they formed
a characteristic sequel: intrigue and mistrust combined to inveigle
Kishor Singh into attempts which placed him far beyond the reach of
reason, and the most zealous exertions to extricate him.

This last scene being over, the Maharao left his retreat at the fane of
Kanhaiya, and marched across the plateau to his paternal domains. On the
last day of the year the regent, accompanied by the Agent, advanced to
reconduct the prince to the capital. The universal demonstration of
satisfaction at his return was the most convincing testimony that any
other course would have been erroneous. On that day he once more took
possession of the _gaddi_ which he had twice abandoned, with a
resignation free from all asperity, or even embarrassment. Feelings
arising out of a mind accustomed to religious meditation, aided while
they softened the bitter monitor, adversity, and together they afforded
the best security that any deviation from the new order of things would
never proceed from him.

=Arrangements with the Mahārāo.=—Besides the schedule of the personal
expenditure, over which he was supreme, much of the State expense was to
be managed under the eye of the sovereign; such as the charities, and
gifts on festivals and military ceremonies. The royal insignia used on
all great occasions were to remain as heretofore at his residence in the
castle, as was the band at the old guardroom over the chief portal of
entrance. He was to preside at all the military or other annual
festivals, attended by the whole retinue of the State; and the gifts on
such occasions were to be distributed in his name. All the palaces, in
and about the city, were at his sole disposal, and funds were set apart
for their repairs; the gardens, _ramnas_, or game-preserves, and his
personal guards, were also to be entertained and paid by himself. To
maintain this arrangement inviolate, an [584] officer of the paramount
power was henceforth to reside at Kotah. A handsome stipend was settled
on the minor son of the deceased Prithi Singh; while, in order to
prevent any umbrage to the Maharao, his brother Bishan Singh, whose
trimming policy had been offensive to the Maharao, was removed to the
family estate at Antha, twenty miles east of the capital, on which
occasion an increase was spontaneously made to his jagir.

The Agent remained an entire month after this, to strengthen the good
understanding now introduced. He even effected a reconciliation between
the prince and Madho Singh, when the former, with great tact and
candour, took upon himself the blame of all these disturbances; each
gave his hand in token of future amity, and the prince spontaneously
embraced the man (the regent’s son) to whom he attributed all his
misery. But the Maharao’s comforts and dignity are now independent of
control, and watched over by a guardian who will demand a rigid exaction
of every stipulation in his favour. The patriarchal Zalim was, or
affected to be, overjoyed at this result, which had threatened to
involve them all in the abyss of misery. Bitter was his
self-condemnation at the moral blindness of his conduct, which had not
foreseen and guarded against the storm; and severe, as well as merited,
was the castigation he inflicted on his successor. “It is for your sins,
son, that I am punished,” was the conclusion of every such exhortation.

It will be deemed a singular fatality, that this last conspicuous act in
the political life of the regent should have been on the spot which
exactly sixty years before witnessed the opening scene of his career;
for the field of Bhatwara[10.11.14] adjoined that of Mangrol. What
visions must have chased each other on this last memorable day, when he
recalled the remembrance of the former! when the same sword, which
redeemed the independence of Kotah from tributary degradation to Amber,
was now drawn against the grandson of that sovereign who rewarded his
services with the first office of the State! Had some prophetic Bardai
withdrawn the mantle of Bhavani, and disclosed through the vista of
threescore years the regent in the foreground, in all the panoply of
ingenuous youth “spreading his carpet” at Bhatwara, to review the charge
of the Kachhwaha chivalry, and in the distant perspective that same
being palsied, blind, and decrepit, leading a mingled host, in character
and costume altogether strange, against the grandchildren of his prince,
and the [585] descendants of those Haras who nobly seconded him to gain
this reputation, what effect would such a prospect have produced on one
whom the mere hooting of an owl on the house-top had “scared from his
propriety”?

Soon after the satisfactory conclusion of these painful scenes, the
regent returned to the Chhaoni, his fixed camp, and projected a tour of
the State, to allay the disorders which had crept in, and to regulate
afresh the action of the State-machine, the construction of which had
occupied a long life, but which could not fail to be deranged by the
complicated views which had arisen amongst those whose business was to
work it. Often, amidst these conflicts, did he exclaim, with his great
prototype both in prosperity and sorrow, “My kinsfolk have failed, and
my familiar friends have forgotten me.” But Zalim had not the same
resources in his griefs that Job had; nor could he with him exclaim, “If
my land cry against me, if I have eaten the fruits thereof without
money, or caused the owners thereof to lose their lives, let thistles
grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley.”[10.11.15] His yet
vigorous mind, however, soon restored everything to its wonted
prosperity; and in a few weeks not a trace was left of the commotions
which for a while had totally unhinged society, and threatened to deluge
the land with proscription and blood. The prince was reseated on the
throne with far greater comforts about him and more certainty of
stability than previous to the treaty; the nobles took possession of
their estates with not a blade of grass removed, and the _ghar-kheti_,
the home-farms of the Regent, lost none of their productiveness;
commerce was unscathed, and public opinion, which had dared loudly to
question the moral justice of these proceedings, was conciliated by
their conclusion. The regent survived these events five years; his
attenuated frame was worn out by a spirit, vigorous to the last
pulsation of life, and too strong for the feeble cage which imprisoned
it.[10.11.16]

=Character of Zālim Singh.=—If history attempt to sum up, or institute a
scrutiny into, the character of this extraordinary man, by what standard
must we judge him? The actions of his life, which have furnished matter
for the sketch we have attempted, may satisfy curiosity; but the
materials for a finished portrait he never supplied: the latent springs
of those actions remained invisible save to the eye of Omniscience. No
human being ever shared the confidence of the Machiavelli of Rajasthan,
who, from the first dawn of his political existence to its close, when
“fourscore years and upwards,” could always say, “My secret is my own.”
This single trait, throughout a troubled career of more [586] than
ordinary length, would alone stamp his character with originality. No
effervescence of felicity, of success, of sympathy, which occasionally
bursts from the most rugged nature, no sudden transition of passion—joy,
grief, hope, even revenge—could tempt him to betray his purpose. That it
was often fathomed, that his “vaulting ambition has o’erleapt itself,”
and made him lose his object, is no more than may be said of all who
have indulged in “that sin by which angels fell”; yet he never failed
through a blind confidence in the instruments of his designs. Though
originally sanguine in expectation and fiery in temperament, he subdued
these natural defects, and could await with composure the due ripening
of his plans; even in the hey-day of youth he had attained this mastery
over himself. To this early discipline of his mind he owed the many
escapes from plots against his life, and the difficulties which were
perpetually besetting it increased his natural resources. There was no
artifice, not absolutely degrading, which he would not condescend to
employ: his natural simplicity made humility, when necessary, a
plausible disguise; while his scrupulous attention to all religious
observances caused his mere affirmation to be respected. The sobriety of
his demeanour gave weight to his opinions and influenced the judgment;
while his invariable urbanity gained the goodwill of his inferiors, and
his superiors were won by the delicacy of his flattery, in the
application of which he was an adept. To crown the whole, there was a
mysterious brevity, an oracular sententiousness, in his conversation,
which always left something to the imagination of his auditor, who gave
him credit for what he did not, as well as what he did utter. None could
better appreciate, or studied more to obtain, the meed of good opinion;
and throughout his lengthened life, until the occurrences just
described, he threw over his acts of despotism and vengeance a veil of
such consummate art, as to make them lose more than half their
deformity. With him it must have been an axiom, that mankind judge
superficially; and in accordance therewith, his first study was to
preserve appearances, and never to offend prejudice if avoidable. When
he sequestrated the States of the Hara feudality, he covered the fields,
by them neglected, with crops of corn, and thereby drew a contrast
favourable to himself between the effects of sloth and activity. When he
usurped the functions of royalty, he threw a bright halo around the orb
of its glory, overloading the _gaddi_ with the trappings of grandeur,
aware that—

the world is e’er deceived by ornament;

nor did the princes of Kotah ever appear with such magnificence as when
he possessed all the attributes of royalty but the name. Every act
evinced his deep skill in the [587] knowledge of the human mind and of
the elements by which he was surrounded; he could circumvent the crafty
Mahratta, calm or quell the arrogant Rajput, and extort the applause
even of the Briton, who is little prone to allow merit in an Asiatic. He
was a depository of the prejudices and the pride of his countrymen, both
in religious and social life; yet, enigmatical as it must appear, he
frequently violated them, though the infraction was so gradual as to be
imperceptible except to the few who watched the slow progress of his
plans. To such he appeared a compound of the most contradictory
elements: lavish and parsimonious, oppressing and protecting; with one
hand bestowing diamond aigrettes, with the other taking the tithe of the
anchorite’s wallet; one day sequestrating estates and driving into exile
the ancient chiefs of the land; the next receiving with open arms some
expatriated noble, and supporting him in dignity and affluence, till the
receding tide of human affairs rendered such support no longer
requisite.

=Zālim Singh and Witches.=—We have already mentioned his antipathy to
the professors of “the tuneful art”; and he was as inveterate as
Diocletian to the alchemist, regarding the trade of both as alike
useless to society: neither were, therefore, tolerated in Kotah. But the
enemies of the regent assert that it was from no dislike of their merit,
but from his having been the dupe of the one, and the object of the
other’s satire (_vish_). His persecution of witches (_dakini_) was in
strict conformity with the injunction in the Pentateuch: “Thou shall not
suffer a witch to live” (Exod. chap. xxii. ver. 18). But his ordeal was
worse than even death itself: handling balls of hot iron was deemed too
slight for such sinners; for it was well known they had substances which
enabled them to do this with impunity. Throwing them into a pond of
water was another trial; if they sunk, they were innocent, if they
unhappily rose to the surface, the league with the powers of darkness
was apparent. A gram-bag of cayenne pepper tied over the head, if it
failed to suffocate, afforded another proof of guilt; though the most
humane method, of rubbing the eyes with a well-dried capsicum, was
perhaps the most common, and certainly if they could furnish this
demonstration of their innocence, by withholding tears, they might
justly be deemed witches. These Dakinis, like the vampires of the German
Bardais, are supposed to operate upon the viscera of their victims,
which they destroy by slow degrees with charms and incantations, and
hence they are called in Sind (where, as Abu-l Fazl says, they abound)
Jigarkhor, or ‘liver-devourers.’[10.11.17] One look of a Dakini suffices
to destroy; but there are few who [588] court the title, at least in
Kotah, though old age and eccentricity are sufficient, in conjunction
with superstition or bad luck, to fix the stigma upon individuals.

=Amusements of Zālim Singh.=—Aware of the danger of relaxing, “to have
done,” even when eighty-five winters had passed over his head, was never
in his thoughts. He knew that a Rajput’s throne should be the back of
his steed; and when blindness overtook him, and he could no longer lead
the chase on horseback, he was carried in his litter to his grand hunts,
which consisted sometimes of several thousand armed men. Besides
dissipating the ennui of his vassals, he obtained many other objects by
an amusement so analogous to their character; in the unmasked joyousness
of the sport, he heard the unreserved opinions of his companions, and
gained their affection by thus administering to the favourite pastime of
the Rajput, whose life is otherwise monotonous. When in the forest, he
would sit down, surrounded by thousands, to regale on the game of the
day. Camels followed his train, laden with flour, sugar, spices, and
huge cauldrons for the use of his sylvan cuisine; and amidst the
hilarity of the moment, he would go through the varied routine of
government, attend to foreign and commercial policy, the details of his
farms or his army, the reports of his police; nay, in the very heat of
the operations, shot flying in all directions, the ancient regent might
be discovered, like our immortal Alfred or St. Louis of the Franks,
administering justice under the shade of some spreading pipal tree;
while the day so passed would be closed with religious rites, and the
recital of a mythological epic; he found time for all, never appeared
hurried, nor could he be taken by surprise. When he could no longer see
to sign his own name, he had an autograph facsimile engraved, which was
placed in the special care of a confidential officer, to apply when
commanded. Even this loss of one sense was with him compensated by
another, for long after he was stone-blind, it would have been vain to
attempt to impose upon him in the choice of shawls or clothes of any
kind, whose fabrics and prices he could determine by the touch; and it
is even asserted that he could in like manner distinguish colours.

=His Gardens.=—If, as has been truly remarked, “that man deserves well
of his country who makes a blade of grass grow where none grew
before,”[10.11.18] what merit is due to him who made the choicest of
nature’s products flourish where grass could not grow; who covered the
bare rock around his capital with soil, and cultivated the exotics of
Arabia, Ceylon, and the western Archipelago; who translated from the
Indian Apennines (the mountains of Malabar) the coco-nut and palmyra;
and thus refuted the assertion that [589] these trees could not flourish
remote from the influence of a marine atmosphere? In his gardens were to
be found the apples and quinces of Kabul, pomegranates from the famed
stock of Kagla ka bagh[10.11.19] in the desert, oranges of every kind,
scions of Agra and Sylhet, the _amba_ of Mazagon, and the
_champa-kela_,[10.11.20] or golden plantain, of the Deccan, besides the
indigenous productions of Rajputana. Some of the wells for irrigating
these gardens cost in blasting the rock thirty thousand rupees each; he
hinted to his friends that they could not do better than follow his
example, and a hint always sufficed. He would have obtained a prize from
any horticultural society for his improvement of the wild _ber_
(_jujube_), which by grafting he increased to the size of a small apple.
In chemical science he had gained notoriety; his _itrs_, or essential
oils of roses, jessamine, _ketaki_, and _keura_,[10.11.21] were far
superior to any that could be purchased. There was no occasion to repair
to the valley of Kashmir to witness the fabrication of its shawls; for
the looms and the wool of that fairy region were transferred to Kotah,
and the Kashmirian weaver plied the shuttle under Zalim’s own eye. But,
as in the case of his lead-mines, he found that this branch of industry
did not return even sixteen annas and a half for the rupee,[10.11.22]
the minimum profit at which he fixed his remuneration; so that after
satisfying his curiosity, he abandoned the manufacture. His forges for
swords and firearms had a high reputation, and his matchlocks rival
those of Bundi, both in excellence and elaborate workmanship.

=Wrestling.=—His corps of gladiators, if we may thus designate the
Jethis, obtained for him equal credit and disgrace. The funds set apart
for this recreation amounted at one time to fifty thousand rupees per
annum; but his wrestlers surpassed in skill and strength those of every
other court in Rajwara, and the most renowned champions of other States
were made “to view the heavens,”[10.11.23] if they came to Kotah. But in
his younger days Zalim was not satisfied with the use of mere natural
weapons, for occasionally he made his Jethis fight with the
baghnakh,[10.11.24] or tiger-claw, when they tore off the flesh from
each other [590]. The chivalrous Ummed Singh of Bundi put a stop to this
barbarity. Returning from one of his pilgrimages from Dwarka, he passed
through Kotah while Zalim and his court were assembled in the _akhara_
(arena) where two of these stall-fed prize-fighters were about to
contend. The presence of this brave Hara checked the bloody exhibition,
and he boldly censured the Regent for squandering on such a worthless
crew resources which ought to cherish his Rajputs. This might have been
lost upon the Protector, had not the royal pilgrim, in the fervour of
his indignation, thrown down the gauntlet to the entire assembly of
Jethis. Putting his shield on the ground, he placed therein, one by one,
the entire panoply of armour which he habitually wore in his
peregrinations, namely, his matchlock and its ponderous accompaniments,
sword, daggers, staff, and battleaxe, and challenged any individual to
raise it from the ground with a single arm. All tried and failed; when
Sriji, though full sixty years of age, held it out at arm’s length
during several seconds. The Haras were delighted at the feat of their
patriarchal chief; while the crest-fallen Jethis hung their heads, and
from that day lost ground in the favour of the regent. But these were
the follies of his earlier days, not of the later period of his life: he
was then like an aged oak, which, though shattered and decayed, had
survived the tempest and the desolation which had raged around it.

=The Last Years of Zālim Singh.=—To conclude: had he imitated
Diocletian, and surrendered the purple, he would have afforded another
instance of the anomalies of the human understanding; that he did not do
so, for the sake of his own fame and that of the controlling power, as
well as for the welfare of his prince, must be deeply lamented; the more
especially as his _chhari_ (rod) has descended to feeble hands. He had
enjoyed the essentials of sovereignty during threescore years, a period
equal in duration to that of Darius the Mede; and had overcome
difficulties which would have appalled no ordinary minds. He had
vanquished all his enemies, external and internal, and all his views as
regarded Haraoti were accomplished.

Amongst the motives which might have urged the surrender of his power,
stronger perhaps than his desire of reparation with heaven and his
prince, was the fear of his successor’s inefficiency; but this
consideration unhappily was counterbalanced by the precocious talents of
his grandson, whom he affectionately loved, and in whom he thought he
saw himself renewed. Pride also, that chief ingredient in his character,
checked such surrender; he feared the world would suppose he had
relinquished what he could no longer retain; and ruin would have been
preferred to the idea that he had been “driven from his stool.” Able and
artful ministers flattered the feeling so deeply rooted, and to crown
the whole, he was supported by obligations of public faith contracted by
a power without a rival. Still, old age, declining health, the desire of
repose and of religious retirement, prompted wishes which often escaped
his lips [591]; but counteracting feelings intruded, and the struggle
between the good and evil principle lasted until the moment had passed
when abdication would have been honourable. Had he, however, obeyed the
impulse, his retreat would have more resembled that of the fifth Charles
than of the Roman King. In the shades of Nathdwara he would have enjoyed
that repose, which Diocletian could not find at Salona; and embued with
a better philosophy and more knowledge of the human heart, he would have
practised what was taught, that “there ought to be no intermediate
change between the command of men and the service of God” [592].

-----

Footnote 10.11.1:

[Jhābua, in Bhopāwar Agency, Central India (_IGI_, xiv. 104 ff.).]

Footnote 10.11.2:

[A British cantonment in Gwalior State (_IGI_, xix. 105 f.).]

Footnote 10.11.3:

[In the Mathura District, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh.]

Footnote 10.11.4:

Letter of Maharao Kishor Singh, accompanying counter-articles,
presented to Capt. Tod, dated Asoj badi Panchami, or 16th September,
‘Camp Miyana.’

(After compliments.)

Chand Khan has often expressed a desire to know what were my
expectations. These had been already sent to you by my wakils, Mirza
Muhammad Ali Beg, and Lala Salik Ram. I again send you the Schedule of
Articles. According to their purport you will act. Do me justice as
the representative of the British Government, and let the master be as
master, and the servant as servant; this is the case everywhere else,
and is not hidden from you.

Articles, the fulfilment of which was demanded by Maharao Kishor
Singh, and accompanying his letter of 16th September.

1. According to the treaty executed at Delhi, in the time of Maharao
Ummed Singh, I will abide.

2. I have every confidence in Nanaji Zalim Singh; in like manner as
he served Maharao Ummed Singh, so he will serve me. I agree to his
administration of affairs; but between Madho Singh and myself
suspicions and doubts exist; we can never agree; therefore, I will
give him a jagir; there let him remain. His son, Bapa Lal, shall
remain with me, and in the same way as other ministers conduct
State business before their princes, so shall he before me. I, the
master, he, the servant; and if as the servant he acts, it will
abide from generation to generation.

3. To the English Government, and other principalities, whatever
letters are addressed shall be with my concurrence and advice.

4. Surety for his life, and also for mine, must be guaranteed by the
English Government.

5. I shall allot a jagir for Prithi Singh (the Maharao’s brother), at
which he will reside. The establishments to reside with him and my
brother Bishan Singh shall be of my nomination. Besides, to my
kinsmen and clansmen, according to their rank, I shall give
jagirs, and they shall, according to ancient usage, be in
attendance upon me.

6. My personal or _khas_ guards, to the amount of three thousand,
with Bapa Lal (the regent’s grandson) shall remain in attendance.

7. The amount of the collections of the country shall all be
deposited in the Kishan Bhandar (general treasury), and thence
expenditure made.

8. The Kiladars (commandants) of all the forts shall be appointed by
me, and the army shall be under my orders. He (the regent) may
desire the officers of Government to execute his commands, but it
shall be with my advice and sanction.

These are the Articles I desire; they are according to the rules for
government (_rajrit_)—Mitti Asoj Panchami, S. 1878 (1822).

Footnote 10.11.5:

Lieutenant M‘Millan, of the 5th Regt. Native Infantry, volunteered for
this duty, and performed it as might have been expected from an
officer of his gallantry and conduct.

Footnote 10.11.6:

[The battle was fought at Māngrol, on the left bank of the Pārbati
River, about 40 miles N.N.E. from Kotah city, on October 1, 1821.]

Footnote 10.11.7:

The Author, who placed himself on the extreme left of the regent’s
line, to be a check upon the dubious conduct of his troops,
particularly noted this intended movement, which was frustrated only
by Major Kennedy’s advance.

Footnote 10.11.8:

Lieutenants Clarke and Read, of the 4th Regt. Light Cavalry.

Footnote 10.11.9:

Major (now Lt.-Col.) J. Ridge, C.B.

Footnote 10.11.10:

Lieut. (now Captain) M‘Millan and the Author were the only officers, I
believe, who witnessed this singular scene.

Footnote 10.11.11:

In a letter, addressed by some of the principal chiefs to the regent,
through the Agent, they did not hesitate to say they had been guided
in the course they adopted of obeying the summons of the Maharao, _by
instructions of his confidential minister_.

Footnote 10.11.12:

The native treasurer at Delhi, who conducted these intrigues, after a
strict investigation was dismissed from his office; and the same fate
was awarded to the chief Munshi of the Persian secretary’s office at
the seat of government. Regular treaties and bonds were found in the
camp of the Maharao, which afforded abundant condemnatory evidence
against these confidential officers, who mainly produced the
catastrophe we have to record, and rendered nugatory the most
strenuous efforts to save the misguided prince and his brave brethren.

Footnote 10.11.13:

The Author, who had to perform the painful duty related in this
detailed transaction, was alternately aided and embarrassed by his
knowledge of the past history of the Haras, and the mutual relations
of all its discordant elements. Perhaps, entire ignorance would have
been better—a bare knowledge of the treaty, and the expediency of a
rigid adherence thereto, unbiassed by sympathy, or notions of abstract
justice, which has too little in common with diplomacy. But without
overlooking the colder dictates of duty, he determined that the aegis
of Britain should not be a shield of oppression, and that the remains
of Hara independence, which either policy or fear had compelled the
regent to respect, should not thereby be destroyed; and he assumed the
responsibility, a few days after the action, of proclaiming a general
amnesty to the chiefs, and an invitation to each to return to his
dwelling. He told the regent that any proceeding which might render
this clemency nugatory, would not fail to dissatisfy the Government.
All instantly availed themselves of the permission; and in every point
of view, morally and physically, the result was most satisfactory, and
it acted as a panacea for the wounds our public faith compelled us to
inflict. Even in the midst of their compulsory infliction, he had many
sources of gratulation: and of these he will give an anecdote
illustrative of Rajput character. In 1807, when the Author, then
commencing his career, was wandering alone through their country,
surveying their geography, and collecting scraps of their statistics,
he left Sindhia battering Rahatgarh [in Sāgar District, Central
Provinces] and with a slender guard proceeded through the wilds of
Chanderi, and thence direct westwards to trace the course of all the
rivers lying between the Betwa and the Chambal. In passing through
Haravati, leaving his tent standing at Bara, he had advanced with the
perambulator as far as the Kali-Sind, a distance of seventeen miles;
and, leaving his people to follow at leisure, was returning home
unattended at a brisk canter, when, as he passed through the town of
Bamolia, a party rushed out and made him captive, saying that he must
visit the chief [582]. Although much fatigued, it would have been
folly to refuse. He obeyed, and was conveyed to a square, in the
centre of which was an elevated _chabutra_ or platform, shaded by the
sacred tree. Here, sitting on carpets, was the chief with his little
court. The Author was received most courteously. The first act was to
disembarrass him of his boots; but this, heated as he was, they could
not effect: refreshments were then put before him, and a Brahman
brought water, with a ewer and basin, for his ablutions. Although he
was then but an indifferent linguist, and their patois scarcely
intelligible to him, he passed a very happy hour, in which
conversation never flagged. The square was soon filled, and many a
pair of fine black eyes smiled courteously upon the stranger—for the
females, to his surprise, looked abroad without any fear of censure;
though he was ignorant of their sphere in life. The Author’s horse was
lame, which the chief had noticed; and on rising to go, he found one
ready caparisoned for him, which, however, he would not accept. On
reaching his tent the Author sent several little articles as tokens of
regard. Fourteen years after this, the day following the action at
Mangrol, he received a letter by a messenger from the mother of the
chief of Bamolia, who sent her blessing, and invoked him, by past
friendship and recollections, to protect her son, whose honour had
made him join the standard of his sovereign. The Author had the
satisfaction of replying that her son would be with her nearly as soon
as the bearer of the letter. The Bamolia chief, it will be
recollected, was the descendant of the chief of Aton, one of the great
opponents of the regent at the opening of his career.

Footnote 10.11.14:

The battle of Bhatwara was fought in S. 1817, or A.D. 1761; the action
at Mangrol, Oct. 1, A.D. 1821.

Footnote 10.11.15:

Job, chap. xxxi. 38-40.

Footnote 10.11.16:

[Zālim Singh died in 1824, and was succeeded as regent by his son,
Mādho Singh, who was notoriously unfit for office, and he was
succeeded by his son, Madan Singh. Maharāo Kishor Singh II. died in
1828, and was succeeded by his nephew, Rām Singh II. (1828-66). Six
years after his accession disputes again arose between him and his
minister, Madan Singh, and it was resolved to dismember the State of
Kotah, and to create the new principality of Jhālawār as a separate
provision for the descendants of Zālim Singh (_IGI_, xv. 414; H. H.
Wilson, continuation of Mill, _Hist. of British India_, 1846, vol. ii.
p. 424).]

Footnote 10.11.17:

[_Āīn_, ii. 338 f.]

Footnote 10.11.18:

[Swift, _Gulliver’s Travels: Voyage to Brobdingnag_.]

Footnote 10.11.19:

[_Kāgla kā bāgh_, ‘The Crow’s Garden.’]

Footnote 10.11.20:

[_Musa champa_, or _Chīni champa_, the finest of all plantains (Watt,
_Econ. Prod._ 787).]

Footnote 10.11.21:

[_Pinus odoratissimus_, the screw-pine, used for its fibre, and “for,
perhaps, the most characteristic and most widely used perfume of
India” (_ibid._ 188, 727).]

Footnote 10.11.22:

There are sixteen annas to the rupee or half-crown.

Footnote 10.11.23:

“_Āsmān dikhlānā_” is the phrase of the ‘_Fancy_’ in these regions for
victory; when the vanquished is thrown upon his back and kept in that
attitude. [For an account of the Jethi wrestlers of the Telugu country
see Thurston, _Castes and Tribes of Southern India_, ii. 456 ff.]

Footnote 10.11.24:

See an account of this instrument by Colonel Briggs, _Transactions of
Royal Asiatic Society_, vol. ii. [See Vol. II. p. 721.]

-----

BOOK XI
PERSONAL NARRATIVE: UDAIPUR TO KHERODA

CHAPTER 1

=Udaipur=, _January 29, 1820_.—The Personal Narrative attached to the
second volume of this work terminated with the Author’s return to
Udaipur, after a complete circuit of Marwar and Ajmer. He remained at
his headquarters at Udaipur until the 29th January 1820, when
circumstances rendering it expedient that he should visit the
principalities of Bundi and Kotah (which were placed under his political
superintendence), he determined not to neglect the opportunity it
afforded of adding to his portfolio remarks on men and manners, in a
country hitherto untrodden by Europeans.

Although we had not been a month in the valley of Udaipur, we were all
desirous to avail ourselves of the lovely weather which the cold season
of India invariably brings, and which exhilarates the European who has
languished through the hot winds, and the still more oppressive monsoon.
The thermometer at this time, within the valley, was at the freezing
point at break of day, ranging afterwards as high as 90°, whilst the sky
was without a cloud, and its splendour at night was dazzling.

=Kheroda.=—On the 29th we broke ground from the heights of Tus, marched
fifteen English miles (though estimated at only six and a half coss),
and encamped under the embankment of the spacious lake of
Kheroda.[11.1.1] Our route was over a rich and well-watered plain, but
which had long been a stranger to the plough. Three miles from Dabokh we
crossed our own stream, the Berach, and at the village of [593] Darauli
is a small outlet from this river, which runs into a hollow and forms a
_jhil_, or lake. There is a highly interesting temple, dedicated to
Mandeswar (Siva), on the banks of this stream, the architecture of which
attests its antiquity. It is the counterpart in miniature of a
celebrated temple, at Chandravati, near Abu, and verifies the
traditional axiom, that the architectural rules of past ages were fixed
on immutable principles.

We passed the sarai of Surajpura, a mile to the right, and got entangled
in the swampy ground of Bhartewar. This town, which belongs to the chief
of Kanor, one of the sixteen great barons of Mewar, boasts a high
antiquity, and Bhartrihari, the elder brother of Vikrama, is its reputed
founder. If we place any faith in local tradition, the bells of seven
hundred and fifty temples, chiefly of the Jain faith, once sounded
within its walls, which were six miles in length; but few vestiges of
them now remain, although there are ruins of some of these shrines which
show they were of considerable importance. Within a mile and a half of
Kheroda we passed through Khairsana, a large charity-village belonging
to the Brahmans.

Kheroda is a respectable place, having a fortress with double ditches,
which can be filled at pleasure from the river. Being situated on the
highroad between the ancient and modern capitals, it was always a bone
of contention in the civil wars. It was in the hands of Rawat Jai Singh
of Lawa, the adopted heir of Sangram Saktawat, one of the great leaders
in the struggles of the year 1748 [A.D. 1691], an epoch as well known in
Mewar as the 1745 of Scotland. Being originally a fiscal possession, and
from its position not to be trusted to the hands of any of the feudal
chiefs, it was restored to the sovereign; though it was not without
difficulty that the riever of Lawa agreed to sign the constitution of
the 4th of May,[11.1.2] and relinquish to his sovereign a stronghold
which had been purchased with the blood of his kindred.

=Tribal Feuds.=—The history of Kheroda would afford an excellent
illustration of the feuds of Mewar. In that between Sangram Singh the
Saktawat, and Bhairon Singh Chondawat, both of these chief clans of
Mewar lost the best of their defenders. In 1733 Sangram, then but a
youth (his father, Lalji, Rawat of Sheogarh, being yet alive), took
Kheroda from his sovereign, and retained it six years. In 1740 the rival
clans of Deogarh, Amet, Kurabar, etc., under their common head, the
chief of Salumbar, and having their acts legalized by the presence of
the Dahipra minister, united to expel the Saktawat. Sangram held out
four months; when he hoisted a flag of truce and agreed to capitulate,
on [594] condition that he should be permitted to retreat unmolested,
with all his followers and effects, to Bhindar, the capital of the
Saktawats. This condition was granted, and the heir of Sheogarh was
received into Bhindar. Here he commenced his depredations, the
adventures attending which are still the topics of numerous tales. In
one of his expeditions to the estate of Kurabar he carried off both the
cattle and the inhabitants of Gurli. Zalim Singh, the heir of Kurabar,
came to the rescue, but was laid low by the lance of Sangram. To revenge
his death, every Chondawat of the country assembled round the banner of
Salumbar; the sovereign himself espoused their cause, and with his
mercenary bands of Sindis succeeded in investing Bhindar. During the
siege Arjun of Kurabar, bent on revenge for the loss of his heir,
determined to surprise Sheogarh, which he effected, and spared neither
age nor sex.[11.1.3] Kheroda remained attached to the fisc during
several years, when the Rana, with a thoughtlessness which has nourished
these feuds, granted it to Sardar Singh, the Chondawat chief of Badesar.
In S. 1746 the Chondawats were in rebellion and disgrace, and their
rivals, under the chief of Bhindar, assembled their kindred to drive out
the Sindi garrison, who held Kheroda for their foe. Arjun of Kurabar,
with the Sindi Koli, came to aid the garrison, and an action ensued
under the walls, in which Sangram slew with his own hand two of the
principal subordinates of Kurabar, namely, Guman the Sakarwal, and
Bhimji Ranawat. Nevertheless, the Chondawats gained the day, and the
Saktawats again retired on Bhindar. There they received a reinforcement
sent by Zalim Singh of Kotah (who fostered all these disputes, trusting
that eventually he should be able to snatch the bone of contention from
both), and a band of Arabs, and with this aid they returned to the
attack. The Chondawats, who, with the auxiliaries of Sind, were encamped
in the plains of Akola, willingly accepted the challenge, but were
defeated; Sindi Koli, leader of the auxiliaries, was slain, and the
force was entirely dispersed. Sangram, who headed this and every assault
against the rival clan, was wounded in three places; but this he
accounted nothing, having thereby obtained the regard of his sovereign,
and the expulsion of his rival from Kheroda, which remained attached to
the fisc until the year 1758, when, on the payment of a fine of ten
thousand rupees, the estate was assigned to him under the royal
signature. This was in the year A.D. 1802, from which period until 1818,
when we had to mediate between the Rana and his chiefs, Kheroda remained
a trophy of the superior courage and tact of the Saktawats. No wonder
that the Rawat Jai Singh of Lawa, the adopted heir of Sangram, was
averse to renounce Kheroda. He went so far as [595] to man its walls,
and forbid any communication with the servants of his sovereign: the
slightest provocation would have compelled a siege and assault, in which
all the Chondawats of the country would gladly have joined, and the old
feuds might have been revived on the very dawn of disfranchisement from
the yoke of the Mahrattas. But what will be thought of this transaction
when it is stated that the lord of Kheroda was at this time at court the
daily companion of his sovereign! Although the dependants of Jai Singh
would have fired on any one of his master’s servants who ventured to its
walls, and, according to our notions, he was that moment a rebel both to
his prince and the paramount protector, not an uncourtly phrase was ever
heard, nor could it be discovered that the Rana and the Rawat stood in
any other relation than as the gracious sovereign and the loyal subject.
These matters are conveniently managed: all the odium of discussion is
left to the Kamdars, or delegates of the prince and the chief, between
whom not the least diminution of courteous etiquette would be
observable, whilst there remained a hope of adjustment. Asiatics do not
count the moments which intervene between the conception and
consummation of an undertaking as do those of colder climes. In all
their transactions they preserve more composure, which, whatever be its
cause, lends an air of dignity to their proceedings. I have risen from
discussion with the respective ministers of the sovereign and chieftains
regarding acts involving treason, in order to join the principals in an
excursion on the lake, or in the tilt-yard at the palace, where they
would be passing their opinions on the points of a horse, with mutual
courtesy and affability. This is no unamiable feature in the manners of
the East, and tends to strengthen the tie of fraternity which binds
together the fabric of Rajput policy.

=Agriculture at Kheroda.=—The agricultural economy of Kheroda, which
discovers distinct traces of the patriarchal system, is not without
interest. Kheroda is a _tappa_, or subdivision of one of the greater
_khalisa_ or fiscal districts of Mewar, and consists of fourteen
townships, besides their hamlets. It is rated at 14,500 rupees of yearly
rent, of which itself furnishes 3500. The land, though generally of a
good quality, is of three classes, namely, _piwal_, or watered from
wells; _gorma_, also irrigated land, extending three or four _khets_, or
fields, around the village; and _mar_ or _mal_, depending on the heavens
alone for moisture. As has been already stated, there are two harvests,
namely, the _unalu_ (from _ushna_, ‘heat’), or summer-harvest; and the
_siyalu_ (from _sita_, ‘cold’), the winter or autumnal [596]. The share
of the crown, as in all the ancient Hindu governments, is taken in kind,
and divided as follows:—Of the first, or _unalu_ crop, consisting of
wheat, barley, and gram, the produce is formed into _khallas_ (piles or
heaps) of one hundred maunds each; these are subdivided into four parts,
of twenty-five maunds each. The first operation is to provide from one
of these the _serana_, or one ser on each maund, to each individual of
the village-establishment: namely, the Patel, or head-man; the Patwari,
register or accountant; the Shahnah, or watchman; the Balahi, or
messenger and also general herdsman;[11.1.4] the Kathi (alias Sutar) or
carpenter; the Lohar, or blacksmith; the Kumhar, or potter; the Dhobi,
or washerman; the Chamar, who is shoemaker, carrier, and scavenger; the
Nai, or barber-surgeon. These ten _seranas_, or one ser on each khalla,
or two maunds and a half to each individual, swallow up one of the
subdivisions. Of the three remaining parts, one share, or twenty-five
maunds, goes to the Raj, or sovereign, and two to the ryot, or
cultivator, after deducting a _serana_ of two maunds for the
heir-apparent, which is termed Kunwar-matka, or ‘pot for the prince.’ An
innovation of late years has been practised on the portion belonging to
the village, from which no less than three _seranas_ of one maund each
are deducted, previous to subdivision amongst the ten village officers;
namely, one ‘pot for the prince,’ another for the Rana’s chief groom,
and a third for his Modi, or steward of the grain department. These all
go to the government, which thus realizes thirty maunds out of each
hundred, or three-tenths, instead of one-fourth, according to ancient
usage. But the village-establishment has an additional advantage before
the grain is thrashed out; this is the _kirpa_ or sheaf from every bigha
(a third of an acre) of land cultivated to each individual; and each
sheaf is reckoned to yield from five to seven sers of grain. The reapers
are also allowed small _kirpas_ or sheaves, yielding two or three sers
each; and there were various little larcenies permitted, under the terms
of _dantani_ and _chabani_, indicating they were allowed the use of
their teeth (_dant_) while reaping: so that in fact they fed (_chabna_,
‘to bite or masticate’) upon roasted heads of Indian corn and maize.

Of the _siyalu_ crop, which consists of _makkai_, or Indian corn, and
_juar_ and _bajra_, or millet, with the different pulses, the process of
distribution is as follows. From every _khalla_, or heap of one hundred
maunds, forty are set apart for the Raj or government, and the rest,
after deducting the _seranas_ of the village-establishment, goes to the
cultivator.

On the culture of sugar-cane, cotton, indigo, opium, tobacco, _til_ or
sesamum, and [597] the various dyes, there has always been a fixed
money-rent, varying from two to ten rupees per bigha.

=Sugar-Cane Cultivation.=—There is nothing so uncertain in its results
as the cultivation of sugar-cane, which holds out a powerful lure for
dishonesty to the collector for the crown. But it is asserted here that
the ryot had no option, being compelled to cultivate, in due proportion,
cane, opium, and grain, from the same _charsa_[11.1.5] or well. A rough
estimate of the expense attending the culture of a _charsa_, or what may
be irrigated by one well, may not be uninteresting. Let us take, first,
one bigha of cane, and no more can be watered with one pair of oxen,
premising that the cane is planted in the month of Aghan, and reaped in
the same month next year; that is, after a whole twelvemonth of labour:

Rupees.

Hasil, or rent 10

Seed of one bigha 20

Gor, or stirring up the earth with spuds, eight times
before reaping, sixteen men each time, at two annas to
each 16

Two men at the well, at four rupees each per month, for
twelve months 96[11.1.6]

Two oxen, feeding, etc. 18

Paring and cutting forty thousand canes, at four annas per
thousand 10

Placing canes in the mill, clothes to the men, besides one
ser of sugar out of every maund 20

Shares of all the village establishment; say, if the bigha
yields fifty maunds, of which they are entitled to
one-fifth 40

Wood 2

Hire of boiler 6

——

A bigha will yield as much as eighty maunds of
sugar,[11.1.7] though fifty is esteemed a good crop; it
sells at about four rupees per maund, or 200

——

Leaving the cultivator minus 38

It will be observed that the grower’s whole expenses are charged;
besides, to make up, we must calculate from the labour of the same two
men and cattle, the produce profit of one bigha of opium and four bighas
of wheat and barley, as follows:

Rupees.
Surplus profit on the opium, seven sers of opium, at four
rupees per ser 28
One hundred and fifty maunds of grain, of both harvests,
of which one-third to the Raj, leaves one hundred
maunds, at one rupee each maund 100
——
128
Deduct deficiency on cane 38
——
Profit left, after feeding, men and cattle, etc.,
etc. 90

[598]

Sometimes, though rarely, the cane is sold standing, at four to five
rupees the thousand; but, occasionally, the whole crop is lost, if the
cane should unfortunately flower, when it is rooted up and burnt, or
given to the cattle, being unfit for the use of man. This may be
superstition; though the cultivators of the cane in the West Indies may
perhaps say that the deterioration of the plant would render it not
worth the trouble of extracting the juice.[11.1.8] I shall here conclude
this rough sketch of the agricultural economy of Kheroda, which may be
taken as a fair specimen of the old system throughout Mewar, with
remarking that, notwithstanding the laws of Manu,[11.1.9] inscriptions
on stone, and tradition, which constitute in fact the customary law of
Rajputana, make the rent in kind far lighter than what we have just
recorded, yet the cultivator could not fail to thrive if even this
system were maintained. But constant warfare, the necessities of the
prince, with the cupidity and poverty of the revenue officers, have
superadded vexatious petty demands, as _khar-lakar_ (wood and forage),
and _ghar-ginti_ (house-tax); the first of which was a tax of one rupee
annually on every bigha of land in cultivation, and the other the same
on each house or hut inhabited. Even the _kaid sali_, or triennial fine
on the headman and the register, was levied by these again on the
cultivators. But besides these regular taxes, there was no end to
irregular exactions of _barar_ and _dand_, or forced contributions,
until, at length, the country became the scene of desolation from which
it is only now emerging.

=Hīnta=, _January 30_.—This was a short march of three and a half coss,
or nine miles, over the same extensive plain of rich black loam, or
_mal_, whence the province of Malwa has its name.[11.1.10] We were on
horseback long before sunrise; the air was pure and invigorating; the
peasantry were smiling at the sight of the luxuriant young crops of
wheat, barley, and gram, aware that no ruthless hand could now step
between them and the bounties of Heaven. Fresh thatch, or rising walls,
gave signs of the exiles’ return, who greeted us, at each step of our
journey, with blessings and looks of joy mingled with sadness. Passed
the hamlet, or _purwa_, of Amarpura, attached to Kheroda, and to our
left the township of Mainar, held in _sasan_[11.1.11] (religious grant)
by a community of Brahmans. This place affords a fine specimen of “the
wisdom of ancestors” in Mewar, where fifty thousand bighas, or about
sixteen thousand acres of the richest crown land, have been given in
perpetuity to these drones of society; and although there are only
twenty families left of this holy colony, said to have been planted by
Raja Mandhata in the Treta-yug, or silver age of India, yet superstition
and indolence conspire to prevent the resumption even of those portions
which have none to cultivate them. A “sixty thousand [599] years’
residence in hell” is undoubtedly no comfortable prospect, and to those
who subscribe to the doctrine of transmigration, it must be rather
mortifying to pass from the purple of royalty into “a worm in ordure,”
one of the delicate purgatories which the Rajput soul has to undergo,
before it can expiate the offence of resuming the lands of the church! I
was rejoiced, however, to find that some of “the sons of Sakta,” as they
increased in numbers, in the inverse ratio of their possessions, deemed
it better to incur all risks than emigrate to foreign lands in search of
_bhum_; and both Hinta and Dundia have been established on the lands of
the church. Desirous of preserving every right of every class, I
imprecated on my head all the anathemas of the order, if the Rana should
resume all beyond what the remnant of this family could require. I
proposed that a thousand bighas of the best land should be retained by
them; that they should not only be furnished with cattle, seed, and
implements of agriculture, but that there should be wells cleared out,
or fresh ones dug for them. At this time, however, the astrologer was a
member of the cabinet, and being also physician in ordinary, he, as one
of the order, protected his brethren of Menar, who, as may be supposed,
were in vain called upon to produce the _tamra-pattra_, or copper-plate
warrant, for these lands.

=Māndhāta Rāja.=—Mandhata Raja,[11.1.12] a name immortalized in the
topography of these regions, was of the Pramar tribe, and sovereign of
Central India, whose capitals were Dhar and Ujjain; and although his
period is uncertain, tradition uniformly assigns him priority to
Vikramaditya, whose era (fifty-six years anterior to the Christian)
prevails throughout India. There are various spots on the Nerbudda which
perpetuate his name, especially where that grand stream forms one of its
most considerable rapids. Chitor, with all its dependencies, was but an
appanage of the sovereignty of Dhar in these early times, nor can we
move a step without discovering traces of their paramount sway in all
these regions: and in the spot over which I am now moving, the antiquary
might without any difficulty fill his portfolio. Both Hinta and Dundia,
the dependencies of Mainar, are brought in connexion with the name of
Mandhata, who performed the grand rite of Aswamedha, or sacrifice of the
horse, at Dundia, where they still point out the _kund_, or ‘pit of
sacrifice.’ Two Rishis, or ‘holy men,’ of Hinta attended Mandhata, who,
on the conclusion of the ceremony, presented them the customary _pān_,
or ‘offering,’ which they rejected; but on taking leave, the Raja
delicately contrived to introduce into the bira of pan, a grant for the
lands of Mainar. The gift, though unsolicited, was fatal to their
sanctity, and the miracles which they had hitherto [600] been permitted
to form, ceased with the possession of Mammon. Would the reader wish to
have an instance of these miracles? After their usual manifold
ablutions, and wringing the moisture of their _dhoti_, or garment, they
would fling it into the air, where it remained suspended over their
head, as a protection against the sun’s rays. On the loss of their
power, these saints became tillers of the ground. Their descendants hold
the lands of Mainar, and are spread over this tract, named Bara
Chaubisa, ‘the great twenty-four!’

We also passed in this morning’s march the village of Bahmania, having a
noble piece of water maintained by a strong embankment of masonry. No
less than four thousand bighas are attached. It was fiscal land, but had
been usurped during the troubles, and being nearly depopulated, had
escaped observation. At this moment it is in the hands of Moti
Pasban,[11.1.13] the favourite handmaid of “the Sun of the Hindus.” This
‘Pearl’ (_moti_) pretends to have obtained it as a mortgage, but it
would be difficult to show a lawful mortgager. Near the village of
Bansera, on the estate of Fateh Singh, brother of Bhindar, we passed a
_seura_ or _sula_, a pillar or land-mark, having a grant of land
inscribed thereon with the usual denunciations, attested by an image of
the sacred cow, engraved in slight relief, as witness to the intention
of the donor.

Hinta was a place of some consequence in the civil wars, and in S. 1808
(A.D. 1752) formed the appanage of one of the Babas, or infants of the
court, of the Maharaja Sawant Singh. It now belongs to a subordinate
Saktawat, and was the subject of considerable discussion in the treaty
of resumption of the 4th of May 1818, between the Rana and his chiefs.

It was the scene of a gallant exploit in S. 1812, when ten thousand
Mahrattas, led by Satwa, invaded Mewar. Raj Singh, of the Jhala tribe,
the chief of Sadri,[11.1.14] and descendant of the hero who rescued that
first of Rajput princes, Rana Partap, had reached the town of Hinta in
his passage from court to Sadri, when he received intelligence that the
enemy was at Salera, only three miles distant. He was recommended to
make a slight detour and go by Bhindar; but having no reason for
apprehension, he rejected the advice, and proceeded on his way. He had
not travelled half-a-mile, when they fell in with the marauders, who
looked upon his small but well-mounted band as legitimate prey. But, in
spite of the odds, they preferred death to the surrender of their
equipments, and an action ensued, in which the Raj, after performing
miracles of valour, regained the fort, with eight only of his three
hundred and fifty retainers. The news reaching Kushal Singh, the chief
of Bhindar, who, besides the [601] sufficient motive of Rajputi, or
‘chivalry,’ was impelled by friendship and matrimonial connexion, he
assembled a trusty band, and marched to rescue his friend from captivity
and his estate from mortgage for his ransom. This little phalanx
amounted only to five hundred men, all Saktawats, and of whom
three-fourths were on foot. They advanced in a compact mass, with
lighted matches, the cavaliers on either flank, with Kushal at their
head, denouncing death to the man who quitted his ranks, or fired a shot
without orders. They were soon surrounded by the cloud of Mahratta
horse; but resolve was too manifest in the intrepid band even for
numbers to provoke the strife. They thus passed over the immense plain
between Bhindar and Hinta, the gates of which they had almost reached,
when, as if ashamed at seeing their prey thus snatched from their grasp,
the word was given, “_Barchhi de!_” and a forest of Mahratta lances,
each twelve feet long, bristled against the Saktawats. Kushal called a
halt, wheeled his cavaliers to the rear, and allowed the foe to come
within pistol-shot, when a well-directed volley checked their
impetuosity, and threw them into disorder. The little band of cavalry
seized the moment and charged in their turn, gave time to load again,
and returned to their post to allow a second volley. The gate was
gained, and the Sadri chief received into the ranks of deliverers.
Elated with success, the Maharaja promptly determined rather to fight
his way back than coop himself up in Hinta, and be starved into
surrender; all seconded the resolution of their chief, and with little
comparative loss they regained Bhindar. This exploit is universally
known, and related with exultation, as one of the many brilliant deeds
of “the sons of Sakta,” of whom the Maharaja Kushal Singh was
conspicuous for worth, as well as gallantry.

=Morwan=,[11.1.15] _January 31_.—The last day of January (with the
thermometer 50° at daybreak) brought us to the limits of Mewar. I could
not look on its rich alienated lands without the deepest regret, or see
the birthright of its chieftains devolve on the mean Mahratta or
ruthless Pathan, without a kindling of the spirit towards the heroes of
past days, in spite of the vexations their less worthy descendants
occasion me; less worthy, yet not worthless, for having left my cares
behind me with the court, where the stubbornness of some, the voices and
intrigues of others, and the apathy of all, have deeply injured my
health. There is something magical in absence; it throws a deceitful
medium between us and the objects we have quitted, which exaggerates
their amiable qualities, and curtails the proportions of their vices. I
look upon Mewar as the land of my adoption, and, linked with all the
associations of my early hopes and [602] their actual realization, I
feel inclined to exclaim with reference to her and her unmanageable
children,

Mewar, with all thy faults, I love thee still.

The virtues owe an immense debt to the present feudal nobility, not only
of Mewar but of Rajputana, and it is to be hoped that the rising
generation will pay to it what has been withheld by the past; that
energy and temperance will supersede opium and the juice of the
mahua,[11.1.16] and riding in the ring, replace the siesta, and the
tabor (_tabla_) and lute. I endeavoured to banish some of these
incentives to degeneracy; nor is there a young chieftain, from the
heir-apparent to the throne to the aspirant to a skin of land (when
opportunity was granted), from whom I have not exacted a promise, never
to touch that debasing drug, opium. Some may break this pledge, but many
will keep it; especially those whose minority I protected against
court-faction and avarice: such a one as Arjun Singh, the young chief of
Basai, of the Sangawat branch of the Chondawat clan. His grandfather
(for his father was dead) had maintained the old castle and estate,
placed on the elevated Uparmal, against all attempts of the Mahrattas,
but had incurred the hatred of Bhim Singh of Salumbar, the head of his
clan, who in S. 1846 dispossessed him, and installed a junior branch in
the barony of Basai. But the energetic Takht Singh regained his lost
rights, and maintained them, until civil broils and foreign foes alike
disappeared, on their connexion with the British in 1818. Then the
veteran chief, with his grandson, repaired to court, to unite in the
general homage to their prince with the assembled chiefs of Mewar. But
poverty and the remembrance of old feuds combined to dispossess the
youth, and the amount of fine (ten thousand rupees) had actually been
fixed for the installation of the interloper, who was supported by all
the influence of the chief of Salumbar. This first noble of Mewar tried
to avail himself of my friendship to uphold the cause of his protégé,
Barad Singh, whom he often brought me to visit, as did old Takhta his
grandson. Both were of the same age, thirteen; the aspirant to Basai,
fair and stout, but heavy in his looks; while the possessor, Arjun, was
spare, dark, and beaming with intelligence. Merit and justice on one
side; stupidity and power on the other. But there were duties to be
performed; and the old Thakur’s appeal was not heard in vain.
“Swamidharma and this” (putting his hand to his sword), said the aged
chief, “have hitherto preserved our rights; now, the cause of [603] the
child is in his sovereign’s hands and yours; but here money buys
justice, and right yields to favour.” The Rana, though he had assented
to the views of Salumbar, left the case to my adjudication. I called
both parties before me, and in their presence, from their respective
statements, sketched the genealogical tree, exhibiting in the remote
branches the stripling’s competitors, which I showed to the Rana. Ever
prone to do right when not swayed by faction, he confirmed Arjun’s
patent, which he had given him three years previously, and girt him with
the sword of investiture. This contest for his birthright was of great
advantage to the youth; for his grandfather was selected to command the
quotas for the defence of the frontier fortress of Jahazpur, a duty
which he well performed; and his grandson accompanied him and was often
left in command while he looked after the estate. Both came to visit me
at Chitor. Arjun was greatly improved during his two years’ absence from
the paternal abode, and promises to do honour to the clan he belongs to.
Amongst many questions, I asked “If he had yet taken to his _amal_?” to
which he energetically replied, “My fortunes will be cracked indeed, if
ever I forget any injunction of yours.”

But a truce to digression: the whole village Panchayat has been waiting
this half hour under the spreading bar[11.1.17] tree, to tell me, in the
language of homely truth, _khush hain Compani sahib ke partap se_, that
“by the auspices of Sir Company they are happy; and that they hope I may
live a thousand years.”

I must, therefore, suspend my narrative, whilst I patiently listen till
midnight to dismal tales of sterile fields, exhausted funds, exiles
unreturned, and the depredations of the wild mountain Bhil [604].

-----

Footnote 11.1.1:

[Twenty-four miles E. of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.1.2:

See treaty between the Rana and his chiefs, Vol. I. p. 243.
[Signed A.D. 1818.]

Footnote 11.1.3:

The sequel of this feud has been related, Vol. I. p. 511.

Footnote 11.1.4:

The _balahi_ or _balaiti_ is the shepherd of the community, who drives
the village flock to the common pasturage; and, besides his _serana_,
has some trifling reward from every individual. It is his especial
duty to prevent cattle-trespasses. [For a good account of allowances
to village servants and menials see B. H. Baden-Powell, _The Indian
Village Community_, 16 ff.]

Footnote 11.1.5:

[Properly the leather bag by means of which water is raised for
irrigation.]

Footnote 11.1.6:

This goes to feed the cultivator, if he works himself.

Footnote 11.1.7:

[The yield of coarse sugar (_gur_) is now estimated at 30 or 40 maunds
(28½ cwt.) per acre; but as much as 50 maunds (36 cwt.) has been
recorded (Watt, _Econ. Prod._ 947).]

Footnote 11.1.8:

[The flowering of the cane is regarded as an evil omen. In India the
cane rarely seeds; in fact, it is rarely allowed to flower (Watt,
_Econ. Dict._ vi. Part ii. 83).]

Footnote 11.1.9:

[The king may take an eighth, sixth, or twelfth part of the crop
(Manu, _Laws_, vii. 130).]

Footnote 11.1.10:

[Mālwa or Mālava is derived from the tribe of that name, but the name
Mālava-desa, ‘land of the Mālavas,’ is not mentioned in Sanskrit
literature before the second century B.C.; and the tract now known as
Mālwa was not called by that name till the tenth century A.D., or even
later (_IGI_, xvii. 100 f.; _BG_, i. Part i. 28, Part ii. 311).]

Footnote 11.1.11:

[Sāsan, land granted to Brāhmans, Ascetics, Chārans, and Bhāts, by
royal decree and rent-free. It pays nothing but some miscellaneous
taxes, is inalienable, but it can be mortgaged.]

Footnote 11.1.12:

[Māndhātri, son of Yuvanāswa of the race of Ikshwāku, a legendary
monarch, is said to have “reduced the seven continental zones under
his dominion” (_Vishnu Purāna_, 363; Dowson, _Classical Dict._,
_s.v._). The holy place Māndhāta in the Nimār District, Central
Provinces, is said to take its name from him (_Gazetteer Central
Provinces_, 1870, p. 258).]

Footnote 11.1.13:

[Pāsbān means ‘a watcher.’ Dr. Tessitori writes that the proper form
of the word is Pāsvān or Pāsvāni, a term applied to the confidential
domestics of a chief, and it is often, as in this case, synonymous
with ‘favourite.’ It denotes no particular caste, but is commonly
applied to a slave favourite or concubine.]

Footnote 11.1.14:

[Bari Sādri, about 40 miles S.S.E. of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.1.15:

[Not found in Major Erskine’s or other official maps: in the Author’s
map “Mhorun.”]

Footnote 11.1.16:

[_Bassia latifolia_, from the petals of which a coarse kind of spirits
is made (Watt, _Comm. Prod._ 116 ff.: Yule, _Hobson-Jobson_, 2nd ed.
574 f.).]

Footnote 11.1.17:

[The banyan, _ficus indica_.]

-----

CHAPTER 2

=The Chief of Hīnta.=—I was not deceived; it is now midnight, but, late
as it is, I will introduce to the readers a few of my visitors. The
chief of Hinta, who was absent at his patrimonial estate of Kun, on the
hills of Chappan,[11.2.1] sent his brother and his _homme d’affaires_ to
make his compliments to me, and express his regret that he could not
offer them personally at Hinta, which he said was “my own township.”
This was not mere customary civility. Hinta had been taken by the
Saktawats soon after the commencement of the civil wars of S. 1824,
which was within the period (A.D. 1766) fixed by the general
arrangements of the 4th of May 1818, for restitution; and it was
impossible, without departing from the principle on which they were
based, that the chief should retain it, though he could plead the
prescriptive right of half-a-century.

The discussions regarding Hinta were consequently very warm: the
renunciation of ten valuable townships by the Maharaja Zorawar Singh of
Bhindar, the head of the Saktawat clans, did not annoy the Bhindar chief
so much as his failure to retain Hinta as one of his minor feuds: nay,
the surrender of Arja, the price of blood, a far more important castle
and domain, by his own brother Fateh Singh (the original acquisition of
which sealed the conclusion of a long-standing feud), excited less
irritation than the demand that Hinta should revert to the fisc. “It is
the key of Bhindar,” said the head of the clan. “It was a Saktawat
allotment from the first,” exclaimed his brother. “The Ranawat was an
interloper,” cried another. “It is my _bapota_, the abode of my
fathers,” was the more feeling expression of the occupant. It was no
light task to deal with such arguments; especially when an appeal to the
dictates of reason and justice was thwarted by the stronger impulse of
self-interest. But in a matter involving so important a stipulation of
the treaty, which required “that all fiscal possessions which, since S.
1822 (A.D. 1766), the commencement of the civil wars, had, by whatever
means, passed from the Rana to the chieftains, should be reclaimed,”
firmness was essential to the success of a measure on which [605]
depended the restoration of order. The Saktawats behaved nobly, and with
a purely patriotic spirit throughout the scene, when almost all had to
relinquish important possessions. The issue was, that Hinta, with its
domain, after remaining twelve months incorporated with the fisc, was
restored to Zorawar, but curtailed of Dundia and its twelve hundred
acres, which, though united to Hinta, was a distinct township in the old
records. Having paid ten thousand rupees as the fine of relief, the
chief was girt with the sword, and re-established in his _bapota_, to
the great joy of the whole clan.

Hinta is burdened with the service of fourteen horse and fourteen foot;
its _rekh_, or nominal value, in the _patta-bahi_, or ‘record of fiefs,’
being seven thousand rupees; but, in consideration of the impoverished
condition of his estate, the chief was only called on to furnish five
horse and eight foot. The present possessor of Hinta is an adoption from
the chieftainship of Kun; but, contrary to established usage, he holds
both Hinta and Kun, his parent fief, whereby he has a complex character,
and conflicting duties to fulfil. As chief of Kun, he belongs to the
third class of nobles, styled _gol_, and is subject to constant personal
attendance on the Rana; as lord of Hinta, too, he has to furnish a quota
to serve “at home or abroad!” Being compelled to appear at court in
person, his quota for Hinta was placed under the charge of Man Singh
(another of the Saktawat sub-vassalage), and was sent to the thana of
little Sadri, on the Malwa frontier, to guard it from the depredations
of the forester Bhil. But I was commissioned by the Rana to reprimand
the representative of Hinta, and to threaten him with the
re-sequestration of the estate, if he did not better perform the service
for which he held it. In consequence of this remonstrance, I became
acquainted with a long tale of woe; and Man Singh’s vindication from a
failure of duty will introduce a topic worthy of notice connected with
the feudal system of Mewar, namely, the subdivision of fiefs.

Man Singh Saktawat is a younger branch of the Lawa family, and one of
the infants who escaped the massacre of Sheogarh, when Lalji Rawat and
two generations were cut off to avenge the feud with Kurabar. In order,
however, to understand the claims of Man Singh, we must go back to the
period when Lalji Rawat was lord of Nethara, which, for some offence, or
through some court-intrigue, was resumed, and bestowed on one of the
rival clan of Chondawat. Being a younger branch of the Bansi family (one
of the senior subdivisions of Bhindar), Lalji was but slenderly provided
for in the family allotment (_bat_). On losing Nethara, he repaired to
Dungarpur, whose Rawal gave him a grant of Sheogarh, an almost
inaccessible fort on the [606] borders of the two countries. Thus
compelled, through faction, to seek subsistence out of his native soil,
Lalji renounced his loyalty, and with his sons, now Barwatias or
‘outlaws,’ resolved to prey upon Mewar. They now looked to Bhindar, the
head of their clan, as their lord, and joined him in opposing their late
sovereign in the field, levying blackmail from the estates of their
rivals; or, when the influence of the latter sunk at court, and was
supplanted by the clan of Saktawat, Lalji poised his lance in the train
of his chief in defence of the throne. Thus passed his life, a chequered
course of alternate loyalty and treason, until its tragical close at
Sheogarh.[11.2.2]

Sangram Singh, the eldest son of Lalji,[11.2.3] with his infant nephews,
Jai Singh and Nahar (who was absent), escaped the avenger’s sword, under
which perished his father, mother, both brothers, and all his own
children, at one fell swoop! Sangram succeeded to the possession of
Sheogarh, and to the feuds of his family. His nephew, young Nahar,
joined in all his enterprises, from the defence of Kheroda to the
escalade and capture of the castle of Lawa, in which he maintained
himself until the Rana not only pardoned him, but gave him precedence
above his enemies in his own councils.

Lawa was wrested by Sangram Singh Saktawat from Sangram Singh the Dudia,
an ancient tribe, but like many others little known, until the incident
we are about to relate gave it a momentary gleam of splendour, and
afforded the bard an opportunity to emblazon its fame upon his page.
Even in these regions, so full of strange vicissitudes, the sudden rise
of the Dudia is a favourite topic of the traditional muse of Mewar.

=The Dudia Clan.=—Chandrabhan was the father of this meteor of the day;
his sole wealth consisted of a team of oxen, with which he tilled a few
bighas of land at the base of Naharamagra, the ‘tiger mount,’ where the
Rana had a _ramna_ or preserve, for the royal sport of tiger-hunting. It
was during the autumnal harvest, when the Dudia had finished his day’s
work, having put up the last rick of _makkai_ (Indian corn), as he was
driving home the companions of his toil, a voice hailed him from the
wood. He answered, and advanced to the spot whence it issued, where he
found a stranger, evidently of rank, with his horse panting for breath.
After inquiring his tribe, and [607] being told “Rajput,” the stranger
begged a little water, which was supplied, along with two coarse cakes
of _makkai_, and a little _chana-ka-dal_, pulse cooked with _ghi_, or
clarified butter, which the honest Dudia took out of a cloth not over
clean. Having performed all the other duties which hospitality requires,
the Dudia made his salaam, and was about to depart, when a train of
horsemen coming in sight, he paused to look at them. All went up to the
stranger; and, from the profound respect paid to him, he found that he
had entertained no common guest.

It was in fact his sovereign, the Rana Jagat Singh, who delighted in the
chase, and having that day been bewildered in the intricacies of
Naharamagra, had stumbled on the Dudia carle. The latter expressed
neither surprise nor delight when introduced to the Rana, and replied to
all his questions with the frankness that grows out of the sentiment of
honest pride and independence, which never abandons a Rajput, whatever
be his condition.[11.2.4] The Rana was so much pleased with his rustic
host, that he commanded a led horse to be brought forth, and desired the
Dudia would accompany him to Udaipur, only ten miles distant. ‘The
rocket of the moon’[11.2.5] (Chandrabhan), in his peasant’s garb,
bestrode the noble charger with as much ease as if it were habitual to
him. The next day the Dudia was conducted to the Presence, and invested
with a dress which had been worn by his sovereign (a distinguished mark
of royal favour), accompanied with the more solid reward of the grant of
Kuwaria and its lands in perpetuity.

Chandrabhan and his benefactor died about the same time. Rana Raj had
succeeded to the throne of Mewar, and Sardar Singh, son of Chandrabhan,
did personal service for the lands of Kuwaria. It was a source of daily
amusement for the prince and his youthful associates to plunge into the
fountain at the Saheli-ki-bari,[11.2.6] a villa about two miles from the
capital, on which occasions reserve was banished, and they gave
themselves up to unrestrained mirth. The young Dudia had some
peculiarities, which made him a butt for their wit. The following
incident will show the character of these princely pastimes. It was one
day remarked, that when refreshing in the _kund_, or reservoir, Sardar
Singh did not lay aside his turban, which provoked a suspicion that he
had no hair. The Rana, impatient to get a peep at the bare head of [608]
the son of Chandrabhan, proposed that they should push each other into
the water. The sport began, and the Dudia’s turban falling off,
disclosed the sad truth. The jest, however, was not relished by Sardar;
and he tartly replied, in answer to his sovereign’s question, “what had
become of his hair?” that “he had lost it in his service, in a former
birth, as Chela,[11.2.7] by carrying wood upon his head to feed the
flame, when his sovereign, as a jogi, or ascetic, performed penance
(_tapasya_) in the hills of Badarinath.” The prince felt that he had
violated decorum; but the reply was pregnant with sarcasm, and his
dignity must be maintained. “Sardar must bring proof of his assertion,
or punishment awaits him,” was the rejoinder. The young chief, in the
same lofty tone, offered the evidence of the Deota (divinity) of the
temple of Kuwaria. This was a witness whose testimony could not be
impugned, and he had leave to bring it forward.

At the village of Gopalpur, attached to his estate of Kuwaria, was a
temple of the Bagrawats, a tribe little known, having a shrine of their
divinity, who was personified by an image with a tiger’s (_bagh_)
head.[11.2.8] “He invoked his support on this occasion, when the Deota
threw him the flower[11.2.9] in his hand, and desired him to carry it to
his sovereign.” He did so, and the Rana’s faith was too great to dispute
the miracle. What honours could suffice for the man who had performed
the most meritorious service to his prince in former transmigrations!
_Mang_, ‘ask,’ was the sign of grace and favour. Sangram’s request was
governed by moderation; it was for Lawa and its lands, which adjoined
his estate at Kuwaria.

The Rana being yet a minor, and the queen-mother at the head of affairs,
he hastened to her to be released from the debt of gratitude. But Lawa,
unluckily, was held by herself; and although she was not heretic enough
to doubt the miraculous tale, she thought the Dudia might have selected
any other land but hers, and testily replied to her son’s request, that
“he might give him Mewar if he chose.” Displeased at this
unaccommodating tone, the prince quickly rejoined, “Mewar shall be his,
then.” The word of a prince is sacred; he sent for Sangram, and thus
addressed him: “I give you Mewar for the space of three days; make the
best use of your time; my arsenals, my armouries, my treasury, my
stables, my throne and its ministers, are at your command.”[11.2.10] The
temporary Rana availed himself of this large [609] power, and conveyed
to his estate whatever he had a mind to. During the abdication Sardar
held his court, though he had too much tact actually to press the
cushion of his master; but seated himself on one side of the vacant
throne, attended by all the nobles, fully impressed with the sanctity of
the individual who had attained such distinction. On the third day the
queen-mother sent her son the patent for Lawa; and on the fourth the
Dudia surrendered the sceptre.

With the wealth thus acquired, he erected a castle in his domain of
Lawa, on which he expended nine lakhs of rupees, about £100,000. He
formed a lake; and a single _baori_ or reservoir, in the fort, cost
another lakh. He built a splendid palace, whose china and mirror-halls
are still the theme of encomium. These were greatly defaced by an
explosion of a powder-magazine, which threw down half the fortress that
had taken twenty years to complete; and though it underwent considerable
repairs, it lost much of its splendour, which the guns of Holkar aided
to diminish: but the castle of Lawa is still one of the finest in Mewar.
Sardar Singh had also a grant of one of the royal _mahalls_ or palaces
of Udaipur, erected on the margin of the lake, after the model of the
Jagmandir.[11.2.11] Although it now belongs to the chief of Amet, it is
only recognized as the Dudia-ka-mahall; but its halls are the dwelling
of the bat and the owl; the _bar_[11.2.12] has taken root in its light,
airy porticoes, and its walls have every direction but the
perpendicular. Sardar lived twenty years after the erection of Lawa; he
died in S. 1838 (A.D. 1782), leaving one son, the heir of his honours
and estates. Throughout his long life he lost no portion of the respect
paid to his early years; but with him the name of Dudia again sunk into
obscurity, or lived but as a memento of the instability of fortune. It
was this son who, when driven from Lawa by Sangram Singh Saktawat, had
no place of shelter, and died in indigence and obscurity. His son
(grandson of Sardar, and great-grandson of the ‘rocket of the moon’) is
now patronized by the heir-apparent, Prince Jawan Singh, and receives a
daily allowance, but has not a foot of land.

Sangram, the Saktawat, had a regular sanad for the fief of Lawa, which
was rated at twenty-three thousand rupees of annual rent, while Kuwaria
has reverted to the fisc. The lake of Lawa, which irrigates some
thousand acres of rice-land, alone renders it one of the most desirable
of the secondary estates of Mewar. Sangram’s children being all murdered
in the feud of Sheogarh, he was succeeded by Jai Singh (son [610] of
Sheo Singh, his second brother), who was received as _kaula_, or son of
adoption, by all the retainers of Lawa. While Sangram Singh lived, no
subdivision of allotments took place; all, to use the words of Man
Singh, “ate out of one dish”; and his own father Nahar, who had aided in
the enterprise, having by a similar _coup de main_ secured the estate of
Banwal for himself, no necessity for such partition existed. But Banwal
belonging to the fisc, to which it reverted on the restoration of order
in A.D. 1818, young Man had no alternative but to turn round on Jai
Singh, the adopted heir of Sangram, and demand his _bat_, or share of
the lands of Lawa, in virtue of the right of joint acquisition, and as a
younger brother. Jai Singh refused; but custom prevailed, and the
village of Jethpura, of fifteen hundred rupees’ annual revenue, was
bestowed upon the son of Nahar Singh. So long as Man Singh performed his
duties to his chief, his share of Lawa was irresumable and inalienable:
hence the stubborn tenacity of the chiefs of their share in the
patrimonial acres, even when holding largely, but separately, of the
crown, since of the latter, caprice or intrigue may deprive them; but
their own misconduct alone can forfeit their _bapota_. The simple deed
of conveyance will better establish this point!

“Maharao Sri Jai Singh, plighting his faith (_bachanaita_).

“At this time, Brother Man Singh, I bestow upon thee, of my own free
will, the village and lands of Jethpura. This donative shall not look to
_ranrkas_: _suput_, _kuput_:[11.2.13] your issue shall enjoy them. Of
this intention I call the four-armed divinity (Chaturbhuj)[11.2.14] as
witness. You are my own child (_chhora_): wherever and whenever I order,
you will do my service: if you fail, the fault be on your own head.”

=Case of Mān Singh.=—Whether Man Singh failed in his duty to his
superior, or otherwise, Jethpura was resumed; and having in vain
endeavoured to obtain justice through the ministers, he came to me to
solicit attention to his case. With the resumption of Kheroda, his
brother, the chief of Lawa, lost half his nominal income; and it may
therefore be conjectured he would not be slow to listen to any charge
against Man, by which he might get back his allotment. On my departure
for Marwar, in August 1820, he had written to me to say that Jai Singh
had summoned him to evacuate Jethpura. In my reply, I said it was a
matter for the Rana alone to decide. He accordingly went to court, and
failing there, followed me; but, as at my desire he had been appointed
to head the quotas on the Sadri frontier, and had performed this duty
very negligently, I [611] received him coolly; this, however, only gave
additional eagerness to his defence, as he assigned strong personal
reasons for the neglect. But the son of ‘the tiger’ (Nahar Singh) shall
speak for himself. Let the reader imagine a young man of twenty-five,
above six feet high, of an athletic figure and chivalrous demeanour, his
expression at once modest and independent, with those indispensable
appendages to a Rajput warrior’s visage, well-trimmed _favoris_ and
moustache, and armed at all points: such was the lord-marcher
(Simiswar), Man Singh. Having presented his patent for my perusal, he
continued: “Had I failed in my obligations to my brother, he would have
been justified in this step; but since you took Banwal from me, my
retainers, at his beck, equalled his own in numbers; what right
therefore had he to resume Jethpura? When Sangram Singh died, Lawa was
in my hands: who could have prevented my keeping it, had it been my
pleasure? The son of Nahar Singh would have been preferred by the
vassals of Sangram to one they had never even seen; but I respected his
rights, though even now he could not forcibly dispossess me. When the
Thakur of Amet, on his way to court, beat his drums on the bounds of
Lawa, did I not assemble my retainers and avenge the insult to my chief?
My head was Jai Singh’s—that is, with the _kunguras_ (battlements) of
Lawa; but he never could have dared to take Jethpura, had not respect
for the chief of Lawa, respect for the Rana, and for you, made me
passive. Only bid me retake it, and I am not the son of Nahar Singh if
he keeps it a day. Its little castle, erected by these hands, sheltered
my wife and children, who, now expelled from my patrimony, are compelled
to seek refuge elsewhere. The lands assigned me in lieu of Banwal are
waste. For every rupee I can hope to derive from them, I must expend
one; and on Jethpura alone could I raise any funds. Reckoning on this, I
paid my fine of two thousand five hundred rupees for my _paita_ (grant),
and from its produce I looked to maintain my family and followers until
the first should be made productive. When I lost this support, my
creditors assailed me: to satisfy them, I sold all I had of value, even
to my wife’s jewels, and the horse you saw me ride when I came to meet
you at Gangapur. I laid my case before Prithinath,[11.2.15] and here is
his reply, deciding in my favour. I represented it through Jawandas (a
natural brother of the Rana), and five hundred rupees were demanded and
agreed to by me, provided _bachan_ (security) was given me of success.
The Bikaneriji’s[11.2.16] was given; but the purse of the Thakur of
Jethpura is not so long as the chieftain of Lawa’s, and one thousand
rupees, offered by him, made his the juster cause! It is [612] this that
makes me negligent of my duty; this which incited the Pathans to carry
off my little harvest from Salera; and Bhairawi[11.2.17] is still in the
hands of the foresters. Here is my case: if I demand aught that is not
just, or that is contrary to usage, deal with me as you please. There is
Fateh Singh, who holds in separate grant from the Rana an estate of
thirty thousand rupees; but as a younger brother of Bhindar, he enjoys
five thousand from his brother: and Ajit Singh of Asind,[11.2.18] though
richer than his immediate head of Kurabar, yet, as the son of Arjun
Singh, holds his allotment (_bat_) from him: but you know all this, why
should I repeat it?” Here the Thakur concluded, without any interruption
being given to his animated harangue, the interest of which was enhanced
by his natural eloquence, and his manly but modest deportment. He is a
noble specimen, not of his tribe alone, but of the human character. His
appeal was irresistible; and would almost have carried conviction of its
justice, even to those who could not have understood his tongue. Still
it was requisite to steel myself against impulses; and I recommended, as
the best mode of enabling me to advocate his cause, that he should
repair to his post, and establish fresh claims to his sovereign’s
regard, by punishing an atrocious act which in all probability his
absence had occasioned. With the gift of a brace of pistols, and the
usual leave-taking hint of _itr-pan_, Man Singh quitted my tent.

=A Foray of the Bhīls.=—And now for the melancholy occurrence which
preceded that of the young Saktawat. On the borders of Little Sadri,
where the quotas are posted, is a mountainous tract covered with deep
forest, the abode of the half-savage Minas and Bhils. Mixed with them
are the estates of some vassal chiefs, whose duty it is to repress their
excesses; but, in such times as we have described, they more frequently
instigated them to plunder, receiving a share of the spoils. Amongst the
foremost in this association was the steward of Kalakot. At the foot of
a pass leading into the wilds of Chappan was the hamlet of Bilia,
occupied by a Rathor Rajput, who had snatched from the mountain-side a
few bighas of land, and dug some wells to irrigate the arable patches
about his cot. With severe toil he raised a subsistence for himself, his
wife, and an only son, who was to inherit his patrimony. Returning
homewards one day, after his usual labour, he was met by his wailing
helpmate; she said the savage Bhil had rifled his cot, and with the
cattle carried off their prop, their only child, and at the same time a
young Jogi, his playmate. The afflicted father spake not a word, but
loading his matchlock, took the road to Kalakot. What was his horror
when [613], at the entrance of the village, he stumbled over the
headless bodies of his boy and his young companion! He learned that the
savages belonged to the lordship of Kalakot; that having conveyed the
children from their home upon the cattle they had stolen, they were
entering the place, when the young Rathor, recognizing the steward,
called out, “Save me, uncle, and my father will ransom me at your own
price!” This was the object for which he had been abducted; but these
words proved that the steward was known to be the author of the outrage,
and they were the last the child spoke. With this intelligence, the
wretched father entered the ‘black-castle’ (Kalakot), in quest of the
steward. He denied all participation in the abduction or the murder; and
commiserating the Rathor’s misfortune, offered him four times the number
of cattle he had lost, twice the amount of all his other losses, and to
pay double the sum of _margia_, or money expended in the search. “Can
you give me back my son?” was the only reply; “I want justice and
vengeance, not money. I could have taken it in part,” continued he; “for
what is life now? but let it fall on all.”

=An Ordeal by Oath.=—No attempt at consolation could diminish the
father’s grief; but in promising him my aid to realize his vengeance, I
gave him hope to cling to; and on handing him over to Man Singh, saying
his own suit would be best promoted by the imprisonment of all concerned
in this outrage, he quitted me with some mitigation of his grief. But
before he left my camp, tidings arrived that the chief culprit was
beyond the reach of man; that the Great Avenger had summoned to his own
tribunal the iniquitous steward of Kalakot! Even in these regions of
rapine, where the blood of man and of goats is held in almost equal
estimation, there was something in the wild grief of the Rathor that
sunk into the hearts of the vassals of Kalakot: they upbraided the
steward, and urged him to confess the share he had in the deed. But he
swore “by his God” he had none, and offered to ratify the oath of
purgation in his temple. Nothing less would satisfy them, and they
proceeded to the ordeal. The temple was but a few hundred yards distant.
The steward mounted his horse, and had just reached the shrine, when he
dropped dead at the threshold! It caused a deep sensation; and to the
vengeance of an offended divinity was ascribed this signal expiation of
the triple crime of theft, murder, and sacrilege. There now only remain
the base accomplices of the wretch who thus trafficked with the liberty
of his fellow-men; and I should rejoice to see them suspended on the
summit of the Bilia pass, as a satisfaction to the now childless Rathor,
and a warning to others who yet follow such a course [614].

