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TRAVELS
WESTERN INDIA.

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TRAVELS
WESTERN INDIA,
EMBRACING
A VISIT
TO
THE SACRED MOUNTS OF THE JAINS,
AND THE MOST
CELEBRATED SHRINES OF HINDU FAITH
BETWEEN
RAJPOOTANA AND THE INDUS
WITH AN
ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT CITY OF NEHRWALLA
BY
THE LATE LIEUTENANT-COLONEL JAMES TOD,
AUTHOR OF "ANNALS OF RAJASTHAN."
LONDON:
Wм. H. ALLEN AND CO., 7, LEADENHALL STREET.
1839.
Printed by J. L. Cox and SONS, 75, Great Queen Street,
Lincoln's-Inn Fields,
ΤΟ
MRS. COLONEL WILLIAM HUNTER BLAIR.
MY DEAR MADAM:
C
UNDER whose name and auspices can I present this work to the
Public with more advantage to it and to its Author than yours?
My motives in dedicating it to you are two-fold-gratitude and in-
clination. The Public, so greatly indebted to your exquisite pencil
for its illustration, can appreciate the former; but the other could
be understood only by one who, like me, has been followed into the
heart of the Hindoo Olympus by an adventurous Countrywoman, who
has the taste to admire and the skill to delineate the beauties it con-
tains. It would have been sufficient to command my homage that
you had been at Aboo; but you have done more you have brought
Aboo to England.
I am,
MY DEAR MADAM,
Faithfully and truly your's,
JAMES TOD.
ADVERTISEMENT.
ALTHOUGH the publication of this work has been unavoidably
delayed for a considerable period, the manuscript was left by the
Author in a state almost complete a few unimportant omissions in
the Appendix it has been found impossible to supply. Except that
the work has been deprived of the benefit it would have received
from the Author's last revision, it is essentially in the exact state in
which he would have given it to the world. A variety of hints occur
amongst his papers of topics which he intended to treat of in the
Preface to this book; but it would be presumptuous in any other
to make such use of such materials.* By the delay, an additional
* The following fragment may be here introduced, as singularly illustrative of the
feelings and motives of the Author:-" Custom has taught us to dread the ordeal of a
second appearance before the public; but I feel no alarm; on the contrary, fortified by the
encouragement I have received, I send forth this as a companion of the other great tomes
produced by the same motive and nurtured under the same circumstances.
Were this new
candidate a work of imagination, I might labour under some apprehension; but the materials
are the same as those, to the arrangement, as well as to the accumulation, of which I devoted
all the energies which God has granted me. Heart and soul did I labour for the one, and
with the same idolatrous affection for the subject have I given up every pursuit, every
thought, to this, in the hope of making the Rajpoots known by their works. The scene is
removed; but I linger awhile in the skirts of Rajpootana, to lead my reader into the hardly
less interesting region of Saurashtra, and to the mounts, as sacred to the monotheistic Jain
as were Gerazim or Sinai to the Israelite."
A
viii
ADVERTISEMENT.
interest has been imparted to the subject of the work, by the flood
of light which is now pouring upon the antiquities of Western India
-the Girnar inscriptions, in particular, being now in a course of
interpretation by the Asiatic Society of Bengal, whose learned
secretary, Mr. JAMES PRINSEP, has already discovered the name of
“Antiochus the Greek," and that of one of the Ptolemies of Egypt,
recorded in them.
The reader will find a few discordancies in the spelling of proper
names, such as Nehrwalla and Nehrwaleh; but this has been unavoid-
able. Native writers are not exact: Mr. COLEBROOKE has remarked
of the Rajpoot MSS., that "the orthography of names of persons
and places, purporting to represent the pronunciation, is not uniform
in manuscripts of the vernacular language.”
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.—Motives for the present Journey-Reasons for the Author's leaving India—
Sentiments of respect and regard of the native Princes towards the Author-His proposed
route to Bombay
CHAPTER II.
Departure from Oodipoor-Enter the pass to Gogoonda-Aspect of the country-Gassyar—
Asylum of Krishna-Discharge of servants-Improvement of the climate-Temple of the
Buroonie pass-Geology of the Hills-Gogoonda-Revenue-Cultivation-Chief of Gogoonda
-Matrimonial connexion between the houses of Oodipoor and Gogoonda-Effects of unequal
alliances in Rajpootana-The Rao of Kotario-Saimur-Aspect and climate of the Aravulli
Plants-Agriculture-Character of the mountain Rajpoots-Chiefs of villages-Their tradi-
tionary tales-Dress-Habitations-Sources of the Bunas-Legend of the river-Western
declivity of the Aravulli-Magnificence of the pass-Vegetation-Fruits....
CHAPTER III.
Grateful attention of the Author's attendants-Narrowness of the pass-Cairn-Forays of the
Meenas-Power of the Bhils-Their habits, manners, origin, and language-Wild Bhils—
Anecdote-Aborigines of India-Superstitions of the Bhils-Fidelity of the Bhils to their
religion and country-Causes of their change of character-Sirna, or sanctuary-The
Saloombra chief and his vassal, the murderer of some Bhils-Execution of Bhil plunderers-
The Sariahs-Their habits and manners
...
b
PAGE
1
9
29
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
Beejipoor-View of the Aravulli-Unfavourable state of the season-Temple of Rayn-poorji—
Coins-Ancient towns-Respect paid by the Rana towards the Jain priesthood—Bhyâd of
Beejipoor-Correspondence between the religious rites of Syria and of the Saura Peninsula-
Sun-worship-Birgong-Meena towns-Anecdote of a Meena feud-Great heat-Different
effects of the same degree of heat on the frame-Buhee-Sarohi, Capital of the Deora Rajpoots
-Temple of Siva-Indo-Getic Customs of the Chohans-Condition of the principality of
Sarohi―Its enfranchisement from dependence upon Marwar effected by the Author-Beneficial
results of the measure-Policy to be pursued towards the native Princes of India-Want of a
Code of Laws for British India-Geography of Sarohi-Reports of the Rajpoots by early
travellers-Interview with the Rao-Description of the Capital-Statistics-Early history of
the Deoras.....
CHAPTER V.
Maireoh―Jain temples — Palrie-Reach the skirts of Aboo-Preparations for its ascent—
Journey up the mountain-Shrine of Ganésa-The Rahtis, or Mountaineers-Geological
formation of the lower part of the mountain-Ascent to the Saints' Pinnacle-Prospect from
the summit--Pudda-ca, or Impress of the foot of Data-Briga and Rama-Nanda-Seeta ascetic
-Cave-dwellings-Extensive view-Descent from the summit-Achil-éswar-The brutal
Aghori-Self-entombment of one-Incongruities of Hindu superstition-Rules of Jain archi-
tecture-Agni-Coonda, or Fire-fountain-Temples-Shrine of Achil-éswar described-Act of
sacrilege of Mahomed Beyra, of Ahmedabad-Statue of Narayana-Inscription-Mausoleum
of Rao Maun-Statue of Adipala-Ruins of Achilgurh-Jain temple-View from the watch-
tower-Statues―Interview with the Rao-Journey to Dailwarra.....
CHAPTER VI.
Dailwarra Temple of Vrishabdeva-Its history-Its descriptic eremonies in the temple-
Inscriptions-Temple of Parswanath-Its architecture and
ption-Reflections on these
splendid remains Hamlets of Aboo-Fruits and vegetab of the mountain-Temple of
Arbudha-Mata-Cave-dwellings-Lake of Naki-talao-Peril of the last descent The Gaomukh
-Temple of Vasishta-Worship of the Mooni-Inscriptions-Cenotaph of Dhar Pramar-
Temple of Patal-éswar-Statues-Reflections-Elevation of Aboo-Defects of the Author's
barometer-Aspect of the soil-Passage of the forest-Attack of Hornets-Circumference of
Aboo-Analogy between the physical phenomena of Aboo and Sinai-Severe effects of the
ascent on the Author's health .......
PAGE
50
73
101
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
Girwur-Chandravati-Dilapidation of its relics-Discovered by the Author-Inscription-
Epochs of Chandravati-Description of the ruined city-Baories-Coins-Journal of Mrs.
Blair-Journey resumed-Desertion of ancient roads-Character of marauding tribes in the
time of early European travellers-Mountainous range-Sarotra-Return to the plains-
Cheerasani-Palhanpoor-Dewan of the district-Antiquities of Palhanpoor-Major Miles
-Sidpoor-Ruins of the Roodra-Mala, a temple to Siva-Inscriptions
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
PAGE
KINGDOM OF NEHRWALEH-Nehrwaleh, the ancient capital of Western India-Its site discovered
by the Author-Inferiority of the Arabian to the Greek geographers of ancient India-Errors
in respect to the position of Nehrwaleh, or Anhulwarra-Mistake of Gosselin, and probable
accuracy of Herodotus-Annals of ancient Anhulwarra, the Tyre of India-Origin of the title
'Balhara'-Sun-worship-Remains of the city of Balabhi-Change of capital from Balabhi to
Anhulwarra-The Komár-pál Charitra, or chronicle of Anhulwarra-Extracts therefrom—
Synchronisms-Proofs that historical works are not unknown in India-Traditional founda-
tion of Anhulpoor-Revolutions in India at this epoch-Sudden magnificence of the city-
List of its princes-Balhara coin-Relation of the Mahomedan travellers in the ninth century 144
History of Anhulwarra continued-The Solankhi princes of Kalian-Change of dynasty of the
princes of Anhulwarra-Synchronisms-Importance of Kalian-Confusion of Mahomedan
writers-List of princes of Anhulwarra continued-Sidraj-Succession of a Chohan prince to
the regal chair of the Chalucas-Countries subject to the dominion of the Balhara-Actions of
Komár-pál-Confirmation of the Charitra, as to the extent and splendour of Anhulwarra-The
country of the Lar-Komár-pál the supporter of Buddhism-He apostatizes to Islamism-
Ajipal
CHAPTER X.
xi
History of Anhulwarra continued-Bheemdeo-His character-Cause of the war between
Anhulwarra and Ajmér-Battle between Bheem and Pirthi-raj of Delhi-The former slain—
Conquests of Pirthi-raj in Guzzerat Inscriptions - Mooldeo-Beesuldeo-Bheemdeo-
Opulence of Anhulwarra—Arjundeo-Sarungdeo-Kurrundeo, the madman-Invasion of the
Mussulmans-The Balhara sovereignty extinguished—The Taka race obtain Guzzerat and
change the capital-Name of Anhulwarra degenerates into Puttun-Value of these historical
records Enumeration of the results..
127
164
193
b 2
xii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XI.
Remains of Anhulwarra-Their rapid disappearance-Four architectural relics only left-Speci-
men of the Saracenic arch-Its invention, Hindu-Ruins of Anhulwarra applied to the building
of Ahmedabad and modern Puttun-Antiques contained in the new city-Inscriptions-The
Library-Saved from the Mahomedans-Property of the Khartra sect of Jains-Extent and
condition of the library-Other libraries of the Jains unexplored-The Vansraj Charitra
CHAPTER XII.
Journey resumed--Ahmedabad-Its architecture-The ruins of Anhulwarra employed in it—
The work of Hindu Silpis-Comparison of the Islamite and Hindu styles-Kaira-Miseries
of travelling in the monsoon-Hon. Col. Stanhope-Antiquities at Kaira-Perilous passage
of the Myhie river-A groom drowned-Baroda-Sojourn with Mr. Williams, the Resident—
History of Baroda…………..
CHAPTER XIII.
Departure from Baroda-Gajna-Huns-Cambay-Its former names-Legend of the modern
name-Cambay one of the seats of Jain learning-Library-Manufactures of Cornelians, &c.
-Cross the Gulf-Gogo-Inscriptions-Past and present history of Saurashtra-Origin of the
Saura tribe-Resemblance between the customs of the Syrians and Sauras-Establishment of
the latter in the Peninsula-Modern Saurashtra-Traces of Scythic tribes-Diversity of races
in Saurashtra-Seat of the Buddhist religion-Various attractions of the country—Account of
Gogo and Seerum-Atrocious conduct of the early Portuguese in these parts-Anecdote of
Albuquerque--Bhaonuggur, capital of the Gohils-Reception of the chief-Motley character
of his Court-Portraits of English princes-Nick-knackery-Navy of the Gohil chief-His
possessions-Sketch of the family of the Gohils-Piracy their principal occupation-Seehore,
a Brahmin colony-Balabhi, the ancient capital of the Méwar princes-Ancient fountain and
temple of Bheemnath-Legend-Place of pilgrimage
CHAPTER XIV.