-----

Footnote 11.2.1:

[Part of the water-shed of Central India, dividing the drainage into
the Bay of Bengal from that of the Gulf of Cambay.]

Footnote 11.2.2:

See Vol. I. p. 512.

Footnote 11.2.3:

Lalji’s issue:

Sangram. ───── Sheo Singh. ───── Surthan Singh
│ │ │
His children massacred Jai Singh. Nahar Singh.
at Sheogarh. │
Man Singh.

Footnote 11.2.4:

In my days of inexperience, when travelling through countries unknown,
and desirous to take the first peasant I found as a guide, I have been
amused by his announcing to me, before a question was put, “I am a
Rajput,” as if in anticipation of the demand and a passport to
respect; literally, “I am of royal descent”: a reflection which lends
an air of dignity to all his actions, and distinguishes him from every
other class.

Footnote 11.2.5:

[‘Light of the Moon’: a rocket is _bān._]

Footnote 11.2.6:

‘The nymphs’ parterre’; for the _bari_ is more a flower-garden than
one of indiscriminate culture.

Footnote 11.2.7:

Chela is a phrase which includes servitude or domestic slavery: but
implies, at the same time, treatment as a child of the family. Here it
denotes that of a servant or disciple.

Footnote 11.2.8:

[The true form of the clan name is Bagrāwat (_Census Report,
Rājputāna, 1911_, i. 256) which can have no connexion with _bāgh_, ‘a
tiger.’ It is probably derived from the Bāgar waste in Hissār
District.]

Footnote 11.2.9:

That sculptured from the stone is meant.

Footnote 11.2.10:

[For temporary kings see Frazer, _Golden Bough_, 3rd ed. Part ix. 151,
403 f.]

Footnote 11.2.11:

[One of the island palaces, built by Rāna Jagat Singh (A.D. 1628-52).]

Footnote 11.2.12:

[The banyan, _ficus indica_.]

Footnote 11.2.13:

_Ranrka_ is a phrase embracing mental or physical infirmity [meaning
‘a blockhead,’ ‘a ninny,’ from _rānd_, _rānr_, ‘a widow,’ a term of
contempt]; here strengthened by the words which follow. _Suput_ means
‘worthy,’ or ‘good issue’ (_putra_), as _kuput_, the reverse, ‘bad or
incompetent issue.’

Footnote 11.2.14:

[Vishnu.]

Footnote 11.2.15:

[‘Lord of the World,’ a title of the Rāna of Mewār.]

Footnote 11.2.16:

One of the queens, a princess of Bikaner.

Footnote 11.2.17:

The two villages he obtained in lieu of Banwal.

Footnote 11.2.18:

[About 90 miles N.E. of Udaipur city.]

-----

CHAPTER 3

=Morwan=, _February 1_.—Yesterday, Man Singh took up the whole of my
time with the feuds of Lawa and their consequences. It obliged me to
halt, in order to make inquiries into the alienated lands in its
vicinity. Morwan is, or rather was, a township of some consequence, and
head of a _tappa_ or subdivision of a district. It is rated, with its
contiguous hamlets, at seven thousand rupees annual rent. The situation
is beautiful, upon heights pleasingly diversified, with a fine lake to
the westward, whose margin is studded with majestic tamarind trees. The
soil is rich, and there is water in great abundance within twenty-five
feet of the surface; but man is wanting! The desolation of solitude
reigns throughout, for (as Rousseau observes) there is none to whom one
can turn and say, _que la solitude est belle_!

I experienced another pang at seeing this fertile district revert to the
destroyer, the savage Pathan, who had caused the desolation, and in the
brief but expressive words of a Roman author, _solitudinem facit, pacem
appellat_.[11.3.1] Morwan is included in the lands mortgaged for a
war-contribution, but which with others has remained in the hands of the
Mahratta mortgagees or their mercenary subordinates. But it is
melancholy to reflect that, but for a false magnanimity towards our
insidious, natural enemies, the Mahrattas, all these lands would have
reverted to their legitimate masters, who are equally interested with
ourselves in putting down predatory warfare. Justice, good policy, and
humanity would have been better consulted had the Mahrattas been wholly
banished from Central India. When I contrasted this scene with the
traces of incipient prosperity I had left behind me, I felt a
satisfaction that the alienated acres produced nothing to the possessor,
save luxuriant grass, and the leafless _kesula_ or _palas_
[615].[11.3.2]

=Antiquities at Morwan.=—Morwan has some claims to antiquity; it derives
its appellation from the Mori tribe, who ruled here before they obtained
Chitor. The ruins of a fort, still known by the name of Chitrang Mori’s
castle, are pointed out as his residence ere he founded Chitor, or more
properly Chitror.[11.3.3] The tradition runs thus: Chitrang, a
subordinate of the imperial house of Dhar, held Morwan and the adjacent
tract, in appanage. One of his subjects, while ploughing, struck the
share against some hard substance, and on examination found it was
transmuted to gold. This was the _paras-patthar_,[11.3.4] or
‘philosopher’s stone,’ and he carried it forthwith to his lord, with
whose aid he erected the castle, and enlarged the town of Morwan, and
ultimately founded Chitor. The Dhulkot, or site of Mori-ka-patan, is yet
pointed out, to the westward of the present Morwan. It was miraculously
destroyed through the impieties of its inhabitants by fire, which fate
recalls a more celebrated catastrophe; but the act of impiety in the
present case was merely seizing a Rishi, or ‘hermit,’ while performing
penance in the forest, and compelling him to carry radishes to market!
The tradition, however, is of some value: it proves, first, that there
were radishes in those days; and secondly, that volcanic eruptions
occurred in this region. Ujjain-Ahar, in the valley of Udaipur, and the
lake of which is said in some places to be _atak_, ‘deeper than plummet
sounded,’ is another proof of some grand commotion of nature. Morwan
boasts of three mandirs, or temples, one of which is dedicated to
Seshnag, the thousand-headed hydra which supports the globe. Formerly,
saffron was the meet offering to this king of reptiles; but he is now
obliged to be content with ointment of sandal, produced from the
evergreen, which is indigenous to Mewar.

Having heard of an inscription at the township of Aner, five miles
distant, to the south-west, I requested my old Guru to take a ride and
copy it. It was of modern date, merely confirming the lands of Aner to
the Brahmans. The tablet is in the temple of Chaturbhuja (the four-armed
divinity), built and endowed by Rana Sangram Singh in S. 1570 (A.D.
1514); to whose pious testament a codicil is added by Rana Jagat Singh,
S. 1791, imprecating an anathema on the violator of it. There was also
engraved upon one of the columns a voluntary gift, from the
village-council of Aner to the divinity, of the first-fruits of each
harvest; namely, two and a half sers from each _khalla_, or heap, of the
spring-crops, and the same of the autumnal. The date, S. 1845 (A.D.
1789), shows that it was intended to propitiate the deity during the
wars of Mewar [616].

Directly opposite, and very near the shrine of the “four-armed,” is a
small Jain temple, erected, in S. 1774, to cover an image of the great
pontiff, Parsvanath, found in digging near this spot. Here at every step
are relics of past ages.

_February 2._—An accident has compelled another halt at Morwan. The
morning was clear and frosty, not a cloud in the sky, and we rose with
the sun; my kinsman, Captain Waugh, to try his Arab at a nilgae, and
myself to bag a few of the large rock-pigeons which are numerous about
Morwan. My friend, after a hard run, had drawn blood from the elk, and
was on the point of spearing him effectually just as he attained a thick
part of the jungle, which not heeding, horse and rider came in contact
with a tree, and were dashed with violence to the ground. There he lay
insensible, and was brought home upon a _charpai_, or cot, by the
villagers, much bruised, but fortunately with no broken bones. A leech
was not to be had in any of the adjacent villages; and the patient
complaining chiefly of the hip-bone, we could only apply emollients and
recommend repose. I returned with no game except one or two
black-partridges and batten-quail. The rock-pigeon, or _barr-titar_,
though unaccustomed to the fowler, were too wild for me to get a shot at
them. The bird bears no analogy to the pigeon, but has all the rich game
plumage of the _titar_, or partridge, in which name the ornithologist of
the west will see the origin of _tetrao_. There are two species of this
bird in India, one much smaller than the common partridge; that of which
I speak is much larger, and with the peculiarity of being feathered to
the toe. I have since discovered it to be the counterpart of a bird in
the museum at Chambéry, called '_barteveldt des Alpes_'; the ptarmigan
of the highlands of Scotland. The male has exactly these redundant white
feathers; while that I saw in Savoy was a richly plumaged female
_barr-titar_.

=Tale of a Tiger.=—Our annual supply of good things having reached us
this morning, we were enjoying a bottle of some delicious Burgundy and
“La Rose” after dinner, when we were roused by violent screams in the
direction of the village. We were all up in an instant, and several men
directed to the spot. Our speculations on the cause were soon set at
rest by the appearance of two harkaras (messengers), and a lad with a
vessel of milk on his head. For this daily supply they had gone several
miles, and had nearly reached the camp, when having outwalked the boy,
they were alarmed by his vociferations, “Oh, uncle, let go—let go—I am
your child, uncle, let me go!” They thought the boy mad, and it being
very dark, cursed his uncle, and desired him to make haste; but the same
wild exclamations continuing, they ran back, and found a huge [617]
tiger hanging to his tattered cold-weather doublet. The harkaras
attacked the beast most manfully with their javelin-headed sticks, and
adding their screams to his, soon brought the whole village, men, women,
and children, armed with all sorts of missiles, to the rescue; and it
was their discordant yells that made us exchange our good fare for the
jungles of Morwan.

The ‘lord of the black rock,’ for such is the designation of the tiger,
was one of the most ancient bourgeois of Morwan; his freehold is
Kala-pahar, between this and Magarwar, and his reign for a long series
of years has been unmolested, notwithstanding his numerous acts of
aggression on his bovine subjects; indeed, only two nights before, he
was disturbed gorging on a buffalo belonging to a poor oilman of Morwan.
Whether this tiger was an incarnation of one of the Mori lords of
Morwan, tradition does not say; but neither gun, bow, nor spear had ever
been raised against him. In return for this forbearance, it is said he
never preyed upon man, or if he seized one, would, upon being entreated
with the endearing epithet of _mamu_ or uncle, let go his hold; and this
accounted for the little ragged urchin using a phrase which almost
prevented the harkaras returning to his rescue.

=Disastrous Effects of Frost=, _February 3_.—Another halt for our
patient, who is doing well, and greatly relieved by the application of
leeches obtained from Nimbahera.[11.3.5] What a night! the clouds which
had been alternately collecting and dispersing ever since we left
Marwar, in December last, but had almost disappeared, as we commenced
our present march, again suddenly gathered. The thermometer, which had
averaged 41° at daybreak throughout the last month, this morning rose to
60°. On the 1st the wind changed to the south, with showers, where it
continued throughout yesterday; but during the night it suddenly veered
to the north, and the thermometer at daybreak was 28°, or four degrees
below the freezing point. Reader, do you envy me my _bon vin de
Bourgogne et murailles de coton_, with not even a wood fire, labouring
under a severe pulmonary affection, with work enough for five men? Only
three days ago the thermometer was 86° at noon, and to-day it is less at
noon than yesterday at daybreak: even old England, with all her
vicissitudes of weather, can scarcely show so rapid a change as this.

Ill-fated Mewar! all our hopes are blasted; this second visitation has
frustrated all our labours. The frost of December, which sunk the
mercury to 27° as we passed over the plains of Marwar, was felt
throughout Rajwara, and blighted every pod of cotton. All was “burnt
up”; but our poor exiles comforted [618] themselves, amidst the general
sorrow, with the recollection that the young gram was safe. But even
this last hope has now vanished: all is nipped in the bud. Had it
occurred a month ago, the young plant would have been headed down with
the sickle, and additional blossoms would have appeared. I was too
unwell to ride out and see the ravages caused by this frost.

_February 4._—Our patient is doing so well, that we look to moving
to-morrow. Thermometer 28° at daybreak, and 31° at sunrise, with a keen
cutting wind from the north. Ice closed the orifice of the _mashak_, or
leathern water-bag. Even the shallow stream near the tents had a
pellicle of ice on its surface: our people huddling and shivering round
their fires of bajra sticks, and the cattle of all classes looking very
melancholy.

=Temple of Māmā Devi.=—My Yati friend returned from Palod, where I had
sent him to copy an inscription in a temple dedicated to Mama-devi, the
mother of the gods; but he was disappointed, and brought back only the
following traditional legend. The shrine, erected by a wealthy Jain
disciple, was destined to receive the image of one of their pontiffs;
but on its completion, Mama-devi appeared _in propriâ personâ_ to the
founder, and expressed so strongly her desire to inhabit it, that,
heretic as he was, he could not deny the goddess’ suit. He stoutly
refused, however, to violate the rules of his order: “By my hands the
blood neither of goats or buffaloes can be shed,” said the Jain. But,
grateful for the permission that a niche should be set apart for her
_sarup_ (form), she told him to go to the Sonigira chief of Chitor, who
would attend to the rites of sacrifice. The good Jain, with easy faith,
did as he was commanded, and erecting another temple, succeeded at
length in enshrining Parsvanath. My old friend, however, discovered in a
temple to Mataji, ‘the universal mother,’[11.3.6] an inscription of
great importance, as it fixes the period of one of the most conspicuous
kings of the Solanki dynasty of Nahrvala, or correctly, Anhilwara Patan;
and, in conjunction with another of the same prince (which I afterwards
discovered in Chitor), also bearing the very same date,[11.3.6]
demonstrates that the Solanki had actually made a conquest of the
capital of the Guhilots. The purport is simply that “Kumarpal Solanki
and his son Sohanpal, in the month of Pus (the precise day illegible),
S. 1207 (winter of A.D. 1151), came to worship the Universal Mother in
her shrine at Palod.”[11.3.7] The Sesodias try to get rid of this
difficulty by saying, that during the banishment [619] of Kumarpal by
Siddharaja, he not only enjoyed _saran_ (refuge) at Chitor,[11.3.8] but
held the post of prime minister to Rawal Samarsi, the friend and
brother-in-law of the Chauhan emperor of Delhi; but the inscription
(given in the first volume), which I found in the temple built by Lakha
Rana, is written in the style of a conqueror, “who planted his standard
even in Salpur,” the city of the Getae in the Panjab. At all events, it
is one more datum in the history of Rajputana.

_February 5_, thermometer 30°.—Mounted Bajraj, ‘the royal steed,’ and
took a ride over the heights of Morwan, a wild yet fairy scene, with the
Patar or table-land bounding the perspective to the east. The downs are
covered with the most luxuriant grasses, and the _dhak_ or _palas_ dried
by the wintry blast, as if scorched by the lightning, faintly brought to
mind the poet’s simile, applied to this tree, even in the midst of
spring: “The black leafless _kesula_.” We entered a village in ruins,
whose nim trees bid defiance to winter; the ‘thorny babul’ (_mimosa
Arabica_) grows luxuriantly out of the inner sides of the walls, and no
hand invades the airy nest of the imitative _papiha_, fantastically
pendent from the slenderest branches.[11.3.9] No trace of the presence
of man; but evidence that he has been here. The ground was covered with
hoar-frost, and the little stream coated with ice. Many a heavy heart
has it caused, and plunged joyous industry into utter despondence. Take
one example: yonder Jat, sitting by the side of his field, which he eyes
in despair; three months since, he returned, after many years of exile,
to the _bapota_, the land of his sires, without funds, without food, or
even the implements for obtaining it. He had been labouring as a serf in
other lands, but he heard of peace in his own, and came back to the
paternal acres, which had been a stranger to the ploughshare since he
was driven from his cot in S. 1844, immediately following the battle of
Harkiakhal, when the “Southron” completed the bondage of Mewar. What
could he do? his well was dried up, and if not, he had no cattle to
irrigate a field of wheat or barley. But Mewar is a kind mother, and she
yields her chana crop without water. To the Bohra (the metayer) he
promised one-fifth of the produce for the necessary seed and the use of
a pair of oxen and a plough; one-fifth more was the share of the state
from land so long sterile; there were three-fifths left for himself of
his long-neglected but at once luxuriant fields. He watched the crop
with paternal solicitude, from the first appearance of verdure to the
approach of Basant, the joyous spring. Each night, as he returned to his
yet roofless abode, he related the wonders of his field and its rapid
vegetation; and as he calculated the produce, he anticipated its
application; “so much shall go [620] for a plough, so much for the
Bohra, so much in part payment of a pair of bullocks, and the rest will
keep me in bread till the _makkai_ crop is ready.” Thus the days passed,
until this killing frost nipped his hopes in the bud, and now see him
wringing his hands in the bitterest anguish! This is no ideal picture:
it is one to be found in every village of Mewar. In this favoured soil
there is as much of chana in the rabi harvest as of wheat and barley
conjoined, and in the first crop sown in _banjar_, or soil long sterile,
wheat and chana are sown together. It is a sad blow to the exiles;
though happily in the crown-lands their distress will be mitigated, as
these are rented on leases of five years, and the renters for their own
sakes must be lenient, and moreover they are well watched.

_February 6._—Still halting; our patient very well, though he feels his
bruises; but we shall put him on an elephant to-morrow. The jealousy of
the Mahratta had hitherto prevented the inhabitants from fulfilling
their desire to come and visit me; but to-day, the elders forming the
Panchayat, heading the procession, they came _en masse_. The authorities
need not have feared exposing the nakedness of the land, which is too
visible; but they apprehended the contrast of their condition with our
poor subjects, who were at least unmolested in their poverty. It was a
happiness to learn that this contrast was felt, and as the Patel
presented to me an engaging little child, his daughter, he said, “Let
not our misfortunes be our faults; we all belong to Mewar, though we are
not so happy as to enjoy your protection and care.” I assured him, that
although under the Turk, I should look upon them as my children, and the
subjects of the Rana; and I have had it in my power to redeem this
pledge—for, strange to say, even Amir Khan, seeing that the prosperity
of the subject is that of the prince, has commanded his governor of
Nimbahera to consult me in everything, and has even gone so far as to
beg I would consider the place as under my authority. Already, following
our example, he has reduced the transit duties nearly one-half, and
begins to think the Farangi notions of economy better than his own, his
loss having proved a gain.

=Nikumbh=, _February 7_: eleven miles.—Midway, passed through Chakurla,
a village belonging to Amir Khan. Nikumbh is a _taluk_ of Jawad, which
with Mandipia was held by the Pindari freebooter, Fazil, while Jaswant
Rao Bhao held them in _jaedad_. They are now leased to a Pandit by the
Hakim of Jawad, which latter is assigned by Sindhia to his
father-in-law, the Senapati. Nikumbh is a good village, but more than
two-thirds depopulated, and the renter is prevented from being lenient,
as he experiences [621] no mercy himself. Notwithstanding they have all
been suffering as we have from this frost, an assessment is now levying.
One poor fellow said to me, “I returned only three months ago from
exile, and I had raised the mud-walls of my hut two feet, when my wife
died, leaving me to take care of a boy eight years of age, and to get
bread for both. If the walls were two feet higher I would cover it in;
but though I have not a foot of land, my roofless half-finished cot is
assessed a rupee and a half”: a gift of two rupees made him happier than
his Hakim!

The country is beautiful, the soil rich, and water, as already
mentioned, about twenty-five feet from the surface. We are now in the
region of the flower sacred to “gloomy Dis,” the accursed poppy. The
crop looks miserable from the frost, but those patches within the
influence of the wells are partly saved by the fields being inundated,
which expedient is always successful upon such visitations, if applied
with judgment. The mountains touching great Sadri lay twelve miles south
coming from Partabgarh, and ranging to Salumbar and Udaipur, where they
commingle with the giant Aravalli.

=The Chāran Tribe. Marla=, _February 8_: seven miles.—Crossed two ridges
running northward to Badesar. The intervening valleys, as usual,
fertile, with numerous villages, but alienated to the southern Goths or
the partisan Pathan. Passed many large townships, formerly in the fisc
of Mewar, as Bari, Banota, Bambori, etc. In the distance, saw “the
umbrella of the earth,” the far-famed Chitor. Marla is an excellent
township, inhabited by a community of Charans, of the tribe Kachhela,
who are Banjaras (carriers) by profession, though poets by birth. The
alliance is a curious one, and would appear incongruous, were not gain
the object generally in both cases. It was the sanctity of their office
which converted our Bardais into Banjaras, for their persons being
sacred, the immunity extended likewise to their goods, and saved them
from all imposts; so that in process of time they became the
free-traders of Rajputana. I was highly gratified with the reception I
received from the community, which collectively advanced to me at some
distance from the town. The procession was headed by the village-band,
and all the fair Charanis, who, as they approached, gracefully waved
their scarfs over me, until I was fairly made captive by the muses of
Marla! It was a novel and interesting scene: the manly persons of the
Charans, clad in the flowing white robe, with the high loose folded
turban inclined on one side, from which the _mala_, or chaplet, was
gracefully suspended; the Naiks, or leaders, with their massive
necklaces of gold, with the image of the _pitrideva_ (manes) depending
therefrom, gave the whole an air of opulence and dignity. The females
were uniformly [622] attired in a skirt of dark brown camlet, having a
bodice of light-coloured stuff, with gold ornaments worked into their
fine black hair; and all had the favourite _churis_, or rings of
_hathi-dant_ (elephant’s tooth), covering the arm, from the wrist to the
elbow, and even above it. Never was there a nobler subject for the
painter in any age or country; it was one which Salvator Rosa would have
seized, full of picturesque contrasts: the rich dark tints of the female
attire harmonizing with the white garments of their husbands; but it was
the mien, the expression, the gestures, denoting that though they paid
homage they expected a full measure in return. And they had it; for if
ever there was a group which bespoke respect for the natural dignity of
man and his consort, it was the Charan community of Marla.

It was not until the afternoon, when the Naiks again came to see me at
my camp, that I learned the full value of my escape from the silken
bonds of the fair Charanis. This community had enjoyed for five hundred
years the privilege of making prisoner any Rana of Mewar who may pass
through Marla, and keeping him in bondage until he gives them a _got_,
or entertainment; and their chains are neither galling, nor the period
of captivity, being thus in the hands of the captivated, very long. The
patriarch told me that I was in jeopardy, as the Rana’s representative;
but not knowing how I might have relished the joke, had it been carried
to its conclusion, they let me escape, though they lost a feast by it.
But I told them I was too much delighted with old customs not to keep up
this; and immediately sent money to the ladies with my respects, and a
request that they would hold their _got_ (feast). The patriarch and his
subordinate Naiks and their sons remained with me to discourse on the
olden time.

The founders of this little colony accompanied Rana Hamir from Gujarat
in the early part of his reign, and although five centuries have
elapsed, they have not parted with one iota of their nationality or
their privileges since that period: neither in person, manners, or
dress, have they anything analogous to those amidst whom they dwell.
Indeed, their air is altogether foreign to India, and although they have
attained a place, and that a high one, amongst the tribes of Hind, their
affinity to the ancient Persian is striking; the loose robe, high
turban, and flowing beard being more akin to the figures on the temples
of the Guebres than to anything appertaining to the Charbaran, or four
classes of the Hindus. But I must give the tale accounting for their
settlement in Mewar. Rana Hamir, so celebrated in the history of Mewar,
had a leprous spot on his hand, to remove which he made a pilgrimage to
the shrine of Hinglaj, upon the [623] coast of Mekran, the division
Oreitai of Arrian’s geography.[11.3.10] He had reached the frontiers of
Cutch Bhuj, when alighting near a _tanda_, or encampment of Charans, a
young damsel abandoned the meal she was preparing, and stepped forward
to hold the stranger’s steed. Thanking her for her courtesy, he jocosely
observed that he wished his people had as good a breakfast as she was
preparing, when she immediately made an offering of the contents of the
vessel; on which Hamir observed, it would go but a short way to satisfy
so many hungry mouths. “Not if it pleased Hinglajji,” she promptly
replied; and placing the food before the Rana and his train, it sufficed
for all their wants. A little well, which she excavated in the sand, was
soon filled with a copious supply of water, which served to quench their
thirst. It was an evident interposition of the goddess of Hinglaj in
favour of this her royal votary. He returned from her shrine cured, and
the young Charani’s family were induced to accompany him to Mewar, where
he bestowed upon them the lands of Marla, with especial immunities in
their mercantile capacity: and as a perpetual remembrance of the
miraculous feast, permission was granted to the Charani damsels to make
captive of their sovereign as related above.

The colony, which now consists of some thousands of both sexes,
presented an enigma to our young Englishmen, who think “all black
fellows alike,” and equally beneath notice: it was remarked how
comfortable they looked in house and person, though there was not a
vestige of cultivation around their habitations. The military policy of
the troubled period accounts for the first; and a visit to the altars of
Marla will furnish the cause of the neglect of the agrarian laws of
Mewar. As the community increased in numbers, the subdivision of the
lands continued, according to the customs of Cutch, until a dispute
regarding limits produced a civil war. A ferocious combat ensued, when
the wives of the combatants who were slain ascended the funeral pile;
and to prevent a similar catastrophe, imprecated a curse on whomever
from that day should cultivate a field in Marla; since which the land
has lain in absolute sterility! Such is the implicit reverence for the
injunction of a Sati, at this moment of awful inspiration, when about to
take leave of the world. In Mewar, the most solemn of all oaths is that
of the Sati. _Maha sati an-ki-an_, ‘by the great Satis,’ is an
adjuration frequently used in the royal patents.

The _tanda_ or caravan, consisting of four thousand bullocks, has been
kept up amidst all the evils which have beset this land, through Mogul
and Mahratta tyranny. The utility of these caravans, as general carriers
to conflicting armies, and as regular tax-paying subjects, has proved
their safeguard, and they were too strong [624] to be pillaged by any
petty marauder, as any one who has seen a Banjara encampment will be
convinced. They encamp in a square; their grain-bags piled over each
other breast-high, with interstices left for their matchlocks, make no
contemptible fortification. Even the ruthless Turk, Jamshid Khan, set up
a protecting tablet in favour of the Charans of Marla, recording their
exemption from _dand_ contributions, and that there should be no
increase in duties, with threats to all who should injure the community.
As usual, the sun and moon are appealed to as witnesses of good faith,
and sculptured on the stone. Even the forester Bhil and mountain Mer
have set up their signs of immunity and protection to the chosen of
Hinglaj; and the figures of a cow and its _kheri_ (calf), carved in rude
relief, speak the agreement that they should not be slain or stolen
within the limits of Marla.

=Nīmbahera=: seven miles.—The soil, as usual, excellent; but from
Ranikhera to Nimbahera the blue schist at intervals penetrates the
surface, and there is but little superincumbent soil even to the bed of
the stream, which makes an entire disclosure of the rock, over which
flows a clear rivulet abounding with small fish, amongst which the
speckled trout were visible. Ranikhera, through which we passed, is the
largest township of this district, and was built by the Rani of Arsi
Rana, mother of the present ruler of Mewar, at whose expense the temple,
the _baori_ or ‘reservoir,’ and the paved street, were constructed.
Although in the alienated territory, I had a visit from its elders to
complain of an indignity to the community by the Bhangi, or scavenger,
of Lesrawan, who had killed a hog and thrown it into the reservoir,
whose polluted waters being thus rendered unfit for use, the inhabitants
were compelled to get a purer element from the adjacent villages. This
_baori_ is about half-a-mile from the town, and being upon the highway,
the council and train very wisely stopped at the spot where the
aggression had happened: and although the cavalcade of the Hakim of
Nimbahera was in sight, advancing to welcome me, it was impossible to
proceed until I heard the whole grievance, when adjured by “subjects of
Mewar, and children of the Rana, though unhappily under the Turk,” to
see their wrongs redressed. I might not have recorded this incident, but
for its consequence; as the hog thrown into the reservoir of Baijiraj,
‘the royal mother,’ of Mewar, affords an instance of the extent to which
mortgage is carried.

The Bhangis, or scavengers, of Ranikhera, the very refuse of mankind,
had mortgaged their rights in the dead carcases of their town to a
professional brother of Lesrawan; but, on the return of these halcyon
days, they swerved from their bond [625]. The chieftain of Lesrawan
espoused his vassal’s cause, and probably pointed out the mode of
revenge. One morning, therefore, not having the fear of Jamshid of
Nimbahera before his eyes, the said mortgagee slew his pig; and, albeit
but the wreck of a human being, contrived to cast his victim into the
pure fountain of ‘Queenstown,’ and immediately fled for _saran_ to
Bhindar. But what could be done to a wretch, who for former misdeeds had
already suffered the dismemberment of an arm, a leg, and his nose? Here
is the sentence! “To be paraded, mounted on an ass, his face blackened,
with a chaplet of shoes round his neck, and drummed out of the limits of
Ranikhera!” The fountain is now undergoing purification; and when the
polluted waters are baled out, it is to be lustrated with the holy
stream of the Ganges, and the ceremony will conclude with a _got_, or
feast, to one hundred Brahmans. Previous to this, I took a peep at the
humble altars of Ranikhera. All is modern; but there is one tablet which
pleasingly demonstrates that both public feeling and public gratitude
exist in these regions. This tablet, set up by the council of the town,
recorded that Kistna, the Silpi or stone-cutter, did at his own expense
and labour repair all the altars then going to decay; for which pious
act they guaranteed to him and his successors for ever six _thalis_ or
platters of various viands, saffron, oil, butter, and several pieces of
money, at every village fête. Doubtless such traits are not confined to
Ranikhera. I accepted with kindness the offerings of the elders and
assembled groups—a pot of curds and sundry blessings—and continued my
journey to meet the impatient cavaliers of Nimbahera, who, to fill up
the interlude, were _karowling_,[11.3.11] with matchlock and spear,
their well-caparisoned chargers. The Khan was in the centre of the
group, and we had a friendly, unceremonious _dastabazi_, or shaking of
hands, without dismounting. He is a gentlemanly Pathan, of middle age,
courteous and affable, and a very different personage from the
two-handed Jamshid his predecessor, who lately died from a cancer in his
back: a judgment, if we are to credit our Mewar friends, for his
horrible cruelties and oppressions over all these regions, as lieutenant
of Amir Khan during many years. The Khan welcomed me to Nimbahera with
true Oriental _politesse_, saying, “that the place was mine”; and that
he had received the “positive instructions of the Nawab Sahib (Amir
Khan, whose son-in-law he is) to look upon me as himself.” I replied,
that, in accepting such a trust, I could not say more than that I would,
whenever occasion presented itself, act for him as if Nimbahera were
really my own. The Khan had reason to find that his confidence was not
misplaced; and while enabled to benefit him, I had also the opportunity
of protecting the interests [626] of the feudatories, who by this
alienation (as is fully related in the Annals of Mewar) were placed
beyond the pale of the Rana’s power. The Khan, after accompanying me to
my tents, took leave; but paid me a long visit in the evening, when we
discussed all that concerned the welfare of his charge and the peace of
the borders. As matters stand, it is a duty to conciliate and to promote
prosperity; but it is melancholy to see this fertile appanage of Mewar
in the hand of so consummate a villain as Amir Khan; a traitor to his
master Holkar, for which he obtained the “sovereignty in perpetuity” of
many rich tracts both in Mewar and Amber, without rendering the smallest
service in return. Let this be borne in mind when another day of
reckoning comes. Nimbahera is a considerable town, with an excellent
stone circumvallation; and, being on the high road between Malwa and
Hindustan, it enjoys a good share of traffic. Upwards of one hundred
villages are attached to it, and it was estimated at three lakhs of
rupees, of annual rent.

-----

Footnote 11.3.1:

[Tacitus, _Agricola_, xxx.]

Footnote 11.3.2:

[_Butea frondosa._]

Footnote 11.3.3:

[Chitor was called Chitrakot after Chitrang Mori or Maurya, whose tomb
and ruined palace are shown on the southern part of the hill (Erskine
ii. A. 102).]

Footnote 11.3.4:

In the Hindi _patthar_, Sanskrit _prastara_, ‘stone, rock,’ we have
nearly the πέτρος of the Greeks.

Footnote 11.3.5:

[In Tonk State, about 60 miles E. of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.3.6:

See inscription, Vol. II. p. 925.]

Footnote 11.3.7:

The style of this inscription is perfectly in unison with the
inscriptions on the temples and statues of Egypt.

Footnote 11.3.8:

[Kumārapāla, when exiled, went to Kālambapattana, probably Kolam or
Quilon in Travancore, and thence to Chitrakūta or Chitor (_BG_, i.
Part i. 183). From thence he went to Ujjain, and it is impossible that
he could have served Rāwal Samar Singh, who reigned about A.D.
1274-85, while the date of Kumārapāla’s reign is A.D. 1143-74.]

Footnote 11.3.9:

[Possibly the “_papya_” of the original text represents _papīha_, a
variety of cuckoo, _cuculus melanolencos_. The _baya_ or weaver-bird
is apparently meant.]

Footnote 11.3.10:

[The name of the Oreitai is supposed to be represented in that of the
Aghor River: they are the Neoritai of Diodorus (McCrindle,
_Alexander_, 168, note 1; Smith, _EHI_, 106 f.).]

Footnote 11.3.11:

[_Qarāvali_, ‘skirmishing, a running fight.’]

-----

CHAPTER 4

=The Patār Plateau. Kanera=, _February 13_: nine miles.—A new feature in
the face of Mewar was this day disclosed to us. At the termination of
our short march, we ascended the Patar, or plateau of Central India, the
grand natural rampart defending Mewar on the east. As we approached it,
the level line of its crest, so distinct from the pinnacled Aravalli, at
once proclaimed it to be a tableland, or rock of the secondary
formation. Although its elevation is not above four hundred feet from
its western base, the transition is remarkable, and it presents from the
summit one of the most diversified scenes, whether in a moral,
political, or picturesque point of view, that I [627] ever beheld. From
this spot the mind’s eye embraces at once all the grand theatres of the
history of Mewar. Upon our right lies Chitor, the palladium of Hinduism;
on the west, the gigantic Aravalli, enclosing the new capital, and the
shelter of her heroes; here, at our feet, or within view, all the
alienated lands now under the ‘barbarian Turk’ or Mahratta, as Jawad,
Jiran, Nimach, Nimbahera, Kheri, Ratangarh. What associations, what
aspirations, does this scene conjure up to one who feels as a Rajput for
this fair land! The rich flat we have passed over—a space of nearly
seventy English miles from one table-range to the other—appears as a
deep basin, fertilized by numerous streams, fed by huge reservoirs in
the mountains, and studded with towns, which once were populous, but are
for the most part now in ruins, though the germ of incipient prosperity
is just appearing. From this height I condensed all my speculative ideas
on a very favourite subject—the formation of a canal to unite the
ancient and modern capitals of Mewar, by which her soil might be made to
return a tenfold harvest, and famine be shut out for ever from her
gates. My eye embraced the whole line of the Berach, from its outlet at
the Udaisagar, to its passage within a mile of Chitor, and the benefit
likely to accrue from such a work appeared incalculable.[11.4.1] What
new ideas would be opened to the Rajput, on seeing the trains of oxen,
which now creep slowly along with merchandise for the capital, exchanged
for boats gliding along the canal; and his fields, for many miles on
each side, irrigated by lateral cuts, instead of the cranking Egyptian
wheel, as it is called, but which is indigenous to India![11.4.2] If the
reader will turn to the map, he will perceive the great facilities for
such an undertaking. He will there see two grand reservoirs within six
miles of each other, the Pichola, or internal lake, having an elevation
of eighty feet above the external one, the Udaisagar, whose outlet forms
the Berach River; but for which the valley of the capital would be one
wide lake and which, for want of proper regulation, once actually
submerged a third of it. The Pichola may be called the parent of the
other, although it is partly fed by the minor lake at the villa of
Suheli-ki-bari. Both are from twelve to fourteen miles in circumference,
in some places thirty-five feet deep, and being fed by the perennial
streams from the Aravalli, they contain a constant supply of water. From
the external lake to Chitor, the fall is so slight that few locks would
be required; and the soil being a yielding one throughout, the expense
of the undertaking would be moderate. There is plenty of material in the
neighbouring hills and forests, and by furnishing occupation for the
wild population, the work would tend not a little to reclaim them. But
[628] where are the means? With this difficulty, and the severe blow to
our incipient prosperity in this untimely frost, our schemes dissipate
like the mist of the morning. But I cannot relinquish the conviction
that the undertaking, if executed, would not only enable the Rana to pay
his tribute, but to be more merciful to his subjects, for whose welfare
it is our chief duty to labour.[11.4.3]

The summit of the Patar has a fertile soil, well-watered and
well-wooded, and producing the mango, mahua, and nim; and were the
appearance of the crops a criterion, we should say it was equal in
fertility to the best part of Mewar. In ancient inscriptions, the term
Uparmal is applied, as well as Patar, to this marked feature in the
geological structure of Central India: the first being rendered exactly
by the German _oberland_; the other signifying ‘flat,’ or table-land.

In the indented recesses of this elevated land, which covers an immense
portion of Central India, there are numerous spots of romantic beauty,
which enthusiasm has not failed to identify with religious associations.
Wherever there is a deep glen, a natural fountain, or a cascade, the
traveller will infallibly discover some traces of the ‘Great God’
(Mahadeva) of the Hindus, the creator and destroyer of life.

=Shrine of Sukhdeo. Human Scapegoats.=—By the stupidity of my guide, and
the absence of the indefatigable Balgovind, my Brahman antiquarian
pioneer, I lost the opportunity of seeing the shrine of Sukhdeo,
situated in a dark cleft of the rock, not two miles from the pass where
I ascended. In excuse, he said he thought, as my camp was near, that it
would be easy to descend to the shrine of the “ease-giving” god, Sukhdeo
(from _sukh_, ‘ease’);[11.4.4] but _revocare gradum_ was an evil which,
added to the necessity of extracting all the information I could from
some of the opium-growers in attendance, deterred me. The abode of
Sukhdeo is in a deep recess, well-wooded, with a cascade bursting from
the rock near its summit, under a ledge of which the symbolic
representative is enshrined. Around it are several _guphas_ or caves of
the anchorite devotees; but the most conspicuous object is a projecting
ledge, named Daitya-ka-har, or ‘Giant’s-bone,’ on which those who are in
search of “ease” jump from above. This is called the Vira-jhamp, or
‘warrior’s-leap,’ and is made in fulfilment of vows either for temporal
or future good.[11.4.5] Although most of the leapers perish, some
instances of escape are recorded. The love of offspring is said to be
the principal motive to this pious act of [629] saltation; and I was
very gravely told of one poor woman, whose philoprogenitive bump was so
great, that she vowed to take the leap herself with her issue; and such,
says the legend, was her faith, that both escaped. A Teli, or oilman,
was the last jumper of Sukhdeo, and he was no less fortunate; to him the
‘giant’s-bone’ was a bed of roses. So much for the faith of the oilman
of Jawad! There are many such Leucotheas in this region of
romance:[11.4.6] that at Omkar, on the Nerbudda, and the sacred mount
Girnar, are the most celebrated.

Until the last sixty years, the whole of the plateau, as far as the
Chambal, belonged to Mewar; but all, with the exception of Kanera, are
now in the hands of Sindhia. Kanera is the chief township of a small
district of twenty-two villages, which, by the change of events, has
fortunately reverted to the Rana, although it was not extricated from
the grasp of the Mahrattas without some difficulty; it was taken first,
and the right of repossession argued afterwards. Would we had tried the
same process with all the rest of the plateau; but unhappily they were
rented to old Lalaji Balal, a lover of order, and an ally of old Zalim
Singh! But let me repeat, for the tenth time, that all these lands are
only held by Sindhia on mortgage for war-contributions, paid over and
over again; and when an opportunity occurs, let this be a record, and
the Patar west of the Chambal be restored to Mewar.

I was delighted to see that the crops of Kanera had only partially
suffered from the ravages of the frost of the 3rd, 4th, to 25th, which
extended over Malwa, and that although the gram was destroyed, the
wheat, barley, sugar-cane, and poppy, were abundant and little injured;
though we could have wished that the last-named pernicious plant, which
is annually increasing all over these regions, had been sacrificed in
lieu of the noble crops of vetches (gram).

That the culture of the poppy, to the detriment of more useful
husbandry, is increasing to an extent which demands the strong hand of
legislative restraint, must strike the most superficial observer in
these regions. When the sumptuary laws of this patriarchal government
were in force, a restraint was at the same time imposed on an
improvident system of farming which, of course, affected the prince,
whose chief revenues were derived from the soil; and one of the agrarian
laws of Mewar was, that there should be to each _charas_, or skin of
land, only one bigha of opium, and the same quantity of cane, with the
usual complement of corn. But the feverish excitement produced by our
monopoly of the drug has extended its culture in every direction, and
even in tracts where hitherto it has never entered into their
agricultural economy. Whatever [630], therefore, be the wisdom or policy
of our interference in this matter, of the result there can be no doubt,
namely, that it converted the agricultural _routinières_ into
speculators and gamblers.

=The History of Opium.=—A slight sketch of the introduction and mode of
culture of this drug, which has tended more to the physical and moral
degradation of the inhabitants than the combined influence of pestilence
and war, may not be without interest.[11.4.7]

We are indebted to the commentaries of the imperial autobiographers,
Babur, Akbar, and Jahangir, for the most valuable information on the
introduction of exotics into the horticultural economy of India; and we
are proud to pay our tribute of applause to the illustrious house of
Timur, whose princes, though despots by birth and education, and albeit
the bane of Rajputana, we must allow, present a more remarkable
succession of great characters, historians, statesmen, and warriors,
than any contemporaneous dynasty, in any region of the world.[11.4.8]

Akbar followed up the plans of Babur, and introduced the gardeners of
Persia and Tartary, who succeeded with many of their fruits, as peaches,
almonds (both indigenous to Rajputana), pistachios, etc. To Jahangir’s
Commentaries we owe the knowledge that tobacco was introduced into India
in his reign; but of the period when the poppy became an object of
culture, for the manufacture of opium, we have not the least
information. Whatever may be the antiquity of this drug, for medicinal
uses, it may be asserted that its abuse is comparatively recent, or not
more than three [631] centuries back.[11.4.9] In none of the ancient
heroic poems of Hindustan is it ever alluded to. The guest is often
mentioned in them as welcomed by the _munawwar piyala_, or ‘cup of
greeting,’[11.4.10] but nowhere by the _amal-pani_, or ‘infused opiate,’
which has usurped the place of the _phul-ra-arak_, or ‘essence of
flowers.’ Before, however, the art of extracting the properties of the
poppy, as at present, was practised, they used the opiate in its crudest
form, by simply bruising the capsules, which they steeped a certain time
in water, afterwards drinking the infusion, to which they give the name
of _tijara_, and not unfrequently _post_, ‘the poppy.’ This practice
still prevails in the remote parts of Rajputana, where either ignorance
of the more refined process, prejudice, or indolence, operates to
maintain old habits.

The culture of opium was at first confined to the _duab_, or tract
between the Chambal and Sipra, from their sources to their junction; but
although tradition has preserved the fact of this being the original
poppy-nursery of Central India, it has long ceased to be the only place
of the poppy’s growth, it having spread not only throughout Malwa, but
into various parts of Rajputana, especially Mewar and Haraoti.[11.4.11]
But though all classes, Kunbis and Jats, Banias and Brahmans, try the
culture, all yield the palm of superior skill to the Kunbi, the original
cultivator, who will extract one-fifth more from the plant than any of
his competitors.

It is a singular fact, that the cultivation of opium increased in the
inverse ratio of general prosperity; and that as war, pestilence, and
famine, augmented their virulence, and depopulated Rajputana, so did the
culture of this baneful weed appear to thrive. The predatory system,
which succeeded Mogul despotism, soon devastated this fair region, and
gradually restricted agricultural pursuits to the richer harvests of
barley, wheat, and gram; till at length even these were confined to a
bare sustenance for the families of the cultivator, who then found a
substitute in the poppy. From the small extent of its culture, he was
able to watch it, or to pay for its protection from pillage; this he
could not do for his corn, which a troop of horse might save him the
trouble of cutting. A kind of moral barometer might, indeed, be
constructed, to show that the maximum of oppression in Mewar was the
maximum of the culture of the poppy in Malwa. Emigration commenced in S.
1840 (A.D. 1784); it was at its height in S. 1856 (A.D. 1800), and went
on gradually depopulating that country until S. 1874 (A.D. 1818). Its
consumption, of course, kept pace with its production, it having found a
vent in foreign markets.

The districts to which the emigrants fled were those of Mandasor,
Khachrod, Unel [632], and others, situated on the feeders of the
Chambal, in its course through Lower Malwa.[11.4.12] There they enjoyed
comparative protection and kind treatment, under Apa Sahib and his
father, who were long the farmers-general of these fertile lands. It
could not be expected, however, that the new settlers should be allowed
to participate in the lands irrigated by wells already excavated; but
Apa advanced funds, and appointed them lands, all fertile though
neglected, in which they excavated wells for themselves. They abandoned
altogether wheat and barley, growing only _makkai_ or ‘Indian corn,’ for
food, which requires no irrigation, and to which the poppy succeeds in
rotation; to these, and the sugar-cane, all their industry was directed.

But to proceed with the process of cultivation. When the crops of Indian
corn (_makkai_) or of hemp (_san_) are gathered in, the stalks are
rooted up and burned; the field is then flooded, and, when sufficiently
saturated, ploughed up. It is then copiously manured with cow-dung,
which is deemed the best for the purpose; but even this has undergone a
preparatory operation, or chemical decomposition, being kept in a hollow
ground during the rainy season, and often agitated with long poles, to
allow the heat to evaporate. In this state it is spread over the fields
and ploughed in. Those who do not keep kine, and cannot afford to
purchase manure, procure flocks of goats and sheep, and pay so much a
night for having them penned in the fields. The land being ploughed and
harrowed at least six or seven times, until the soil is almost
pulverized, it is divided into beds, and slight embankments are formed
to facilitate irrigation. The seed is then thrown in, the fields are
again inundated; and the seventh day following this is repeated to
saturation. On the seventh or ninth, but occasionally not until the
eleventh day, the plant springs up; and on the twenty-fifth, when it has
put forth a few leaves, and begins to look withered, they water it once
more. As soon as this moisture dries, women and children are turned into
the fields to thin the plants, leaving them about eight inches asunder,
and loosening the earth around them with iron spuds. The plant is at
this stage about three inches high. A month later it is watered
moderately, and when dry, the earth is again turned up and loosened. The
fifth water is given in about ten days more; two days after which a
flower appears here and there. This is the signal for another watering,
called ‘the flower-watering’; after which, in twenty-four or thirty-six
hours, all the flowers burst their cells. When about half the petals
have fallen, they irrigate the plants sufficiently to moisten the earth,
and soon the rest of the flowers drop off, leaving the bare capsule,
which rapidly increases in bulk. In a short period, when scarcely a
flower remains, a whitish [633] powder collects outside the capsule,
which is the signal for immediate application of the lancet.

The field is now divided into three parts, in one of which operations
commence. The cutting-instrument consists of three prongs, with delicate
points, around which cotton thread is bound to prevent its making too
deep an incision, and thus causing the liquid to flow into the interior
of the capsule. The wound is made from the base upwards, and the milky
juice which exudes coagulates outside. Each plant is thrice pierced, on
three successive days, the operation commencing as soon as the sun
begins to warm. In cold mornings, when it congeals rapidly, the
coagulation is taken off with a scraper. The fourth morning each plant
is once more pierced, to ascertain that no juice remains. On each
morning this extract is immersed in a vessel of linseed oil, to prevent
it from drying up. The juice being all collected, there remains only the
seed. The capsules are therefore broken off and carried to the barn,
where they are spread out upon the ground; a little water is sprinkled
over them, and being covered with a cloth, they remain till the morning,
when the cattle tread out the seed, which is sent to the oilmen, and the
refuse is burnt, lest the cattle should eat them, as even in this stage
they are poisonous. Poppy oil is more used for the _chiragh_ (lamp) than
any other in Mewar. They calculate a maund (of forty sers, or about
seventy-five pounds weight) of seed for every two sers of milk. The
price of seed is now twenty rupees per _mauni_ of one hundred and twelve
(_kachha_) maunds.

One bigha of Malwa land, of the measure Shahjahani (when the _jarib_, or
rod, is one hundred cubits long), will yield from five to fifteen sers
of opium-juice, each ser being forty-five Salimshahi[11.4.13] rupees in
weight: the medium is reckoned a good produce. The cultivator or farmer
sells it, in the state described, to the speculator, at the price
current of the day. The purchaser puts it into cotton bags of three
folds, and carries it home. Having obtained the leaves of the poppy, he
spreads them in a heap of two or three inches in depth, and thereon
deposits the opium, in balls of fifteen rupees’ weight each, which are
allowed to remain five months for the purpose of evaporation. If the
milk has been thin, or treated with oil, seven parts in ten will remain;
but if good and pure, eight. The _beoparis_ (speculators) then sell it,
either for home-consumption in Rajputana, or for exportation.

From the year S. 1840 (A.D. 1784) to S. 1857 (A.D. 1801), the
market-price of the crude opium from the cultivator ran from sixteen to
twenty-one Salimshahi rupees per _dari_, a measure of five _pakka sers_,
each ser being the weight of ninety Salimshahi [634] rupees. I give the
price of the drug by the grower in the first stage as a better criterion
than that of the manufacturer in its prepared state. In the year S. 1857
it rose to twenty-five rupees; in S. 1860 to twenty-seven, gradually
increasing till S. 1865 (A.D. 1809), when it attained its maximum of
forty-two, or an advance of one hundred and seventy per cent above the
price of the year A.D. 1784. But some natural causes are assigned for
this extraordinary advance; after which it gradually fell, until S. 1870
(A.D. 1814), when it was so low as twenty-nine. In S. 1873 it had again
risen to thirty-three, and in S. 1874-75, when its transit to the ports
of Sind and Gujarat was unmolested (whence it was exported to China and
the Archipelago), it had reached thirty-eight and thirty-nine, where it
now (S. 1876, or A.D. 1820) stands.

In Kanthal[11.4.14] (which includes Partabgarh Deola), or the tracts
upon the Mahi River, opium is cultivated to a great extent, and
adulterated in an extraordinary manner. This being sold in China as
Malwa opium, has greatly lessened the value of the drug in that market.
The adulteration is managed as follows: a preparation of refined _gur_
(molasses) and gum, in equal proportion, is added to half its quantity
of opiate coagulum; the mass is then put into cauldrons, and after being
well amalgamated by boiling, it is taken out, and when sufficiently dry
is well beaten, and put into cotton bags, which are sewn up in green
hides, and exported to Maskat-Mandavi. The Gosains of these parts are
the chief contractors for this impure opium, which is reckoned
peculiarly unwholesome, and is never consumed in Rajputana. Rumour says
that it is transported to the Spice Islands, where it is used as a
manure in the cultivation of the nutmeg. The transit-duties on opium, in
the Native States, are levied on each bullock-load, so that the
adulterated pays as much as the pure. The Gosains smuggle great
quantities.

Such is the history, and I believe a pretty correct one, of the growth
and extension of this execrable and demoralizing plant, for the last
forty years. If the now paramount power, instead of making a monopoly of
it, and consequently extending its cultivation, would endeavour to
restrict it by judicious legislative enactments, or at least reduce its
culture to what it was forty years ago, generations yet unborn would
have just reason to praise us for this work of mercy. It is no less our
interest than our duty to do so, and to call forth genuine industry, for
the improvement of cotton, indigo, sugar-cane, and other products, which
would enrich instead of demoralizing, and therefore impoverishing, the
country. We have saved Rajputana from political ruin; but the boon of
mere existence will be valueless if we fail to restore the [635] moral
energies of her population; for of this fine region and noble race we
might say, as Byron does of Greece—

'Tis Greece—but living Greece no more!

or the mind is decayed, and the body often palsied and worn out, in the
very meridian of life. As far as my personal influence went, I practised
what I preach; and, as I have already stated, exacted a promise, from
the Rana on the throne to the lowest Thakur, that they would never
initiate their children in this debasing practice. But as mere
declamation can do very little good, I will here insert a portion of the
Agrarian customary code of Mewar and Malwa, which may be brought into
operation directly or indirectly. The distribution of crops was as
follows.

=Distribution of Crops.=—To each _charas_, _charsa_, or skin of land,
there is attached twenty-five bighas of irrigated land for wheat and
barley, with from thirty to fifty bighas more, called _mar_, or _mal_,
dependent on the heavens for water, and generally sown with gram. Of the
twenty-five bighas of land irrigated from the well, the legislature
sanctioned one bigha of opium, and ten to fifteen biswas (twenty biswas
are a bigha) of sugar-cane. But in these days of anarchy and confusion,
when every one follows his own view of things, they cultivate two of
opium and three of cane, and perhaps two of barley, instead of
twenty-five, to feed the family! What an unnatural state of agricultural
economy is this, when the cultivator sometimes actually purchases food
for his family, in order that he may bestow his time and labour on this
enervating exotic! But should the foreign markets be closed, and famine,
as is not unusual, ensue, what must be the consequence, where the finest
corn-country in India is converted to a poppy-garden! In Haraoti they
manage these things better; and although its old politic ruler makes use
of the districts in Malwa, which he rents from the Mahrattas, for the
culture of opium, being himself a trader in it, yet I do not believe he
permits its demoralizing influence to enter within his proper domain. It
is pleasing to see some traces of the legislative wisdom of past days,
and old Zalim knows that it is by the more generous productions of the
plough that his country must prosper. But our monopoly acted as an
encouragement of this vice; for no sooner was it promulgated that the
Compani Sahib was contractor-general for opium, than prince and peasant,
nay, the very scavengers, dabbled in the speculation. All Malwa was
thrown into a ferment; like the Dutch tulip-bubble, the most fraudulent
purchases and transfers were effected by men who had not a ser of opium
in their possession. The extent to which this must have gone may be
imagined when [636], according to the return, the sales, in the first
year of our monopoly, exceeded one million sterling, in which I rather
think we gained a loss of some £40,000! It is to be hoped the subject is
now better understood, and that the legislature at home will perceive
that a perseverance in this pernicious traffic is consistent neither
with our honour, our interest, nor with humanity.

If the facts I have collected are confirmed on inquiry, the late
measures of Government,[11.4.15] in whatever motives originating, will
only augment the mischief. Even admitting their expediency in protecting
our Patna monopoly, and their justice as affecting the native
governments (the contractors and cultivators of the drug), still other
measures might have been devised, equally efficacious in themselves, and
less pregnant with evil consequences.

-----

Footnote 11.4.1:

[Irrigation projects in Mewār have recently been studied by Sir
Swinton Jacob and Mr. Manners Smith. “Among the most promising
projects are a canal from Nāogāon on the Banās, two reservoirs on the
Kothāri, and a reservoir on the Banās at Amarpura which, if carried
out, will be one of the grandest works of the kind in India” (Erskine
ii. A. 47).]

Footnote 11.4.2:

[Usually known in India as the Persian wheel, represented in Egypt by
the Sākīeh (Lane, _Modern Egyptians_, 5th ed. ii. 26).]

Footnote 11.4.3:

Even now, as I transcribe this from my journal, I would almost (when
“The Annals” are finished) risk a couple of years’ residence in “the
happy valley,” where I scarcely ever enjoyed one day of health, to
execute this and another favourite project—the reopening of the
tin-mines of Jawara.

Footnote 11.4.4:

[Sukhada, ‘giving pleasure,’ an epithet of Vishnu.]

Footnote 11.4.5:

[_Vīra_, ‘a hero’; Skt. _jhampa_, Hindi, _jhapat_, ‘a spring, leap.’
In Rājasthāni, as Sir G. Grierson writes, the _m_ may easily have been
preserved, or more probably the _a_ would be long, and the _m_
converted into a pure nasal, Jhāp being written _Jhamp_. Another
common form is _Bhairava Jhamp_, ‘the leap in honour of Bhairava,’ a
form of Siva. (For human “scape-goats” of this kind see Crooke,
_Popular Religion and Folklore_, 2nd ed. i. 256; Frazer, _The Golden
Bough_, 3rd ed., _The Scapegoat_, 196 ff.).]

Footnote 11.4.6:

[Ino Leucothea, when Athamas, in a fit of madness, killed Learchus,
their son, fled with her other son, Melicertes, across the plain of
Megaris and threw herself with the boy (or, according to Euripides
(_Medea_, 1289) with her two sons) into the sea. A. B. Cook, _Zeus_,
i. 674.]

Footnote 11.4.7:

[For a good summary of the history of opium cultivation see Watt,
_Comm. Prod._ 845 ff.]

Footnote 11.4.8:

In all the branches of knowledge which have reference to the comforts,
the elegancies, and the luxuries of life, they necessarily bore away
the palm from the Rajput, who was cooped up within the barriers of
superstition. The court of Samarkand, with which the kings of Farghana
were allied, must have been one of the most brilliant in the world for
talents as well as splendour; and to all the hereditary instruction
there imbibed, Babur, the conqueror of India, added that more useful
and varied knowledge only to be acquired by travel, and constant
intercourse with the world. When, therefore, his genius led him from
‘the frosty Caucasus’ into the plains of Hindustan, the habit of
observation and noting in a book, as set before him by Hazrat Timur,
all that appeared novel, never escaped him; and in so marked a
transition from the highlands of Central India to the region of the
sun, his pen had abundant occupation. No production, whether in the
animal or vegetable kingdom, which appeared different from his own,
escaped notice in his book, which must be looked upon as one of the
most remarkable contributions to literature ever made by royalty; for
in no age or country will a work be found at once so comprehensive and
so simple as the Commentaries of Babur; and this in a region where
everything is exaggerated. Whether he depicts a personal encounter on
which his life and prospects hinged, or a battle which gave him the
empire of India, all is in keeping; and when he relates the rewards he
bestowed on Mir Muhammad Jaliban, his architect, for successfully
executing his noble design of throwing a bridge over the Ganges,
“before he had been three years sovereign of Hindustan,” and with the
same simplicity records his own “introduction of melons and grapes
into India,” we are tempted to humiliating reflections on the
magniloquence with which we paint our own few works of public good,
and contrast them unfavourably with those of the Transoxianic monarch,
not then twenty-five years of age! Nor let the reader who may be
induced to take up the volume fail to give homage to the
translator,[11.4.8.A] whose own simple, yet varied and vigorous mind
has transferred the very soul of Babur into his translation.

Footnote 11.4.8.A:

William Erskine, Esq., of Blackburne, who honours me with his
friendship, and has stimulated my exertions to the task in which I am
engaged, and another in which I trust to be engaged, some of the Books
of the Poet Chand, so often alluded to in this work. [The _Memoirs_ of
Bābur or Bābar, translated by J. Leyden and W. Erskine, were published
in 1826, and a reprint, edited by Sir Lucas King, is about to be
issued by the Oxford University Press. An abridged version by
Lieut.-Col. F. G. Talbot appeared in 1909. A new translation from an
improved text, by Mrs. H. Beveridge, is now in course of publication.]

Footnote 11.4.9:

[For a statement of the evidence see Watt, _op. cit._ 845 ff.]

Footnote 11.4.10:

[_Munawwar_ means ‘illuminated, bright, splendid.’]

Footnote 11.4.11:

[In S.E. Mewār, near Mālwa, opium used to be almost as common as wheat
and barley, but the area has greatly decreased since 1899, with the
fall in the price of the drug (Erskine ii. A. 44). Sir G. Watt,
writing in 1908, says it was then restricted to Mālwa, Bihār, and the
United Provinces (_Comm. Prod._ 851 ff.). Since then, under
arrangements with the Chinese, the cultivation has been still further
restricted.]

Footnote 11.4.12:

[Mandasor in Gwalior State, about 95 miles S.E. of Udaipur city
(_IGI_, xvii. 150); Unel, 20 miles N. of Ujjain; Khāchrod, 45 miles
S.S.E. of Mandasor.]

Footnote 11.4.13:

[The Sālimshāhi rupee takes its name from the Partābgarh chief, Sālim
Singh, who issued them for the first time, A.D. 1784 (W. W. Webb,
_Currencies of the Hindu States of Rājputāna_, 23 f.; Malcolm, _Memoir
of Central India_, 2nd ed. ii. 85).]

Footnote 11.4.14:

[The Kānthal tract, now in Partābgarh State, was so called because it
formed the border or boundary (_kāntha_) between Mewār on N., Bāgar on
W., and Mālwa E. and S. (Erskine ii. A. 197).]

Footnote 11.4.15:

It is to be borne in mind that this was written on the spot, in
January, A.D. 1820.

-----

CHAPTER 5

=Dhāreswar=, _February 14_: six miles; therm. 46° at 5 A.M.—From Kanera
to Dhareswar there is a gradual descent, perhaps equal to one-third of
the angle of ascent of the table-land. For half the distance the surface
is a fine rich soil, but the last half is strewed with fragments of the
rock. Dhareswar is beautifully situated at the lowest point of descent,
with a clear stream, planted with fine timber to the south. The Bhumia
rights are enjoyed by some Kachhwaha Rajputs, who pay a share of the
crops to Kanera. Passed a few small hamlets in the grey of the morning,
and several herd of elk-deer, who walked away from us with great
deliberation; but the surface was too stony to try our horses’ mettle.

_15th_, =Ratangarh Kheri=, distance nine miles.—The road over a bare
rock, skirting a stream flowing on its surface. Two miles from Dhareswar
is the boundary of Kanera, and the Chaurasi (eighty-four townships) of
Kheri; the descent still graduating to Kheri, which is probably not
above one hundred feet higher than the external plains [637] of Mewar.
The road was over loose stones with much jungle, but here and there some
fine patches of rich black soil. We kept company with the Dhareswar
_nala_ all the way, which is well wooded in its course, and presented a
pretty fall at one point of our journey. Passed several hamlets, and a
colony of Charans, whom I found to be some of my friends of Marla. They
had not forgotten their privilege; but as the ladies were only the
matrons of the colony, there would have been no amusement in captivity;
so I dropped five rupees into the brazen _kalas_, and passed on. The
cavalcade of the Kamavisdar of Kheri was also at hand, consisting of
about two hundred horse and foot, having left his castle on the peak to
greet and conduct me to my tents. He is a relation of old Lalaji Balal,
and intelligent and polite. Our tents were pitched near the town, to
which the Pandit conducted us; after which act of civility, in the
character of the _locum tenens_ of my friend Lalaji, and his sovereign
Sindhia (in whose camp I sojourned twelve long years), he took his
leave, inviting me to the castle; but as it contained nothing antique, I
would not give cause for jealousy to his prince by accepting his
invitation, and civilly declined.

The Chaurasi, or eighty-four [townships] of Ratangarh Kheri, was in S.
1828 (A.D. 1772) assigned to Mahadaji Sindhia, to pay off a
war-contribution; and until S. 1832, its revenues were regularly
accounted for. It was then made over to Berji Tap, the son-in-law of
Sindhia, and has ever since remained alienated from Mewar. The treason
of the chief of Begun, one of the sixteen nobles of the Rana, lost this
jewel in his crown, for he seized upon the Chaurasi, which adjoined his
own estate, situated on the skirt of this alpine region. To expel him
the Rana called on Sindhia, who not only took the Chaurasi, but Begun
itself, which was heavily fined, and forty of its best villages, or half
his fief, were mortgaged to pay the mulct. The landscape from these
heights is very fine; the Pandit, from his aerial abode, can look down
on Kheri, and exclaim with Selkirk—

I am monarch of all I survey,

but I would dispute his right with all my heart, if I could do so with
success.

=Little Atoa.=[11.5.1]—Distance eight miles, thermometer at daybreak
40°, with a cutting wind, straight from the north, which we keenly felt
as our party ascended the heights of Ratangarh. The altitude of this
second steppe in the plateau is under four hundred feet, although the
winding ascent made it by the perambulator five furlongs. The fort is
erected on a projection of the mountain, and the works are in pretty
good order. They had been adding fresh ones on the accessible side,
which the general state of [638] security has put a stop to. In fact, it
could not hold out twenty-four hours against a couple of mortars, the
whole interior being commanded from a height within easy range. I asked
my old guide if the castle had ever stood a storm: his reply was in the
negative: “She is still a _kumari_ (a virgin), and all forts are termed
_kumaris_, until they stand an assault.”[11.5.2] We had a superb view
from the summit, which is greatly above the level of Kanera, whose
boundary line was distinct. The stream from Dhareswar was traced gliding
through its embankments of black rock, covered with luxuriant young
crops, and studded with mango and mahua trees. It is a singular fact,
that the higher we ascended, the less mischief had been inflicted on the
crops, although the sugar-cane looked prematurely ripe. The wheat fields
were luxuriant, but the barley showed in their grizzly beards here and
there an evidence of having suffered. I also noted that invariably all
the low branches of the mahua trees were injured, the leaves shrivelled
and dried up, while the superior ones were not affected. The field-peas
(_batloi_)[11.5.3] sown with the barley were more or less injured, but
not nearly so much as at Kanera.

The road was execrable, if road it could be termed, which for many miles
was formed for me by the kindness of the Pandit, who cut a path through
the otherwise impenetrable jungle, the abode of elks and tigers,
sufficient to pass my baggage. This route is never passed by troops; but
I had curiosity to indulge, not comfort. About four miles from the
castle, we ascended another moderate elevation to the village of Umar,
whence we saw Paragarh on the left, and learning that it contained an
inscription, I dispatched one of my pandits to copy it. A mile farther
brought us to the extremity of the ridge serving as a landmark to the
Chaurasi of Kheri. From it we viewed another steppe, that we shall
ascend the day after to-morrow, from which I am told the Patar gradually
shelves to the banks of the Chambal, the termination of our journey. As
we passed the village of Ummedpura (Hopetown), a sub-infeudation of
Begun, held by the uncle of its chief, we were greeted by the Thakur,
accompanied by two of his kinsmen. They were all well mounted, lance in
hand, and attired in their quilted tunics and deer-skin doublet, of
itself no contemptible armour. They conveyed their chief’s compliments,
and having accompanied me to my tents, took leave.

=Chhota=, or little Atoa, is also held by a sub-vassal of the same clan,
the Meghawats of Begun; his name Dungar Singh, ‘the mountain lion,’ now
with me, and who long enjoyed the pre-eminent distinction of being chief
reiver of the Patar [639]. With our party he has the familiar
appellation of Roderic Dhu, and without boasting of his past exploits,
he never dreams of their being coupled with dishonour. Although he
scoured the country far and near to bring blackmail to his
mountain-retreat, it was from the Mahrattas chiefly that his wants were
supplied; and he required but the power, to have attained the same
measure of celebrity as his ancestor the ‘Blackcloud’ (Kala-megh) of
Begun. Still, his name was long the bugbear of this region, and the
words _Dungar Singh aya!_ ‘the mountain lion is at hand!’ were
sufficient to scare the peaceful occupants of the surrounding country
from their property, or to arm them for its defence. With the ‘Southron’
he had just cause of quarrel, since, but for him, he would have been
lord of Nadwai and its twenty-four villages, of which his grandfather
was despoiled at the same time that this alpine region was wrested by
Sindhia from his sovereign. This _tappa_, however, fell to Holkar; but
the father of Dungar, lance in hand, gave the conqueror no rest, until
he granted him a lease in perpetuity of four of the villages of his
patrimony, two of which were under Holkar’s own seal, and two under that
of the renter. About twenty years ago, the latter having been resumed,
Sheo Singh took up his lance again, and initiated the mountain-lion, his
son, in the _lex talionis_. He flung away the scabbard, sent his family
for security to the Raja of Shahpura, and gave his mind up to vengeance.
The father and son, and many other brave spirits with the same cause of
revenge, carried their incursions into the very heart of Malwa, bringing
back the spoils to his den at little Atoa. But though his hand was now
raised against every man, he forgot not his peculiar feud (_wair_), and
his patrimony of Nadwai yielded little to the Mahratta. But Sheo Singh
was surrounded by foes, who leagued to circumvent him, and one day,
while driving many a goodly buffalo to his shelter, he was suddenly
beset by a body of horse placed in ambush by the Bhao. But both were
superbly mounted, and they led them a chase through Mandalgarh, and were
within the very verge of security, when, as Sheo Singh put his mare to
the _nala_, she played him false and fell, and ere she recovered herself
the long lance of Mahratta was through the rider. Young Dungar was more
fortunate, and defying his pursuers to clear the rivulet, bound up the
body of his father in his scarf, ascended the familiar path, and burnt
it at midnight, amongst the family altars of Nadwai. But far from
destroying, this only increased the appetite for vengeance, which has
lasted till these days of peace; and, had every chieftain of Mewar acted
like Dungar, the Mahratta would have had fewer of their fields to batten
on to-day. His frank, but energetic answer, when the envoy mentioned the
deep complaints urged [640] against him by the present manager of
Nadwai, was “I must have bread!” and this they had snatched from him.
But Holkar’s government, which looks not to the misery inflicted,
carries loud complaints to the resident authorities, who can only decide
on the principle of possession, and the abstract view of Dungar’s course
of life. For myself, I do not hesitate to avow, that my regard for the
chiefs of Mewar is in the ratio of their retaliation on their ‘Southron’
foe; and entering deeply into all their great and powerful grounds for
resentment, I warmly espoused the cause of the ‘mountain-lion’; and as
the case (through Mr. Gerald Wellesley) was left by Holkar’s government
to my arbitration, I secured to the chief a part of his patrimony under
their joint seal, and left him to turn his lance into a plough-share,
until fresh causes for just aggression may arise. This settlement gave
me another proof of the inalienable right in land granted by the ryot
cultivator, and its superiority over that granted by the sovereign.
There were certain rights in the soil (_bhum_) which Dungar’s ancestors
had thus obtained, in the township of Nadwai, to which he attached a
higher value than to the place itself. Dungar’s story affords a curious
instance of the laws of adoption superseding, if not the rank, the
fortune resulting from birthright. Sheo Singh and Daulat Singh, both
sub-vassals of Begun, were brothers; the former had Nadwai, the latter
Rawarda. But Daulat Singh, having no issue, adopted Salim Singh, the
younger brother of Dungar, who has thus become lord of Rawarda, of
nearly four thousand rupees annual rent, while Dungar’s chief place is
little Atoa, and the _bhum_ of Nadwai. Salim Singh is now in high favour
with his chief of Begun, to whom he is Faujdar, or leader of the
vassals. In personal appearance he has greatly the advantage of Dungar;
Salim is tall and very handsome, bold in speech and of gentlemanly
deportment; Dungar is compact in form, of dark complexion, rugged in
feature, and bluntness itself in phrase, but perfectly good-humoured,
frank, and unreserved; and as he rode by my side, he amused me with many
anecdotes connected with the scenery around.

=Singoli=,[11.5.4] _February 17_, eight and a half miles, thermometer
40°.—This town is chief of a _tappa_ or subdivision, containing
fifty-two villages, of the district of Antri, a term applied to a
defile, or tract surrounded by mountains. The Antri of Mewar is
fertilized by the Bamani, which finds its way through a singular
diversity of country, after two considerable falls, to the Chambal, and
is about thirty miles in length, reckoning from Bichor to the summit of
the steppe of the plateau, by about ten miles in breadth, producing the
most luxuriant crops of wheat, barley, gram, sugar-cane, and poppy; and
[641] having, spread over its surface, one hundred villages and hamlets,
but a section of the country will make it better understood.

[Illustration:

3 _descent to the Chambal_.
2 _Ratangarh_
_Kanara_ _Singoli_
_Khari_
_Jawd. plains of Mewar._

Diagram of part of Eastern Mewār.]

From Bichor, the pass opening from the plains of Mewar, to the highest
peak of this alpine Patar, the Kala Megh, or ‘black cloud,’ of Begun,
bore sway. From him sprung another of the numerous clans of Mewar, who
assumed the patronymic Meghawat. These clans and tribes multiply, for
Kala Megh and his ancestors were recognized as a branch of the Sangawat,
one of the early subdivisions of the Chondawat, the chief clan of Mewar.
The descendant of the ‘black cloud,’ whose castle of Begun is near the
entrance to Antri, could not now muster above a hundred and fifty men at
arms throughout the Patar; to which he might add as many more of foreign
Rajputs, as the Hara and Gaur, holding lands for service. The head of
the Meghawats has not above twenty villages in his fief of Begun, though
these might yield twenty-five thousand rupees annually, if cultivated;
the rest is still in the hands of the Mahrattas, as a mortgage
contracted nearly forty years ago, and which has been liquidated ten
times over: they include, in this, even a third of the produce of his
own place of residence, and the town itself is never free from these
intruders, who are continually causing disturbances. Unhappily for
Mewar, the grand principle of the campaign and its political results,
“that of excluding the Mahrattas from the west bank of the Chambal,” was
forgotten in our successes, or all the alienated lands of Mewar as far
as the Malwa frontier would have reverted to the Rana.

=The Chief of Ummedpura.=—The hamlets on the Patar consist of huts with
low mud walls, and tiled roofs; even Ummedpura, though inhabited by the
uncle of the chief, is no better than the rest, and his house is one
which the poorest peasant in England would not occupy. Yet steeped in
poverty, its chieftain, accompanied by his son, nephew, and fifteen more
of his kin and clan, came “for the purpose of doing himself, his lord
paramount of Begun, and the British Agent, honour.” The mountain-chief
of Ummedpura affords a fine example [642], that noble bearing may be
independent of the trappings of rank; high descent and proper
self-respect appeared in every feature and action. Dressed in a homely
suit of _amaua_, or russet green, with a turban of the same (the
favourite hunting costume of the Rajput); over all the corselet of the
skin of the elk, slain by himself; with his bright lance in hand, and
mounted on a good strong horse, whose accoutrements like his master’s
were plain but neat, behold the vassal of Ummedpura equipped for the
chase or foray. The rest of his party followed him on foot, gay and
unconcerned as the wild-deer of the Patar; ignorant of luxury, except a
little _amalpani_ when they go to Begun; and whose entire wants,
including food, raiment, gunpowder, and tobacco, can be amply supplied
by about £8 a year each! The party accompanied me to my tents, and
having presented brilliant scarlet turbans and scarfs, with some English
gunpowder, to the chief, his son, and nephew, we parted mutually pleased
at the rencontre.

The descent to Singoli is very gentle, nor are we above eighty feet
below the level of Umar, the highest point of the Patar, which I rejoice
to have visited, but lament the want of my barometers. Singoli, in such
a tract as this, may be entitled a town, having fifteen hundred
inhabited dwellings encompassed by a strong wall. The Pandit is indebted
to his own good management, and the insecurity around him, for this
numerous population. In the centre of the town, the dingy walls of a
castle built by Alu Hara strike the eye, from the contrast with the new
works added by the Pandit; it has a deep ditch, with a _fausse-braye_,
and parapet. The circumvallation measures a mile and three-quarters.
About a mile to the north-west are the remains of a temple to Vijayaseni
Bhavani, the Pallas of the Rajputs. I found a tablet recording the piety
of the lord paramount of the Patar, in a perpetual gift of lights for
the altar. It runs thus: “Samvat 1477 (A.D. 1421), the 2d of Asoj, being
Friday (_Bhriguwar_[11.5.5]), Maharaja Sri Mokal-ji, in order to furnish
lights (_jyotis waste_) for Vijayaseni Bhavaniji [643], has granted one
bigha and a half of land. Whosoever shall set aside this offering, the
goddess will overtake him.” This is a memorial of the celebrated Rana
Mokal of Mewar, whose tragical death by assassination has been recorded
in the annals of that State.[11.5.6] Mokal was one of the most
celebrated of this race; and he defeated, in a pitched battle at Raepur,
a grandson of the emperor of Delhi. He was the father of Lalbai, called
‘the Ruby of Mewar,’ regarding whom we have related a little scandal
from the chronicle of the Bhattis (see p. 1218); but the bard of
the Khichis, who says that prince Dhiraj espoused her in spite of the
insult of the desert chief, had no cause to doubt the lustre of this
gem.

=Legends of the Hāras.=—The Patar resounds with the traditionary tales
of the Haras, who, at a very early period, established themselves in
this alpine region, on which they erected twelve castles for its
protection, all of them still to be traced existing or in ruins; and
although they assumed the title of ‘lords of the Patar,’ they
acknowledged the supremacy of the Ranas of Mewar, whom they obeyed as
liege lords at this very time. Of these twelve castles, Ratangarh is the
only one not entirely dismantled; though even the ruins of another,
Dilwargarh, had been the cause of a bloody feud between the Meghawat of
Begun and the Saktawat of Gwalior, also in the Patar. That of Paranagar,
or Paroli, lies a short distance from thence, but the most famous of all
is Bumbaoda, placed upon the western crest of the plateau, and
overlooking the whole plain of Mewar. Although some centuries have
elapsed since the Haras were expelled from this table-land, the name of
Alu of Bumbaoda still lives, and is familiar even to the savage Bhil,
who, like the beasts, subsists upon the wild fruits of the jungles. It
is my intention to return by another route across the Patar, and to
visit the site of Alu’s dwelling; meanwhile I will give one of the many
tales related of him by my guide, as I traversed the scenes of his
glory.

=Ālu Hāra.=—Alu Hara, one day, returning homeward from the chase, was
accosted by a Charan, who, having bestowed his blessing upon him, would
accept of nothing in exchange but [644] the turban from his head.
Strange as was the desire, he preferred compliance to incurring the
_visarwa_,[11.5.7] or ‘vituperation of the bard’; who, placing Alu’s
turban on his own head, bade him ‘live a thousand years,’ and departed.
The Charan immediately bent his steps to Mandor, the capital of Maru;
and as he was ushered into the presence of its prince and pronounced the
_birad_ of the Rathors, he took off his turban with the left hand, and
performed his salutation with the right. The unusual act made the prince
demand the cause, when in reply he was told “that the turban of Alu Hara
should bend to none on earth.” Such reverence to an obscure chief of the
mountains of Mewar enraged the King of the Desert, who unceremoniously
kicked the turban out of doors. Alu, who had forgotten the strange
request, was tranquilly occupied in his pastime, when his quondam friend
again accosted him, his head bare, the insulted turban under his arm,
and loudly demanding vengeance on the Rathor, whose conduct he related.
Alu was vexed, and upbraided the Charan for having wantonly provoked
this indignity towards him. “Did I not tell you to ask land, or cattle,
or money, yet nothing would please you but this rag; and my head must
answer for the insult to a vile piece of cloth; for nothing appertaining
to Alu Hara shall be insulted with impunity even by the Thakur of
Marwar.” Alu forthwith convened his clan, and soon five hundred “sons of
one father” were assembled within the walls of Bumbaoda, ready to follow
wheresoever he led. He explained to them the desperate nature of the
enterprise from which none could expect to return; and he prepared the
fatal Johar for all those who determined to die with him. This first
step to vengeance being over, the day of departure was fixed; but
previous to this he was anxious to ensure the safety of his nephew, who,
on failure of direct issue, was the adopted heir of Bumbaoda. He
accordingly locked him up in the inner keep of the castle, within seven
gates, each of which had a lock, and furnishing him with provisions,
departed.