Palit❜hana-The holy land of the Jains-Mount Satrunja-Jain pilgrims-Liberality and intelli-
gence of the Jain sect-The Mahatma-The five teerthas of the Jains-The Sikras of Satrunja
-Personages to whom the edifices on the Mount are dedicated-Hindu character of the temple
of Mecca-Dates of the erections on Satrunja-Road from Palit'hana to the mountain-
Ascent-Shrines and temples-Temple of Komár-pál-Shrine of Adnath-Sad effects of the
dissensions of the garchas, or sects-Few ancient relics in the temples-Bad taste of the orna-
ments in the temple of Adnath-Prospect from the temple-Statue of Adi-Budha-Nathji—
Shrine of Rutna-ghor-Statue of Adnath-Analogy between the appellations of the Jain divini-
ties, and those of Siva, and their symbols-Tomb of Henga Peer-Descent-Temple of the
PAGE
222
237
246
CONTENTS.
sons of Deoki-Minstrel-Endowments of the sacred mounts-Assemblies of pilgrims-Pali-
t'hana-Etymology of the name--Paucity of antiquities-Love-legend of Sadwaeh and Sawa-
linga-Modern history and condition of Palit'hana
CHAPTER XV.
Guriadhar-Aspect of the country- Damnaggur-Agriculture-Akalla - Pestilential air-
Umrélie Region of the Cat'hi-Manly aspect of the Cat'his-The provincial chief of Sau-
rashtra-Apparatus for irrigation-Mean appearance of the villages-Magnificent mirage—
Deolah-The chief, a Cat'hi-Coincidences between the manners of eastern and western
tribes-Anecdote of Jessajee-A robber turned saint-Gurreah-Habits of the Cat'his-
Asylum of the Pandus-Legend of Koomti-Statue of Baldeo-Toolsishama-Scene of com-
bat between Crishna and the Dyte-Shrines-Incorrect geography of our maps of this part―
Dohun-Geological notices-Kowrewar-Pastoral character of this region-Superiority of
the cattle-Holy Mount Mool-Dwarica-Soodrapara-Improvement in the habitations of the
peasantry-Temple of the sun-Source of the Sirsooti………..
CHAPTER XVI.
Puttun Somnath, or Deva Puttun-Its celebrity-Temple of the Sun-Shrine of Sid-Eswar-
Legend of Kanya-Place of his death-Temple of Bheemnat'h-The Koteswara-Sculptured
cross in a shrine of Mahadeo-Description of the ancient city-Original architecture-Pointed
arch-Temple of Somnat'h described-Beauty of its site-Name of Mahmoud, its destroyer,
unknown in the city-MS. "Story of the Fall of Puttun "-Traces of a destruction anterior to
Mahmoud's-Two new eras-The modern city
PAGE
xiii
CHAPTER XVIII.
Reflections of the Author-Ascent to the peak of Goruknat'h-The other peaks of Girnar—
Islamite saint-Legend of the shrine of Kalka—The Aghoris-A wild ascetic-Shrines-Sects
of the Jains-Description of the shrines-Inscriptions-Temple of Nemi-Resemblance
between the statue of Nemi and that of Memnon-The Khengar family-Night spent in the
ruined palace-Descent of the mount-Pilgrims to the shrine of Nemi-Aged female Pilgrim
-The Elephant Rock-Return to the tents...
274
303
328
CHAPTER XVII.
Remnant of early civilization in the knowledge of distances-Character of the soil-Shrines and
inscriptions-Inhabitants-Choorwaur-Aheers-Mallia-Unyalla, or Ooniara—Joonagurh—
Its ancient history and modern condition-The "Ancient castle" described-Reservoir of the
Yadus-"The Robber's Cave"-Incognate characters-Ancient inscribed rock of Girnar-The
characters-Shrines-Cryptographic inscriptions-The "Leap of Bhiroo"-Isolated masses of
rock—Ancient palace of Khengar ……..
355
379
xiv
CONTENTS.
Į
CHAPTER XIX.
Dandoosir-Jinjirrie-Kattywauna-Altered course of the Bhadra-Tursye-Old city of Kun-
dornah-Bhanwul-Miserable appearance of the country-Ruins of Goomlí-Temple of the
Jaitwas-Temple of Ganpati-Jain temple-The Portal of Rama-Monumental pallias of the
Jaitwas-Inscriptions-Historical account of the Jaitwas-Destruction of Goomlí-Chronology
of Jaitwa history-Migration of the Jaitwas-Nugdeah-Deolah-Origin of the Aheers-
Mooktasirr-Dwarica-Desolate country-Temple of Dwarica-Shrines-The Mahatma-
Legend of the Temple........
CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XXI.
Beerwalla-Aramra-Ancient Dwarica-Goreja-Graves of Yavanas-Pallias of Pirates-Bate,
or Sankho-dwara-Tradition of Crishna-Shells of Bate-The Rajpoot war-shells-Pirates'
Castle-Shrines to the Hindu Apollo-Meera Bae, the Rajpoot poetess-Historical notices of
the sea-kings--Devotion of the Pirates-The extent of their navigation
429
••
The Author embarks-Parting with companions-The Author's Guru-The Cant'hi, or Gulf of
Cutch-Description of the Gulf of Cutch by Ptolemy and Arrian-The Rin-Land at Man-
davie-Description of the place-Pilgrims-Vessels of Arabia manned by Africans-Effect of
the abolition of the Slave Trade-Historical Notices of Mandavie-Sepulchral Monuments—
Coins
CHAPTER XXII.
PAGE
Cath-kote, the ancient seat of the Cathi-Necropolis of the Raos of Cutch-The city of Bhooj-
The Jhareja chiefs visit the Author-Their costume-Visit to the prince, Rao Desil-The hall
of mirrors-The hall of audience-Historical notice of the Jharejas-The Yadu race-
Genealogical traits of the Rajpoots-Extent of the Hindu affinities-Union of the Budha faith
with the Yadu race-Yadu ancestry of the Jharejas-Power of the Yadus-The Yadus an
Indo-Scythic race from Western Asia-The Sind-Summa Jharejas-Chronology-Extract
from the Jhareja chronicles-Conversion of the Sind-Summa Jharejas to Islam-Successors of
Lakha the Proud-Evils of Polygamy-First settlement of the Summa race in Cutch-Origin
of the custom of infanticide amongst the Jharejas-Catastrophe of Mohlutkote-The practice
still continued-Lakha, the first Jhareja-Raedhun, the founder of the Jhareja state, led a
colony to the Great Rin-Rao Khengar, founder of Bhooj-The results of the genealogical
history of the Jharejas.......
402
444
456
APPENDIX
CONTENT S.
Statistics and geography of Cutch-Its political constitution-The Bhydd, or Frèrage—Authority
of the Rao-Tenure of estates-Case of disputed succession-Bhatna, or sub-infeudation,
carried to a destructive extent-Cause of the differences between the political customs of the
Western Rajpoot States and Cutch-Consequences of contact with the British Government-
The British invited as mediators between the Rao and the Bhyâd—A British subsidiary force
introduced-All within the grasp of British authority-Mandavie-On board the Pattamar-
Cross the Gulf-Appearance of a whale-Characters of the nakhoda and crew of the Pattamar
-Arrrival at Bombay-Detention there-Its alleviating results-Conclusion
ERRATA
CHAPTER XXIII.
XV
PAGE
484
503
519
ORDER OF THE PLATES.
1. Frontispiece:-Interior of a Temple at Dailwarra, on Aboo......
2. Ancient Fort of Achilgurh, on Aboo
Vignette
3. Nukhi Talao
Vignette
4. Remains of a Brahminical Temple at Chandravati…………..
5. Marble Pillars at Chandravati........
6. Temple at Chandravati
Vignette
7. Anhulwarra Puttun
8. Bowlee at Anhulwarra Puttun...
Vignette
9. Palace of Khengar and Temples...
PAGE
101
94
... 100
115
126
127
130
134
143
222
224
354
377
••
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
If the world be, as Gibbon remarks, "always curious to know the
history of those who have left behind them any image of their minds," its
curiosity must be stronger, as well as more natural, when a posthumous
work is offered to its notice.
Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod was the second son of Mr. James Tod,* and
was born at Islington, on the 20th March 1782. His original destination wa
a mercantile life; but his inclination (which would have led him to choose
the Navy) rebelled against the drudgery of the counting-house, and hi
uncle, Mr. Patrick Heatly, having, in 1798, procured for him a Cadetship
ir
* Colonel Tod's father (the eldest child of Henry Tod and Janet Monteith, born 26th Octobe
1745) was a native of Scotland, and descended from an ancient family, one of whose ancestors
John Tod, having rescued the children of Robert the Bruce, who were captives in England, wa
created by the King's own hand a knight banneret, with permission to bear the crest of a fo:
rampant (Tod being the name of a fox in Scotland), and the motto "Vigilantia," which is stil
borne by the family. Mr. Tod married at New York, 4th November 1779, Miss Mary Heatly, th
daughter of Mr. Andrew Heatly, of Lanarkshire, who settled at Newport, Rhode Island, America
where he married Mary, the daughter of Suetonius Grant, of Bellwadden, who had left Inver
ness in 1725, and settled as a merchant at Newport, Rhode Island; he died there 27th Septembe
1744, having been killed by an explosion of gunpowder. Mr. Heatly (who was likewise the fathe
of the late Mr. Patrick Heatly, of the Bengal Civil Service) is characterized, in an inscription to hi
memory in the burial-ground at Newport, as "the truest gentleman and the most honourabl
merchant that has visited this state." Suetonius Grant, who was the son of Donald Grant, o
Dalvey, and of Marjorie Stewart, of the family of the Barons of Kinmeachley, county of Banf
succeede
C
xviii
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
in the East-India Company's service, he was sent to the Royal Military
Academy, Woolwich, where a limited number of Cadets were educated
before the establishment of the Company's Institution at Addiscombe; and
proceeded to Bengal in March 1799 His commission in the 2d European
Regiment was dated January 9th, 1800. He then volunteered for the
Molucca Islands,* was transferred to the Marines, and served in that capacity
on board the Mornington: so that he knew, by experience, every variety
of a soldier's life. On the 29th May 1800, he was appointed a Lieutenant
in the 14th Regiment of Native Infantry; and afterwards" ran the gaunt-
let," as he expresses it, from Calcutta to Huridwar." An officer (Lieut.-
Col. Wm. Nicholl), who served with him in the 14th Regiment, describes
Colonel Tod at that time (1800) as "a youth of an amiable disposition, be-
loved by all his brother-officers, and exhibiting the promise which his talents
afterwards realized."
Qu
In 1801, when stationed at Delhi, he was selected by Government, in
consequence of his skill and acquirements as an engineer, to conduct a survey
of an ancient canal in the neighbourhood of that city. In 1805, Mr. Græme
Mercer,
succeeded on the death of his grandfather (both his parents having died whilst he was an infant)
to the baronetcy; but being then intent on settling as a merchant in the "New World," as America
was then called, he negociated the sale of his title to his cousin, Mr. Alexander Grant, an eminent
merchant in London, and proceeded to Long Island, New York. Here he became acquainted
with Mr. Thomas Tollemache, or Talmage (Tammage, as the name is pronounced in America), a
member of the Dysart family, who had an estate at East Hampton, on Long Island, where he died
in 1769, at the age of ninety. The grandfather of this gentleman, a Puritan, had quitted England
in the latter end of the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. Suetonius Grant married Temperance,
the daughter of this Mr. Talmage, and had a son, who threatened to claim the baronetcy; but,
leaving no heir (his wife and only child dying at Newport), the title remains in the family of Sir
Alexander Grant. The Talmages of New York are a highly respectable family, one member being
a General in the army of the United States, another a Judge.
Mrs. Tod, the grand-daughter of Sir Suetonius Grant and the mother of Col. Tod (a lady remark-
able for her intellectual accomplishments and for the vigour of her understanding), still survives, at
a great age.