The prince of Mandor was aware he had entailed a feud; but so little did
he regard what this mountain-chief might do, that he proclaimed “all the
lands over which the Hara should march to be in _dan_ (gift) to the
Brahmans.” But Alu, who despised not the aid of stratagem, disguised his
little troop as horse-merchants, and placing their arms and caparisons
in covered carriages, and their steeds in long strings, the hostile
caravan reached the capital unsuspected. The party took rest for the
night; but with the dawn they saddled, and the nakkaras of the Hara
awoke the Rathor prince from his slumber; starting up, he demanded who
was the audacious [645] mortal that dared to strike his drum at the
gates of Mandor? The answer was,—“Alu Hara of Bumbaoda!”

The mother (probably a Chauhani) of the King of Maru now asked her son
“how he meant to fulfil his vaunt of giving to the Brahmans all the
lands that the Hara passed over?” but he had the resolution to abide by
his pledge, and the magnanimity not to take advantage of his
antagonist’s position; and to his formal challenge, conveyed by beat of
nakkara, he proposed that single combats should take place, man for man.
Alu accepted it, and thanked him for his courtesy, remarking to his
kinsmen, “At least we shall have five hundred lives to appease our
revenge!”

The lists were prepared; five hundred of the “chosen sons of Siahji”
were marshalled before their prince to try the manhood of the Haras; and
now, on either side, a champion had stepped forth to commence this
mortal strife, when a stripling rushed in, his horse panting for breath,
and demanded to engage a gigantic Rathor. The champions depressed their
lances, and the pause of astonishment was first broken by the
exclamation of the Hara chieftain, as he thus addressed the youth: “Oh!
headstrong and disobedient, art thou come hither to extinguish the race
of Alu Hara?”—“Let it perish, uncle (_kaka_), if, when you are in peril,
I am not with you!” replied the adopted heir of Bumbaoda. The veteran
Rathor smiled at the impetuous valour of the youthful Hara, who advanced
with his sword ready for the encounter. His example was followed by his
gallant antagonist, and courtesy was exhausted on either side to yield
the first blow; till, at length, Alu’s nephew accepted it; and it
required no second, for he clove the Rathor in twain. Another took his
place—he shared the same fate; a third, a fourth, and in like manner
twenty-five, fell under the young hero’s sword. But he bore ‘a charmed
life’; the queen of armies (_Vijayaseni_), whose statue guards the
entrance of Bumbaoda, had herself enfranchized the youth from the
sevenfold gates, in which his uncle had incarcerated him, and having
made him invulnerable except in one spot (the neck),[11.5.8] sent him
forth to aid his uncle, and gain fresh glory for the race of which she
was the guardian. But the vulnerable point was at length touched, and
Alu saw the child of his love and his adoption stretched upon the earth.
The queen-mother of the Rathors, who witnessed the conflict, dreaded a
repetition of such valour, from men in whom desire of life was extinct;
and she commanded that the contest should cease, and reparation be made
to the lord of the Patar, by giving him in marriage a daughter of
Mandor. Alu’s honour was redeemed; he accepted the offer, and with his
bride repaired to the desolate Bumbaoda. The [646] fruit of this
marriage was a daughter; but destiny had decreed that the race of Alu
Hara should perish. When she had attained the age of marriage, she was
betrothed. Bumbaoda was once more the scene of joy, and Alu went to the
temple and invited the goddess to the wedding. All was merriment; and
amongst the crowd of mendicants who besieged the door of hospitality was
a decrepit old woman, who came to the threshold of the palace, and
desired the guard to “tell Alu Hara she had come to the feast, and
demanded to see him”; but the guard, mocking her, desired her to be
gone, and “not to stand between the wind and him”: she repeated her
request, saying that “she had come by special invitation.” But all was
in vain; she was driven forth with scorn. Uttering a deep curse, she
departed, and the race of Alu Hara was extinct. It was Vijayaseni
herself, who was thus repulsed from the house of which she was
protectress!

A good moral is here inculcated upon the Rajput, who, in the fatal
example of Alu Hara, sees the danger of violating the laws of
wide-extended hospitality: besides, there was no hour too sacred, no
person too mean, for such claims upon the ruler. For the present, we
shall take leave of Alu Hara, and the ‘Mother of Victory’ of the Patar,
whose shrine I hope to visit on my return from Haravati; when we shall
learn what part of her panoply she parted with to protect the gallant
heir of Bumbaoda.

=Dāngarmāu=,[11.5.9] _February 18_, eight miles; thermometer 48°.—A
choice of three routes presented itself to us this morning. To the left
lay the celebrated Menal, once the capital of Uparmal; on the right, but
out of the direct line, was the castle of Bhainsror, scarcely less
celebrated; and straight before us the pole-star and Kotah, the point to
which I was journeying. I cut the knot of perplexity by deviating from
the direct line, to descend the table-land to Bhainsror, and without
crossing the Chambal, nearly retraced my steps, along the left bank, to
Kotah, leaving Menal for my return to Udaipur. Our route lay through the
Antri, or valley, whose northern boundary we had reached, and between it
and the Bamani. The tract was barren but covered with jungle, with a few
patches of soil lodged amidst the hollows or otherwise bare rock, over
whose black surface several rills had cut a low bed, all falling into
the Bamani. One of these had a name which we need not translate, _Rani
bur-ka-khal_, and which serves as a boundary between the lands of the
Meghawats of Antri and the Saktawats of Bhainsror.

Dangarmau-Barao is a small _patta_ of twelve villages, yielding fifteen
thousand [647] rupees of annual rent; but it is now partitioned,—six
villages to each of the towns above mentioned. They are Saktawat
allotments, and the elder, Sakat Singh, has just returned from court,
where he had been to have the sword of investiture (_talwar bandhai_)
girt on him as the lord of Barao. Bishan Singh of Dangarmau is at Kotah,
where he enjoys the confidence of Zalim Singh and is commandant of
cavalry. He has erected a castle on the very summit of the third steppe
of the Patar, whose dazzling white walls contrast powerfully with the
black and bleak rock on which it stands, and render it a conspicuous
object. The Saktawats of the Patar are of the Bansi family,[11.5.10]
itself of the second grade of nobles of Mewar; and the rank of both the
chiefs of Dangarmau and Barao was the third, or that termed _gol_; but
now, having each a _patta_ (at least nominally) of above five thousand
rupees yearly rent, they are lifted into the Battisa, or amongst the
‘thirty-two’ of the second class.

The Bamani, whose course will carry us to its close at Bhainsror, flows
under the walls of both Dangarmau and Barao, and is the cause not only
of great fertility but of diversity, in this singular alpine region. The
weather has again undergone a very sensible change, and is extremely
trying to those, who, like myself, are affected by a pulmonary
complaint, and who are obliged to brave the mists of the mountain-top
long before the sun is risen. On the second, at daybreak, the
thermometer stood at 60°, and only three days after, at 27°; again it
rose to 40° and for several days stood at this point, and 75° at midday.
The day before we ascended the Patar it rose to 54°, and 94° at noon;
and on reaching the summit, 60° and 90°; again it falls to 40°, and we
now shiver with cold. The density of the atmosphere has been
particularly annoying both yesterday and to-day. Clouds of mist rolled
along the surface of the mountain, which, when the sun cleared the
horizon, and shot about ‘spear-high’ in the heavens, produced the most
fantastic effects. The orb was clear and the sky brilliant; but the
masses of mist, though merely a thin vapour and close to the spectator,
exhibited singular and almost kaleidoscopic changes. There was scarcely
a figure that the sun did not assume; the upper half appearing
orbicular, the lower elliptical: in a second, this was reversed.
Sometimes it was wholly elliptical, with a perfect change of the axis,
the transverse and conjugate changing places—a loaf, a bowl, and at one
instant a scollop-shell, then ‘round as my shield,’ and again a segment
of a circle, and thus alternating until its ascension dissipated the
medium of this beautiful illusion, the more perfect from the sky being
cloudless. The mists disappeared from the mountain long before this
phantasmagoria finished [648].

-----

Footnote 11.5.1:

[About 100 miles N.N.E. of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.5.2:

[In Europe, at times, Metz, Tournay, Magdeburg, Londonderry, and
others bore this title. “Several ancient earthworks in England were
called Maiden Castle; the sense may possibly be a fortress capable of
being defended by maidens; there may have been an allusion to some
forgotten legend” (_New English Dict._, _s.v._). In India Hānsi was
known as Kumāri, used in the sense of ‘unviolated.’]

Footnote 11.5.3:

[This name is not found in dictionaries or gazetteers. The field pea,
_Pisum arvense_, is usually called matar (Watt, _Comm. Prod._ 902).
_Batūri_, of which this may be a corruption, is the chick pea or
gram.]

Footnote 11.5.4:

[About 105 miles N.E.E. of Udaipur city. The Bāmani joins the Chambal
at Bhainsrorgarh, about 120 miles E.N.E. of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.5.5:

A name of Sukracharya, the Regent of the planet Venus. The ‘star of
eve’ is always called Sukra, but presents a most unpoetic idea to the
mind, when we learn that this star, the most beautiful of the heavenly
host, is named after an immoral one-eyed male divinity, who lost his
other orb in an undignified personal collision, from an assault upon
Tara (_the_ star), the wife of a brother-god. Sukracharya,
notwithstanding, holds the office of Guru, or spiritual adviser, to
the whole celestial body—we may add _ex uno disce omnes_: and
assuredly the Hindu who takes the mythological biography of his gods
_au pied de la lettre_, cannot much strengthen his morality thereby.
The classical Hindu of these days values it as he ought, looking upon
it as a pretty astronomical fable, akin to the voyage of the
Argonauts; but the bulk enter the temple of the “thirty-three millions
of gods” with the same firmness of belief as did the old Roman his
Pantheon. The first step, and a grand one, has been made to destroy
this fabric of Polytheism, and to turn the mind of the Hindu to the
perception of his own purer creed, adoration of “the one, omniscient,
omnipotent, and eternal God.” Rammohun Roy has made this step, who
“has become a law unto himself,” and a precursor, it is to be hoped,
of benefit to his race. In the practical effects of Christianity, he
is a Christian, though still a devout Brahman, adoring the Creator
alone, and exercising an extended charity, with a spirit of meekness,
toleration, and benevolence, added to manly resistance of all that
savours of oppression, which stamps him as a man chosen for great
purposes. To these moral, he adds mental qualifications of the highest
order: clear and rapid perception, vigorous comprehension, immense
industry of research, and perfect self-possession; having, moreover, a
classical knowledge, not of our language only, but of Hebrew, Greek,
Latin, Persian, Arabic, and the ‘mother-tongue,’ or _langue-mère_ of
all, the Sanskrit. [Philologists now regard Sanskrit as later than
Greek or Latin.]

Footnote 11.5.6:

By means of this simple tablet, we detect an anachronism in the
chronicle. It is stated in p. 332 of the first volume, that Kumbha
succeeded his father Rana Mokal in S. 1475, or two years anterior to
the date of the grant of lights for the goddess. Such checks upon
Rajput chronology are always falling in the way of those who will read
as they run. [Rāna Mokal (A.D. 1397-1433) was assassinated by Chacha
and Mera, the illegitimate sons of his grandfather, Khet Singh. He was
succeeded by Rāna Kūmbha his son, then a minor.]

Footnote 11.5.7:

[Dr. Tessitori writes: “The term is _visar_, ‘satire.’ I do not think
that it has anything to do with _vis_, 'poison.'”]

Footnote 11.5.8:

[Compare the story of Achilles, vulnerable only in his heel or ankles,
which his mother, Thetis, failed to plunge into the waters of Styx.]

Footnote 11.5.9:

[About 110 miles N.W.W. of Udaipur city. In the Author’s map the name
is written Dūngarmāu, which is possibly right.]

Footnote 11.5.10:

[Bānsi, 47 miles S.E. of Udaipur city, held by a Saktāwat Rāwat
(Erskine ii. A. 92).]

-----

CHAPTER 6

=Bhainsrorgarh=, _February 19_.—Bhainsrorgarh,[11.6.1] ten miles, four
furlongs; thermometer 51°; atmosphere dense and oppressive, and roads
execrable, through a deep forest; but for the hatchets of my friends, my
baggage never could have been got on. We passed several hamlets,
consisting of a dozen or more huts, the first of which I find belongs to
my young friend Morji of Gura, himself a vassal of the Pramar of Bijoli
(one of the sixteen Omras of Mewar), and holding a few bighas of _bhum_,
as his _bat_ or share of the _bapota_ (patrimony) of Barao. We have
elsewhere given a copy of the tenure on which Morji holds a village in
the fief of Bijoli.[11.6.2] At seven miles from Dangarmau, we came to a
small shrine of an Islamite saint, who buried himself alive. It is an
elevated point, from whence is a wild but lovely prospect. There is a
_kund_, or ‘fountain,’ planted with trees, close to the shrine, which
attracts a weekly mela or ‘fair,’ attended by all classes, who cannot
help attributing some virtue to a spot where a saint, though a Muslim,
thus expiated his sins. In descending, we heard the roaring of mighty
waters, and soon came upon the Bamani, forming a fine cascade of about
fifty feet in height; its furious course during the monsoon is apparent
from the weeds it has left on the trees, at least twenty feet above its
present level. The fall of the country is rapid, even from this lower
spot, to the bed of the Chambal. Uparmal must have a considerable
elevation above the table-land of Janapao, where the Chambal and other
streams have their fountains; but of all this we shall by and by form a
more correct opinion. We passed the cairn of a Rajput who fell defending
his post against the Minas of the Kairar, a tract on the banks of the
Banas, filled with this banditti, in one of their last irruptions which
disturbed the peace of this region. Each traveller adds a stone, and I
gave my mite to swell the heap [649].

The _patta_ of Bhainsror is held by Raghunath Singh, one of the sixteen
great lords of Mewar, having the very ancient title of Rawat, peculiar
to Rajputana, and the diminutive of Rao.[11.6.3] Bhainsror is one of the
best fiefs of Mewar, and the lands attached to it are said to be capable
of yielding one lakh of annual revenue, equal to £50,000 in the dearest
countries of Europe; and when I add that a cavalier can support himself,
his steed, etc., on £50, its relative value will at once be understood.
He has also a toll upon the ferries of the Chambal, though not content
therewith, he levied until lately a percentage on all merchandise,
besides impositions on travellers of whatever description, under the
name of _kot ki marummat_, or ‘repairs of the castle’: were we, however,
to judge by its dilapidated condition, we should say his exactions were
very light, or the funds were misapplied. This is the sole passage of
the Chambal for a great extent, and all the commerce of higher Malwa,
Haraoti, and Mewar passes through this domain. The class of Banjaras
(traders) termed Vaishnava, long established at the city of Pur in
Mewar, frequent no other route in their journey from the salt-lakes of
the desert to Malwa or Bundelkhand. Their tanda or caravan consists of
six thousand bullocks, and they never make less than two, and often
three, trips in the year. The duty of the Raj is five rupees for each
hundred head thus laden; but the feudatory, not content with his
imposition of ‘castle repairs’ and ‘bhum’ as lord of the manor, has
added a hundred and fifty per cent to the regular transit duty of the
State, which is divided into two items; namely, three rupees and a half
for the ferry, and as much for _bolai_, or safe escort through his
territory. But as Haraoti always afforded protection (which could be
said of no other region of independent India), the ghat of the Chambal
was much frequented, in spite of these heavy drawbacks to industry. My
friend the Rawat has, however, found it expedient to remove all these
war-taxes, retaining only that portion which has been attached to the
frontier post, for protection; and a portion of the ferry-rate granted
to this fief nearly two centuries ago. Instead of about fifteen per
cent, as heretofore levied, including that of the crown, it amounts to
less than one-half, and the revenue has been quadrupled!

=Bhainsrorgarh Fort.=—The castle of Bhainsror is most romantically
situated upon the extreme point of a ridge, on an almost isolated rib of
the Patar, from which we have descended. To the east, its abrupt cliff
overhangs the placid expanse of the Chambal, its height above which is
about two hundred feet: the level of the river in the monsoon is marked
at full thirty feet above its present elevation. The Bamani bounds
Bhainsror on the west, and by the rapidity of its fall has completely
scarped the rock, even to [650] the angle of confluence within which is
placed the castle, to whose security a smaller intermediate stream not a
little contributes. As by mistake it is placed in the map on the wrong
side of the Bamani, we shall correct this error by giving a slight plan
of the ground.

[Illustration:

The Rapids of the Chambal.
_Rapids._
_Bamani_
_Cenotaph_
_Chumbul R._
_Bhainsrorgarh._
_Chulis, or whirlpools._
]

On the north alone is it accessible, and there the hill is scarped; but
this scarp, which is about three hundred yards distant, forms a good
cover, and a few shells thence played upon the castle would soon compel
it to surrender. The rock is a soft, loose, blue schistose slate, which
would not retard the miner. The approach from the river, here about five
hundred yards wide, would be destruction. It is never fordable, and its
translucent sea-green waters are now full forty feet in depth. When in
the periodical rains it accumulates at its source, and is fed during its
passage by many minor streams from the Vindhya and this oberland, its
velocity is overwhelming; it rises above the opposing bank, and laying
the whole tract to the base of the tableland of Haraoti under water,
sweeps away in its irresistible course even the rocks. Speculation might
here be exhausted in vain attempts to explain how nature could overcome
this formidable obstacle to her operations, and how the stream could
effect its passage through this adamantine barrier. The channel cut in
the rock is as clean as if performed by the chisel, and standing on the
summit of the cliff, which is from three hundred to seven hundred feet
in height, one discerns in imagination the marks of union: to use the
words of our last great bard, on the Rhone,

Heights which appear as lovers who have parted
In hate, whose mining depths so intervene,
That they can meet no more, though broken-hearted.

=The Rapids of the Chambal.=—I shall by and by, I trust, obtain a more
correct knowledge of the comparative elevation of this plateau, and the
crest of the Vindhya whence issues the Chambal; but although this stream
is, of course, much below the level of its source, yet there is little
doubt that the summit of this chasm (_uparmal_) is, as its name
indicates, the ‘highest land’ of Malwa. I say this after making myself
acquainted with the general depression of [651] Malwa to this point, in
which we are aided by the course of the stream. Under Bhainsror, the
current is never very gentle; but both above and below there are rapids,
if not falls, of thirty to fifty feet in descent. That above the stream
is termed the Chuli, because full of whirlpools and eddies, which have
given a sacred character to it, like the Nerbudda, at ‘the whirlpools of
the great god,’ Chuli Maheswar. A multitude of the round stones taken
out of these vortices, when they have been rounded by attrition into a
perfectly orbicular form, only require consecration and a little red
paint to be converted into the representatives of Bhairon, the god of
war, very properly styled the elder born of Siva, the destroyer. This is
about two miles up the stream; there is another at Kotra, about three
miles down, with several successive rapids. There is a fall in the
vicinity of Rampura, and another about five coss north of it, at
Churetagarh, where the river first penetrates the plateau. There, I
understand, it is not above seventy yards in breadth, confined between
cliffs perfectly perpendicular. There is also said to be another fall or
rapid intermediate between Rampura and its source in the peak of
Janapao,[11.6.4] in the neighbourhood of Un. If these are all the falls,
though only amounting to rapids, we may form a tolerable idea of the
difference of level between the base of the Uparmal and the highland of
the Vindhya, whence the Chambal issues; and still we shall see that
there are points where the perpendicular cliffs must be some hundred
feet above the peak of Janapao; if so, this chasm was never formed by
water.

Mewar still extends east of the river, and the greater part of the
estate of Bhainsror is on the opposite side. A small stream, called the
Karab-ka-khal, divides the lands of the Haras from those of the
Sesodias, and there is a _bijak-marga_, or landmark inscription, at the
Shesa _talao_, put up centuries ago. To this line, and between it and
the Chambal, is the _paita_ of Kundal; and farther south, towards
Rampura, is that of Pachail, both containing twenty-four villages
attached to Bhainsror. All that tract farther inland in Upper Malwa,
termed Malkides, in which are the towns of Chaichat and Saket, was in
old times included geographically in Mewar: it is yet possessed by the
Saktawats, though subject to Kotah.

Tradition has preserved the etymology of Bhainsror, and dates its
erection from the second century of the era of Vikrama, though others
make it antecedent even to him. Be that as it may, it adds a fact of
some importance, namely, that the Charans, or bards, were then, as now,
the privileged carriers of Rajwara, and that this was one of their great
lines of communication. Bhainsror, therefore, instead of being the work
[652] of some mighty conqueror, owes its existence to the joint efforts
of Bhainsa Sah, the merchant, and Rora, a Charan and Banjara, to protect
their _tandas_ (caravans) from the lawless mountaineers, when compelled
to make a long halt during the periodical rains.[11.6.5] How many lines
of heroes possessed it before the Haras established themselves among its
ruins is unknown, though the “universal Pramar” is mentioned. Its
subsequent change of masters, and their names and history, are matters
of less doubt; since the altars of the Dudia, the Pramar, the Rathor,
the Saktawat, the Chondawat,

—who sought and found, by dangerous roads,
A path to perpetuity of fame,

are still visible. Of the Dudia name we have already preserved one
wreck, though the “rocket of the moon,” was of the family who dwelt upon
the whirlpools of the Chambal, we must leave to conjecture. Not so of
his successor, the Rathor, who was a scion of the house of Mewa,[11.6.6]
on the Salt River of the desert, from which, though he was but a vassal
of Mandor, the Rana scorned not to take a wife boasting the pure blood
of the kings of Kanauj. A younger brother accompanied her to the court
of Chitor. Soon after, the Rawal of Jaisalmer dared to put an affront
upon the Rana, the acknowledged head of the Rajput race! The chivalry of
Mewar was assembled, and the _bira_ of vengeance held up, which the
stripling heir of Mewa, darting forward, obtained. Although but fifteen
years of age, entreaties were lost upon him to induce him to renounce
the enterprise, which in all probability some border-feud of his
paternal house and the Bhattis, as well as _swamidharma_, or fealty, to
his sovereign and kinsman, may have prompted. His only request was that
he might be aided by two of his intimate friends, and five hundred horse
of his own selection. How he passed the desert, or how he gained
admittance to the chief of the Bhatti tribe, is not stated; suffice it
to say, that he brought the Rawal’s head and placed it at the feet of
the sovereign of Chitor, for which service he had a grant of Salumbar;
and subsequently (fiefs in those days not being _amovable_) he was
removed to Bhainsror. The young Rathor continued to rise in favour; he
was already by courtesy and marriage the _bhanej_, or nephew, of his
sovereign, who for this action bestowed upon him a young princess of his
own blood; an honour which in the end proved fatal. One day, the Thakur
(chief) was enjoying himself in his baronial hall of Bhainsror, in the
midst of his little court, with a nautch, when a fatal curiosity,
perhaps instigated by jealousy, induced his Rani to peep out from the
lattice above. Offended at this violation of decorum, he said aloud to
an attendant, “Tell the Thakurani, if she is [653] eager to come abroad,
she may do so, and I will retire.” The lady disputed the justice of the
reprimand, asserting that her lord had been mistaken, and tried to shift
the reproach to one of her damsels; but failing to convince him, she
precipitated herself from the battlements into the whirlpools beneath:
the spot where she fell into the Chambal still retains the name of
Ranighatta.[11.6.7] When it was reported to the Rana that a false
accusation had caused the suicide of his niece, the sentence of
banishment from Mewar was pronounced against the Rathor, which was
afterwards commuted, out of a regard for his former service, to the
sequestration of Bhainsror; and he had the small fief of Nimri and its
twenty dependent hamlets, situated upon the Patar, and not far from
Bhainsror, bestowed upon him.

Bijai Singh, the descendant of the hero of this tale, has just been to
see me; a shrewd and stalwart knight, not a whit degenerated by being
transplanted from the Luni to the Chambal; for, though surrounded by
Mahratta depredators, by means of the fastnesses in which he dwells, and
with the aid of his good lance, with which he repays them in kind, he
has preserved his little estate in times so fatal to independence. Had I
not entered deeply into the history of the past, I might have been led
away by the disadvantageous reports given of these brave men, who were
classed with the common freebooters of the hills, and pointed out as
meriting similar chastisement; since these associations, both for their
own security and retaliation on the vagabond Mahrattas, who usurped or
destroyed their birthright, gave a colour to the complaints against
them.

The Pramar (_vulg._ Puar) succeeded the Rathor in the fief of Bhainsror.
How long the former held it is uncertain; but the mode in which the last
vassal chieftain lost it and his life together, affords another trait of
national manners. Here again the fair, whose influence over the lords of
Rajputana we have elsewhere mentioned, was the cause of the catastrophe.
The Pramar had espoused the daughter of his neighbour chieftain of
Begun, and they lived happily until a game at pachisi, somewhat
resembling chess, caused a dispute, in which he spoke slightingly of her
family, an affront never to be pardoned by a Rajputni; and the next day
she wrote to her father. The messenger had not left his presence with
the reply, before the nakkara beat the assembly for the kher.[11.6.8]
The descendants of the ‘black cloud’ (_Kalamegh_) obeyed the summons,
and the hamlets on the Bamani, or the Patar, poured forth their warriors
at the sound of the tocsin of Begun. When the cause of quarrel was
explained, it came home to every bosom, and they forthwith marched to
avenge it. Their road lay [654] through the forest of Antri; but when
arrived within a few coss of Bhainsror, they divided their band, and
while the chief took the more circuitous route of the pass, the heir of
Begun followed the course of the Bamani, took the Pramar by surprise,
and had slain him in single combat ere his father joined him. The insult
to the Meghawats being avenged, the Pramars were about to retaliate; but
seeing the honour of her house thus dearly maintained, affection
succeeded to resentment, and the Rajputni determined to expiate her
folly with her life. The funeral pile was erected close to the junction
of the Bamani and Chambal, and she ascended with the body of her lord,
her own father setting fire to it. I encamped close to the altars
recording the event.

This feud changed the law of succession in the Begun estate. The
gallantry of the young Meghawat consoled the old chief for the tragical
event which lost him a daughter; and in a full council of “the sons of
Kalamegh,” the rights of primogeniture were set aside in favour of the
valorous youth, and the lord paramount (the Rana) confirmed the
decision. The subordinate fief of Jathana, which formerly comprehended
the present district of Jawad, was settled on the elder son, whose
descendant, Tej Singh, still holds a share of it, besides the title of
Rawat. Both estates have alike suffered from the Mahrattas, equally with
others in Mewar.

The successor of the Pramar was a Chondawat, of the branch Kishanawat,
and a younger son of Salumbar; and it would be well for Lal Singh had he
sought no higher distinction than that to which his birth entitled him.
But Lalji Rawat was a beacon in the annals of crime, and is still held
out as an example to those who would barter a good name here, and the
hope of the life to come, for the evanescent gifts of fortune. He
purchased the honours of Bhainsror by shedding the blood of his
bosom-friend, the uncle of his sovereign.

=Nāthji Mahārāja.=—Maharaja Nathji was one of the sons of Rana Sangram
Singh, and brother to the reigning prince Jagat Singh, on whose death,
doubts of the legitimacy of his successor Raj Singh being raised, Nathji
aspired to the dignity; but his projects faded by the death of Raj
Singh. He left a posthumous child, whose history, and the civil wars
engendered by his uncle Arsi, who took possession of the _gaddi_, have
been fully detailed. Arsi, who was assuredly a usurper, if the pretender
was a lawful son of Rana Raj, had suspicions regarding his own uncle
Nathji, who had once shown a predilection for the supreme power; but the
moment he heard that his nephew fancied he was plotting against him, he
renounced ambition, and sought to make his peace with [655] heaven;
amusing himself with poetry, in which he had some skill, and by
cultivating his melons in the bed of the Banas, which ran under the
walls of his castle, Bagor.[11.6.9] The fervour of his devotions, and
the love and respect which his qualifications as a man and a Rajput
obtained him, now caused his ruin. In the coldest nights, accompanied by
a single attendant, he was accustomed to repair to the lake, and thence
convey water to sprinkle the statue of his tutelary divinity, ‘the god
of all mankind’ (Jagannath). It was reported to the Rana that, by means
of these ascetic devotions, he was endeavouring to enlist the gods in
his traitorous designs, and, determined to ascertain the truth, Arsi,
with a confidential friend, disguised himself, and repaired to the steps
of the temple. Nathji soon appeared with his brazen vessel of water, and
as he passed, the prince, revealing himself, thus addressed him: “Why
all this devotion, this excess of sanctity? if it be the throne you
covet, uncle, it is yours”; to which Nathji, in no wise thrown off his
guard, replied with much urbanity, “You are my sovereign, my child, and
I consider my devotions as acceptable to the deity, from their giving me
such a chief, for my prayers are for your prosperity.” This unaffected
sincerity reassured the Rana; but the chiefs of Deogarh, Bhindar, and
other clans, being dissatisfied with the harsh and uncompromising temper
of their sovereign, endeavoured to check his ebullitions by pointing to
the Maharaja as a refuge against his tyranny.

To be released from such a restraint, Arsi at last resolved on
assassinating his uncle; but his valour and giant strength made the
attempt a service of danger, and he therefore employed one who, under
the cloak of friendship, could use the poniard without risk. Lal Singh
was the man, the bosom friend of the Maharaja, who, besides exchanging
turbans with him, had pledged his friendship at the altar; a man who
knew every secret of his heart, and that there was no treason in it. It
was midnight, when a voice broke in upon his devotions, calling on him
from the portico by name. No other could have taken this liberty, and
the reply, “Come in, brother Lalji; what brings you here at such an
hour?” had scarcely passed the lips of Nathji, when, as he made the last
prostration to the image, he received the dagger of his friend in his
neck, and the emblem of Siva was covered with his blood! For this
service, the assassin was rewarded with the fief of Bhainsror, and a
seat amongst the sixteen barons of Mewar; but as the number cannot be
increased, the rights of the Saktawat chief of Bansi were cancelled;
thus adding one crime to another, which however worked out its own
reward, and at once avenged the murder of Nathji, and laid Mewar in
ruins, causing [656] fresh streams of the blood which had already so
copiously flowed from the civil wars arising out of the hostility of
these rival clans, the Saktawats and Chondawats.

Lalji did not long enjoy his honours; his crime of “triple dye” was ever
present to his mind, and generated a loathsome, incurable disease; for
even in these lands, where such occurrences are too frequent, “the still
small voice” is heard: worms consumed the traitor while living, and his
memory is blasted now that he is dead; while that of Nathji is
sanctified, as a spirit gentle, valorous, and devout.

Man Singh, the son of this man of blood, succeeded to the honours of
Bhainsror, and was a soldier of no common stamp. At the battle of
Ujjain, where the Rana of Mewar made the last grand stand for
independence, Man was badly wounded, made captive, and brought in the
train of the conquering Mahratta, when he laid siege to Udaipur. As he
was recovering from his wounds, his friends attempted to effect his
liberation through that notorious class called the Baoris,[11.6.10] and
contrived to acquaint him with the plot. The wounded chief was consoling
himself for his captivity by that great panacea for ennui, a nautch, and
applauding the fine voice of a songstress of Ujjain as she warbled a
_tappa_ of the Panjab, when a significant sign was made by a stranger.
He instantly exclaimed that his wounds had broken out afresh, staggered
towards his pallet, and throwing down the light, left all in confusion
and darkness, which favoured the Baori’s design; who, while one of his
friends took possession of the pallet, wrapped the sick chief in a
_chadar_ (sheet), threw him on his back, and carried him through the
camp of the besiegers to the city. The Rana, rejoiced at his liberation,
commanded a salute to be fired, and the first intelligence the Mahratta
leader had of his prisoner’s escape was in answer to the question as to
the cause of such rejoicing; they then found one of the vassal
substitutes of Man still occupying the bed, but the sequel does not
mention how such fidelity was repaid. The cenotaph (_chhatri_) of this
brave son of an unworthy sire is at the Tribeni, or point of confluence
of the three streams, the Chambal, the Bamani, and the Khal; and from
its light and elegant construction, adds greatly to the picturesque
effect of the scenery. The present chief, Raghunath Singh, who succeeded
Man, has well maintained his independence throughout these perilous
times. Bapu Sindhia, whose name will long be remembered as one of the
scourges of these realms, tried his skill upon Bhainsror, where the
remains of his trenches, to the north-west of the town, are still
conspicuous; but he was met with sortie after sortie, while the
hill-tribes were nightly let loose upon him, until he was forced to make
a precipitate retreat [657].

I cannot conclude the annals of this family without a passing remark on
the great moral change effected since the power of Britain has
penetrated into these singular abodes. It was my habit to attend on any
of the chieftains who honoured me by an invitation to their family
fêtes, such as their salgirahs, or ‘birthdays’;[11.6.11] and on these
occasions I merged the Agent of the British Government entirely in the
friend, and went without ceremony or parade. Amongst my numerous _pagri
badal bhai_, or ‘adopted brothers’ (as well as sisters), was the
Maharaja Sheodan Singh, the grandson and possessor of the honours and
estates of Nathji, who still enjoys the domain of Bagor, and from whom I
used to receive a share of its melons, which he cultivates with the same
ardour as his grandsire. The ‘annual knot’ (salgirah) of my friend was
celebrated on the terraced roof of his palace, overhanging the lake of
Udaipur, and I was by his side listening, in the intervals of the song,
to some of his extemporaneous poetical effusions (on which my friend
placed rather too high a value), when amongst the congratulatory names
called aloud by the herald, I was surprised to hear, “_Maharaja Salamat,
Rawat Raghunath Singhji-ka mujra lijo!_” or, “Health to the Maharaja,
and let him receive the compliments of Rawat Raghunath Singh”: the
grandson of the murderer come to pay his respects to the grandson of the
murdered, and to press with his knee the _gaddi_ on which he sat! With
justice may we repeat their powerful metaphor, on such anomalies in the
annals of their feuds—_bher aur bakri ekhi thali se pītē hain_, ‘the
wolf and the goat drink from the same platter.’[11.6.12] We might thus,
by a little attention to the past history and habits of these singularly
interesting races, confer signal moral benefits upon them; for it must
be evident that the germs of many excellent qualities require only the
sunshine of kindness to ripen into goodly fruit; and for the sake of our
own welfare, as well as that of humanity, let not the protecting power,
in the exercise of patronage, send amongst them men who are not imbued
with feelings which will lead them to understand, to appreciate, and to
administer fitting counsel, or correction where necessary. The
remembrance of these injuries is still fresh, and it requires but the
return of anarchy again to unsheath the poniard and drug the cup; but if
we consult their real good, the recollection will gradually grow
fainter.

=Bhainsror attacked by Alāu-d-dīn.=—Before, however, we altogether quit
the wilds of the Chambal, we must record that Bhainsror had been visited
by another man of blood, the renowned Alau-d-din, in whose epithets of
Khuni, or ‘the sanguinary,’ and Sikandaru-s-sani, or ‘the second
Alexander,’ by which history has given him perpetuity of infamy, we
recognize the devastating [658] and ferocious Khilji king, who assailed
every Hindu prince in India. Obedient to the letter of the law, he had
determined to leave not one stone upon another of the temples or palaces
of Bhainsror. Everywhere we searched for memorials of the Hun, whose
name is also connected with the foundation of Bhainsror; of the Pramar,
or the Dudia; but in vain. The vestiges of these ages had disappeared,
or been built up in the more modern fortifications. Two such
inscriptions we indeed discovered, reversed and applied as common
building materials in the walls around the town; one was dated S. 1179
(A.D. 1123), but being in the old ornamented Jain character, would have
required time and labour to decipher. The other is also anterior to Ala,
and the ornaments in this are decidedly Jain; its purport is as follows:
“On the _parab_ (full moon) of Sheoratri (the birthday of Siva), Maharae
Dariyai Rae Singh Deo bestowed, in the name of Rameswar, the village of
Tatagarh in _pun_ (religious gift). Those who maintain the grant will
enjoy the fruits resulting therefrom”; or, in the words of the original:

_Yasya yasya jāda bhūmis,
Tasya tasya tadā phalam._[11.6.13]

“Samvat 1302 (A.D. 1246).” This form of _sasan_, or religious charity,
is peculiar, and styled _sasan Udayaditya_, which proves that the
Pramar, of whom this is a memorial, was a feudatory of the prince of
Dhar, whose era has been fixed. These discoveries stimulated our
research, and my revered friend and Guru, who is now deeply embued with
antiquarian enthusiasm, vainly offered a large reward for permission to
dig for the image of Parsvanath, his great pontiff, of whose shrine he
has no doubt the first inscription is a memorial. When about to leave
this place (indeed our baggage had gone on), we were informed of some
celebrated temples across the river at a place called Baroli, anciently
Dholpur. The shrine is dedicated to Ghateswara Mahadeva, with a lingam
revolving in the _yoni_, the wonder of those who venture amongst its
almost impervious and unfrequented woods to worship. As I could not go
myself, I dispatched the Guru to hunt for inscriptions and bring me an
account of it.

=Dābhi=, _February 20_, eleven miles; thermometer 48°.—Reascended the
third steppe of our miniature Alp, at the Nasera pass (_ghat_), the foot
of which was exactly five miles from Bhainsror, and three and a half
furlongs more carried us to its summit, which is of easy ascent, though
the pathway was rugged, lying between high peaks on either side. This
alone will give a tolerable idea of the height of the Patar above the
level of the river. Majestic trees cover the hill from the base to its
summit, through [659] which we could never have found a passage for the
baggage without the axe. Besides some noble tamarind (_imli_) trees,
there was the lofty _semal_, or cotton-tree; the gnarled _sakhu_, which
looks like a leper amongst its healthy brethren; the _tendu_, or
ebony-tree, now in full fruit, and the useful _dhao_, besides many
others of less magnitude.[11.6.14]—The landscape from the summit was
grand: we looked down upon the Charmanvati (_vulg._ Chambal) and the
castle of Raghunath; while the eye commanded a long sweep of the black
Bamani gliding through the vale of Antri to its termination at the tombs
of the Saktawats. The road to Dabhi was very fair for such a tract, and
when within four miles of our tents, we crossed a stream said to have
its fountain at Menal, which must consequently be one of the highest
points of Uparmal. This rill afforded another means of estimating the
height of our position, for besides the general fall to the brink of the
chasm, it precipitates itself in a fine cascade of three hundred feet.
Neither time nor place admitted of our following this rill to its
termination, about six miles distant, through a rugged woody tract. From
the summit of the pass of Nasera, we had a peep at the tomb of a Muslim
saint, whence the ground gradually shelved to the end of our journey at
Kotah.

=Monuments to Warriors.=—Dabhi is the line of demarcation between Mewar
and Bundi, being itself in the latter State, in the district of
Loecha,—dreary enough! It produces, however, rice and _makkai_, or
Indian corn, and some good patches of wheat. We passed the cairns,
composed of loose stones, of several Rajputs slain in defending their
cattle against the Minas of the Kairar. I was particularly struck with
that of a Charan bard, to whose memory they have set up a _paliya_, or
tombstone,[11.6.15] on which is his effigy, his lance at rest, and
shield extended, who most likely fell defending his _tanda_. This tract
was grievously oppressed by the banditti who dwell amidst the ravines of
the Banas, on the western declivity of the plateau. “Who durst,” said my
guide, as we stopped at these tumuli, “have passed the Patar eighteen
months ago? they (the Minas) would have killed you for the cakes you had
about you; now you may carry gold. These green fields would have been
shared, perhaps reaped altogether, by them; but now, though there is no
superfluity, there is ‘play for the teeth,’ and we can put our turban
under our heads at night without the fear of missing it in the morning.
Atal Raj! may your sovereignty last for ever!” This is the universal
language of men who have never known peaceful days, who have been
nurtured amidst the elements of discord and rapine, and who,
consequently, can appreciate the change, albeit they were not mere
spectators. “We must retaliate,” said a sturdy [660] Chauhan, one of
Morji’s vassals, who, with five besides himself, insisted on conducting
me to Bhainsror, and would only leave me when I would not let them go
beyond the frontier. I was much amused with the reply of one of them
whom I stopped with the _argumentum ad verecundiam_, as he began a long
harangue about five buffaloes carried off by the Thakur of Nimri, and
begged my aid for their recovery. I said it was too far back; and added,
laughing, “Come, Thakur, confess; did you never balance the account
elsewhere?”—“Oh, Maharaja, I have lost many, and taken many, but
Ramdohai! if I have touched a blade of grass since your raj, I am no
Rajput.” I found he was a Hara, and complimented him on his affinity
with Alu, the lord of Bumbaoda, which tickled his vanity not a little.
In vain I begged them to return, after escorting me so many miles. To
all my solicitations the Chauhan replied, “You have brought us comfort,
and this is _man ki chakari_, 'service of the heart.'” I accepted it as
such, and we “whiled the gait” with sketches of the times gone by. Each
foot of the country was familiar to them. At one of the cairns, in the
midst of the wood, they all paused for a second; it was raised over the
brother of the Bhatti Thakur, and each, as he passed, added a stone to
this monumental heap. I watched, to discern whether the same feeling was
produced in them which the act created in me; but if it existed, it was
not betrayed. They were too familiar with the reality to feel the
romance of the scene; yet it was one altogether not ill-suited to the
painter.

=Karipur=, _February 21_, 9½ miles.—Encamped in the glen of Karipura,
confined and wild. Thermometer 51°, but a fine, clear, bracing
atmosphere. Our route lay through a tremendous jungle. Half-way, crossed
the ridge, the altitude of which made up for the descent to Dabhi, but
from whence we again descended to Karipura. There were many hamlets in
this almost impervious forest; but all were desolate, and the only trace
of population was in the altars of those who had defended to the death
their dreary abodes against the ruthless Mina of the Kairar, which we
shall visit on our return.

=Sontra.=—About a mile after we had commenced our march this morning, we
observed the township of Sontra on our right, which is always conjoined
to Dabhi, to designate the _tappa_ of Dabhi-Sontra, a subdivision of
Loecha. Being informed by a scout that it contained inscriptions, I
requested my Guru and one of my Brahmans to go there. The search
afforded a new proof of the universality of the Pramar sway, and of the
conquests of another “Lord of the world and the faith,” Alau-d-din, the
second [661] Alexander. The Yati found several altars having
inscriptions, and many _paliyas_, from three of which, placed in
juxtaposition, he copied the following inscriptions:

“Samvat 1422 (A.D. 1366). Pardi, Teja, and his son, Deola Pardi, from
the fear of shame, for the gods, Brahmans, their cattle, and their
wives, sold their lives.”

“S. 1446 (A.D. 1390). In the month of Asarh (_badi yakam_): Monday, in
the castle of Sontra (Sutrawan durg), the Pramar Uda, Kala, Bhuna, for
their kine, wives, Brahmans, along with the putra Chonda, sold their
existence.”

“S. 1466 (A.D. 1410), the 1st Asarh, and Monday, at Sontragram, Rugha,
the Chaora, in defence of the gods, his wife, and the Brahmans, sold his
life.”

The following was copied from a kund, or fountain, excavated in the
rock:

“S. 1370 (A.D. 1314), the 16th of Asarh (_sudi yakam_), he, whose renown
is unequalled, the king, the lord of men, Maharaja Adiraj, Sri
Alau-d-din, with his army of three thousand elephants, ten lakhs of
horse, war-chariots and foot without number, conquering from Sambhar in
the north, Malwa, Karnat, Kanor, Jalor, Jaisalmer, Deogir, Tailang, even
to the shores of the ocean, and Chandrapuri in the east; victorious over
all the kings of the earth, and by whom Sutrawan Durg, with its twelve
townships, have been wrested from the Pramar Mansi; by whose son,
Bilaji, whose birthplace (_utpatti_) is Sri Dhar, this fountain was
excavated. Written and also engraved by Sahideva the stone-cutter
(_sutradhar_).”

Beneath the surface of the fountain was another inscription, but there
was no time to bale out the water, which some future traveller over the
Patar may accomplish. Sontra, or as classically written, Satrudurg, ‘the
inaccessible to the foe,’ was one of the castles of the Pramar, no doubt
dependent on Chitor when under the Mori dynasty; and this was only one
of the subdivisions of Central India, which was all under Pramar
dominion, from the Nerbudda to the Jumna—an assertion proved by
inscriptions and traditions. We shall hear more of this at Menal and
Bijoli on our return over Uparmal, which I resolve to be thoroughly
acquainted with.

=Kotah=, _February 22_, eleven miles to the banks of the
Chambal.—Although not a cloud was to be seen, the sun was invisible till
more than spear-high, owing to a thick vapoury mist, accompanied by a
cold piercing wind from the north-west. The descent was gradual all the
way to the river, but the angle may be estimated from the fact that the
pinnacle (_kalas_) of the palace, though one hundred and twenty feet
above the level of the Chambal, was not visible until within five miles
of the bank. The barren [662] tract we passed over is all in Bundi,
until we approach Kotah, where the lands of Nanta intervene, the
personal domain of the regent Zalim Singh, and the only territory
belonging to Kotah west of the Chambal. Karipura, as well as all this
region, is inhabited by Bhils, of which race a very intelligent
individual acted this morning as our guide. He says it is called by them
Baba ka nund, and that they were the sovereigns of it until dispossessed
by the Rajputs. We may credit them, for it is only fit for Bhils or
their brethren of the forest, the wildbeasts. But I rejoiced at having
seen it, though I have no wish to retrace my steps over this part of my
journey. Half-way, we passed a roofless shed of loose stones, containing
the divinity of the Bhils; it is in the midst of a grove of thorny
tangled brushwood, whose boughs were here and there decorated with
shreds of various coloured cloth, offerings of the traveller to the
forest divinity for protection against evil spirits, by which I suppose
the Bhils themselves are meant.[11.6.16]

=Maypoles.=—We must not omit (though we have quitted the Patar) to
notice the ‘Maypoles’ erected at the entrance of every village in the
happy _basant_ or spring, whose concluding festival, the Holi or
Saturnalia, is just over. This year the season has been most ungenial,
and has produced sorrow rather than gladness. Every pole has a bundle of
hay or straw tied at the top, and some have a cross stick like arms and
a flag flying; but in many parts of the Patar, the more symbolic plough
was substituted, dedicated to the goddess of fruition, and served the
double purpose of a Spring-pole, and frightening the deer from nibbling
the young corn.

=Kotah City.=—The appearance of Kotah is very imposing, and impresses
the mind with a more lively notion of wealth and activity than most
cities in India. A strong wall with bastions runs parallel to, and at no
great distance from, the river, at the southern extremity of which is
the palace (placed within a castle separated from the town), whose
cupolas and slender minarets give to it an air of light elegance. The
scene is crowded with objects animate and inanimate. Between the river
and the city are masses of people plying various trades; but the eye
dwells upon the terminating bastion to the north, which is a little fort
of itself, and commands the country on both banks. But we shall have
more to say regarding this during our halt, which is likely to be of
some continuance [663].

-----

Footnote 11.6.1:

[About 120 miles E.N.E. from Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.6.2:

See Vol. I. p. 241.

Footnote 11.6.3:

[Rāwat, Rājaputra, ‘King’s son.’]

Footnote 11.6.4:

[In the Indore State, 9 miles S.W. of Mhow cantonment (_IGI_, x.
134).]

Footnote 11.6.5:

[By another tradition, Bhainsa Sāh was a merchant, servant of the
Chauhān kings of Sāmbhar and Ajmer (Erskine ii. A. 96).]

Footnote 11.6.6:

[The “cradle of the Rāthors,” now in Mallāni.]

Footnote 11.6.7:

[The ‘cleft or fissure of the Rāni.’]

Footnote 11.6.8:

[The feudal levy.]

Footnote 11.6.9:

[About 70 miles N.E. of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.6.10:

[A criminal tribe, known in the Panjāb as Bāwaria, and as Moghias in
Mārwār (_Census Report, Mārwār, 1891_, ii. 190 f.).]

Footnote 11.6.11:

[The ‘annual knot.’ The custom still prevails among Indian
Muhammadans, and the mother of the Mughal Emperor used to keep a
string in the harem, and added a knot, probably as a magical
protective, for every year of her son’s life. The custom of using in
this way a thread of red or yellow silk was adopted by the Rājputs
(_Āīn_, i. 267; Jaffur Shurreef, _Qanoon-e-Islam_, 26; Manucci ii.
346).]

Footnote 11.6.12:

[The usual form is: _Bher bakrī ek ghāt pītē hain_, ‘The wolf and the
goat drink at the same river steps.’]

Footnote 11.6.13:

[This is the reading by Dr. Tessitori, who remarks: “The above, of
course, is Sanskrit.”]

Footnote 11.6.14:

[Imli, _Tamarindus indica_; semal, _Bombax heptaphyllum_; sākhu or
sagwān, the teak, _Tectona grandis_; tendu, _Diospyrus embryopteris_;
dhao, _Anogeissus latifolia_.]

Footnote 11.6.15:

[Pāliya, ‘a protective, guardian,’ or ‘home of the guardian spirit’;
often erected to Rājputs or others dying on the field of battle. At
the Kāli Chaudas festival, 14th dark half of Āsho, these stones are
daubed with red lead, and coco-nuts are offered (Enthoven, _Folklore
Notes, Gujarāt_, 90; _BG_, ix. Part I. 218, 363 f.; Forbes, _Rāsmāla_,
691).]

Footnote 11.6.16:

The same practice is described by Park as existing in Africa. [Such
trees are known in Gujarāt as ‘Rag Uncle’ (Forbes, _Rāsmāla_, 452). On
rag-trees see E. S. Hartland, _Legend of Perseus_, ii. 175 ff.; W.
Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folklore of N. India_, 2nd ed. i. 161
ff.]

-----

CHAPTER 7

=Unhealthiness of Kotah. Nanta=, _September 10, 1820_.—A day of
deliverance, which had been looked forward to by all of us as a new era
in our existence. The last four months of our residence at Kotah was a
continued struggle against cholera and deadly fever: never in the memory
of man was such a season known. This is not a state of mind or body fit
for recording passing events; and although the period of the last six
months—from my arrival at Kotah in February last, to my leaving it this
morning—has been one of the most eventful of my life, it has left fewer
traces of these events upon my mind for notice in my journal than if I
had been less occupied. The reader may be referred, for an abstract of
these occurrences, to Chapter 6, which will make him sufficiently
acquainted with the people amongst whom we have been living. To try back
for the less important events which furnish the thread of the Personal
Narrative, would be vain, suffering, whilst this journal is written,
under fever and ague, and all my friends and servants in a similar
plight. Though we more than once changed our ground of encampment,
sickness still followed us. We got through the hot winds tolerably until
the dog-days of June; but, although I had experienced every vicissitude
of temperature in every part of India, I never felt anything to be
compared with the few days of June at Kotah.

It was shortly after we had shifted the camp from the low paddy-fields
to the embankment of the Kishor sagar, or ‘lake,’ immediately east of
the city, the sky became of that transparent blue which dazzles the eye
to look at. Throughout the day and night, there was not a zephyr even to
stir a leaf, but the repose and stillness of death. The thermometer was
104° in the tent, and the agitation of the punkah produced [664] only a
more suffocating air, from which I have fled, with a sensation bordering
on madness, to the gardens at the base of the embankment of the lake.
But the shade even of the tamarind or cool plantain was still less
supportable. The feathered tribe, with their beaks opened, their wings
flapping or hanging listlessly down, and panting for breath, like
ourselves, sought in vain a cool retreat. The horses stood with heads
drooping before their untasted provender. Amidst this universal
stagnation of life, the only sound which broke upon the horrid
stillness, was the note of the cuckoo; it was the first time I had ever
heard it in India, and its cheerful sound, together with the
associations it awakened, produced a delightful relief from torments
which could not long be endured. We invariably remarked that the bird
opened his note at the period of greatest heat, about two o’clock in the
day, and continued during intervals for about an hour, when he changed
his quarters and quitted us. I afterwards became more familiar with this
bird, and every day in the hot weather at Udaipur, when I resided in one
of the villas in the valley, I not only heard but frequently saw
it.[11.7.1]

The reader can easily conceive the scene of our encampment; it was at
the north-eastern angle of the lake, having in front that little fairy
islet with its light Saracenic summer abode (p. 1521). Gardens fringed
the base of the embankment, which was bordered with lofty trees; the
extended and gigantic circumvallation, over the parapets of which peeped
the spires and domes of temples or mosques, breaking the uniformity, and
occasionally even showing the distant and elevated land beyond the
Chambal. We had also close to us a spot sacred to the manes of the many
heroes of this noble family. I frequented the cenotaphs of the Haras,
which, if less magnificent than those of Marwar or Mewar, or even of the
head of their line of Bundi, may vie with them all in the recollections
they conjure up of patriotism and fealty, and of the deadly rancour
attendant on civil strife. This cluster of monuments approaches near to
the city wall, but is immediately under the dam of the lake, and being
enveloped in foliage, almost escapes observation. I was rejoiced to see
the good order in which they were maintained, which was another of the
anomalies in the regent’s character: for what can so much keep alive the
proud spirit of the Haras as these trophies of their sires? But whatever
the motive of the act, it is a tribute to virtue; nor could I resist an
exclamation of respect to the veteran regent, who is raising a monument
to the last prince, which, if it survive to distant times, will afford
room to some future [665] traveller to say, that, with Maharao Ummed
Singh, Kotah appears to have attained the summit of its power. Nor
should I deny myself the praise of having something to do with this
harmless piece of vanity; for I procured for the regent free permission
from the Rana of Mewar to take from the marble quarry at
Kankroli[11.7.2] whatever suited his purpose, without price or duty: a
request he was too proud to make himself since their ancient quarrel. We
had also the range of Madho Singh’s magnificent gardens, of many acres
in extent, abounding in exotic flowers and fruits, with parterres of
rose-trees, each of many roods of land. But what were all these luxuries
conjoined with cholera morbus, and _tap tijari_, ‘tertian fever,’ and
every other fever, around us? But even these physical ills were nothing
compared to the moral evils which it was my duty to find remedies for or
to mitigate; and they were never adverted to in the many despatches
addressed, during our residence in this _petit enfer_, to supreme
authority.

The enthusiast may imagine how delightful travelling must be amongst
such interesting races; to visit the ruins of ancient greatness, and to
read their history in their monuments; to march along the margin of such
streams as the Chambal or the Bamani; to be escorted by these gallant
men, to be the object of their courtesy and friendship, and to benefit
the condition of the dependant class; but the price of this enjoyment
was so high that few would voluntarily pay it, namely, a perpetuity of
ill-health. Fortunately, however, for ourselves and our country, if
these offices are neither sinecures nor beds of roses, we do not make
them beds of thorns; there is a heart-stirring excitation amidst such
scenes, which keeps the powers of mind and body alert: a feeling which
is fortunately more contagious than cholera, and communicable to all
around. How admirably was this feeling exemplified this morning! Could
my reader but have beheld the soldiers of my escort and other
establishments, as they were ferried over the Chambal, he would have
taken them for ghosts making the _trajet_ of the Styx; there was not one
of them who had not been in the gripe of pestilential fever or ague.
Some of them had had cholera, and half of them had enlarged spleens.
Yet, although their muskets were too heavy for them, there were neither
splenetic looks nor peevish expressions. It was as delightful as it was
wonderful to see the alacrity, even of the bedridden, to leave their
ills behind them east of the Chambal.

Scarcely any place can be more unhealthy than Kotah during the monsoon.
With the rise of the Chambal, whose waters filtrate through the fissures
of the rock, the [666] wells are filled with mineral poison and the
essence of decomposed vegetation.[11.7.3] All those in the low ground at
our first encampment were overflowed from this cause; and the surface of
each was covered with an oily pellicle of metallic lustre, whose colours
were prismatic, varying, with position or reflection, from shades of a
pigeon’s breast (which it most resembled), to every tint of blue
blending with gold. It is the same at Udaipur during the periodical
rains, and with similar results, intermittent and tertian fevers, from
which, as I said, not a man, European or native, escaped. They are very
obstinate, and though not often fatal, are difficult to extirpate,
yielding only to calomel, which perhaps generates a train of ills.

=Meeting with Zālim Singh.=—The last few days of our stay were passed in
the ceremonials of leave-taking. On the 5th, in company with the regent,
I paid my last visit to the Maharao, who with his brothers returned my
farewell visit the day following; and on the 8th and 9th the same
formalities were observed with the regent. The man who had passed
through such scenes as the reader has perused, now at the very verge of
existence, could not repress his sorrow. His orbless eyes were filled
with tears, and as I pressed his palsied hands which were extended over
me, the power of utterance entirely deserted him. I would expunge this,
if I did not know that vanity has no share in relating what I consider
to be a virtue in the regent. I have endeavoured to paint his character,
and could not omit this trait. I felt he had a regard for me, from a
multitude of kind expressions, but of their full value was always
doubtful till this day.

=A Restive Elephant.=—I did not get down to the point of embarkation for
some hours after my suite, having been detained by the irresistible hold
of ague and fever, though I started before the hot-fit had left me. The
regent had prepared the grand barge, which soon landed me on the
opposite bank; but Fateh Bahadur, my elephant, seemed to prefer his
present quarters to Udaipur; after his howdah, pad, and other gear had
been taken off and put into the boat, he plunged into the Chambal with
delight, diving in the deepest water, and making a water-spout of his
proboscis. He had got a third of the way across, when a new female
elephant, less accustomed to these crossings, turned back, and Fateh
Bahadur, regardless of his master, was so gallant as to go after her. In
vain the mahout (driver) used his _pharsi_,[11.7.4] digging it into his
head behind the ear; this only exasperated the animal, and he made one
or two desperate efforts to shake off his pigmy driver. Fortunately
(being too weak to mount a horse), I found a baggage-elephant just
beginning to be loaded: I put my howdah upon her, and the “victorious
warrior” suffered the indignity of carrying a load.

We passed the town of Kanari, belonging to Raj Gulab Singh, Jhala, a
relation of [667] the regent, and one of the Omras of Kotah. It is a
thriving comfortable place, and the pinnacled mahall of the Raj gave to
it an air of dignity as well as of the picturesque. Our route to
Nanta[11.7.5] was over a rich and highly cultivated plain, studded with
mango-groves; which do not surprise us, since we know it is the family
estate of the regent. The patrimonial abode is, therefore, much
cherished, and is the frequent residence of his son Madho Singh, by whom
I was met half-way between Kanari, and conducted to the family dwelling.

=Nānta. Rājput Music.=—Nanta is a fine specimen of a Rajput baronial
residence. We entered through a gateway, at the top of which was the
Naubat-khana, or saloon for the band, into an extensive court having
colonnaded piazzas all round, in which the vassals were ranged. In the
centre of this area was a pavilion, apart from the palace, surrounded by
orangeries and odoriferous flowers, with a _jet-d’eau_ in the middle,
whence little canals conducted the water and kept up a perpetual
verdure. Under the arcade of this pavilion, amidst a thousand welcomes,
thundering of cannon, trumpets, and all sorts of sounds, we took our
seats; and scarcely had congratulations passed and the area was cleared
of our escorts, when, to the sound of the tabor and _sarangi_, the sweet
notes of a Panjabi _tappa_ saluted our ears. There is a plaintive
simplicity in this music, which denotes originality, and even without a
knowledge of the language, conveys a sentiment to the most fastidious,
when warbled in the impassioned manner which some of these syrens
possess. While the Mahratta delights in the dissonant _dhurpad_,[11.7.6]
which requires a rapidity of utterance quite surprising, the Rajput
reposes in his _tappa_, which, conjoined with his opium, creates a
paradise. Here we sat, amidst the orange-groves of Nanta, the
_jet-d’eau_ throwing a mist between us and the group, whose dark
tresses, antelope-eyes, and syren-notes, were all thrown away upon the
Frank, for my teeth were beating time from the ague-fit.

It was in this very area, now filled with the youth and beauty of Kotah,
that the regent exhibited his wrestlers; and it was from the very seat I
occupied, that Sriji of Bundi challenged these ruffians to the encounter
related in the annals.[11.7.7] Having sat a quarter of an hour, in
obedience to the laws of etiquette, and in courtesy to the son of the
Regent, who had come thus far to escort me, we took leave and hastened
to get a cup of tea.

=Talera=,[11.7.8] _September 11_.—Two miles north-west of Nanta we
passed the boundary of the regent’s estate and the Bundi territory. The
roads were good, over a well-cultivated and well-wooded plain, the
cotton particularly thriving. Talera is a large [668] village on the
margin of a fine clear stream, its banks delightfully wooded, abounding
in fish, which even tempted my invalid friends to try their luck. Talera
is in the _jagir_ of the wakil who attends me on the part of the Bundi
Raja, but is still a heap of ruins, and being on the high road, is open
to parties of troops.

=Nawagāon=, _September 12_.—The road very fair, though a little winding,
to avoid some deep ravines. The land rich, well-watered, and too much
wooded; but man is wanting to cultivate the fertile waste. The encamping
ground afforded not a single tree to screen us from a scorching sun. We
passed two cenotaphs, where Rajputs had fallen; but there was no
inscription, and no one could reveal their history.

[Illustration:

PALACE AND FORTRESS OF BŪNDI.
_To face page 1710._
]

=Būndi=, _September 13_.—The country and roads, as usual, flat, with an
apparent descent from Talera to the base of the Bundi range, whose
craggy and unequal summits showed it could be no buttress to the
tableland with which it unites. The general direction of the range is
east-north-east, though there are diverging ridges, the course of which
it is impossible to delineate.

As we neared the capital of the Haras, clouds of dust, gradually
obscuring the atmosphere, were the first signal of the Raja’s approach:
soon the sound of drums, the clangour of trumpets, and tramping of
steeds, became audible, and at length the Sandnisawars, or
camel-messengers, announced the Raja’s presence. He was on horseback.
Instantly I dismounted from my elephant, and although too weak to
contend with the fire of my steed Javadia, it would have been an
unpardonable sin against etiquette to have remained elevated above the
prince. All Javadia’s[11.7.9] warlike propensities were awakened at the
stir of this splendid retinue, from which ever and anon some dashing
young Hara issued, “witching the world with noble horsemanship”; and as,
in all the various evolutions of the _manège_, there was not a steed in
Rajwara could surpass mine, to my vast inconvenience and no small
danger, he determined on this occasion to show them off. In one of his
furious bounds, he had his fore-feet on the broken parapet of a
reservoir, and as I turned him short, he threw up his head, which came
in contact with mine, and made my Chabuk-sawar[11.7.10] exclaim, “_Ali
madad!_” “The help of Ali!” and a few more bounds brought me in contact
with my friend, the Rao Raja, when we dismounted and embraced. After
going through the same ceremony with the principal chiefs, he again gave
me three fraternal hugs to prove the strength of his friendship, as he
said, with blunt sincerity, “This is your home, which you have come to
at last.” With other affectionate welcomes, he took leave and preceded
me. His retinue was striking, but not so much from tinsel [669]
ornament, as from the joyous feeling which pervaded every part of it. As
my friend twirled his lance in the midst of about eight hundred
cavaliers and fifteen hundred foot, I thought of the deeds his ancestors
had performed, when leading such a _gol_, to maintain their reputation
for fealty. It recalled his words on the formation of the treaty, when
the generosity of Britain again restored his country to independence.
“What can I say, in return for the restoration of my home? My ancestors
were renowned in the time of the kings, in whose service many lost their
lives; and the time may come when _I_ may evince what I feel, if my
services should be required: for myself, my chiefs, are all yours!” I
would pledge my existence that performance would not have lagged behind
his promise. We allowed a quarter of an hour to elapse, in order to
avoid the clouds of dust which a Rajput alone can breathe without
inconvenience; and accompanied by my worthy and dignified old friend,
the Maharaja Bikramajit, we proceeded to our tents, placed upon the bank
of a tank beyond the town.

=The Būndi Palace.=—The _coup d'œil_ of the castellated palace of
Bundi, from whichever side you approach it, is perhaps the most striking
in India;[11.7.11] but it would require a drawing on a much larger scale
to comprehend either its picturesque beauties or its grandeur.
Throughout Rajwara, which boasts many fine palaces, the Bundi-ka-mahall
is allowed to possess the first rank; for which it is indebted to
situation, not less than to the splendid additions which it has
continually received: for it is an aggregate of palaces, each having the
name of its founder; and yet the whole so well harmonizes, and the
character of the architecture is so uniform, that its breaks or
fantasies appear only to rise from the peculiarity of the position, and
serve to diversify its beauties. The Chhattar-mahall, or that built by
Raja Chhattarsal, is the most extensive and most modern addition. It has
two noble halls, supported by double ranges of columns of serpentine
from his own native quarries, in which the vassals are ranged, and
through whose ranks you must pass before you reach the state apartments;
the view from which is grand. Gardens are intermingled with palaces
raised on gigantic terraces. In one of these I was received by the Raja,
on my visit the next day. Whoever has seen the palace of Bundi, can
easily picture to himself the hanging-gardens of Semiramis. After
winding up the zig-zag road, I passed by these halls, through a vista of
the vassals whose contented manly looks delighted me, to the inner
palace; when, having conversed on the affairs of his country for some
time, the Raja led the way to one of the terraces, where I was surprised
to find a grand court assembled, under the [670] shade of immense trees,
trellised vines, and a fine marble reservoir of water. The chiefs and
retainers, to the number of at least a hundred, were drawn up in lines,
at the head of which was the throne. The prospect was fine, both for
near and distant views, as it includes the lakes called the Jeth-Sagar
and Prem-Sagar, with the gardens on their margins, and in the distance
the city of Kotah, and both banks of the Chambal; and beyond these
successive terraces and mahalls, to the summit of the hill, is seen the
cupola of the Dhabhai’s tomb, through the deep foliage, rising above the
battlements of Taragarh. This terrace is on a grand bastion, which
commands the south-east gorge of the valley leading to the city; and
yet, such is the immense mass of building, that from the town one has no
idea of its size.

It were vain to attempt a description of Bundi, even were I inclined. It
was the traitor of Karwar who raised the walls of Taragarh, and it was
Raja Budh Singh who surrounded the city with walls, of which Ummed Singh
used to say “they were not required against an equal foe, and no defence
against a superior—and only retarded reconquest if driven out of Bundi,
whose best defence was its hills.”

=Illness of Dr. Duncan=, _September 21_.—Partly by business, partly by
sickness, we were compelled to halt here a week. Our friend the doctor,
who had been ailing for some time, grew gradually worse, and at length
gave himself up. Carey found him destroying his papers and making his
will, and came over deeply affected. I left my bed to reason with my
friend, who refused all nourishment, and was sinking fast; but as much
from depression of spirits as disease. In vain I used the common
arguments to rouse him from his lethargy; I then tried, as the last
resort, to excite his anger, and reviled him for giving way, telling him
to teach by example as well as precept. By this course, I raised a tinge
of blood in my poor friend’s cheek, and what was better, got a tumbler
of warm jelly down his throat; and appointing the butler, Kali Khan, who
was a favourite and had great influence, to keep rousing and feeding
him, I left him. No sooner was _he_ a little mended, than Carey took to
his bed, and nothing could rouse him. But, as time passed, it was
necessary to get on; and with litters furnished by the Raja we
recommenced our journey.

=Banks of the Mej River=,[11.7.12] _September 26_, distance ten miles.—I
this day quitted my hospitable friend, the Rao Raja. As I left my tent,
I found the Maharaja of Thana, with the Dablana[11.7.13] contingent
(_zabita_), amounting to a hundred horse, appointed to escort me to the
frontier. Our route lay through the Banda-ka-nal, ‘the valley of Banda,’
whose gorge near the capital is not above four hundred yards in breadth,
but [671] gradually expands until we reach Satur, about two miles
distant. On both sides of this defile are numerous gardens, and the
small temples and cenotaphs which crown the heights, in many places well
wooded, produce a most picturesque effect. All these cenotaphs are
perfectly classical in form, being simple domes supported by slender
columns; that of Suja Bai is peculiarly graceful. As we reached Satur,
the valley closed our last view of the fairy palace of the Haras,
rearing its domes and gilded spires half-way up the mountain, the
_kunguras_ of Taragarh encircling it as a diadem, whilst the isolated
hill of Miraji, at the foot of which was the old city, terminates the
prospect, and makes Bundi appear as if entirely shut in by rocks. Satur
is a sacred spot in the history of the Haras, and here is enshrined
their tutelary divinity, fair Hope (Asapurna), who has never entirely
deserted them, from the sakha of Asi, Gualkund, and Asir, to the present
hour; and though the enchantress has often exchanged her attributes for
those of Kalima,[11.7.14] the faith of her votaries has survived every
metamorphosis. A high antiquity is ascribed to Satur, which they assert
is mentioned in the sacred books; if so, it is not in connexion with the
Haras. The chief temple is dedicated to Bhavani,[11.7.15] of whom
Asapurna is an emanation. There is nothing striking in the structure,
but it is hallowed by the multitude of sacrificial altars to the manes
of the Haras who have “fallen in the faith of the Chhatri.” There were
no inscriptions, but abundance of lazy drones of Brahmans enjoying their
ease under the wide-spreading bar and pipal trees, ready, when well
paid, to prepare their incantations to Bhavani, either for good or for
evil: it is chiefly for the latter purpose that Satur-ki-Bhavani is
celebrated. We continued our journey to Nawagaon, a tolerable village,
but there being no good encamping ground, our tents were pitched a mile
farther on, upon the bank of the Mej, whose turbid waters were flowing
with great velocity from the accumulated mountain-rills which fall into
it during the equinoctial rains.

=Thāna=, _September 27_.—This is the seat of Maharaja Sawant Singh, the
eldest son of my friend Maharaja Bikramajit of Khini. He affords another
instance in which the laws of adoption have given the son precedence of
the father, who, while he receives homage in one capacity, must pay it
in another; for young Sawant was raised from the junior to the elder
branch of Thana. The castle of Sawant Singh, which guards the western
frontier, is small, but of solid masonry, erected on the crest of a low
hill. There are only six villages besides Thana forming his fief, which
is burdened with the service of twenty-five horse. In Bundi, ‘a knight’s
fee,’ or what should equip one cavalier, is two hundred and fifty rupees
of rent. In the afternoon the Maharaja brought [672] his son and heir to
visit me, a fine little fellow six years of age, who with his sword
buckled by his side and miniature shield on his back, galloped his
little steed over hill and dale, like a true Rajput. I procured several
inscriptions, but none above three hundred years old.

=Jahāzpur=,[11.7.16] _September 28_.—At daybreak I again found the
Maharaja at the head of his troop, ready to escort me to the frontier.
In vain I urged that he had superabundantly performed all the duties of
hospitality; “Such were his orders, and he must obey them.” I well know
the laws of the Medes were not more peremptory than those of Bishan
Singh; so we jogged on, beguiling the time in conversation regarding the
semi-barbarous race of the tract I was about to enter, the Minas of
Jahazpur and the Karar or fastnesses of the Banas, for ages the terror
of the country, and who had studded the plains with cenotaphs of the
Haras, fallen in defending their goods and chattels against their
inroads. The fortress of Jahazpur was not visible until we entered the
pass, and indeed had nearly cleared it, for it is erected on a hill
detached from the range but on its eastern face, and completely guards
this important point of ingress to Mewar. This district is termed
Chaurasi, or consisting of eighty-four townships, a favourite
territorial subdivision: nor is there any number intermediate between
this and three hundred and sixty. Jahazpur, however, actually contains
above a hundred townships, besides numerous _purwas_, or ‘hamlets.’ The
population consists entirely of the indigenous Minas, who could turn out
four thousand _kamthas_, or ‘bowmen,’ whose aid or enmity were not to be
despised, as has been well demonstrated to Zalim Singh, who held the
district during fifteen years. Throughout the whole of this extensive
territory, which consists as much of land on the plains as in the hills,
the Mina is the sole proprietor, nor has the Rana any property but the
two tanks of Budh Lohari, and these were wrested from the Minas by Zalim
Singh during his tenure.[11.7.17]

I was met at the frontier by the _taiyunnati_[11.7.18] of Jahazpur,
headed by the old chief of Basai and his grandson Arjun, of whom we have
spoken in the journey to Kotah. It was a very respectable troop of
cavalry, and though their appointments were not [673] equal to my Hara
escort, it was satisfactory to see assembled, merely at one post, a body
which the Rana two years ago could not have collected round his own
person, either for parade or defence: as a beginning, therefore, it is
good. Received also the civil manager, Sobharam, the nephew of the
minister, a very good man, but without the skill to manage such a tract.
He was accompanied by several of the Mina Naiks, or chiefs. There is
much that is interesting here, both as matter of duty and of history; we
shall therefore halt for a few days, and rest our wearied invalids.

-----

Footnote 11.7.1:

In almost every respect like a sparrow-hawk; perhaps a little more
elongated and elegant in form; and the beak, I think, was straight.
[Mr. C. Chubb of the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, has
kindly examined a specimen of _Eudynamis honorata_ or _E. orientalis_,
the “Brain Fever” bird, and he confirms the Editor’s recollection that
the bill of the bird is rounded, and somewhat hooked at the tip.]

Footnote 11.7.2:

[Thirty-six miles N.E. of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.7.3:

[The unhealthiness of Kotah is due to the water of the Kishor Sāgar
lake on the east percolating through the soil to the river on the west
(_IGI_, xv. 425).]

Footnote 11.7.4:

[Skt. _parusa_, an axe-shaped goad: also known as _ankus_.]

Footnote 11.7.5:

[About 10 miles W. of Kotah city.]

Footnote 11.7.6:

[“The introductory stanza of a poem or song, which is repeated as a
kind of burden or chorus” (Platts, _Urdu Dict._ _s.v._ _dhur_): “petit
poëme ordinairement composé de cinq hémistiches sur une même rime”
(Garçin de Tassy, _Hist. Litt. Hindouie_, i. 22). It is said to have
been invented by Rāja Mān of Gwalior (_Memoirs of Jahāngīr_, trans.
Rogers-Beveridge, 271).]

Footnote 11.7.7:

[P. 1618.]

Footnote 11.7.8:

[“Touera” in the Author’s map.]

Footnote 11.7.9:

[The name of the steed of the hero Gugga.]

Footnote 11.7.10:

[A rough-rider.]

Footnote 11.7.11:

[Fergusson (_Hist. Indian Architecture_, ed. 1910, ii. 175) says that,
though smaller, the palace almost equals that of Udaipur in
architectural effect, while its position is in some respects even more
imposing.]

Footnote 11.7.12:

[The Mej Nadi, the principal, almost the only, drainage channel of the
Būndi State, falls into the Chambal.]

Footnote 11.7.13:

[Dablāna about 10 miles N. of Būndi city: Thāna in the Kherwāra
District of S. Mewār.]

Footnote 11.7.14:

[The creed of Islām.]

Footnote 11.7.15:

[Her local title is Rakt Dantika Devi, ‘Devi with the blood-stained
teeth’ (_Rājputāna Gazetteer_, 1879, i. 240).]

Footnote 11.7.16:

[Ten miles S. of Deoli cantonment.]

Footnote 11.7.17:

The indigenous Mina affords here an excellent practical illustration
of Manu’s axiom, that “the right in the soil belongs to him who first
cleared and tilled the land” [_Laws_, ix. 44]. The Rajput conqueror
claims and receives the tribute of the soil, but were he to attempt to
enforce more, he would soon be brought to his senses by one of their
various modes of self-defence—incendiarism, self-immolation, or
abandonment of the lands in a body. We have mystified a very simple
subject by basing our arguments on the arrangements of the Muhammadan
conqueror. If we mean to follow his example, whose doctrine was the
law of the sword, let us do it, but we must not confound might with
right: consult custom and tradition throughout India, where traces of
originality yet exist, and it will invariably appear that the right in
the soil is in the cultivator, who maintains even in exile the _hakk
bapota-ka-bhum_, in as decided a manner as any freeholder in England.
But Colonel Briggs has settled this point, to those who are not
blinded by prejudice.

Footnote 11.7.18:

[A deputation of welcome.]

-----

CHAPTER 8

=Attempted Poisoning of the Author. Jahāzpur=, _October 1_.—My
journalizing had nearly terminated yesterday. Duncan and Carey being
still confined to their beds, my relative, Captain Waugh, sat down with
me to dinner; but fever and ague having destroyed all appetite on my
part, I was a mere spectator. I had, however, fancied a cake of _makkai_
flour, but had not eaten two mouthfuls before I experienced
extraordinary sensations; my head seemed expanding to an enormous size,
as if it alone would have filled the tent; my tongue and lips felt tight
and swollen, and though I underwent no alarm, nor suffered the slightest
loss of sense, I deemed it the prelude to one of those violent attacks,
which have assailed me for several years past, and brought me to the
verge of death. I begged Captain Waugh to leave me; but he had scarcely
gone before a constriction of the throat came on, and I thought all was
over. I rose up, however, and grasped [674] the tent-pole, when my
relative re-entered with the surgeon. I beckoned them not to disturb my
thoughts, instead of which they thrust some ether and compounds down my
throat, which operated with magical celerity. I vomited violently; the
constriction ceased; I sunk on my pallet, and about two in the morning I
awoke, bathed in perspiration, and without a remnant of disease. It was
difficult to account for this result: the medical oracle fancied I had
been poisoned, but I was loth to admit it. If the fact were so, the
poison must have been contained in the cake, and as it would have been
too great a risk to retain the person who prepared it, the baker was
discharged. It was fortunate that the symptoms were such as to induce
Captain Waugh to describe them so fully, and it was still more fortunate
for me that the doctor was not able to go out with his fishing-rod, for
the whole transaction did not last five minutes. This is about the
fourth time I have been ‘upon the brink’ (_kinari pahuncha_) since I
entered Mewar.[11.8.1]

=Khajuri=, _October 2_.—Left my sick friends this morning to nurse each
other, and having an important duty to perform at Mandalgarh, which is
out of the direct route, appointed a rendezvous where I shall meet them
when this work is over. I was for the first time compelled to shut
myself up in my palki; incessant fever and ague for the last two months
have disorganized a frame which has had to struggle with many of these
attacks. We are now in what is termed the Karar, for so the tract is
named on both banks of the Banas to the verge of the plateau; and my
journey was through a little nation of robbers by birth and profession;
but their _kamthas_ (bows) were unstrung, and their arrows rusting in
the quiver. Well may our empire in the east be called one of opinion,
when a solitary individual of Britain, escorted by a few of Skinner’s
Horse, may journey through the valley of Khajuri, where, three short
years ago, every crag would have concealed an ambush prepared to plunder
him! At present, I could by signal have collected four thousand bowmen
around me, to protect or to plunder; though the Minas, finding that
their rights are respected, are subsiding into regular tax-paying
subjects, and call out with their betters “Atal Raj!” (“May your sway be
everlasting!”) We had a grand convocation of the Mina Naiks, and, in the
Rana’s name, I distributed crimson turbans and scarfs; for as through
our mediation the Rana had just recovered the district of Jahazpur, he
charged me with its settlement. I found these Minas true children of
nature, who for the first time seemed to feel they were received within
the pale of society, instead of being considered as outcasts. “The heart
must leap kindly back to kindness,” is a sentiment as powerfully [675]
felt by the semi-barbarians of the Karar as by the more civilized
habitants of other climes.