* The expedition to the Moluccas seems to have been that planned by Lord Wellesley, and
ordered to rendezvous at Trincomalee, but which was not carried into execution.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
Mercer, a friend of his uncle, then about to proceed to the Court of Dowlut
Rao Sindia as Envoy and Resident, in consequence of a wish expressed by
Lieut. Tod, whose honourable and independent character he knew, obtained
permission from the Government for the young officer to join his escort; and
thus an avenue was opened to a career of usefulness and honour, and his
zeal and talents took every possible advantage of it.
On their march from Agra, through the southern part of Jeypore to Oodey-
pore,—a country which had been but little traversed by Europeans,-Mr.
Mercer states that Lieut. Tod "applied himself with much earnestness to
making a survey of the route, and with imperfect instruments, by perseverance
and the perfervidum ingenium Scotorum, which he possessed in a high
degree, in spite of very indifferent health, he performed his task in a manner,
which better means, and increased knowledge of practical and theoretical
surveying, could afterwards, I believe, but little, if at all, improve." It is a
sufficient proof of the ignorance which then prevailed respecting the geo-
graphy of Rajpootana, that the position of the two capitals, Oodeypore and
Cheetore, was, in the best maps, precisely reversed; Cheetore being placed
S.E. of Oodeypore, instead of E.N.E.
xix
When, in the spring of 1806, the embassy reached the Court of Sindia,
it was encamped amidst the ruins of Méwar, the Mahratta chief having
forced the passes to the Rana's capital. Lieut. Tod undertook to supply the
deficiencies in our knowledge of the geography of this country; and he
has publicly asserted, and no one has disputed the correctness of the asser-
tion, that "every map, without exception, printed since that period, has its
foundations, as regards Central and Western India, in his labours." The
course he pursued in this great undertaking he has described in the paper,
on the Geography of Rajasthan, prefixed to its Annals.
A portion of the route had been surveyed, and points laid down from
celestial observations, with considerable accuracy, by Dr. Wm. Hunter, who
accompanied Colonel Palmer in 1791; and this route was made the basis
C 2
of
XX
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
of the survey, which embraced all the extreme points of Central India*.
Agra, Nirwar, Dutteah, Jhansi, Bhopal, Sarungpoor, Oojein, and back by
Kotah, Boondi, Rampoora, Biana, to Agra. From Rampoora, where Hunter
ceased to be a guide, the new survey commenced, to Oodeypore, from
whence the Mahratta army marched past Cheetore, and through the centre
of Malwa, crossing in detail all the grand streams flowing from the Vindhya
range, seven hundred miles, to the Bundlekhund frontier, at Kemlassa.
In 1807, the Mahratta army having undertaken the siege of Rahtgurh,
Lieut. Tod, aware of the time wasted in such operations, determined to avail
himself of the delay, and push through an untrodden and disorganized
country. With a small guard, he proceeded along the banks of the Betwa
to Chanderi,† and westward to Kotah, tracing the course of all the streams
from the south, and the points of junction of the most important, continuing
his route to Agra. This undertaking he accomplished (being then only
twenty-five years of age) at great personal risk, meeting with many romantic
adventures, and being more than once an object of plunder. On his return
to the Mahratta camp, finding he had still time at his disposal, he set out
upon a new journey, proceeding westward by Bhawulpore to Jeypore,
Tonk, &c. to Saugur-a journey of one thousand miles, the camp, on his
return, being nearly where he left it.
With Sindia's ambulatory court he moved throughout this region, con-
stantly occupied in surveying, till 1812, when it became stationary at Gwa-
lior;
and he then formed his plans for obtaining a knowledge of those coun-
tries into which he could not personally penetrate.
He despatched two parties for geographical and topographical discovery.
The
* It may be observed, that the term " Central India" was first applied by Col. Tod to these tracts,
in 1815, in the map he presented to the Marquess of Hastings.
+ Speaking of Chanderi, in the Annals (i. 138), he says, "I was the first European who traversed
this wild country, in 1807, not without some hazard. It was then independent; but three years
after, it fell a prey to Sindia."
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
The first proceeded west by Oodeypore, through Guzerat, Saurashtra, Cutch,
Luckput, Hyderabad, Tatta, Seewan, Khyrpore, and Bekher, crossing and
recrossing the Indus, and returned by the desert of Oomrasoomra, through
Jessulmér, Marwar, and Jeypore, joining him in the camp, then at Nirwar.
The other party was sent to the desert south of the Sutlej. The conductors
of both expeditions were natives, selected and trained by himself, well-
informed, fearless, enterprizing, and imbued with his own zeal in the cause of
science. "From these remote regions," he says, "the best-informed native
inhabitants were, by persuasion and recompense, conducted to me, and I
could at all times, in the Mahratta camp at Gwalior, from 1812 to 1817, have
provided a native of the valley of the Indus, the deserts of Dhat and Oomra-
soomra, or any of the states of Rajasthan." Elsewhere he says: "Though I
never penetrated personally further into the heart of the Indian desert than
Mundore, the ancient capital of Maroost'hali, the old castle of Hissar, on its
N.E. frontier, and Aboo, Nehrwalla, and Bhooj, to the W., 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 t'hul* from Bhutnair to Omurkote, and from Aboo to Arore. The
journals of all these routes, with others from Central and Western India, form
eleven moderate-sized folio volumes."+ These materials were accumulated with
a disregard of pecuniary sacrifices, as well as of health and toil, which evinced
the ardour of his zeal and the sincerity of his views. During the period I
remained in the Residency," observes Mr. Mercer," he continued to take
advantage of every opportunity in his power to enlarge his knowledge of the
geography of the country; and the greatest part of his allowances was, I am
confident, expended in paying agents sent to various quarters to collect topo-
graphical information. His personal labour for the purpose was also unceas
ing; and instead of stimulating his exertions, I was sometimes obliged to
endeavour
،،
xxi
* T'huls are bare and arid tracts, contradistinguished from rooê, ' jungle desert.'
+ Annals, ii, 289.
xxii
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
endeavour to restrain them, as incompatible with a state of health which,
from rheumatic affection, frequently disabled him from taking even common
exercise."
He was rarely satisfied with the result obtained by one set of his parties,
but made the information gained by one a basis for the instructions given to
others, who went over the same ground with additional advantages. Thus, in
a few
years, he had filled several volumes with lines of routes; and having
fixed the positions of many frontier and intermediate lines, a general outline
was constructed, wherein all the information was laid down, and he then
determined to test its accuracy by recommencing the survey trigonometrically;
and this he accomplished by despatching his parties afresh, who, from fixed
positions, as centres, collected every radiating route to all the towns within
twenty miles. "
By such means," he observes, "did I work my way in these
unknown tracts."
These details, which are given almost in Colonel Tod's own words, may,
perhaps, appear unnecessarily minute; but they show the extent and the
value of the resources he possessed, and the important services they
enabled him to render in the Pindarry campaign.
Mr. Mercer left India in 1810, and was succeeded in the Residency at
Sindia's court, then at Nirwar, by Mr. Richard Strachey, who had become
acquainted with Lieut. Tod ten years before, at Delhi. In October 1813, he
was promoted to the rank of Captain, and to the command of the escort; and
a short time previous to Mr. Strachey's quitting the court, in October 1815,
Captain Tod was nominated to the civil post of Second Assistant to the
Resident. During all this time, Mr. Strachey states, he was engaged in col-
lecting geographical materials, relating chiefly to the countries between the
Indus and Bundlekhund, the Jumna and the Nerbudda. My official
duties," that gentleman says, "having constant reference to these countries, I
derived great advantage from his geographical knowledge of that extensive
tract. He was ever ready to communicate the information he had acquired,
and
66
-
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
xxiii
and which, at that important period, proved most useful: it was well appre-
ciated by Government."
6
The state of Rajpootana at this time is forcibly depicted in his great work.
The Mahrattas, who first crossed the Chumbul in 1735, soon formed esta-
blishments in Malwa, and passing the Nerbudda in swarms, intermingling in
and fomenting the quarrels of the different states, lending aid sometimes to
one and sometimes to another, at length gained a permanent footing in Raja-
st'han. The weak Mahomed Shah, of Delhi, had surrendered to them the
chout'h, or fourth' of his revenue, and this grant formed the ground of their
exactions here as well as elsewhere. Their leader, Bajeerao, appeared in
Méwar, and the Rana was compelled to conclude a treaty, whereby he bound
himself to pay an annual tribute to the three great Mahratta leaders, which
remained in force about ten years, till it suited the convenience of the inva-
ders to augment their demands. In imitation of the wretched policy of inferior
states, the Rana employed Holkar in one of his quarrels (paying him nearly
one million sterling), and from this time (1750) the Mahrattas gained a firm
hold of Rajasthan, which became the theatre of their mutual conflicts, as
well as of predatory spoliation and intestine civil strife, till the Pindarry and
Mahratta war, and the treaties concluded with the British Government in
1817-18. The devastations of these locusts, in little more than half a century,
are described in impassioned and glowing language in the Annals of Raja-
st'han. Their abstractions of territory, from 1770 to 1775, as pledges for con-
tributions, satisfied their cupidity till 1792, when the civil disorders of Rajpoo-
tana brought the great Madhajee Sindia to Cheetore, and his lieutenant, Um-
bajee, is supposed to have extorted two millions sterling from Méwar alone,
when it was assigned to the tender mercies of his deputies. Ravaged alter-
nately by the rival armies of Holkar and Sindia, which were let loose to prey
and fatten on this devoted land, their passions inflamed by occasional defeat,
and their appetite stimulated by unbounded license, Rajpootana was
rapidly transforming into a desert. "It would require," says Colonel
Tod,
-
GAR
xxiv
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
Tod, “a pen powerful as the pencil of Salvator Rosa to paint the horrors
which filled up the succeeding ten years (after 1805), and of which the Author
was an eye-witness, destined to follow in the train of rapine, and to view, in
the traces of Mahratta camps, the desolation and political annihilation of all
the central states of India, several of which had aided the British in their
early struggles for dominion, but were now allowed to fall without a helping
hand."-" In the spring of 1806, when the embassy entered the once-fertile
Méwar, nothing but ruin met the eye-deserted towns, roofless houses, and
uncultured plains. Wherever the Mahrattas encamped, annihilation was
ensured it was a habit: twenty-four hours sufficed to give to the most
flourishing spot the aspect of a desert. The march of destruction was always
to be traced for days afterwards by burning villages and destroyed cultiva-
tion."-"Méwar was rapidly approaching dissolution, and every sign of civi-
lization fast disappearing: fields laid waste, cities in ruins, inhabitants exiled,
chieftains demoralized, the prince and his family destitute of common
comforts.'
""*
The warm and sensitive feelings of the young soldier appear to have been
deeply wounded by the sad spectacle of a fine country, whose martial races ex-
hibited the rudiments of virtues which even tyranny could not eradicate, con-
signed to the hands of the oppressor. He was present at the interview, in June
1806, between the Rana of Méwar, Bheem Sing, and Dowlut Rao Sindia, at
the shrine of Eklinga, about six miles from Oodeypore, during the memorable
transactions which ended in the inhuman sacrifice of the Rana's daughter,
Kishna Komari, " the Flower of Rajasthan," the whole of which dreadful
drama was acted before his eyes. The appearance of the Rana, the descen-
dant of the ancient sovereigns of India, now at the mercy of a peasant's son,
produced a lasting impression upon him. Sindia, in order to increase his
importance in the eyes of the Rana, had invited the British Envoy and his
suite to be present on this occasion. "I well remember," observes Mr. Mer-
cer,
*Annals, i. 458 469-70.
>>
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
S
6
cer, the Envoy, “the enthusiasm he (Lieut. Tod) evinced when he was intro-
duced to the Rana of Oodeypore, at a conference to which we accompanied
Dowlut Rao Sindia. The appearance of the Rana and his attendants, the an-
cient nobility of Hindust'han, was certainly highly impressive; and although I
had been previously present at almost every court in India, I was much struck
with the aspect and demeanour of a family which had been entitled to the
appellation of Kings of the Hindus' before the Musulman conquest." It is
plain from what Colonel Tod states, when referring to this interview, in his
Annals of Méwar, that it was at this moment he first conceived the idea of
that benevolent scheme for the regeneration of Rajasthan, of which he
became so prominent an instrument: "The impression made upon the Author,
upon this occasion," he says, "by the miseries and the noble appearance of this
' descendant of a hundred kings,' was never allowed to weaken, but kindled an
enthusiastic desire for the restoration of his fallen condition, and stimulated
perseverance to obtain that knowledge by which alone he might be enabled
to benefit him. It was a long dream, but, after ten years of anxious hope, he
had the gratification of being instrumental in snatching the family from
destruction, and subsequently of raising the country to comparative pros-
perity."*
his
At this period, the Anglo-Indian Government, under Lord Minto, had, in
conformity with its pacific, or rather timid, policy, determined to refrain
from all interference with the internal arrangements of these states, and
its Envoy was compelled to be a passive spectator of the havoc around
him. In 1817, however, the resolution of Marquess Hastings, to put
down the Pindarries (a community of organized robbers, the offspring
of a diseased state of society), which involved him in an extensive
war with the Mahrattas, their protectors, in one short but active
campaign, overthrew that vast predatory system under which Rajasthan
had
* Annals, i. 461.
d
XXV
xxvi
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
had so long groaned. That country and the states surrounding it became
the scene of our military operations, and now the knowledge and experience
acquired by Captain Tod, at so much risk and cost, were of inappreciable
value. There were no maps of these parts; the geography, statistics, and mili-
tary topography of Central and Western India were unknown; and our com-
manders, who had to track, unaided by an adverse population, the swift-moving
Pindarries to their haunts and recesses by devious routes, and through secret
passes, would have been constantly at fault, and must have been ultimately
foiled, but for the forethought, sagacity, industry, and public spirit of a young
subaltern, "the sole individual in India who had any personal or acquired
knowledge of the seat of war."
An abstract of a short sketch or summary, in his own hand-writing, of his
services at this critical period, will show how much Colonel Tod contributed
to the success of that brilliant and decisive campaign.
When the operations against the Pindarries commenced, he commanded
two companies of infantry and half a troop of cavalry, for the protection of
the Residency at Sindia's Court. In 1814-15, he had sent in a Memoir of the
rise, progress, and existing condition of the Pindarries. This he followed up
by a map of all these regions, with an account of their geographical, political,
and physical history,* together with a general plan for the subjugation of
those marauders, which was closely followed in the actual campaign. As
the face of affairs changed, he sent in another restricted plan, with a minute
map of the countries north of the Nerbudda, to which he strongly urged that
the campaign should be confined. For these communications he received the
hearty thanks of Lord Hastings, and copies of the maps were transmitted to the
head-quarters of every General of division in the field. The last of these
documents
* A specimen of the fulness of these disquisitions may be seen in the Annals of Ambér or Jey-
pore, given in the Annals of Rajasthan (ii. 345), which is nearly the same as he communicated to
the Government.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
documents which reached his lordship was deemed of so much importance
(as he informed Captain Tod), that he despatched copies by express to Sir
Thomas Hislop, commanding the army of the south.
Having prepared these valuable materials for the scheme of the campaign,
he volunteered his personal services to any of the divisions in the field, which
were accepted by Lord Hastings, who said, "I have always had an eye on
you for service on this important occasion." At first, it was intended to
attach him to Major Gen. Sir D. Ochterlony's division; but his general know-
ledge, it was thought, would be more usefully applied by placing him at Row-
tah,* in Harouti, a situation central to all the divisions, whereby he became
the pivot of movement and intelligence: "Indeed," he observes, "I may say
that I guided the movements of all the divisions of the army north of the
Nerbudda, viz. those of Generals Donkin, Marshall, Adams, and Browne."
The value of his services was acknowledged in repeated thanks from Lord
Hastings and every General in the field.
Having learned that a body of Pindarries, under Kureem Khan's son, had
taken refuge in the recesses of the Caly Sinde, thirty miles from his own
position, he added 250 matchlocks (Kotah auxiliaries) to thirty-two fire-
locks of his own men (who had volunteered with him from the 25th
N. I.), and despatched them to beat up the enemy's camp, of 1,500 men,
telling them "not to return till they had done something." The auxili-
aries hung back; but the little band of thirty-two, intent on the admonition
of their commander, did not hesitate to attack the enemy, whom they dis-
persed, killing 100 or 150. The moral effect of this exploit was wonderful.
Not a single Pindarry had been hitherto molested, even by our allies; but
next day, the spoils of the discomfited party-cattle, elephants, camels,
and
xxvii
* In his Personal Narrative (Annals, ii. 700), when he records his encamping on this spot, in the
journey to Kotah, in 1820, he says: "Rowtah 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 movement of all the armies, friendly and hostile."
L
d 2
xxviii
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
1
and valuable booty-were captured, and brought to the camp of the Regent
of Kotah, who sent the whole to Captain Tod, at whose suggestion it was sold,
and a bridge of twenty arches over a torrent leading from the high road east
of Kotah was built with the proceeds. This trophy was named, at the
instance of Captain Tod," Hastings' Bridge." Lord Hastings was so pleased
with this exploit (which was not the only one of the kind), that he
declared "it was worthy of a medal," and the men concerned in it were
rewarded with extra pay.
After the destruction of the grand horde of Pindarries, under Kureem
Khan, Captain Tod prepared a Circular Memorandum, proposing a combined
movement for the destruction of the other grand horde, under Chetoo, which
he addressed to every General commanding a division north of the Nerbudda,
viz. Sir Thos. Hislop, Sir Wm. Grant Keir, Sir R. Donkin, and Colonel
Adams, which gained him the special thanks of Lord Hastings. The plan
was not acted upon, though the movements of the enemy were precisely those
which had been anticipated in it and provided against. The Assist.-Adj.
General with Colonel Adams' division, in writing to Captain Tod in his own
and his Commander's name, said of this Circular, "rest assured that no officer
but yourself could have penned it."*
The information and the intelligence which he was thus enabled to con-
tribute so opportunely for his country's service, were mostly derived from a
system organized, at his own private expense, for the collection of geographical,
statistical, and archæological knowledge, wholly foreign to his official duties.
Every day, during this campaign, he had from ten to twenty written reports,
from whence he extracted bulletins, which he sent to the head-quarters of
every division. The Marquess Hastings, at the close of the war, spoke of his
services
* Singular enough, this Circular became a document of some importance in the discussions
respecting the Deccan booty. Col. Tod had proposed in it to make himself "the pivot of the
operations which must destroy Chetoo;" and it was relied upon strongly by Lord Hastings'
counsel, to show that he was considered as Commander-in-Chief of both armies.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
services in the highest terms, as having "materially contributed to its suc-
cess:" adding that "testimonials highly creditable had been received from
every General in the field to his services in the guidance of the operations."
Nor were these services of a diplomatic and political nature merely; they
partook essentially of a military character. Upon this point, a Memorandum,
drawn up by Colonel Tod and found amongst his papers, is decisive:
“If calling out the whole disposable military resources of Kotah was a
political act, their application was purely military; and if, by my knowledge
of the character of the individual (Zalim Sing), I was enabled to wield his
incalculable resources for our purposes, it was my military knowledge of the
country alone which could render perfect this diplomatic attainment. Here
was a chief, the wisest and most powerful in Central India, whose country
was in the heart of operations, and the only one which contained resources
of any kind; but he remembered the injuries his aid to us in Lord Lake's
wars had inflicted on him, and our abandonment of him to Holkar's anger,
when it suited our policy, under Lord Cornwallis. Some skill, it will be
conceded, was required to overcome such recollections; yet did I, in five
days after my arrival, not only overcome them, but prevail upon him to place
his military resources under my sole control.
My first application of them was to despatch to Sir J. Malcolm's aid
(he had just crossed the Nerbudda into the heart of our enemies, who, had
they possessed the least energy, should have destroyed his weak corps) a
regiment called 'the Royals,' one thousand strong, with four guns, and
a corps of three hundred good horse. These remained with Sir John
throughout the campaign, and were eminently distinguished, especially in
the escalade and capture of one of the enemy's forts. 2ndly. I distributed
corps at the different passes, several of whom had affairs with the enemy,
3dly. When hostilities commenced with Holkar, in one short week I took
military possession of every district of Holkar's, from the Boondi mountains
xxix
66
to
ĥ
XXX
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
to the field of battle at Mahidpore. To each of these detachments I gave an
English union, which, within that short space, was planted in every fortified
town and post, and allegiance (demanded by proclamation) yielded to the
British Government. Nothing but a military knowledge of the country and
its application could have obtained such results.
"All these duties were essentially military, though intermixed with diplo-
macy. Even my most diplomatic duties involved the exercise of a military
judgment, and their correctness could be tested only by military results. For
example—the negociations with Holkar's government, immediately preceding
hostilities, were entrusted to me. The juncture was most delicate. This Court
had tendered an application for protective alliance, and I was authorized to
employ the right grand division of the army, under General Sir Rufane
Donkin, to give the Court that protection which would enable it to conclude
its measures in security. Scarcely had this trust been reposed in me, and
but a few days after I had taken up my central position, when the Peshwa
and the Bhonslah broke the alliance with us, and I discovered agents of the
Peshwa having bills of exchange to induce Holkar's government to declare
for his master. At such a moment, it being far better to have declared foes
than pretended allies, I despatched an express, through my agent, to the
Regent Baê, acquainting her with my knowledge of such duplicity, and
adding that, if in thirty-six hours she did not publicly proclaim her alliance
with my Government, call for the assistance she required, expel the
Peshwa's agents, and attack a body of Pindarries, then close to her
camp, as a proof of good intentions, I would consider her Government
amongst the foes of my own; and my agent had orders to quit her Court
at the expiration of that period. He did so;-the step was one of great
responsibility, and I felt the weight of it; but an express from Lord Hastings
soon relieved me of this by gratifying comments on my conduct. I may add
that, on withdrawing my agent, I sent duplicate despatches to Sir John Mal-
colm,
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
xxvi
colm, and gave my opinion, that any delay in attacking Holkar's camp was
merely a question of expediency, of which he was best judge.' Unfortunately,
he renewed the negociation I had thrown up, in a pacific tone, which,
in the first instance, incurred the serious displeasure of Lord Hastings, and
shortly afterwards, the most wanton insults and attacks on his camp-suttlers,
until the action of Mahidpore.
"Out of this arose another diplomatic measure, which was again mixed
with military tactics. The Kotah Regent, who had been wavering between
us, and the entire native force of India,—his old friends,—I determined to
secure by the partition of Holkar's territory; and immediately that I foresaw
hostilities to be unavoidable with this power, I recommended to Lord Has-
tings to promise to the Regent the sovereignty of four rich districts, rented
by him from Holkar. The suggestion was highly approved, and I had a
carte blanche as to the time and manner of making the offer; with power
to make the grant under my own seal, which would be hereafter confirmed.
Every effect I had anticipated followed: present interest banished all
apprehension for the future; and I made an act, which, as he said, would
6
for ever blacken his face' amongst his old friends, the touchstone of the
Regent's good faith: viz. the capture and delivery to me of all the wives
and children of the great Pindarry leaders, whom I had discovered in con-
cealment near his fortress of Gogeaun. This acted like a charm their
moral strength was dissolved, and from that hour their chiefs came in and
were deported from the scenes of their intrigues. By this act, the Regent
had for ever severed himself from the Pindarries; while his acceptance of the
four districts, and the military possession of them, and all the other dis-
tricts of Holkar, for ever disunited him from the politics of that Court and
the whole Mahratta nation.
"In each of these measures of the last importance at this crisis-military
combinations were so involved with diplomacy that it would be difficult to
separate
!
xxxii
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
1,447 44
}
*
separate them: it is easily seen that not only the one might not have been
conceived, but would have been poorly executed, without the other.
"Other measures and responsibilities which I incurred were still more
decidedly military.—When Sir T. Hislop retrograded in his advance north
of the Nerbudda, the Peshwa having broken the alliance, the Bombay
Government detained its advanced army under General Sir W. Grant Keir,
to whom was assigned an important position in the general chain of opera-
tions against the Pindarries. At this moment, General Sir John Malcolm
had actually crossed, at the head of one weak division of the army of the
south, unsupported; and the whole plan of the campaign was changed by
the movement of General Sir T. Hislop, so that the Pindarry war was
rendered secondary. Judging, however, that the Commander-in-Chief would
not desire any change in the operations chalked out, from the Peshwa's
revolt, and fearing the result to Sir John Malcolm's division, without support,
I took upon me to send an express despatch to General Sir W. Grant Keir,
pointing out all these things, and stating my confidence that Lord Hastings
would be pleased if he marched with all rapidity into Méwar, and took a
position in the vicinity of Oojein. This was a purely military question.