Our route was through a very narrow valley, little susceptible of
cultivation, though a few patches were visible near the hamlets,
scattered here and there. The scene was wild, and the cool morning air
imparted vigour to my exhausted frame. The slopes of the valley in many
places are covered with trees to the very summit of the mountains, on
which the _kukra_ or wild cock was crowing his matins, and we were in
momentary expectation of seeing some bears, fit associates of the Minas,
in their early promenades. As we approached Khajuri, the valley widened,
so as to admit of its being termed a township of fifty-two thousand
bighas, which afforded another proof of ancestral wisdom, for it was in
_sasan_, or grant to the Brahmans: but the outlaws of the Karar, though
they sacrifice a tithe of their plunder to ‘our Lady of the Pass’ (Ghata
Rani), have little consideration for the idlers of the plains. This
feeling is not confined to the Minas; for the Bhumia Rajputs, despising
all the anathemas of the church, have seized on the best lands of
Khajuri. But only a small portion of the Bawana (fifty-two thousand),
about seventeen thousand English acres, is arable.

=Kachola= or =Kachaura=, _October 3_.—Execrable roads! Our route
continued through the same valley, occasionally expanding to the
westward. Half-way, we passed the baronial castle of Amargarh, whose
chief, Rawat Dalil Singh, is now on duty with his quota at Jahazpur, but
his uncle Pahar Singh, who is a great favourite with our party (by whom
he is known as ‘the mountain-lion’), came to meet and conduct me to the
castle. But I was too unwell, or should on many accounts have desired to
visit this somewhat celebrated abode of one of the Babas (_infants_) of
Mewar, whose feud I maintained for him against his potent neighbour of
Shahpura, which has elsewhere been related.[11.8.2] It is quite
unassailable, being built on an isolated rock, and, except by a
circuitous path on one side, there is no passage through the dense
jungle that surrounds it: a mode of fortifying recommended by
Manu,[11.8.3] but which, if universally followed in this land so studded
with fortresses, would waste no small portion of the sovereignty. I was
quite satisfied with this view of the castle of Dalil, and enjoyed from
the point of descent a noble prospect. In the foreground is the cenotaph
of Rana Arsi, in the centre of the valley, which extended and gradually
opened towards Mandalgarh, whose blue ridge was distinctly visible in
the distance. The hills to the right were broken abruptly into masses,
and as far as the eye could stretch [676] on every side, were disordered
heaps of gigantic rocks. To reclaim this district, the largest in Mewar,
I am now intent, having convoked all the Bhumias and Patels of its three
hundred and sixty townships at the chief city, Mandalgarh. My friend,
Pahar Singh, as locum tenens of his uncle, expended powder on the
occasion; and must have charged his patereroes[11.8.4] to the muzzle.
Paharji joined me on his Panchkalyan (so they term a horse with four
white legs and a white nose), and determined to escort me to Mandalgarh;
a service, as he said, not only due from his family, but in accordance
with the commands of his sovereign the Rana, of whom Pahar was a
faithful, zealous, and valiant supporter during his adversity. The
Bhumias of Mandalgarh, in fact, generally deserve the praise of having
maintained this stronghold without either command or assistance
throughout the whole period of his misfortunes.

Kachaura is a township rated at six thousand rupees of annual revenue in
the rent-roll of Mewar, but is now an inconsiderable village. In former
times, it must have been a place of importance, for all around, to a
considerable distance, the ground is strewed with fragments of sculpture
of a superior character, and one spot is evidently the site of the
cenotaphs of the family. The town had stood on the western bank of an
immense lake, which through neglect is now a swamp; and, half-way up the
hill, are disclosed, amidst the brushwood of the _dho_,[11.8.5] the
ruins of a temple: but tradition has perished with the population, who
were subjected at once to the curse of constant foreign invasion and the
inroads of the Minas of the Karar. Thus a soil, whose richness is
apparent from the luxuriance of its meadows, is in a state of entire
desolation. Kachaura forms the _patta_ of Shahpura in this district,
whose chief has to serve two masters, for he is a tributary of Ajmer for
Shahpura, itself a fief of Mewar, and holds an estate of about forty
thousand rupees of annual rent in Mandalgarh, which has been two years
under sequestration for his refusal to attend the summons to Udaipur,
and for his barbarous murder of the chief of Amargarh.[11.8.6] This is a
state of things which ought not to exist. When we freed these countries
from the Mahrattas, we should have renounced the petty tributes imposed
upon the surrounding chiefs not within the limits of the district of
Ajmer, and the retention of which is the source of irritating
discussions with these princes through the feudatories. Presuming on
this external influence, the Shahpura Raja set his sovereign’s warrant
at defiance, and styled himself a subject of Ajmer; nor was it until he
found he was bound by a double tie of duty, that he deigned to appear at
the capital. The resumption of the estate in Mandalgarh alone overcame
the inertness of the chief of Shahpura; he has already too much in the
Chaurasi, or eighty-four [677] townships of Shahpura, for such a subject
as he is, who prefers a foreign master to his legitimate lord. I would
recommend that the Rathor chiefs of Marwar, beyond the Aravalli hills,
now tributary to Ajmer, and who consequently only look to that State,
should be replaced under their proper head: the sacrifice is of no
moment to us, and to them it will be a boon.

=Damnia=, _October 9_.—I was detained at Kachaura by a violent accession
of fever and ague, as well as spleen, increased no doubt by the
unhealthiness of the position amidst swamps and jungle. This is a fine
healthy spot, where I should like to convene the Bhumias and ryots, to
endeavour to remove the reproach of so beautiful a land remaining waste.
Damnia, which is in the sequestrated _patta_ of Shahpura, is a town of
two thousand houses; a universal ruin!

=Mānpura=, 15.—After a week’s halt, reached this spot, about a mile
south-west of the town, and on the bank of the Banas.[11.8.7] The entire
population of Manpura turned out to receive me; the damsels with their
brazen vessels of water on their heads; but the song of the Suhaila had
ceased to charm, and my ague made me too ill even to return their
kindness. To-day it has abated, and to-morrow, with another respite, I
will try to get through the work which brought me here. Mandalgarh is
three coss from hence. I was rejoiced to see the signs of reviving
prosperity about Manpura; some fine patches of sugar-cane were
refreshing sights.

=Māndalgarh=,[11.8.8] 16 and 17.—Proceeded up the valley and encamped
within half a mile of the city, from which the governor and his cortege
came to meet and welcome me; but I was too enfeebled to ascend the fort,
which was a subject of regret. It is by no means formidable, and may be
about four furlongs in length, with a low rampart wall, and bastions
encircling the crest of the hill. The governor’s residence appears on
the west side, at which spot the regent of Kotah was compelled to
abandon his ladders, which they retain as a trophy. This is the festival
of the Dasahra, the day sacred to Rama; but feasting is lost upon me,
for this is the ninth day of abstinence from dinner. Captain Waugh
rejoined me yesterday, looking very ill, and giving a poor account of my
friends, especially Carey, who is sinking rapidly. He left them encamped
at Baghit, the point of rendezvous in the Banas where I shall join them
to-morrow. He found me on my _charpai_ (pallet), with some threescore
leeches (which I had got from Mandalgarh) on my left side,[11.8.9] while
I was attending [678] to and noting down the oral reports of the Bhumias
and Patels of the district, who filled my tent, many remaining in groups
outside. I notwithstanding got through the work to my satisfaction, and
have obtained a thorough insight into the agricultural details of this
fine tract, which I may touch upon, if I am able, the first halt.

=Annals of Māndalgarh.=—Mandalgarh was rebuilt by a chief of the
Balnot[11.8.10] tribe, one of the ramifications of the Solanki or
Chaulukya race, which furnished a splendid dynasty of kings to Anhilwara
(Nahrwala) Patan, who ruled over the western maritime provinces of India
from the tenth to the fourteenth century. They were of the great Takshak
or Ophite race, which, with three other tribes, became converts to
Brahmanism.[11.8.11] The Balnot of Mandalgarh was a branch of the family
which occupied Tonk-Toda on the Banas, recognized in their traditional
poems as Takshak, or, in the dialect, Takatpura, ‘city of the Takshak,
or snake.’[11.8.12] Although tradition asserts that the Solanki of Toda
migrated from Patan during the religious wars in the twelfth century, it
is more probable that the branch fixed itself here during their progress
from the north in search of settlements; for their genealogical creed
assigns Lohkot, in the Panjab, as the cradle of their power.[11.8.13] It
is indeed a curious fact, amounting to demonstration of the Indo-Scythic
origin of the Agnikula races, that they all lay claim to this northern
origin, in spite of their entrance into the world through the medium of
fire (_agni_): in fact, the glorious egotism of the Brahman is never
more conspicuous than when he asserts the superiority of the Chauhans
over the more ancient races of Surya and Soma; that “these were born of
woman, but they were made by the Brahmans”: a proof of conversion which
requires no comment. In spite of this fabled birth at the fountain-head,
the Analkund of Abu, tradition negatives the assumed pedigree of the
Brahmans, and brings them all from the north. Be this as it may, the
branch which fixed itself at Mandalgarh gave its name to the tract,
which is still recognized by some as Balnot.

=The Philosopher’s Stone.=—The first possession the founder had was
Larpura, a town of great antiquity. He had in his service a Bhil, named
Mandu, who, while guarding the sugar-cane from the wild hog, came upon
one sound asleep. To ensure his arrow piercing the animal, he began to
sharpen it upon a stone; and, to his astonishment, found it transmuted
to [679] gold. He repaired to his master, who returned with Mandu, and
found the stone, with the hog still asleep beside it; but no sooner had
he seized upon his prize, than Baraha disappeared.[11.8.14] With the
possession of the _paras-patthar_, the ‘philosopher’s stone,’ he raised
the walls of Mandalgarh, which was so named after the fortunate Bhil. By
an act of injustice to one of his subjects, he forfeited Mandalgarh to a
descendant. This subject was a Jogi, who had a mare of such
extraordinary speed as to be able to run down an antelope. Whether the
Balnot prince thought the sport unsuitable to an ascetic we are not
told; but he forcibly took away the mare. The Jogi complained to the
king, who sent a force and expelled the Balnot from Mandalgarh, and his
descendants are petty Bhumias at Jawal and Kachrod, retaining, though
mere peasants, the distinctive title of Rao. The numerous stories of
this kind, common throughout Rajwara, accounting for the foundation of
many ancient places, may merely record, in this manner, the discovery of
mineral wealth; from the acquisition and the loss of which the legendary
moralist has constructed his tale.

I discovered in the remains of a marble _bawari_, or reservoir, at
Kachaura, two large tablets, containing the pedigree of the Solanki
family, which will require time to decipher. Tradition, however, is busy
with the name of Raja Bhim, and his son Baran of Anhilwara, from whom
many tribes branched off; and although, from the first, only royal
houses were founded, the other claims a greater celebrity from
originating a heterogeneous breed, which descended into the third and
fourth great classes, the Vaisya and Sudra. From him the Bagherwal
Mahajans,[11.8.15] who became converts to the Jain faith, claim descent,
as well as the Gujars of Sont-Katoria; the Sunars, or goldsmiths, of
Bonkan; the Bhil communities of Oghna-Panarwa (or Mewar); and likewise
those of Mau-Maidana, in Kotah. Whether from Baran and his degenerate
offspring originated the name of _baran-shankar_, applied to the mixed
classes, I am not informed.[11.8.16] The Bagherwal is one of the “twelve
and a half (_sarha barah niyat_) castes of Mahajans,” or mercantile
tribes, subdivided into innumerable families, the greater portion of
whom profess the Jain creed, and nearly all are of Rajput ancestry: an
important fact in the pedigree of this considerable part of the
population. The lineal descendant of the Toda Rao resides at Basai in a
small village; and two other branches, who held large possessions at
Todri and Jahazpur, retain the villages of Mirchiakhera and Bhatwara,
both in Chitor; they have preserved the title of Rao amidst all the
revolutions that have deprived them of their estates; nor would any
prince of Rajwara deem himself degraded by their alliance [680]. Such is
the virtue of pedigree in these regions. I should imagine that the
Balnots held of the Ranas of Mewar, as Mandalgarh has been an integral
portion of that State during the most flourishing period of the
Anhilwara dynasty, although the inscription of Chitor savours of
conquest; in which case we have at once a solution of the question, and
proof that the Balnot was inducted into Mandalgarh by his superior,
Kumarpal.[11.8.17]

In S. 1755 (A.D. 1699) the tyrant Aurangzeb granted Mandalgarh to the
Rathor chief of Pisangan, named Dudaji, who subdivided it into
allotments for his brethren, leaving no revenue for the duties of the
civil administration and repairs of the castle. To remedy this, he
imposed a tax, called _daotra_ or _dasotra_, or ‘tenth’ of the net value
of each harvest, upon his Bhumia brethren. When the Rana succeeded in
expelling the royal garrison, he found it a work of some difficulty to
get rid of the Rathor feudatories; and he gave them regular _pattas_ for
their estates, subject to the payment of _dasotra_; but as he found it
led to interference, in the inspection of crops, and to fluctuation and
appeals in bad seasons, he commuted the tax for service of one horseman
and one foot-soldier for each five hundred rupees of rent, and a certain
small sum annually to mark their tributary condition.

In these times of turbulence, other impositions were laid on the Bhumias
of his own kindred, the Ranawats, Kanawats, and Saktawats, who
established their rights with their swords when the district was
subjected to the emperor. In the same manner as with the Rathors, the
Rana confirmed their acquisitions on the payment of certain fines called
_bhumbarar_, which were either _baraskar_ and _trisala_, or ‘annual’ and
‘triennial’; the first being levied from the holders of single villages,
the latter from those who had more than one. Thus, Amargarh was fixed at
two thousand five hundred rupees; Amaldah, fifteen hundred; Tintora,
thirteen hundred; Jhunjrala, fourteen hundred, etc., triennially, having
obtained their lands by main force. They also, when Mandalgarh was
threatened, would repair with their vassals and defend it during ten
days at their own expense, after which they received rations from the
State. There were various other fines collected from the Bhumia
vassalage, such as _lauasma_, or for the support of the Nakkarchis
(kettle-drummers), the mace, standard, and even the torch-bearers
attached to each garrison. There was also _khar-lakar_, for wood and
forage, which has been elsewhere explained; _hal-barar_, or
‘plough-tax,’ and _ghasmali_, or ‘pasturage,’ the rates of which are
graduated, and vary [681] in amount with the power of enforcing their
collections. But owing to these circumstances, the best land in
Mandalgarh belongs to the Bhumia chieftains.

It was about this time, in the reign of Jagat Singh II., that Ummeda
Singh of Shahpura had the grant of seventy-three villages in Mandalgarh,
one-fifth of the whole district, subject only to the fine of three
thousand two hundred and fifty rupees annually for _ghasmali_, with five
hundred more to the deputy governor, and two hundred to the Chaudhari,
or territorial head of the district. In this lavish manner were estates
disposed of. This family continued to hold it until S. 1843, when the
minister Somji, in order to obtain his support during the Chondawat
rebellion, gave him a formal acquittance for this service, and in
addition to these lands, the two subordinate fiefs of Dangarmau and
Borwa on the Plateau, and the rich estate of Agoncha on the Khari; in
return for which, he exacted a stipulation to serve with four hundred
horse: a contract fulfilled only by one chief of the family, who fell
leading his contingent at the battle of Ujjain. His descendants seem to
have claimed immunity on the score of his service; and the present
incumbent is a madman. Great changes, however, have recently been made
in the condition of the Bhumias, and these desultory fines have all
merged into a duty more accordant with the character of the Rajput;
service in the garrisons of Mandalgarh and Jahazpur, and a fixed annual
sum from those who are too poor to command even a single horse.

=Baghīt=,[11.8.18] _18th_; eight miles.—A large village on the west of
our own stream, the Berach, coming from the Udaisagar. Our road lay over
a rich soil, as usual overgrown with grass. Here I rejoined my sick
friends, all very ill; the doctor better, but Carey in a very precarious
condition.

=Birslabās=, _19th_.—The route over the most fertile plains of Mewar;
but one continuous mass of jungle and rank grass. The Maharaja came out
to meet me, a courteous, polished Rajput. He is of the Ranawat clan,
descended from Rana Amra Singh, and the elder branch of the Shahpura
family. Both his father and grandfather fell defending the cause of Shah
Jahan against the usurper Aurangzeb, which lost him his birthright; but
he has five villages left attached to Birslabas. Encamped near the
altars of his heroic ancestors.

=Amba=, _21st_; six and a half miles.—The route over a scene of
desolation; fine fields, fruitful of grass and ruins. Sent one of my
Brahmans to the town of Akola, two coss distant, and had several
inscriptions copied; they were all immunities or grants of privileges to
the printers of that town, thence called Chhipi-ka-Akola, to distinguish
[682] it from another of the same name. I halted at Birslabas, received
several visits, and held interesting conversations with the Maharaja;
but fever and ague leave the mind in a sorry state. I can pay no
attention to barometer or perambulator; of the latter Babu Mahesh keeps
a diary, and on his intelligence I can depend.

=Hamīrgarh=,[11.8.19] _22nd_.—This town belongs to Biramdeo, Ranawat,
the son of Dhiraj Singh, who was the chief adviser of the Salumbar
princes in the rebellion of S. 1843, during which he obtained it. The
present chief is an oaf, always intoxicated; and as he did not discharge
the Baoris, or professional thieves in his service, on the return of
these days of peace, he was deprived of two towns amounting to seven
thousand rupees annual rent. He ought, indeed, by the treaty of A.D.
1818, to have lost Hamirgarh, but he contrived by various indirect means
to elude it, and to retain this, one of the most thriving places in
Mewar. It contains about eight hundred inhabited houses, tenanted
chiefly by manufacturers of chintz and _dopattas_, or ‘scarfs,’ such as
are worn by all the Rajputnis. It has a fine lake, filled with a variety
of wild duck, which live unmolested amidst the _singhara_[11.8.20] and
lotus. The more ancient name of this place is Bakrol, as I found by two
inscriptions, which again furnish specimens of sumptuary legislation.

=Siyāna=,[11.8.21] _23rd_; eight miles and three furlongs.—We are now in
the very heart of Mewar, plains extending as far as the eye can reach.
Traces of incipient prosperity are visible, but it will require years to
repair the mischief of the last quarter of a century. Passed through
Ujhana, Amli, Neuria—all surrendered in consequence of the treaty of
1818: the last-mentioned, together with Siyana, from the ‘Red Riever,’
as we have nicknamed the chieftain of Badesar. The prospect from this
ground is superb: the Udaipur hills in the distance; those of Pur and
Gurla,[11.8.22] with their cupolas, on our right; the fantastic peak of
Barak rising insulated from the plain. We are now approaching a place of
rest, which we all much require; though I fear Carey’s will be one of
perpetuity. Saw a beautiful mirage (_si-kot_) this morning, the certain
harbinger of the cold season. The ridge of Pur underwent a thousand
transformations, and the pinnacle of Barak was crowned with a multitude
of spires. There is not a more delightful relaxation than to watch the
changes of these evanescent objects, emblems of our own ephemeral
condition. This was the first really cold morning. The Panchayat, or
elders of Pur, with several of the most respectable inhabitants to the
number of fifty, came all this way to see me, and testify their
happiness and gratitude! Is there another nook in the earth where such a
principle is professed, much [683] less acted on? Hear their spokesman’s
reply to my question, “Why did they take the trouble to come so far from
home?” I give it verbatim: “Our town had not two hundred inhabited
dwellings when you came amongst us: now there are twelve hundred: the
Rana is our sovereign, but you are to us next to Parameswar (the
Almighty); our fields are thriving, trade is reviving, and we have not
been molested even for the wedding-portion.[11.8.23] We are happy, and
we have come to tell you so; and what is five coss, or five hundred, to
what you have done for us?” All very true, my friends, if you think so.
After a little wholesome advice to keep party feuds from the good town
of Pur, they took leave, to return their ten miles on foot.

Since the town council left me, I have been kept until half-past seven
by the Baba of Mangrop, and the Thakur of Rawarda, whose son I redeemed
from captivity in the fortress of Ajmer. Worn out; but what is to be
done? It is impossible to deny one’s self to chiefs who have also come
miles from the best motives. Now for coffee and the _charpai_.

=Rāsmi=,[11.8.24] _October 23_.—The direct or usual route is thirteen
and a half miles, but as I made a circuit by Marauli, it was fifteen.
Had I taken the common route, I should have followed the Banas the whole
way; as it was, for the last half I skirted its low banks, its limpid
stream flowing gently to the north-east. Found the cultivation
considerably increased compared with last year; but it is still a
desert, overgrown with grass and brushwood, in which these little
cultivated oases are “few and far between.” Marauli was thriving in the
midst of ruin, with fifty-seven ploughs at work; there were but twelve
when I entered Mewar. Rasmi has also seventy families instead of the
twenty I found; and in a few years I hope to see them greatly increased.
We had some delicious trout from the Banas, some of them equal to what
we caught last year at Pahona, the largest of which weighed
seventy-three rupees, or about two pounds, and near seventeen inches
long by nine in girth. My friend Tom David Steuart was more successful
than we were in getting them to rise at the fly; in revenge we took
them, unsportsmanlike, in a net. This appears to be the season for
eating them.

Rasmi is a place of considerable interest, and tradition is at work to
establish its antiquity, connecting it with the name of Raja Chand; but
whether the Pramar of [684] Chandravati, or the Chauhan of Abhaner, I
cannot learn. There were vestiges of past days; but even in these
regions, where to a certain extent they respect antiquity, I find the
ruined temples are despoiled, and appropriated to modern fabrics.
Amongst the groves of Rasmi I found some fragments of patriarchal
legislation, prohibiting “the ladies from carrying away under their
_ghaghra_ (petticoats) any portion of the _sadh_, or village-feast!” I
also discovered a tablet raised by the collective inhabitants of Rasmi,
which well illustrates the truth, that they had always some resort
against oppression. It runs as follows: “Written by the merchants,
bankers, printers, and assembled panchayat of Rasmi: Whereas the
collector of town-duties oppressed the merchant by name Pakar, and
exacted exorbitant duties on grain and _reza_ (unbleached cloth), for
which he abandoned the place; but the government-officer having forsworn
all such conduct for the future, and prevailed on him to return, and
having taken the god to witness—we, the assembled panch, have set up
this stone to record it. Asarh the 3rd, S. 1819.”

Fourteen years have elapsed since I first put my foot in Mewar, as a
subaltern of the Resident’s[11.8.25] escort, when it passed through
Rasmi. Since that period, my whole thoughts have been occupied with her
history and that of her neighbours.

=Jāsma=,[11.8.26] _24th_; distance fourteen miles, but not above twelve
direct.—This in past times was a township of celebrity, and in the heart
of the finest soil in India, with water at hand; but it had not a single
habitation when we entered the country; now, it has eighty families. Our
way for fourteen miles was through one wide waste of untrodden plain;
the Banas continued our companion half-way, when _she_ departed for
Galund to our right. Saw many inscriptions, of which we shall give an
account hereafter. Passed the copper-mines of Dariba;[11.8.27] but they
are filled with water, and the miners are all dead.

=Sanwār=,[11.8.28] _25th_; distance twelve and a half miles by the
direct route through Lonera; but I made a circuit to visit the
celebrated field of battle between Rawal Samarsi, of Chitor, and Bhola
Bhim, of Anhilwara Patan, recorded by the bard Chand in his Raesa. This
magnificent plain, like all the rest of this once garden of Mewar, is
overgrown with the _kesula_ or _palas_, and lofty rank grass; and the
sole circumstance by which it is known is the site. The bard describes
the battle as having occurred in Khet-Karera, or field of Karera, and
that the Solanki, on his defeat, retreated across the river, meaning the
Berach, which is a few miles to the south. A little way [685] from hence
is the Sangam, or point of junction of the Berach and Banas, which, with
a third small stream, forms a _triveni_; at their point of confluence
there is an altar to Mahadeo.

=Karera.=—At Karera there is a temple of some celebrity, dedicated to
the twenty-third of the Jain apostles, Parsvanath. I found several
inscriptions recording its foundation in S. 11 ..., and several from
1300 to 1350. We must supply the figures wanting in the first. The
priests are poor and ignorant; but they are transcribing its history,
and such as it is it shall be given. The temple is imposing, and though
evidently erected in the decline of the arts, may be considered a good
specimen for the twelfth century. It consists of two domes, supported by
numerous massive columns of a species of porphyry, of close texture,
excessively hard, and taking a fine polish. The capitals of the columns
are filled with Jain figures of their pontiffs. The domes are of nearly
equal diameters, about thirty feet each, and about forty in height;
under the further one is the sanctum of Parsva, and the other within the
votaries. There is a splendid colonnaded vestibule at the entrance,
richly sculptured, which gives a very grand appearance to the whole
edifice; but it stands in the midst of desolation. Even thirty years
ago, these plains were covered with crops of juar, in which an elephant
would have been lost; now there is scarcely the trace of a footpath, and
with some difficulty did I make way in my palki (for I am unable to
mount my horse) through the high grass which completely overtopped it,
and the babul trees, the thorns of which annoyed us. Karera, which
formerly contained six hundred houses, has now only sixty; and more than
half of these have been built since we came amongst them. The damsels of
Karera came out to welcome me with the ‘song of joy,’ and bringing
water. The distance is seven miles from Rasmi to Karera, and nine thence
to Sanwar. The latter belongs to one of the infants (_Babas_) of Mewar,
the Maharaja Daulat Singh, now kilahdar or commandant of Kumbhalmer.
This chief town of the estate of my friend the Maharaja is but small,
and in no flourishing condition. There is a small fort, in which he
contrived to maintain himself against the savage bands who long prowled
over the country. Transcribed an inscription, and found it to be the
abolition of a monopoly of tobacco, dated S. 1826.

=Mauli=, _26th_; seven and a half miles.—As usual, all was barren
between Sanwar and Mauli; though at each are the traces of reviving
industry. This was formerly a considerable town, and rated in the books
at seven thousand rupees annual rent; but now it yields not seven
hundred. Its population consists of about eighty families of all classes
[686], half of which have been recalled from their long exile in Malwa
and Khandesh, and have already given a new aspect to Mauli in its
sugar-canes. Her highness’s steward, however, is not one of the
faithful. There is a very fine _bawari_, or reservoir, of coarse marble,
constructed by Baiji Raj, ‘the royal mother,’ of the present Rana and
his sister, in whose appanage it is. An inscription, dated S. 1737,
recorded an ordinance in favour of the Jains, that “the oil-mill of
Mauli should not work on the four rainy months”; in order to lessen the
destruction of animal life.[11.8.29]

=Heights of Tus and Merta=, _27th_; fourteen miles and a half.—At length
there is an end to our disastrous journey; and from this ground I stir
not again, till I start for Samudra (the sea), to embark for the land of
my sires. Our route, as usual, over desolate fields, doubly striking as
we passed the hunting-seats of Nahramagra, or ‘tiger mount.’ Bajraj, the
royal steed, who seemed instinctively to know he was at the end of his
journey, was unwilling to quit the path and his companions, when I urged
him to pick his way amidst the ruined palace of the Ranas, where,
without metaphor, “the owl stands sentinel”; and which was crumbling
into and choking up the Bamani, whose monotonous murmur over these
impediments increased the melancholy sensations which arose on beholding
such a scene. Every year is aiding its rapid decay, and vegetation,
fixing itself everywhere, rends its walls asunder. The range of stabling
for thirty horses, all of stone, even to the mangers, is one extensive
ruin. It was on this spot, according to the chronicles, that the sage
Harit bestowed the enchanted blade upon the great sire of the Sesodias,
eleven centuries ago; but they have run their career, and the problem
remains to be solved, whether they have to commence a new course, or
proceed in the same ratio of decay as the palace of the tiger-mount. The
walls around this royal preserve no longer serve to keep the game from
prowling where they please. A noble boar crossed our path, but had no
pursuers; “our blood was cold”; we wanted rest. As we approached our old
ground, my neighbours of Merta and villages adjacent poured out to
welcome our return, preceded by the Dholi of Tus and his huge
kettle-drum, and the fair, bearing their lotas, or brazen vessels with
water, chanted the usual strain of welcome. I dropped a piece of silver
into each as I passed, and hastened to rest my wearied limbs.

Poor Carey will never march again! Life is almost extinct, and all of us
are but the ghosts of what we were [687].

-----

Footnote 11.8.1:

[Lieut.-Col. T. H. Sweeny, who has much experience in such cases, is
satisfied, from the symptoms, that the attack was not due to darnel,
the seeds of which, when mixed with cereals, and when they have been
attacked by mildew or fungi, are deleterious. The attack was certainly
due to the administration of _datura fastuosa_, used by road
poisoners, and his recovery was due to the immediate production of
vomiting.]

Footnote 11.8.2:

See Vol. I. p. 212.

Footnote 11.8.3:

[Laws, vii. 70.]

Footnote 11.8.4:

[Spanish _pedrero_, originally an engine used for flinging stones:
then, a piece of ordnance for discharging fragments of broken iron and
the like, and for firing salutes (see J. Fryer, _A New Account of East
India and Persia_, ed. 1909, i. 271 f.).]

Footnote 11.8.5:

[A ravine, deep pool.]

Footnote 11.8.6:

See Vol I. p. 213.

Footnote 11.8.7:

By mistake, Manpura is not rightly placed in the map. [It is situated
about half-way between Damnia and Māndalgarh.]

Footnote 11.8.8:

[About 100 miles N.E. of Udaipur city (Erskine ii. A. 118 f., quoting,
for its archaeology, H. Cousens, _Progress Report AS W. India_, for
year ending June 30, 1905).]

Footnote 11.8.9:

Enlargement of the spleen appears an invariable accompaniment of
protracted fever and ague, arising from such causes as afflicted us. I
could feel the spleen at the very pit of the stomach, as hard as a
stone. The bleeding reduced it, as it did generally in my case; for
the leeches were enormous, and must have each drained half an ounce of
blood; but I had only the choice of them or the actual cautery, which
was strongly recommended by my native friends: of two evils I chose
what appeared to me the least.

Footnote 11.8.10:

[The origin of the Bālnot tribe is doubtful (_Census Report
Rājputāna_, 1911, i. 256).]

Footnote 11.8.11:

[The Chaulukya or Solanki tribe is of Gurjara origin, which is implied
in the Takshak theory of the Author. There is no reason for connecting
them with a race of serpent-worshippers.]

Footnote 11.8.12:

Tonk-Toda is well worth visiting. The artist might fill a portfolio
with architectural and picturesque sketches. Moreover, topazes of a
good quality are found in its hills. The sacred cave of Gokaran,
celebrated in the history of the great Chauhan king, Bisaldeo of
Ajmer, is also worth notice.

Footnote 11.8.13:

[For Lohkot see Vol. I. p. 116.]

Footnote 11.8.14:

[Bārāha, Vārāha, the boar incarnation of Vishnu.]

Footnote 11.8.15:

[They are said to take their name from Bāghera in Ajmer.]

Footnote 11.8.16:

[The Baranshankar, or mixed tribes, have no connexion with a mythical
Rāja Baran. The distinction of colours (_varna_) goes back to the
early Hindu period (A. A. Macdonell, _Hist. Sanskrit Literature_,
86).]

Footnote 11.8.17:

See Inscription, Vol. II. p. 925.

Footnote 11.8.18:

[Nearly 10 miles S.W. of Māndalgarh.]

Footnote 11.8.19:

[Seventy-two miles N.E. of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.8.20:

[The edible nut, _Trapa bispinosa_ (Watt, _Econ. Prod._ 1080).]

Footnote 11.8.21:

[About 60 miles N.E. of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.8.22:

[Pur, 72 miles N.E. of Udaipur city: Gurla on the S.W. point of the
same hill-range.]

Footnote 11.8.23:

When the Rana was about celebrating simultaneously the marriage of two
daughters and a granddaughter of the princes of Jaisalmer, Bikaner,
and Kishangarh, his subjects were called on for the ‘tenth.’

Footnote 11.8.24:

[About 46 miles N.E. of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.8.25:

My esteemed friend, Mr. Graeme Mercer, of Maevisbank.

Footnote 11.8.26:

[Now headquarters of a Tahsīl in Kapāsan district: about 42 miles N.E.
of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.8.27:

[These lead mines, once yielding a high revenue, have long been closed
(Erskine ii. A. 53).]

Footnote 11.8.28:

[A trading town, about 30 miles N.E. of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.8.29:

[Among Jains at the present day the period of retreat, known as
Pachasan or Paryusan, extends among the Swetāmbara section from 12th
dark half of Sāwan (July-August) to 5th bright half of Bhādrapada
(August-September): among the Digambara section from 5th bright half
to 5th dark half of Bhādrapada (_BG_, ix. Part i. 113 f.). It
corresponds to the Buddhist Vassavāsa or Vassa (Skt. _vārshika_,
‘belonging to the rainy season’) (Kern, _Manual of Indian Buddhism_,
80 f.).]

-----

CHAPTER 9

=Udaipur=, _July 1821_.—When I concluded the narrative of my journey in
October last year, I had no expectation that I should ever put my foot
in the stirrup again, except en route to Bombay, in order to embark for
Old England; but “_honhar!_”[11.9.1] as my Rajput friends exclaim, with
a sigh, when an invincible destiny opposes their intentions. I had only
awaited the termination of the monsoon to remove the wreck of a once
robust frame to a more genial clime; and now, it will remain to be
proved whether my worthy friend Duncan’s prophecy—“You must die, if you
stay here six months more”—will be fulfilled. Poor Carey lies entombed
on the heights of Merta; the doctor himself is just going off to the
Cape, half-dead from the Kotah fever; and, as if that were not enough,
the _naharua_, or guinea-worm, has blanched his cheek and made him a
cripple. My cousin, Captain Waugh, is at Kotah, depressed by a
continuance of the same malaria, and in a few days I again start solus,
in the midst of the monsoon, for Haraoti.

=Death of the Rāo Rāja of Būndi.=—A few days ago I received an express
from Bundi, announcing the sudden death of my estimable friend, the Rao
Raja, who in his last moments nominated me guardian of his infant son,
and charged me to watch over his welfare and that of Bundi. The more
formal letter of the minister was accompanied by one from the Rani,
mother of the young prince, from whom also, or in his name, I had a few
lines, both seconding the bequest of the dying prince, and reminding me
of the dangers of a minority, and the elements by which they were
surrounded. The appeal was irresistible, and the equipage was ordered
out for immediate departure to Merta, and thence to Mauli, twenty-five
miles distant, where I should join them.

=Cholera.=—The Raja fell a victim to Mari, the emphatic appellation of
cholera, which has now been wasting these regions since 1817. They might
well say that, if at this important [688] period in their history we
destroyed the demon of rapine which had so long preyed upon their
repose, we had in lieu of it introduced death amongst them, for such is
the interpretation of Mari.[11.9.2] It was in our armies that this
disease first appeared in northern India; and although for some time we
flattered ourselves that it was only the intemperate, the ill-fed, or
ill-clothed, that fell victims to it, we soon discovered that Mari was
no respecter of persons, and that the prince and the peasant, the
European and the native, the robust and the weak, the well-fed and the
abstinent, were alike subject to her influence. I can number four
intimate friends, my brother officers, who were snatched away in the
very prime of life by this disease; and in the States under my political
control, it assailed in two instances, the palace: the Udaipur prince
recovered, but the Bundi Rao’s time was come. He conducted himself most
heroically, and in the midst of the most dreadful torture with which the
human frame can be afflicted, he never lost his self-possession, but in
every interval of suffering, conversed upon the affairs of his little
dominion, giving the fullest instructions for the future with composure.
He particularly desired that none of his wives should mount the pyre
with his corpse; and that as soon as he ceased to breathe, I should be
invited to Bundi; for that “he left Lalji (an endearing epithet to
children) in my lap.” It was only during our last journey through Bundi
that I was amused with my friend’s expedient to keep “death” out of his
capital, and which I omitted to mention, as likewise the old regent’s
mode of getting rid of this unwelcome visitor in Kotah; nor should they
be separated. Having assembled the Brahmans, astrologers, and those
versed in incantations, a grand rite was got up, sacrifice made, and a
solemn decree of _desvata_, or banishment, was pronounced against Mari.
Accordingly an equipage was prepared for her, decorated with funeral
emblems, painted black and drawn by a double team of black oxen; bags of
grain, also black, were put into the vehicle, that the lady might not go
forth without food, and driven by a man in sable vestments, followed by
the yells of the populace. Mari was deported across the Chambal, with
the commands of the priests that she should never set foot again in
Kotah.[11.9.3] No sooner did my deceased friend hear of her expulsion
from that capital, and being placed _en chemin_ for Bundi, than the wise
men of this city were called on to provide means to keep her from
entering therein. Accordingly, all the water of the Ganges at hand was
in requisition, an earthen vessel was placed over the southern portal,
from which the sacred water was continually dripping, and [689] against
which no evil could prevail. Whether my friend’s supply of the holy
water failed, or Mari disregarded such opposition, she reached his
palace.[11.9.4]

=Pauna, or Pahona=, _July 25_.—Yesterday was a day of disaster: I left
the capital amidst torrents of rain, and between Merta and Mauli found
my best elephant lying dead; the long and sudden march, and too heavy a
load, had destroyed the fine animal. It was rather ominous to lose the
emblem of wisdom in the outset of this journey. We passed a most
uncomfortable day, and still more uncomfortable night, for a strong gale
forced up the tent-pins from the clay soil, and brought down the tent
over my ears. I had an escape from the pole, part of which I propped
under the fly to keep me from suffocation. Around me were nothing but
yells of distress, half laughable, half serious; horses loose, and
camels roaring in discordant gutturals. We were glad long before dawn to
pack up our chattels, thoroughly soaked, and consequently double weight,
and begin moving for Pahona, where we are promised a little repose. I
have taken this route as it is the last occasion I shall have to visit
the work of my own hands, the mart of Bhilwara. Pahona is or was a place
of some value; but the Brahmans, through the influence of the Rana’s
sister, had got it by means of a forged grant, and abided by the
privileges of their order. But fortunately they abused the right of
sanctuary, in giving protection to a thief and assassin from interested
motives; consequently, the penalty of resumption was incurred, and we
hope to suffer no other ill-effects than Chand Bai’s displeasure.

=Bhīlwāra=, _July 26_.—Varuna, the Jupiter pluvialis of the Hindu, has
been most complaisant, and for two days has stopped up all the “bottles
of heaven,” and I [690] made my triumphal entry into our good town of
Bhilwara, on one of those days which are peculiarly splendid in the
monsoon, when the sun deigns to emerge from behind the clouds.

My reception was quite Asiatic; the entire population, headed by the
chief merchants, and preceded by the damsels with the _kalas_, advanced
full a mile to meet and conduct me to a town which, a few years ago, had
not one inhabited dwelling. I passed through the main street, surrounded
by its wealthy occupants, who had suspended over the projecting awnings
the most costly silks, brocades, and other finery, to do honour to one
whom they esteemed their benefactor, and having conducted me to my tent,
left me to breakfast, and returned in the afternoon. As the tent would
not contain a tenth of the visitors, I had its walls removed, and all
were welcome to enter who could. Every moment I expected to see it fall
upon us, as there were hundreds of hands at each rope, swaying it in
every direction, in their eagerness to see what was going on within
between the Sahib and the Panchayat of both sects, Oswal and Mahesri, or
Jain and Vaishnava. We talked over many plans for the future benefit of
the town; of further reducing the duties, and giving additional freedom
to the transit-trade. I offered, in the Rana’s name, to expend the next
two years’ income on a circumvallation for the protection of the town;
which, for many good reasons, they refused; and principally, that it
would be a check on that very freedom it was my desire they should
enjoy, as it would prevent uninterrupted ingress and egress. I, however,
sent for the chiefs, to whom, with their quotas, was confided the duty
of guarding this town, and before the assembled groups explained the
necessity of preventing any complaints from want of due vigilance, and
told them they were to be in lieu of walls to Bhilwara. My good friends
having no inclination to retire, I sent for the presents I intended for
the heads of the sectarian merchants, with the _itr-pan_ (that most
convenient mode of hinting to a friend that you are tired of him), and
they departed with a thousand blessings, and prayers for the perpetuity
of our raj.

Bhilwara is perhaps the most conspicuous instance in all India of the
change which our predominant influence has effected in four short years;
and to many it must appear almost miraculous that, within that period, a
great commercial mart should be established, and three thousand houses,
twelve hundred of which are those of merchants or artisans, be made
habitable, the principal street being entirely rebuilt; that goods of
all countries should be found there; bills of exchange to any amount,
and on any city in India, obtained, and that all should be
systematically organized, as if it had been [691] the silent growth of
ages. To me it afforded another convincing proof, in addition to the
many I have had, of the tenacity and indestructibility of the
institutions in these regions, and that very little skill is requisite
to evoke order and prosperity out of confusion and distress. I have no
hesitation in saying that, were it not now time to withdraw from
interference in the internal concerns of Mewar, the machine of
government having been once more put into action, with proper management
this place might become the chief mart of Rajputana, and ten thousand
houses would soon find inhabitants: such are its local capabilities as
an entrepôt. But while I indulge this belief, I should at the same time
fear that the rigid impartiality, which has prevented the quarrels of
the sectarian traders from affecting the general weal, would be lost
sight of in the apathy and intrigue which are by no means banished from
the councils of the capital.[11.9.5]

I bade a last farewell to Bhilwara and its inhabitants, with prayers for
the welfare of both.

=Bhīlwāra=, 28.—Though pressed for time, and the weather had again
become bad, I could not resist the kind entreaties of the people of
Bhilwara that I would halt one more day amongst them; and albeit neither
my health nor occupations admitted of my being the lion to the good
traders of the city without inconvenience, the slight personal sacrifice
was amply repaid by the more intimate acquaintance I gained with men
belonging to every region of Rajwara.

=Jahāzpur=, 29.—This was a long march in a torrent of rain, the country
flooded, and roads cut up; and although I have not incommoded myself
with much baggage, the little I have is in a wretched plight. The
crockery-bearer fell with his load, and smashed the contents. Passed
over the encamping ground of last year, and bestowed a transient thought
upon the scene enacted there. I was equally near ‘the brink’ this
spring. The Rana had stopped the nakkara, and many a rupee’s-worth of
_kesar_ (saffron) was promised to the divinities both of the Jains and
Vaishnavas for my recovery. My kinsman, Captain Waugh, was admitted,
after many days’ exclusion, to take a last adieu; but I told the doctor
I was sure he was wrong; and here I am, bound for the same scenes of
misery from which I so lately escaped, and under which several of my
establishment, besides poor Carey, have succumbed.

=Būndi=, 30.—Another fatiguing march brought us to the conclusion of our
journey; and notwithstanding a deluge of rain, we were met three miles
from the city by the minister and the principal chiefs, with whom an
interchange of _baghal-giri_ [692] (embracing) took place in spite of
the raging elements. All preceded to announce our approach, but my
faithful old friend, the Maharaja Bikramajit, whose plain and downright
honesty in all that appertains to his master’s house has won my warmest
regard. He rode by my side, and told me of the changes that had taken
place, of the dangers of the young Ram Singh from the interested views
of those who affected the semblance of devotion; “but,” observed the
veteran, “you know us all, and will trust no individual with too much
authority.” He could speak thus without fear of being misunderstood, for
no persuasion would have induced him to enter into their cabals, or
compromise his trust of watching over the personal safety of his infant
prince; though without any ostensible post or character save that proud
title—which was ascribed to him by all parties—‘the loyal Bikramajit.’

The beauties of the scenery passed unheeded, and have already been
sufficiently described, though there is novelty in every point of view
from which the fairy palace is seen; and as it burst upon us this
morning, a momentary gleam, passing over its gilded pinnacles, displayed
its varied outline, which as rapidly immerged into the gloom that hung
over it, according well with the character of its inmates. As it was my
policy to demonstrate, by the rapidity of my movements (which had
brought me in six days at such a season from Udaipur to Bundi), how much
the British Government had at heart the welfare of its young prince, I
hastened to the palace in my travelling costume to pay my respects,
wishing to get over the formal visit of condolence on the loss the
prince had sustained.

I found the young chief and his brother, Gopal Singh, surrounded by a
most respectable court, though, as I passed along the line of retainers
occupying each side of the long colonnaded Barah-dari,[11.9.6] I could
perceive looks of deep anxiety and expectation blended with those of
welcome. Notwithstanding the forms of mourning must destroy much of the
sympathy with grief, there is something in the settled composure of
feature of an assembly like this, convened to receive the condolence of
a stranger who felt for the loss in which he was called to sympathize,
that fixes the mind. Although I was familiar with the rite of _matam_,
which, since the days of “David, who sent to comfort Hanun, son of the
king of the children of Ammon, when his father died,” is generally one
of ‘the mockeries of woe,’ its ordinary character was changed on this
occasion, when we met to deplore the loss of the chief of all the Haras.

I expressed the feelings which the late event had excited in me, in
which, I observed, the most noble the governor-General would
participate; adding that it was a consolation [693] to find so much
promise in his successor, during whose minority his lordship would be in
the place of a father to him in all that concerned his welfare; and that
in thus speedily fulfilling the obligations of public duty and
friendship to the will of his deceased parent, I but evinced the deep
interest my government had in the rising prosperity of Bundi; that,
thank God, the time was past when a minority could endanger his welfare,
as it would only redouble the anxiety and vigilance of my government;
with much more to the same purport, which it is unnecessary to repeat.
The young prince replied with great propriety of manner and speech,
concluding thus: “My father left me in your lap; he confided my
well-being to your hands.” After a few remarks to the chiefs, I repaired
to the residence prepared for me at no great distance from the palace.
Here I found all my wants supplied and my comforts most carefully
studied; and scarcely had I changed my garments, when a sumptuous dinner
was announced, sent by the queen-mother, who in order to do more honour
had ordered a Brahman to precede it, sprinkling the road with holy-water
to prevent the approach of evil!

-----

Footnote 11.9.1:

[Kismet, fate.]

Footnote 11.9.2:

From the Sanskrit _mri_, ‘to die.’

Footnote 11.9.3:

[Examples of this magical expulsion of disease are common. At the
Bhadrakāli temple at Nāsik a Māng woman, supposed to be possessed by
the cholera goddess, when the epidemic prevails, is solemnly placed in
a cart, and driven out of the city (_BG_, xvi. 520 f.). The Bhīls
practise a similar rite, and Sleeman records the custom at Sāgar (C.
E. Luard, _Ethnographic Survey Central India_, 49, 62; Sleeman,
_Rambles_, 162), also see Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folklore of
Northern India_, 2nd ed. i. 141 f.; Frazer, _The Golden Bough_, 3rd
ed., _The Scapegoat_, 109 ff.]

Footnote 11.9.4:

I have in other parts of my work touched upon this terrific scourge,
from which it will be seen that it is well known throughout India
under the same appellation; and it is not one of the least curious
results of my endeavour to prove that the Hindus had historical
documents, that by their means I am enabled to trace this disease
ravaging India nearly two centuries ago. At Vol. II. p. 1022 it
is thus described in the Annals of Marwar: “This, the sakha (putting a
garrison to the sword) of Sojat, was when S. 1737 ended, and S. 1738,
or A.D. 1681-2, commenced, when the sword and Mari (pestilence) united
to clear the land.” Orme, in his Fragments [ed. 1782, p. 200],
mentions a similar disease in A.D. 1684, raging in the peninsula of
India, and sweeping off five hundred daily in the imperial camp at
Goa; and again, in the Annals of Mewār, Vol. I. p. 454, it is
described in the most frightful colours, as ravaging that country
twenty years before, or in S. 1717 (A.D. 1661); so that in the space
of twenty years, we have it described in the peninsula, in the desert
of India, and in the plains of Central India; and what will appear not
the least singular part of the history of this distemper, so analogous
to the present date, about the intermediate time of these extreme
periods, that is about A.D. 1669, a similar disease was raging in
England. I have no doubt that other traces of the disorder may appear
in the chronicles of their bards, or in Muhammadan writers, judging
from these incidental notices, which might never have attracted
attention had not Mari come to our own doors. I have had many patients
dying about me, but no man ever dreamed of contagion; to propagate
which opinion, and scare us from all the sympathies of life, without
proof absolutely demonstrative, is, to say the least, highly
censurable. There is enough of self in this land of ultra
civilisation, without drawing a _cordon sanitaire_ round every
individual. The Udaipur prince was the first person seized with the
disease in that capital: a proof to me, against all the faculty, that
to other causes than personal communication its influence must be
ascribed. I will not repeat the treatment in this case (see p.
1002), which may deserve notice, though prescribed by the
uninitiated.

Footnote 11.9.5:

[The progress of Bhīlwāra has hardly realized the Author’s
predictions: but it is now an important trading centre. Bishop Heber,
who visited the town in 1825, speaks highly of Tod’s efforts to
improve it (Erskine ii. A. 97 f.).]

Footnote 11.9.6:

[Bārahdari, ‘a room with twelve doors’; ‘a pavilion.’]

-----

CHAPTER 10

=Inauguration of the Rāo Rāja=, _August the 5th_.—The ceremony of
Rajtilak, or inauguration of the young Rao Raja, had been postponed as
soon as the Rani-mother heard of my intention to come to Bundi, and as
the joyous ‘third of Sawan,’ Sawan-ki-tij, was at hand, it was fixed for
the day following that festival. As the interval between the display of
grief and the expression of joy is short in these States, it would have
been inauspicious to mingle aught of gloom with the most celebrated of
all the festivals of the Haras, in which the whole city partakes. The
queen-mother sent a message to request that I would accompany her son in
the procession of the Tij, with which invitation I most [694] willingly
complied; and she also informed me that it was the custom of Rajwara,
for the nearest of kin, or some neighbouring prince, on such occasions,
to entreat the mourner, at the termination of the twelve days of
_matam_, to dispense with its emblems. Accordingly, I prepared a
coloured dress, with a turban and a jewelled _sarpesh_,[11.10.1] which I
sent, with a request that the prince would “put aside the white turban.”
In compliance with this, he appeared in these vestments in public, and I
accompanied him to the ancient palace in old Bundi, where all public
festivities are still held.

The young prince of the Haras is named Ram Singh, after one of the
invincibles of this race, who sealed his loyalty with his life on the
field of Dholpur. He is now in his eleventh year, fair, and with a
lively, intelligent cast of face, and a sedateness of demeanour which,
at his age, is only to be seen in the East. Gopal Singh, his brother, by
a different mother, is a few months younger, very intelligent, and in
person slight, fair, and somewhat marked with the smallpox. There is a
third boy, about four, who, although illegitimate, was brought up with
equal regard, but now he will have no consideration.

The cavalcade was numerous and imposing; the chiefs and their retainers
well mounted, their equipments all new for the occasion, and the
inhabitants in their best apparel, created a spectacle which was quite
exhilarating, and which Bundi had not witnessed for a century: indeed, I
should hardly have supposed it possible that four years could have
produced such a change in the general appearance or numbers of the
population. After remaining a few minutes, I took leave, that I might
impose no restraint on the mirth which the day produces.[11.10.2]

The next day was appointed for the installation. Captain Waugh, who had
been sent from Udaipur to Kotah in December last, when the troubles of
that State broke out afresh, joined me this day in order to be present
at the ceremony, though he was in wretched health from the peculiar
insalubrity of Kotah at this time of the year. We proceeded to the
Rajmahall, where all the sons of Dewa-Banga[11.10.3] have been anointed.
Every avenue through which we passed was crowded with well-dressed
people, who gave us hearty cheers of congratulation as we went along,
and seemed to participate in the feeling evinced towards their young
prince by the representative of the protecting power. The courts below
and around the palace were in like manner filled with the Hara
retainers, who rent the air with _Jai! Jai!_ as we dismounted. There was
a very full assemblage within, where the young Raja was undergoing
purification [695] by the priests; but we found his brother the Maharaja
Gopal Singh, Balwant Singh of Gotra, the first noble of Bundi, the
chiefs of Kapraun and Thana, old Bikramajit, and likewise the venerable
chief of Dugari (son of Sriji), grand-uncle of the young prince, who had
witnessed all the revolutions which the country had undergone, and could
appreciate the existing repose. It was gratifying to hear this ancient,
who could remember both periods of prosperity, thank Parameswar that he
had lived to see the restoration of his country’s independence. In this
manner we had some interesting conversation, while sacrifice and
purification were going on in the adjoining apartment. When this was
over, I was instructed to bring the young Raja forth and lead him to a
temporary ‘cushion of state,’ when a new round of religious ceremonies
took place, terminating with his re-election of the family Purohit and
Byas,[11.10.4] by marking their foreheads with the tilak: which
ordination entitled them to put the unction upon the prince’s, denoting
the ‘divine right’ by which he was in future to rule the Haras. The
young prince went through a multitude of propitiatory rites with
singular accuracy and self-possession; and when they were over, the
assembly rose. I was then requested to conduct him to the _gaddi_,
placed in an elevated balcony overlooking the external court and a great
part of the town; and it being too high for the young prince to reach, I
raised him to it. The officiating priest now brought the vessel
containing the unction, composed of sandalwood powder and aromatic oils,
into which I dipped the middle finger of my right hand, and made the
tilak on his forehead. I then girt him with the sword, and congratulated
him in the name of my Government, declaring aloud, that all might hear,
that the British Government would never cease to feel a deep interest in
all that concerned the welfare of Bundi and the young prince’s family.
Shouts of approbation burst from the immense crowds who thronged the
palace, all in their gayest attire, while every valley re-echoed the
sound of the cannon from the citadel of Taragarh. I then put on the
jewels, consisting of _sarpesh_, or aigrette, which I bound round his
turban, a necklace of pearls, and bracelets, with twenty-one shields
(the tray of a Rajput) of shawls, brocades, and fine clothes. An
elephant and two handsome horses, richly caparisoned, the one having
silver, the other silver-gilt ornaments, with embroidered velvet
saddle-cloths, were then led into the centre of the court under the
balcony, a khilat befitting the dignity both of the giver and the
receiver. Having gone through this form, in which I was prompted by my
old friend the Maharaja Bikramajit, and paid my individual
congratulations as the friend of his father and his personal guardian, I
withdrew to make room for the [696] chiefs, heads of clans, to perform
the like round of ceremonies: for in making the tilak, they at the same
time acknowledge his accession and their own homage and fealty. I was
joined by Gopal Singh, the prince’s brother, who artlessly told me that
he had no protector but myself; and the chiefs, as they returned from
the ceremony, came and congratulated me on the part I had taken in a
rite which so nearly touched them all; individually presenting their
_nazars_ to me as the representative of the paramount power. I then made
my salutation to the prince and the assembly of the Haras, and returned.
The Rao Raja afterwards proceeded with his cavalcade to all the shrines
in this city, and Satur, to make his offerings.

The next day I received a message from the queen-mother with her
blessing (_asis_), intimating her surprise that I had yet sent no
special deputation to her, to comfort her under her affliction, and to
give a pledge for her own and her child’s protection; and that although
on this point she could feel no distrust, a direct communication would
be satisfactory. In reply, I urged that it was from delicacy alone I had
erred, and that I only awaited the intimation that it would be
agreeable, though she would see the embarrassment attending such a step,
more especially as I never employed my own servants when I could command
the services of the ministers; and that as I feared to give umbrage by
selecting any one of them, if she would receive the four, I would send
with them a confidential servant, the Akhbarnavis or newswriter, as the
bearer of my message. Her anxiety was not without good grounds: the
elements of disorder, though subdued, were not crushed, and she dreaded
the ambition and turbulence of the senior noble, Balwant Rao of Gotra,
who had proved a thorn in the side of the late Raja throughout his life.
This audacious but gallant Rajput, about twelve years before, had
stormed and taken Nainwa, one of the chief castles of Bundi, in the face
of day, and defeated with great slaughter many attempts to retake it,
still holding it in spite of his prince, and trusting to his own party
and the Mahrattas for support. In fact, but for the change in his
relations, he neither would have obeyed a summons to the Presence, nor
dared to appear uninvited; and even now his appearance excited no less
alarm than surprise. “Balwant Singh at Bundi!” was repeated by many of
the surrounding chiefs, as one of the anomalous signs of the times; for
to have heard that a lion from their jungles had gone to congratulate
the Raja, would have caused less wonder and infinitely less
apprehension. The Rani was not satisfied, nor had her late lord been,
with the chief minister, the Bohra, Shambhu Ram, who only a few days
before the [697] Raja’s death had expressed great unwillingness, when
called on, to produce his account of the finances. It was chiefly with a
view to guard against these individuals, that the deceased Rao Raja had
nominated the British Agent as the guardian of his son and the State
during his minority, and the queen-mother besought me to see his wishes
faithfully executed. Fortunately, there were some men who could be
depended on, especially Govind Ram, who had attended the Agent as wakil:
a simple-minded man, full of integrity and good intentions, though no
match for the Bohra in ability or intrigue. There was also the Dhabhai,
or foster-brother of the late prince, who held the important office of
kilahdar of Taragarh, and who, like all his class, is devotion
personified. There was likewise Chandarbhan Naik, who, from a low
condition, had risen to favour and power, and being quick, obedient, and
faithful, was always held as a check over the Bohra. There were also two
eunuchs of the palace, servants entirely confidential, and with a very
good notion of the general affairs of the State.

=Settlement of the Administration.=—Such were the materials at my
disposal, and they were ample for all the concerns of this little State.
Conformably to the will of the late prince, and the injunctions of the
queen-mother, the Agent entirely reformed the functions of these
officers, prohibited the revenues of the State from being confounded
with the mercantile concerns of the minister, requiring them henceforth
to be deposited at the Kishanbhandar, or treasury in the palace,
providing a system of checks, as well on the receipts as the
expenditure, and making all the four jointly and severally answerable;
yet he made no material innovations, and displaced or displeased no one;
though in raising those who were noted throughout the country for their
integrity, he confirmed their good intentions and afforded them scope,
while his measures were viewed with general satisfaction. After these
arrangements, the greatest anxiety of the queen was for the absence of
Balwant Rao; and, as it was in vain to argue against her fears, she
requested that, when the ceremonies of installation were over, the
chiefs might be dismissed to their estates, and that I would take the
opportunity, at the next darbar, to point out to them the exact line of
their duties, and the necessity of observance of the customs of past
days: all of which was courteously done.

=Interview of the Author with the Rāni.=—Although the festival of the
Rakhi was not until the end of the month, the mother of the young prince
sent me by the hands of the Bhatt, or family priest, the bracelet of
adoption as her brother, which made my young ward henceforth my
_bhanja_, or nephew. With this mark of regard, she also expressed,
through the ministers, a wish that I would pay her a visit at the
palace, as she had many points to discuss regarding [698] Lalji’s
welfare, which could only be satisfactorily argued viva voce. Of course
I assented; and, accompanied by the Bohra and the confidential eunuchs
of the Rawala, I had a conversation of about three hours with my adopted
sister; a curtain being between us. Her language was sensible and
forcible, and she evinced a thorough knowledge of all the routine of
government and the views of parties, which she described with great
clearness and precision. She especially approved of the distribution of
duties, and said, with these checks, and the deep interest I felt for
all that concerned the honour of Bundi, her mind was quite at ease; nor
had she anything left to desire. She added that she relied implicitly on
my friendship for the deceased, whose regard for me was great. I took
the liberty of adverting to many topics for her own guidance;
counselling her to shun the error of communicating with or receiving
reports from interested or ignorant advisers; and above all, to shun
forming parties, and ruling, according to their usual policy, by
divisions: I suggested that the object would be best attained by never
intimating her wishes but when the four ministers were together; and
urged her to exercise her own sound judgment, and banish all anxiety for
her son’s welfare, by always recalling to mind what my government had
done for the interests of Bundi. During a great part of this
conversation, the Bohra had retired, so that her tongue was
unrestrained. With _itr-pan_ and her blessing (_asis_) sent by one of
her damsels, she dismissed me with the oft-repeated remark, “Forget not
that Lalji is now in your lap.”

I retired with my conductors, highly gratified with this interesting
conversation, and impressed with respect for her capacity and views.
This Rani, as I have elsewhere mentioned, is of the Rathor tribe, and of
the house of Kishangarh in Marwar; she is the youngest of the late Rao
Raja’s four widowed queens, but takes the chief rank, as mother and
guardian of the minor prince.

I remained at Bundi till the middle of August; when, having given a
right tone and direction to its government, I left it with the
admonition that I should consider myself authorized, not as the Agent of
government so much as the executor of their late lord’s wishes, and with
the concurrent assent of the regent-queen, to watch over the prince’s
welfare until the age of sixteen, when Rajput minority ceases; and
advertised them, that they must not be surprised if I called upon them
every year to inform me of the annual surplus revenue they had set aside
for accumulation until his majority. I reminded the Bohra, in the words
of his own beautiful metaphor, when, at the period of the treaty, my
government restored its long-alienated lands [699], “again will our
lakes overflow; once more will the lotus show its face on the waters.”
Nor had he forgotten this emblematic phraseology, and with his
coadjutors promised his most strenuous efforts. During the few remaining
days of my stay, I had continual messages from the young prince, by the
‘Gold stick,’ or Dhabhai, which were invariably addressed to me as ‘the
Mamu Sahib,’ or uncle. He sent me specimens of his handwriting, both in
Devanagari and Persian, in which last, however, he had not got farther
than the alphabet; and he used to ride and _karauli_[11.10.5] his horse
within sight of my tents, and always expressed anxiety to know what the
‘Mamu’ thought of his horsemanship. I was soon after called upon by the
queen-mother for my congratulations on Lalji having slain his first
boar, an event that had summoned all the Haras to make their offerings;
a ceremony which will recall a distinction received by the Macedonian
youths, on a similar occasion, who were not admitted to public
discussions until they had slain a wild boar.[11.10.6]

Whilst partaking in these national amusements, and affording all the
political aid I could, my leisure time was employed in extracting from
old chronicles or living records what might serve to develop the past
history of the family; in frequent visits to the cenotaphs of the
family, or other remarkable spots, and in dispersing my emissaries for
inscriptions in every direction. This was the most singular part of my
conduct to the Bundi court; they could not conceive why I should take an
interest in such a pursuit.

=Revenues of Būndi.=—The fiscal revenues of Bundi do not yet exceed
three lakhs of rupees; and it will be some time before the entire
revenues, both fiscal and feudal, will produce more than five;[11.10.7]
and out of the crown domain, eighty thousand rupees annually are paid to
the British Government, on account of the lands Sindhia held in that
State, and which he relinquished by the treaty of A.D. 1818.
Notwithstanding his circumscribed means, the late Rao Raja put every
branch of his government on a most respectable footing. He could muster
seven hundred household and Pattayat horse; and, including his
garrisons, his corps of Golandaz, and little park (_jinsi_)[11.10.8] of
twelve guns, about two thousand seven hundred paid infantry; in all
between three and four thousand men. For the queens, the officers of
government, and the pay of the garrisons, estates were assigned, which
yielded sufficient for the purpose. A continuation of tranquillity is
all that is required, and Bundi will again take its proper station in
Rajwara.

=Camp, Rauta=, _November 19_.—On the 14th of August, I departed for
Kotah, and found the junior branches of the Haras far from enjoying the
repose of Bundi. But on these subjects we will not touch here, further
than to remark, that the last three [700] months have been the most
harassing of my existence:[11.10.9] civil war, deaths of friends and
relatives, cholera raging, and all of us worn out with perpetual attacks
of fever, ague, anxiety, and fatigue.

Rauta, the spot on which I encamped, is hallowed by recollections the
most inspiriting. It was on this very ground I took up my position
throughout the campaign of 1817-18, in the very centre of movements of
all the armies, friendly and hostile.[11.10.10]

=A Hunt in the Preserves.=—As we were now in the vicinity of the chief
Ramna in Haraoti, the Raj Rana proposed to exhibit the mode in which
they carry on their grand hunts. The site chosen was a large range
running into and parallel to the chain which separates Haraoti from
Malwa. At noon, the hour appointed, accompanied by several officers of
the Nimach force (amongst whom was my old friend Major Price), we
proceeded to the Shikargahs, a hunting seat, erected half-way up the
gentle ascent, having terraced roofs and parapets, on which the
sportsman lays his gun to massacre the game; and here we waited some
time in anxious expectation, occasionally some deer scudding by.
Gradually the din of the hunters reached us, increasing into tumultuous
shouts, with the beating of drums, and all the varieties of discord.
Soon various kind of deer galloped wildly past, succeeded by Nilgaes,
Barahsinghas, red and spotted. Some wild-hogs went off snorting and
trotting, and at length, as the hunters approached, a bevy of animals
[701], amongst which some black-snouted hyaenas were seen, who made a
dead halt when they saw themselves between two fires. There was no
tiger, however, in the assemblage, which rather disappointed us, but the
still more curious wild-dog was seen by some. A slaughter commenced, the
effects of which I judged less at the time, but soon after I got to my
tents I found six camel-loads of deer, of various kinds, deposited. My
friend, Major Price, did not much admire this unsportsmanlike mode of
dealing with the lords of the forest, and although very well, once in
one’s life, most would think a boar hunt, spear in hand, preferable.
Still it was an exhilarating scene; the confusion of the animals, their
wild dismay at this compulsory association; the yells, shouts, and din
from four battalions of regulars, who, in addition to the ordinary band
of huntsmen, formed a chain from the summit of the mountain, across the
valley to the opposite heights; and, last not least, the placid regent
himself listening to the tumult he could no longer witness, produced an
effect not easily forgotten. This sport is a species of petty war, not
altogether free from danger, especially to the rangers; but I heard of
no accidents. We had a round of a nilgae, and also tried some steaks,
which ate very like coarse beef.

It is asserted that, in one shape or another, these hunting excursions
cost the State two lakhs, or £20,000 annually. The regent’s regular
hunting-establishment consisted of twenty-five carpenters, two hundred
Aherias, or huntsmen, and five hundred occasional rangers. But the
_gots_, or ‘feasts,’ at the conclusion of these sports, occasioned the
chief expense, when some thousands were fed, and rewards and gratuities
were bestowed upon those whom the regent happened to be pleased with.
This was one of the methods he pursued to ingratiate himself with the
Haras, and he was eminently successful; the only wonder is, that so good
an opportunity should have been neglected of getting rid of one who had
so long tyrannized over them.

We here took a temporary leave of the regent; and we intend to fill up
the interval till the return of the Maharao from Mewar, by making a tour
through upper Malwa, in which we shall visit the falls of the Chambal
amidst the dense woods of Pachel [702].

-----

Footnote 11.10.1:

[Or _sarpech_, an ornament worn on the front of the turban.]

Footnote 11.10.2:

See the description of the Tij, Vol. II. p. 675.

Footnote 11.10.3:

[Rāo Dewa or Deorāj, who captured Būndi from the Mīnas about A.D.
1342. _See_ p. 1464.]

Footnote 11.10.4:

[In Mārwār the term Byās, from Vyāsa, ‘the arranger’ of the Vedas,
Epics, and Purānas, is applied to elderly members of the Daima group
of Brāhmans (_Census Report_, 1891, ii. 58 f.).]

Footnote 11.10.5:

[_Qarāwal_, ‘the manège.’]

Footnote 11.10.6:

[At a very early date in Macedonia no Macedonian was permitted to lie
down at table who had not slain a wild boar without the nets (W.
Smith, _Dict. Geography_, ii. 234).]

Footnote 11.10.7:

[The normal revenue is now nearly six lakhs (_IGI_, ix. 85).]

Footnote 11.10.8:

[_Golandāz_, ‘an artillery man.’ _Jinsi_ is a Marātha term; probably
_Jinsi topkhāna_, or ‘artillery,’ _Jins_ meaning ‘commodities,
supplies’; _Jinsi topkhāna_, ‘light artillery’ (Irvine, _Army of the
Indian Moghuls_, 133).]

Footnote 11.10.9:

For an account of these transactions, _vide_ Chapter XI., Annals of
Kotah.

Footnote 11.10.10:

It was from this ground I detached thirty-two firelocks of my guard,
supported by two hundred of the regent’s men, with two camel swivels,
to beat up a portion of the main Pindari horde, when broken by our
armies. But my little band outmarched the auxiliaries, and when they
came upon the foe, they found a camp of 1500 instead of 500 men; but
nothing daunted, and the surprise being complete, they poured in sixty
rounds before the day broke, and cleared their camp. Then, each
mounting a marauder’s horse and driving a laden camel before him, they
returned within the twenty-four hours, having marched sixty miles, and
slain more than four times their numbers. Nothing so clearly
illustrated the destitution of all moral courage in the freebooters,
as their conduct on this occasion; for at dawn of day, when the smoke
cleared away, and they saw the handful of men who had driven them into
the Kali Sind, a body of about four hundred returned to the attack;
but my Sipahis, dismounting, allowed the boldest to approach within
pistol-shot before they gave their fire, which sufficed to make the
lancers wheel off. The situation recalled the din which announced
their return: upon which occasion, going out to welcome them, I saw
the regent’s camp turn out, and the trees were crowded with
spectators, to enjoy the triumphal entry of the gallant little band
with the spoils of the spoiler. The prize was sold and divided on the
drum-head, and yielded six or eight months’ pay to each; but it did
not rest here, for Lord Hastings promoted the non-commissioned
officers and several of the men, giving to all additional pay for
life.

The effect of this exploit was surprising; the country people, who
hitherto would as soon have thought of plundering his Satanic majesty
as a Pindari, amassed all the spoils abandoned on their flight, and
brought them to the camp of the regent; who, as he never admitted the
spoils of an enemy into his treasury, sent it all to our tents to be
at my disposal. But, as I could see no right that we had to it, I
proposed that the action should be commemorated by the erection of a
bridge, bearing Lord Hastings’ name. There were the spoils of every
region; many trays of gold necklaces, some of which were strings of
Venetian sequins; coins of all ages (from which I completed a series
of the Mogul kings), and five or six thousand head of cattle of every
description. The regent adopted my suggestion: a bridge of fifteen
arches was constructed, extending over the river at the breadth of a
thousand feet, eastward of Kotah; and though more solid and useful
than remarkable for beauty, will serve to perpetuate, as Hastin-pul,
the name of a gallant soldier and enlightened statesman, who
emancipated India from the scourge of the Pindaris. He is now beyond
the reach of human praise, and the author may confess that he is proud
of having suggested, planned, and watched to its completion, this
trophy to his fame. [The Marquess of Hastings died on November 28,
1826.]

-----

CHAPTER 11

=The Mukunddarra Pass.=—We marched before daybreak through the famed
pass of Mukunddarra,[11.11.1] and caught a glimpse at the outlet of the
fine plains of Malwa. We then turned abruptly to the right, and skirted
the range which divides Haravati from Malwa, over a rich champaign
tract, in a re-entering angle of the range, which gradually contracted
to the point of exit, up the mountains of Pachel.

The sun rose just as we cleared the summit of the pass, and we halted
for a few minutes at the tower that guards the ascent, to look upon the
valley behind: the landscape was bounded on either side by the ramparts
of nature, enclosing numerous villages, until the eye was stopped by the
eastern horizon. We proceeded on the terrace of this table-land, of
gradual ascent, through a thick forest, when, as we reached the point of
descent, the sun cleared the barrier which we had just left, and darting
his beams through the foliage, illuminated the castle of Bhainsror,
while the new fort of Dangarmau appeared as a white speck in the gloom
that still enveloped the Patar.

=An Atīt Monastery.=—We descended along a natural causeway, the rock
being perfectly bare, without a particle of mould or vegetation. Small
pillars, or uninscribed tablets, placed erect in the centre of little
heaps of stone, seemed to indicate the scene of murders, when the Bhil
lord of the pass exacted his toll from all who traversed his dominion.
They proved, however, to be marks placed by the Banjaras to guide their
tandas, or caravans, through the devious tracks of the forest. As we
continued to descend, enveloped on all sides by woods and rocks, we lost
sight of the towers of Bhainsror, and on reaching the foot of the Pass,
the first object we saw was a little monastery of Atits,[11.11.2]
founded by the chiefs of Bhainsror: it is called Jhalaka. We passed
close to their isolated dwelling, on the terraced roof of which a party
of the fraternity were squatted round a fire, enjoying the warmth of the
morning sun. Their wild [703] appearance corresponded with the scene
around; their matted hair and beard had never known a comb; their bodies
were smeared with ashes (_bhabut_), and a shred of cloth round the loins
seemed the sole indication that they belonged to a class possessing
human feelings. Their lives are passed in a perpetual routine of
adoration of Chaturbhuja, the ‘four-armed’ divinity, and they subsist on
the produce of a few patches of land, with which the chiefs of Bhainsror
have endowed this abode of wild ascetics, or with what their patrons or
the townspeople and passengers make up to them. The head of the
establishment, a little, vivacious but wild-looking being, about sixty
years of age, came forth to bestow his blessing, and to beg something
for his order. He, however, in the first place, elected me one of his
_chelas_, or disciples, by marking my forehead with a tika of _bhabut_,
which he took from a platter made of dhak-leaves;[11.11.3] to which rite
of inauguration I submitted with due gravity. The old man proved to be a
walking volume of legendary lore; but his conversation became
insufferably tedious. Interruption was in vain; he could tell his story
only in his own way, and in order to get at a point of local history
connected with the sway of the Ranas, I was obliged to begin from the
creation of the world, and go through all the theogonies, the combats of
the Surs and Asurs, the gods and Titans of Indian mythology; to bewail
with Sita the loss of her child, her rape by Rawan, and the whole of the
wars of Rama waged for her recovery; when, at length, the genealogy of
the family commenced, which this strange being traced through all their
varying patronymics of Daityas, Riks, Guhilot, Aharya, Sesodia; at which
last he again diverged, and gave me an episode to explain the etymology
of the distinguishing epithet. I subjoin it, as a specimen of the
anchorite’s historical lore:

=Origin of the Name Sesodia.=—In these wilds, an ancient Rana of Chitor
had sat down to a _got_ (feast) consisting of the game slain in the
chase; and being very hungry, he hastily swallowed a piece of meat to
which a gad-fly adhered. The fly grievously tormented the Rana’s
stomach, and he sent for a physician. The wiseman (_bedi_) secretly
ordered an attendant to cut off the tip of a cow’s ear, as the only
means of saving the monarch’s life. On obtaining this forbidden morsel,
the Bedi folded it in a piece of thin cloth, and attaching a string to
it, made the royal patient swallow it. The gad-fly fastened on the bait,
and was dragged to light. The physician was rewarded; but the curious
Rana insisted on knowing by what means the cure was effected, and when
he heard that a piece of sacred kine had passed his lips, he determined
to expiate the enormity in a manner which its heinousness required, and
to swallow boiling lead (_sisa_)! A vessel was put [704] on the fire,
and half a ser soon melted, when, praying that his involuntary offence
might be forgiven, he boldly drank it off; but lo! it passed through him
like water. From that day, the name of the tribe was changed from Aharya
to Sesodia.[11.11.4] The old Jogi as firmly believed the truth of this
absurd tale as he did his own existence, and I allowed him to run on
till the temple of Barolli suddenly burst upon my view from amidst the
foliage that shrouded it. The transition was grand; we had for some time
been picking our way along the margin of a small stream that had worked
itself a bed in the rock over which lay our path, and whose course had
been our guide to this object of our pilgrimage. As we neared the sacred
fane, still following the stream, we reached a level spot overshadowed
by the majestic kur and amba,[11.11.5] which had never known the axe. We
instantly dismounted, and by a flight of steps attained the court of the
temple.

[Illustration:

FRAGMENT FROM THE RUINS OF BAROLLI.
_To face page 1752._
]

=The Barolli Temples.=—To describe its stupendous and diversified
architecture is impossible; it is the office of the pencil alone, but
the labour would be almost endless. Art seems here to have exhausted
itself, and we were, perhaps now for the first time, fully impressed
with the beauty of Hindu sculpture. The columns, the ceilings, the
external roofing, where each stone presents a miniature temple, one
rising over another, until crowned by the urnlike _kalas_, distracted
our attention. The carving on the capital of each column would require
pages of explanation, and the whole, in spite of its high antiquity, is
in wonderful preservation. This is attributable mainly to two causes:
every stone is chiselled out of the close-grained quartz rock, perhaps
the most durable (as it is the most difficult to work) of any; and in
order that the Islamite should have some excuse for evading their
iconoclastic law, they covered the entire temple with the finest marble
cement, so adhesive, that it is only where the prevalent winds have
beaten upon it that it is altogether worn off, leaving the sculptured
edges of the stone as smooth and sharp as if carved only yesterday.

The grand temple of Barolli is dedicated to Siva, whose emblems are
everywhere visible.[11.11.6] It stands in an area of about two hundred
and fifty yards square, enclosed by a wall built of unshaped stones
without cement. Beyond this wall are groves of majestic trees, with many
smaller shrines and sacred fountains. The first object that struck my
notice, just before entering the area, was a pillar, erect in the earth,
with a hooded-snake sculptured around it. The doorway, which is
destroyed, must have been very curious, and the remains that choke up
the interior are highly interesting. One of these specimens was entire,
and unrivalled in taste and beauty. The principal figures are of Siva
and his consort, Parbati, with their attendants. He stands [705] upon
the lotus, having the serpent twined as a garland. In his right hand he
holds the _damru_, or little drum, with which, as the god of war, he
inspires the warrior; in his left is the _khopra_, formed of a human
skull, out of which he drinks the blood of the slain. The other two arms
have been broken off: a circumstance which proves that even the
Islamite, to whom the act may be ascribed, respected this work of art.
The ‘mountain-born’ is on the left of her spouse, standing on the
_kurma_, or tortoise, with braided locks, and ear-rings made of the
conch-shell. Every limb is in that easy flowing style peculiar to
ancient Hindu art, and wanting in modern specimens. Both are covered
with beaded ornaments, and have no drapery. The firm, masculine attitude
of ‘Baba Adam,’ as I have heard a Rajput call Mahadeo, contrasts well
with the delicate feminine outline of his consort. The serpent and lotus
intertwine gracefully over their heads. Above, there is a series of
compartments filled with various figures, the most conspicuous of which
is the chimerical animal called the Grasda, a kind of horned lion; each
compartment being separated by a wreath of flowers, tastefully arranged
and distributed. The animal is delineated with an ease not unworthy the
art in Europe. Of the various other figures many are mutilated; one is a
hermit playing on a guitar, and above him are a couple of deer in a
listening posture. Captain Waugh is engaged on one of the figures, which
he agrees with me in pronouncing unrivalled as a specimen of art. There
are parts of them, especially the heads, which would not disgrace
Canova. They are in high relief, being almost detached from the slab. In
this fragment (about eight feet by three) the chief figures are about
three feet.

The centre piece, forming a kind of frieze, is nearly entire, and about
twelve feet by three; it is covered with sculpture of the same
character, mostly the celestial choristers, with various instruments,
celebrating the praises of Siva and Parbati. Immediately within the
doorway is a small shrine to the ‘four-armed’; but the Islamite having
likewise deprived him of the supernumerary pair, the Bhil takes him for
Devi, of whom they are desperately afraid, and in consequence the
forehead of the statue is liberally smeared with vermilion.

[Illustration:

OUTLINE OF A TEMPLE TO MAHADEVA AT BAROLLI.
_To face page 1754._
]

On the left, in advance of the main temple, is one about thirty feet
high, containing an image of Ashtabhuji Mata, or the ‘eight-armed
mother’; but here the pious Muslim has robbed the goddess of all her
arms, save that with which she grasps her shield, and has also removed
her head. She treads firmly on the centaur, Maheswar,[11.11.7] whose
dissevered head lies at some distance in the area, while the lion of the
Hindu Cybele [706] still retains his grasp of his quarters. The Joginis
and Apsarases, or ‘maids of war’ of Rajput martial poetry, have been
spared.

On the right is the shrine of Trimurti, the triune divinity. Brahma’s
face, in the centre, has been totally obliterated, as has that of
Vishnu, the Preserver; but the Destroyer is uninjured. The tiara, which
covers the head[11.11.8] of this triple divinity, is also entire, and of
perfect workmanship. The skill of the sculptor “can no further go.”
Groups of snakes adorn the clustering locks on the ample forehead of
Siva, which are confined by a bandeau, in the centre of which there is a
death’s head ornament, hideously exact. Various and singularly elegant
devices are wrought in the tiara: in one, two horses couped from the
shoulder, passing from a rich centring and surmounted by a death’s head;
a dissevered arm points to a vulture advancing to seize it, while
serpents are wreathed round the neck and hands of the Destroyer, whose
half-opened mouth discloses a solitary tooth, and the tongue curled up
with a demoniacal expression. The whole is colossal, the figures being
six feet and a half high. The relief is very bold, and altogether the
group is worthy of having casts made from it.

We now come to the grand temple itself, which is fifty-eight feet in
height, and in the ancient form peculiar to the temples of Siva. The
body of the edifice, in which is the sanctum of the god, and over which
rises its pyramidal _sikhara_, is a square of only twenty-one feet; but
the addition of the domed vestibule (_mandap_) and portico makes it
forty-four by twenty-one. An outline of this by Ghasi, a native artist
(who labours at Udaipur for the same daily pay as a tailor, carpenter,
or other artisan), gives a tolerably good notion of its appearance,
though none of its beauty. The whole is covered with mythological
sculpture, without as well as within, emblematic of the ‘great god’
(_Mahadeo_), who is the giver, as well as the destroyer, of life. In a
niche outside, to the south, he is armed against the Daityas (Titans),
the _munda-mala_, or skull-chaplet, reaching to his knees, and in seven
of his arms are offensive weapons. His cap is the frustum of a cone,
composed of snakes interlaced, with a fillet of skulls: the _khopra_ is
in his hand, and the victims are scattered around. On his right is one
of the maids of slaughter (_Jogini_) drunk with blood, the cup still at
her lip, and her countenance expressive of vacuity; while below, on the
left, is a female personification of Death, mere skin and bone: a sickle
(_khurpi_) in her right hand,[11.11.9] its knob a death’s head,
completes this group of the attributes of destruction [707].

To the west is Mahadeo under another form, a beautiful and animated
statue, the expression mild, as when he went forth to entice the
mountain-nymph, Mena, to his embrace. His tiara is a blaze of
finely-executed ornaments, and his snake-wreath, which hangs round him
as a garland, has a clasp of two heads of Seshnag (the serpent-king),
while Nandi below is listening with placidity to the sound of the
_damru_. His _khopra_, and _kharg_, or skull-cap, and sword, which he is
in the attitude of using, are the only accompaniments denoting the god
of blood.

The northern compartment is a picture, disgustingly faithful, of death
and its attributes, vulgarly known as Bhukhi Mata, or the
personification of famine, lank and bare; her necklace, like her lord’s,
of skulls. Close by are two mortals in the last stage of existence, so
correctly represented as to excite an unpleasant surprise. The outline,
I may say, is anatomically correct. The mouth is half open and
distorted, and although the eye is closed in death, an expression of
mental anguish seems still to linger upon the features. A beast of prey
is approaching the dead body; while, by way of contrast, a male figure,
in all the vigour of youth and health, lies prostrate at her feet.

Such is a faint description of the sculptured niches on each of the
external faces of the _mandir_, whence the spire rises, simple and
solid. In order, however, to be distinctly understood, I shall give some
slight ichnographic details. First, is the _mandir_ or _cella_, in which
is the statue of the god; then the _mandap_, or, in architectural
nomenclature, the _pronaos_; and third, the portico, with which we shall
begin, though it transcends all description.

[Illustration:

SCULPTURED NICHE ON THE EXTERIOR OF THE TEMPLE AT BAROLLI.
_To face page 1756._
]

Like all temples dedicated to Bal-Siva,[11.11.10] the vivifier, or
‘sun-god,’ it faces the east. The portico projects several feet beyond
the _mandap_, and has four superb columns in front, of which the outline
by Ghasi conveys but a very imperfect idea. Flat fluted pilasters are
placed on either side of the entrance of the _mandap_, serving as a
support to the internal _toran_, or triumphal arch, and a single column
intervenes on each side between the pilasters and the columns in front.
The columns are about eighteen feet in height. The proportions are
perfect; and though the difference of diameter between the superior and
inferior portions of the shaft is less than the Grecian standard, there
is no want of elegance of effect, whilst it gives an idea of more
grandeur. The frieze is one mass of sculptured figures, generally of
human beings, male and female, in pairs; the horned monster termed
Grasda separating the different pairs. The internal _toran_ or triumphal
arch, which is invariably attached to all ancient temples of the
sun-god, is [708] of that peculiar curvature formed by the junction of
two arcs of a circle from different centres, a form of arch well known
in Gothic and Saracenic architecture, but which is an essential
characteristic of the more ancient Hindu temples. The head of a Grasda
crowns its apex, and on the outline is a concatenation of figures armed
with daggers, apparently ascending the arch to strike the monster. The
roof of the Mandap (_pronaos_) cannot be described: its various parts
must be examined with microscopic nicety in order to enter into detail.
In the whole of the ornaments there is an exact harmony which I have
seen nowhere else; even the miniature elephants are in the finest
proportions, and exquisitely carved.

The ceilings both of the portico and Mandap are elaborately beautiful:
that of the portico, of one single block, could hardly be surpassed.
(_Vide_ Plate.) Of the exterior I shall not attempt further description:
it is a grand, a wonderful effort of the Silpi (architect), one series
rising above and surpassing the other, from the base to the urn which
surmounts the pinnacle.

The sanctum contains the symbol of the god, whose local appellation is
Rori Barolli, a corruption of Bal-rori, from the circumstance of
Balnath, the sun-god, being here typified by an orbicular stone termed
rori, formed by attrition in the Chulis or whirlpools of the Chambal,
near which the temple stands, and to which phenomena it probably owed
its foundation. This symbolic rori is not fixed, but lies in a groove in
the internal ring of the Yoni; and so nicely is it poised, that with a
very moderate impulse it will continue revolving while the votary
recites a tolerably long hymn to the object of his adoration. The old
ascetic, who had long been one of the zealots of Barolli, amongst his
other wonders gravely told me, that with the momentum given by his
little finger, in former days, he could make it keep on its course much
longer than now with the application of all his strength.

Some honest son of commerce thought it but right that the _mandira_
(cella) of Bal-rori should be graced by a Parbati, and he had one made
and placed there. But it appeared to have offended the god, and matters
soon after went wrong with the Banya: first his wife died, then his son,
and at length he became _diwala_, or ‘bankrupt.’ In truth he deserved
punishment for his caricature of the ‘mountain-born’ Mena, who more
resembles a Dutch _burgomestre_ than the fair daughter of
Sailapati.[11.11.11]

Fronting the temple of Bal-rori, and apart from it about twenty yards,
is another [709] superb edifice, called the Singar-chaori, or nuptial
hall.[11.11.12] It is a square (chaori) of forty feet, supported by a
double range of columns on each face, the intercolumniations being quite
open; and although these columns want the elegant proportions of the
larger temple, they are covered with exquisite sculpture, as well as the
ceilings. In the centre of the hall is an open space about twelve feet
square; and here, according to tradition, the nuptials of Raja Hun with
the fair daughter of a Rajput prince, of whom he had long been
enamoured, were celebrated;[11.11.13] to commemorate which event, these
magnificent structures were raised: but more of this Hun anon. The
external roof (or _sikhara_, as the Hindu Silpi terms the various roofs
which cover their temples) is the frustum of a pyramid, and a singular
specimen of architectural skill, each stone being a miniature temple,
elegantly carved, gradually decreasing in size to the _kalas_ or ball,
and so admirably fitted to each other, that there has been no room for
vegetation to insinuate itself, and consequently they have sustained no
injury from time.

[Illustration:

CEILING OF THE PORTICO OF TEMPLE AT BAROLLI.
_To face page 1758._
]

Midway between the nuptial hall and the main temple there is a low
altar, on which the bull, Nandiswar, still kneels before the symbolic
representation of its sovereign lord, Iswar. But sadly dishonoured is
this courser of the sun-god, whose flowing tail is broken, and of whose
head but a fragment remains, though his necklace of alternate skulls and
bells proclaims him the charger of Siva.

Around the temple of the ‘great god’ (Mahadeva) are the shrines of the
_dii minores_, of whom Ganesa, the god of wisdom, takes precedence. The
shrine of this janitor of Siva is properly placed to the north,
equidistant from the nuptial hall and the chief temple. But the form of
wisdom was not spared by the Tatar iconoclast. His single tooth, on
which the poet Chand is so lavish of encomium, is broken off; his limbs
are dissevered, and he lies prostrate on his back at the base of his
pedestal, grasping, even in death, with his right hand the _laddus_, or
sweet-meat-balls, he received at the nuptial feast.

Near the dishonoured fragments of Ganesa, and on the point of losing his
equilibrium, is the divine Narada,[11.11.14] the preceptor of Parbati,
and the Orpheus of Hindu mythology. In his hands he yet holds the lyre
(_vina_), with whose heavenly sounds he has been charming the son of his
patroness; but more than one string of the instrument is wanting, and
one of the gourds which, united by a sounding board, form the _vina_, is
broken off [710].

To the south are two columns, one erect and the other prostrate, which
appear to have been either the commencement of another temple, or, what
is more probable from their excelling everything yet described, intended
to form a _toran_, having a simple architrave laid across them, which
served as a swing for the recreation of the god. (_Vide_ Plate.) Their
surface, though they have been exposed for at least one thousand years
to the atmosphere, is smooth and little injured: such is the durability
of this stone, though it is astonishing how it was worked, or how they
got instruments to shape it. There is a _bawari_, or reservoir of water,
for the use either of gods or mortals, placed in the centre of the
quadrangle, which is strewed with sculptured fragments.

We quit the enclosure of Raja Hun to visit the fountain (_kund_) of
Mahadeo, and the various other curious objects. Having passed through
the ruined gate by which we entered, we crossed the black stream, and
passing over a fine turf plot, reached the _kund_, which is a square of
sixty feet, the water (leading to which are steps) being full to the
brim, and the surface covered with the golden and silver lotus. In the
centre of the fountain is a miniature temple to the god who delights in
waters; and the dam by which it was once approached being broken, it is
now completely isolated. The entrance to the east has two slender and
well-proportioned columns, and the whole is conspicuous for simplicity
and taste.

Smaller shrines surround the _kund_, into one of which I entered, little
expecting in a comparatively humble edifice the surprise which awaited
me. The temple was a simple, unadorned hall, containing a detached piece
of sculpture, representing Narayan floating on the chaotic waters. The
god is reclining in a fit of abstraction upon his _shesh-seja_, a couch
formed of the hydra, or sea-snake, whose many heads expanded form a
canopy over that of the sleeping divinity,[11.11.15] at whose feet is
the benignant Lakshmi, the Hindu Ceres, awaiting the expiration of his
periodical repose. A group of marine monsters, half man, half fish,
support the couch in their arms, their scaly extremities gracefully
wreathed, and in the centre of them is a horse, rather too terrestrial
to be classical, with a conch-shell and other marine emblems near him.
The background to this couch rises about two feet above the reclining
figure, and is divided horizontally into two compartments, the lower
containing a group of six chimerical monsters, each nearly a foot in
height, in mutual combat, and in perfect relief. Above is a smaller
series, depicting the Avatars, or incarnations of the divinity. On the
left, Kurma, the tortoise, having quitted his shell, of which he makes
[711] a pedestal, denotes the termination of the catastrophe. Another
marine monster, half boar (Varaha), half fish, appears recovering the
Yoni, the symbol of production, from the alluvion, by his tusk. Next to
him is Narasinha, tearing in pieces a tyrannical king, with other
allegorical mysteries having no relation to the ten incarnations, but
being a mythology quite distinct, and which none of the well-informed
men around me could interpret: a certain proof of its antiquity.

[Illustration:

REMAINS OF AN ANCIENT TEMPLE AT BAROLLI.
Near the Chambal.
_To face page 1760._
]

The position of Narayan was that of repose, one hand supporting his
head, under which lay the _gada_, or mace, while in another he held the
conch-shell, which, when the god assumed the terrestrial form and led
the Yadu hosts to battle, was celebrated as Dakshinavarta, from having
its spiral involutions reversed, or to the right (_dakshin_). The fourth
arm was broken off, as were his nether limbs to near the knee. From the
_nabh_ or _naf_ (navel) the umbilical cord ascended, terminating in a
lotus, whose expanded flower served as a seat for Brahma, the
personification of the mind or spirit “moving on the waters” (Narayana)
of chaos. The beneficent and beautiful Lakshmi, whom all adore, whether
as Annapurna (the giver of food), or in her less amiable character as
the consort of the Hindu Plutus, seems to have excited a double portion
of the zealots’ ire, who have not only visited her face too roughly, but
entirely destroyed the emblems of nourishment for her universal progeny.
It would be impossible to dwell upon the minuter ornaments, which, both
for design and execution, may be pronounced unrivalled in India. The
highly imaginative mind of the artist is apparent throughout; he has
given a repose to the sleeping deity, which contrasts admirably with the
writhing of the serpent upon which he lies, whose folds, more especially
under the neck, appear almost real; a deception aided by the porphyritic
tints of the stone. From the accompaniments of mermaids, conch-shells,
sea-horses, etc., we may conclude that a more elegant mythology than
that now subsisting has been lost with the art of sculpture. The whole
is carved out of a single block of the quartz rock, which has a lustre
and polish equal to marble, and is of far greater durability.

The length of this marine couch (_seja_) is nearly eight feet, its
breadth two, and its height somewhat more than three; the figure, from
the top of his richly wrought tiara, being four feet. I felt a strong
inclination to disturb the slumbers of Narayana, and transport him to
another clime: in this there would be no sacrilege, for in his present
mutilated state he is looked upon (except as a specimen of art) as no
better than a stone.

All round the _kund_ the ground is covered with fragments of shrines
erected to [712] the inferior divinities. On one piece, which must have
belonged to a roof, were sculptured two busts of a male and a female,
unexceptionably beautiful. The headdress of the male was a helmet, quite
Grecian in design, bound with a simple and elegant fillet: in short, it
would require the labour of several artists for six months to do
anything like justice to the wonders of Barolli.

There is no chronicle to tell us for whom or by whom this temple was
constructed. The legends are unintelligible; for although Raja Hun is
the hero of this region, it is no easy task to account for his connexion
with the mythology. If we, however, connect this apparently wild
tradition with what is already said regarding his ruling at Bhainsror,
and moreover with what has been recorded in the first part of this work,
when ‛Angatsi, lord of the Huns,' was enrolled amongst the eighty-four
subordinate princes who defended Chitor against the first attempt of the
Islamite, in the eighth century, the mystery ceases. The name of Hun is
one of frequent occurrence in ancient traditions, and the early
inscription at Monghyr has already been mentioned, as likewise the still
more important admission of this being one of the Thirty-six Royal
tribes of Rajputs; and as, in the Chitor chronicle, they have actually
assigned as the proper name of the Hun prince that (Angatsi) which
designates, according to their historian Deguignes, the grand horde, we
can scarcely refuse our belief that “there were Huns” in India in those
days. But although Raja Hun may have patronized the arts, we can hardly
imagine he could have furnished any ideas to the artists, who at all
events have not produced a single Tatar feature to attest their rule in
this region. It is far more probable, if ever Grecian artists visited
these regions, that they worked upon Indian designs—an hypothesis which
may be still further supported. History informs us of the Grecian
auxiliaries sent by Seleucus to the (Puar) monarch of Ujjain
(Ozene),[11.11.16] whose descendants corresponded with Augustus; and I
have before suggested the possibility of the temple of Kumbhalmer, which
is altogether dissimilar to any remains of Hindu art, being attributable
to the same people.

We discovered two inscriptions, as well as the names of many visitors,
inscribed on the pavement and walls of the portico, bearing date seven
and eight hundred years ago; one was “the son of Jalansi, from
Dhawalnagari”; another, which is in the ornamental Nagari of the Jains,
is dated the 13th of Kartik (the month sacred to Mars), S. 981, or A.D.
925. Unfortunately it is but a fragment, containing five _slokas_ in
praise of Siddheswar, or Mahadeo, as the patron of the ascetic Jogis.
Part of a name remains; and although my old Guru will not venture to
give a translation without [713] his sibylline volume, the Vyakarana,
which was left at Udaipur, there is yet sufficient to prove it to be
merely the rhapsody of a Pandit, visiting Rori Barolli, in praise of the
‘great god’ and of the site.[11.11.17] More time and investigation than
I could afford, might make further discoveries; and it would be labour
well rewarded if we could obtain a date for this Augustan age of India.
At the same time, it is evident that the whole was not accomplished
within one man’s existence, nor could the cost be defrayed by one year’s
revenue of all Rajputana.

We may add, before we quit this spot, that there are two piles of
stones, in the quadrangle of the main temple, raised over the defunct
priests of Mahadeo, who, whether Gosains, Sannyasis, or Dadupantis,
always bury their dead.

Barolli is in the tract named Pachel, or the flat between the river
Chambal and the pass, containing twenty-four villages in the lordship of
Bhainsror, lying about three miles west, and highly improving the scene,
which would otherwise be one of perfect solitude. According to the local
tradition of some of the wild tribes, its more ancient name was
Bhadravati, the seat of the Huns; and the traces of the old city in
extensive mounds and ruins are still beheld around the more modern
Bhainsror. Tradition adds that the Charmanvati (the classic name of the
Chambal) had not then ploughed itself a channel in this adamantine bed;
but nine centuries could not have effected this operation, although it
is not far from the period when Angatsi, the Hun, served the Rana of
Chitor [714].

-----

Footnote 11.11.1:

_Darra_, a corruption of _Dwar_, ‘a barrier, pass, outlet, or portal’;
and _Mukund_, one of the epithets of Krishna. _Mukunddarra_ and
_Dwarkanath_ are synonymous—‘the pass and portal of the Deity.’
[_Dara_ or _darra_ is a Persian word meaning ‘pass’; akin to Skt.
_dara_, ‘cleaving, rending,’ not with _dvāra_, ‘a door.’ The pass is
situated about 140 miles E. of Udaipur city. Mukund is supposed to
mean ‘giver of liberation.’ _See_ p. 1522.]

Footnote 11.11.2:

[Atīt, meaning ‘free, destitute,’ usually applied to ascetics like the
Sannyāsi, followers of Siva (Crooke, _Tribes and Castes N.W.
Provinces_, i. 86 f.).]

Footnote 11.11.3:

[_Butea frondosa._]

Footnote 11.11.4:

[A folk-etymology, Sesodia being derived from the village Sesoda in W.
Mewār hill tract.]

Footnote 11.11.5:

[Barolli lies 3 miles N.E. of Bhainsrorgarh. The Kur tree is
_Sterculia urens_ (Watt, _Comm. Prod._ 1051): amba, the mango tree.]

Footnote 11.11.6:

[For a drawing and account of this temple see Fergusson, _Hist. Ind.
Arch._, ed. 1910, ii. 134. He ascribes it to the 9th or 10th century,
and regards this group of temples as the most perfect of their age he
had met with in this region, and, in their own peculiar style, perhaps
as beautiful as anything in India.]

Footnote 11.11.7:

[Mahishāsura, the buffalo demon.]

Footnote 11.11.8:

The _trimurti_ is represented with three faces (_murti_) though but
one head.

Footnote 11.11.9:

Nowhere else did I ever see this emblem of Time, the counterpart of
the scythe with which we furnish him, which is unknown to India.

Footnote 11.11.10:

[See Vol. I. p. 94.]

Footnote 11.11.11:

[Sailapati, ‘the mountain lord,’ the Himālaya.]

Footnote 11.11.12:

This is not the literal interpretation, but the purpose for which it
is applied. Chaori is the term always appropriated to the place of
nuptials: _singar_ means ‘ornament.’

Footnote 11.11.13:

[There is a tradition that a Hūna Rāja was present at the Swayamvara,
or choosing of the bridegroom by the bride, Durlabha Devi, sister of
the Rāja of Nādol in Mārwār, early in the eleventh century A.D. But
the rank of the family does not warrant the belief that he and other
distant Rājas were present (_BG_, i. Part i. 162 f.).]

Footnote 11.11.14:

[Nārada, one of the Prajāpati and seven great Rishis, who invented the
_vīna_ or lute, and paid a visit to Pātāla, the lower regions.]

Footnote 11.11.15:

[See a photograph of a fine panel from a temple at Deogarh, in the
Lalitpur subdivision of the Jhānsi District, United Provinces,
representing Vishnu reclining on the serpent Ananta, the symbol of
eternity, with the other gods watching from above (Smith, _HFA_,
163).]

Footnote 11.11.16:

[An account of the Indian embassy to Augustus is given by Strabo (xv.
73, with the notes of M‘Crindle, _Ancient India in Classical
Literature_, 77 ff.; O. de Beauvoir Priaulx, _Indian Travels of
Apollonius of Tyana_ (1873), 65 ff.). It was suggested by d’Anville
that the king named Porus who sent the embassy was a Rāna of Ujjain
who claimed descent from the Porus who was defeated by Alexander the
Great. But the only foundation for this guess is that the embassy
included a man from Barygaza, the modern Broach, who committed suicide
by means of fire. There is no truth in the story that Seleucus sent
Greek auxiliaries to the Pawār monarch of Ujjain, and the statements
in the text lack authority.]

Footnote 11.11.17:

This is deposited in the museum of the Royal Asiatic Society.

-----

CHAPTER 12

=The Whirlpools of the Chambal=, _December 3_.—Having halted several
days at Barolli to admire the works of man, we marched to contemplate
the still more stupendous operations of nature—the Chulis, or
‘whirlpools,’ of the Chambal. For three miles we had to hew a path
through the forest for our camels and horses; at the end of which, the
sound of many waters gradually increased, until we stood on the bleak
edge of the river’s rocky bed. Our little camp was pitched upon an
elevated spot, commanding a view over one of the most striking objects
of nature—a scene bold beyond the power of description. Behind us was a
deep wood; in front, the abrupt precipices of the Patar; to the left,
the river expanded into a lake of ample dimensions, fringed with trees,
and a little onward to the right, the majestic and mighty Charmanvati,
one of the sixteen sacred rivers of India, shrunk into such a narrow
compass that even man might bestride it. From the tent, nothing seemed
to disturb the unruffled surface of the lake, until we approached the
point of outlet, and beheld the deep bed the river has excavated in the
rock. This is the commencement of the falls. Proceeding along the
margin, one rapid succeeds another, the gulf increasing in width, and
the noise becoming more terrific, until you arrive at a spot where the
stream is split into four distinct channels; and a little farther, an
isolated rock appears, high over which the whitened spray ascends, the
sunbeams playing on it. Here the separated channels, each terminating in
a cascade, fall into an ample basin, and again unite their waters,
boiling around the masses of black rock, which ever and anon peeps out
and contrasts with the foaming surge rising from the whirlpools
(_chulis_) beneath. From this huge cauldron the waters again divide into
two branches, encircling and isolating the rock, on whose northern face
they reunite, and form another fine fall [715].

A tree is laid across the chasm, by the aid of which the adventurous may
attain the summit of the rock, which is quite flat, and is called ‘the
table of the Thakur of Bhainsror,’ who often, in the summer, holds his
_got_ or feast there, and a fitter spot for such an entertainment can
scarcely be imagined. Here, soothed by the murmur of foaming waters, the
eye dwelling on a variety of picturesque objects, seen through the
prismatic hues of the spray-clouds, the baron of Bhainsror and his
little court may sip their _amrit_, fancying it, all the while, taken
from the churning of the little ocean beneath them.

[Illustration: Whirlpools of the Chambal.]

On issuing from the Chulis, the river continues its course through its
rocky bed, which gradually diminishes to about fifteen feet, and with
greatly increased velocity, until, meeting a softer soil, under
Bhainsror, it would float a man-of-war. The distance from the lake first
described to this rock is about a mile, and the difference of elevation,
under two hundred feet; the main cascade being about sixty feet fall. It
is a curious fact that, after a course of three hundred miles, the bed
of a mighty river like this should be no more than about three yards
broad. The whirlpools are huge perpendicular caverns, thirty and forty
feet in depth, between some of which there is a communication
underground; the orbicular stones, termed roris, are often forced up in
the agitation of these natural cauldrons; one of them represents the
object of worship at Bal-rori. For many miles down the stream, towards
Kotah, the rock is everywhere pierced by incipient Chulis, or
whirlpools, which, according to their size and force, are always filled
with these rounded stones.

From hence the Chambal pursues its course through the plateau (sometimes
six hundred feet high) to Kotah. Here nature is in her grandest attire.
The scene, though wild and rugged, is sublime; and were I offered an
estate in Mewar, I would choose Bhainsror, and should be delighted to
hold my _got_ enveloped in the mists which rise from the whirlpools of
the Chambal [716].

=Gangabheva=, _December 4_.—The carpenters have been at work for some
days hewing a road for us to pass to Gangabheva, another famed retreat
in this wild and now utterly deserted abode. We commenced our march
through a forest, the dog-star nearly south; the river dimly seen on our
right. On our left were the remains of a ruined circumvallation, which
is termed Rana-Kot; probably a _ramna_, or preserve. At daybreak we
arrived at the hamlet of Kherli; and here, our course changing abruptly
to the south-east, we left the river, and continued our journey through
rocks and thickets, until a deep grove of lofty trees, enclosed by a
dilapidated wall, showed that we had reached the object of our search,
Gangabheva.

What a scene burst upon us, as we cleared the ruined wall and forced our
way over the mouldering fragments of ancient grandeur! Gangabheva, or
‘the circle of Ganga,’[11.12.1] appears to have been selected as a
retreat for the votaries of Mahadeva, from its being a little oasis in
this rock-bound valley; for its site was a fine turf, kept in perpetual
verdure by springs.

[Illustration:

TEMPLES OF GANGA BHEVA.
In the Forest of Pachail in Mewar.
_To face page 1766._
]

=The Saiva Temple.=—The chief object is the temple, dedicated to the
creative power; it stands in the centre of a quadrangle of smaller
shrines, which have more the appearance of being the cenotaphs of some
ancient dynasty than domiciles for the inferior divinities. The contrast
between the architecture of the principal temple, and that of the
shrines which surround it, is remarkable. The body of the chief temple
has been destroyed, and with its wrecks a simple, inelegant mandir has
been raised; nor is there aught of the primitive structure, except the
portico, remaining. Its columns are fluted, and the entablature (part of
which lies prostrate and reversed)[11.12.2] exhibits a profusion of rich
sculpture. In front of the temple is a circular basin, always
overflowing, and whence the term _bhevo_ or _bheo_, ‘a circle,’ added to
the name of the spring, which is feigned to be an emanation of _Ganga_.
The surface of its waters is covered with the flower sacred to the
goddess, that particular lotus termed _kamadhan_, which may be rendered
‘the riches of love.’

The chief temple evinces the same skill and taste as the structures of
Barolli, and the embellishments are similar. We here recognize the
groups of Mahadeva and Parbati, with the griffins (_grasda_), the
Naginis, half serpent, half female, etc., though not in so finished a
style as at Barolli. Whatever be the age of this temple (and we found on
the pavement the name of a votary with the date S. 1011, or A.D. 955),
it is many centuries more recent than those which surround it, in whose
massive simplicity we [717] have a fine specimen of the primitive
architecture of the Hindus. Even of these, we can trace varieties. That
of which we present a drawing (_vide_ Plate) shows, in its fluted
columns, a more ambitious, though not a better taste, than the plainer
supporters of the pyramidal roofs, which cover all the ancient temples
of Bal-Siva. Five of these small shrines filled up each face of the
quadrangle, but with the exception of those on the east side, all are in
ruins. The doors of those which possess an enclosed sanctum face inwards
towards the larger shrine: and each has a simple low altar, on which are
ranged the attendant divinities of Mahadeva. The sculpture of all these
is of a much later date than the specimens at Barolli, and of inferior
execution, though far superior to anything that the Hindu sculptor of
modern days can fabricate. They may possibly be of the date found
inscribed (the tenth century), posterior to which no good Hindu
sculpture is to be found. As this spot is now utterly deserted, and the
tiger and wild boar are the only inhabitants that visit the groves of
Gangabheva, I shall be guilty of no sacrilege in removing a few of these
specimens of early art.[11.12.3]

Nature has co-operated with the ruthless Turk in destroying the oldest
specimens of the art. Wherever there is a chink or crevice, vegetation
fixes itself. Of this we had a fine specimen in a gigantic but now
mouldering _kur_, which had implanted itself in the _mandap_ of the
principal temple, and rent it to its foundation. On examining its
immense roots, large slabs were actually encased with the wood, the bark
of which nearly covers a whole regiment of petty gods. This fact alone
attests the longevity of this species of tree, which is said to live a
thousand years. The fountain temple has, in a similar way, been levelled
by another of these kur-trees, the branches of which had gradually
pressed in and overwhelmed it. The Singar-chaori, or nuptial hall, is
also nearly unroofed; and although the portico may yet survive for ages,
time is rapidly consuming the rest.

I should have said that there are two distinct enclosures, an interior
and exterior, and it is the first which is crowded with the noblest
trees, everywhere clustered by the Amarvela, ‘the garland of eternity,’
sacred to Mahadeva, which shades the shrine, overhanging it in festoons.
This is the giant of the parasitic tribe, its main stem being as thick
near the root as my body. I counted sixty joints, each apparently
denoting a year’s growth, yet not half-way up the tree on which it
climbed. That [718] highly-scented shrub, the _ketaki_,[11.12.4] grew in
great profusion near the _kund_, and a bevy of monkeys were gambolling
about them, the sole inhabitants of the grove. The more remote enclosure
contained many altars, sacred to the manes of the faithful wives who
became Satis for the salvation of their lords. On some of these altars
were three and four _putlis_, or images, denoting the number of
devotees. It would require a month’s halt and a company of pioneers to
turn over these ruins, and then we might not be rewarded for our pains.
We have therefore set to work to clear a path, that we may emerge from
these wilds.

[Illustration:

SMALLER GROUP OF TEMPLES AT GANGA BHEVA.
_To face page 1768._
]

=Nauli=, _December 5_; twelve miles.—The road runs through one continued
forest, which would have been utterly impassable but for the hatchet.
Half-way is the boundary between Bhainsror and Bhanpura, also an ancient
appanage of Mewar, but now belonging to Holkar. Nauli is a comfortable
village, having the remains of a fort to the westward.

In the evening I went to visit Takaji-ka-kund, or ‘fountain of the
snake-king.’ It is about two miles east of Nauli; the road, through a
jungle, over the flat highland or Patar, presents no indication of the
object of research, until you suddenly find yourself on the brink of a
precipice nearly two hundred feet in depth, crowded with noble trees, on
which the knotted _kur_ was again conspicuous. The descent to this glen
was over masses of rock; and about half-way down, on a small platform,
are two shrines; one containing the statue of Takshak, the snake-king;
the other of Dhanvantari, the physician, who was produced at the
“churning of the ocean.” The _kund_, or fountain, at the southern
extremity of the abyss, is about two hundred yards in circumference, and
termed _athah_, or ‘unfathomable,’ according to my guide, and if we may
judge from its dark sea-green lustre, it must be of considerable depth.
It is filled by a cascade of full one hundred feet perpendicular height,
under which is a stone seat, sacred to the genius of the spot. At the
west side issues a rivulet, called the Takhaili, or serpentine, which,
after pursuing a winding course for many miles, some hundred feet below
the surface of the Patar, washes the eastern face of Hinglajgarh, and
ultimately joins the Amjar. Ghasi, my native artist, is busy with the
effigy of the snake-king, and Dhanvantari, the Vaidya. From the summit
of the plateau we had a view of the castle of Hinglaj, celebrated in
Lord Lake’s war with the Mahrattas, and which was taken by Captain
Hutchinson with a few men of the Bengal artillery.[11.12.5]

=Bhānpura=, _December 6_, eight miles.—This was a delightful march,
presenting [719] pictures at every step. Two miles, through jungle,
brought us to the abrupt crest of the Patar. For some distance the route
was over a neck or chine, with deep perpendicular dells on each side,
which, at its extremity, the point of descent, termed the ghat or pass,
became a valley, gradually expanding until we reached Bhanpura. At the
ghat are the remains of a very ancient fortress, named Indorgarh, which
must have been one of the strongholds of this region long anterior to
the Chandrawat feudatories of Mewar. Some fragments of sculpture
indicate the presence of the artist of Barolli; but all search for
inscriptions was fruitless. From hence we saw the well-defined skirts of
the plateau stretching westward by Rampura to the Lasaughat, Tarapur,
and Jawad, the point of our ascent last year.

It was pleasing, after a week’s incarceration amidst these ruins and
scenes of natural grandeur, where European foot had never trod, to see
verdant fields and inhabitants of the plains; such alternations make
each delightful in its turn. We had been satiated with the interminable
flats and unvarying cornfields of Haraoti, and it was a relief to quit
that tame tranquillity for the whirlpools of the Chambal, the _kunds_ of
Ganga, and the snake-king in the regions of the inaccessible Durga.

=Mausoleum of Jaswant Rāo Holkar.=—As we approached Bhanpura, we
crossed a small rivulet, called the Rewa, coming from the glen of the
pass; near which is the mausoleum of Jaswant Rao Holkar, adjoining the
scene of his greatest glory, when he drove an English army from his
territory.[11.12.6] The architecture is worthy of the barbarian
Mahratta; it is a vaulted building, erected upon a terrace, all of
hewn stone; its only merit is its solidity. There is a statue of this
intrepid chieftain, of the natural size, in the usual ungraceful
sitting posture, with his little turban; but it gives but a mean idea
of the man who made terms with Lake at the altars of Alexander. It is
enclosed by a miniature and regularly built fortress, with bastions,
the interior of which are hollow and colonnaded, serving as a
Dharmsala, or place of halt for pilgrims or travellers; and on the
terrace are a few _rahaklas_, or swivels. On the right of the temple
destined to receive the effigy of Jaswant, is a smaller cenotaph to
the memory of his sister, who died shortly after him. The gateway
leading into this castellated tomb has apartments at the top, and at
the entrance is a handsome piece of brass ordnance, called Kali, or
‘death.’ There is a temporary building on the right of the gateway,
where prayers are recited all day long for the soul of Jaswant, before
an altar on which were placed twenty-four _dewas_, or lamps, always
burning. A figure dressed in white was on the altar; immediately
behind which, painted on the wall, was Jaswant himself, and as in the
days [720] of his glory, mounted on his favourite war-horse, Mahua.
The _chamar_ was waving over his head, and silver-mace bearers were
attending, while the officiating priests, seated on carpets,
pronounced their incantations.

[Illustration:

IMAGE OF THE SNAKE KING AT THE FOUNTAIN OF THE AMJAR.
_To face page 1770._
]

I left the master to visit Mahua, whose stall is close to the mausoleum
of Holkar, whom he bore in many a desperate strife. The noble animal
seemed to possess all his master’s aversion to a Farangi, and when,
having requested his body-clothes to be removed, I went up to examine
him, he at first backed his ears and showed fight; but at last permitted
me to rub his fine forehead. Mahua is a chestnut of the famed
Bhimthadi[11.12.7] breed; like his master, a genuine native of
Maharashtra, he exhibits the framework of a perfect horse, though under
14-3; his forelegs show what he has gone through. His head is a model,
exhibiting the highest quality of blood; ears small and pointed, eye
full and protruding, and a mouth that could drink out of a tea-cup. He
is in very good condition; but I put in my _arzi_ that they would
provide more ample and sweeter bedding, which was readily promised. The
favourite elephant is a pensioner as well as Mahua. Even in these simple
incidents we see that the mind is influenced by similar associations all
over the world.

Bhanpura is a town of five thousand houses, surrounded by a wall in good
order; the inhabitants apparently well contented with the mild
administration of Tantia Jog,[11.12.8] the present Diwan of Holkar’s
court; but they are all alive to the conviction that this tranquillity
is due to the supervising power alone. I was greatly gratified by a
visit from the respectable community of Bhanpura, merchants, bankers,
and artisans, headed by the Hakim in person, nor could the inhabitants
of my own country, Mewar, evince more kind and courteous feeling. In
fact, they have not forgotten the old tie; that the Rao of Bhanpura,
though now holding but a small portion of his inheritance, was one of
the chief nobles of Mewar, and even still receives the tilak of
accession for Amad from the hands of his ancient lord, though nearly a
century has elapsed since Holkar became his sovereign _de facto_: but
associations here are all-powerful.

=Garot=, _December 7_; distance, thirteen miles; direction, S.S.E.—It
was delightful to range over the expansive plains of Malwa, and not to
be reminded at every step by the exclamation “_thokar!_” of the
attendant, that there was some stony impediment ready to trip one up,
the moment one’s vision was raised above the earth. A singular contrast
was presented between the moral aspect of these plains and of Haraoti.
Here, though the seat of perpetual war, still visible in sterile fields,
we [721] observe comfort displayed in the huts and in the persons of the
peasantry; there, amidst all the gifts of Annapurna, the miserable
condition of the ryot provokes one to ask, “Whence this difference?” The
reason is elsewhere explained.

Garot is a thriving town of twelve hundred houses, the chief of a
_tappa_ or subdivision of Rampura, whence a deputy Hakim is sent as
resident manager. It is walled in; but the inhabitants seemed to feel
they had now a better security than walls. Here there is nothing
antique; but Moli, with its old castle, about midway in this morning’s
journey, might furnish something for the _porte-feuille_, especially a
fine sculptured _toran_ yet standing, and fragments strewed in every
direction. Tradition is almost mute, and all I could learn was, that it
was the abode of a king, called Satal-Patal, whom they carried back to
the era of the Pandus.

I was much surprised to find the plain strewed with agates and
cornelians, of every variety of tint and shape, both veined and plain,
semi-transparent and opaque, many stalactitic, in various degrees of
hardness, still containing the fibre of grass or root, serving as a
nucleus for the concretion. There are no hills to account for these
products in the black loam of the plains, unless the Chambal should have
burst his bed and inundated them. Nor are there any _nalas_ which could
have carried them down, or any appearance of calcareous deposit in the
soil, which when penetrated to any depth, was found to rest upon blue
slate.

=Caves of Dhamnār=,[11.12.9] _December 8_; direction, south 10° west;
distance, twelve miles.—The country reminded us of Mewar, having the
same agreeable undulations of surface and a rich soil, which was strewed
throughout, as yesterday, with agates. As we approached the object of
our search, the caves of Dhamnar, we crossed a rocky ridge covered with
the _dhak_ jungle, through which we travelled until we arrived at the
mount. We found our camp pitched at the northern base, near a fine tank
of water; but our curiosity was too great to think of breakfast until
the mental appetite was satiated.

The hill is between two and three miles in circumference; to the north
it is bluff, of gradual ascent, and about one hundred and forty feet in
height, the summit presenting a bold perpendicular scarp, about thirty
feet high. The top is flat, and covered with _bar_ trees. On the south
side it has the form of a horse-shoe, or irregular crescent, the horns
of which are turned to the south, having the same bold natural rampart
running round its crest, pierced throughout with caves, of which I
counted one hundred and seventy;[11.12.10] I should rather say that
these were merely the entrances to the [722] temples and extensive
habitations of these ancient Troglodytes. The rock is a cellular
iron-clay, so indurated and compact as to take a polish. There are
traces of a city, external as well as internal, but whether they were
cotemporaneous we cannot conjecture. If we judge from the remains of a
wall about nine feet thick, of Cyclopean formation, being composed of
large oblong masses without cement, we might incline to that opinion,
and suppose that the caves were for the monastic inhabitants, did they
not afford to the contrary in their extent and appropriation.

On reaching the scarp, we wound round its base until we arrived at an
opening cut through it from top to bottom, which proved to be the
entrance to a gallery of about one hundred yards in length and nearly
four in breadth, terminating in a quadrangular court, measuring about
one hundred feet by seventy, and about thirty-five feet in height; in
short, an immense square cavity, hollowed out of the rock, in the centre
of which, cut in like manner out of one single mass of stone, is the
temple of the four-armed divinity, Chaturbhuja. Exclusive of this
gallery, there is a staircase cut in the north-west angle of the
excavation, by which there is an ascent to the summit of the rock, on a
level with which is the pinnacle of the temple. Apparently without any
soil, some of the finest trees I ever saw, chiefly the sacred pipal,
bar, and tamarind, are to be found here.

The ground-plan of the temple is of the usual form, having a mandir,
mandap, and portico, to which the well-known term pagoda is given, and
there is simplicity as well as solidity both in the design and
execution. The columns, entablatures, with a good show of ornament, are
distinct in their details; and there are many statutes, besides flowers,
not in bad taste, especially the carved ceilings. It would be regarded
as a curiosity if found on a plain, and put together in the ordinary
manner; but when it is considered that all is from one block, and that
the material is so little calculated to display the artist’s skill, the
work is stupendous.

Vishnu, who is here adored as the ‘four-armed,’ was placed upon an
altar, clad in robes of his favourite colour (_pandu_, or yellow ochre),
whence one of his titles, Pandurang. The principal shrine is surrounded
by the inferior divinities in the following order: First, on entering
are the Poliyas or ‘Porters’; Ganesa is upon the right, close to whom is
Sarasvati, “whose throne is on the tongue”; and on the left are the twin
sons of Kali, the Bhairavas, distinguished as Kala (black), and Gora
(fair); a little in advance of these is a shrine containing five of the
ten Mahavidyas,[11.12.11] or ministering agents of Kali, each known by
her symbol, or vahan, as the bull, man, elephant [723], buffalo, and
peacock. The Mahavidyas are all evil genii, invoked in jap, or
incantations against an enemy, and phylacteries, containing formulas
addressed to them, are bound round the arms of warriors in
battle.[11.12.12]

At the back of the chief temple are three shrines; the central one
contains a statue of Narayana, upon his hydra-couch, with Lakshmi at his
feet. Two Daityas, or evil spirits, appear in conflict close to her; and
a second figure represents her in a running posture, looking back, in
great alarm, at the combatants. Smaller figures about Narayana represent
the heavenly choristers administering to his repose, playing on various
instruments, the _murali_, or flute, the _vina_, or lyre, the _mayura_,
or tabor, and the _mridang_ and _thal_, or cymbals, at the sound of
which a serpent appears, rearing his crest with delight. The minor
temples, like the larger one, are also hewn out of the rock; but the
statues they contain are from the quartz rock of the Patar and they,
therefore, appear incongruous with the other parts. In fact, from an
emblem of Mahadeva, which rises out of the threshold, and upon which the
‘four-armed’ Vishnu looks down, I infer that these temples were
originally dedicated to the creative power.

We proceeded by the steps, cut laterally in the rock, to the south side,
where we enjoyed, through the opening, an unlimited range of vision over
the plains beyond the Chambal, even to Mandasor and Sondwara. Descending
some rude steps, and turning to the left, we entered a cavern, the roof
of which was supported by one of those singularly shaped columns, named
after the sacred mounts of the Jains; and here it is necessary to
mention a curious fact, that while everything on one side is Buddhist or
Jain, on the other all is Saiva or Vaishnava. At the entrance to the
cave adjoining this are various colossal figures, standing or sitting,
too characteristic of the Buddhists or Jains to be mistaken; but on
this, the south side, everything is ascribed to the Pandus, and a
recumbent figure, ten feet in length, with his hand under his head, as
if asleep, is termed “the son of Bhim,” and as the local tradition goes,
“only one hour old”: a circumstance which called forth my conductor, who
gravely swallowed the tale, the exclamation—“What would he have been if
_nau mahine ka balak_, 'a nine months’ child'!”[11.12.13] The chief
group is called the Five Pandus, who, according to tradition, took up
their abode here during their exile from the Jumna; and the other
figures are performing menial offices to the heroes.[11.12.14]

Fortunately, I had my Jain Guru with me, who gave me more correct
notions of these groups than the local _cicerone_. All these figures are
representations of the [724] deified pontiffs of the Jains,[11.12.15]
and the group of five are the most celebrated of the twenty-four, and
distinctively called the Panch-Tirathi, namely, Rishabhadeva, the first;
Santinath, the sixteenth; Neminath, the twenty-second; Parsvanath, the
twenty-third; and Mahavira, the twenty-fourth. Each has his sacred
mount, or place of pilgrimage (_tirath_), and each is recognized by his
symbol, namely, the bull, black antelope, conch-shell, hooded serpent,
and tiger; and it is quite sufficient to find one of these symbols upon
the plinth to ascertain the particular pontiff to which it belongs.
There was also, in a sitting posture, Chandraprabha, known by his sign,
the crescent.[11.12.16] All the figures are from ten to eleven feet
high. That in a recumbent position, my friend said was one of the
pontiffs, about to “shuffle off this mortal coil,” preparatory to
apotheosis. “When such an event took place, the throne of Indra shook,
and he sent a deputation to convey the deceased through the Kshira
Samudra (sea of curds), to the great temple of deification, whither the
whole heavenly host advanced to conduct him.”

Next to, and communicating by a passage with, this hall of the Jain
pontiffs, is the most extensive excavation of Dhamnar, locally
designated as “Bhim’s Bazar.”[11.12.17] The extreme length of this
excavation is about a hundred feet, and the breadth eighty. Although the
name of this leader of the Pandus designates every subdivision of this
cave, yet everything is Buddhist. The main apartment is that called
Bhim’s armoury or treasury, the entrance to which is through a
vestibule, about twenty feet square, supported by two columns, and
having four lateral semicircular niches, now empty, but probably
intended for statues: this opens to the armoury, which is a vaulted
apartment, about thirty feet by fifteen, having at the further end a
dagoba, supporting the roof. These singularly formed columns, if we may
so term them, are named after their sacred mounts; and this is called
Sumeru, which being sacred to Adinath, the first pontiff, we may
conclude he was here adored. An extensive piazza, full twenty feet wide,
evidently a Dharamsala for the pilgrims, runs round this apartment,
supported by rows of massive square columns, all cut out of the rock;
and again, on the exterior, are numerous square cells, called the
apartments of the Srawaks, or Jain laity; in one of which there is a
supporting dagoba, and in another two statues of the twenty-third
pontiff, Parsva. A part of the vaulted roof of Bhim’s treasury, as it is
called, has fallen in so that the vault of heaven is seen through the
aperture of the mountain. This is also attributed to Kaurava Chor
(thief), whose statue appears on the pinnacle of the temple of Barolli,
indicating the old enemy of [725] the Pandus, who robbed them of their
kingdom. Close to the armoury is an apartment called the Rajloka, or for
the ladies; but here tradition is at fault, since with the exception of
Kunti, the mother, Draupadi alone shared the exile of the Pandavas.

[Illustration:

CAVE TEMPLES OF DHAMNAR.
_To face page 1776._
]

Still further to the right, or south-west, is another vaulted and
roof-ribbed apartment, thirty feet by fourteen, and about sixteen in
central height, supported by another image of Sumeru. The sacred _bar_,
or fig-tree (_Ficus religiosa_), had taken root in the very heart of
this cavern, and having expanded until checked by the roof, it found the
line of least resistance to be the cave’s mouth, whence it issued
horizontally, and is now a goodly tree overshadowing the cave (_vide_
Plate). Around this there are many Pausiddhsalas, or halls for the
Yatis, or initiated disciples, who stand in the same upright meditative
posture as the pontiffs.

But it is impossible, and the attempt would be tedious, to give, by any
written description, an adequate idea of the subterranean town of
Dhamnar. It is an object, however, which will assist in illustrating the
subject of cave-worship in India; and though in grandeur these caves
cannot compare with those of Ellora, Karli, or Salsette, yet in point of
antiquity they evidently surpass them. The temple dedicated to the
Tirthakaras, or deified Jineswars (lords of the Jains), is a rude
specimen of a rude age, when the art of sculpture was in its very
infancy; yet is there a boldness of delineation, as well as great
originality of design, which distinguishes them from everything else in
India. In vain we hunted for inscriptions; but a few isolated letters of
that ancient and yet undeciphered kind, which occurs on every monument
attributed to the Pandavas, were here and there observed. There were
fragments of sculpture about the base of the hill, differing both in
design and material from those of the mountain. Altogether, Dhamnar is
highly worthy of a visit, being one of the most curious spots in this
part, which abounds with curiosities [726].

-----

Footnote 11.12.1:

[The name may mean ‘Ganges fissure.’ The place is not mentioned by
Erskine.]

Footnote 11.12.2:

It will be requisite to view this fragment in a reversed position to
see the intended effort of the artist.

Footnote 11.12.3:

Of the style of these specimens the curious are enabled to judge, as
several are deposited in the museum of the Royal Asiatic Society.
These mark the decline of the arts; as do those of Barolli its perhaps
highest point of excellence.

Footnote 11.12.4:

[_Pandanus odoratissimus._]

Footnote 11.12.5:

[The fort was captured in July 1804 (Mill, _Hist. British India_, ed.
1817, iii. 674).]

Footnote 11.12.6:

[He became Chief of Indor about 1802; was defeated by Lord Lake;
became insane in 1806, and died October 20, 1811.]

Footnote 11.12.7:

[See Vol. II. p. 1045.]

Footnote 11.12.8:

[Tāntia Jog was a Karhāda Brāhman from Khāndesh, who attached himself
to one of Holkar’s European officers, and by managing the districts
assigned for the support of the troops, provided funds for their pay.
He was with Holkar till the murder of the European officers, before
Jaswant Rāo invaded Hindustān. He then returned to Ujjain, and carried
on the business of a Sahukār or banker. See Malcolm, _Memoir of
Central India_, 2nd ed. i. 286.]

Footnote 11.12.9:

[In Indor State, Central India. For accounts of them see
Fergusson-Burgess, _Cave Temples of India_, 392 ff.; Cunningham,
_ASR_, ii. 270 ff.; _IGI_, xi. 283.]

Footnote 11.12.10:

[There are not more than seventy actual caves (_ASR_, ii. 275;
Fergusson-Burgess, _op. cit._ 392).]

Footnote 11.12.11:

[According to the Tantras, there are ten Mahāvidyas, or female
incarnations of Sakti, the principle of productiveness.]

Footnote 11.12.12:

[For a plan of this temple see Fergusson, _Hist. Ind. Arch._ ed. 1910,
ii. 129.]

Footnote 11.12.13:

[The figure is fifteen feet in length, and represents Buddha entering
Nirvāna (Fergusson-Burgess, 395).]

Footnote 11.12.14:

[The figures are Buddha and Dwārpālas or door-keepers (_ibid._ 394
f.).]

Footnote 11.12.15:

[The Guru was mistaken in supposing these figures to be Jain.]

Footnote 11.12.16:

[The Author was misled by his Guru. The figures are Buddhist
(Fergusson-Burgess, _op. cit._ 392, note 2).]

Footnote 11.12.17:

[This is a Buddhist Chaitya cave surrounded by a Vihāra. These caves
are probably the last constructed Buddhist caves in India, and can
hardly be dated before the eighth century A.D. (_ibid._ 393; _ASR_,
ii. 272 f.).]

-----

CHAPTER 13

=Pachpahār. Monson’s Retreat. Fate of Lieutenant Lucan.= _December
10._—We returned to Garot yesterday, whence we marched ten miles
north-north-east this morning over memorable ground. It was from Garot
that the retreat of Monson commenced, an event as remarkable in the
history of British India as the retreat of Xenophon in that of Greece.
The former has not been commemorated by the commander, though even the
pen of Xenophon himself could not have mitigated the reproach which that
disastrous event has left upon our military reputation. Holkar was at
Partabgarh,[11.13.1] when, hearing of the advance of the English army,
he made direct on Mandasor,[11.13.2] where he halted merely to refresh
his horses, and crossing the Chambal at the Aunra ford, he pushed direct
on Garot, a distance of nearly fifty miles. Local report states that
Monson, in utter ignorance of the rapid advance of Holkar, had that
morning recommenced his march for Chandwasa, with what object is
unknown; but as soon as he learned the vicinity of the foe, without
awaiting him, he ordered a retrograde movement to gain the Mukunddarra
pass, leaving Lucan with the irregular horse and the Kotah auxiliaries,
chiefly Hara Rajputs, to secure his retreat. Holkar’s army amounted to
ten thousand horse, in four _gols_, or masses, each acting separately.
That under —— Khan Bangash[11.13.3] came on Lucan from the south, while
that under Harnath Dada, from the direction of Bhanpur, attacked the
Kotah contingent. Lucan defended himself like a hero, and having
repelled all their charges, had become the assailant, when he received
his death-blow from a hand in his own Paegah.[11.13.4] My informant, who
was that day opposed to this gallant soldier, described the scene,
pointing out the mahua tree close to which he fell.

=Heroism of Amar Singh Hāra.=—The auxiliary band of Kotah was led by the
Hara chief of Kolai, his name Amar Singh. On receiving the orders of the
English commander, he prepared, in the old Hara style, to obey them. The
position he selected was about a quarter of a mile west of Lucan, on the
north bank of the Amjar, his left protected by the village of [727]
Pipli, which stands on a gentle eminence gradually shelving to the
stream, the low abrupt bank of which would secure him from any charge in
front. Here, dismounting from his horse, Amar Singh, surrounded by one
thousand men, “spread his carpet,” resolved to defend the passage of the
Amjar. His force was chiefly infantry, who met the enemy with volleys of
matchlocks, and filled the stream with their bodies; but just as he was
about to close with them, a ball hit him in the forehead and another in
the right breast. He fell, but immediately rose again, and reclining
against a sugar mill-stone, encouraged his men to the charge. The
calmness of his manner indicated no danger, but it was the dying effort
of a Hara: pointing with his sword to the foe, he fell back and expired.
Four hundred and fifty of his men were either killed or wounded around
their chief, and among the latter, the Palaitha[11.13.5] chief, the next
in rank to Koila, and the Bakhshi, or paymaster-general of Kotah, was
made prisoner, and forced to sign a bond for ten lakhs of rupees as a
ransom, a penalty for siding with the English.

A humble altar of clay marks the spot where the brave Hara fell, having
a tablet, or Jujhar, representing as usual a cavalier and his steed,
armed at all points. I felt indignation at the indifference of the
regent who had not marked the spot with a more durable monument, but he
is no Hara; though could he entomb the whole tribe, he would erect a
structure rivalling even that of Mausolus. But this receives a homage
which might be denied to a more splendid one; for the villagers of Pipli
fail not in their duty to the manes of Amar Singh, whose lowly altar is
maintained in repair. The devoted Lucan has not even so frail a monument
as this; nor could I learn if the case which enclosed his gallant spirit
had any rites of sepulture. But his memory will be cherished by the
inhabitants of Pipli, who will point to the mahua tree as that of
“_Lucan Sahib ka Jujhar_.”

By the sacrifice of these brave men, the British commander gained the
Mukunddarra pass, without seeing even an enemy; had he there left only
five companies, with sufficient supplies and ammunition, under such men
as Sinclair or Nichol, Mukunddarra might have rivalled Thermopylae in
renown; for such is the peculiarity of the position, that it would have
taken a week to turn it, and that could be done by infantry alone. But
the commander “had no confidence in his men”: why then did he accept the
command? Throughout the retreat the sipahis were eager for the fight,
and expressed their opinion openly of their leader; and when this
‘doubting’ commander left five companies to defend the passage of the
Banas, how did they perform it? by repelling every assault, while a
particle of ammunition lasted. I have often passed this [728] ford, once
with Sindhia’s army, and only three years after the retreat. The gallant
stand was admirably described to me by Zaman Khan Rohilla, a brave
soldier and no boaster (and that day among our foes), who coolly pointed
to the precise spot where he shot one of our officers, in the last
charge, with his pistol. He said that the Mahratta infantry would no
longer return to the charge, and that Jaswant Rao was like a madman,
threw his turban on the ground and called for volunteers amongst the
cavalry, by whom at length Sinclair and his men were cut off. It is a
lesson by which we ought to profit, never to place in command of sipahis
those who do not understand, confide in, and respect them.

=Pachpahār.=—Pachpahar is a thriving town, the head of one of the four
districts of which, by the right of war, we became possessed, and have
transferred from Holkar to the regent; so far we have discharged the
debt of gratitude. Eighty villages are attached to Pachpahar, which,
though never yielding less than half a lakh of rupees, is capable of
raising more than twice that sum. There are two thousand houses in the
town, which has an extensive bazar filled with rich traders and bankers,
all of whom came to visit me. The cornelian continues to strew the
ground even to this place.

=Kanwāra=, _December 11_; thirteen miles; direction, N.E. by E.—Passed
over a fine rich soil, with promising young crops of wheat and gram, and
plenty of the last crop (_juar_) in stacks; a sight not often seen in
these war-trodden plains, and which makes the name, Kanwara, or ‘the
land of corn,’ very appropriate. At the village of Aonla, four miles
south, we crossed the high road leading from Ujjain through the _darra_
to Hindustan, the large town of Sonel lying three miles to our right.

=Jhālrapātan=,[11.13.6] _December 12_; ten miles; direction, N.N.E.—The
road over the same fertile soil. Passed the Chandarbhaga rivulet, the
source of which is only two coss distant, and was shown, within range,
the isolated hill of Raleta, formerly the retreat of a Bhil community,
which sent forth four thousand bowmen to ravage the plains of Malwa:
these were extirpated by Zalim Singh.

Jhalrapatan is the creation of the regent; and, as we approached it, his
kindness procured me the distinction of being met, a full mile beyond
the town, by the chief magistrate, the council, and the most wealthy
inhabitants: an honour duly appreciated, this being the only town in
India possessing the germs of civil liberty, in the power of framing
their own municipal regulations. This is the more remarkable, as the
immunities of their commercial charter were granted by the most despotic
ruler of India; though the boon was not a concession to liberty, but an
act of policy; it was [729] given for value received, or at least
expected, and which has been amply realized. Having exchanged
salutations, and promised a more extended courtesy at my tents in the
evening, we took advantage of the town being thinned, and passed in
under a general discharge of ordnance from the ramparts. The city is
nearly a square, surrounded by a substantial wall and bastions, well
furnished with cannon. The ground plan is simple, being that of the
Indian Chaupan or cross, with two main streets intersecting each other
at right angles, and many smaller ones running parallel to them. The
main street is from south to north. We proceeded through this Bara Bazar
until we reached the point of intersection, where, upon a broad terrace,
stands a temple to Chaturbhuja, the ‘four-armed’ god, at least ninety
feet in height. The marble dome and colonnaded mandap, and the general
proportions of the structure, attracted my attention; but having been
recently repaired and coated with white, I passed it by, conceiving it
to be modern, and not likely to furnish historical data. From thence to
the northern gate is a range, on either side, of houses of a uniform
structure, having a great appearance of comfort; and the street, which
is nearly a mile long, terminates with a temple erected by the regent to
his favourite divinity, Dwarkanath. The image here enshrined was
ploughed up from the ruins of the ancient city, and carried to the
regent at Kotah, who, leaving to the choice of the god the title under
which, and the site where, he would be worshipped, his various names
were inscribed and placed under the pedestal; the priest drew forth that
of Gopalji, and a magnificent shrine was erected to him upon the bank of
one of the finest lakes in India, the waters of which, raised by an
artificial dam, could be made to environ it at pleasure.

In a street to the north, and parallel to the first, but as yet
incomplete, is a handsome temple, dedicated to the sixteenth Jain
prophet. This also, I afterwards discovered, was an antique structure,
recently repaired, and one of the hundred and eight temples, the bells
of which sounded in the ancient city; whence its name Jhalrapatan, or
‘the city of bells,’ and not, as erroneously stated hitherto, from the
tribe of the regent, Jhalara-patan, or ‘city of the Jhala’;[11.13.7]
ignorance of which fact made me pass over the temples, under the
supposition that they were coeval with its modern foundation. I stopped
for a few moments at the mansion of the chief magistrate, Sah Maniram,
and having expressed my admiration of all I had seen, and my hope that
the prosperity of the city would redouble under his paternal care in
these days of peace, I made my salaam and took leave. Opposite his
house, engraved on a [730] pillar of stone, is the charter of rights of
the city.[11.13.8] Its simplicity will excite a smile; but the
philosopher may trace in it the first rudiments of that commercial
greatness, which made the free cities of Europe the instruments of
general liberty. Few of these had their privileges so thoroughly
defined, or so scrupulously observed; and the motive which brought the
community together was the surest guarantee against their infringement.
A state of general war made them congregate, and was the origin of these
immunities, which the existing peace and tranquillity will perpetuate.
Any want of good faith would be the destruction of Patan.

When the regent took advantage of the times to invite the wealthy of all
the surrounding regions to become settlers in this new mart, he wisely
appealed to the evidence of their senses as the best pledge for the
fulfilment of his promises. Simultaneously with the charter, the
fortifications were commenced, and an adequate garrison was placed here
under a commandant well known and respected. He excavated wells,
repaired the dam of the old lake, and either built anew or repaired the
religious edifices of all sects at the expense of the State; and, to
secure uniformity and solidity in the new habitations, he advanced to
every man who required it half the money necessary for their
construction. But the greatest boon of all was his leaving the
administration of justice, as well as of internal police, entirely in
the hands of the municipal authorities, who, to their credit, resolved
that the fines and forfeitures arising therefrom, instead of becoming a
bait for avarice and vexatious interference, should be offerings to the
shrine of Dwarkanath.

It is proper to say that the chief magistrate, Sah Maniram, who is of
the Vaishnava sect, has a coadjutor in Gumaniram, of the Oswal tribe and
Jain faith, and each has his separate tribunal for the classes he
represents, while the whole form a joint council for the general weal.
They pull well together, and each has founded a _pura_, or suburb, named
after their children. The Chauthias, or members of this council, are
selected according to the general sense entertained of their fitness;
and were the chief magistrates also the free choice of the inhabitants
at large, ‘the city of bells’ would require no addition to her freedom.
Thus, in the short space of twenty years, has been raised a city of six
thousand comfortable dwellings, with a population of at least
twenty-five thousand souls. But the hereditary principle, so powerful
throughout these countries, and which, though it perpetuates many evils,
has likewise been productive of much good, and has preserved these
States from annihilation, will inevitably [731] make the ‘turban’ of
magistracy descend from the head of Maniram or Gumani to their children,
under whom, if they be not imbued with the same discretion as their
parents, the stone tablet, as well as the subsequent privileges of
Jhalrapatan, may become a dead letter. The only officers of government
residing in the town are the commandant and the collector of the
imposts; and so jealous are they of the least interference on his part,
that a fine would be inflicted on any individual who, by delaying the
payment of the authorized duties, furnished an excuse for his
interference.

Such is an outline of an internal administration, on which I have just
had a commentary of the most agreeable description: a public visit from
all the wealth and worth of Patan. First came the merchants, the
brokers, the insurers of the Vaishnava persuasion, each being introduced
with the name of the firm; then followed the Oswal merchants, in similar
form, and both of them I seated in the order of their introduction and
respectability. After them followed the trades, the Chauthia or deacons,
each making his _nazar_ in the name of the whole body. Then came the
artisans, goldsmiths, braziers, dyers, confectioners, down to the
barbers, and town-crier. The agricultural interest was evidently at a
discount in Patan, and subordinate to the commercial; the old Mandloi
Patels were, “though last, not least” in this interesting assemblage.
Even the frail sisterhood paid their devoirs, and, in their modesty of
demeanour, recalled the passage of Burke applied in contrast to a
neighbouring State, “vice lost half its deformity, by losing all its
grossness.”[11.13.9] Sah Maniram himself preserved order outside, while
to his colleague he left the formalities of introduction. The
goldsmiths’ company presented, as their _nazar_, a small silver
powder-flask, shaped as an alligator, and covered with delicate
chain-work, which I shall retain not only as a specimen of the craft,
but in remembrance of a day full of unusual interest. They retired in
the same order as they came, preceded by the town band, flags, trumpets,
and drums.

Such is Jhalrapatan. May the demon of anarchy keep from its walls, and
the orthodox and heterodox Duumvirs live in amity for the sake of the
general good, nor by their animosities increase the resemblance which
this mart bears to the free cities of Europe!

From all I could learn, justice is distributed with as even a hand as in
most societies, but wherever existed the community that submitted to
restraint, or did not murmur at the fiat of the law? Jhalrapatan is now
the grand commercial mart of Upper Malwa, and has swallowed up all the
commerce of the central towns between [732] its own latitude and Indore.
Though not even on the high road, when established, this difficulty was
overcome by the road coming to it. The transit-duties on salt alone must
be considerable, as that of the lakes of western Rajwara passes through
it in its way to the south-east. It is not famed, however, for any
staple article of trade, but merely as an entrepôt.

[Illustration:

ENTRANCE TO THE SANCTUARY OF A TEMPLE AT CHANDRAVATI.
_To face page 1784._
]

=Ruins of Chandrāvati.=—We have said enough of the modern city, and must
now revert to the ancient, which, besides its metaphorical appellation
of ‘the city of bells,’ had the name of Chandravati, and the rivulet
which flowed through it, the Chandrabhaga.[11.13.10] There is an
abundance of legends, to which we may be enabled to apply the test of
inscriptions. In some, Raja Hun is again brought forward as the founder
of the city; though others, with more probability, assign its foundation
to the daughter of Chandrasen, the Pramar king of Malwa, who was
delivered of a son on this spot while on a pilgrimage.[11.13.11] Another
ascribes it to a more humble origin than either, _i.e._ to Jasu, a poor
woodcutter of the ancient tribe of Or,[11.13.12] who, returning
homewards from his daily occupation, dropped his axe upon the
_paras-patthar_, with the aid of which he transmuted iron to gold, and
raised ‘the city of the moon’ (Chandravati); and the lake is still
called after him Jasu Or ka talab. The Pandu Bhim likewise comes in for
his share of the founder’s fame; who, with his brethren during their
covenant with the Kauravas, found concealment in the forest; but his
foe, fearing the effect of his devotions, sent his familiar to disturb
them. The spirit took the form of a boar, but as he sped past him
through the thicket, Bhim discharged an arrow, and on the spot where
this fell, the Chandrabhaga sprung up. Whoever was the founder, I have
little doubt that tradition has converted Yasodharman,[11.13.13] the
grandson of Udayaditya, the monarch of all Malwa, into the woodcutter;
for not only does this prince’s name occur in one of the inscriptions
found here, but I have discovered it in almost every ancient city of
Central India, over which his ancestors had held supreme power from the
first to the thirteenth century of Vikrama.[11.13.14]

The sites of temples mark the course of the stream for a considerable
distance, the banks being strewed with ruins. Flights of steps, forming
ghats, reach to the water’s edge, where multitudes of gods, goddesses,
and demons, are piled, and some [733] of the more perfect placed upon
altars of clay, around which some lazy, well-fed Gosains loiter, basking
in the sun. Understanding that no umbrage could be taken if I exported
some of them to Udaipur, I carried off Narayan on his hydra-couch, a
Parbati, a Trimurti, and a cartload of the dii minores, which I found
huddled together under a bar-tree. There was a fine statue of Ganesa,
but our efforts to move Wisdom were ineffectual, and occasioned not a
few jokes among my Brahmans; nor must I pass over a colossal Baraha
(boar), of which no artist in Europe need be ashamed.

The powers of Destruction and Reproduction were those propitiated among
the one hundred and eight shrines of Chandravati; of which only two or
three imperfect specimens remain to attest the grandeur of past days.
Everywhere, the symbolic lingam was scattered about, and the _mandap_ of
one of those still standing I found filled with representations of the
Hindu Hecate and a host of lesser infernals, the sculpture of which,
though far inferior to that at Barolli, is of a high order compared with
aught of modern times. The attitudes are especially well managed, though
there is a want of just proportion. Even the anatomical display of the
muscles is attended to; but the dust, oil, and _sendur_ (vermilion) of
twelve centuries were upon them, and the place was dark and damp, which
deterred us from disturbing them.

* * * * *

Ghasi is now at work upon the outline of two of the remaining shrines,
and has promised to give up ten days to the details of the ceilings, the
columns, and the rich varied ornaments, which the pencil alone can
represent. One of these shrines, having a part of the Singar Chaori
still standing, is amongst the finest things in Asia, not for magnitude,
being to all appearance merely receptacles for the inferior divinities
surrounding some grand temple, but for the sculptured ornaments, which
no artist in Europe could surpass (_vide_ Plate). Each consists of a
simple mandir, or cella, about twenty feet square, having a portico and
a long open colonnaded vestibule in front for the priests and votaries.
Every one of these numerous columns differs in its details from the
others. But the entrance chiefly excites admiration, being a mass of
elaborate workmanship of a peculiar kind, and the foliage and flowers
may be considered perfect. It is deeply to be lamented that no artists
from [734] Europe have made casts from these masterpieces of sculpture
and architecture, which would furnish many new ideas, and rescue the
land sacred to Bhavani (Minerva) from the charge of having taught
nothing but deformity: a charge from which it is my pride to have
vindicated her.

[Illustration:

SCULPTURED FOLIAGE IN CHANDRAVATI TEMPLE.
_To face page 1786._
]

* * * * *

While I remained with Ghasi, amidst the ruins, I dispatched my Guru and
Brahmans to take diligent search for inscriptions; but many of these, as
well as thousands of divinities, the wrecks of ancient Patan, have been
built up in the new town or its immense circumvallation; but our efforts
were not altogether unrewarded.

* * * * *

The oldest inscription, dated S. 748 (A.D. 692), bore the name of Raja
Durgangal, or ‘the bar of the castle.’[11.13.15] It is very long, and in
that ornamented character peculiar to the Buddhists and Jains throughout
these regions. It contains allusions to the local traditions of the
Pandu Arjun, and his encounter with the demon Virodhi[11.13.16] under
the form of Baraha, or the boar; and states that from the spot where the
Varaha was wounded, and on which his blood fell, a figure sprung,
originating from the wound (_khat_), whose offspring in consequence was
called Khatri: “of his line was Krishna Bhat Khatri, whose son was
Takshak. What did he resemble, who obtained the fruits of the whole
earth, conquering numerous foes? He had a son named Kaiyak, who was
equal to the divinity which supports the globe: in wisdom he was
renowned as Mahadeo: his name sent to sleep the children of his foe: he
appeared as an avatar of Buddha, and like the ocean, which expands when
the rays of the full moon fall upon it, even so does the sea of our
knowledge increase when he looks upon it: and his verses are filled with
ambrosia (_amrita_). From Chait to Chait, sacrifice never ceased
burning: Indra went without offspring.[11.13.17] The contributions from
the land were raised with justice, whilst his virtues overshadowed the
three worlds. The light which shines from the tusks of his foe’s
elephant had departed; and the hand which struck him on the head, to
urge him on, emitted no sound. Where was the land that felt not his
influence? Such was Sri Kaiyak! when he visited foreign lands, joy
departed from the wives of his foe: may all his resolves be
accomplished!

“S. 748 (A.D. 692), on the full moon of Jeth, this inscription was
placed in the mandir, by Gupta, the grandson of Bhat Ganeswar, lord of
the lords of verse of Mundal, and son of Hargupta: this writing was
composed, in the presence of Sri [735] Durgangal Raja, to whom,
salutation! that forehead alone is fair which bows to the gods, to a
tutor, and to woman! Engraved by Ulak the stonecutter.”[11.13.18]

On this curious inscription we may bestow a few remarks. It appears to
me that the wild legion of the creation of this Khatri, from the blood
of Baraha, represented as a Danava, or demon in disguise, is another
fiction to veil the admission of some northern race into the great Hindu
family. The name of Baraha, as an ancient Indo-Scythic tribe, is
fortunately abundantly preserved in the annals of Jaisalmer, which
State, at the early periods of the Yadu-Bhatti history, opposed their
entrance into India; while both Takshak (or Tak) and Kaiyak are names of
Tatar origin, the former signifying ‘the snake,’ the latter ‘the
heavens.’ The whole of this region bears evidence of a race whose
religion was ophite, who bore the epithet of Takshak as the name of the
tribe, and whose inscriptions in this same nail-headed character are
found all over Central and Western India. If we combine this with all
that we have already said regarding Raja Hun of Bhadravati, and Angatsi
the Hun, who served the Rana of Chitor at this precise period,[11.13.19]
when an irruption is recorded from Central Asia, we are forced to the
conclusion, that this inscription (besides many others) is a memorial of
a Scythic or Tatar prince, who, as well as the Gete prince of
Salpura,[11.13.20] was grafted upon Hindu stock.

[Illustration:

SCULPTURED CEILINGS OF TEMPLE AT CHANDRAVATI.
_To face page 1788._
]

The inscription next in point of antiquity was from the Jain temple in
the modern town. It was dated the 3rd of Jeth, S. 1103 (A.D. 1047), but
recorded only the name of a visitor to the shrine.

Near the dam of the Or-sagar, there was a vast number of funeral
memorials, termed Nisia,[11.13.21] of the Jain priesthood. One is dated
“the 3rd of Magh, S. 1066 (A.D. 1010), on which day Srimant Deo, Chela,
or disciple, of Acharya Srimana Dewa, left this world.” The bust of the
Acharya, or doctor, is in a studious posture, the book lying open upon
the Thuni or cross, which forms a reading-desk, often the only sign of
the _nisia_ to mark a Jain place of sepulture.

The adjoining one contained the name of Devindra Acharya; the date S.
1180.

Another was of “Kumar-deo, the Panda or priest of the race of Kumad
Chandra Acharya, who finished his career on Thursday (_guruwar_) the Mul
nakshatra[11.13.22] of S. 1289.”

There are many others, but as, like these, they contained no historical
data, they were not transcribed [736].

=Nārāyanpur=, _December 13_, eleven miles.—Marched at daybreak, and
about a coss north of the city ascended the natural boundary of Haraoti
and Malwa; at the point of ascent was Gundor, formerly in the appanage
of the Ghatirao (‘lord of the pass’), one of the legendary heroes of
past days; and half a coss further was the point of descent into the
Antri, or ‘valley,’ through which our course lay due north. In front, to
the north-west, Gagraun, on the opposite range, was just visible through
the gloom; while the yet more ancient Mhau,[11.13.23] the first capital
of the Khichis, was pointed out five coss to the eastward. I felt most
anxious to visit this city, celebrated in the traditions of Central
India, and containing in itself and all around much that was worthy of
notice. But time pressed; so we continued our route over the path
trodden by the army of Alau-d-din when he besieged Achaldas in
Gagraun.[11.13.24] The valley was full three miles wide, the soil
fertile, and the scenery highly picturesque. The forest on each side
echoed with the screams of the peacock, the calls of the partridge, and
the note of the jungle-cock, who was crowing his matins as the sun
gladdened his retreat. It was this Antri, or valley, that the regent
selected for his Chhaoni, or ‘fixed camp,’ where he has resided for the
last thirty years. It had at length attained the importance of a town,
having spacious streets and well-built houses, and the materials for a
circumvallation were rapidly accumulating: but there is little chance of
his living to see it finished. The site is admirably chosen, upon the
banks of the Amjar, and midway between the castle of Gagraun and
Jhalrapatan. A short distance to the west of the regent’s camp is the
Pindari-ki-chhaoni, where the sons of Karim Khan, the chief leader of
those hordes, resided; for in these days of strife the old regent would
have allied himself with Satan, if he had led a horde of plunderers. I
was greatly amused to see in this camp, also assuming a permanent shape,
the commencement of an Idgah, or ‘place of prayer’; for the villains,
while they robbed and murdered even defenceless women, prayed five times
a day!

We crossed the confluent streams of the Au and Amjar, which, flowing
through the plains of Malwa, have forced their way through the exterior
chain into the Antri of Gagraun, pass under its western face, dividing
it from the town, and then join the Kali Sind [737].