General Sir W. Grant Keir was 350 miles from me; but I had laid and
kept up a regular and rapid communication, in the midst of enemies, even
with his camp. A copy of this despatch was sent express to Marquess
Hastings again I deprecated the responsibility I had assumed, and again
received the expression of his high approbation and thanks for having done
General Sir T. Browne not only moved as I directed, but had some of
my principal guides to conduct him in the enterprise which ended in the
destruction of the corps under Roshun Beg."
SO.
Rajpootana being now redeemed from the grasp of the spoiler, it was of
essential importance to its interests, as well as to those of British India,
in order to prevent a renewal of the predatory system, and to interpose a
barrier
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
xxxiii
barrier between our territories and the strong natural frontier of India, that
these newly settled states should be united in one grand confederation; and
they were accordingly invited to accept the protective alliance of the British.
With a single exception, Jeypore, which demurred for a few months, they
eagerly embraced the invitation; and in a few weeks all Rajpootana was allied
to Britain, by compacts of one uniform character, securing to them external
protection and internal independence, in return for an acknowledgment of
our supremacy, and the annual payment of a portion of the revenue. These
treaties were signed in December 1817 and January 1818, and in February
Captain Tod (then Political Assistant to the Resident at Gwalior) was
appointed by the Governor-General (a pretty sure criterion of the value
attached to his services) his Political Agent to the Western Rajpoot states.
Clothed with this ample authority, he applied himself to the arduous task
of endeavouring to repair the ravages of foreign invaders who still lingered
in some of the fortresses, to heal the deeper wounds inflicted by intestine
feuds, and to reconstruct the frame-work of society in the disorganized states
of Rajasthan. The undertaking would have appalled any man but one who
was already familiar with the intricate mazes of Rajpoot politics, who had
studied the institutions, the character, and the prejudices of the people, and
was well skilled in their popular literature;* who could debate any difficult
question with them in their own dialect, on their own maxims and principles;
above all, whose temperament was sanguine, whose energy was irrepressible,
and whose views were direct and disinterested.
Proceeding
* In a MS. note for a translation of the Rajpoot poet, Chand or Chund, Col. Tod says, "I lived
familiarly amongst these people and imbibed their sentiments, and although they might not reach to
our standard of excellence, the deterioration was endurable from the knowledge of what they had
been ere corrupted by tyranny and oppression. When I say I lived six years amongst them, and twice
that time in their vicinity, the surprise will only be that I know so little. I do not pretend to any
critical knowledge of the language of these poems; but I had one advantage, which such knowledge
could not give me a power of conversing in it, not with elegance, but with fluency, and its tropes
and metaphors were matter of colloquial common-place."
e
xxxiv
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
Proceeding to the scene of his new and important functions, in his journey
to Oodeypore from Jehajpoor, 140 miles, only two thinly-peopled towns
were seen which acknowledged the Rana's authority. All was desolate: even
the traces of human footsteps were effaced. "The babool and gigantic reed,
which harboured the boar and the tiger, grew upon the highways, and every
rising ground disclosed a mass of ruins. Bhilwara, the commercial entrepôt
of Rajpootana, which ten years before contained 6,000 families, shewed
not a vestige of life: all was silent in her streets; no living thing was seen,
except a solitary dog, that fled in dismay from his lurking place in the temple,
scared at the unaccustomed sight of man." This is an image of desolation
scarcely to be paralleled by any which a poet's fertile fancy could suggest,
to express the combined ravages of war, famine, and pestilence.
Such," observes Colonel Tod, in his Annals of Méwar, after a deplorable
picture of the condition of the country in 1818, "was the chaos from which
order was to be evoked. But the elements of prosperity, though scattered,
were not extinct; and recollections of the past, deeply engraven in the
national mind, became available to reanimate their moral and physical
existence. To call these forth demanded only the exertion of moral inter-
ference, and every other was rejected. The lawless freebooter, and even the
savage Bhil, felt awed at the agency of a power never seen." The instru-
ments, with which the Agent was to work out this moral regeneration, were
by no means adapted for that purpose. The Rana, though amiable, was weak,
unsteady, and passive to female influence. Amongst the ministers," there
appeared no talent, no authority, no honesty." In a short period, however,
the firm, conciliatory, and skilful measures of the British Agent changed the
aspect of affairs. The refractory nobles were induced by his mediation to
forego their resentments and come to the capital; the Rana, who, in 1818,
had not fifty horse to attend him, found his authority recognized and his
retinue swelled by his feudal nobles; the exiled population were restored
to their bapota, their" father land," and agriculture and trade began to revive
and
66
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
and flourish. Within eight months after the execution of the treaties, above
three hundred deserted towns and villages were reinhabited, and lands, which
for many years had been untouched by the plough, were broken up. Foreign
merchants and bankers, relying on the pledges of the British Agent, came
to the country and fixed their factors in every town. The restrictions on
external commerce were removed, transit duties abolished, the frontier
customs reduced, the products of the imposts, notwithstanding these reduc-
tions, to the astonishment of the ministers, who could not comprehend a result
so incongruous with their narrow calculations,-in a few years exceeding the
highest amount that had ever been known. The once deserted Bhilwara, in
1822, contained 3,000 houses, and an entire new street was erected, inhabited
by merchants and bankers, as well as citizens. The number of houses in
Oodeypore, which in 1818 was 3,500, in 1822 was 10,000: the fiscal revenue,
which in 1818 yielded Rs. 40,000 (about £4,000), in 1821 had reached
upwards of ten lakhs (about £100,000).
To describe in minute detail the reforms effected by Colonel Tod in this and
the other states placed under his charge, and which produced these beneficial
results, would extend this Memoir to an inconvenient length. They are
recorded by himself in his great work, with a manly indifference to the charge
of egotism (from which weakness, in its vulgar form, no man was more exempt*)
from those who cannot distinguish between the self-adulation of a superficial
mind, and the satisfaction which, in a generous and noble nature, springs
from the consciousness of having, with the purest motives and at many a pain-
ful sacrifice, conferred a lasting benefit upon large masses of the human race.
The sentiments of the people themselves afford the least equivocal evidence
of the value of his services; and these sentiments have found a public organ
in the late Bishop Heber, who visited Rajpootana two years after Colonel Tod
had left it. “All the provinces of Méwar,” says the Prelate, "were, for a con-
siderable time after their connexion with the British Government, under the
administration of Captain Tod, whose name appears to be held in a degree
XXXV
of
*"No one," says an intimate friend, "could weigh more modestly his pretensions than Col. T."
e 2
xxxvi
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
1
of affection and respect, by all the upper and middling classes of society,
highly honourable to him, and sufficient to rescue these poor people from
the often-repeated charge of ingratitude. At Dabla, and in our subsequent
stages, we were continually asked by the cutwals, &c. after Tod Sahib,'
whether his health was better since his return to England, and whether
there was any chance of their seeing him again? On being told it was
not likely, they all expressed much regret; saying that the country had
never known quiet till he came among them, and that every body, whether
rich or poor, except thieves and Pindarries, loved him. He, in fact, Dr.
Smith told me, loved the people of this country, and understood their lan-
guage and manners in a very unusual degree. At Bhilwara, every one was
full of Captain Tod's praise. The place had been entirely ruined by Jumsheed
Khan, and deserted by all its inhabitants, when Captain Tod persuaded the
Rana to adopt measures for encouraging the owners of land to return, and
foreign merchants to settle. He himself drew up a code of regulations for
them; obtained them an immunity from taxes for a certain number of years,
and sent them patterns of different articles of English manufacture for their
imitation. He also gave money liberally to the beautifying their town. In
short, as one of the merchants, who called on me, said, 'it ought to be called
Tod-gunge; but there is no need, for we shall never forget him.' Such
praise as this, from people who had no further hopes of seeing or receiving
any benefit from him, is indeed of sterling value."* The fact is, that Bhil-
6
C
wara
* «Narrative of a Journey through the Upper Provinces of India in 1824-5," &c. Vol. II., p. 42.
The Bishop adds, "His misfortune was that, in consequence of favouring the native princes so much,
the government of Calcutta were led to suspect him of corruption, and consequently to narrow his
powers and associate other officers with him in his trust, till he was disgusted and resigned his
place. They are now, I believe, well satisfied that their suspicions were groundless." If this be a
correct representation of the matter, it conveys a very serious imputation upon the Bengal Govern-
ment, which must have adopted and acted upon a suspicion without the slightest ground. It does
not appear that even the native servants of Col. Tod were obnoxious to the charge of venality, which
the Bishop brings against those of Sir David Ochterlony, who found his name placed by his own
moonshee, without his knowledge, as a pensioner to the amount of £1,200 a year, on the civil
list of the poor old King of Delhi !
xxxvii
wara was actually called "Tod-gunge," which name was, however, sup-
pressed at the earnest entreaty of Colonel Tod himself, who wished that the
Rana should have the merit of every beneficial act, contenting himself with
the secret praise which his own heart bestowed.
In February 1819, the state of Marwar was placed under his agency, in
addition to Méwar, Jessulmér, Kotah, Boondi, and Sirohi; and in October
of that year he proceeded to Jodpore, the capital of Marwar, where he con-
ferred with its sovereign, Raja Maun, a man of very singular qualities, whose
character Colonel Tod has developed with great ability in his Personal Narra-
tive.* The demoniacal spirit of revenge which actuated this prince, appears
to have disappointed the hopes and expectations of the Agent. He visited
Ajmér, and in December returned to the valley of Oodeypore.
In January 1820, he set out on another expedition to the Hara states of
Kotah and Boondi. The former of these two states was under the actual rule
of the Regent, Zalim Sing, a remarkable personage, whom Colonel Tod has
aptly termed the "Nestor of Rajasthan." His shrewd sagacity is apparent
from two circumstances,-first, that his "eagle eye" saw at once the virtue
of compliance with the invitation of the British Government to conclude a
protective alliance, and the grace of yielding quickly (Kotah having been the
first state which formed a connexion with us); secondly, that he foretold
that," at a day not distant, but one emblem of power (the British) would be
recognized throughout India." The history, measures, and political and
moral character of this very remarkable man form the subject of some of the
most interesting chapters in the Annals of this state.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
With the Rao Raja of Boondi, Bishen Sing, Colonel Tod had contracted a
friendship, and he gives an animated description of the joy which his appear-
ance excited in the capital, where the generous interposition of Britain, which
had
* Annals, i. 713.
+ The recent conduct of Raja Maun seems, from the latest advices from India, likely to embroil
him with the British Government.
L
¡
:
¡
"
¡.
xxxviii
.:
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
had restored Boondi to independence, was felt and acknowledged by prince,
chiefs, and people.
On leaving the capital, the party began to sink under the influence
of this destructive climate. At Jehajpore, which they reached on the
28th September, Colonel Tod was attacked by fever and ague. Fancying a
cake of mukhi flour, he had not eaten two mouthfuls before he experienced
extraordinary symptoms. My head," he says, "seemed expanding to an
enormous size, as if it alone would have filled the tent; my tongue and lips
felt tight and swollen; and although 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 the tent-pole, when my relative 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 the disease." There was reason to
believe (and the surgeon was of opinion), that this was the effect of poison
administered in the cake. Three or four times he had been reduced to the
brink of the grave since he commenced his harassing duties in Méwar.
As they proceeded, the climate threatened to destroy the whole of the
party. Ensign Cary died; Captain Waugh narrowly escaped the same fate
from the Kotah fever and Guinea-worm; and Colonel Tod, when he reached
Mandelgurh, in addition to fever and ague, had a diseased spleen, which did
not, however, suspend his attention to business. Stretched on his charpae
(pallet), almost dead with inanition, with some three score leeches of enor-
mous
(6
* Captain Waugh, the commander of the escort, was Colonel Tod's kinsman.
I
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
xxxix
mous size on his left side, he noted down the oral reports of the Bhomias
and Patels of the district, who filled his tent and remained in groups outside.