[Illustration:

COLUMNS OF TEMPLES AT CHANDRAVATI.
_To face page 1790._
]

=Gāgraun.=—Until you approach close to Gagraun, its town and castle
appear united, and present a bold and striking object; and it is only on
mounting the ridge that one perceives the strength of this position, the
rock being scarped by the action of the waters to an immense height. The
ascent to the summit of the ridge was so gradual that our surprise was
complete, when, casting our eye north, we saw the Kali Sind sweeping
along the northern face of both fort and town, whence it turns due
north, ploughing its serpentine passage, at a depth of full two hundred
feet below the level of the valley, through three distinct ranges, each
chasm or opening appearing in this bold perspective like a huge portal,
whence the river gains the yielding plains of Haraoti. As we passed
under the town, we were saluted by a discharge from all the ordnance on
its ramparts, and the governor, who had advanced to meet us at the
express desire of his master, invited us in; but though strongly
pressed, and equally desirous to see a place of such celebrity, I would
not make myself acquainted with the secrets of this chief stronghold of
the regent. On whichever side an enemy might approach it, he would have
to take the bull by the horns. It was only by polluting the waters with
the blood of the sacred kine, that Ala, ‘the sanguinary’ (Khuni), took
it about five centuries ago from the valiant Khichi, Achaldas, an
account of whose family would be here out of place. Independent of
ancient associations, there is a wild grandeur about Gagraun, which
makes it well worthy of a visit, and the views from the north must be
still finer than from the point whence we beheld it.

[Illustration: Gāgraun, Chhāoni.]

We passed over the ridge at the extremity of the town, and descended
into another Antri, up which we journeyed nearly due west until we
reached our camp at Narayanpur. The valley was from four to six hundred
yards in breadth, and in the highest state of cultivation; to preserve
which, and at the same time to secure the game, the regent, at an
immense expense, has cut deep trenches at the skirt of the hills on each
[738] side, over which neither deer nor hog can pass, while the forests
that crown the hills to their summit are almost impervious even to wild
beasts. We passed various small cantonments, where the regent could
collect the best part of his army, some even on the summit of the ridge.
At all of these are wells, and reservoirs termed _po_.

=Mukunddarra Pass=, _December 14_, ten miles.—At daybreak, commenced our
march up the valley, and midway between Narayanpur and the Darra,
reached the ruined castle of Ghati, so called from its being erected on
the summit of the ridge commanding an outlet of the valley. Partly from
the gradual ascent of the valley, and from the depression of the ridge,
we formed rather a mean opinion of the pass (_ghati_); but this feeling
was soon lost when we attained the crest, and found ourselves on a
scarped rock of some hundred feet in elevation, commanding a view over
all the plains of Malwa, while at our feet was a continuation of the
Antri of the Amjar, which we observed gliding through the deep woods the
regent has allowed to remain at the entrances of these valleys.

Tradition is eloquent on the deeds of the ‘Lords of the Pass,’ both of
the Khichi and Hara, and they point out the impression of Mehraj
Khichi’s charger, as he sprang upon the Islamite invaders. There are
many cenotaphs to the memory of the slain, and several small shrines to
Siva and his consort, in one of which I found an inscription not only
recording the name of Mehraj, but the curious fact that four generations
were present at the consecration of one to Siva. It ran thus: “In S.
1657 and Saka 1522, in that particular year called Somya, the sun in the
south, the season of cold, in the happy month Asoj, the dark half
thereof, on Sunday, and the thirty-sixth ghari; in such a happy moment,
the Khichi of Chauhan race, Maharaj Sri Rawat Narsinghdeo, and his son
Sri Rawat Mehraj, and his son Sri Chandarsen, and his son Kalyandas,
erected this _sivala_ (house of Siva); may they be fortunate! Written by
Jaya Sarman, and engraved by Kamma, in the presence of the priest
Kistna, the son of Mahesh.”

[Illustration:

ENTRANCE TO THE SANCTUARY OF A TEMPLE AT CHANDRAVATI.
_To face page 1792._
]

=Heroism of Gumān Hāra.=—We shall pass over the endless tales of the
many heroes who fell in its defence, to the last of any note—Guman
Singh, a descendant of Sawant Hara. The anecdote I am about to insert
relates to the time when Rao Durjansal was prince of Kotah, and the post
of Faujdar was held by a Rathor Rajput, Jai Singh of Gagorni. Through
the influence of this faujdar, Guman was deprived of the honour of
defending the pass, and his estate sequestrated. He was proceeding
homeward with a heavy heart from the presence of his sovereign, when he
met the faujdar with his train [739]. It was dark, and a torch-bearer
preceded him, whom Guman dashed to the earth, and with his iron lance
transfixed the Rathor to his palki. Making for the gate, he said it was
the Rao’s order that none should pass until his return. As soon as he
gained his estate, he proceeded with his family and effects to Udaipur,
and found _sarna_ with the Rana, who gave him an estate for the support
of himself and his followers. There he remained until Kotah was besieged
by Raja Isari Singh of Jaipur, when he obtained the Rana’s leave to fly
to its defence. Passing over the Patar, he made for Kotah, but it was
invested on every side. Determined to reach it or perish, he ordered his
nakkara to beat, and advanced through the heart of the enemy’s camp. The
Jaipur prince asked who had the audacity to beat close to his quarters,
and being told “The Rawat of the Pass, from Udaipur,” he expressed a
wish to see the man, of whom he had heard his father say he had,
unarmed, slain a tiger. The Hara obeyed the summons, but would only
enter the Presence in the midst of his band. He was courteously received
and offered large estates in Jaipur; the Raja remarking that Guman Singh
was only going to his doom, since “in the space of eating a pan he
(Isari Singh) would be master of Kotah.” Losing all patience, Guman
said, “Take my salaam and my defiance, Maharaj; the heads of twenty
thousand Haras are with Kotah.” He was permitted to pass the batteries
unmolested, and on reaching the river, he called aloud, “The Ghata Rawat
wants a boat,” to conduct him to his sovereign, whom he found seated
behind the walls encouraging the defence. At that very moment a report
was brought that a breach was nearly effected at a particular point; and
scarcely had the prince applauded his swamidharma, than, making his bow,
Guman marched his followers to the breach, and “there planted his
lance.” Such were the Haras of past days; but the descendants of the
‘Rawat of the Pass’ are now in penury, deprived of their lands, and hard
pressed to find a livelihood.

We continued our march from this Pass, often moistened with Rajput
blood, and reached the Darra, outside of which we found the old regent
encamped, and whence we issued on our tour just three weeks ago. It was
by mere accident that, some distance up the valley (a continuation of
that we had just quitted), we heard of some ruins, termed the Chaori of
Bhim, one of the most striking remains of art I had yet met with. It is
the fragment only of a quadrangular pile, of which little now remains,
the materials having been used by one of the Kotah princes, in erecting
a small palace to a Bhilni concubine. The columns possess great
originality, and appear to [740] be the connecting link of Hindu and
Egyptian architecture. Not far from the Chaori, where, according to
local traditions, the Pandu Bhim celebrated his nuptials, are two
columns, standing without relation to any other edifice; but in the
lapse of ages the fragments appertaining to them have been covered with
earth or jungle. At every step we found Jujhars, or funeral stones; and
as this ‘Pass of Mukund’ must, as the chief outlet between the Deccan
and northern India, have been a celebrated spot, it is not unlikely that
in remote ages some city was built within its natural ramparts.
Throughout this town, we found many traces of the beneficent but simple
legislation of the Hara princes; and when the regent set up his pillar,
prohibiting chiefly his own violence, he had abundant formulas to appeal
to. We have already alluded to this circumstance in the sketch of his
biography, and we may here insert a free translation of the ordinance we
found engraved in the Pass, and which is recorded throughout Haraoti.

“Maharaj Maharaoji Kishor Singh, ordaining! To all the merchants
(Mahajans), traders, cultivators, and every tribe inhabiting
Mukunddarra. At this time, be full of confidence; trade, traffic,
exchange, borrow, lend, cultivate, and be prosperous; for all _dand_
(contribution) is abolished by the Darbar. Crimes will be punished
according to their magnitude. All officers of trust, Patels, Patwaris,
Sasaris (night-guards), and Mutasaddis (scribes), will be rewarded for
good services, and for evil. None of them shall be guilty of exactions
from merchants or others: this is a law sworn to by all that is sacred
to Hindu or Muslim. Ordained from the royal mouth, and by command of
Nana (grandsire) Zalim Singh, and uncle Madho Singh. Asoj the 10th,
Monday S. 1877 (A.D. 1821).”

[Illustration:

RUINS OF BHĪM’S CHAORI IN THE MUKUNDDARA PASS.
_To face page 1794._
]

=Return to Kotah.=—Having halted a few days, we returned to Kotah by the
towns of Pachpahar and Anandpur; both large and thriving, situated upon
the banks of fine pieces of water. Madho Singh, at the head of a
splendid cavalcade, with six field-pieces, advanced a couple of miles to
conduct me to my old residence, the garden-house, east of the town.
During the six weeks that we remained here to watch the result of the
measures elsewhere described, we endeavoured to find amusement in
various ways, to divert us from brooding upon the cholera which was
raging around us. This season attracts flocks of wild geese to prey upon
the young corn, and we had the double pleasure of shooting and eating
them. Occasionally, we had a shot at a deer, or hunted them down with
the regent’s _chitas_ (hunting-leopards); or with the dogs ran down
jackals [741], foxes, or hares. There was a _ramna_ for wild-hogs about
five miles from our abode, and a delightful summer retreat in the midst
of a fine sheet of water. The animals were so tame, from the custom of
feeding them, that it was almost unsportsmanlike to shoot at them. On
one occasion, the Maharao prepared an excursion upon the water, in which
I was not well enough to join. Numerous Shikaris, or ‘hunters,’
proceeded up either bank to rouse the bears or tigers that find cover
there, when the party from the boats shot at them as they passed. Partly
for the purpose of enjoying this sport, and partly to see the fortress
of Ekelgarh, six miles south of the city, we afterwards made another
excursion, which, though not unattended by danger, afforded a good deal
of merriment. The river here is confined by perpendicular rocks, full
three hundred feet in height; and amidst the debris, these wild animals
find shelter. As the side on which we were did not promise much sport,
we determined to cross the stream, and finding a quantity of timber
suited to the purpose, we set to work to construct a raft; but had only
pushed a few paces from the shore when we began to sink, and were
compelled to make a Jonas of the doctor, though we afterwards sent the
vessel back for him, and in due time landed all our party and
appendages. Being furnished with huntsmen by the regent, who knew the
lairs of the animals, we dispatched them up the stream, taking post
ourselves behind some masses of rock in the only path by which they
could advance. We had been seated about half an hour, when the shouts of
the hunters were heard, and soon a huge bear, his muzzle grey from age,
came slowly trotting up the pathway. Being unable to repress the mirth
of Captain Waugh and the doctor, who were conning over the events of the
morning, just before he came in sight, I had quitted them, and was
trying to gain a point of security a little remote from them; but before
I could attain it, they had both fired and missed, and Bruin came at a
full gallop towards me. When within ten paces, I fired and hit him in
the flank; he fell, but almost instantly recovered, and charged me
open-mouthed, when one of my domestics boldly attacked him with a
hog-spear and saved me from a hug. Between the spear and the shot, he
went floundering off, and was lost in the crevices of the rock. On our
return, we passed the day amidst the ruins of Ekelgarh, an enormous pile
of stones without cement; in all probability, a fortress of some of the
aboriginal Bhils. Both crests of the mountain are covered with jungle,
affording abundant sport to the princes of Kotah. There is a spot of
some celebrity a few coss to the south of this, called Gayapur-Mahadeo,
where there is a cascade from a stream that falls into the Chambal,
whose banks are said to be here upwards of six [742] hundred feet in
height. There are few more remarkable spots in India than the course of
the river from Kotah to Bhainsror, where both the naturalist and the
painter might find ample employment.

I sent scouts in all directions to seek for inscriptions; some of which
are in an unknown character. One of the most interesting, brought from
Kanswa, of a Jat prince, has been given in the first volume of this
work.[11.13.25]

-----

Footnote 11.13.1:

[Capital of the State of that name (_IGI_, xx. 14).]

Footnote 11.13.2:

[Twenty miles N.E. of Partābgarh.]

Footnote 11.13.3:

[Probably Muhammad Khān (Grant Duff, _Hist. of the Mahrattas_, 589).]

Footnote 11.13.4:

[Lucan’s fate was never ascertained; by one account he was poisoned,
and by another that he died of a bowel complaint (_ibid._ 589, note).]

Footnote 11.13.5:

[On the north, close to Kotah city.]

Footnote 11.13.6:

[The commercial capital of the State of Jhālawār, the official capital
being Jhālrapatan Chhāoni, or cantonment. The original name was Pātan;
it was renamed after the first regent, a Jhāla Rājput (_IGI_, xiv. 122
ff.; _Rājputāna Gazetteer_, 1879, ii. 207; _ASR_, xxiii. (1887) 125
ff.).]

Footnote 11.13.7:

[The latter derivation is correct.]

Footnote 11.13.8:

See Vol. I. p. 239. [The fact, here stated, that the town was
placed under municipal government at its foundation in 1796, is not
mentioned in Zālim Singh’s stone tablet. These privileges were
annulled in 1850, when the Kāmdār or minister of Rāna Prithi Singh had
this tablet removed and thrown into a tank, whence it was recovered
about 1876 (_IGI_, xiv. 124).]

Footnote 11.13.9:

[“Vice itself lost half its evil by losing all its grossness,” Burke,
_Reflections on the Revolution in France_, iii. 332.]

Footnote 11.13.10:

[On the ruins of Chandrāvati see Fergusson, _Hist. Ind. Arch._ ed.
1910, ii. 43 f.: _ASR_, ii. 263 ff.]

Footnote 11.13.11:

[Abu-l Fazl (_Āīn_, ii. 211) represents Chandrasen as successor of
Vikramāditya. None of the existing versions of the legend appear to be
older than the sixth or seventh centuries A.D., and it is possible
that the city was refounded by Chandrasen, and named after himself
Chandrāvati (_ASR_, ii. 264).]

Footnote 11.13.12:

[The Or or Orh are a tribe of wandering navvies.]

Footnote 11.13.13:

[Yasodharman was a Rāja of Central India, who joined in the
confederacy against the White Hun, Mihiragula, in which the latter was
defeated about A.D. 528 (Smith, _EHI_, 318, 320; _JRAS_, N.S. v. 280;
Forbes, _Rāsmāla_, 87).]

Footnote 11.13.14:

On a stone tablet, which I discovered at Bundi, of the Takshak race,
are the names both of Chandrasen and Yasodharman, and though no date
is visible, yet that of the latter is fixed by another set of
inscriptions, inserted in the first volume of the _Transactions of the
Royal Asiatic Society_, at S. 1191 or A.D. 1135: the period when the
old Hindu monarchies were breaking up, and consequently the arts
beginning to decay. [See note 13.]

Footnote 11.13.15:

[Cunningham (_ASR_, ii. 266) suspects that this inscription, dated
A.D. 691, came from the beautiful pillared shrine described by him and
by Fergusson. It cannot now be found, “and, unfortunately, Tod’s
account of it, which mixes up Mahādeva with an Avatār of Buddha, does
not appear to be entitled to much confidence.”]

Footnote 11.13.16:

[Perhaps Virādha, who seized Sīta, and was buried alive by Rāma and
Lakshmana (Dowson, _Class. Dict._ 358 f.).]

Footnote 11.13.17:

The allusion to this affords another instance of the presumption of
the priests, who compelled the gods to attend the sacrificial rites,
and hence Indra could not visit his consort Indrani.

Footnote 11.13.18:

[The translation in the text is untrustworthy, and the date is
probably A.D. 824 (_IA_, v. 180 f.; Fergusson, _Hist. Ind. Arch._ ed.
1910, ii. 132 f.).]

Footnote 11.13.19:

See Vol. I. p. 290. [These speculations are now obsolete.]

Footnote 11.13.20:

See Inscription, Vol. II. p. 915.

Footnote 11.13.21:

[Dr. F. W. Thomas has kindly traced this word. It is the old
_nisīdhyā_ (_nisīhiyā_), in its modern form _nisīdhi_ or _nisidhi_, an
ornamental Jain tomb. See _Epigraphia Indica_, ii. 274, with Bühler’s
note; Rice, _Inscriptions at Sravana Belgola_, Archaeological Survey
of Mysore, 1889, 35, 40.]

Footnote 11.13.22:

[A lunar asterism.]

Footnote 11.13.23:

[About 8 miles S.E. of Gāgraun, and 10 miles N.E. of Jhālrapātan.
Cunningham (_ASR_, ii. 293 f.) thinks that this place may have
immediately succeeded Chandrāvati as capital of all the country on the
lower course of the Kāli Sind, shortly after the beginning of the
thirteenth century.]

Footnote 11.13.24:

[The Khīchis, under Rāja Jeth Singh, successfully defended Gāgraun
against Alāu-d-dīn in A.D. 1301. But in the time of Rāja Achaldās,
about 1428, the place was either taken by, or surrendered to, Hoshang
Shāh of Mālwa (_IGI_, xii. 122).]

Footnote 11.13.25:

[Vol. II. p. 917. The name of the place is properly Kanaswa
(_IA_, xix. 55).]

-----

[Illustration:

ANCIENT COLUMNS IN THE MUKUNDDARA PASS.
_To face page 1796._
]

CHAPTER 14

=Menāl.=—In February, I recommenced my march for Udaipur, and having
halted a few days at Bundi, and found all there as my heart could wish,
I resumed the march across the Patar, determined to put into execution
my wish of visiting Menal. About ten miles north, on this side of it, I
halted at Bijolia, one of the principal fiefs of Mewar, held by a chief
of the Pramar tribe, with the title of Rao.[11.14.1] This family,
originally Raos of Jagner, near Bayana, came into Mewar in the time of
the great Amar Singh, with all his _basai_, upwards of two centuries
ago; the Rana having married the daughter of Rao Asoka, to whom he
assigned an estate worth five lakhs annually. I have elsewhere (Vol. I.
p. 206) explained the meaning of a term which embraces bondage
amongst its synonyms, though it is the lightest species of slavery.
Basai, or properly _vasi_, means a ‘settler,’ an ‘inhabitant,’ from
_vas_, ‘a habitation,’ and _vasna_, ‘to inhabit,’ but it does not
distinguish between free settlers and compulsory labourers; but
wheresoever the phrase is used in Rajwara, it may be assumed to imply
the latter. Still, strange to say, the condition includes none of the
accessories of slavery: there is no task-duty of any kind, nor is the
individual accountable for his labour to any one: he pays the usual
taxes, and the only tie upon him appears to be that of a [743]
compulsory residence in his _vas_, and the epithet, which is in itself a
fetter upon the mind of the _vasi_ of Bijolia.

=Bijolia.=—Bijolia (Vindhyavalli) stands amidst the ruins with which
this _uparmal_, or highland, is crowded. From the numerous inscriptions
we here found, we have to choose, for its ancient name, between Ahichpur
and Morakara; the latter is still applied, though the former appears
only on the recording stone. This western frontier teems with traditions
of the Chauhans, and seems to have been a dependency of Ajmer, as these
inscriptions contain many celebrated names of that dynasty, as Bisaldeo,
Someswar, Prithiraj; and chiefly record the martial virtues and piety of
Irnaraj of Morakara, and his offspring, Bahirraj and Kuntpal, who appear
contemporary with their paramount prince and relative, Prithiraj, king
of Delhi and Ajmer.

One inscription records the actions of the dynasty of Chitor, and they
are so intermingled as to render it almost impossible to separate the
Guhilots from the Chauhans. It begins with an invocation to “Sakambhari
Janami Mata, the mother of births, guardian of the races
(_sakham_),[11.14.2] and of mighty castles (_durga_), hills, and ruins,
the Protectress.” Having mentioned the names of nine Chauhans (of
Vats-gotra), it flies off to Srimad Bapparaj, Vindhya Nirpati, or,
‘Bappa, sovereign of the Vindhya Hills,’ the founder of the Ranas of
Mewar; but the names that follow do not belong to his dynasty, which
leads me to imagine that the Chauhans of Uparmal were vassals of Chitor
at that early period. Since antiquarian disquisitions, however, would be
out of place here, we shall only give the concluding portion. It is of
Kuntpal, the grandson of Irnaraj, “who destroyed Jawalapur, and the fame
of whose exploit at the capture of Delhi is engraved on the gate of
Valabhi. His elder brother’s son was Prithiraj, who amassed a _parb_ of
gold, which he gave in charity, and built in Morakara a temple to
Parsvanath. Having obtained the regal dignity, through Someswar, he was
thence called Someswar, for the sake of whose soul this mandir was
erected, and the village of Rewana on the Rewa, bestowed for its
support.—S. 1226 (A.D. 1170).” This appears completely to set at rest
the question whether the Chauhans wrested by force the throne of Delhi
from the Tuars;[11.14.3] and it is singular, that from the most remote
part of the dominions of this illustrious line, we should have a
confirmation of the fact asserted by their great bard Chand. The
inscriptions at Asi (Hansi), and on the column of Delhi, were all
written about the same period as this (see p. 1456). But the appeal made
to “the gate of Valabhi,” the ancient capital of the Guhilots in
Saurashtra, is the most singular part of it, and will only admit of one
construction [744], namely, that when Prithiraj revenged the death of
his father, Someswar, who was slain in battle by the prince of
Saurashtra and Gujarat, Kuntpal must have availed himself of that
opportunity to appropriate the share he had in the capture of Delhi.
Chand informs us he made a conquest of the whole of Gujarat from Bhola
Bhim.[11.14.4]

We have also two other not unimportant pieces of information: first that
Morakara was an ancient name of Bijolia; and next, that the Chauhan
prince was a disciple of the Jains, which, according to Chand, was not
uncommon, as he tells us that he banished his son Sarangdeo from Ajmer,
for attaching himself to the doctrines of the Buddhists.

Morakara, about half a mile east of Bijolia, is now in ruins; but there
are remains of a Kot, or castle, a palace called the Nauchauki, and no
less than five temples to Parsvanath, the twenty-third of the Jain
pontiffs, all of considerable magnitude and elaborate architectural
details, though not to be compared with Barolia. Indeed, it is
everywhere apparent that there is nothing classical in design or
execution in the architecture of India posterior to the eleventh
century. One of my scribes, who has a talent for design, is delineating
with his reed (_kalam_) these stupendous piles, while my old Jain Guru
is hard at work copying what is not the least curious part of the
antiquities of Bijolia, two inscriptions cut in the rock; one of the
Chauhan race, the other of the Sankhya Purana, appertaining to his own
creed, the Jain. It is fifteen feet long by five in breadth, and has
fifty-two lines.[11.14.5] The other is eleven feet six inches by three
feet six, and contains thirty-one lines; so that the old gentleman has
ample occupation. A stream runs amidst the ruins, called the Mundagni
(fire-extinguishing); and there is a _kund_, or fountain, close to the
temples of Parsva, with the remains of two noble reservoirs. All these
relics indicate that the Jains were of the Digambara sect.[11.14.6] The
genealogy is within the Kot, or precincts of the old castle.

There are likewise three temples dedicated to Siva, of still greater
magnitude, nearer to the town, but without inscriptions; though one in
an adjoining _kund_, called the Rewati, records the piety of the Gohil
chief Rahal, who had bestowed “a patch of land in the Antri,” defining
minutely its limits, and inviting others (not ineffectually, as is
proved by other bequests), in the preamble to his gift, to follow his
example by the declaration that “whoever bathes in the Rewati fountain
will be beloved by her lord, and have a numerous progeny” [745].

The modern castle of Bijolia is constructed entirely out of the ruins of
the old shrines of Morakara, and gods and demons are huddled
promiscuously together. This is very common, as we have repeatedly
noticed; nor can anything better evince that the Hindu attaches no
abstract virtue to the material object or idol, but regards it merely as
a type of some power or quality which he wishes to propitiate. On the
desecration of the receptacle, the idol becomes again, in his
estimation, a mere stone, and is used as such without scruple. All
around, for several miles, are seen the wrecks of past days. At Darauli,
about four miles south, is an inscription dated S. 900 (A.D. 844), but
it is unimportant; and again, at Telsua, two miles farther south, are
four mandirs, a _kund_, and a _toran_, or triumphal arch, but no
inscription. At Jaraula, about six miles distant, there are no less than
seven mandirs and a _kund_—a mere heap of ruins. At Ambaghati, one of
the passes of descent from the table-land into the plain, there are the
remains of an ancient castle and a shrine, and I have the names of four
or five other places, all within five miles of Bijolia, each having two
and three temples in ruins. Tradition does not name the destroyer, but
as it evidently was not Time, we may, without hesitation, divide the
opprobrium between those great iconoclasts, the Ghori king Ala and the
Mogul Aurangzeb, the first of whom is never named without the addition
of Khuni, ‘the sanguinary,’ whilst the other is known as Kalayavana, the
demon-foe of Krishna.

The Bijolia chief is greatly reduced, though his estates, if cultivated,
would yield fifty thousand rupees annually; but he cannot create more
_vasi_, unless he could animate the prostrate forms which lie scattered
around him. It was his daughter who was married to prince Amra, and who,
though only seventeen, withstood all solicitation to save her from the
pyre on his demise.[11.14.7] I made use of the strongest arguments,
through her uncle, then at Udaipur, promising to use my influence to
increase his estate, and doubtless his poverty reinforced his
inclination; but all was in vain—she determined “to expiate the sins of
her lord.” Having remained two or three days, we continued our journey
in quest of the antique and the picturesque, and found both at Menal.

[Illustration:

TEMPLES OF MENĀL.
In Mewār.
_To face page 1800._
]

=Menāl or Mahānāl=, _February 21._—It is fortunate that the pencil can
here portray what transcends the power of the pen; to it we shall,
therefore, leave the architectural wonders of Mahanal, and succinctly
describe the site. It is difficult to conceive what [746] could have
induced the princely races of Chitor or Ajmer to select such a spot as
an appanage for the cadets of their families, which in summer must be a
furnace, owing to the reflection of the sun’s rays from the rock:
tradition, indeed, asserts that it is to the love of the sublime alone
we are indebted for these singular structures. The name is derived from
the position Mahanal, ‘the great chasm,’ or cleft in the western face of
the Patar, presenting an abyss of about four hundred feet in depth, over
which, at a sharp re-entering angle, falls a cascade, and though now but
a rill, it must be a magnificent object in the rainy season. Within this
dell it would be death to enter: gloomy as Erebus, crowded with majestic
foliage entangled by the twisted boughs of the Amarvela, and affording
cover to all description of the inhabitants, quadruped and feathered, of
the forest. On the very brink of the precipice, overhanging the abyss,
is the group of mixed temples and dwellings, which bear the name of
Prithiraj (_vide_ Plate); while those on the opposite side are
distinguished by that of Samarsi of Chitor, the brother-in-law of the
Chauhan emperor of Delhi and Ajmer, whose wife, Pirthabai, has been
immortalized by Chand, with her husband and brother.[11.14.8] Here, the
grand cleft between them, these two last bulwarks of the Rajput races
were accustomed to meet with their families, and pass days of
affectionate intercourse, in which no doubt the political condition of
India was a prominent topic of discussion. If we may believe, and we
have no reason to distrust, the testimony of Chand, had Prithiraj
listened to the counsel of the Ulysses of the Hindus (in which light
Samarsi was regarded by friend and foe), the Islamite never would have
been lord of Hindustan. But the indomitable courage and enthusiastic
enterprise of Prithiraj sunk them all; and when neither wisdom nor
valour could save him from destruction, the heroic prince of Chitor was
foremost to court it. Both fell on the banks of the Ghaggar, amidst
heroes of every tribe in Rajputana. It was indeed to them, as the bard
justly terms it, _pralaya_, the day of universal doom; and the last
field maintained for their national dependence. To me, who have pored
over their poetic legends, and imbibed all those sympathies which none
can avoid who study the Rajput character, there was a melancholy charm
in the solemn ruins of Menal. It was a season, too, when everything
conspired to nourish this feeling; the very trees which were crowded
about these relics of departed glory, appearing by their leafless boughs
and lugubrious aspect to join in the universal mourning.

[Illustration:

SECOND GROUP OF TEMPLES OF MENĀL.
In Mewār.
_To face page 1802._
]

=Inscriptions from Menāl.=—We found many inscriptions at Mahanal, and of
one I shall here insert a free [747] translation, as it may be applied
hereafter to the correction of the chronology of the Haras, of which
race it contains a memorial.

“By Asapurna[11.14.9] [the fulfiller of our desires] the
_kula-devi_[11.14.10] [tutelary goddess] of the race, by whose favour
hidden treasures are revealed, and through whose power many Chauhan
kings have ruled the earth, of which race was Bhanwardhan,[11.14.11] who
in the field of strife attained the desires of victory. Of his race was
the tribe of Hara, of which was Kulan,[11.14.12] of illustrious and pure
descent in both races; whose fame was fair as the rays of the moon. From
him was Jaipal,[11.14.13] who obtained the fruits of the good works of
his former existence in the present garb of royalty; and whose subjects
prayed they might never know another sovereign. From him was
Devaraj,[11.14.14] the lord of the land, who gave whatever was desired,
and whose wish was to render mankind happy. He delighted in the dance
and the song. His son was Harraj,[11.14.15] whose frame was a piece of
fire; who, in the field of battle, conquered renown from the princes of
the land [Bhumeswar], and dragged the spoils of victory from their
pinnacled abodes.

“From him were the lords of Bumbaoda,[11.14.16] whose land yielded to
them its fruits. From Devaraj was Ritpal,[11.14.17] who made the
rebellious bow the head, or trod them under foot, as did Kapila the sons
of Sagara. From him was Kelhan, the chief of his tribe, whose son Kuntal
resembled Dharmaraj; he had a younger brother, called Deda. Of his wife,
Rajaldevi, a son was born to Kuntal, fair as the offspring of the
ocean.[11.14.18] He was named Mahadeva. He was [in wisdom] fathomless as
the sea, and in battle immovable as Sumeru; in gifts he was the
Kalpa-vriksha[11.14.19] of Indra. He laid the dust raised by the hoofs
of hostile steeds, by the blood of his foes. The sword [748] grasped in
his extended arm dazzled the eye of his enemy, as when uplifted o’er the
head of Ami Shah he rescued the Lord of Medpat, and dragged Kaita from
his grasp, as is Chandra from Rahu.[11.14.20] He trod the Sultan’s army
under foot, as does the ox the corn; even as did the Danavas (demons)
churn the ocean, so did Mahadeva the field of strife, seizing the gem
(_ratna_) of victory from the son of the King, and bestowing it on
Kaita, the lord of men. From the centre even to the skirts of space, did
the fame of his actions extend, pure as curdled milk. He had a son,
Durjan, on whom he bestowed the title of Jivaraj[11.14.21] (Jeojraj),
who had two brothers, Subutsal and Kumbhakarna.[11.14.22]

“Here, at Mahanal, the lord of the land, Mahadeva, made a mandir, in
whose variously-sculptured wall this treasure [the inscribed tablet] is
concealed. This (the temple) is an epitome of the universe, whose
pinnacle (_sikhara_) sparkles like a gem. The mind of Mahadeva is bent
on devotion in Mahanal, the emblem of Kailas, where the Brahmans perform
varied rites. While the science of arms endures, may the renown of
Mahadeva never perish;[11.14.23] and until Ganges ceases to flow, and
Sumeru to be immovable, may this memorial of Mahadeva abide fixed at
Mahanal. This invocation _to_ Mahadeva was made _by_ Mahadeva, and by
the Brahman Dhaneswar, the dweller in Chitrakot (Chitor), was this
_prashishta_ composed:

_Arka_, _Gun_, _Chandra_, _Indu_.

“The month of Baisakh (_sudi_), the seventh. By Viradhawal, the
architect (_silpi_), learned in the works of architecture
(_silpasastra_) was this temple erected.”

The cryptographic date, contained in the above four words, is not the
least curious part of this inscription, to which I did not even look
when composing the Bundi annals, and which is another of the many
powerful proofs of the general fidelity of their poetic chronicles
[749].

Arka is the sun, and denotes the number 12; Gun is the three principal
passions of the mind; and Chandra and Indu each stand for one: thus,

Arka, Gun, Chandra, Indu.
12. 3. 1. 1.

and this “concealed (_gupta_) treasure,” alluded to in the inscription,
must be read backwards. But either my expounder, or the Silpi, was out,
and had I not found S. 1446 in a corner, we should never have known the
value of this treasure. Many inscriptions are useless from their dates
being thus enigmatically expressed; and I subjoin, in a note, a few of
the magic runes, which may aid others to decipher them.[11.14.24]

I was more successful in another inscription of Irna or Arnadeva (fam.
Arandeo), who appears to have held the entire Uparmal as a fief of
Ajmer, and who is conspicuous in the Bijolia inscription. Of this,
suffice it to say, that it records his having “made the gateway to
Menal, otherwise termed the city of Someswar”; and the date is

_Anal_, _Nand_, _Ind_, _Ind_.
3. 9. 1. 1.

_Anal_ (fire) stands for three, denoting the third eye of Mahadeva,
which is eventually to cause _pralaya_, or ‘destruction.’ Nand stands
for _nine_, or the Nau-nand of their ancient histories. _Indu_, the moon
(twice repeated), is _one_, and the whole, read backwards, is S. 1193,
or A.D. 1137.

In the mandir of Samarsi, we found the fragment of another inscription,
dated S. 12-2, and containing the eulogy of Samarsi and Arnaraj, lord of
the region; also the name of “Prithiraj, who destroyed the barbarians”;
and concluding with Sawant Singh.

=Begūn=,[11.14.25] _February_.—We commenced our march at break of day,
along the very crest [750] of the Patar; but the thick woods through
which lay our path did not allow us a peep at the plains of Medpat until
we reached the peak, where once stood the castle of Alu Hara. But silent
were the walls of Bumbaoda; desolation was in the courts of Alu Hara. We
could trace, however, the plan of this famed residence of a hero, which
consisted of an exterior and an interior castle, the latter being a
hundred and seventy cubits by a hundred and twelve. There are the ruins
of three Jain temples, to Siva, Hanuman, and Dharmaraja, the Hindu
Minos; also three tanks, one of which was in excellent preservation.
There are likewise the remains of one hall, called the Andhyari Kothri,
or ‘dark chamber,’ perhaps that in which Alu (according to tradition)
locked up his nephew, when he carried his feud into the desert. The site
commands an extensive view of the plains of Mewar, and of the
Arneo-ghati (pass), down the side of the mountain, to the valley of
Begun. Beneath, on a ledge of rock, guarding the ascent, was the
gigantic statue of Jogini Mata, placed on the very verge of the
precipice, and overlooking one of the noblest prospects in nature. The
hill here forms a re-entering angle of considerable depth, the sides
scarped, lofty, and wooded to the base; all the plain below is covered
with lofty trees, over whose tops the parasitic Amarvela forms an
umbrageous canopy, extending from rock to rock, and if its superfluous
supports were removed, it would form a sylvan hall, where twenty
thousand men might assemble.

Over this magnificent scenery ‘our Queen of the Pass’ looks grimly down;
but now there is neither foe to oppose, nor scion of Bumbaoda to guard.
I could not learn exactly who had levelled the castle of Alu Hara,
although it would appear to have been the act of the lord paramount of
Chitor, on whose land it is situated; it is now within the fief of
Begun. We have already given one legend of Alu; another from the spot
may not be unacceptable.

=Tale of a Bard.=—In one of the twenty-four castles dependent on
Bumbaoda, resided Lalaji, a kinsman of Alu. He had one daughter, in
whose name he sent the coco-nut to his liege lord, the Rana of Chitor;
but the honour was declined. The family priest was returning across the
_antri_, when he encountered the heir of Chitor returning from the
chase, who, on learning the cause of the holy man’s grief, determined to
remove it by taking the nuptial symbol himself. He dismissed the priest,
telling him he should soon appear to claim his bride. Accordingly, with
an escort befitting the heir of Chitor, and accompanied by a bard then
on a visit to the Rana, he set out for Bumbaoda. Bhimsen Bardai was a
native of Benares, and happened to pass through Mewar on his way [751]
to Cutch-Bhuj, at the very period when all ‘the sons of rhyme’ were
under sentence of exile from Mewar: a fate which we frequently find
attending the fraternity in this country. The cause of this expatriation
was as follows; an image of the deity had been discovered in clearing
out the waters of the lake, of a form so exquisitely beautiful as to
enchant every eye. But the position of the arms was singular; one
pointed upwards, another downwards, a third horizontally towards the
observer. The handwriting on the wall could not have more appalled the
despot of Babylon than this _putli_ of Chaturbhuja, or ‘image of the
four-armed god.’ The prophetic seers were convened from all parts; but
neither the Bhats nor the Charans, nor even the cunning Brahman, could
interpret the prodigy; until, at length, the bard of the Jarejas arrived
and expounded the riddle. He showed that the finger pointing upwards
imported that there was one Indra, lord of heaven; and that downwards
was directed to the sovereign of Patal (hell); whilst that which pointed
to the Rana indicated that _he_ was lord of the central region
(Medpat);[11.14.26] which being geographically correct, his
interpretation was approved, and met with such reward, that he became
the _pat-bardai_, or chief bard to Hamir, who, at his intercession,
recalled his banished brethren, exacting in return for such favours that
‘he would extend the palm to no mortal but himself.’ This was the bard
who accompanied the heir of Chitor to espouse the daughter of Bumbaoda.
The castle of the Hara was thronged; the sound of mirth and revelry rang
through the castle-halls, and the bards, who from all parts assembled to
sing the glories of the Haras, were loaded with gifts. Bhimsen could not
withstand the offering made by the lord of the Patar, a horse richly
caparisoned, splendid clothes, and a huge bag of money: as the bard of
the Haras (who told me the tale) remarked, “although he had more than
enough, who can forget habit? We are beggars (Mangtas) as well as poets
by profession.” So, after many excuses, he allowed the gift to be left;
but his soul detested the sin of his eye, and resolving to expiate the
crime, he buried his dagger in his heart. Cries rent the air; “the
sacred bard of Chitor is slain!” met the ear of its prince at the very
moment of _hatheli_ (junction of hands). He dropped the hand of his
bride, and demanded vengeance. It was now the Hara’s turn to be
offended; to break off the nuptials at such a moment was redoubling the
insult already offered by his father, and a course which not even the
bard’s death could justify. The heir of Chitor was conducted forthwith
outside Bumbaoda; but he soon returned with the troops of Chitor, and
hostilities commenced where festivity so lately reigned. Phalgun
approached, and the spring-hunt of the Aheria could not be deferred,
though foes were [752] around. Lalaji, father of the bride, went with a
chosen band to slay a boar to Gauri, in the plains of Tukarai; but
Kaitsi heard of it, and attacked them. Alike prepared for the fight or
the feast, the Hara accepted the unequal combat; and the father and
lover of the bride rushed on each other, spear in hand, and fell by
mutual wounds.

The pyres were prepared within the walls of Bumbaoda, whither the
vassals bore the bodies of their lords; on one was placed the prince of
Chitor, on the other the Hara kinsman; and while the virgin bride
ascended with the dead body of the prince, her mother was consumed on
that where her father lay. It was on this event that the imprecation was
pronounced that “Rana and Rao should never meet at the spring-hunt
(Aheria) but death should ensue.” We have recorded, in the annals of the
Haras, two subsequent occasions; and to complete their quatrain, they
have made the defeat of Rana Mokal (called Kumbha in the Annals, see
page 1471) fill up the gap. Thus:

_Hāmu Mokal mariyo,
Lālē Kheta jān,
Sujē Ratan samghāriyo
Ajmal Arasi rān._

In repeating these stanzas, the descendant of Alu Hara may find some
consolation for the mental sufferings he endures when he casts a glance
upon the ruins of Bumbaoda and its twenty-four subordinate castles, not
one of which now contains a Hara:

And there they stand, as stands a lofty mind,
Worn, but unstooping to the baser crowd;
All tenantless, save to the crannying wind,
Or holding dark communion with the cloud.[11.14.27]

That these ruins make a powerful appeal to the Hara, I can prove by
letters I received in October last year, when, in obedience to a mandate
of the ‘Queen of the Pass,’ a band collected at her shrine to obey her
behest, whatever that might be.

* * * * *

Extract from Akhbar (newspaper), dated Bundi, October 18, 1820.

“Warrants were sent to all the chiefs for their attendance at the
capital to celebrate the festival of the Dasahra. The whole of the
chiefs and landholders came, with the exception of the Thakurs of Bar,
who returned the following reply:—'We have received a communication
(_paigham_) from Sri Bhavani of Bumbaoda, who commands us no longer to
put the plough in the soil, but to sell our horses and our cattle [753],
and with the amount to purchase sixty-four[11.14.28] buffaloes and
thirty-two goats, for a general sacrifice to Mataji, by obeying which we
shall repossess Bumbaoda.' Accordingly, no sooner was this known, than
several others joined them, both from Bundi and Kotah. The Thakur of Bar
had prepared dinner near the statue of Mata for two hundred, instead of
which five hundred assembled; yet not only were they all abundantly
satisfied, but some food remained, which convinced the people there that
the story (the communication) was true.”

This was from Bundi; but the following was from my old, steady, and
faithful Brahman, Balgovind, who was actually on the spot, dated “Menal,
1st Kartik:—A few days ago, there was a grand sacrifice to Jogini Mata,
when thirty-one buffaloes and fifty-three goats were slain. Upon two
_bakras_ (he-goats), three Haras tried their swords in vain; they could
not touch a single hair, at which all were much surprised. These goats
were afterwards turned loose to feed where they pleased, and were called
_amar_ (immortal).”

Not a comment was made upon this, either by the sensible Balgovind or
the Yati Gyanji, who was with him. There was, therefore, no time to be
lost in preventing an explosion from five hundred brave Haras, deeming
themselves convened at the express command of Bhavani, to whom the
sacrifice proved thus acceptable; and I sent to the Raja to break up the
party, which was effected. It, however, shows what an easy matter it is
to work upon the credulity through the feelings of these brave men.

I left the spot, hallowed by many feelings towards the silent walls of
Bumbaoda. We wound our way down the rocky steep, giving a look to the
‘mother of the maids of slaughter’ as we passed, and after a short
passage across the entrance of the valley, encamped in a fine grove of
trees close to the town of Begun. The Rawat, descendant of ‘the black
cloud,’ came out to meet me; but he is yet a stranger to the happiness
that awaits him—the restoration of more than half of his estate, which
has been in the hands of the Mahratta Sindhia since A.D. 1791 [754].

-----

Footnote 11.14.1:

[Bijolia, close to the Būndi border, about 112 miles N.E. of Udaipur
city (Erskine ii. A. 99 f.).]

Footnote 11.14.2:

[Sākambhari has no connexion with _sākha_: the name means
herb-nourishing.']

Footnote 11.14.3:

[The story that Vigraharāja or Vīsaladeva, Chauhān, wrested Delhi from
the Tomaras depends on doubtful authority (Smith, _EHI_, 387).]

Footnote 11.14.4:

[Bhīma II. Chaulukya of Gujarāt, known as Bhola, ‘the simpleton’ (A.D.
1179-1242). The statements in the text lack authority (_BG_, i. Part
i. 195 ff.).]

Footnote 11.14.5:

I have never had time to learn the purport of this inscription, but
hold it, together with a host of others, at the service of those who
desire to expound them. For myself, without my old Guru, I am like a
ship without helm or compass (as Chand would say) “in ploughing the
ocean of (Sanskrit) rhyme.” [Both these inscriptions are dated A.D.
1170. That recording the Chauhān genealogy is printed (p. 1456). The
other is a Jain poem called _Unnāthshikar Purān_, still unpublished
(Erskine ii. A. 100).]

Footnote 11.14.6:

[‘Those whose robe is the atmosphere,’ the ‘naked’ section of the
Jains (Bühler-Burgess, _The Indian Sect of the Jainas_, 2).]

Footnote 11.14.7:

See _Transactions Royal Asiatic Society_, vol. i. p. 152.

Footnote 11.14.8:

[Menāl possesses a monastery and Saiva temple constructed, according
to the inscriptions which they bear, in A.D. 1169 by Bhav Brahm,
Sādhu; also a palace and temple built a year earlier by the wife of
the famous Prithirāj, Chauhān, whose name was Suhav Devi, known as
Rūthi Rāni, ‘the testy queen’ (Erskine ii. A. 95, quoting H. Cousens,
_Progress Report Archaeological Survey W. India_, for the year ending
June 30, 1905).]

Footnote 11.14.9:

_Āsā_, is literally, ‘Hope.’

Footnote 11.14.10:

Goddess of the race.

Footnote 11.14.11:

‘The wealth of the bee’; such are the metaphorical appellations
amongst the Rajputs.

Footnote 11.14.12:

This is the prince who crawled to Kedarnath (see p. 1463), and son of
Rainsi, the emigrant prince from Asir, who is perhaps here designated
as ‘the wealth of the bee.’ This was in S. 1353, or A.D. 1297.

Footnote 11.14.13:

Jaipal (‘fosterer of victory’) must be the prince familiarly called
Bango in the Annals (p. 1464), and not the grandson but the son of
Kulan—there said to have taken Menal or Mahanal.

Footnote 11.14.14:

Dewa is the son of Banga (p. 1464), and founder of Bundi, in S. 1398,
or A.D. 1342.

Footnote 11.14.15:

Harraj, elder son of Dewa, became lord of Bumbaoda by the abdication
of his father, who thenceforth resided at his conquest at Bundi. (See
p. 1467.)

Footnote 11.14.16:

Harraj had twelve sons, the eldest of whom, the celebrated Alu Hara,
succeeded to Bumbaoda. (See p. 1470.)

Footnote 11.14.17:

Here we quit the direct line of descent, going back to Dewa. Ritpal,
in all probability, was the offspring of one of the twelve sons of
Harraj, having Menal as a fief of Bumbaoda.

Footnote 11.14.18:

In the original, “fair as Chandrama (the moon), the offspring of
Samudra (the ocean).” In Hindu mythology, the moon is a male divinity,
and son of the ocean, which supplies a favourite metaphor to the
Bardai,—the sea expanding with delight at the sight of his child,
denoting the ebb and flow of the waters.

Footnote 11.14.19:

[The Kalpatara, Kalpalata, or Kalpavriksha is one of the fabulous
trees in Swarga, the paradise of Indra, which grants all desires.]

Footnote 11.14.20:

This Ami Shah can only be the Pathan [Mughal] emperor Humayun, who
enjoyed a short and infamous celebrity; and Mahadeo, the Hara prince
of Mahanal, who takes the credit of rescuing prince Kaitsi, must have
been one of the great feudatories, perhaps generalissimo of the armies
of Mewar (Medpat). It will be pleasing to the lovers of legendary lore
to learn, from a singular tale, which we shall relate when we get to
Bumbaoda, that if on one occasion he owed his rescue to the Hara, the
last on another took the life he gave; and as it is said he abdicated
in favour of his son Durjan, whom he constituted Jivaraj, or king
(_raj_), while he was yet in life (_jiva_), it is not unlikely that,
in order to atone for the crime of treason to his sovereign lord, he
abandoned the _gaddi_ of Menal.

Footnote 11.14.21:

Here it is distinctly avowed that Mahadeva, having constituted his son
Jivaraj, passed his days in devotion in the temple he had founded.

Footnote 11.14.22:

Pronounced Kumbhkaran, ‘a ray of the Kumbha,’ the vessel emblematic of
Ceres, and elsewhere described. [Kumbhakarna means ‘having ears like
waterpots,’ the name of a demon, brother of Rāvana, killed by Rāma,
according to the story in the Rāmāyana epic.]

Footnote 11.14.23:

It appears he did not forget he _had_ been a warrior.

Footnote 11.14.24:

_Indu_ (the moon) 1
_Paksheo_ (the two fortnights) 2
_Netra_ (the three eyes of Siva) 3
_Veda_ (the four holy books) 4
_Sar_ (the five arrows of Kamdeo, or Cupid) 5
_Shashth_ (the six seasons, of two months each) 6
_Jaladhi_ (the seven seas, or Samudras) 7
_Sidah_ 8
_Nidh_ (the nine planets) 9
_Dik_ (the ten corners of the globe) 10
_Rudra_ (a name of Siva) 11
_Arka_ (the sun) 12

Footnote 11.14.25:

[Begūn about 20 miles E.N.E. of Udaipur city.]

Footnote 11.14.26:

[Medpāt means ‘land of the Med tribe.’]

Footnote 11.14.27:

[Byron, _Childe Harold_, ii. 47.]

Footnote 11.14.28:

A number sacred (according to Chand) to this goddess, who is chief of
the sixty-four Joginis.

-----

CHAPTER 15

=Begūn=, _February 26_.—The chances were nine hundred and ninety-nine to
one that I ever touched a pen again. Two days ago I started, with all
the ‘pomp and circumstance’ befitting the occasion, to restore to the
chief the land of his sires, of which force and fraud had conspired to
deprive them during more than thirty years. The purport of my visit
being made known, the ‘sons of Kalamegh’ assembled from all quarters;
but _honhar_ has again interfered. The old castle of Begun has a
remarkably wide moat, across which there is a wooden bridge
communicating with the town. The avant-courtiers of my cavalcade, with
an elephant bearing the union, having crossed and passed under the
arched gateway, I followed, contrary to the Mahaut’s advice, who said
there certainly would not be space to admit the elephant and howda. But
I heedlessly told him to drive on, and if he could not pass through, to
dismount. The hollow sound of the bridge, and the deep moat on either
side, alarmed the animal, and she darted forward with the celerity
occasioned by fear, in spite of any effort to stop her. As I approached
the gateway, I measured it with my eye, and expecting inevitable and
instantaneous destruction, I planted my feet firmly against the howda,
and my forearms against the archway, and, by an almost preternatural
effort of strength, burst out the back of the howda; the elephant
pursued her flight inside, and I dropped senseless on the bridge
below.[11.15.1] The affectionate sympathies and attention of those
around revived me, though they almost extinguished the latent spark of
life in raising me into my palki, and carrying me to my tent. I,
however, soon recovered my senses, though sadly bruised; but the escape
was, in a twofold degree, miraculous; for, in avoiding decollation, had
I fallen half an inch more to the side, I should have been caught on the
projecting spikes of the gateway. My tent was soon filled by the Rawatji
and his brethren, who deplored the accident, and it was with difficulty
I could get them to leave the side of my pallet; but what was my
astonishment when, two days after, going to fulfil my mission, I saw the
noble [755] gateway, the work of Kalamegh, reduced to a heap of ruins,
through which I was conducted to the palace on an ample terrace, in
front of which I found the little court of Begun! The Rawat advanced and
presented me the keys, which having returned in his sovereign’s name, I
deplored his rash destruction of the gateway, blaming _honhar_ and my
own want of _budh_ (wisdom) for the accident. But it was in vain; he
declared he never could have looked upon it with complacency, since it
had nearly deprived of life one who had given life to them. The restored
estates had been mortgaged to old Sindhia for the payment of a
war-exaction, and the Rawat held regularly-executed deeds, empowering
him to recover them when the contribution should be liquidated. When the
‘reign of justice’ commenced in these regions, he produced his bond; he
showed that the exactions had been paid twice over, and demanded,
through the intervention of the British agent, that Sindhia should be
brought to a settlement. The replies and rejoinders were endless; and at
length the Rawatji, wearied out, one morning took the law into his own
hands; assaulted, carried, and, with the loss of some lives, drove out
the Mahrattas, who had built a castellated residence even under his eye.
It was necessary for form-sake to punish this act, which we would not
prevent; and accordingly Begun was put under sequestration, and the
Rana’s flag was planted upon its walls. The chief submitted to all with
a good grace, and with a cause so just I made an excellent case against
Sindhia, who talked of papers which he never produced. Allowing,
therefore, some months more to elapse, we executed the bond, and
restored Begun to its rightful owner.[11.15.2] I was the more rejoiced
at effecting this, as the Rawat had set the example of signing the deed
of renunciation of May 1818, which was the commencement of the
prosperity of Mewar.

=Basi=, _February 27_.—Compelled to travel in my palki, full of aches
and ails. I think this will complete the disorganization of my frame;
but I must reserve the little strength I have for Chitor, and, _coûte
que coûte_, climb up and take a farewell look.

=Chitor.=[11.15.3]—My heart beat high as I approached the ancient
capital of the Sesodias, teeming with reminiscences of glory, which
every stone in her giant-like _kunguras_ (battlements) attested. It was
from this side that the imperial hosts under Ala and Akbar advanced to
force the descendant of Rama to do homage to their power. How the
summons was answered, the deeds of Ranas Arsi and Partap have already
told. But there was one relic of “the last day” of Chitor, which I
visited in this morning’s march, that will immortalize the field where
the greatest monarch that India (perhaps Asia) ever had, erected the
green banner of the faith, and pitched his [756] tent, around which his
legions were marshalled for the reduction of the city. This still
perfect monument is a fine pyramidal column, called by some the
Chiraghdan, and by others Akbar-ka-dewa, both having the same meaning,
‘Akbar’s lamp.’[11.15.4] It is formed of large blocks of compact
lime-stone, admirably put together, about thirty-five feet high, each
face being twelve feet at the base, and gradually tapering to the
summit, where it is between three and four, and on which was placed a
huge lamp (_chiragh_), that served as a beacon to the foragers, or
denoted the imperial headquarters. An interior staircase leads to the
top; but although I had the strongest desire to climb the steps, trodden
no doubt by Akbar’s feet, the power was not obedient to the will, and I
was obliged to continue my journey, passing through the Talaiti, as they
term the lower town of Chitor. Here I got out of my palki, and ventured
the ascent, not through one, but five gates, upon the same faithless
elephant; but with this difference, that I had no howda to encase me and
prevent my sliding off, if I found any impediment; nevertheless, in
passing under each successive portal, I felt an involuntary tendency to
stoop, though there was a superfluity of room over head. I hastened to
my _bechoba_,[11.15.5] pitched upon the margin of the Surya-kund, or
‘fountain of the sun,’ and with the wrecks of ages around me I abandoned
myself to contemplation. I gazed until the sun’s last beam fell upon
‘the ringlet of Chitor,’ illuminating its grey and grief-worn aspect,
like a lambent gleam lighting up the face of sorrow. Who could look on
this lonely, this majestic column, which tells, in language more easy of
interpretation than the tablets within, of

deeds which should not pass away,
And names that must not wither,

and withhold a sigh for its departed glories? But in vain I dipped my
pen to embody my thoughts in language; for, wherever the eye fell, it
filled the mind with images of the past, and ideas rushed too
tumultuously to be recorded. In this mood I continued for some time,
gazing listlessly, until the shades of evening gradually enshrouded the
temples, columns, and palaces; and as I folded up my paper till the
morrow, the words of the prophetic bard of Israel came forcibly to my
recollection: “How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people!
how is she become as a widow! she, that was great among nations, and
princess among provinces, how is she become tributary!”

But not to fatigue the reader with reflections, I will endeavour to give
him some [757] idea of these ruins.[11.15.6] I begin with the
description of Chitor from the Khuman Raesa, now beside me: “Chitrakot
is the chief amongst eighty-four castles, renowned for strength; the
hill on which it stands, rising out of the level plain beneath, the
tilak on the forehead of Avani (the earth). It is within the grasp of no
foe, nor can the vassals of its chief know the sentiment of fear. Ganga
flows from its summit; and so intricate are its paths of ascent, that
though you might find entrance, there would be no hope of return. Its
towers of defence are planted on the rock, nor can their inmates even in
sleep know alarm. Its Kothars (granaries) are well filled, and its
reservoirs, fountains, and wells are overflowing. Ramachandra himself
here dwelt twelve years. There are eighty-four bazars, many schools for
children, and colleges for every kind of learning; many scribes
(_kayasth_) of the Bidar[11.15.7] tribe, and the eighteen varieties of
artisans. (Here follows an enumeration of all the trees, shrubs, and
flowers within and surrounding the fortress.) Of all, the Guhilot is
sovereign (_dhani_), served by numerous troops, both horse and foot, and
by all the ‘thirty-six tribes of Rajputs,’ of which he is the ornament
(_chhattis kula singar_).”

The Khuman Raesa, or story of Rawat Khuman, was composed in the ninth
century;[11.15.8] and the poet has not exaggerated; for of all the royal
abodes of India, none could compete with Chitor before she became a
“widow.” But we must abandon the Raesa for a simple prose description.
Chitor is situated on an isolated rock of the same formation as the
Patar, whence it is distant about three miles, leaving a fertile valley
between, in which are the estates of Bijaipur, Gwalior, and part of
Begun, studded with groves, but all waste through long-continued
oppression. The general direction of the rock is from S.S.W. to N.N.E.;
the internal length on the summit being three miles and two furlongs,
and the greatest central breadth twelve hundred yards. The circumference
of the hill at its base, which is fringed with deep woods, extending to
the summit, and in which lurk tigers, deer, hogs, and even lions, is
somewhere above eight miles, and the angle of ascent to its scarped
summit about 45°. The Talaiti, or lower town, is on the west side, which
in some places presents a double scarp, and this side is crowded with
splendid objects; the triumphal column, the palaces of Chitrang Mori, of
Rana Raemall, the huge temple of Rana Mokal, the hundred pinnacles of
the acropolis of the Guhilots, and last, not least, the mansions of
Jaimall and Patta, built on a projecting point, are amongst the most
remarkable monuments overlooking the plain. The great length of Chitor,
and the uniformity of the level crest, detract from its height, which in
no part exceeds [758] four hundred feet, and that only towards the
north. In the centre of the eastern face, at ‘the gate of the sun’
(Surajpol), it is less than three hundred, and at the southern
extremity, the rock is so narrow as to be embraced by an immense
demi-lune commanding the hill called Chitori, not more than one hundred
and fifty yards distant; it is connected with Chitor, but lower, and
judiciously left out of its circumvallation. Still it is a weak point,
of which the invader has availed himself. On this, Mahadaji Sindhia
raised his batteries when called on by the Rana to expel his rebellious
vassal of Salumbar (Vol. I. p. 517). The Mahratta’s batteries, as
well as the zigzag lines of his ascent, indicate that, even in S. 1848
(A.D. 1792), he had the aid of no unskilful engineer. From this point
the Tatar Ala stormed; and to him they attribute Chitor altogether,
alleging that he raised it by artificial means, “commencing with a
copper for every basket of earth, and at length ending with a piece of
gold.” It would, indeed, have taken the twelve years, assigned by
tradition to Ala’s siege, to have effected this, though there cannot be
a doubt that he greatly augmented it, and planted there his
Manjanikas,[11.15.9] or balistas, in the same manner as he did to reduce
the fortress of Rain, near Ranthambhor.

Having wandered for two or three days amongst the ruins, I commenced a
regular plan of the whole, going to work trigonometrically, and laying
down every temple or object that still retained a name or had any
tradition attached to it. I then descended with the perambulator and
made the circuit.

The first lateral cut of ascent is in a line due north, and before
another angle you pass through three separate gates; between the last of
which, distinctively called the Phuta Dwara, or ‘broken door,’ and the
fourth, the Hanuman pol (porte), is a spot for ever sacred in the
history of Chitor, where its immortal defenders, Jaimall and Patta, met
their death. There is a small cenotaph to the memory of the former,
while a sacrificial Jujhar, on which is sculptured the effigy of a
warrior on horseback, lance in hand, reminds the Sesodia where fell the
stripling chief of Amet. Near these is another cenotaph, a simple dome
supported by light elegant columns, and covering an altar to the manes
of the martyr Raghudeva, the deified _putra_ of Mewar (see Vol. I. p.
325). After passing three more barriers, we reach the Rampol, which
crowns the whole, and leads into a noble Dari-khana, or ‘hall of
assembly,’ where the princes of Chitor met on grand occasions; and it
was in this hall that the genius of Chitor is said to have revealed to
Rana Arsi that his glory was departing. On a compartment of the Rampol
we found an interdict inscribed by the rebel Bhim of [759] Salumbar, who
appears to have been determined to place upon his own head the
_mor_[11.15.10] of Chitor, so nobly renounced by his ancestor Chonda
many centuries before. This was, however, set up when he was yet loyal,
and in his sovereign’s name as well as his own, “abolishing forced
labour from the townspeople, and likewise _dand_, or contribution”;
concluding with a grant of land to a patriotic carpenter of Gosunda, who
had, at his own expense, furnished the Rampol with a new gate; the cow
and hog are attesting witnesses to the deed. The next building I came
to, as I skirted the western face in a southerly direction, was a small
antique temple to Tulja Bhavani,[11.15.11] the divinity of the scribes,
adjoining the Top-khana Chaori, a square for the park, where a few old
cannon, the relics of the plunder of Chitor, still remain. The
habitation of the Purohits, or chief priests of the Ranas, a plain,
commodious, and substantial edifice, was the next; and close by was that
of the Masani,[11.15.12] or master of the horse, with several others of
the chief household officers. But the first imposing edifice is that
termed Naulakha Bhandar. This is a small citadel in itself, with
massive, lofty walls, and towers built entirely of ancient ruins. Its
name would import that it was a receptacle (_bhandar_) for treasure,
though it is said to have been the residence of the usurper Banbir. At
the north-eastern corner, it has a little temple, richly sculptured,
called the Singar Chaori.[11.15.13] From this we pass on to the palace
of the Ranas, which, though attributed to Rana Raemall, is of the same
character as those of a much higher antiquity. It is plain, capacious,
and in excellent taste, the only ornament being its crenated
battlements, and gives a good idea of the domestic architecture of the
Rajputs, long anterior to the intrusion of the Islamite amongst them.
The vaulted chamber, the projecting _gaukh_ or balcony, and the gentle
exterior slope or _talus_ of the walls, lend a character of originality
to all the ancient structures of Chitor. The industrious Ghasi made
sketches for me of all their domestic dwellings, from the ancient abode
of Chitrang Mori, down to the mahalls of Jaimall and Patta. A courtyard
surrounds the palace, in which there is a small temple to Deoji, through
whose interposition Rana Sanga effected all his conquests. This unknown
divinity I find is styled one of the eleven _kalas_, or Mahavidyas,
incarnate in the person of a celebrated warrior, named Bhoj, whose
father was a Chauhan, and his mother of the Gujar tribe, which
originated a new class, called the Bagrawat.[11.15.14] The story of this
Deo will add another to the many tales of superstition which are
listened to with reverence, and I imagine generally with belief. The
incarnate Bagrawat, while on his way to revenge an ancient feud with the
Parihars of Ranbinai [760], approached Chitor, and Rana Sanga, aware of
his sanctity, paid him all the dues of hospitality; in return for this,
the Deoji bestowed a charm upon Sanga, by means of which, so long as he
followed the prescribed injunctions, victory was always to attend his
steps. It was placed in a small bag, and to be worn round the neck; but
he was warned against allowing it to turn towards the back. The Deo had
the power of raising the dead, and in order to show the Rana the value
of the gift, he put into his hand a peacock’s feather, with which having
touched all who were then lying dead in Chitor, they were restored to
life! With this new proof of Deoji’s power, Rana Sanga went forth to
pursue his conquests, which had extended to the fortress of Bayana, when
one day, while bathing in the Pila Khal,[11.15.15] the charm slipped
round, and straight a voice was heard, saying, his “mortal foe was at
hand!” So impressed are the Sesodias with the truth of this tale, that
Deoji has obtained a distinguished niche in their Pantheon; nor in all
their poverty has oil been wanting for the lamp which is constantly
burning before the Bagrawat chieftain, whose effigy, on a horse painted
blue and lance in hand, still attracts their homage. To buy golden
opinions, I placed three pieces of silver on the altar of the saint, in
the name of the brave Sanga, the worthy antagonist of Babur, the
“immortal foe,” who at the Pila Khal at Bayana destroyed the charm of
the Deoji.

=Krishna Temples.=—On leaving the court of Rana Raemall, we reach two
immense temples dedicated to the black god of Vraj: one being erected by
Rana Kumbha, the other by his celebrated wife, the chief poetess of that
age, Mira Bai, to the god of her idolatry, Shamnath.[11.15.16] We have
elsewhere mentioned the ecstasies of this fair votary of the Apollo of
the Yamuna, who even danced before his shrine, in which her last moments
were passed; and, to complete the picture, so entirely were the
effusions both of her heart and pen approved, that “the god descended
from his pedestal and gave her an embrace, which extricated the spark of
life. ‘Welcome, Mira,’ said the lover of Radha; and her soul was
absorbed into his!” This rhapsody is worthy of the fair authoress of the
_Tika_, or sequel to the Gita Govinda,[11.15.17] which is said not to be
unworthy even of Jayadeva.

Both these temples are entirely constructed from the wrecks of more
ancient shrines, said to have been brought from the ruins of a city of
remote antiquity, called Nagari, three coss northward of
Chitor.[11.15.18] Near these temples of Kumbh-Syam are two reservoirs,
built of large blocks, each one hundred and twenty-five feet long by
fifty [761] wide, and fifty deep, said to have been excavated on the
marriage of the ‘Ruby of Mewar’ to Achal Khichi of Gagraun, and filled
with oil and _ghi_, which were served out to the numerous attendants on
that occasion.

=The Pillar of Victory, or Kīrtti-Khambh.= —We are now in the vicinity
of the Kirtti-Khambh, the pillar erected by Rana Kumbha on his defeat of
the combined armies of Malwa and Gujarat.[11.15.19] The only thing in
India to compare with this is the Kutb Minar at Delhi; but, though much
higher, it is of a very inferior character. This column is one hundred
and twenty-two feet in height, the breadth of each face at the base is
thirty-five feet, and at the summit, immediately under the cupola,
seventeen feet and a half. It stands on an ample terrace, forty-two feet
square. It has nine distinct stories, with openings at every face of
each story, and all these doors have colonnaded porticos; but it is
impossible to describe it, and therefore a rough outline, which will
show Ghasi’s notions of perspective, must suffice. It is built chiefly
of compact limestone and the quartz rock on which it stands, which takes
the highest polish; indeed there are portions possessing the hardness
and exhibiting the fracture of jasper. It is one mass of sculpture; of
which a better idea cannot be conveyed than in the remark of those who
dwell about it, that it contains every object known to their mythology.
The ninth _khand_, or ‘story,’ which, as I have stated, is seventeen
feet and a half square, has numerous columns supporting a vault, in
which is sculptured Kanhaiya in the Rasmandala (celestial sphere),
surrounded by the Gopis or muses, each holding a musical instrument, and
in a dancing attitude.[11.15.20] Beneath this is a richly carved scroll
fringed with the _saras_, the _phenicopteros_[11.15.21] of ornithology.
Around this chamber had been arranged, on black marble tablets, the
whole genealogy of the Ranas of Chitor; but the Goths have broken or
defaced all, save one slab, containing the two following _slokas_.

_Sloka 172_: “Shaking the earth, the lords of Gujarkhand and Malwa, both
the sultans, with armies overwhelming as the ocean, invaded Medpat.
Kumbhakaran reflected lustre on the land; to what point can we exalt his
renown? In the midst of the armies of his foe, Kumbha was as a tiger, or
as a flame in a dry forest.”

_Sloka 183_: “While the sun continues to warm the earth, so long may the
fame of Kumbha Rana endure. While the icy mountains (_Himagiri_) of the
north rest upon their base, or so long as Himachal is stationary, while
ocean continues to form a garland round the neck of Avani (the earth),
so long may Kumbha’s glory be perpetuated! May the varied history of his
sway and the splendour of his dominion last [762] for ever! Seven years
had elapsed beyond fifteen hundred when Rana Kumbha placed this ringlet
on the forehead of Chitor. Sparkling like the rays of the rising sun, is
the _toran_, rising like the bridegroom of the land.

“In S. 1515, the temple of Brahma was founded, and this year,
Vrihaspatiwar (Thursday), the 10th tithi and Pushya Nakshatra, in the
month of Magh, on the immovable Chitrakot, this Kirtti stambha was
finished. What does it resemble, which makes Chitor look down on Meru
with derision? Again, what does Chitrakot resemble, from whose summit
the fountains are ever flowing, the circular diadem on whose crest is
beauteous to the eye; abounding in temples to the Almighty, planted with
odoriferous trees, to which myriads of bees resort, and where soft
zephyrs love to play? This immovable fortress (Achal-durga) was formed
by Maha-Indra’s own hands.”

How many more Slokas there may have been, of which this is the 183rd, we
can only conjecture; though this would seem to be the winding-up.

[Illustration:

JAISTAMBHA, PILLAR OF VICTORY, AT CHITOR.
_To face page 1820._
]

The view from this elevated spot was superb, extending far into the
plains of Malwa. The lightning struck and injured the dome some years
ago, but generally there is no semblance of decay, though some shoots of
the pipal have rooted themselves where the bolt of Indra fell. It is
said to have cost ninety lakhs of rupees, or near a million sterling;
and this is only one of the many magnificent works of Rana Kumbha within
Chitor; the temples to Krishna, the lake called Kurma Sagar, the temple
and fountain to Kukkureswar Mahadeo, having been erected by him. He also
raised the stupendous fortifications of Kumbhalmer, to which place the
seat of government was transferred. It is asserted that the immense
wealth in jewels appertaining to the princes of Gujarat, was captured by
Mahmud Begada, when he took Kumbhalmer, whence he carried forty thousand
captives.[11.15.22]

Near this is the grand temple of Brahma, erected also by Kumbha, in
honour of his father Mokal, whose name it bears, and whose bust is the
only object of veneration within.[11.15.23] It would seem as if Kumbha
had been a deist, worshipping the Creator alone; though his inspired
wife, Mira Bai, seems to have drawn a portion of his regard to
Muralidhar, ‘he who holds the flute.’ Adjoining the shrine of the great
spirit, is the Charbagh, where the ashes of the heroes, from Bappa down
to the founder of Udaipur, are entombed. Many possessed great external
interest; but I was forced to be content with what I saw, for the
chronicler is dead.

=Scene of the Johar.=—Through these abodes of silence, a rugged path
leads to a sequestered spot in a deep cleft of the rock, where there is
a living fountain, called the Gao-mukh, or 'cow’s [763] mouth,' under
the shade of an umbrageous _bar_ tree. On one side of the dell is the
subterranean channel called Rani-bhandar, which, it is said, leads to
suites of chambers in the rock. This was the scene of the awful Johar,
on the occasion of Ala sacking Chitor, when the queens perished in the
flames; on which the cavern’s mouth was closed.

Still ascending, I visited the edifices named after Jaimall and Patta,
and the shrine of Kalika Devi, esteemed one of the most ancient of
Chitor, existing since the time of the Mori, the dynasty prior to the
Guhilot.[11.15.24] But the only inscription I discovered was the
following:—

“S. 1574 Magh (_sudi_) 5th, and Revati Nakshatra, the stone-cutters
Kalu, Kaimer, and thirty-six others (whose names are added), enlarged
the fountain of the sun (Suryakunda), adjacent to the temple of Kalika
Devi.” Thence I passed to the vaulted cenotaph of Chonda, the founder of
the Chondawats, who surrendered his birthright to please his aged sire.
A little further, are the mahalls of Rana Bhim and Padmini. Beyond this,
within a stone enclosure, is the place where the victorious Kumbha
confined the king of Malwa; and touching it is the mahall of the Raos of
Rampura.

Further south is a spot of deep interest: the tank and palace of
Chitrang Mori,[11.15.25] the ancient Puar lord of Chitor, whose
inscription I have already given. The interior sides of the tank are
divided into sculptured compartments, in very good taste, but not to be
compared with the works at Barolli, though doubtless executed under the
same family. Being now within two hundred yards of the southern bastion,
I returned by the mahalls of the once vassals of Chitor, namely, Sirohi,
Bundi, Sunth,[11.15.26] Lunawada, to the Chaugan, or ‘field of Mars,’
where the military festival of the Dasahra is yet held by the slender
garrison of Chitor. Close to it is a noble reservoir of a hundred and
thirty feet in length, sixty-five in width, and forty-seven in depth. It
is lined with immense sculptured masses of masonry, and filled with
water.

[Illustration:

COLUMNS IN THE FORTRESS OF CHITOR.
_To face page 1822._
]

=The Jain Pillar.=—Higher up, and nearly about the centre, is
a remarkable square pillar, called the Khawasan-sthamba
(column).[11.15.27] It is seventy-five feet and a half in height, thirty
feet in diameter at the base, and fifteen at the top, and covered with
Jain figures. It is very ancient, and I found a fragment of an
inscription at its base, which shows that it was dedicated to Adinath,
the first of the twenty-four Jain pontiffs: “By Sri Adinath, and the
twenty-four Jineswara, Pundarikaksha, Ganesa, Surya, and the nine
planets, may you be preserved! S. 952 (A.D. 896) Baisakh (_sudi_) the
30th, Guruvar (Thursday)” [764].

I found also another old inscription near the very antique temple of
Kukkureswar Mahadeo; “S. 811, Mah sudi 5th, Vrihaspativar (Thursday),
A.D. 755, Raja Kukkureswar erected this temple and excavated the
fountain.”

There are many Jain inscriptions, but amidst the heaps of ruins I was
not fortunate enough to make any important discovery. One in the temple
of Santnath was as follows; “S. 1505 (A.D. 1449), Sri Maharana Mokal,
whose son Kumbhakaran’s treasurer, by name Sah Kola, his son Bhandari
Ratna, and wife Bilandevi, erected this shrine to Santnath. The chief of
the Khadatara Gachchha, Janraj Sur and apparent successor, Sri Jan
Chandra Surji, made this writing.”

Close to the Suraj-pol, or gate in the centre of the eastern face, is an
altar sacred to the manes of Sahidas, the chief of the Chondawats, who
fell at his post, the gate of the sun, when the city was sacked by
Bahadur Shah.

At the north-western face is a castle complete within itself, the walls
and towers of which are of a peculiar form, and denote a high antiquity.
This is said to be the ancient palace of the Moris and the first Ranas
of Chitor. But it is time to close this description, which I do by
observing, that one cannot move a step without treading on some fragment
of the olden times:

Columns strewn, and statues fallen and cleft,
Heaped like a host, in battle overthrown.

=An Old Fakīr.=—Before, however, I quit this spot, hallowed by these
remains, I may mention having seen a being who, if there is any truth in
Chitrakot, must be a hundred and sixty years old. This wonder is a
Fakir, who has constantly inhabited the temples, within the memory of
the oldest inhabitants; and there is one carpenter, now upwards of
ninety, who recollects “Babaji as an old man and the terror of the
children.” To me he did not appear above seventy. I found him deeply
engaged at Pachisi with one of the townsfolk. When I was introduced to
this extraordinary personage, he looked up at me for an instant, and
exclaiming, “What does he want here?” quietly resumed his game. When it
was finished, I presented my _nazar_ to the inspired (for madness and
inspiration are here synonymous), which he threw amongst the bystanders,
and bolted over the ruins, dragging through the brambles a fine shawl
some one had presented to him, and which, becoming an impediment, he
left there. In these moods none durst molest him, and when inclined for
food or pastime his wants were quickly supplied. For one moment I got
him to cast his mental eye back [765] upon the past, and he mentioned
something of Adina Beg and the Panjab (of which they say he was an
inhabitant); but the oracle deigned nothing further.

=Udaipur=, _March 8, 1822_.—Here I am once more in the capital of
Hindupati (chief of the Hindu race), from which no occurrence shall move
me until I go to “eat the air” of my native land. I require repose, for
the last fifteen years of my life have been one continuous tissue of
toil and accident, such as are narrated in these records of a few of my
many wanderings. The bow must be unbent, or it will snap, and the time
for journalizing must cease with everything else under the sun. I halted
a few days at Merta, and found my house nearly finished, the garden
looking beautiful, the _aru_ or peach-tree, the _seo_ or apple, the
_santara_,[11.15.28] _narangi_, and _nimbu_, or various orange and
lime-trees, all in full blossom, and showing the potent influence of
Surya, in these regions; the _sharifa_ or _sitaphal_ (fruit of Sita), or
custard-apple, the _anar_, the _kela_, pomegranate, plantain, and
various indigenous fruits, were all equally forward. These plants are
mostly from Agra, Lucknow, or Cawnpore; but some of the finest peaches
are the produce of those I planted at Gwalior,—I may say their
grandchildren. When I left Gwalior in 1817, I brought with me the stones
of several peach-trees, and planted them in the garden of Rang-piyari,
my residence at Udaipur; and more delicious or more abundant fruit I
never saw. The stones of these I again put in the new garden at Merta,
and these again exhibit fruit, but it will require another year to prove
whether they maintain the character they held in the plains of Raru, or
in this city. The vegetables were equally thriving: I never saw finer
crops of Prussian-blues,[11.15.29] of _kobis_, _phul-kobis_, or cabbages
and cauliflowers, celery, and all that belongs to the kitchen-garden,
and which my Rajput friends declare far superior to their indigenous
race of sag, or greens; the Diwanji (Rana) has monopolized the celery,
which he pronounces the prince of vegetables. I had also got my cutter
for the Udaisagar, and we promised ourselves many delightful days,
sailing amidst its islets and fishing in its stream. “But in all this
was there vanity”: poor Carey lies under the sod; Duncan has been
struggling on, and is just about to depart for the Cape of Good Hope;
Patrick, who was left at Kotah, writes me dismal accounts of his health
and his solitude, and I am left almost alone, the ghost of what I was.
“I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour
I had laboured to do; and behold all was vanity and vexation of spirit!”
And such I fear will it prove with more important works than these
amusements of the hour; but it were certain death to stay, and the
doctor insists on my sending in ‘a sick certificate,’ and putting my
house in order for [766] departure. The month of May is fixed, a
resolution which has filled the Rana with grief; but he “gives me leave
only for three years, and his sister, Chandji Bai, desires me to bring
back a wife that she may love.”

I would willingly have dispensed with the honours of a public _entrée_;
but here, even health must bend to forms and the laws of the Rajputs;
and the Rana, Prince Jawan Singh, and all the Sesodia chivalry, advanced
to welcome our return. “_Ap ghar aye!_ You have come home!” was the
simple and heartfelt expression of the Rana, as he received my
reverential salaam; but he kindly looked round, and missed my
companions, for Waugh Sahib and Doctor Sahib were both great favourites;
and, last but not least, when he saw me bestride Javadia, he asked,
“where was Bajraj?” but the ‘royal-steed’ (his gift) was no more, and
lies entombed at Kotah. “_Hae! hae!_ alas! alas! (exclaimed Prithinath);
_bara sochpan balamanukh cha_, great grief, for he was a good
man.”[11.15.30] The virtues of Bajraj were the subject of conversation
until we reached the ‘gate of the sun’ (Surajpol); when the Rana “gave
me leave to go home,” and he continued his promenade.

=Bajrāj, the Horse.=—Bajraj was worthy of such notice and of his name;
he was perfection, and so general a favourite that his death was deemed
a public misfortune, for he was as well known throughout all these
regions as his master. The general yell of sorrow that burst from all my
sepoys and establishment on that event, was astounding, and the whole
camp attended his obsequies; many were weeping, and when they began to
throw the earth upon the fine beast, wrapped up in his body-clothes, his
sais (groom) threw himself into his grave, and was quite frantic with
grief. I cut some locks off his mane in remembrance of the noblest beast
I ever crossed, and in a few days I observed many huge stones near the
spot, which before I left Kotah grew into a noble chabutra, or ‘altar’
of hewn stone about twenty feet square and four feet high, on which was
placed the effigy of Bajraj large as life, sculptured out of one block
of freestone. I was grateful for the attention, but the old regent had
caught the infection, and evinced his sense of the worth of Bajraj by a
tomb such as his master cannot expect; but in this case perhaps I
divided the interest, though there was no prince of Rajwara more proud
of his stud than the blind chief of Kotah. From the days of the Pandus
to Dewa-Banga of Bundi, many a war has been waged for a horse; nor can
we better declare the relative estimation of the noble animal than in
the words of that stalwart Hara to the Lodi king: “There are three
things you must not ask of a Rajput, his horse, his mistress, or his
sword” [767].

In a few days I shall leave the capital for the villa of the Hara Rani,
sister of the Kotah prince, and whose bracelet also I have had, the
symbol of adoption as her brother. To all their customs, to all their
sympathies, and numerous acts of courtesy and kindness, which have made
this not a strange land to me, I am about to bid farewell; whether a
final one, is written in that book which for wise purposes is sealed to
mortal vision; but wherever I go, whatever days I may number, nor place
nor time can ever weaken, far less obliterate, the remembrance of the
valley of Udaipur.[11.15.31]

-----

Footnote 11.15.1:

[Sir Henry Durand, then Lieutenant-Governor of the Panjāb, met his
death by a similar accident at Tānk in the Dera Ismāīl Khan District,
on January 1, 1871.]

Footnote 11.15.2:

[Begūn was, by the Author’s intervention, restored to the Rāwat, Maha
Singh II., in 1822. A couple of years later, Maha Singh gave up the
estate to his son, Kishor Singh, and became a religious mendicant at
the shrines of Nāthdwāra and Kānkroli. But when Kishor Singh was, for
some unknown reason, murdered in cold blood by a Brāhman in 1839, he
resumed the management, and lived till 1860 (Erskine ii. A. 95).]

Footnote 11.15.3:

[For a curious sketch of Chitor by a gunner in Aurangzeb’s service,
see J. Fryer, _New Account of India and Persia_, vol. iii. ed. 1915,
p. 170.]

Footnote 11.15.4:

[See Vol. I. p. 379.]

Footnote 11.15.5:

A small tent without (_be_) a pole (_choba_).

Footnote 11.15.6:

[See the account in _ASR_, xxiii. (1887) p. 101 ff.; Erskine ii. A.
101 ff.]

Footnote 11.15.7:

[The Bīdar subdivision of the Kāyasth, or writer caste, does not
appear in recent lists, and this is the only reference to Kāyasths in
the “Annals,” their place being usually taken by the Pancholi. A man
of the writer caste, Srīpati, is mentioned on the Siwālik pillar at
Delhi (_IA_, xix. 219). The place of Kāyasths in Rājputāna has
generally been taken by Banias.]

Footnote 11.15.8:

[This, the most ancient chronicle of Mewār, was written in the ninth
century, and was recast in the reign of Partāp Singh I. (A.D.
1572-97), and carries the narrative down to the wars of that prince
with Akbar, devoting much space to the siege of Chitor by Alāu-d-dīn
Khilji (Grierson, _Modern Literary Hist. of Hindustan_, 1 f.).]

Footnote 11.15.9:

[See Vol. I. p. 362.]

Footnote 11.15.10:

[_Mor_, _maur_, ‘a crown,’ such as that worn by the bridegroom to
avert the Evil Eye.]

Footnote 11.15.11:

[Tulja (not Tulsi, as in the original text) Bhavāni, a form of the
Māta or mother goddess, has her best-known shrine at Tuljapur in the
dominions of the Nīzām of Haidarābād (_IGI_, xxiv. 52).]

Footnote 11.15.12:

[This title is not traceable in the dictionaries. The more usual
designation is _Mir-i-ākhwar_ or _ākhor_.]

Footnote 11.15.13:

[An inscription on this building shows that it was erected in A.D.
1448 by Bhandāri Bela, son of the treasurer of Rāna Kūmbha, and
dedicated to Sāntināth, the 16th Jain Tīrthakara (Erskine ii. A. 102
f.).]

Footnote 11.15.14:

[See p. 1640.]

Footnote 11.15.15:

[‘The yellow rivulet.’]

Footnote 11.15.16:

[This temple, dedicated to Krishna, is known as Kūmbh Syām, Syām being
‘the black’ Krishna. It was built about A.D. 1450 (Erskine ii. A.
103). Also see Fergusson, _Hist. Ind. Arch._ ed. 1910, ii. 150.]

Footnote 11.15.17:

[The chief work of Mīra Bāi is the Rāg Gobind, and a much-admired
commentary on the Gīta Govinda of Jayadeva (Grierson, _Modern Literary
Hist. of Hindūstān_, 12).]

Footnote 11.15.18:

I trust this may be put to the proof; for I think it will prove to be
Takshaknagara, of which I have long been in search, and which gave
rise to the suggestion of Herbert that Chitor was Taxila of Porus (the
Puar?). [The Author’s suggestion is incorrect. Nagari is one of the
most ancient places in Rājputāna, and its original name is said to be
Madhyamika. A fragmentary inscription earlier than the Christian era
has been found here. There are two Buddhist stūpas and the ruins of a
Buddhist building, said to have been used by Akbar to house his
elephants, and hence called Hāthi ka Bāra, ‘the elephant enclosure’
(Erskine ii. A. 94).]

Footnote 11.15.19:

[For this pillar, known as Kīrtti or Jai Stambha, see Fergusson,
_Hist. Ind. Arch._ ed. 1910, ii. 59 f.; Smith, _Hist. Fine Art_, 202
f., who calls it “an illustrated dictionary of Hindu mythology.”
Garrett found Arabic inscriptions on the third and eighth stories
(_ASR_, xxiii. (1887), 116 f.). For the pillar which the opponent of
Rāna Kūmbha erected to commemorate _his_ victory, see _BG_, i. Part i.
361; for similar pillars erected at Mandasor by Yasodharman in the
sixth century A.D., see _IA_, xv. 253 ff., and compare xvi. 18.]

Footnote 11.15.20:

[For the Rāsmandala, or circular dance of Krishna with the Gopis or
shepherd girls, see Growse, _Mathura_, 3rd ed., 61.]

Footnote 11.15.21:

[_Ardea antigone_, the noble crane of N. India.]

Footnote 11.15.22:

[Mahmūd Begada, King of Ahmadābād (A.D. 1459-1513). There does not
seem to be any corroboration of his capture of Kūmbhalmer (Ferishta
iv. 26 ff.). His predecessor, Kutbu-d-dīn, is said to have levied a
ransom from the Rāna after an unsuccessful attack by the latter
(_ibid._ iv. 41). For the attack on the fort, about A.D. 1458, by
Mahmūd Khilji of Mālwa, see _ibid._ iv. 208 f.]

Footnote 11.15.23:

[This temple, originally erected in the eleventh century, was
reconstructed in the reign of Mokal (A.D. 1428-38), and is dedicated
to Mahādeo Samiddheswar. It contains a series of relief sculptures,
the interpretation of which is still uncertain (Erskine ii. A. 103;
Smith, _Hist. Fine Art_, 203 f., with references to authorities.)]

Footnote 11.15.24:

[It was originally a sun-temple (Erskine ii. A. 103).]

Footnote 11.15.25:

[This has been so altered, remodelled, and ruined that its original
form is unrecognizable (Fergusson, _Hist. Ind. Arch._ ed. 1910, ii.
170).]

Footnote 11.15.26:

[Sunth and Lūnavāda in Rewa Kāntha, Bombay (_IGI_, xvi. 209 ff.).]

Footnote 11.15.27:

[The Jain pillar, known as Khawāsan Stambha, said to mean ‘Grandee’s
pillar,’ or Kīrtti Stambha, ‘pillar of victory,’ was built by a
Bagherwāl Mahājan, or merchant, named Jīja in the twelfth or
thirteenth century A.D., and has recently been repaired by the
Government of India. Fergusson (_Hist. Ind. Arch._ ed. 1910, ii. 59)
remarks that the date assigned on the slab mentioned in the text,
which is now lost, is much too early. It has been ascribed to
Kumārapāla of Gujarāt (_A.D._ 1143-74). It probably belongs to the
thirteenth century, and the nude figures show that it was a Digambara
monument, whereas Kumārapāla was a Svetāmbara. The tradition assigning
it to Jīja Mahājan may be correct (Erskine ii. A. 104).]

Footnote 11.15.28:

[The Cintra orange, _Āīn_, ii. 124.]

Footnote 11.15.29:

[A kind of peas.]

Footnote 11.15.30:

_Mānukh_ or _mānushya_ is the diminutive of man. [Prithināth, ‘lord of
the earth,’ a title of the Rāna.]

Footnote 11.15.31:

By a singular coincidence, the day on which I closed these wanderings
is the same on which I have put the last stroke to a work that has
afforded me some pleasure and much pain. It was on March 8, 1822, I
ended my journey and entered Udaipur: on March 8, 1832, I am
transcribing this last page of my journal: in March my book appears
before the public: I was born in March; embarked for India in March;
and had the last glimpse of its land, the coast of Ceylon, in March.
But what changes has not the ever-revolving wheel produced since that
time! Captain Waugh returned to England about six months after me; his
health much shattered. We met, and lived together, in London, in
Belgium, and in France; but amidst all the beauties of novelty,
Rajputana was the theme to which we constantly reverted. He returned
to India, had just obtained his majority, and was marching in command
of his regiment, the 10th Light Cavalry, from Muttra to Mhow, when, in
passing through the land where we had seen many happy days together,
he was invited by the chief of Duni to renew old recollections by a
visit. Though in the highest spirits, my poor cousin went with a
presentiment of evil. He was accompanied by some of his officers. In
ascending the hill he fell, and sustained an injury which rendered an
operation necessary. This succeeded so well, that in two days he
proceeded in a litter; when, on arriving at the ground, his friends
drew the curtain of his _duli_, and found him dead! His ashes repose
in Mewar, under a monument raised by his brother officers. He did not
live to see the completion of these labours, which none but he could
fully appreciate. No man was ever more beloved in private life; and
the eulogium passed upon him, but two days ago, by his old friend and
commander, the gallant General Sir Thomas Brown—“He was one of the
best cavalry officers who ever served under me,”—is an honourable
testimony to his public career. No apology is required for this record
of the talent and worth of one who, in addition to the ties of
kindred, was linked to me by the bonds of friendship during twenty
years.—March 8, 1832 [768-769].

-----

APPENDIX

NO. I.

_Letter from Raja Jai Singh of Amber to Rana Sangram
Singh of Mewar, regarding Idar._

SRI RAMJI,[a.1.1]

SRI SITARAMJI,

When I was in the presence at Udaipur, you _commanded_[a.1.2] that Mewar
was my home, and that Idar was the portico of Mewar, and to watch the
occasion for obtaining it. From that time I have been on the look-out.
Your agent, Mayaram, has again written regarding it, and Dilpat Ras read
the letter to me verbatim, on which I talked over the matter with
Maharaja Abhai Singh, who, acquiescing in all your views, has made a
_nazar_ of the pargana to you, and his writing to this effect
accompanies this letter.

The Maharaja Abhai Singh _petitions_ that you will so manage _that the
occupant Anand Singh does not escape alive; as, without his death, your
possession will be unstable_;[a.1.3] this is in your hands. It is my
wish, also, that you would go in person, or if you deem this
inexpedient, command the Dhabhai Naga, placing a respectable force under
his orders, and having blocked up all the passes, you may then slay him.
Above all things, let him not escape—let this be guarded against.

Asarh badi 7th (22nd of the first month of the monsoon),
S. 1784 (A.D. 1728).

ENVELOPE.

The Pargana of Idar is in Maharaja Abhai Singh’s jagir, who makes a
nazar of it to the Huzur; should it be granted to any other, take care
the Mansabdar never gains possession.

8th S., 1784[a.1.4] [770].

-----

Footnote a.1.1:

Ram and Sita, whom the prince invokes, are the great parents of the
Kachhwaha race, of which Raja Jai Singh is the head. I have omitted
the usual string of introductory compliments.

Footnote a.1.2:

These terms completely illustrate the superior character in which the
Ranas of Mewar were held by the two princes next in dignity to him in
Rajputana a century ago.

Footnote a.1.3:

This deep anxiety is abundantly explained by looking at the
genealogical slip of the Rathors, at p. 1087, where it will be seen
that Anand Singh, whom the parricidal Abhai Singh is so anxious to be
rid of, is his own brother, innocent of any participation in that
crime, and _whose issue, although adopted into Idar, were
heirs-presumptive to Marwar_!

┌ Let my _mujra_ (respects) be known: when
_Written according to │ in the Diwan’s presence he ordered, that
custom in the margin with │ Idar was the portico, and Chappan the
the Raja’s own hand._ ┤ vestibule to Mewar, and that it was
│ necessary to obtain it. I have kept this
│ in mind, and by the Sri Diwan-ji’s fortune
└ it is accomplished!

Footnote a.1.4:

[Forbes (_Rāsmāla_, 451), who gives the facts from local sources,
remarks: “We do not know how this statement is to be reconciled with
the following letter, quoted by Colonel Tod.”]

-----

------------------

NO. II.

TREATY between the Honourable English East-India Company and Maharaja
Maun Sing Buhadoor, Raja of Joudpoor, represented by the Koowur
Regent Joograj Maharaj Koowur Chutter Sing Buhadoor, concluded by
Mr. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe on the part of the Honourable
Company, in virtue of powers granted by his Excellency the Most
Noble the Marquess of Hastings, K.G., Governor-General, and by Byas
Bishen Ram and Byas Ubhee Ram on the part of Maharaja Maun Sing
Buhadoor, in virtue of full powers granted by the Maharaja and
Joograj Maharaj Koowur aforesaid.

_First Article._—There shall be perpetual friendship, alliance, and
unity of interest between the Honourable English East-India Company and
Maharaja Maun Sing and his heirs and successors; and the friends and
enemies of one party shall be friends and enemies of both.

_Second Article._—The British Government engages to protect the
principality and territory of Joudpoor.

_Third Article._—Maharaja Maun Sing and his heirs and successors will
act in subordinate co-operation with the British Government, and
acknowledge its supremacy; and will not have any connexion with other
chiefs and states.

_Fourth Article._—The Maharaja and his heirs and successors will not
enter into negotiation with any chief or state without the knowledge and
sanction of the British Government. But his usual amicable
correspondence with friends and relations shall continue.

_Fifth Article._—The Maharaja and his heirs and successors will not
commit aggressions on any one. If by accident disputes arise with any
one, they shall be submitted to the arbitration and award of the British
Government.

_Sixth Article._—The tribute heretofore paid to Sindia by the state of
Joudpoor, of which a separate schedule is affixed, shall be paid in
perpetuity to the British Government; and the engagement of the state of
Joudpoor with Sindia respecting tribute shall cease.

_Seventh Article._—As the Maharaja declares that besides the tribute
paid to Sindia by the state of Joudpoor, tribute has not been paid to
any other state, and engages to pay the aforesaid tribute to the British
Government; if either Sindia or any one else lay claim to tribute, the
British Government engages to reply to such claim.

_Eighth Article._—The state of Joudpoor shall furnish fifteen hundred
horse for the service of the British Government whenever required; and
when necessary, the whole of the Joudpoor forces shall join the British
army, excepting such a portion as may be requisite for the internal
administration of the country.

_Ninth Article._—The Maharaja and his heirs and successors shall remain
absolute rulers of their country, and the jurisdiction of the British
Government shall not be introduced into that principality.

_Tenth Article._—This treaty of ten articles having been concluded at
Dihlee, and signed and sealed by Mr. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe and
Byas Bishen Ram and Byas Ubhee Ram; the ratifications of the same by his
Excellency the Governor-General, and by Raj Rajeesur Maharaja Maun Sing
Buhadoor and Jugraj Maharaj Koowur Chutter Sing Buhadoor, shall be
exchanged within six weeks from this date.

Done at Dihlee this sixth day of January, A.D. 1815.

(_Signed_) (L.S.) C. T. METCALFE, Resident.
BYAS BISHEN RAM.
(L.S.) BYAS UBHEE RAM [771].

------------------

NO. III.

_Treaty with the Raja of Jessulmer._

TREATY between the Honourable English East-India Company and Maha Rawul
Moolraj Buhadoor, Raja of Jessulmer, concluded on the part of the
Honourable Company by Mr. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, in virtue of
full powers granted by his Excellency the Most Noble the Marquess of
Hastings, K.G., Governor-General, etc., and on the part of the Maha
Raja Dehraj Maha Rawul Moolraj Buhadoor by Misr Motee Ram and
Thakoor Dowlet Sing, according to full powers conferred by Maha
Rawul.

_First Article._—There shall be perpetual friendship, alliance, and
unity of interests between the Honourable English Company and Maha Rawul
Moolraj Buhadoor, the Raja of Jessulmer, and his heirs and successors.

_Second Article._—The posterity of Maha Rawul Moolraj shall succeed to
the principality of Jessulmer.

_Third Article._—In the event of any _serious_ invasion directed towards
the overthrow of the principality of Jessulmer, or other danger of
_great_ magnitude occurring to that principality, the British Government
will exert its power for the protection of the principality, provided
that the cause of the quarrel be not ascribable to the Raja of
Jessulmer.

_Fourth Article._—The Maha Rawul and his heirs and successors will
always act in subordinate co-operation with the British Government, and
with submission to its supremacy.

_Fifth Article._—This treaty of five articles having been settled,
signed, and sealed by Mr. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe and Misr Motee Ram
and Thakoor Dowlet Sing, the ratifications of the same by his Excellency
the Most Noble the Governor-General and Maha Raja Dehraj Maha Rawul,
Moolraj Buhadoor, shall be exchanged in six weeks from the present date.

Done at Dihlee this twelfth day of December, A.D. 1818.

(L.S.) C. T. METCALFE. (_Signed_) MISR MOTEE RAM.
(L.S.) THAKOOR DOWLET SING.
(_Signed_) C. T. M.

------------------

NO. IV.

TREATY between the Honourable English East-India Company and Maharaja
Siwaee Juggut Singh Buhadoor, Raja of Jypoor, concluded by Mr.
Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, on the part of the Honourable Company,
in virtue of full powers granted by his Excellency the Most Noble
the Marquess of Hastings, K.G., Governor-General, etc., and by
Thakoor Rawul Byree Saul Nattawut, on the part of Raj Rajindur Sree
Maharaj Dhiraj Siwaee Juggut Singh Buhadoor, according to full
powers given by the Raja.

_First Article._—There shall be perpetual friendship, alliance, and
unity of interests between the Honourable Company and Maharaja Juggut
Singh, and his heirs and successors, and the friends and enemies of one
party shall be the friends and enemies of both parties.

_Second Article._—The British Government engages to protect the
territory of Jypoor, and to expel the enemies of that principality.

_Third Article._—Maharaja Siwaee Juggut Singh, and his heirs and
successors, will act in subordinate co-operation with the British
Government, and acknowledge its supremacy; and will not have any
connexion with other chiefs and states [772].

_Fourth Article._—The Maharaja, and his heirs and successors, will not
enter into negotiation with any chief or state without the knowledge and
sanction of the British Government; but the usual amicable
correspondence with friends and relations shall continue.

_Fifth Article._—The Maharaja and his heirs and successors will not
commit aggressions on any one. If it happen that any dispute arise with
any one, it shall be submitted to the arbitration and award of the
British Government.

_Sixth Article._—Tribute shall be paid in perpetuity by the principality
of Jypoor to the British Government, through the treasury of Dihlee,
according to the following detail:—

First year, from the date of this treaty, in consideration of the
devastation which has prevailed for years in the Jypoor country, tribute
excused.

Second year Four lakhs of Dihlee
rupees.

Third year Five lakhs.

Fourth year Six lakhs.

Fifth year Seven lakhs.

Sixth year Eight lakhs.

Afterwards eight lakhs of Dihlee rupees annually, until the revenues of
the principality exceed forty lakhs.

And when the Raja’s revenue exceeds forty lakhs, five-sixteenths of the
excess shall be paid in addition to the eight lakhs above mentioned.

_Seventh Article._—The principality of Jypoor shall furnish troops
according to its means, at the requisition of the British Government.

_Eighth Article._—The Maharaja and his heirs and successors shall remain
absolute rulers of their country, and their dependants, according to
long-established usage; and the British civil and criminal jurisdiction
shall not be introduced into that principality.

_Ninth Article._—Provided that the Maharaja evince a faithful attachment
to the British Government, his prosperity and advantage shall be
favourably considered and attended to.

_Tenth Article._—This treaty of ten articles having been concluded, and
signed and sealed by Mr. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe and Thakoor Rawul
Byree Saul Nattawut, the ratifications of the same, by his Excellency
the Most Noble the Governor-General, and Raj Rajindur Sree Maharaj
Dhiraj Siwaee Juggut Singh Buhadoor, shall be mutually exchanged within
one month from the present date.

Done at Dihlee this second day of April, A.D. 1818.

(_Signed_) (L.S.) C. T. METCALFE,
Resident.
(L.S.) TAUKOOR RAWUL BYREE SAUL NATTAWUT.

------------------

NO. V.

No. V. being a large paper is omitted [773].

------------------

NO. VI.

TREATY between the Honourable the English East-India Company on the one
part, and Maha Rao Omed Sing Buhadoor, the Raja of Kota, and his
heirs and successors, through Raj Rana Zalim Sing Buhadoor, the
administrator of the affairs of that principality, on the other;
concluded on the part of the Honourable English East-India Company
by Mr. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, in virtue of full powers granted
to him by his Excellency the Most Noble the Marquess of Hastings,
K.G., Governor-General, and on the part of Maha Rao Omed Sing
Buhadoor, by Maha Raja Sheodan Sing, Sah Jeewun Ram, and Lala
Hoolchund, in virtue of full powers granted by the Maha Rao
aforesaid, and his administrator, the above-mentioned Raj Rana.

_First Article._—There shall be perpetual friendship, alliance, and
unity of interests between the British Government on the one hand, and
Maha Rao Omed Sing Buhadoor, and his heirs and successors, on the other.

_Second Article._—The friends and enemies of either of the contracting
parties shall be the same to both.

_Third Article._—The British Government engages to take under its
protection the principality and territory of Kota.

_Fourth Article._—The Maha Rao, and his heirs and successors, will
always act in subordinate co-operation with the British Government, and
acknowledge its supremacy, and will not henceforth have any connexion
with the chiefs and States with which the State of Kota has been
heretofore connected.

_Fifth Article._—The Maha Rao, and his heirs and successors, will not
enter into any negotiations with any chief or State without the sanction
of the British Government. But his customary amicable correspondence
with friends and relations shall continue.

_Sixth Article._—The Maha Rao, and his heirs and successors, will not
commit aggressions on any one; and if any dispute accidentally arise
with any one, proceeding either from acts of the Maha Rao, or acts of
the other party, the adjustment of such disputes shall be submitted to
the arbitration of the British Government.

_Seventh Article._—The tribute heretofore paid by the principality of
Kota to the Mahratta chiefs, for instance, the Peshwa, Sindia, Holkar,
and Powar, shall be paid at Dihlee to the British Government for ever,
according to the separate schedule annexed.

_Eighth Article._—No other power shall have any claim to tribute from
the principality of Kota; and if any one advance such a claim, the
British Government engages to reply to it.

_Ninth Article._—The troops of the principality of Kota, according to
its means, shall be furnished at the requisition of the British
Government.

_Tenth Article._—The Maha Rao, and his heirs and successors, shall
remain absolute rulers of their country, and the civil and criminal
jurisdiction of the British Government shall not be introduced into that
principality.

_Eleventh Article._—This treaty of eleven articles having been concluded
at Dihlee, and signed and sealed by Mr. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe on
the one part, and Maha Raja Sheodan Sing, Sah Jeewun Ram, and Lala
Hoolchund on the other, the ratifications of the same by his Excellency
the Most Noble the Governor-General, and Maha Rao Omed Sing, and his
administrator Raj Zalim Sing, shall be exchanged within a month from
this date.

Done at Dihlee the twenty-sixth day of December, A.D. 1817.

(_Signed_) C. T. METCALFE,
Resident. [774]

------------------

No. VII.

TREATIES between the Honourable English East-India Company and the Maha
Row Raja Bishen Sing Buhadoor, Raja of Boondee, concluded by Captain
James Tod on the part of the Honourable Company, in virtue of full
powers from his Excellency the Most Noble the Marquess of Hastings,
K.G., Governor-General, etc., etc., and by Bohora Tolaram on the
part of the Raja, in virtue of full powers from the said Raja.

_First Article._—There shall be perpetual friendship, alliance, and
unity of interests between the British Government on the one hand, and
the Raja of Boondee and his heirs and successors on the other.

_Second Article._—The British Government takes under its protection the
dominions of the Raja of Boondee.

_Third Article._—The Raja of Boondee acknowledges the supremacy of, and
will co-operate with, the British Government for ever. He will not
commit aggressions on any one. He will not enter into negotiations with
any one without the consent of the British Government. If by chance any
dispute arise with any one, it shall be submitted to the arbitration and
award of the British Government. The Raja is absolute ruler of his
dominions, and the British jurisdiction shall not be introduced therein.

_Fourth Article._—The British Government spontaneously remits to the
Raja and his descendants the tribute which the Raja used to pay to
Maharaja Holkar, and which has been ceded by the Maharaja Holkar to the
British Government; the British Government also relinquishes in favour
of the State of Boondee the lands heretofore held by Maharaja Holkar
within the limits of that State, according to the annexed schedule (No.
1).

_Fifth Article._—The Raja of Boondee hereby engages to pay to the
British Government the tribute and revenue heretofore paid to Maharaja
Sindia, according to the schedule (No. 2).

_Sixth Article._—The Raja of Boondee shall furnish troops at the
requisition of the British Government according to his means.

_Seventh Article._—The present treaty of seven articles having been
settled at Boondee, and signed and sealed by Captain James Tod and
Bohora Tolaram, the ratifications of the same by his Excellency the Most
Noble the Governor-General and the Maha Row Raja, of Boondee, shall be
exchanged within one month from the present date.

Done at Boondee, this tenth day of February, A.D. 1818; corresponding
to the fourth of Rubbee-ool-Sanee 1233, and fifth day of Maug
Soodee of the Sumbut, or Aera of Bikramajeet, 1874 [775].

INDEX

_Abbreviations._—ci., city; km., kingdom;
m., mountain; r., river; t., town.

Abdication rite of a Rāja, i. 426, iii. 1467, 1509

Abhai Singh, Rāja of Mārwār, ii. 1035;
his horoscope, 1019

Abhāner, t., iii. 1379, 1439

Abhīra tribe, i. 144, 273, ii. 651

Abīr, abīra, coloured powder flung about at the Holi festival, ii.
662, 663

Abisares, Abhisāra, km., i. 49

Aboharia Bhatti clan, ii. 734

Aboriginal tribes, i. 144, ii. 650

Ābu, Mount, view from its summit, i. 9;
buildings erected by Kūmbha of Mewār, i. 336;
a Pramāra fortress, i. 336;
assemblage at, to regenerate the Agnikulas, i. 108, iii. 1442

Achalesvara, local deity of Ābu, i. 108

Achalgarh, fort, ii. 990

Adālaj, battle at, ii. 1046

Adam, Mr. John, iii. 1581

Ādināth, the first Jain Tīrthankara, i. 25, 58, 108

Adonis, gardens of, ii. 666

Adoption, right of, i. 220;
effect of, ii. 860;
binding on of a turban as a symbol, i. 38, 221;
taking in the lap as a symbol, ii. 1083

Afghāns, alleged Hebrew descent, ii. 902

Āgar, a salt lake, ii. 813

Agastya, festival of, ii. 670

Aggrames, km., ii. 886

Aghori ascetics, ii. 671

Aghūz Khān, ancestor of Mongols, i. 69

Agnikotra, the sacrificial fire, i. 32

Agnikula, the fire-born tribes, i. 99, 107, iii. 1442

Agnikunda, the fire-pit, i. 108, 112

Agra, seat of government transferred to, iii. 1484;
fort gate haunted by a serpent, ii. 978;
occupied by Jāts, iii. 1359

Agriculture, in Jaipur, iii. 1430;
in Jaisalmer, ii. 1247;
in Kotah, iii. 1561;
implements in Bīkaner, ii. 1152

Agroha fort, ii. 886

Ahadi, a gentleman trooper, warrant-officer, ii. 784

Ahalya, i. 32; Bāi, ii. 891

Ahar, Ahār, Ār, Āra, Aitpur, t., i. 100, 252, 270, ii.
663, 678, 912;
inscription from, ii. 924

Aharya, title of Guhilots, i. 100, ii. 912

Aheria, a hunter, i. 326;
the hunting festival, i. 343, 385, 506, ii. 660,
iii. 1477, 1749, 1808

Ahīr caste, i. 144, iii. 1446, _see_ ABHĪRA;
Ahīrwāra, their country, iii. 1446

Ahmad Shāh Durrāni invades India, iii. 1532

Ahmadābād, ci., founded, i. 126;
siege of, ii. 1135

Ahmadnagar, ci., siege of, iii. 1485

Aids, feudal, i. 187

Aitpur. _See_ AHAR

Aja, Ajaipāl, Ajaya, (1) reputed founder of Ajmer, i. 114, ii.
893;
(2) of Kanauj, ii. 930;
(3) of Chitor, i. 311;
Ajaidurg, Ajmer, ii. 996, 1009

Ajīt Singh (1) of Mārwār, ii. 991;
marries a Mewār princess, ii. 1010;
marries daughters to Farrukhsīyar and Jai Singh, ii. 1021,
1025;
his assassination, the ruin of Mārwār, ii. 825, 857,
1028, 1034;
(2) of Būndi, iii. 1509;
(3) of Kotah, iii. 1531

Ajmer, ci., origin of name, i. 12, iii. 1447;
legend of its foundation, ii. 893;
its strategical importance, 1041;
the Dargāh, 895;
Arhāi din ka jhonpra mosque, 897;
described by the Author, 896;
the fort, 900;
headquarters of Akbar, i. 389;
lost to Mārwār, ii. 1063, 1074;
surrendered to the British, 874;
its deified hero, i. 288, ii. 900, iii. 1447

Āk, the tree, _Calotropis gigantea_, ii. 803, 811, 1151

Akbar, (1) Emperor, his birth, i. 372, iii. 1282;
succeeds Humāyūn, i. 375;
campaign against Māldeo, ii. 957;
attacks Chitor, i. 378, 381;
erects monument to Jaimall and Patta, 382;
Akbar ka dewa, i. 379, iii. 1812;
attacks Partāp Singh, i. 389;
stories of Rājput ladies, 401;
conciliation of Rājputs, 178;
his title Jagad Guru, 377;
said to have married a Jaisalmer princess, ii. 1133;
favours Krishna worship, 608;
campaigns in Gujarāt and Gondwāna, iii. 1483, 1484;
story of his death, i. 408, iii. 1338, 1486;
revived as an ascetic, ii. 608;
(2) son of Aurangzeb, his Rājput descent, i. 179;
conspires against his father, ii. 997;
capture of his daughter, 1009;
deserted by the Rājputs, i. 451, ii. 998;
escapes to Persia, i. 451, ii. 1000;
(3) Akbar Shāh II. of Delhi, i. 485

Akhai Chand, (1) Mārwār minister, ii. 831, 848, 1097;
(2) Singh of Jaisalmer, ii. 1228

Akola, t., i. 240, 515

Akshai, akshay dūb, the sacred grass, i. 573

Āl, the dye plant, _Morinda citrifolia_, iii. 1556

Ālam Shāh, Bahādur Shāh, ii. 1013, 1020

Alāu-d-dīn Khilji, attacks Anhilwāra, i. 118;
attacks Chitor, i. 307;
attacks Jaisalmer, ii. 1211;
attacks Bhainsrorgarh, iii. 1698;
attacks Gāgraun, i. 312; his titles, i. 312, ii. 809

Alexander the Great, traditions among Johyas, ii. 1134;
said to have reached Dandosar, 1167

Alha and Udal, tale of, ii. 716

Alienation of estates, i. 186

'Ālīlghol, irregular infantry, ii. 819, iii. 1422

Aliptigīn, i. 294

Allahwirdi Khān, i. 484, ii. 1023, 1027

Alliances, British, i. 146

Al-Mansūr, Caliph, i. 286

Alor. _See_ AROR

Altamgha, a seal, tax, i. 469

Alu Hāra, iii. 1470, 1682

Alwar State, i. 141, iii. 1360

‛Amal, amal, opium mixed with water, ii. 731, 749, 1071;
'amaldār, an opium-eater, iii. 1475

Amara dūba, sacred grass, used as an amulet, i. 574;
Amarapura, Heaven, ii. 1032, 1045;
Amar balāona, a horse furnished by the prince, i. 233;
Amarbel, a creeper, iii. 1768

Amarchand, minister of Mewār, i. 500

Amargarh, fief, i. 212; ancient town, iii. 1439

Amar Singh, (1) of Jaisalmer, ii. 1226;
(2) of Mārwār, assassinates Salābat Khān, ii. 976;
his gate in Agra Fort, ii. 978;
(3) Hāra, iii. 1778;
(4) I. of Mewār, i. 407;
(5) II. of Mewār, i. 460, ii. 912

Amāvas, the sacred new moon night, i. 159, 240, ii. 656,
695

Amba Bhavāni, worship of, i. 258, 264, ii. 681

Ambaji Inglia, i. 517, 545

Ambarīsha of Ayodhya, i. 44

Amber, Jaipur State, annals, iii. 1327;
derivation of name, 1439

Amet, t., i. 564, 567, iii. 1815

Amīr Khān, Pindāri, i. 538, ii. 1086, 1089, 1090,
iii. 1416, 1573

Amjar, r., iii. 1572

Āmli fief, case of, i. 571

Āmm o Khāss, a hall of audience, ii. 991, 1136

Amusements, ii. 750

Ān, the oath of allegiance, i. 200, 245, 575, ii.
996, 1006, 1039;
Ān-dān-khān, sovereign rights, i. 14, 200

Anangpāl Tuar, i. 62, 104, 292, 299

Anasāgar lake, ii. 902, 1215

Ancestor worship, i. 89, 325, ii. 678, 842

Anga, the poll-tax, ii. 1116, 1157

Angadesa, km., i. 44, 53

Angatsi, the Hun, i. 290, iii. 1464, 1762

Anhilwāra Pātan, ci., i. 116, 118, 122, 293

Aniruddh Singh of Būndi, iii. 1493

Anjan, collyrium, ii. 721

Annadāta, Annadeva, god of food, i. 392;
Annakūta, festival of prosperity, ii. 638, 697;
Annapūrna, the food goddess, i. 289, ii. 695

Anni, a grain tax, i. 239

Antari, antri, a valley, iii. 1677

Antarved, Antarbedi, the Ganges-Jumna Duāb, i. 164, ii. 717,
iii. 1459

Anūp Singh of Bīkaner, ii. 1136, 1227

Anūpshahr, t., i. 56, 141, iii. 1352

Anurāj Hāra, iii. 1460

Anūshīrwān. _See_ NAUSHĪRWĀN

Ānwal, ānwla, aonla, the emblic myrobalan, ii. 803, 805

Aornos, hill, i. 296

Aparajit of Chitor, i. 283

Appaji, Āpaji, Marātha leader, i. 495

Apsaras, the nymphs, ii. 675, 696, 864, 991

Ar, Ara, t. _See_ AHAR

‛Arāba, a gun-carriage, arquebuss, i. 318

Aranyakanwal of Mandor, ii. 731, 945;
Aranyashashti festival, ii. 675

Arhāi din ka Jhonpra, mosque, ii. 897

Ari Singh (1) I., Arsi of Chitor, i. 312;
(2) II. of Mewār, i. 496, 506, ii. 1139, iii. 1512

Arishtanemi, Neminātha, 22nd Jain Tīrthankara, ii. 624, 627

Arja, t., i. 214, 567

Arjun, (1) of Būndi, iii. 1479;
(2) of Kotah, iii. 1528

Armorial bearings, i. 162

Armouries, ii. 752

Arms, worship of, i. 90, _see_ SWORD;
initiation to, i. 90, 264, ii. 691

Army, of Bīkaner, ii. 1160;
of Mārwār, ii. 1119;
of Jaipur, iii. 1435

Aror, Alor, t., i. 5, 51, iii. 1282, 1283

Artillery, early use of, i. 362;
bound with chains, i. 353;
sprinkled with goats’ blood before battle, ii. 1042

Āru, ālu bādām, the peach tree, _Prunus persica_, ii. 774

Aryana, waste land, i. 236

Āryāvarta, i. 28

Āsaf Jāh, Nizāmu-l-mulk, i. 473

Āsāpūrna, the goddess, i. 76, 113, ii. 682, iii. 1444,
1461

Ashtabhuji, Ashtabhuja Māta, the eight-armed goddess, iii. 1754

Ashtami festival, ii. 649.
_See_ JANAMASHTAMI

Āsi, Hānsi, t., iii. 1461

Asini, Asvinikot, t., i. 295, ii. 1220

Asioi tribe, ii. 1125

Asīr, Asīrgarh, fort, i. 77, 126, 292, 475, iii.
1446, 1461

Asokashtami festival, ii. 673

Aspati, asvapati, term applied to Mughal Emperors, ii. 1026

Ass, the wild, i. 20, iii. 1306.
_See_ GORKHAR

Assakenoi tribe, i. 295, ii. 933

Asthān. _See_ ASVATTHĀMA

Astronomy, ii. 757

Asura, a demon, i. 113, ii. 653, iii. 1442;
a Hindu name for Musalmāns, i. 288, 290, ii. 934,
995, 1032

Asva, Aswa, tribe, i. 71, 76, ii. 930, 933

Asvamedha, ceremony, i. 29, 60, 77, 91, iii. 1355

Asvatthāma of Mārwār, ii. 943

Atak. _See_ ATTOCK

Atīt, an order of ascetics, ii. 845, iii. 1750

Attock, Atak, t., r., i. 391, ii. 652

Augury. _See_ OMENS

Aurangzeb, the Emperor 'Ālamgīr, contemporary princes, i. 435;
rebuke to his tutor, i. 436;
intent on converting Hindus, i. 438;
his Rājput wife, I. 179;
letters, i. 439;
letter on the Jizya, i. 442;
prepares to conquer Mewār, 444;
defeated, 448;
attacks Mārwār, ii. 993;
attempt to depose him, i. 450;
his Rājput officers, I. 226;
destruction of Hindu temples, ii. 994, iii. 1388;
his death, ii. 1012;
his character, i. 436

Aurīnt, t., ii. 730, 941

Avani, Avanimāta, his earth goddess, iii. 1392, 1813

Avanti, Ujjain, i. 312

Awa, t., i. 218, ii. 860, 879, 1044, 1096

Ayamāta, worship of, ii. 966;
Ayapanthi, the ascetic order, ii. 966

Ayodhya-ci, i. 45

'Āzam Shāh, i. 439, 444, 449, 457, 464

‛Azīmu-sh-shān, Emperor, ii. 1020

Bāba, a younger member of Mewār house, i. 167, 384, 498,
iii. 1371

Babūl, bāwal, the acacia tree, _acacia Arabica_, i. 549, ii.
774 _et passim_

Bābur, his descent and early history, i. 351;
invades India, i. 352;
attacks Rāna Sanga, i. 353;
introduces melons and grapes, ii. 748;
his _Memoirs_, iii. 1665

Bachera, Wachaji of Jaisalmer, ii. 1201

Badarināth, t., ii. 1207, iii. 1639

Baddhi, a string amulet, iii. 1381

Bādhel tribe. _See_ VĀDHEL

Badnor, t., i. 344, 567

Bāēnmāta, worship of, i. 326

Bāghel tribe, i. 118, ii. 717, 1039;
Bāghel-khand, ii. 717

Bāghes, the tiger god, i. 25

Bāghji of Deola, i. 363;
Bāgh Singh Shaikhāvat, iii. 1425

Bāghnakh, the tiger-claw weapon, ii. 721

Bagpipes, ii. 755

Bagrāwat sept, iii. 1640, 1817

Bahādur, (1) King of Gujarāt, attacks Mewār, i. 361;
(2) Shāh, Emperor; _see_ 'ĀLAM BAHĀDUR SHĀH;
(3) of Kishangarh, ii. 878;
Shaikhāvat, iii. 1388

Bahār, Bihārimall of Amber, i. 376, iii. 1337

Bahāwal Khān, iii. 1301

Bahāwalpur State, ii. 1137, 1141, iii. 1300

Bahra, Behra, t., ii. 935

Bahrām Gor, of Persia, i. 273

Bāhūmān Darāzdasht, i. 57

Bairām Khān, Mughal general, i. 375

Bairāt. _See_ VAIRĀT

Bais tribe, i. 141

Bāīsa, Bāīsi, the twenty-two Mughal districts, ii. 1027, 1037

Baisākh month, festivals, ii. 674

Baiza Bāi, i. 533

Bājīrāo, Peshwa, i. 485, 491

Bājra, millet, ii. 597 _et passim_

Bajrang, monkey-god, i. 163

Bakhar, Bhakkar, Bukkur, t., i. 5, 22, 109, iii. 1283,
1319.
_See_ ROHRI

Bakhasar, t., iii. 1277, 1278

Bakhshi, commander of the forces, i. 556, ii. 976, iii. 1519

Bāl, the sun-god. _See_ BĀLNĀTH, BĀLSIVA

Bāla, Vāla, tribe, i. 131, 134, 254

Bālaband, a turban fillet, i. 429, ii. 685, 759,
765

Balabhi. _See_ VALABHI

Bālakaputra, Bālakarāe, i. 51, 105, 134, 250

Bāland of Jaisalmer, ii. 1181

Baldān, balidān, an offering to the gods, i. 91, 258, ii.
599

Baleokouros, i. 250

Balhara, derivation of name, i. 122

Bālmukand, Krishna, ii. 640

Bālnāth, Bālsiva, i. Introd. xl, 94, 253, ii. 705,
923, iii. 1756;
Jogi, iii. 1267

Baloch tribe, iii. 1454

Bālotra, t., ii. 1111, iii. 1270

Bāmani, r., iii. 1686

Bāmania, a section of Bhāts, ii. 814

Bāmiān, Buddhist figures at, i. 26, ii. 1189

Banās, r., i. 10, 13, 579, ii. 772

Banbīr Singh of Mewār, i. 317, 367

Banda of Būndi, iii. 1473

Banera, t., i. 168, 198, 493, ii. 904, 906

Bania, the merchant caste, i. 144, ii. 765

Banishment, ceremony of, ii. 976

Bannāphar tribe, ii. 715

Banners, i. 163, ii. 684, 767, 768, 834

Bāori, bāoli, bāwari, a step-well, reservoir, ii. 967

Bāori, Bāwaria, a criminal tribe, i. 244, iii. 1696

Bāpa, Bappa of Chitor, i. Introd. xxxvi, 259

Bāpota, an ancestral holding, i. 201 _et passim_

Baptiste, Col. J. F., i. 535, ii. 1088

Bāpu Sindhia, i. 546

Baraha tribe, ii. 1187, 1191

Bārah Kothri, twelve fiefs of Jaipur, iii. 1436;
Māsha, a plant flowering all the year round, ii. 845;
Singha, the twelve-tined deer, iii. 1477

Baranshankar, the mixed castes, iii. 1724

Barār, a tax, i. 169 _et passim_

Barchhi dohāi, an appeal to the lance, i. 212, iii. 1465

Bardāi sena, bard of the host, a Kanauj title, ii. 939

Bards, i. 82;
opposed to Zālim Singh, iii. 1567;
when they die, they go to the moon, ii. 992;
exiled from Mewār, iii. 1807;
lands granted to, ii. 589;
extortion by threats, ii. 814;
their satire, ii. 742;
demands increase of marriage expenses, ii. 742;
as carriers, ii. 813

Bārgīr, cavalry provided with horses by the State, iii. 1422

Bargūjar tribe, i. 56, 107, 140, iii. 1455

Bārha, Sayyids of, i. 467, 476

Bāri, a caste of servants, i. 367

Barilla, manufacture of, ii. 1118, iii. 1307

Barolli, temples at, i. 17, iii. 1752

Barr-tītar, the rock-pigeon, iii. 1649

Barugaza, Broach, i. 48, 256

Barwātia, an outlaw, exile, ii. 797, iii. 1401, 1637

Basāi, a form of slavery, i. 206, ii. 1219, iii. 1797

Basant, the spring festival, ii. 657, 753, 1025;
Basanti, the goddess of spring, ii. 657.
_See_ VASANT

Bastard castes, i. 208

Bat, a share, i. 202, ii. 962;
Batāi, division of crops between landlord and tenant, i. 583,
ii. 1115, iii. 1550

Bathing of the goddess, ii. 666

Bāti, vāti, a cake of millet flour, ii. 1000, 1150

Bāwana, a tract of fifty-two villages, i. 457

Bayāna, t., i. 103, 144, 349, 353, ii. 953,
956

Bāz Bahādur, Bāyazīd of Mālwa, i. 376, 378

Bedla, t., i. 195, 380, ii. 663, iii. 1480

Begūn, t., i. 509, 564, iii. 1677, 1805, 1810

Behra, t. _See_ BAHRA

Benares, Būndi house, iii. 1483;
observatory, ii. 757.
_See_ KASI

Benevolences, levied at marriage, i. 187

Berach, r., i. 13, 368, 388, 584, ii. 596,
762, 910

Bernier, F., i. 438, ii. 725

Bersi, Ber Singh (1) Bhatti, ii. 1165;
(2) of Jaisalmer, 1224

Bet island, ii. 703

Betwa, r., i. 9

Bhādon month, festivals in, ii. 678

Bhadrājan, Bhadrajun, t., ii. 820, 862, 954, iii. 1269

Bhagwāndās of Jaipur, i. 178, 389, 391, iii. 1337

Bhainsror, Bhainsrorgarh, t., i. 234, 319, 395,
414, 415, 416, iii. 1686, 1691

Bhairava, Bhairon, god of war, i. 412, ii. 843, iii. 1774;
Jhamp, iii. 1663

Bhāma Sāh, minister of Mewār, i. 403

Bhān Saptami, festival, ii. 657;
Bhānuloka, land of the dead, ii. 658, 992, 1044

Bhāo Singh, (1) of Jaipur, iii. 1339;
(2) of Būndi, 1492

Bharatpur, ci., i. 127, iii. 1357

Bhārmall of Cutch, ii. 1238

Bhartribhat of Mewār, i. 296

Bhartrihari, i. 5, ii. 735, 894

Bhāt caste. _See_ BARDS

Bhātia caste, iii. 1296

Bhatner, t., i. 142, ii. 1163

Bhātridvitya, the brothers’ festival, ii. 696

Bhatti (1) tribe, i. 55, 102, 294, 298; ii.
941, 1169, 1252;
support the Rāthors, 1005;
emigrate to Bīkaner, 1165;
sections, 1242;
(2) of Jaisalmer, 1183

Bhatwāra, battle at, iii. 1532, 1611

Bhaunagar, Bhāvnagar State, i. 137

Bhavāni, the goddess, ii. 1125, iii. 1714, 1809

Bhayyād, the brotherhood, i. 154, 202, ii. 961

Bhet-begār, forced labour, i. 239

Bhīl tribe, ii. 651, iii. 1280;
eat with Rājputs, 1521;
foray by, 1644;
in Kotah, 1703;
stone worship, 1703;
of Idar, inaugurate Rānas of Mewār, i. 262, ii. 1129;
measures for their improvement, i. 586

Bhilāla tribe, iii. 1389

Bhīlwāra, t., i. 561, iii. 1736

Bhīm Bāzār, iii. 1776

Bhīm Singh, (1) Bhīmsi of Mewār, i. 307;
(2) II. of Mewār, 511;
(3) of Mārwār, ii. 825, 1077;
(4) of Kotah, iii. 1524

Bhīma II., Bholo, Chaulukya, i. 117, 298

Bhīmthadi breed of horses, ii. 1045, iii. 1771

Bhinai, t., ii. 904

Bhīndar, t., i. 416, 511, 531, 566, 567

Bhīnmāl, t., ii. 944, 1109, iii. 1269

Bhoj Pramāra of Mālwa, i. 109

Bhojak caste, iii. 1268

Bhojpur lake, i. 458

Bholanāth, Siva, ii. 602, 892

Bhonsi, Bhawan Singh of Mewār, i. 306

Bhonsla Marāthas, i. 371

Bhopāl State, i. 533

Bhūkhi Māta, the famine mother goddess, i. 309, iii. 1305, 1756

Bhūm, land, i. 195;
affection for, i. 236;
Bhūmia, the holder of a freehold, i. 190, 577 _et passim_

Biās, r., ii. 1226

Bīdar, t., siege of, iii. 1489

Bidesar, t., ii. 1144

Bīgha, a measure of area, i. 233 _et passim_

Bihār, Bahār, Bihārimall of Jaipur, i. 376, iii. 1337

Bijaiseni Māta, worship of, ii. 1193, iii. 1508

Bījarāē, Bijairāē, (1) of Jaisalmer, ii. 1193;
(2) Singh of Jaipur, iii. 1347

Bijar Mīr, assassination of, iii. 1288

Bijolli, temples at, i. 209, 370, iii. 1797

Bīka of Bīkaner, ii. 951, 1123

Bīkaner, annals of, ii. 1123

Bikramajīt, of Mewār, i. 360

Bindraban, t., ii. 607;
-dās of Jaipur, iii. 1395

Bīra, (1) a packet of betel, i. 381, 481, ii. 1040;
(2) meadow-land, i. 238, ii. 648

Birad, the eulogy of a bard, i. 134, 416, iii. 1682

Bīrsinghdeo, (1) Shaikhāvat, iii. 1387;
(2) of Būndi, iii. 1472

Birthdays, knots tied to mark, iii. 1697

Bīsaldeo, _see_ VĪSALADEVA;
lake, ii. 901, iii. 1453

Bishan Singh, (1) of Būndi, iii. 1514;
(2) of Jaipur, iii. 1341

Blackmail, protection, i. 203.
_See_ RAKHWĀLI

Blindness of one eye unlucky, ii. 1234

Blood price. _See_ MŪNDKATI

Boar, slaying the, i. 385, ii. 660, iii. 1746;
annual hunt, i. 80;
sacramental eating of, ii. 661, iii. 1381

Bohra, the village money-lender, iii. 1553, 1652

Bonfires at the Holi festival, ii. 663

Boukephala, t., ii. 1190

Bows and arrows, ii. 751, 791

Brahma, temples of, i. 322, ii. 892, 925

Brāhmans, i. 31;
laxity of practice in the desert, iii. 1296;
privileges of, ii. 595;
committing suicide to enforce demands, i. 236, ii. 593,
966, iii. 1395;
political influence of, ii. 589, 594;
Kulin, ii. 595;
Marātha, i. 524;
influence on marriage expenses, ii. 742;
treated with little respect, i. 34;
penalty for killing, ii. 595

Brahmapuri, inscriptions, ii. 596

Brajnāth, Krishna, iii. 1526

Brass work, iii. 1431

Brindaban. _See_ BINDRABAN

Broach, ci., i. 48, 256

Brotherhood, i. 202

Buddha, Buddhism, i. 70, 78;
confounded with Jainism, ii. 603, 604, 626;
annual retreat, 606

Budh Singh of Būndi, ii. 837, iii. 1494

Budha, Mercury, i. 39, ii. 621;
Trivikrama, i. 90, ii. 621

Buffalo, sacrificed at town gates, ii. 1011, 1012;
feat of slaying, 1053

Bukkur. _See_ BAKHAR

Bull, sacrifice of, ii. 599;
and horseman coins, ii. 809, 902

Būmbāoda, t., i. 321, iii. 1468

Bundela tribe, Bundelkhand, i. 10, 139, ii. 979

Būndi, State, annals, iii. 1441

Burhān Shaikh, the saint, iii. 1380

Burhānpur, ci., i. 475, ii. 974

Būsa tribe, i. 144, 293

Būta tribe, ii. 1185;
Būtaban, 1185, 1192

Butterfield, Captain, i. 526

Buzule, t., i. 292, ii. 807, iii. 1276

Byās Brāhmans, iii. 1742

Byzantium, t., i. 100, 279

Cairn burial, i. 87, 89, 90

Calcutta, ii. 1195

Camels, iii. 1275, 1279, 1297, 1305;
caravans, ii. 1109;
corps, 1161, iii. 1305;
sacrifice, i. 94

Caniatchi tenure, i. 576

Cannibalism, i. 455, ii. 671, 692

Carey, Lieutenant, ii. 761, 787, iii. 1732

Caste, influence of, i. 165

Cattle of the desert, iii. 1305, 1306;
of Nāthdwāra, ii. 770;
of Gujarāt, i. 422

Caves occupied by ascetics, shrines, ii. 635, 845

Cenotaphs of Hāras, iii. 1706;
at Sātur, iii. 1714;
at Ahar, ii. 912.
_See_ MAHASATI, NISIA

Chāchak, Chachikdeo of Jaisalmer, ii. 1208, 1220

Chagatāi, a Mughal title, ii. 956, 1165

Chait month, festivals in, ii. 663

Chālukya, Chaulukya tribe, i. 113, 116

Chāmar, Chanvar, Chauri, the yak-tail fly-flapper, i. 234, ii.
667, 906, 1035

Chambal, r., i. 18, iii. 1690, 1764

Chambela, r., i. 18

Chāmunda of Anhilwāra, i. 67;
the goddess, ii. 842

Chand, Chānd, (1) the poet, i. 297;
(2) of Būndi, iii. 1463;
(3) Bībi of Ahmadnagar, iii. 1485

Chandel tribe, i. Introd. xxxv, 139, 296, iii. 1455

Chanderi State, i. 16, 47, 163, 180

Chāndni, suicide for revenge, ii. 815, 1110, 1255

Chandrabhāga, ci., i. 109

Chandragupta Maurya, i. 37, 65, 110, 111, 289

Chandravansa, the Lunar line of Rājputs, i. 57

Chandrāvati, ci., i. 109, 258, iii. 1784

Changi, Chatrchangi, the Sun standard, ii. 659, 684

Chappan, the hill-tract between Mewār and Gujarāt, i. 191 _et
passim_

Chāran tribe, ii. 813, 1148, iii. 1654;
banished from Mewār, i. 339;
founded Bhainsror, iii. 1691;
prediction by a Chārani, i. 347;
claim to entertainment, iii. 1655;
respected, ii. 1110

Charas, a measure of area, i. 156, 165, 201, iii. 1671

Chariots, use of, in war, i. 83

Charmanvati, the Chambal, r., iii. 1763

Chaturbhuja, the four-armed Vishnu, i. 331, ii. 645

Chaubē Brāhmans, ii. 634, 755

Chaugān, an exercise ground, i. 530 _et passim_

Chauhān tribe, i. 112, iii. 1441;
sections, i. 115;
valour, ii. 806;
kingdom in South India, iii. 1445;
Rāj, iii. 1275;
dynasty at Delhi, iii. 1456

Chaul, Chāval, t., i. 53

Chaumūn, t., iii. 1353, 1402

Chaupar, a game, ii. 754

Chaura, Chāvara, tribe, i. 121, 266, 326

Chaurāsi, a tract of eighty-four villages, i. 166, iii. 1673

Chāwand, (1) of Anhilwāra, i. 67, 293;
(2) the Dāhima, i. 143;
(3) chiefship in Mewār, i. 396;
Chāwanda Māta, the goddess, iii. 1444

Chess, i. 176, ii. 754

Chhada of Mārwār, ii. 944

Chhāoni, a cantonment, iii. 1549, 1790

Chhatr, chhatra, a ceremonial umbrella, i. 310;
chhatri, a cenotaph, ii. 888, 1034

Chhatr Singh, (1) of Mārwār, ii. 829, 1091;
(2) Chhatrsāl of Būndi, iii. 1489;
(3) of Kotah, 1532

Chhotan, t., i. 21, 293

Chiefs of Mewār, i. 167, 588;
duties of, i. 182, 183;
measures of reform, 559;
of Mārwār, ii. 946

Chīn Qilīch Khān, i. 473, iii. 1525

Chitor, a Pramāra capital, i. 109, 289;
occupied by Moris, 265;
origin of name, iii. 1647, 1822;
attacked by Alāu-d-dīn, i. 308;
retaken, 316;
Rāthors expelled, 326;
sacked by Bahādur, 363;
taken by Akbar, 378;
described by Terry, 411;
by the Author, iii. 1812;
inscription from, ii. 925

Chitori hill, i. 326, iii. 1815

Chitrang Mori, palace, iii. 1822

Cholera, i. 454, ii. 1002, iii. 1518, 1733;
magical expulsion of, 1734

Chonda, (1) of Mewār, i. 323;
(2) of Mārwār, ii. 944

Chondāwat, section of Sesodias, i. 175, 188, 192,
193;
feud with Saktāwats, i. 175, 413, 511, ii. 766,
iii. 1622

Chor, t., iii. 1282, 1291

Chudāsima, Chaurāsima, i. 122

Chūli, a whirlpool, iii. 1690

Churāman Jāt, ii. 1027, iii. 1358

Cimbri, i. 81

Cities, ancient, ii. 1167, 1189, iii. 1438

Coconut sent as a marriage proposal, i. 317, 323, ii.
730, 790, 1010, 1043

Coinage in Mewār, i. 169

Commensality with a Rāja, mark of dignity, i. 213, 370, ii.
1185

Cookery, ii. 759

Copper mines, i. 14, 169

Cornwallis, Lord, i. Introd. xxvii, 533

Cosmas Indikopleustes, i. 132, 256

Cotton, ii. 1150

Cow-killing, i. 460, 467, ii. 1010;
ceremonial tending of, 697

Cyropolis, i. 54. 351

Dābhi tribe, i. 122, 138, ii. 941, 942, 967

Dābla, t., i. 198, 567, ii. 904, iii. 1500, 1713

Dābshalīm, i. 122, 283

Dādupanthi sect, ii. 863

Dāēja, a dowry, i. 202, ii. 742, 1221

Dāgh, branding of horses, ii. 972

Dahae tribe, i. 71, 142

Daharia tribe, i. 142

Dahi, r., i. 13

Dāhima tribe, i. 143, iii. 1455

Dāhir, of Sind, i. 143, 284, 290

Daitya, a demon, i. 105, 112, iii. 1442;
Kā hār, iii. 1663

Dākini, a witch, vampire, i. 88, ii. 1051, 1113, iii.
1615

Dān, import duties, i. 14, 200, iii. 1434

Dānava, a demon, i. 289, iii. 1442

Dand, a tax, i. 240, ii. 996, 1159, 1250, iii. 1594

Dāra Shukoh, Shikoh, i. 434, 435, ii. 979

Darība, mines, i. 585, iii. 1729

Dāru-l-khair, shrine at Ajmer, ii. 895

Datia State, i. 140, 180, 436, 463, 522

Dāūd Khān, of Bahāwalpur, iii. 1301;
Dāūdputra, ii. 1137, iii. 1300

Daulat Khān, Lodi, ii. 953, 1021

Daulatrāo Sindhia, i. 524, 528;
Singh, Mahārāja, i. 540, ii. 778

Dauna, daua, a dish sent by a prince to a subject, i. 370,
397

Daurāyat, a runner, brigand, i. 237, 242, 569

Debal, Diul Sind, t., i. 143, 255, 270

Debāri pass, i. 404, 446, 456, ii. 996

De Boigne, Count Benoit, i. 516, ii. 876, 878, 879

Delhi, iron pillar, i. 38;
foundation of, i. 38, 292;
rebuilt, 104;
massacre by Nādir Shāh, 486;
observatory, ii. 757

Deluge, legend of, i. 24

Delwāra, t., i. 267, 387, ii. 647, iii. 1537

Deobandar, Dīv, Diu island, i. 121

Deogarh, t., i. 221, 230, 498, 532, 566

Deoji, a deified hero, iii. 1817

Deolia, t., i. 363, 368, 378, ii. 1010

Deonāth, chief priest, ii. 825

Deora Chauhāns, i. 115, ii. 941, 959, 969,
1043, 1187

Deorāj of Jaisalmer, ii. 1194

Depra tribe, i. 368, 459, 499

Derāwal, Derāwar, t., i. 102, 129, 298, ii. 1030,
1195

Desert, the, i. 19, iii. 1257

Desmukhi tax, i. 471

Desvāta, rite of exile, ii. 976, iii. 1734

Dewaldāi, tale of, ii. 715

Dhābhāi, a foster-brother, i. 266 _et passim_

Dhākar caste, iii. 1429

Dhamnār. _See_ DHUMNĀR

Dhanduka, battle at, ii. 969

Dhanteras festival, ii. 695

Dhanvantari, ii. 1001, iii. 1769

Dhār, ci., i. 109, ii. 1199

Dharmātpur, battle at, ii. 980

Dharna, a mode of coercion, i. 568

Dhāt, district, i. 6, 19, 55, iii. 1281, 1282, 1295

Dhatūra, the poison, _datura fastuosa_, iii. 1716

Dhebar lake, i. 458

Dhola and Maroni, iii. 1329, 1448

Dholpur, battle at, iii. 1492

Dhondal tribe, ii. 1027

Dhonkal Singh, ii. 818, 828, 1082

Dhuān, hearth tax, ii. 1128, 1157, 1250

Dhūhada, Dūhar of Mārwār, ii. 943

Dhūlkot, t., ii. 912, iii. 1352

Dhumnār, Dhamnār, caves, iii. 1772

Dhūndhār, Jaipur, iii. 1327

Dhundi sept, ii. 1220

Dhurpad, a musical measure, iii. 1709

Diamond dust, poisoning by, ii. 1074

Dīdwāna, t., ii. 813, 994, 1107

Dilīr, Diler, Khān, i. 448, 457, ii. 984

Dīnarām Bohra, iii. 1408

Diseases in the desert, iii. 1303

Divorce among Mers, ii. 796

Dīwāli festival, i. 326, ii. 695

Dīwān, a prime minister, i. 216, 469, iii. 1519;
dīwān-i-āmm, public hall of audience, ii. 1046, iii. 1482;
khāss, private council chamber, i. 229;
of Eklinga, title of Rānas of Mewār, I. 264, 480, ii.
662

Doda, Dor tribe, i. 139, iii. 1455

Dola, an affianced, secondary wife, iii. 1482

Donkin, General Sir R., i. 548, ii. 778

Draupadi, i. 59, 208, ii. 735

Dress, ii. 758, 1253

Drinking, i. 85

Dūb, a sacred grass, i. 456, 599

Dūda, Dhūhada of Mārwār, ii. 943, 950;
of Jaisalmer, 1215

Dujgundeo of Būndi, iii. 1451

Dūnāra, t., i. 451, ii. 955, 994, 1006

Duncan, Dr. J., i. 550, ii. 761, iii. 1713

Dūngarpur, t., i. 11, 304, 357

Durga, the goddess, ii. 672;
Durgadās Rāthor, i. 451, ii. 993, 999, 1000,
1017, 1033

Durgāvati Rāni, ii. 747

Durjansāl of Kotah, ii. 1007, iii. 1528

Dusaj of Jaisalmer, ii. 1202

Dwārka, Dwāraka, ci., i. 47, ii. 607, iii. 1511;
Dās, Shaikhāvat, iii. 1386;
Nāth, Krishna, ii. 640, iii. 1781

Eklinga, a form of Siva, i. Introd. xxxvi, ii. 598;
invocation to, i. 233, 235, 323;
Rānas, his prime ministers, _see_ DĪWĀN;
Eklinggarh, fortress, i. 501

Elphinstone, M., i. 9, ii. 954, 1237

Ephthalites, White Huns, i. 256

Equinoxes, festivals at, ii. 656

Escheats and forfeitures, i. 187

Escuage, scutage, i. 173

Exile, ritual at, ii. 797, 1229

Exogamy, i. 190, 193

Fairs, i. 400, ii. 1111, 1155

Fairy gifts, legend, ii. 772

Falcons, i. 422

Famines, i. 454, 497, iii. 1304, 1473;
a cause of slavery, i. 207;
the famine goddess, iii. 1305

Farīd, the saint, ii. 1125, 1128

Farming monopoly in Kotah, iii. 1559

Farrukhsīyar, Emperor, i. 179, 467, 468, 474, iii.
1345

Fatehābād, battle at, i. 434, iii. 1491, 1522

Fatehpur, battle at, iii. 1409;
Sīkri, I. 141, 349

Faujdār, an official, i. 167, 557, iii. 1519

Feudalism, i. Introd. xxxviii, 153, ii. 962

Fiscal lands, i. 168

Fish, symbol, ii. 1023; sacred, 618

Flowers, festival of, ii. 665, 699

Foray, inaugural. _See_ TĪKA DAUR

Franks in Indian armies, i. 362, 448, ii. 1045

Fruits and vegetables at Udaipur, iii. 1824;
introduced by the Mughals, ii. 748

Funeral rites, of Rājputs, i. 87, ii. 1031;
of Saiva ascetics, 601

Gaddi, the royal cushion, throne, i. 551 _et passim_;
gaddi ki ān, oath by the throne, 406, 456

Gādhipura, Kanauj, i. 34, 42, 50, 105

Gadhiya paisa, a copper coin, ii. 913

Gāgraun, t., i. 15, 257, 331, iii. 1549, 1790

Gaharwār tribe, i. 139, ii. 930

Gahlot. _See_ GUHILOT

Gaini, Gajni, t., i. 100, 254, 266, 290

Gājan Māta, worship of, iii. 1444

Gajni, t. _See_ GAINI

Gaj Singh, (1) of Jaisalmer, ii. 1176, 1236;
(2) of Bīkaner, 1137;
(3) of Mārwār, 835, 972

Gakkhar tribe, i. 294, iii. 1422;
infanticide, ii. 740;
support Sultān Razīa, 1164

Galena mines, i. 17

Gambhīr, r., i. 18, 345

Gambling, i. 60, 85;
a cause of slavery, 208

Gandharvasen, ii. 851, 913

Ganesa, Ganesha, worship of, i. 551, 560, ii. 686,
842, iii. 1774;
Deori, hall, ii. 663;
Dwāra, Pol, 688

Ganga, (1) the r. Ganges, ii. 670, 693;
(2) of Mārwār, 953

Gangābheva, ii. 663, iii. 1766

Gangāni, t., ii. 1034

Ganggor, Ganggaur festival, ii. 665, 674, iii. 1353

Gangwāna, battle at, ii. 1049

Gānipur, t., iii. 1439

Ganor, queen of, ii. 727

Gāra, r., ii. 1226, 1234.
_See_ GHĀRA

Garddhabin tribe, i. 273

Gardens, at Kotah, iii. 1616, 1706;
at Mandor, ii. 844;
at Udaipur, iii. 1824

Garh Bītli, citadel of Ajmer, i. 288, ii. 784, 900,
955

Garha Mandala, ci., ii. 747, iii. 1443

Garnets, ii. 910

Gaudhūli, evening, i. 263, ii. 697

Gaur tribe, i. 138, iii. 1454

Gauri, the goddess, i. 80, ii. 665, 672;
festivals, i. 521, ii. 665;
bathing of, 666;
slaying a boar in her honour, I. 385, ii. 660, iii. 1512

Gaya, expedition against, i. 305, 322, 323;
pilgrimage, i. 498, ii. 946;
Gayapur Mahādeo, iii. 1796

Geology of Arāvalli range, i. 14, 17

Getae tribe, i. 74;
identified with Goths, ii. 651;
with Jāts, i. 74, 128;
with Jut, i. 76

Ghānērāo, t., i. 450, 459, ii. 788, 798, 1009,
1079, 1096;
honours paid to chief, 799

Ghara, Gharah, r., i. 102, 142, ii. 941, 960,
1226, 1234.
_See_ GĀRA

Gharsi of Jaisalmer, ii. 1216;
Gharsisar lake, 1217

Ghāsi, the Author’s artist, iii. 1755, 1786, 1819

Ghayāsu-d-dīn (Ghiyāsu-d-dīn) of Mālwa, i. 344, ii. 785, iii.
1475

Ghumli, fort, i. 136

Girās, grās, a handful, i. 190;
Girāsia, grāsia, a holder of land by grant from the prince, i.
190

Girdharji Shaikhāwat, iii. 1386

Girnār, sacred hill, ii. 603, 792;
suicide at, iii. 1663

Girwa, the valley of Udaipur, ii. 644, 760

_Gīta Govinda_, poem, i. 338.
_See_ JAYADEVA

Gods, tutelary of tribes, i. 326, iii. 1444;
god of Mārwār married to Amber goddess, ii. 1052;
of the Hāras, captured, iii. 1526

Godwār tract, i. 328, 344, 489, ii. 802, 996,
1073

Gogha, t., i. 137

Gogūnda, t., i. 388, 393, 446, 498, ii. 801

Goha, Gohāditya of Mewār, i. 259

Gohil, Gohel, Gohilwār tribe, i. 137, ii. 941, 943,
1039

Gokul, t., ii. 621, 641,
Nāth, Krishna, 621, 641;
Dās, i. 221

Gol, inferior vassals, i. 167, 554, 568, iii. 1636;
a serried mass of warriors, 1603

Gola, the slave class, i. 207, ii. 1076

Golkonda, ci., i. 289, 453, iii. 1445, 1449, 1526

Gollas, i. 256

Gomati, r., i. 454, ii. 1032

Gond tribe, ii. 651;
Gondwāna, 979, iii. 1483

Gopinath, Krishna, ii. 635;
of Būndi, iii. 1487

Gorakhnāth, the saint, i. 265

Gordhandās, iii. 1584;
Singh, Khīchi, ii. 1069;
Nāth, Krishna, ii. 635

Gorind tribe, i. 272

Gorkha, Gurkha tribe, i. 301, 314

Gorkhar, the wild ass, i. 20, iii. 1306.
_See_ KHARGADHA

Gorma, land near the village site, iii. 1550, 1625

Gosāīn, Goswāmi, ascetics, ii. 601, 642, 1081, iii.
1670, 1763

Gosūnda, t., i. 326, 526

Goswāmi. _See_ GOSAIN

Got, gotra, a cowpen, an exogamous section of a caste, ii. 741;
a tribal feast, i. 326, iii. 1655;
gotrāchārya, a pedigree, i. 98, ii. 930

Govardhan, t., ii. 602, 635;
Nāth, Krishna, 635

Government, inefficiency of, i. 174;
representative, iii. 1552

Govinda, Krishna, ii. 998;
Govindgarh, t., ii. 807, 862, 889;
Singh, Rāēsalot, iii. 1397

Grahilot tribe, i. 99.
_See_ GUHILOT

Grain, measurement of, iii. 1562;
storage, 1563

Grants, books of, i. 160, 205;
to Brāhmans, ii. 644;
resumable, i. 191;
secular, duration of, i. 190;
form and substance of, i. 199

Grapes, introduction of, ii. 749

Grās, grāsda, a griffin-like figure, ii. 903

Grasses, ii. 1151, iii. 1308

Greek, auxiliaries, ii. 780;
artists, ii. 780, iii. 1762;
traces of, in Bīkaner, ii. 1134

Grīshma, the summer season, ii. 656

Groves, prohibition against cutting, ii. 600

Guāl Khand, Golkonda, iii. 1445, 1449

Gūga, Gugga, the hero, ii. 807, 843, 1027, iii. 1452

Guhilot tribe, i. Introd. xxxiii, 99, 252;
origin of name, i. 259;
descent of, i. 258, 266, ii. 1202;
sections, i. 101

Guinea-worm, iii. 1303

Gūjar tribe, i. 121, ii. 651

Gumān Singh, (1) of Kotah, iii. 1534;
(2) Hāra, 1792

Gurjara tribe, i. Introd. xxxi, 121

Gyānchandra, the Author’s Guru, i. 23, ii. 764, 1017,
1077

Haihaya tribe, i. 43, 47, 109, iii. 1442

Hair cutting, ii. 1080, 1219

Hakra, r., ii. 1134, 1166.
_See_ GHARA

Halbarār, a plough tax, i. 169, iii. 1725

Haldighāt, battle at, i. 393, iii. 1484

Halwad, t., i. 136, ii. 1022, iii. 1535

Hamilton, W., surgeon, i. 179, 468

Hamīr (1) Rāēsa, chronicle, iii. 1451;
(2) I. of Mewār, i. 312, 315;
II. of Mewār, 507

Hāmuji of Būndi, iii. 1470

Handmaids sent with brides, ii. 730

Handmarks, signatures, i. 419, 452;
made by Satis, i. Introd. xxxviii

Hānsi, t., iii. 1461

Hanumān, the monkey God, i. 163, 336;
gates, i. 336, ii. 779;
ancestor of Jaithwa tribe, i. 137;
his phylactery, ii. 723.
_See_ BAJRANG

Hāpa Rāj, iii. 1266

Hāra sept, i. 115, iii. 1441;
derivation of name, iii. 1441;
cenotaphs, iii. 1706, 1714;
legends of, iii. 1681;
gallantry, iii. 1605;
tutelary goddess, i. 163

Harāwal, the vanguard, i. 175, 356, ii. 975

Hārāwati, Harāoti, i. 115, iii. 1441

Harbong kā rāj, i. 361

Harbuji Sānkhla, i. 295, 327, 328, ii. 733,
804, 843

Harchand, (1) Harischandra, i. 42, ii. 886;
(2) of Kanauj, i. 286

Hardwār, t., i. 49, ii. 1082

Hare, not eaten, i. 91

Harikula, i. 37

Haripur, Heaven, ii. 636

Harsiddh Māta, worship of, ii. 681

Hārūnu-l-rashīd, the Caliph, i. 286

Hasan Khān, Mewāti, i. 357;
Lodi, I. 357

Hāsil, revenue, ii. 647, 1118, iii. 1566

Hastinapur, i. 49

Hastings, Marquess of, i. 3;
his Pindāri campaign, i. Introd. xxvi, iii. 1577;
his Rājput policy, i. 150

Hatheli, Hathleva, rite of joining hands in marriage, i. 331,
578, ii. 795, iii. 1807

Hatyāra, murderer, title of Uda Singh, I. 339

Head, refusal to bow, ii. 990;
shaving of, ii. 745

Hearsey, Gen. H. Y., i. 531

Hearth tax, ii. 1128, 1157, 1250

Heber, Bishop R., i. Introd. xxvii, 563, ii. 907, iii. 1737

Hemachandra, Hemāchārya, iii. 1355

Hide, of land, i. 156, 201

Hindua pati, Sūraj, titles of Rānas of Mewār, i. 247, 266,
279, 280, iii. 1471

Hindu Kush, m., i. 28

Hinglāj Chandel, temple, ii. 934, iii. 1511, 1656;
Hinglājgarh, fort, iii. 1769

Hippokoura, t., i. 250

Hiranyakasipu, i. 105

History, neglect of, by Hindus, i. 30

Holi, festival, i. 492, ii. 661, 812, 905,
942, iii. 1469

Holkar, family, iii. 1503;
Jaswant Rāo, iii. 1516, 1770;
Malhār Rāo, i. 497, 529, iii. 1503, 1533

Hom, homa, the fire sacrifice, ii. 673 _et passim_;
Hota, hotri, a sacrificial priest, 599

Horses, branding of, ii. 972, iii. 1482;
sacrificed to the Sun, ii. 659;
lucky marks, iii. 1719;
bridle worshipped, ii. 1255;
naming of, 685;
bathing of, 682;
of Partāb Singh, i. 394;
of Ummeda, iii. 1501;
of Dewa, 1465;
of Jarwant Rāo Holkar, 1770;
memorials of, i. 395, iii. 1501, 1826;
bred in Mārwār, ii. 1105;
in the Lakhi Jangal, 1105, 1156

Hoshang Shāh of Mālwa, i. 331

Human sacrifice, ii. 599, 814, 966, iii. 1392.