He returned to Méwar in October 1820;* but nature now began to warn
him in a tone not to be misunderstood. His once robust form was reduced
to a mere wreck; and Dr. Duncan, the medical officer of the Agency, assured
him that he must die if he stayed in the country six months more. In the
spring of 1821, he determined to proceed to his native land, and only
waited the termination of the monsoon to execute this design; but in July,
he received an express from Boondi, announcing the sudden death, by cho-
lera,† of his estimable friend the Rao Raja, from whom he had parted but
a few months previously, who, in his last moments, nominated Colonel Tod
guardian of his infant son, and charged him to watch over his welfare and
that of Boondi. The formal letter of the minister was accompanied by one
from the Raní, the mother of the young prince, from whom also (or in his
name) he had a few lines, both seconding the bequest of the dying Raja, and
reminding him of the dangers of a minority, and of the elements of mischief
by which they were surrounded.
On the 24th July 1821, in the midst of the monsoon, he set out for
Harouti. Having to pass through Bhilwara, his reception was enthusiastic.
The entire population, headed by the chief merchants, and preceded by dam-
sels with the kullus, or water-jar, advanced a mile to meet and conduct him
to a place, now full of life and activity, which a few years before was
tenanted only by a famished dog, "I passed," he says, "through the main
street, surrounded by its wealthy occupants, who had suspended over the
projecting
*
This year, when the rupture with Sinde took place, he drew up and transmitted to Lord Has-
tings a plan for marching a force through the desert. He was at that time in communication with
Meer Sohrab, the Governor of Upper Sinde.
<
+ The spasmodic cholera morbus, called in these parts murri, or the death,' it is well known, made
its appearance in British India at the commencement of the war of 1817, and was at this time (1821)
wasting these regions. We owe to the researches of Col. Tod, in the archives of the Rajpoot
princes, the knowledge of the fact, that this terrific scourge is no new disease, having ravaged India
nearly two centuries ago, and often since. In 1661, it swept off numbers in Méwar.
xl
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
projecting awnings the most costly silks, brocades, and other finery, to do
honour to one they esteemed their benefactor. As my tent would not con-
tain a tenth of the visitors, I had its walls removed. Every moment I ex-
pected to see it fall upon us, for there were hundreds of hands at each rope,
swinging it in every direction in their eagerness to see what was going on
within between the Saheb and the Punchaet of both sects, Oswal and
Mahesri, or Jain and Vishnuvé. 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. My good friends having no inclination to
retire, I sent for the presents and the utr-pán, and they departed with
a thousand blessings and prayers for the perpetuity of our raj. He has
often spoken of the gratification he experienced on this occasion, which was
calculated to leave an indelible impression upon a heart like his.
""*
On arriving at Boondi, where he received all the attentions which the most
delicate friendship could dictate (even to the sprinkling of his path with
holy-water by a Brahman, to prevent the approach of evil), the ráj-tilac, or
ceremony of inauguration of the young Rao Raja, Ram Sing, took place, on a
lucky day, the 3d of Sawun. This imposing ceremony is picturesquely des-
cribed in the last Personal Narrative, at the close of the Annals. The British
Agent placed the young prince of the Haras on the gadi, or throne, and
dipping the middle finger of the right hand into an unction composed of
sandal-wood powder and aromatic oils, presented by the officiating priest,
he made the tilac, or mark of inauguration, upon the prince's forehead, girding
on the sword and congratulating the new sovereign of Boondi in the name
of the British Government. The Agent, then, conformably to the will of the
late prince, and to the injunctions of the queen-mother, entirely reformed the
offices of the chief functionaries, providing a system of checks on the receipts
and disbursements of the revenue, making no material innovations, and dis-
placing or displeasing no one. At the next durbar, by request of the Raní,
he
* Annals, ii., 690.
Mad
•
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
xli
he pointed out to the chiefs, before they were dismissed to their estates, the
line of their duty and the necessity of conforming to the old laws of the state.
Although the festival of the Rakhi* had not arrived, the mother of the young
prince sent Captain Tod, by the hands of the family priest, the bracelet of adop-
tion as her brother, which made his young ward thenceforth his nephew. He
had received the rakhi from, and become the "bracelet-bound brother" of, two
other queens, the Ranís of Oodeypore and Kotah, besides the maiden sister
of the Rana, and many ladies of chiefs of rank: these, he observes, were all
the treasures he brought away. He had afterwards the honour of a per-
sonal conversation with the princess mother (a curtain being interposed
between them) on the affairs of the state and the welfare of her " Lalji."
After a fortnight spent at Boondi, and having given a right tone to the
Government, he took his leave, reminding the Bohora, or chief minister,
by a metaphor full of intelligence to a Hindu, that if the administration was
conducted upon just principles, "the lotus would once more blossom on the
waters of the lake."
C
Captain Tod returned by way of Kotah, which he found to be very far from
enjoying the tranquillity of its sister state of Harouti, Boondi. Here, there-
fore, fresh toils and vexations awaited him. The three months of August,
September, and October 1821, he describes as the most harassing of his
existence: "civil war, deaths of friends and relations, cholera raging, and all
of us worn out with perpetual attacks of fever, ague, anxiety, and fatigue."
But even these physical ills were trivial compared with the moral evils which
it was his duty to remedy or mitigate. His offices were well appreciated
by the blind and aged Regent, Zalim Sing, then in his eighty-second year,
"whose orbless eyes," says Colonel Tod, "were filled with tears, and as I
pressed
* The Festival of the Bracelet (rakhi) is one of the few occasions on which an intercourse of a
most delicate nature is established between the fair sex and the cavaliers of Rajasthan. By the pre-
sent of a bracelet, the Rajpoot dame bestows upon a favoured individual the title of "adopted bro-
ther;" scandal itself never suggesting any other tie between the lady and her defender, or rakhi-bund-
bhae,' bracelet-bound brother.'-See Annals, i. 312, 581.
f
xlii
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
pressed his palsied hands, which were extended over me, the power of utter-
ance entirely deserted him."
At Rowtah (the scene of his labours in the Pindarry war) he determined
to make a tour through Upper Malwa. Traversing the fatal pass of Mokun-
darra, he came upon the magnificent ruins of Barolli (situated on the tract
named Puchail, or the flat between the Chumbul and the Pass), of which he
has given exquisite graphic delineations, with descriptions that will tempt
many a visitor of taste to those desecrated and mouldering relics, which attest
the refinement of Hindu art at a date anterior to tradition. The choolis, or
whirlpools, of the Chumbul, the fragments of ancient grandeur at Gunga-
bhéva, and the caves of Dhoomnar, successively arrested the attention of
the enthusiastic traveller, and of these remains, (some of which, it is said,
have already disappeared under that powerful solvent, the climate, aided by
the more destructive hand of man,) drawings were made, engravings from
which adorn the Annals. The admiration which these specimens of archi-
tecture inspired, was increased by a discovery of the extensive ruins of the
ancient city of Chandravati, the rich and gorgeous workmanship displayed
in which may be ranked amongst the most finished productions of the chisel.
The elaborate carving of the flowers and foliage Col. Tod considers " perfect."
The tracery and other ornaments of one of the shrines, he says, "no artist in
Europe could surpass." Apprehensive that the English public might be scep-
tical as to the fidelity of the engravings, he deposited the original drawings with
his bookseller, in order that it might be seen that the engraver, so far from
improving them, had scarcely done them justice. Chandravati is a city of the
Pramara race, situated at the western face of the stupendous Aravulli chain;
its ruins had long been the haunt of wild beasts, and from its ready-formed
materials the city of Ahmedabad arose. Colonel Tod had an inscription in his
possession, six hundred years old, which mentioned Chandravati, but it was of
little interest till he discovered its site and ruins. It is also referred to in the
Bhoja Charitra. At Bijolli and Mynál, he discovered other "architectural
wonders," which he has also perpetuated by the pencil and graver.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
xliii
Ere he reached the valley of Oodeypore, he met with a serious acci-
dent, which had nearly cost him his life. On the 24th February 1822, he
was proceeding to restore to the chief of Beygoo, the head of the
Meghawuts, his territory, of which the family had been deprived by the
fraud and force of the Mahrattas for nearly half a century. The "sons of
Kala Megh" had assembled from all quarters to honour the event, and
to welcome their benefactor. The old castle of Beygoo has a remarkably wide
moat, across which there is a wooden bridge, leading to an arched gate-way.
Colonel Tod's mahout (elephant-driver) warned him that there was not space
to admit of his elephant and howdah; but a preceding elephant having passed
through, he was desired to drive on. The animal, from some cause, at this
critical moment, became alarmed, and darted forward. Colonel Tod, as he
approached the gate-way, perceived it was too low, and expecting instant
destruction, planting his feet firmly against the howdah and his fore-arms
against the gate-way, by a desperate effort of strength, burst out the back of
the howdah, and dropped from the elephant senseless on the bridge below.
He was sadly bruised, but not seriously injured. The sympathy of the
Rawut and his chiefs, which made them almost prisoners beside his pallet,
would have amply consoled him for an accident which partly arose from his own
want of caution; but two days after, going to fulfil his mission, what was his
astonishment to see the noble gate-way, the work of Kala Megh, reduced to a
heap of ruins, through which he was conducted to the palace situated on a
terrace, in front of which was the little court of Beygoo! On expostu-
lating with the Rawut for his rash destruction of the gate-way, he declared,
that "
he never could have looked upon it with complacency, since it had
nearly deprived of life one who had given life to them."* These are people
who are said to be "without gratitude!"
After
Annals, ii. 574.-In a letter to a friend, when in England, Colonel Tod refers to the inicdent,
in a manner which shows how sensibly he felt this noble tribute of grateful respect:
I had
the principle of life strong within me. It appears now a dream. But a week before, I was knocked
off my elephant in going to restore to the chief of the Meghawuts twenty-seven villages, alienated
f 2
for
"C
xliv
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
After a visit to Cheetore, the ancient capital of Méwar (of whose archi-
tectural remains he has given specimens), he returned to Oodeypore in
March 1822.
He had now been twenty-two years in India, eighteen of which were spent
amongst the Western Rajpoots; the last five in the capacity of political agent
to the Governor-general. His public duties and his extensive geographical and
statistical researches-alone sufficient to engross an ordinary mind-were
not the only objects which had occupied his studies; he employed the
facilities of his post, and of his connexions with the native princes, to
obtain an insight into the political history, the science, and the literature of
the Rajpoots; and the result brought to light a vast body of genuine Hindu
history, reaching to a remote period, disproving a notion which had been
adopted even by the best Eastern scholars. Before the successful
researches of Colonel Tod, no dogma was more generally acknowledged,
than that the Hindus had no native history; though it was naturally and
pointedly asked, "If the Hindus have no history, where did the Maho-
medans discover the facts which are recorded by Abulfazil?" The course
pursued by Colonel Tod, in exploring the historical works of the Rajpoots,
is described in the Introduction to the first volume of his Annals of
Rajasthan. He appears to have had unrestricted access not only to the
archives of the princes, but to the immense libraries* of the Jain sect (of
which his guru, or preceptor, was a learned member), which appear to have
escaped the scrutiny of the Mahomedans, from whence he was permitted to
bring away MSS. of considerable value: these are deposited in the library of
the Royal Asiatic Society. The Rana of Méwar allowed him to borrow from
his
for forty-five years, which I recovered from the fangs of the Mahrattas. The animal ran off,
crossing the wooden bridge of the moat, and the arch, being too low, carried me fairly off. That
I was not crushed is a miracle. That night, the triumphal arch of the Meghawuts was levelled to the
ground. These are the men without gratitude! It was worth a broken limb, yet I escaped with
bruises."
* In
page
235 of this work will be seen an account of the literary treasures of the Jains.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
his archives those sacred volumes, the Puránas, from whence he deduced
the genealogy of the Rajpoot tribes. Raja Maun, of Marwar, a man of
literary taste, and remarkably well read, had copies made for him of the
principal histories of his family, which are likewise deposited in the Society's
library.* The Book of the Johyas," a race of Jits, occupying one of the
districts of Bikanér (amongst whom some traditions of Alexander the Great
are preserved), was sent him by the prime minister of Jessulmér. Amongst
other valuable historical works obtained by him in the country may be
mentioned the poems of Chund, the Rajpoot Homer (or rather Ossian), of
which Colonel Tod possessed the most complete copy extant, and which are
esteemed authentic history; and various Charitras, particularly the Komarpál
Charitra, or history of Anhulwara, from whence he has incorporated copious
extracts into this work. No subsidiary aids were neglected; he was indefa-
tigable in his search for inscriptions, grants, coins, and other similar records,
which are the most irrefragable of historical documents. In the course of
these researches, he discovered (on his homeward journey), at Puttun Som-
nath, on the coast of Saurashtra, an inscription, in the Devanagari character,
which not only fixed the era of the Balhara kings of Nehrwalla, but disclosed
a peculiar era, the Balabhi Samvat. His skill in decyphering dates con-
cealed, or rather secured from sophistication, in the cryptographic form,‡
was of great advantage at a time when the art was by no means extensively
known even amongst the pundits of India. Many inscriptions," he
observes,§"have been passed by me as useless from their not containing the
date
66
xlv
An example of these cryptographic dates may be seen in p. 375 of this work
§ Asiatic Journal, vol. xxii. p. 14.
mga
* A description of these Rahtore records is given in the Annals (ii. 2); one of them is the Rasa
Rao Rutna, in which the heroic deeds of prince Rutna, of Rutlam, are "wreathed in immortal
rhyme."
+ The inscription is given in the Appendix to the Annals, vol. ii. The dates are of the following
four eras: year of the Hejira, 662=year of Vicrama, 1,320=year of Balabhi, 945=year of Siva
Singha Samvat, 151. The date in our era is 1264.
xlvi
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
date in numerals, nor was it until the last years of my researches that my
Yati (preceptor), through the medium of the primate, and some more learned
of his sect (the Jain), solved this difficulty, as well as the enigmatical
character of several of these inscriptions." Colonel Tod was the first to make
known in Europe this peculiar system, which has since been fully developed
by M. von Schlegel, M. Csoma de Koros, and Mr. James Prinsep.
Nor were his archæological investigations exclusively limited to purely
Hindu antiquities. His discoveries of Bactrian and Indo-Grecian coins, of
which he accumulated a considerable number,* and his learned and accurate
illustrations of them, initiated the study of a branch of numismatic science
which has since produced important results.
The biography of Colonel Tod is now taken up in the work which is in the
hands of the reader, wherein he relates the cause of his quitting India, the rea-
son why, notwithstanding the reduced state of his health, instead of proceeding
directly to the nearest sea-port, he commenced a circuitous journey of discovery
(the motives to which are highly characteristic of his inextinguishable zeal in
the cause of science), the scenes and objects he met with, and the incidents
which attended this journey. It will be sufficient to say, that he bade
farewell to the capital of Méwar on the 1st June 1822, arrived at Bombay on
the 14th January 1823, and in the following month embarked for England.
A long interval of uninterrupted tranquillity and repose should have been
allowed to repair the wear which body and mind had undergone during so many
years of excitement in an enfeebling climate; but his generous purpose was
incomplete until he had imparted to the world the knowledge he had gained,
and until he had made "his Rajpoots," as he affectionately termed them,
known to the people of Europe. Instead of carefully nursing his health, he
applied himself eagerly to the arrangement of the immense mass of materials
he had accumulated† for his meditated work, which demanded incessant toil
and
* These he bequeathed by will to the Royal Asiatic Society.
+ His collections of MSS., coins, and antiquities, the most valuable of which were presented
to
J
1
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
xlvii
and study. The consequence of thus over-taxing his physical powers was,
that, in 1825, his labours were interrupted by an attack of the same character
as that which, ten years later, terminated his valuable life.
Just before his arrival in England, the Royal Asiatic Society had been
formed (March 1823); Colonel Tod immediately enrolled himself amongst
its members, and was subsequently appointed librarian, which office he
retained as long as his health permitted. In May 1824, a paper was
read by him before the Society, being a translation, with comments, of a
Sanscrit inscription (a copy of which accompanied the paper), relative to the
last Hindu king of Delhi. This inscription he obtained at Hánsí Hissár
(situated about 126 miles N.N.W. from Delhi), when he left his post at
Sindia's court, on a visit to his friend, the late James Lumsdaine. The object
of the inscription is to commemorate a victory gained by Pirthi-raj or Prith-
wirája, the renowned Chohan sovereign of Hindust’han (in the ruins of whose
palace it was found), over the race of Doda (A.D. 1168), by his vassal chiefs
Kilhan and Hamir, names of great celebrity in the contests of that period.
This paper is made the vehicle of much learned elucidation of the history of
Western India, and illustration of the character of the people, then new to
European scholars. The slab containing this inscription Colonel Tod
transmitted to Lord Hastings, in 1818; but its fate is not known.
In June of the same year, he presented to the Society three copper plates,
containing grants, found by him at Oojein, in 1812, and an inscription upon
marble, at Madhucarghar, discovered in his last tour in Central India, in
1822. They all relate to the same family, the Pramara dynasty, whose
period they fix, as well as an important era in the history and literature of
India. These inscriptions, which were re-translated by Mr. Colebrooke, are,
like the preceding, illuminated with a glow of learning.
His
to the India House or the Royal Asiatic Society, were subjected to heavy duties and charges in
this country, and there is amongst his papers a list of these articles, with the charges upon them paid
by him, amounting to £72, headed, in his hand-writing, "Encouragement to Oriental Literature."
1
xlviii
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
His account of Greek, Parthian, and Hindu medals, found in India, read
before the Society in June 1825, is one of the most valuable papers recorded
in its Transactions. It was accompanied by fac-simile engravings (executed
at his own expense) of several medals, and in particular of two, which filled
up a chasm in the numismatic series of the Greek kings of Bactria, namely,
Apollodotus and Menander, the former of which is not included by Bayer in
his lists of the kings of Bactria, and was only known from the mention made of
him by Arrian. Colonel Tod, in explaining how and where he found these
valuable coins, relates that, for the last twelve years of his residence in India,
the collecting of coins, as an auxiliary to history, was one of his pursuits;
that, in the rainy season, he employed persons at Mathura and other old
cities, to collect all that were brought to light by the action of the water,
while tearing up old foundations and levelling mouldering walls.
"In this
manner," he says, "I accumulated about twenty thousand coins, of all
denominations; among which there may not be above one hundred calcu-
lated to excite interest, and perhaps not above one-third of that number to
be considered of value: but among them there are an Apollodotus and a
Menander, besides some rare medals of a Parthian dynasty, probably yet
unknown to history. ""*
This paper attracted much attention on the continent of Europe, and a
paper upon the subject of these coins, by Mr. A. W. von Schlegel, was read
before the Asiatic Society of Paris. Since that time, and probably in con-
sequence of this discovery, a powerful impulse has been given to the collec-
tion of these coins in Western India and Affghanistan, which are now
obtained
* In the Annals (i. 40), he states that he found the Apollodotus, in 1814, when he discovered
a remnant of the ancient city of Soorpoor, the capital of the Surseni of Alexander's historians.
"The plains of India," he observes, "retain yet many ancient cities, from whose ruins somewhat
may be gleaned to add a mite to knowledge."
t "Observations on the Bactrian and Indo-Scythic coins discovered by Col. Tod."—Journal
Asiatique for November 1828.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
xlix
obtained in considerable numbers, and the fortunate and skilful discovery by
Mr. James Prinsep, the secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, of the
key to the characters, whence it appears that the legends are in a dialect or
modification of the Sanscrit, has opened a new train of investigation into the
connected history of the East and West, which, as already remarked, has
led to important historical results.
The other papers submitted by him to the Society are the following:-An
Account of the Religious Establishments of Méwar (read in 1828), which
was afterwards incorporated in the Annals of Rajasthan; Remarks on
certain Sculptures in the Cave Temples in Ellora (read also in 1828); Obser-
vations on a Gold Ring, of Hindu fabrication, found at Montrose, in Scot-
land; and a Comparison of the Hindu and Theban Hercules, illustrated by
an ancient Hindu Intaglio (both read in 1830). The ring, which is the
subject of the last paper but one, was dug up on the Fort Hill, near Mon-
trose; it was purchased by the late Miss Erskine of Dun, as it was supposed
to bear the supporters of the arms of that family (two griffins), and was duly
considered as a family relic. The Countess of Cassilis having shown it to
Colonel Fitzclarence (now Earl of Munster), he instantly recognized its
Hindu character; and forwarding it, with Lady Cassilis' permission, to Colonel
Tod, requested he would offer to the Society "such observations on the
discovery of so extraordinary a relic in so unlooked-for a quarter as his
extensive information respecting the history and antiquities of India might
suggest. Colonel Tod has demonstrated that this mystic amulet represents
the symbol of the sun-god, Bal-nat'h, around which is wreathed a serpent
guardant, with two bulls, as supporters; or the powers of creative nature in
unison, typified in the miniature Lingam and Yoni-" in short, a graven
image of that primeval worship which prevailed amongst the nations of
antiquity." He considers that it belonged to some pious devotee, who,
desirous never to lose sight of the object of his adoration, wore it as a
talisman on the thumb.
""
g
The
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
The liberal and generous spirit by which he was actuated, did not allow him
to stint his communications to the scientific bodies of his own country; he
diffused his information with true cosmopolitic ardour over the world. Whilst
at Milan, in 1827, six weeks after his marriage, labouring then under a dis-
tressing asthma, the result of an inflammation of the chest, which left him
scarcely power to write, or voice to dictate, he composed (without either
books or references of any kind at command), and forwarded to the Asiatic
Society of Paris, a paper, which was inserted in their Journal,* entitled “De
l'Origine Asiatique de quelques-unes des Anciennes Tribus de l'Europe,
établies sur les Rivages de la Mer Baltique, surtout les Su, Suedi, Suiones, Asi,
Yeuts, Jats, ou Gètes-Goths, &c." In 1828, he presented to the same Society
six rolls of inscriptions from Western India, of which a report was made by
M. Burnouf, who recommended that they should be lithographed and cir-
culated through France and Germany.
His regimental promotion, which had been hitherto retarded, now acquired
an accelerated impulse. On the 1st May 1824, he attained the rank of major;
and on the 2d June 1826, that of lieutenant-colonel, being transferred to the
2d European Regiment, the very corps in which he commenced his military
His state of health, however, rendered a return to India, though
much desired by his friends in Rajpootana, unadvisable, and on the 28th
June 1825, he retired from the service.
career.
In 1829, appeared the first volume of his Annals of Rajasthan, which
created a strong sensation amongst Oriental scholars at home and abroad. It
had, however, to contend against a formidable impediment to its popularity
with general readers; for it was not only a volume of history, but the history
of
* Journal Asiatique for May 1827.
At the very time when Col. Tod was bringing this volume before the British public, Sir N.
H. Nicholas was writing (1830) his "Observations on the State of Historical Literature," wherein
he declares that scarcely any work of an historical nature, which had been published for the last ten
years, had paid its expenses; and that "not a single publisher in London, at this moment, will
risk the cost of paper and print upon a volume illustrative of history, however interesting or
important it may be."