Humāyūn, Emperor, said to have married a Rajput princess, i. 178;
defeated by Khet Singh, 321;
causes Sultān Bahādur to retire, 366;
defeated by Sher Shāh, 373;
retreats into Rājputāna, 373;
reception by Maldeo, 373;
retreat through the desert, 373, iii. 1281;
defeats Sikandar Shāh, i. 375;
death, 375

Hun, Hūn tribe, i. 131;
Rāja’s nuptial hall, 132;
Angatsi, King, 131, 290;
White, i. 256

Hūndeo of Jaipur, iii. 1332

Hunting, ii. 750

Ibrāhīm Khān, viceroy, ii. 1012;
Lodi, of Delhi, i. 352

Idar State, i. 100, 187, 414, 449, 512;
provides successors to Mewār, ii. 860, iii. 1828

ʽIdgāh, place where rites of ʽId festival are performed, ii. 896

Ikshwāku, i. 39

Ināyatu-lla Khān, minister, i. 469

Īnch, a handful of corn or vegetables levied, i. 238, ii. 650

Indargarh, t., case of its chief, iii. 1501, 1507

Indha, section of Parihārs, i. 121, ii. 940 944, 994,
1085

Indhāvati, iii. 1270

Indore, battle at, i. 529

Indraloka, death-land, iii. 1477

Indraprastha, i. 51

Infanticide, causes of, i. 202, 203, 540;
among Gakkhars, ii. 740;
among Rājkumārs, 743;
measures to prevent, 741

Inscriptions, evidence of feudalism, i. 158;
text of, ii. 914

Installation of Rāja, i. 263, 384

Intolerance, absent in Mewār, ii. 604

Iradat Khan, _Memoirs of_, i. 465

Iron mines, i. 17;
manufacture, ii. 1155;
changed into gold, iii. 1647

Irrigation projects in Mewār, iii. 1661

Īsāni, the goddess, i. 371, ii. 598, 656

Isari Singh, of Jaipur, ii. 866, 871, iii. 1356

Itineraries in the desert, iii. 1309

ʽItr-pān, perfume and betel given to close an interview, ii. 769,
848

Jādeja, Jāreja tribe, i. 102, 103, 154, 202,
290, ii. 607, iii. 1286

Jādon tribe, i. 103, 110, 293, ii. 1174, 1207;
Jādonwati, their territory, i. 15

Jadu kā dang, i. 75, ii. 617

Jagad, Jagat Guru, a title of Akbar, i. 377

Jagannāth, Vishnu, worship of, ii. 675, iii. 1511, 1695;
temple, i. 410, 550, ii. 645

Jagat Khūnt, Dwārka, i. 338, ii. 943, 1169;
Singh (1) I. of Mewār, i. 432;
(2) II. of Mewār, 482;
(3) of Jaipur, ii. 1083, iii. 1364

Jagātya, a tax-collector, iii. 1564

Jāgīr, an assignment of land in lieu of military service, i. 426;
Jāgīrdār, a holder of such grant, a title of Mewār princes, 422,
426

Jagmall of Mewār, i. 384

Jagmandir, palace, i. 406, 427, 433, iii. 1641

Jagnivās, palace, i. 406

Jagrāni, the small-pox goddess, ii. 1038

Jahāndār Shāh, Emperor, ii. 1020

Jahāngīr, Emperor, attacks Partāb Singh, i. 392, 409;
attacks Amar Singh, 417;
remarks on Sesodias, 161;
captures Chitor, 175;
marries Jodh Bāi, 179;
favours Krishna worship, ii. 608;
_Memoirs of_, i. 418, 549;
introduces tobacco, ii. 749

Jahāzgarh, Jahāzpur, t., i. 8, 167, 321, 520,
528, ii. 955, iii. 1715, 1738

Jai Āpa, ii. 866, 873, 891, 1063

Jai Chand of Kanauj, ii. 718, 930, 935

Jaimall, Patta, i. 380, 567, 569, ii. 856

Jainism, Jains, ii. 602;
image worship, 624;
laymen, i. 369;
libraries, i. Introd. lvi, ii. 605;
pillar at Chitor, ii. 605;
respect for animal life, 606;
sacred places, 603;
protected by Mewār, 602, 646;
“retreat” in the rainy season, 606, iii. 1731

Jaipāl, Rāja of Panjāb, i. 294

Jaipur State, annals, iii. 1327;
building of the city, 1342.
_See_ AMBER

Jaisal of Jaisalmer, ii. 1203

Jaisalmer State, annals, ii. 1169

Jaisamund, lake, i. 458

Jai Singh, (1) Mīrza Rāja, of Jaipur, ii. 728, iii. 1340;
(2) Sawāi of Jaipur, 1341, 1497;
(3) of Mewār, i. 456

Jaithwa, Jethwa tribe, i. 136

Jājau, battle, i. 464, ii. 982, iii. 1495

Jājnagar, Jājpur, t., i. 290

Jālandhara, Jalandarnāth, Krishna, ii. 635, iii. 1266

Jālhan of Mārwār, ii. 943

Jaljātra festival, ii. 649, 697

Jaljhūlni festival, i. 261

Jālor, t., i. 384, ii. 797, 941, 954, 970,
996, 1010, 1079, 1109, iii. 1266

Jām, a title, i. 103, ii. 1219, iii. 1286

Jambūnada, native gold, i. 94, ii. 694

James I. of England, letter of, i. 423

Jamwāi, Jamwāhi Māta, worship of, iii. 1331

Janamashtami festival, ii. 630, 649, 678

Janapāo hill, i. 18, iii. 1687

Janavi, Janami Māta, worship of, i. 414, ii. 672, iii. 1376

Janeo, the Brahmanical cord, i. 264

Janjuha, Janjua tribe, ii. 1175

Jaswant (1) Rāo Bhāu, i. 528;
(2) Rāo Holkar, _see_ HOLKAR;
(3) Singh of Mārwār, ii. 975;
commands against Aurangzeb, 980;
conduct at battle of Dharmāt, 724;
at Khajua, 982;
repudiated by his wife, 724;
service in Kābul, 984;
death, 985;
character, 986;
cenotaph, 835;
treatment of his family, 990;
(4) of Jaisalmer, 1227

Jat, Jāt, tribe, i. 127, ii. 1124, 1148, 1256;
connected with Getae, i. 74, 128, ii. 1124;
with Rājputs, i. 127;
in Bīkaner, ii. 1126;
attacked by Mahmūd, i. 129;
sections of, iii. 1297;
in Bharatpur, 1357;
at Agra, 1359;
right of inaugurating Mahārāja of Bīkaner, ii. 1129;
Kathida, i. 128, ii. 917

Java, ii. 703

Javādia, horse of Gugga, ii. 1027, iii. 1452, 1710

Jāwad, t., i. 15, 251, 504, 510

Jawāhir Singh of Bharatpur, iii. 1359

Jawālamukhi temple, ii. 1037

Jawān Singh of Mewār, i. 123, 543, iii. 1825

Jāwar, Jāwara, mines, i. 169, 321, 397, 585

Jayadeva, songs of, i. 337, ii. 629, 630, 755,
764

Jeth Singh, (1) of Bīkaner, ii. 1132;
(2) of Jaisalmer, 1211

Jethi, a wrestler, ii. 751, iii. 1617

Jhāla Makwāna tribe, i. 135, ii. 1039

Jhālaka monastery, iii. 1751

Jhālawār State, i. 338, iii. 1780

Jhālrapātan, t., iii. 1780, 1782

Jhārol, t., i. 259, 336

Jhāru-barār, a broom tax, iii. 1567

Jhūnjhunu, Fatehpur, t., i. 336, iii. 1423

Jigarkhor, a witch, vampire, i. 88, iii. 1615

Jinjiniāli, t., ii. 1229, iii. 1316

Jinsi, artillery, iii. 1747

Jīran, t., i. 319, 445, 504

Jizya, the poll-tax, i. 441, 469, ii. 622, 994,
1021, 1037;
abolished, i. 471, iii. 1482;
letter of remonstrance against, I. 442

Jobner, t., iii. 1328, 1460

Jodh Bāi, i. 389, ii. 965, iii. 1339

Jodha of Jodhpur, i. 325, 339, ii. 947, 950

Jodhpur, ci., position, ii. 820;
founded, i. 339, ii. 947;
captured by Mughals, 958;
occupied by British, 833;
besieged by Jagat Singh, 1085

Jogi, ascetics, ii. 948, 949.
_See_ KANPHATA

Jogini, Yogini (1) spirits who feed on the slain, ii. 1016,
1179, iii. 1755;
(2) Māta, image of, 1806;
(3) r., ii. 850

Jogrāj of Mewār, ii. 593

Johar, Jauhar, general suicide of women, i. 84, 310,
363, 381, ii. 744, 992, 1213, iii. 1821

Johya, Joiya, tribe, i. 102, 129, 142, 290, ii.
941, 944, 1130, 1133, iii. 1300

Jones, Sir W., i. 40, 41, 42, 107, ii. 630,
652, 700

Juār, Jawār, millet, i. 237 _et passim_

Jūd, mountains, i. 75, 129, ii. 617

Jujhār, a memorial stone, i. 90, iii. 1412, 1815.
_See_ PĀLIYA

Julāha, a weaver, iii. 1280

Jūna Chhotan, t., iii. 1274

Jūnagarh hill, i. 54, 291, 293

Justice, administration of, ii. 1112

Kāba tribe, i. 111, ii. 1170, iii. 1511

Kachahri, a court of justice, town duties, iii. 1434

Kachhwāha tribe, i. 56, 106, 161, iii. 1328;
sections of, iii. 1438;
Kachhwāhagār, Kachhwāhagarh, iii. 1329

Kahror, t., ii. #1223

Kailan, of Jaisalmer, ii. 1208

Kāimkhāni, Qāimkhāni Chauhāns, ii. 945, iii. 1423

Kalachuri dynasty, i. 48

Kālanjar fort, i. 52, 139, 376

Kālbhoj of Chitor, i. 283

Kalhora tribe, ii. 854, iii. 1299

Kāli, worship of, i. 347, ii. 665

Kāli Sind, r., i. 4, 18

Kālika Devi, worship of, i. 113;
temple at Chitor, iii. 1821

Kālinadi, Kālindri, r., ii. 938

Kāliyanāg, the dragon, ii. 636

Kālpi, t., i. 335

Kalyān Singh of Bīkaner, ii. 1132

Kāmadeva, Kāmdeo, god of love, ii. 673, iii. 1476;
Kāmadhwaja, Kāmdhuj, Kāmunda, title of Rāthors, ii. 930,
1001;
Kāmakumbha, vessel of desire, ii. 669, 898.

Kamaru-d-dīn Khān, wazīr, iii. 1347, 1357

Kāmbakhsh, prince, his mother, ii. 1015;
letter from Aurangzeb, i. 439;
marries a Rājputni, i. 179;
death, ii. 1015

Kampilanagara, t., i. 50, 59, 295

Kanaksen of Mewār, i. 251

Kanaswa, Kanswa, inscription, ii. 917, iii. 1796

Kanauj, founded, i. 50;
early history, ii. 933;
extent, i. 50, ii. 936;
attacked by Shihābu-d-dīn, 939;
defeat of Humāyūn, i. 373;
mythical Rāthor dynasty, ii. 824

Kāndhal of Bīkaner, ii. 1131

Kanhaiya, Krishna, ii. 602, 608

Kanhal, Kānpāl of Mārwār, ii. 943

Kankūt, valuation of standing crops, I. 583

Kānod Mohindargarh, t., iii. 1259

Kanphata, Kanphara Jogis, i. 87, ii. 601, 682

Kānthal district, i. 347, iii. 1670

Kanva dynasty, i. 65

Karan Singh, (1) of Bīkaner, ii. 1135;
(2) of Jaisalmer, 1210;
(3) I. of Mewār, I. 303;
(4) II. of Mewār, 427

Karauli State, i. 103, 180, ii. 1049

Kārttika, Karttikeya, war god, ii. 687;
Kārttik, month, festivals in, 695

Kāsi, Benares, i. 93, 139

Katehr, Rohilkhand, i. 66, 110, ii. 717

Kāthi tribe, i. 83, 133, ii. 941;
Kāthiāwār, i. 133

Kaurava tribe, iii. 1292, 1294

Kausāmbi, ci., i. 51, 56, iii. 1385

Kāyasth caste, iii. 1814

Kedār, Kedārnāth, iii. 1463

Kehar of Jaisalmer, iii. 1186

Kelwa, t., i. 333, 380, 442

Kelwāra, t., i. 312, 316, ii. 776, iii. 1568

Keonj Māta, worship of, i. 116, iii. 1444

Kerala, km., i. 52

Keshorāe, temple of, iii. 1545

Kettledrums, privilege of beating, I. 215, 233.
_See_ NAKKĀRA

Khadatara, section of Jains, ii. 603, 1108

Khadga, a sword, Sthāpana, worship of, ii. 679

Khairālu, Kherālu, t., i. 111, ii. 1004, iii. 1273, 1322

Khajua, Khajwa, Khajuha, battle, ii. 982

Khālisa, crown or fiscal estate, i. 166

Khāmnor, Khāmnaur, battle, i. 394, 417, ii. 640

Khandela, t., iii. 1384, 1390, 1418, 1422

Khān Jahān Lodi, iii. 1387

Khargadha, the wild ass, iii. 1306.
_See_ GORKHAR

Kharg bandhāi, binding on the sword as an initiation to arms, i.
185, 223

Khāri, r., i. 13, 489, 579

Kharlakar, a tax on forage and wood, i. 170, 577, ii.
644, iii. 1725

Khawar, oasis, iii. 1272

Khejra tree, ii. 683, 1151

Khengār tribe, i. 293

Kher, Khergarh, _see_ KHERDHAR;
the tribal levy, i. 197, ii. 1041

Kherālu. _See_ KHAIRĀLU

Kherdhar, t., i. 137, 267, ii. 941, iii. 1273

Kheroda, t., i. 515, iii. 1621

Khet Singh of Mewār, i. 318, 321

Khetrpāl, worship of, i. 318, 326, ii. 793

Khīchi Chauhāns, i. 115, 163, iii. 1790;
Khīchiwāra, iii. 1347

Khilji dynasty, i. 334

Khinwasar, t., ii. 862, 1008

Khizr Khān, Sultān, ii. 734, 1197

Khodiyār Māta, worship of, iii. 1444

Khokhar tribe, ii. 740, 1191, 1222

Khosa tribe, ii. 814, 1073, iii. 1298

Khota Bhīls, iii. 1468, 1521

Khumān I. of Mewār, i. 283;
Rāēsa, chronicle, i. 250, 284, 309, iii. 1813

Khurram, prince, i. 418, 428, 431, 432, ii.
973

Khushhāli, a benevolence, ii. 1159;
Rām, Bohra, iii. 1361

Khushroz festival, i. 400

Khusru, prince, i. 178

Kīka Rāna, Partāb Singh of Mewār, i. 385

Kiladār, qil’adār, governor of fort, premier, i. 216, ii.
832, iii. 1519

Kirani Māta, worship of, ii. 1128;
Kirania, a ceremonial umbrella, i. 234, 310, ii. 660

Kirār caste, iii. 1429

Kīrtti Stambha, pillar of victory, i. 320, ii. 605, iii. 1819

Kishangarh State, i. 370, ii. 965, 974

Kishor Singh of Kotah, iii. 1523, 1592

Kitār, qitār, a string of camels, ii. 1109

Knots, marking birthdays, iii. 1697

Knox, Brigadier-General A., i. 544

Koila, fief, iii. 1571

Koli tribe, iii. 1279, 1280

Korēgāon, battle, i. 97

Kotah State, annals, iii. 1521;
origin of name, 1468;
separated from Būndi, 1486;
unhealthiness, 1704, 1707

Kothāri, r., i. 13

Kothāria, t., i. 195, 369, 380, 478, 529,
555, 563, ii. 664, 685

Kothri, a chamber, tribal groups in Jaipur and Būndi, i. 107, iii.
1436, 1488

Krishna, in the Mahābhārata, i. 44;
Dwārka, his capital, i. 47;
the ‘Hindu Apollo,’ i. 222, 529;
cult at Nāthdwāra, i. 529, ii. 607;
the ‘dark one,’ 623;
history of, 621;
festivals, 638;
forms of, 628, 639;
patron deity of Hāras, 618;
in Russia, 615;
death, i. 61;
image removed to Mewār, ii. 609;
effect of his cult on Rājputs, 619;
worshipped in caves, 635;
favoured by Mughal Emperors, 608

Krishna Kunwāri, tragical fate of, i. 535, ii. 1082, iii.
1412

Kuchāman, t., ii. 820, 853, 1084

Kuhāri, r., i. 120

Kujliban, i. 289, iii. 1462

Kukkureswar, Siva, iii. 1823

Kuladevi, a tribal goddess, i. 106, ii. 1179

Kulin Brāhmans, ii. 595

Kumāra, god of war, i. 81, ii. 658, 694

Kumārapāla Chaulukya, i. 117, 128, ii. 916, iii. 1651

Kūmbh Shām, temples, i. 336, iii. 1818

Kūmbha Rāna of Mewār, i. 332, ii. 945

Kūmbhalmer fort, i. 12, 167, 169, 196, 316,
369, 371, 388, ii. 777;
founded, i. 336;
besieged by Shāhbāz Khān, i. 396;
recovered, 403;
restored by Marāthas, 546;
taken by British, i. 549, ii. 778;
gates, 779;
temples, ii. 779;
inscription, i. 251, ii. 781

Kūnt, Kūt, estimate of standing crops, i. 583

Kuntal of Amber, iii. 1332

Kuriltai, the Mongol council, i. 165

Kurwai Borāsa, battle, iii. 1526

Kusumbha, a draught of opium, i. 341, 541

Kutbu-d-dīn, Qutbu-d-dīn, saint of Ajmer, ii. 1014;
Ībak, i. 208, ii. 1164;
-l-mulk, i. 467

Kuwāri, r., i. 19, 106

Lābri Khan Farangi, i. 362

Lachhman Singh, (1) of Chitor, i. 307;
(2) Shaikhāvat, iii. 1420;
(3) of Jaisalmer, ii. 1218

Lādnūn, t., ii. 862

Lākha, (1) Laksh Singh of Mewār, i. 321;
(2) Phulāni, ii. 853, 941, iii. 1305, 1310

Lakhamsi, Lakshman Singh of Chitor, i. 307

Lākhan, (1) Sen of Jaisalmer, ii. 1210;
(2) a deified hero, 719

Lakhi Jangal, ii. 1156.
_See_ HORSES

Lakhnauti, ci., i. 138

Lakulīsa, Siva, i. Introd. xxxvi

Lakwa Dāda, i. 524, 525, 528, 530, ii. 878

Lāl Bāi, i. 331, iii. 1681

Lal Kila, Qila', fort of Agra, ii. 977

Lāl Shāhbāz, saint, iii. 1313

Lālsont, Lālsot, battle, i. 513, ii. 875

Land system in Kotah, iii. 1559;
in Mewār, i. 168, 573;
in Jaisalmer, ii. 1249;
landholders, i. 190, 578

Langāha tribe, ii. 941, 1191

Lanka, ii. 683, 701

Lār tribe, i. 138

Lārkhāni tribe, iii. 1426

Lāwa, t., i. 511, 567, iii. 1640

Lead mines, i. 169

Leaping from precipices, suicide by, iii. 1663

Legitimacy, confirmed by Ranā. _See_ COMMENSALITY

Letters, treacherous, i. 450, ii. 957

Levies, feudal. _See_ KHER

Libraries, i. Introd. lvi, ii. 605

Lingam and Yoni symbols, i. 264, ii. 598, 1016.
_See_ PHALLIC WORSHIP

Literature, ii. 756

Litters, warriors concealed in, i. 308, ii. 734

Locusts, ii. 775

Lodorwa, t., i. 102, 109, 296, 298, ii. 1185,
1198, 1205

Lohāna tribe, iii. 1295

Lohkot, i. 116, 252, 254

Lot, deified hero, i. 288, ii. 900, iii. 1447

Lucan, Lieut., iii. 1778

Lūka tribe, iii. 1299

Lūmri tribe, i. 75, iii. 1299.
_See_ NŪMRI

Lunar Rājputs. _See_ CHANDRAVANSA

Lūnavāda, Lūnawāra, t., i. 11, 119, iii. 1822

Lūnavās, battle, ii. 1056

Lūni, r., i. 8, 13, 19, ii. 889, 901, iii.
1264

Lūnkaran of Bīkaner, ii. 1132

Ma’ajūn, an electuary of hemp or opium, i. 408, ii. 674

Mācheri, t., and State, i. 141, iii. 1354, 1360

Madār, (1) saint, i. 431;
(2) tree, ii. 1152

Mādari, Mādri, t., i. 222, 318, 380

Maggots in antelopes, ii. 834

Magic, sympathetical, ii. 1113, 1199;
expulsion of cholera, iii. 1734;
practised by Jains, ii. 813

Mahābat Khān, i. 386, 393, 397, 412, 418,
430, ii. 973

Mahābhārata war, date, i. 68;
relics of, ii. 1016

Mahādaji Sindhia, ii. 875;
defeated at Sipra, i. 500;
interferes in Mewār, ii. 1057;
death, i. 524

Mahadeva Siva, cult in Mewār, ii. 598.
_See_ SIVA

Mahāsati, a cremation ground, i. 88, ii. 663

Mahā Singh of Amber, iii. 1339

Mahāvidyas, iii. 1774, 1817

Mahāvīra, i. 32, 78

Mahesri caste, ii. 1250

Maheswar, t., i. 33, 47, 109, ii. 638, iii. 1445

Mahi, r., i. 133

Māhi Murātib, the fish symbol, ii. 1023

Mahishmati, t., i. 33, 47, iii. 1445

Mahmūd, (1) Begada of Ahmadābād, iii. 1821;
(2) of Ghazni, i. 116, 122, 129, 287;
(3) of Mālwa, i. 335

Mahoba, t., i. 139, ii. 716

Maina tribe. _See_ MĪNA

Mair, Mer, tribe, i. 12, ii. 651, 787, 888, iii.
1300, 1455;
marriage customs, ii. 795;
met by Author, 787;
character, 793

Majam of Jaisalmer, ii. 1186

Makara Sankrānti, festival, ii. 697

Makrāna, marble quarries, ii. 1107

Mālasi of Amber, iii. 1335

Mālava tribe, i. 142

Malays, ii. 1171

Malba, rubbish, a land tax, ii. 1158

Malcolm, Sir J., measures to reform forest tribes, i. 587;
Campaign in Central India, iii. 1578

Māldeo of Mārwār, i. 389, ii. 953;
his treatment of Humāyūn, i. 373, ii. 956;
his sons, 959;
his cenotaph, 835

Malhārrāo. _See_ HOLKAR

Malik Bāyazīd, Bāz Bahādur, i. 378

Mālkhāni tribe, i. 116

Mallināth, hero, ii. 843, iii. 1272;
Thal, iii. 1272

Malloi tribe, i. 142

Mālpura, t., forays against, i. 315, 403, 440, ii.
1108

Mālwa, derivation of name, iii. 1628

Mandala tribe, i. 445, 514, ii. 1039;
Māndalgarh, t., i. 15, 142, 196, 197, 212,
403, ii. 919, iii. 1721

Mandalīka, governor of a district, i. 259, ii. 936

Mandasor, t., i. 445, 480, 514

Mandavri, worship of, iii. 1444

Māndhāta, t., iii. 1389;
king, 1629

Mandor, ci., ii. 834, 941, 951, 994;
seat of government transferred from, 947;
walls, 839;
captured by Rāthors, 956

Māndu, ci., pillar of victory, i. 335;
captured by Humāyūn, i. 365

Mangalia tribe, i. 21, iii. 1300

Māngrol, battle, iii. 1602

Mānikiāla, Stūpa, ii. 1189

Manikrāē, Chauhān, i. 114, ii. 893, 900, iii. 1447, 1449

Manjanīk, manjanīq, a kind of catapult, i. 362

Manohardās of Jaisalmer, ii. 1225

Mansab, office, prerogative, i. 177 _et passim_;
Mansabdār, a title of office, 422

Mānsarovar lake, i. 379, ii. 891, 1031

Mān Singh, (1) of Jaipur, iii. 1338;
reported attempt at poisoning by Akbar, i. 408, iii. 1338, 1486;
(2) of Mārwār, ii. 1080;
meeting with the Author, 822

Mansūra, t., i. 286, ii. 1187, 1234, iii. 1283

Māpa, dues on measuring grain, ii. 597

Marāthas, Mahrattas, claim to Rājput descent, i. 104, 314;
rise of, 472;
tyranny of, 473, 510;
cross the Nerbudda, 463;
in Mālwa and Gujarāt, 485;
cross the Chambal, 485;
enter Rājputāna, 489;
false British policy, 505

Marble quarries, ii. 1107

Mari, the cholera goddess, ii. 1002, iii. 1733, 1734

Maroni, Marwan, tale of, iii. 1331

Marriage, of children, round tree, i. 261;
of Mughals with Rājputnis, 178;
age of, i. Introd. xxxviii;
reduction of expenses, ii. 741;
benevolences levied at, 187;
exogamy, 190;
customs of Mairs, ii. 795

Marwan. _See_ MARONI

Mārwār, annals of, ii. 929;
geography, 1104

Massagetae, i. 71

Masūd of Ghazni, ii. 1202

Māta, the Mother goddess, i. 98, 402, ii. 684, 891,
iii. 1280, 1809;
Janami, Janavi, i. 414, ii. 672;
Thān, 863;
Mātāchal mount, 683.
_See_ SĀKAMBHARI

Mathura, i. 48, ii. 623, 1173

Maudūd of Ghazni, i. 115

Mauna tribe, i. 272

Maurya dynasty, i. 65, 265.
_See_ MORI

Māwaru-n-nahr, i. 127, ii. 1124

Maypoles at Holi festival, iii. 1703

Medicine, ii. 759

Medpāt, i. 9, ii. 938

Mej, r., iii. 1713

Melons, ii. 748, 1150

Menāl, ii. 591, iii. 1796, 1800, 1802

Meo tribe. _See_ MĪNA

Mer tribe. _See_ MAIR

Mercantile tribes, i. 144

Mercenaries, employment, i. 181, ii. 1067;
revolt, i. 507

Mercer, Mr. Graeme, i. 4, 533, iii. 1729

Merta, i. 337, ii. 882, 910, 950;
battle, 1061;
Mertia sept of Rāthors, i. 567, ii. 872, 950,
1005

Meru, m., i. 24

Merwara, ii. 789, 1005;
subdued by Mewār, i. 584;
by British, ii. 793;
Battalion, 794

Metcalf, Lord, ii. 927

Meteoric fires, i. 89

Mewār, annals, i. 247

Mewāsa district, ii. 1022, 1043

Mewāt, ii. 717

Mhāu Maidāna, t., i. 109, iii. 1789

Mihiragula, i. 256

Mihrān, the Indus, r., ii. 1208

Militia, feudal, i. 197

Mīna tribe, i. 343, ii. 651, 812, iii. 1332, 1429, 1715;
conquered by Abhai Singh, ii. 1042;
aborigines of Jaipur, I. 107;
attacked by Hūndeo, iii. 1332;
right of inaugurating Rājas of Jaipur, ii. 1129;
the criminal branch, iii. 1430

Mines and minerals, i. 17, 168, 321, 585, ii.
1154

Ministers, i. 214, 479, 556, iii. 1519;
drawn from merchant class, i. 368, 403, 449, 474,
500, ii. 1088

Minnagara, t., i. 103, 255, 256, iii. 1285

Minors, guardianship, i. 188

Mīra Bāi, i. 337, ii. 951, iii. 1818

Mirage, i. 20, ii. 883

Mirās, hereditary estates, i. 196, 575, 580

Mithila, km., i. 46

Mīthri, chief of, ii. 864

Moghia tribe, i. 244

Mohil, clan, i. 102, 142, ii. 941, 1127, iii. 1454

Mokal of Mewār, i. 323, 331

Mongol, meaning of name, i. 123, ii. 693;
origin, i. 68

Monogamy, ii. 711

Monson, Col. Hon. W., retreat of, iii. 1516, 1571, 1777

Moon worship, ii. 623

Mora, t., iii. 1439

Morals, ii. 708, 1059, 1075

Mori, Maurya tribe, i. 65, 110, 126, 265, ii.
919

Morwan, t., i. 504, iii. 1632, 1646, 1647

Mota Raja, Udai Singh, ii. 959

Moti Pāsbān, iii. 1630

Mu’azzam Bahādur Shāh, Shāh ‛Alam, I. 444, 464, ii. 983,
984

Muhammad, (1) the Prophet, i. 265;
(2) Husain Mīrza, ii. 1135;
(3) bin Kāsim, i. 114, 143, 270, 284, 286;
(4) Shāh, Lodi, i. 322;
(5) Shāh, Emperor, ii. 1025

Muīnu-d-dīn Chishti, saint, i. 418, ii. 841

Mujd, the tree, i. 329

Mukunddarra pass, i. 15, iii. 1522, 1571, 1779

Mukunddās, (1) Nāhar Khān, ii. 988;
(2) Singh of Kotah, iii. 1522

Mūlarāja, Mūlrāj, (1) Chaulukya, i. 116;
(2) of Jaisalmer, ii. 1213, 1228

Mulla Sālīh, tutor, i. 436

Multān, ci., i. 83, 142;
earth, ii. 1154

Munawwar piyāla, a draught of opium, i. 86, ii. 661, iii.
1666

Mūnda of Jaisalmer, ii. 1200

Mūndkati, blood price, i. 211, 330, ii. 805, 874

Murād, prince, i. 435

Muralidhar, Krishna, iii. 1821

Music, ii. 752, iii. 1709

Muskat Mandavi, ii. 812, iii. 1670

Muzaffar, (1) of Ahmadābād, i. 361, ii. 785;
(2) Husain Mīrza, ii. 969

Mythology, ii. 650, 705

Nādir Shah, invades India, i. 486, ii. 1053

Nādol, t., i. 292, 343, ii. 800, 806, 808,
940, 944, 997, iii. 1450

Nāga race, i. 124, ii. 676;
fighting ascetics, iii. 1435

Nagarchāl town, i. 321;
Gurha, iii. 1274;
Pārkar, 1275, 1278

Nagari, t., i. 379, iii. 1818

Nagarseth, a city magistrate, i. 171, 231, ii. 682

Nāgnaicha, Nagnaichiān, worship of, i. 106, 326

Nāgor, t., i. 142, 389, ii. 734, 873, 954,
976, 994, 1037, iii. 1449

Nāgpahār, hill, ii. 893

Nāgpanchami festival, ii. 676

Nāhan State, ii. 1020

Nāhar Khān, (1) Kumpāwat, ii. 967, 988;
(2) of Mandor, i. 298, ii. 841

Nāharnakh, tiger-claw weapon, ii. 721.
_See_ BĀGHNAKH

Nahlwāra, Anhilwāra, i. 193

Najaf ‛Ali Khan, Quli Khān, iii. 1362

Nakkāra, naqqāra, a kettledrum, i. 215, iii. 1482 _et passim_;
aswāri, ii. 674;
naqqāra darwāza, gate where sounded, 1070

Nala and Damayanti, tale of, ii. 735, 1139

Names, taboo of, iii. 1293

Nānak, the Sikh Gura, i. 465;
panthi sect, iii. 1500

Nandi, the bull of Siva, ii. 598, 600

Nānta, t., iii. 1703, 1709

Napuji, of Būndi, iii. 1468

Nārāyan, Vishnu, iii. 1760;
-das of Būndi, iii. 1474

Nārlai, t., i. 291, 343, ii. 806, 809, 929

Narsinggarh, t., ii. 765, 767

Narua, the guinea-worm, iii. 1303

Nārūka Kachhwāhas, i. 107, ii. 1027, 1252

Narwar, t., i. 106, 376, iii. 1373

Nāsiru-d-dīn Sabuktigīn, i. 295

Nathdwāra, temple, i. 340, ii. 607, 769;
endowments, 614;
image of god removed, i. 529, ii. 609;
pillaged by Marāthas, i. 529;
pontiff, ii. 642

Nāthji Mahārāja, iii. 1694

Nāthurām, figure paraded at Holi festival, ii. 704

Naukot, Naunangal, nine forts of Mārwār, i. 109, ii. 971

Naurātri festival, ii. 673, 679

Nauroz, Nauroza, festival, i. 94, 177, 400, ii.
1021

Nawal, Newal, Jāt of Bharatpur, iii. 1360

Nawalgarh fort, iii. 1397, 1425

Nawanagar, t., ii. 1022

Nayyād, new converts to Islām, iii. 1293

Nazar, a gift from an inferior to a superior, i. 582, ii. 684
_et passim_;
nazarāna, a fine of relief, i. 177, ii. 794

Nāzir, a eunuch, guardian of harem, ii. 1030

Nekosiyar, grandson of Aurangzeb, ii. 1024

Nemi, Neminātha. _See_ ARISHTANEMI

Nepāl, refuge of Rājputs, i. 301

Nerbudda, r., prohibition against crossing, ii. 971, iii. 1503

Nigambhod Ghāt, iii. 1456

Nikumbha tribe, i. 142

Nīlāb, r., Indus, i. 248, ii. 698, 936

Nīma Sindhia, i. 463

Nīmach, t., i. 319, 504, ii. 784

Nimāj, t., ii. 817, 819, 1100

Nisia, a Jain memorial, iii. 1789

Nizāmu-l-mulk, Āsaf Jāh, i. 473, 484

Nobility, foreign stocks, i. 193

Nonanda, Nonīta, Krishna, ii. 628, 640

Nose-jewel, respect paid to, i. 502

Nūmri tribe, i. 75, ii. 855, iii. 1292, 1299

Nūndāb, a pledge by salt, iii. 1405

Nūnkaran, (1) of Bīkaner, ii. 1132;
(2) of Jaisalmer, 1224;
Shaikhāwat, 1383

Nūrābād, t., Oilman’s Bridge, ii. 913

Nūrjahān, queen, i. 422

Nushīrwān of Persia, i. 248, 253, 267, 275,
276, 277

Nushizad of Persia, i. 278

Nysa, Nyssa, ci., i. 26

Oasis, iii. 1263

Oaths, by throne, ii. 689;
among Mairs, 796;
by a pit and pebble, i. 261;
by throwing off turban, i. 512;
by arms, ii. 689

Observatories erected by Jai Singh, ii. 757

Oghna-Panarwa, district, i. 262, 316, 397

Okhamandal State, ii. 943, 1022

Omens, i. 85, 341, ii. 719, 804, 1023;
by augury, i. 85, 342, ii. 767, 796, 862,
1217, iii. 1549;
from a snake, i. 342

Omkārji temple, iii. 1388, 1663

Omophagia, eating human flesh, ii. 672

Omphis, King, i. 125, ii. 626, 1185

One-eyed person, unlucky, ii. 1234, iii. 1573

Opium-eating, i. 82, 86, 213, ii. 661, 749,
880, 1149, 1254;
trade, 1110;
pledge by eating, ii. 750

Or, Orh, tribe, iii. 1785

Oracles given by Jogis, ii. 948, 949

Orchha, t., i. 140, 436

Ordeal, of confession, iii. 1314;
trial by, ii. 1113;
by oath, iii. 1645

Oreitai tribe, iii. 1656

Osi, Osiān, t., ii. 603, 765, 1108

Oswāl Mahājans, ii. 603, 765, 851, 1108, 1193

Ottorokorrhai tribe, i. 52

Oxen of Gujarāt, i. 422

Ozene, Ujjain, i. 249

Pabuji, hero, i. 329, ii. 843

Pachbhadra, Panchbhadra, salt lake, ii. 813, 1005, 1107

Pachīsi game, ii. 754, iii. 1823

Pachpahār hill, ii. 729

Padma, worship of, ii. 673, 696

Padmini of Chitor, i. 307

Pagri, a turban; pagri badal bhāi, brother by exchange of turbans, iii.
1347

Pajūn of Jaipur, iii. 1332

Pāl, Raja of Delhi, i. 63

Pālanpur, Pālārgarh, t., i. 451

Pāli, t., ii. 778, 811, 942, 949, 1073,
1109

Palibothra, ci., i. 36, 51

Pālitāna, t., ii. 603, 838

Pāliwāl Brāhmans, ii. 812, 942, 1255

Pāliya, a memorial stone, iii. 1700.
_See_ JUJHĀR

Pālod, t., i. 414, ii. 597, 645

Pamir mountains, i. 164

Pān, betel, _see_ ʽITR-PĀN;
given before battle, i. 346, 381, 481, 552,
570;
as an offer of service, ii. 969, 1040

Panchāla, Panchālaka, kingdom, i. 32, 50

Panchāyat, a village or caste council, i. 171, 215, 575,
ii. 1109, 1114

Panchranga, the flag of Mārwār and Jaipur, i. 163, ii. 834,
960, 1051

Pandaia, i. 37

Pāndhari, pandhri, tax, i. 520, 530

Pāndya, km., i. 53

Pānipat, battle, i. 486

Panjnad, the Upper Indus, r., i. 22, ii. 1187, 1211

Panwār tribe. _See_ PRAMĀRA

Pāpa Bāi, i. 361

Pār, r. _See_ PĀRBATI

Paraitakai tribe, i. 125, ii. 626

Pāras patthar, the philosopher’s stone, iii. 1647

Parasurāma destroys the Kshatriyas, i. 43, iii. 1442

Pārbati, Pār, r., i. 18, iii. 1465

Parbatsar, t., ii. 851, 1084, 1085;
battle, i. 537

Pardhān, a leader, prime minister, i. 214, 216, 479,
556, ii. 967

Parihār tribe, i. 107, 113, 119, ii. 839, 904,
iii. 1444

Pārkar, t. _See_ NAGAR PĀRKAR

Parmāl, Paramardi, Chandel, ii. 716, 718, 719

Parmavati, ci., i. 109

Parnāla. _See_ PANHĀLA

Paropanisos range, i. 28

Pārsvanāth, twenty-third Jain Tīrthankara, i. 108, 125

Partāb Singh, (1) of Jaipur, ii. 875, iii. 1362, 1575;
(2) of Bīkaner, ii. 1138;
(3) I. of Mewār, i. 385;
(4) II. of Mewar, 496;
(5) Shaikhāvat, iii. 1400

Partābgarh State, i. 347

Pārvati, worship of, ii. 671, 687

Parvez, Parvīz, prince, i. 417, 430, ii. 973, iii. 1486

Pāsbāni caste, iii. 1630

Paseti, a plough tax, ii. 1158

Pātaliputra, ci., i. 37, ii. 1173

Pātan, battle, ii. 876, 1074;
in Jaipur, iii. 1439.
_See_ ANHILWĀRA PĀTAN

Patār, the Central Indian tableland, i. 10, 15, iii. 1471,
1680

Patel, a village headman, i. 171, 581, ii. 1115, iii.
1550;
a title of Mahādaji Sindhia, ii. 1058;
barār, a tax, iii. 1551

Paterero, a kind of ordnance, iii. 1719

Patta, a patent, grant, i. 191, 557;
Bahi, book of grants, 205, 578;
pattāwat, pattāyat, holder of a grant, 182, 231, 245,
ii. 1116

Patta, the hero, i. 380.
_See_ JAIMALL

Pauliya, Poliya, image at entrance of a temple, iii. 1774

Pāwagarh, t., i. 115

Pem Singh, of Kotah, iii. 1523

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, i. 48, 249

Persian descent of Mewār family, i. 271;
wheel, iii. 1661

Pethapur, Pītapur, t., i. 119

Peti, a ration, i. 196, ii. 964, iii. 1413

Phāg, the Holi festival, ii. 661

Phagesia festival, ii. 700, 703

Phaggi, t., ii. 1087

Phālgun, month, festivals, ii. 660

Phallic worship, i. 264, ii. 698, 704

Phalodi, t., ii. 813, 955, 1065, 1225

Philosopher’s stone. _See_ PĀRAS PATTHAR

Phūladola, flower festival, ii. 699

Phūlra, t., ii. 941, 1141

Pichola lake, i. 405, 434, 446

Pīla Khāl at Bayāna, i. 349, 356, iii. 1817

Pillars, memorial, i. 90.
_See_ JUJHĀR, PĀLIYA, SEORA

Pindāris, raids by, i. 8;
treatment in Kotah, iii. 1573;
campaign of Marquess of Hastings, 1577

Pīpal, the sacred fig-tree, i. 95, ii. 610, 674,
803;
Prāchi, i. 96

Pīpār, t., ii. 851, 952

Piram, Piramgarh, island, i. 137, 291

Pirthirāj. _See_ PRITHIVIRĀJA

Pīsāngan, t., ii. 901, 965

Pitri, pitrideva, the sainted ancestors, i. 33, 89, 325,
ii. 678, 837, 1041

Pokaran fief, i. 218, ii. 818, 822, 831, 955,
1066, iii. 1271

Pokharna, Pushkarna Brāhmans, i. 32, ii. 1255

Polygamy, i. 357, 358, ii. 711

Poppy cultivation, iii. 1667

Porus, i. 47, 249, ii. 782

Posthumous births, causes of discord, ii. 1081, iii. 1376

Pramāra tribe, i. 107, 111, ii. 941, iii. 1444, 1693

Prasioi tribe, i. 37, ii. 1173

Pratihāra tribe. _See_ PARIHĀRA

Prayāg, Prāg, Allāhābād, i. 46, ii. 1173

Prayer-call, prohibited, ii. 1058

Precipice, suicide by jumping from, iii. 1663

Premiers, i. 214

Priesthood, influence, ii. 589;
priestly functions of Rānas, i. 32, 247, 260, ii.
602, 659

Primogeniture, i. 494, ii. 1071, iii. 1370;
set aside, i. 465, ii. 975

Prisoners, treatment of, ii. 1112

Prithivi, Prithivirāja, (1) Chauhān, i. 38, 104, 113,
133, 136, 140, 299, ii. 715, 937;
(2) I. of Jaipur, iii. 1336;
(3) II. of Jaipur, 1361;
(4) of Bīkaner, i. 398;
(5) of Mārwār, ii. 985;
(6) of Kotah, iii. 1604

Pūgal fief, ii. 730, 945, 1124, 1185

Pūnpāl of Jaisalmer, ii. 1210

Pur, t., ii. 909; Purmandal, t., i. 449, 466, ii.
1004, 1008

Purānas, i. Introd. xl, 23

Pushkar lake, ii. 590, 891;
Brāhmans, _see_ POKHARNA

Putra, a deified youth, i. 288, 326, ii. 952

Qāimkhāni. _See_ KĀIMKHĀNI

Qarāval, a running fight, iii. 1659

Qitār. _See_ KITĀR

Qutbu-l-mulk. _See_ KUTBU-L-MULK

Rabāri tribe, ii. 1193, iii. 1297

Rābri, maize pottage, ii. 846, 972

Rāēmall of Chitor, i. 340, iii. 1475

Rāēpāl of Mārwār, ii. 943

Rāēsāl Darbāri, iii. 1384

Rāēsen, t., i. 349, 356

Rāē Singh of Bīkaner, i. 399, ii. 958, 1132

Rāēthāna, Rājputāna, i. 1

Rafiu-d-darajāt, Emperor, i. 475, ii. 1024;
Rafiu-d-daula, Emperor, ii. 1024

Raghudeva, hero, i. 325;
Raghugarh, t., i. 5, 15;
Raghuvansi, title of Rānas, i. 247

Rahat, Bhattis, ii. 1157;
Rahatgarh, t., i. 4

Rahkala, a swivel gun, ii. 821

Rahmi, km., i. 249

Rāhup of Chitor, i. 305

Rainsi, Chauhān, iii. 1463

Rājagriha, Rājgīr, t., i. 51, 64

Rājār tribe, i. 21, iii. 1299, 1310

Rājeswari, worship of, i. 106

Rāj Jogi, chief warrior ascetic, ii. 681

Rājkumār tribe, infanticide, ii. 743

Rājloka, ladies’ apartments, ii. 992

Rājputs, origin of, i. Introd. xxxi, 160, 248;
alienated from Mughals, i. 461;
of Jaipur, iii. 1430;
amusements, ii. 750;
pride in ancestry, i. 162;
apostates, 463;
love of arms, ii. 752;
of Bīkaner, ii. 1149;
refusing to bow before royalty, ii. 990;
relations with Brāhmans, i. 34;
alliances with British, i. 146, ii. 882;
character, ii. 707, 747;
regard for dignity, i. 428, ii. 990;
dress, ii. 758;
love of drinking, i. 82, 85;
furniture, ii. 757;
gambling, i. 85, 208;
genealogies, 29;
loyalty, _see_ SWĀMIDHARMA;
manners and morals, ii. 708, 1059;
alliances with Mughals, i. 178, 193, 435;
generals in Mughal service, i. 179, 226;
league against Mughals, i. 465;
love of music, ii. 752;
patriotism, i. 224;
religion, i. 80, 81;
Thirty-six Royal Tribes, i. 97;
States, how distinguished, ii. 801;
superstitions, ii. 759;
tribal system, i. 154, ii. 801;
virtues, ii. 747;
devotion of women, ii. 713;
influence of women, ii. 735;
respect for women, ii. 709, 735, 746

Rājsamund lake, i. 263, 454

Rāj Singh, (1) of Bīkaner, ii. 1138;
(2) I. of Mewār, i. 434, ii. 606;
(3) II. of Mewār, i. 442, 496, ii. 995, 1011

Rakhabhdev, Rakhabhnāth, temple, i. 393

Rākhi, a wrist amulet, i. 364, ii. 677, 942

Rakhwāli, protection, blackmail, i. 203, 231, 554,
578, ii. 794, iii. 1411

Rākshasa, a demon, marriage by capture, ii. 745

Rāma, a deified hero, i. 55, 252;
his birth festival, ii. 673

Rāmāyana epic, ii. 693

Rāmdeoji, hero, ii. 843, iii. 1272

Rāmeswar, i. 18;
Rāmesvaram, i. 388, iii. 1511

Rām Singh, (1) of Mārwār, ii. 1054;
(2) of Būndi, iii. 1520, 1740;
(3) of Jaipur, 1341

Ran, Rann of Cutch, i. 19, iii. 1264

Rāna, title of princes of Mewār, i. 305

Ranchhor, Krishna, ii. 609, 619

Rāngar, Rāngra caste, i. 535, iii. 1550

Rani, t., ii. 812, 1146

Ranjīt Singh, Sikh, i. 131

Ranmall of Mārwār, i. 323, 325, 327, ii. 945,
946

Ranthambhor fort, i. 5, 15, 16, 319, 359,
365, iii. 1481

Rāo, Mahārāo, a title, iii. 1528

Rasāla, Risāla, Rasāladār, Risāladār, a civil and military title, iii.
1519

Rāsmandal dance, ii. 629, 634, iii. 1819

Rasora, a refectory, i. 215, 370

Ratan Singh, (1) of Mewār, i. 359;
(2) pretender at Mewār, i. 497, 505

Rāthor, Rāthaur tribe, i. 105, ii. 929, 1105, 1149;
derivation of name, ii. 930, 933;
sections, i. 106;
origin of, 161, ii. 823;
arrival in Mārwār, 940;
goddess of, i. 106, 326;
mythical dynasty of Kanauj, i. 161, ii. 824

Ratlām, t., i. 416, 529, ii. 965

Rāwal, Rāwat, titles, i. 249, 479, 481, ii. 1196

Razīyah, Sultān, ii. 1164

Rent, collection of, i. 582, ii. 1115

Revenues and rights of Crown, in Mewār, i. 168, 585;
Mārwār, ii. 1114;
Bīkaner, 1156;
Jaisalmer, 1249;
Jaipur, iii. 1432;
Kotah, 1550

Rhamnae tribe, i. 249

Riān, t., ii. 875, 888, 955, 1065

Risāla, Risāladār. _See_ RASĀLA

Rishabhadeva, first Jain Tirthankara, i. 58, 337

Robes, poisoned, ii. 728, 867, 985

Roe, Sir T., i. 161, 248, 407, 424

Rohilla tribe, ii. 782

Rohri Bakhar, ii. 1134

Rohtāsgarh fort, i. 106

Rori, pebbles found in the Chambal r., iii. 1757

Roshan-akhtar, Emperor, i. 475

Roshanu-d-daula mosque, i. 487

Rūi, jungle in the desert, ii. 1246, iii. 1265

Rūmi Khān, i. 362

Rūpnagar, t., i. 119, 440, ii. 799

Sa'ādat Khān, i. 487

Sabal Singh of Jaisalmer, ii. 1225

Sabuktīgīn. _See_ NĀSIRU-D-DĪN

Sadābrat, Sadāvrat, free distribution of food, i. 328, ii.
597

Sadāni tribe, i. 380

Sādhāni Shaikhāwats, iii. 1422

Sādhu, marriage of, ii. 730

Sādik, Sādiq Muhammad Khān of Bahāwalpur, iii. 1301

Sādri, fief, i. 233, 345, 380, 394, ii. 712,
iii. 1631

Safdar Jang, i. 484

Saffron robes, worn on going into battle, i. 226, 334, ii.
793, 1044, iii. 1471, 1483, 1491, 1522;
at marriage, ii. 1025;
men sworn to die marked with saffron water, ii. 1050

Sahāran, Tāk, i. 118, 126

Sahariya tribe, i. 21, ii. 651, 813, 814, 950,
1073, iii. 1262, 1298

Sahu, ‘honest,’ a title of Sivaji, i. 471;
Sahukār, a banker, ii. 1185

Saila, Sailadīsa, a title of Bappa, i. 261

Sāīr, miscellaneous revenue, ii. 1116, 1157

Saisunāga dynasty, i. 64

Saiva sect, privileges of, ii. 598

Sajji, barilla, ii. 813, 885, 1118

Sakadwīpa, i. 88, 123, 351, ii. 1172

Sakai tribe, i. 88, ii. 705 _et passim_

Sākambhari Devi, worship of, i. 76, 98, iii. 1449

Sakarwāl, Sakarwār, tribe, i. 141

Sākha, shākha, a branch, race, section of a tribe, i. 98,
101, 106, 111, 115 _et passim_

Sākha, a general massacre, i. 85, 309, ii. 1180,
1215, 1216

Sakta of Mewār, i. 174, 413;
Saktāwat clan, feud with Chondāwats, i. 175, 412, 511,
ii. 766, 909, iii. 1622

Sakti Devi, goddess, i. 113;
Sakti Kumār of Mewār, i. 270, 271, 281, ii. 808

Sakuntala, i. 52

Salābat Khān, assassination of, ii. 976

Sālakh, Salkha of Mārwār, ii. 944

Salār, Silār tribe, i. 138

Sālbāhan. _See_ SĀLIVĀHANA

Sālgirah, the birthday knot, iii. 1697

Salīm, (1) prince, _see_ JAHĀNGĪR;
(2) Singh, prime minister of Jaisalmer, ii. vol_2_1230;
Salīmshāhi rupees, iii. 1669

Sālivāhan, Salivāhana, (1) the hero, i. 110;
(2) of Jaisalmer, ii. 1180, 1207

Salkha. _See_ SĀLAKH

Salono festival, ii. 677

Salt, as a pledge of good faith, iii. 1405;
eating of, a pledge of loyalty, ii. 981;
production and trade, ii. 813, 1107, 1117, 1118

Salūmbar fief, i. 380, 409;
privileges of the chief, i. 185, 216, 217, 429,
481, 518, 557;
his crest, 235, 324

Samarsi, Samar Singh of Mewār, i. 281, 297, ii. 937

Sambhaji, i. 451

Sāmbhar, ci. and lake, i. 114, 331, ii. 955, 1015,
1033, 1107

Sambos, i. 103, 255, ii. 1189, 1219

Samma tribe, ii. 1189, 1219

Samprati, grandson of Asoka, i. 336, ii. 779, 809,
899

Sāmpu lake, legend, ii. 852

Samūgarh, battle, i. 434, iii. 1491

Sanad, a royal grant, i. 177, ii. 825

Sāncher Māta, worship of, iii. 1444

Sānchor, t., i. 115, ii. 859, 941, 1010, 1105,
iii. 1269;
Brāhmans of, iii. 1272

Sanctuary, rights of, i. 230, ii. 610, 613, 614,
648, _see_ SARAN;
violation of, 613

Sandhills, ii. 1149

Sandracottus, Chandragupta, i. 37, 49

Sāng, a lance, ii. 793, 1058

Sanga of Mewār, _see_ SANGRĀM SINGH;
Sangāwat Sesodias, i. 176, 188, 222, 380, ii.
908.
_See_ CHONDĀWAT

Sangala, ci., i. 128

Sangam, a sacred river junction, i. 18, ii. 704

Sangrām Singh, Sanga, (1) of Mewār, i. 341, 348;
(2) II. of Mewār, i. 472

Sanīchar, Saturday, unlucky, ii. 722

Sanjogta, tale of, ii. 725

Sankh, ransankh, the conch, war shell, ii. 720, iii. 1527

Sānkhla Pramārs, i. 111, 295, ii. 731, 941,
1123

Sānkra, r., iii. 1315

Sankrānt, Sankrānti, the solstices, i. 94, ii. 655, 837

Sannyāsi ascetics, i. 581, ii. 590, 773

Sansani, t., iii. 1358

Sāntal of Mārwār, ii. 950

Sar, a lake, usually salt, ii. 857, 1153

Sarad, the autumn season, ii. 656, 694

Saran, sarana, sanctuary, i. 230, 451, ii. 767,
831, 999, 1012 _et passim_

Sāras, the great crane, _Grus antigone_, ii. 719

Sarasvati, r., ii. 890, 1043;
Brāhmans, ii. 1127, 1148, _see_ SARSŪT;
the goddess, iii. 1774

Sarbuland Khān, i. 484, ii. 867, 932, 1039,
1040

Sardesmukh, a Marātha official, i. 471

Sārdūla, a griffin-like figure. _See_ GRĀS

Sariaspa tribe, i. 137, ii. 916

Sarsūt Brāhmans. _See_ SARASVATI

Sarūp Singh, (1) of Bīkaner, ii. 1137;
(2) of Kotah, iii. 1541

Sarwaiya tribe, i. 137, ii. 917

Sarwariya tribe, i. 119

Sāsan, land grants to Brāhmans, ii. 590

Sasavindu tribe, i. 47

Sātal of Mārwār, ii. 950;
Sātalmer, t., ii. 950, 955, 1221

Sātāra, royal family, i. 314

Sati, suttee, immolation of wife with husband, origin, i. 88, ii.
737;
cases of, ii. 837, 1030, 1213, iii. 1478, 1514;
shrines, ii. 740, 777;
dread of curses by, ii. 867, 1060, iii. 1477, 1657;
oath by, iii. 1657

Sātphera, seven revolutions of bride and bridegroom round sacred fire,
ii. 795

Satrunjaya, ci., i. 415, ii. 603, 838

Sātur, t., iii. 1713, 1714

Saura sect, Sun worshippers, i. 254

Saurāshtra. _See_ SURĀSHTRA

Sauromatae, tribe, ii. 651

Sauvīra, i. 93

Sawāi, a honorific title, ii. 969, 1014

Sāwan, the month, festivals in, ii. 675;
Tīj, ii. 675, iii. 1274

Sayyid Abdulla, wazīr, iii. 1391;
Sayyids of Bārha, i. 467, 473, ii. 857, 1026

Scapegoat, human, iii. 1663

Scutage, i. 173

Scythians, traditions of, i. 70;
incorporated with Hindus, ii. 653;
descent of Rājputs from, i. 29, 73, ii. 653;
dress, theogony, i. 79;
religion, war, i. 80;
polyandry derived from, 401;
use of handmarks, 419;
sword worship, ii. 680

Seals, devices on, i. 482

Seasons, Hindu classification of, ii. 656

Sehat tribe, i. 295

Sehwān, Sihwān, ci., i. 5, 255, ii. 894, iii. 1312

Sengar tribe, i. 141

Sengār, Singār, Chāori, temples, i. 132, iii. 1758, 1816

Seora, an inscribed pillar, i. 158

Ser, a weight, about 2 lbs., ii. 597;
serāna, grain allowances to officials, i. 236, 581, ii.
597, iii. 1625

Serpent, worship among Scythians, i. 43, ii. 677;
among Hindus, ii. 676;
identifying an heir, i. 342, ii. 1217, iii. 1330;
fount of king, iii. 1768;
saffron offered to, iii. 1648;
haunting a gate in Agra fort, ii. 978;
Sāmpu lake, legend, 852.
_See_ TAKSHAK

Sesoda, village, i. 101, 252, ii. 773, iii. 1752;
Sesodia clan, i. 101, 162, 305;
origin of name, i. 47, 252, iii. 1752;
in Imperial service, i. 429

Seta tribe, ii. 1221

Setrām of Kanauj, ii. 940

Setubandha bridge, i. 292

Seventy-four and a half, an unlucky number, i. 383

Shab-i-barāt, a Musalmān festival, ii. 696

Shāh ‛Ālam Bahādur, Emperor, i. 460, 464, 466

Shāhbāz Khān, General, i. 396, 403;
Lāl, saint, iii. 1313

Shāh Jahān, Emperor, favours Saivism, ii. 608.
_See_ KHURRAM

Shahnā, Shahnah, a watcher of cut crops, i. 583

Shāhpura, t., i. 38;
fief, i. 168, 198;
feud with Amargarh, i. 212, iii. 1719

Shaikhāvati federation, iii. 1378;
Shaikhji, a saint, iii. 1380

Shāista Khān, ii. 983, 1020

Shāmnāth, Syāmnāth, Krishna, iii. 1818

Shaving in mourning, i. 402, ii. 745.
_See_ HAIR

Shenvi Brāhmans, i. 524

Sheo, Sheo-Kotra, t., iii. 1272, 1321

Sheodān Singh of Mewār, ii. 752

Sheogarh fief, i. 214, 512

Sheopur, State, i. 138, ii. 619, iii. 1574

Sheorātri festival, i. 94, 95, ii. 655

Sher, Shīr, Khān, Emperor, i. 39;
defeats Humāyūn, i. 373;
attack on Mārwār, ii. 956;
sarcasm on Mārwār, ii. 835, 931, 957

Shernāla valley, ii. 774, 795

Sheshnāg, the serpent which supports the world, ii. 980, iii.
1648;
a Takshak leader, i. 37, 64, 125

Shields, gifts presented in, i. 552, ii. 689;
oath by, 689;
of rhinoceros hide, 752

Shihāba, meteoric fires, i. 89

Shīhābu-d-din, Muhammad Ghori, invades India, i. 50, 117,
300, 302, ii. 718, 937, 939;
murder of, i. 225

Shikārpur, t., ii. 1249

Shīshmahall, a hall decorated with mirrors, i. 199

Shoemaker’s knife worshipped, ii. 625

Shoshpari, a mace, i. 424

Shrubs and trees in the desert, iii. 1307

Shuja prince, i. 435

Shujā'at Khān, ii. 1008

Shujāwan Singh, Shaikhāvat, iii. 1389

Shukri, a complementary levy, i. 236

Siāhji of Mārwār, i. 105, ii. 812, 930, 940,
941

Siārh, Nāthdwāra, i. 340, ii. 609, 647

Sibi tribe, ii. 634

Siddharāja Jayasingha of Anhilwāra, i. 117, 138, 300,
ii. 800, 936, 1160, 1203

Siddhpur, t., i. 449, ii. 1043

Sieges, mock, of Amber, iii. 1534;
Dhār, ii. 1199;
Būndi, iii. 1471

Siharas, Rāja, ii. 1186, iii. 1284

Sihbandi, mercenary troops, ii. 1251

Sikandar, (1) Rūmi, Alexander the Great, ii. 1134;
(2) Shāh, of Delhi, i. 375;
(3) us-Sāni, Alāu-d-dīn, i. 312

Sikhar, sikhara, the pinnacle of a Hindu temple, ii. 600

Sikhs, the, i. 464

Sikka, a seal, coinage, ii. 883

Sīkot, Sīyakot, the mirage, i. 20, ii. 884, 887

Sīkri, Fatehpur, i. 141, 349

Silāh, armour, Silāhdevi, goddess of arms, ii. 1017;
Silāh-khāna, an armoury, 752;
Silāhposh, a man in armour, 1062

Silār tribe, i. 138

Silver mines, i. 14

Sind, r., i. 18, ii. 1243;
derivation of name, i. 248, ii. 1243;
Sindsāgar, i. 130;
Sindi mercenaries, i. 181, 507

Sindhia family, i. 227

Singār. _See_ SENGĀR

Singhi Brāhmans, ii. 1075

Sipra, r., i. 18, 500, ii. 1034

Sirohi, t., ii. 969, 1042;
sword, 752, 1058

Sisira, the cold season, ii. 656

Sīstān, ii. 1188

Sīta, consort of Rāma, her hot well, iii. 1511;
the cold season, ii. 656

Sītala Māta, the small-pox goddess, ii. 664, 1038

Siva, the god, ii. 598;
worshipped at river junctions, i. 18, ii. 704;
his symbol, 598;
Rānas his vicegerents, ii. 602, 662;
his worship, 598, 601;
his priests, 601;
three-eyed, 601;
cult approved by Shāhjahān, 608;
connected with the Sun, 699.
_See_ ĪSVARA, LINGAM, MAHĀDEVA, EKLINGJI

Sivaji, descent of, i. 314;
letter to Aurangzeb, 442;
kills Afzu-l Khān, ii. 721;
capture and escape, 984;
death, 986

Sivarātri festival. _See_ SHEORĀTRI

Sīwāna, Sīwānchi, t., district, ii. 955, 959, 996,
1005, 1006, 1010, 1020, iii. 1268

Sixteen chiefs of Mewār, i. 428, 588

Skinner, Col. J., ii. 662;
Horse, 761

Skulls used as drinking-vessels, i. 82;
tower of, i. 357

Slaves, slavery, i. 206

Small-pox. _See_ SĪTALA MĀTA

Snake. _See_ SERPENT

Soap-nuts, ii. 761

Socotra, Sokotra, island, ii. 703

Soda, Sodha, tribe, i. 21, 111, 372, ii. 941, iii.
1283, 1291, 1294

Sogdoi tribe, i. 5, 111, 372, iii. 1283

Soils, in Mārwār, ii. 1106;
in Mewār, iii. 1625;
in Jaisalmer, ii. 1247

Solanki, Solankhi tribe, i. 107, 116, 119, ii. 941,
iii. 1444

Solar and Lunar Rājputs, i. 31, 32, 40, 99

Solstices, festivals at, i. 94, ii. 655

Somji, murder of, i. 514

Somnāth, t., i. 287

Sonigir, Sonagir, Jālor; Chauhāns, i. 112, 115, 291,
293, 304, 369, 380, 384, ii. 797,
941, 944, iii. 1266

Soning, Durga, hero, ii. 997, 1003

Sophagasenas of Kābul, ii. 1176, 1188

Sora, Sorai, tribe, i. 254

Sovereign, his position in Mewār, i. 174

Spitting, conveying spiritual power, i. 265

Sport, ii. 750

Srāwak, the Jain laity, i. 369

Sri Mathura, t., i. 5, 103

Srinagar, t., i. 342

Sringi Rishi, ii. 1148

States, distinctions of, i. 145

Steell, Capt., adventure with a snake, ii. 978

Stones, precious, i. 15;
representing dead warriors, iii. 1700.
_See_ JUJHĀR, PĀLIYA

Subhkaran Singh, Bundela, i. 140

Sub-infeudation, i. 199

Succession, law of, iii. 1370.
_See_ PRIMOGENITURE

Sudasheo Bhāo, Marātha, ii. 878

Suevi, i. 80, ii. 669

Sugar cane, cultivation of, iii. 1626

Sui Bāh, Gām, Vihār, t., ii. 1109, iii. 1277

Suicide by jumping over cliffs, iii. 1663

Sūja, Sūrajmall of Mārwār, ii. 952;
Sūja Chauhān and the tiger, i. 333

Sujān Singh of Bīkaner, ii. 1047, 1137

Sukhdeo, cave worship of, iii. 1663

Sukri, r., i. 13

Sulaimān Koh, mountains, ii. 782

Sultāngraha, Dujgandeo of Būndi, iii. 1451

Sumeru, mount, i. 24, ii. 1001

Sumptuary edicts, i. 240

Sūmra tribe. _See_ UMAR-SŪMRA

Sun and moon worship, ii. 623, 657;
descent from the Sun, i. 247;
Sun, Heaven of the dead, _see_ SŪRYALOKA;
pregnancy caused by the sun, 274;
Sun and Siva worship, ii. 699.
_See_ SAURA

Sunga dynasty, i. 65

Sunth, t., iii. 1822

Sūrajmall, (1) of Bharatpur, iii. 1359;
(2) of Būndi, i. 359, iii. 1476;
of Mārwār, ii. 952;
(3) of Mewār, i. 342

Sūrajpol, the gate of the Sun, i. 217, ii. 659

Surasenoi tribe, i. 48

Surāshtra, i. 254;
pillars dedicated to the dead, 90;
invaded by barbarians, 256, 269

Sūrat Singh of Bīkaner, ii. 1139

Surjan Singh of Būndi, iii. 1480, 1483

Sūrpur, Sūryapur, t., i. 48, ii. 607, 622

Sūrsāgar lake, ii. 972, 1014, 1025

Sūr Singh of Mārwār, ii. 835, 969

Sūrthān, (1) of Toda, i. 344;
(2) of Nimāj, ii. 818, 1098, 1099;
(3) of Būndi, iii. 1479;
(4) of Sirohi, ii. 969, 989

Surveys of Rājputana, i. 2

Sūrya, the Sun god, ii. 651;
gokhra, balcony, ii. 659;
kunda, fountain, i. 257;
loka, Paradise, ii. 843, 1045;
mahall, hall, 659;
mandala, Paradise, 1003;
Prakās, chronicle, 931, 1026, 1046;
-vansa, sun-born race, i. 55, 247

Sutherland, Col. R., i. 526

Suttee. _See_ SATI

Swāmīdharma, loyalty, i. 200, 224, ii. 967

Swāt, district, i. 295;
Swāti tribe, ii. 1221

Swayamvara, selection of husband by a maiden, ii. 735, 936

Sword, varieties of, ii. 752;
made by Visvakarma, i. 264;
made at Bīkaner and Sirohi, ii. 752, 1058, 1155;
bestowed on chiefs, ii. 663;
investiture with, i. 90, 185, 223;
representing an absent bridegroom, 359;
waved during an incantation, 339;
oath by, ii. 689;
worship, i. 90, ii. 653, 679

Ta’aziyā, cenotaphs carried at Muharram festival, ii. 783

Tahawwur Khān, i. 445, 451, ii. 995, 996, 998

Tahera, t. _See_ BAHRA

Tājik tribe, i. 75, 124

Tāk, Takshak, the snake race, i. Introd. xxxii, 43, 123,
ii. 626, 677, 839, 1184, iii. 1769;
Kund, iii. 1768

Takshasilanagari, ci., i. 110, ii. 782

Talāwari, Tarāin, battle, i. 302

Tālpuri tribe, ii. 854, iii. 1299

Talwār, tarwār, a sword: bandhāi, investiture with, iii. 1685.
_See_ KHARG-BANDHĀI

Tambavatinagari, ci., ii. 912

Tamgha. _See_ ALTAMGHA

Tana, Tanuja Māta, shrine of, ii. 1187;
Tano, Tanuji, of Jaisalmer, 1191

Tānda, a Banjāra caravan, i. 205, ii. 814, 815, 1117

Tank, sacred, rite of cleansing, ii. 1228

Tanka, tankha, a reservoir, ii. 1153

Tanot, t., i. 293, 298, ii. 1187

Tantia Jog, Marātha, iii. 1771

Tāpi Bāori, ii. 967

Tappa, a fiscal area, i. 584;
a measure in music, 550

Taprobanē, Ceylon, ii. 842

Tāra Bāi, i. 344, ii. 782

Tāragarh, fort at Ajmer, ii. 901, 970;
at Būndi, iii. 1505

Tarāin. _See_ TALĀWARI

Tararoi district, iii. 1271

Tarkīn Pīr, a saint, ii. 1089

Tashkend, Tashkent, i. 75, 124

Tātarīya dirham, a coin, ii. 913

Tatta, Tatha, t., ii. 1204;
and Multān, lords of, i. 134

Tāwari tribe. _See_ THORI

Taxila, ci., ii. 626, 782;
Chitor, i. 110

Tejsi, Tej Singh of Chitor, i. 297, ii. 894

Teli, an oilman, bridge of, ii. 913;

Telini, plant used as a blister, ii. 728

Temples, Hindu, destroyed by Aurangzeb, iii. 1388

Thal, sand ridges, iii. 1265

Tharād State, i. 119, ii. 1010, iii. 1277, 1278

Thīda of Mārwār, ii. 944

Thirty-six Royal Races, i. 97

Thomas, George, i. 526, ii. 1166, iii. 1409

Thori, Tori, Tāwari tribe, i. 244, ii. 1148, iii. 1300

Thread, Brahmanical. _See_ JANEO, ZUNNĀR

Throne, oath by, i. 406, 456

Thugs, prohibition against harbouring, i. 244

Thūn, t., sieges of, iii. 1358

Thyssagetae, ii. 680

Tība, tibba, a sandhill, i. 22

Tiger of Morwan, iii. 1649

Tīj festival, ii. 675, iii. 1274

Tīka, mark on forehead impressed at inauguration, i. 262 _et
passim_, _see_ TĪLAK;
tīkadaur, ceremonial foray of a new Rāja, i. 315, 439, ii.
1008, 1183, iii. 1540

Tīlak, mark of inauguration, i. 276, ii. 1030.
_See_ TĪKA

Tīmūr, Taimūr, invasion of India, i. 131, ii. 1165

Tin mines, i. 14, 169, 321, 397, 585

Tirbeni. _See_ TRIVENI

Tithes, ii. 594, 597

Tobacco, introduced in reign of Jahāngīr, ii. 749;
abolition of monopoly, i. 159, 239

Tod, J., his life and works, i. Introd. xxv;
his survey, 2;
agent of Mewār, Mārwār, Jaisalmer, and other States, i. 549, ii.
1094, 1243;
attempt to poison, iii. 1716;
accident at Begūn, 1810;
at battle of Māngrol, 1602

Tod, John, death of, ii. 790

Toda, t., ii. 782, 783, iii. 1455.
_See_ TONK TODA

Togra tribe, i. 116

Tomara. _See_ TUAR

Tomato plant, iii. 1309

Tonga, battle, ii. 875, 1073

Tonk State, i. 544;
Tonk Toda, i. 110, ii. 783, iii. 1455

Tonwar. _See_ TUAR

Toran, a marriage or ceremonial arch, i. 317, ii. 681,
685, 808, 840

Tori tribe.
_See_ THORI

Totemism, i. 43, ii. 1191

Treaties, with Udaipur, ii. 927;
Mārwār, iii. 1829;
with Jaisalmer, iii. 1830;
with Jaipur, iii. 1831

Trees in Bīkaner and Mewār, iii. 1307, ii. 1151;
sacred, i. 95

Trimūrti, the Hindu triad, ii. 704

Tripolia, the triple portal, i. 550

Triveni, Tirbeni, a triple river junction, i. 18.
_See_ SANGAM

Troy, Horse of, tale, i. 308

Tuar, Tomara, Tonwar sept, i. 38, 104;
Tuargarh, Tuarvati, ii. 876, 1027

Tulapurushadāna, weighing of a Rāja against gold and valuables, ii.
590

Tulasi, the sacred basil, ii. 644

Tulja Bhavāni, worship of, iii. 1816

Turbans, change of, to mark brotherhood, i. 432, ii. 1089,
iii. 1347, 1695;
fashions of, i. 327, 409;
throwing down in submission, ii. 1231;
bound on heir, i. 221, 582

Turk, Turushka tribe, i. 272, 351, ii. 1181

Uch, Uchh, ci., ii. 1134, 1166

Uda of Mewār, i. 338

Udaipur, ci., (1) the capital of Mewār, i. 384, 405;
captured by Mahābat Khan, i. 397;
erection of buildings, 433;
palace, 550;
described by the Author, 549;
(2) t., in Shaikhāvati, iii. 1378

Udaipuri, wife of Aurangzeb, i. 440, 447

Udaisāgar lake, i. 384, 391, ii. 762

Udai Singh, (1) of Mewār, i. 367, 371;
(2) Mota Rāja of Mārwār, i. 179, ii. 890, 959,
961;
with Akbar, i. 389;
his cenotaph, ii. 835;
(3) Shaikhāvat, iii. 1393

Udayāditya of Mālwa, ii. 1203

Ujjain, Avanti, Pramār capital, i. 109;
meridian fixed at, i. 62, 109;
Ozenē of the Periplus, 249;
observatory, ii. 757;
battle, i. 518, iii. 1522

Ujla, a section of Bhīls, i. 262

Ulugh Beg, astronomer, ii. 757,iii. 1343

Umara, Omra, nobles, iii. 1708

Umarkot, t., i. 109, 111, ii. 1073, 1209, iii.
1282, 1287;
birthplace of Akbar, i. 372, ii. 956

Umar-Sūmra tribe, i. 5, 6, 20, iii. 1281, 1282, 1299

Umat, Pramārs, ii. 767

Ummed Singh, (1) of Būndi, iii. 1499;
(2) of Kotah, iii. 1540, 1575, 1581;
(3) of Shāhpura, i. 212

Undes, i. 44

Undri, chiefship of Bhīls, i. 262

Untāla, t., i. 175, 412, 415

Ūparmāl, tableland, iii. 1662

Utgir, t., i. 16, iii. 1439

Uttarakuru tribe, i. 52, 75;
Uttara Rāma Charitra, drama, ii. 715

Vādhel, Bādhel tribe, i. 476, ii. 943

Vāghela, Bāghela dynasty, i. 119

Vair, wair, a blood feud, i. 97, 211, ii. 734, 969,
iii. 1676

Vairāt, Bairāt, t., i. 100, iii. 1439

Vaivasvata Manu, i. 24

Vāla tribe, i. 134

Valabhi, ci., i. 253;
Sun fountain, 257;
era, 100, 269;
sack of, 253, 269;
Vallabhirāē, i. 122, 250

Vallabhāchārya sect, i. Introd. xxxvii

Vanaraja of Anhilwāra, i. 122, 283

Vānkaner, Bānkaner, t., i. 136

Vasant Panchami. _See_ BASANT PANCHAMI

Vasishtha, the sage, i. 113

Vassal chiefs, duties of, i. 182

Vāti. _See_ BĀTI

Vayān Māta, worship of, i. 283

Vidhyādhar, architect, ii. 1048

Vijayapura, t., i. 253;
Vijaiyaseni Bhavāni, worship of, iii. 1684

Vikrama era, i. 104;
Vikrama and Urvasi, drama, ii. 715;
Vikramāditya, i. 29, 63, 64, 104

Village servants and officials, i. 581

Vindhya mountains, i. 17;
Vindhyāvāsin Devi, worship of, iii. 1444

Vīrawāh, t., iii. 1261

Virgin forts, iii. 1674;
rape of virgins, ii. 952

Vīsaladeva, Bīsaldeo of Ajmer, i. 104, 164, 297,
299, ii. 791, 889, 893, 909, iii. 1450,
1458

Visar, visarva, a bard’s satire, ii. 742, 1059, iii. 1567,
1682

Vishnu, sleep of, ii. 655, 675, 697, 700;
festivals, 699.
_See_ CHATURBHUJA

Visvakarma, architect of the Gods, ii. 691

Visvāmitra, the Rishi, i. 34, iii. 1442

Vitthalnāth, Krishna, ii. 641

Vraj, the holy land round Mathura, i. 479, ii. 602, 607

Vyāsa, i. 30, 35

Wachuji of Jaisalmer, ii. 1201

Wajihu-l-mulk, Sahāran Tāk, i. 126

Walīd, the Caliph, i. 270, 284

Wardship, i. 188

Warriors, dead, go to Heaven without funeral rites, ii. 991

Water in the desert, ii. 1152;
waterfalls, iii. 1687, 1796

Waugh, Captain P. T., i. 8, 550, ii. 761, iii. 1826

Week, days of, ii. 694

Weighing a Rāja against gold, etc., ii. 590

Wells in the desert, iii. 1282;
hot, 1511

Wheat, varieties of, ii. 1106

Widow, marriage, ii. 795

Wilder, Mr., Superintendent of Ajmer, ii. 817, 895, 1093

Wilford, Captain, i. 40, 275, iii. 1458

Witches persecuted by Zālim Singh, ii. 1113, iii. 1615, _see_
JIGAR KHOR;
madness due to witchcraft, ii. 1065

Wives discarding their cowardly husbands, ii. 724, 982

Wolves, ii. 771

Women, position of, in North Europe, i. 84;
in Rājputāna, i. 84, ii. 709, 735, 746;
seclusion of, 710;
devotion of, 713;
courage of, 727

Woollen manufactures, ii. 1155

Yadu, Yādava tribe, i. 101.
_See_ JĀDON

Yama, god of death, ii. 696, 697

Yasodharman, ii. 644, iii. 1785

Yavana tribe, i. 272, ii. 653, 933, 1170;
a name applied to Musalmāns, ii. 1005, 1006

Yezdigird of Persia, i. 271

Yoginis, ii. 720.
_See_ JOGINI

Youths, deified. _See_ PUTRA

Yueh-chi tribe, i. 78, 128, 131, 256

Yūsufzai tribe, ii. 1207; Yūsufgol, i. 282

Zābita Khān, Bhatti, ii. 1166

Zābulistān, i. 102, 127, 286, 294

Zafar Khān, Tāk, i. 118, 126

Zālim Singh of Kotah, i. 499, iii. 1506, 1530, 1613

Zamīndār, a landholder, a title applied by Mughals to Rājput princes,
i. 421, 444

Zunnār, the Brahmanical cord, i. 264.
_See_ JANEO

THE END

_Printed by_
R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED,
_Edinburgh_.

[Illustration: RAJPUTANA OR RAJASTHAN]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Transcriber’s Note

As noted in the Editor’s introduction to Volume I, the spelling of names
and places is variable, as the system of transliteration underwent many
changes in the intervening century. The use of macrons was not yet
introduced in James Tod’s day. The bold-faced section titles were
apparently added by the editor, who did employ the macron. This text,
with very few exceptions, follows the text as printed.

Hyphenation of compound words follows the text, with the rare exception
of when it occurs on a line break and the preponderance of other
instances provides clear guidance.

Footnoted references on p. 1369 _et seq_ to sections 6 and 8 of the
Treaty given in Appendix V would seem to be incorrect. The provisions in
Appendix IV conform with the discussion. Appendix V. had not been
included in this printing, deemed to be too large.

Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and
are noted here.

This list contains issues in the main text. References are to the page
and line in the original.

ix.21 The Chauhans obtain Mahish[v/m]ati Replaced.

xvii.5 B[a/i]rslabas Replaced.

1258.10 from the position of that State[.] Added.

1259.13 with the deserts of Arachosia[.] Added.

1317.14 Alahyar-ka[ /-]Tanda Replaced.

1357.19 from which a chan[g/c]e of redemption is now Replaced.
offered

1361.6 he contributed not a little[.] Added.

1365.2 a greater loss, in his estimation[,] even Restored.

1409.2 levied contributions at Singh[h]ana Removed.

1443.27 or ‘nine habitations of the desert,’ assigned Added.
him[.]

1447.14 Mānik[a] Rāē. Added.

1585.3 was not to die with hi[n/m]. Replaced.

1626.28 to the collector for the crown[,/.] Replaced.

1755.36 His cap is the frust[r]um of a cone Removed.

1765.11 Whir[l]pools of the Chambal. Inserted.

The following list contains issues corrected or noted in the footnote
text. The reference is to the original page, the resequenced note
number, and the line within the note.

1266.1.3 Abu-l[ /-]Fazl says Replaced.

1280.3.1 (_Hobson-Jobson_, 2nd ed. 379 f.[)] Added.

1301.1.3 by Malik Muhammad Din (1908), i. 47 ff.[)]. Removed.

1341.38.2 _Oriental Biographical Dict._ 193[)]. Removed.

1355.2.4 (_BG_, i. Part i. 180 f., 182 f., ix. Part ii. Added.
26, note.[}]

1369.1.1 Appendix, No. [I]V. Added.

1371.1.2 (_Rājputāna Gazetteer_, 1879, i. 216.[)] Added.

1388.1.2 (Manucci iii. 257; _BG_, xxiv. 314.[)] Added.

1458.1.26 (_ASR_, i. Introd. xviii. note[)]. Added.

1468.3.8 its new appellation of Kishor Sagar[.] Added.

1468.3.15 to return to his wife and kin[.] Added.

1500.2.1 [About 10 miles N. of Būndi city[.] Added.

1618.4.3 For an account of the Jet[t/h]i wrestlers Replaced.

1663.1.5 [(]For human “scape-goats” of this kind Added.

1801.1.6 for the year ending June 30, 1905[)]. Added.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 3 of 3 - or the Central and Western Rajput States of India" ***

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