1
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
li
of a country which, till the appearance of Sir John Malcolm's Memoir of
Central India (and he scarcely touched the confines of Rajpootana) was almost
entirely unknown. The name of the Author was not at this time sufficiently
familiar to the public in Europe, or even to the British community in India,
to impart that species of currency to his writings, from which many books
derive their chief saleable value. "His course," says an intimate friend of
Colonel Tod, "was such as to lead him but little into European society in
India, and his attachments were much concentrated in the native society
around him." The work offered so few attractions to London publishers,
that he was compelled to take upon himself, which he did with alacrity, all
the risk and cost of bringing it out, and the plates and printing of this large
and very expensive work occasioned no slight drain upon a very moderate
fortune. Profit, however, was not his aim, nor even fame in its ordinary sense;
his impelling motive was the discharge of what he terms, in his Dedication
to the King, "a paramount duty;" a desire to make known to the world "an
ancient and interesting race." Nevertheless, in spite of these obstacles, and
the high price of the work, it has gradually taken a station in the permanent
literature of the country. Our periodical vehicles of criticism pronounced
the most favourable sentence upon it; on the Continent of Europe it has
extorted the warmest eulogiums from veterans in Oriental studies; and in
British India, where its value can, perhaps, be best appreciated, it is
regarded as a standard work. Principal Mill, one of our first Sanscrit
scholars, and amongst the most successful investigators of ancient Hindu
history, characterizes the Annals as "a most valuable and elaborate contri-
bution to Oriental and general literature." It is, in fact, the mine from
whence ephemeral writers still draw their information respecting Western
India, increasing knowledge of these parts having confirmed the accuracy
and fidelity of its details. The second and concluding volume appeared in
the early part of 1832.
g 2
The
lii
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
The interest inherent in this mass of genuine original history, many
parts of which possess the fascinations of an elaborate fiction; the heroic
attributes of the actors and incidents recorded in it; the highly curious
and exact pictures of Hindu society which it exhibits; the exquisite
delineations of local scenery and of ancient cities and edifices from which
the veil of oblivion has been withdrawn after the lapse of ages; the erudi-
tion displayed in the archæological disquisitions; the ease and liveliness of
the Personal Narratives; the Ossianic character of the extracts translated
from the native chronicles, and the lustrous qualities of the Author's own
style, which, though its purity may be occasionally adulterated with a few of
the vices of Oriental composition, rises in some passages into the highest
strain of fervid eloquence-conspire to invest the Annals of Rajasthan
with extraordinary attractions to those who dare venture upon the perusal of
so large a work. The enthusiasm of the author, who is the historian of some
remarkable events in recent Rajpoot history, of which he was an eye-witness
and in some of them an agent, has, moreover, infused into the narrative a
portion of his own feelings, and incorporated with it many of the adventures
of his own life. If this be a violation of the rigid laws of historical compo-
sition (though it is expressly declared by the Author, in the Introduction to
the first volume, that "it never was his intention to treat the subject in the
severe style of history, which would have excluded many details useful to the
politician as well as to the curious student"), the reader finds some
compensation in the vivacity and fidelity which are thus given to the narra-
tive, and in the distinct picture it presents of the character and virtues of the
narrator.
The only portions of this great work which have experienced anything
like censure are those of a speculative character, namely, the curious Disser-
tation on the Feudal System of the Rajpoots, and the passages wherein the
Author shows too visible a leaning towards hypotheses identifying persons, as
well as customs, manners, and superstitions, in the East and the West, often
on
Tube
"
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
on the slender basis of etymological affinities. But most of these speculations
are offered as conjectural, all of them being ingenious and plausible, and
some probably true. The rash conclusions of Major Wilford, and even
of Sir William Jones, in the infancy of our knowledge of Hindu literature,
had the natural and necessary effect, from the constitution of the human
mind, of causing prejudice to oscillate in an opposite direction, and all
the demonstrations derived from recent discoveries in the coins of Bactria,
the topes of Affghanistan, and the rock-records of Hindust’han, which have
at length yielded their secrets to the perseverance and skill of European scho-
lars (some of which seem to justify the boldest conjectures of Colonel Tod),*
have scarcely cured the obstinate scepticism as to an original connexion
between the Eastern and Western nations, notwithstanding the obvious
grammatical affinities which their dialects present, and the well-established
fact of an intercourse between them in very early times.
The hypothesis of an identity between the feudal systems of Europe and
of Rajpootana is, indeed, founded upon better indicia than verbal resem-
blances. But, as it was observed in a critiquet on the Annals, "the tenure
of land on condition of military service, which is a simple and an obvious
expedient in order to provide for public defence, must every where produce
incidents more or less alike." The idea of a feudal system in the East had been
conceived by learned writers antecedent to Colonel Tod, though he has the
merit of having fortified conjecture by practical evidence. There are, how-
ever,
liii
* When the industry of European collectors began to be directed to the search for coins in
India, and to produce such valuable results, Col. Tod, in writing to a friend, who communicated
them, says, “The numismatic discoveries are grand and delightful; they fulfil in extent and value
all I anticipated, and so often have expressed. Do you observe the confirmation of my observation,
that the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia were the places ever for Bactrian medals, contained in my
letter from Rome ?"
+ Edinburgh Review, for October 1830.
Richardson, in the learned Dissertation prefixed to his Persian and Arabic Dictionary,
expressly ascribes to the Feudal System an Eastern origin. "In Persia, Tartary, India, and other
liv
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
ever, two very important marks of distinction between the respective systems.
In the East, especially in Rajasthan, the king has no title to the soil, nor
any right whatever over the land, beyond the revenue which accrues from it.
In our feudal system, however, it was an essential principle that the king
was the universal lord and original proprietor of all the lands in the kingdom,
which were derived from him and held of him. Again: under our feudal
system, the villein or cultivator could acquire no property, and if he pur-
chased any land, the lord could enter upon it, and take it to his own use;
whereas, in Rajasthan, the ryot, or cultivator, is the actual proprietor of
the soil.
On the 16th November 1826, Colonel Tod married the daughter of Dr. Clut-
terbuck, a physician of considerable eminence in London. The state of his
health (as well as that of his lady) induced them to travel over various parts of
the Continent. In one of these journeys, passing through Savoy, he paid a
visit to the Count de Boigne, the celebrated General of Sindia, before whose
disciplined battalions the rude valour of the Rajpoots was of little avail, and
four thousand of them fell martyrs to liberty on the field of Mairta, in 1790.
Colonel Tod spent two delightful days with this veteran, at his princely resi-
dence, in his native vale of Chambéri.
In these journeys, and in his occasional sojourn in England, he was never
idle, but devoted his time, fortune, and health, to literary pursuits. His
mind, fraught with the stores of Eastern learning, and with the fruits of
his personal knowledge and experience, was ever teeming with projects for
communicating them to the world, of which many traces are to be found
amongst
Eastern countries," he says, "the whole details of government, from the most ancient time down
to the present hour, can hardly be defined by any other description. The rise and progress of our
Feudal System is marked; it was an exotic plant, and it has of consequence engaged the attention
of our ablest antiquaries; but in the East, it is indigenous, universal, and immemorial, and the
Eastern historians have never dreamt of investigating its source, more than the origin of regal
government." Pp. xlii. and xliii.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
lv
amongst his papers. He planned, and partly executed, a translation of the
poems of Chund,* for which undertaking no one could possess equal quali-
fications; and the specimen from the fifth book, which he printed for pri-
vate circulation, illuminated by notes containing a prodigious effusion of
varied historical knowledge, leaving no expression of his author obscure or
unintelligible, excites a keen regret that he did not live to complete the
design.†
The chief object of his later labours was the work now before the reader,
to which he dedicated the principal part of the winter of 1834, whilst at
Rome; and, perhaps, to these exertions, which were unremitted, when he
was not disabled by actual suffering, his premature death may be mainly
attributed. He had resided in Italy during part of 1834 and 1835, in the
hope of conquering a complaint in his chest, and he returned to England on
the
* Of Chund, or Chand, called Trí-cála, from his supposed prophetic spirit, Col. Tod has given
some scattered notices in various parts of his writings. He flourished at the close of the twelfth
century. He was the companion and bard of Pirthi-raj, the last Chohan Emperor of Delhi. His
work, consisting of sixty-nine books, comprising 100,000 stanzas, though dedicated to the exploits of
Pirthi-raj, is a universal chronicle of the period when he wrote. The wars of this martial sovereign,
his alliances, his numerous and powerful tributaries, their abodes and their pedigrees, which are
recorded in the poem of Chund, make this work invaluable for its historical and geographical
memoranda, as well as for its details respecting mythology and its pictures of manners.
"To
read this poet well," observes Col. Tod, " is a sure road to honour, and my own guru was allowed
to excel therein. As he read, I rapidly translated about 30,000 stanzas. Familiar with the dialects
in which it is written, I have fancied that I seized occasionally the poet's spirit; but it were
presumption to suppose that I embodied all his brilliancy, or fully comprehended the depth of all
his allusions. But I knew for whom he wrote. The most familiar of his images and sentiments
I heard daily from the mouths of those around me, the descendants of the men whose deeds he
rehearses: I was enabled thus to seize his meaning where one more skilled in poetic lore might
have failed." Of the dialect in which the poem is written, he says (in a MS. note):-" We may
assign as a parallel to the variation of the provincial dialects the same difference as exists in that of
Languedoc and Provence, which bears the same analogy to the parent Roman as do the Bakhas, or
dialects, of Méwar and Vrij to the Sanscrit.”
+ This specimen, which is an episode, entitled "The Vow of Sunjogta," translated into a kind
of Ossianic rhythm, has been since published in the Asiatic Journal, vol. xxv.
¡
1
Ivi
the 3d September. Whilst on a visit to his mother, in Hampshire, he wrote
the concluding chapters of the work, which was complete, except a few
notes and the Appendix. He had purchased a town residence in the
Regent's Park, and came up to London on the 14th November, in full spirits
at the idea of putting his work to press, and of settling down into a perma-
nent residence in the metropolis. The visible improvement in his appearance
and feelings gave sanguine hopes of his entire restoration to health. On
Monday, the 16th November 1835-the anniversary of his marriage nine
years previously-whilst transacting business at his bankers, Messrs. Robarts
and Company, Lombard Street, he was seized with apoplexy; after the first
fifteen minutes, he lay speechless and without consciousness for twenty-seven
hours, and expired on the 17th November, at the age of fifty-three.
In person Colonel Tod was, perhaps, rather above the middle size; his
frame had the appearance of having been robust, and was still vigorous. His
countenance was open and cheerful, his features were expressive, and
in the discussion of literary or scientific subjects, especially relating to India
and to Rajpootana, they were lighted up with extraordinary animation. His
general knowledge was various; his writings indicate a very wide range of
inquiry, more particularly in the branches of learning connected with history,
embracing Western as well as Eastern authors. With the Sanscrit and learned
languages of the East he was not, perhaps, so intimately acquainted as with
the Western dialects of India, which were the vehicles of oral communica-
tion and the depositaries of the history and science of Rajpootana. The
prominent qualities of his character were indomitable energy; zeal bordering
upon enthusiasm; decision and perseverance; inflexible integrity, and an
independence of spirit, which made him jealous even to irritability of
wrong or encroachment. These qualities were tempered by great kindness
of disposition, warmth of affection, amenity of manners, frankness and sin-
cerity few men have so much transparency of heart with so little of the
weakness which is one of its ordinary incidents. After administering the
affairs
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
lvii
affairs of kingdoms, with almost boundless authority,-for the discretion of a
political agent in India is extensive,-neither the indulgence of power, nor
the vexation of harassing duties, nor the inroads of disease, could sour his
temper, or change the radical virtues of his character; he was to the last the
amiable person his brother officers found him, when a subaltern of eighteen,
in the 14th regiment of Native Infantry.
A better instrument for working out the political regeneration of such a
country as Rajpootanac ould not have been discovered than a man constituted
like Colonel Tod, whose feelings and qualities, in many points, coalesced with
those of the people; a community of sentiment was thus established between
them, which inspired confidence on one side, and gave a great moral influence
on the other. It has been remarked by the ablest of our Anglo-Indian states-
men (and the remark does not require the sanction of local experience, since
it is founded in human nature itself), that no European can be an acceptable
or useful functionary amongst the Hindus, who is not familiar with their
language, manners, and institutions, and disposed to mix with them upon
equal and social terms. Prejudices on either side, which are the chief barriers
to improvement, will then disappear; the natives of India will more readily
adopt our views, when they perceive that they are suggested by a deep and
sincere interest in their welfare; and on the other hand, as Sir Thomas
Munro has justly observed, "those who have lived longest amongst the
natives (and this is a strong argument in their favour) have usually thought
the most highly of them."* "Never mixing with the natives, an European
is ignorant of their real character, which he, therefore, despises," says another
profound observer, Mr. Colebrooke; "when they meet, it is with fear on one
side,
* Gleig's Life of Sir Thomas Munro, vol. ii. p. 12. Mr. Chaplin, Commissioner of the Deccan,
who was for more than twenty years in close contact with the natives of India, declared to the
Committee of the Commons on East-India Affairs, in 1831, that the more he saw of the natives,
the better was his opinion of them, and that "they will bear an advantageous comparison with the
natives of any country in the world."
h
1
Iviii
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
side, and arrogance on the other." The hold he obtained upon the affection
and attachment of the people, from the prince to the peasant, was the grand
secret of Colonel Tod's success, which affords a great practical lesson to the
rulers of British India.
A striking proof of the moral power which his knowledge of the native cha-
racter gave him, and of its utility in critical emergencies, is seen in the follow-
ing anecdote, which has been recorded by himself.* At the termination of the
campaign of 1817-18, General Donkin's division (the right) was directed to
clear Méwar of the enemy, and had invested the strong hill-fortress of
Komulmér, the garrison of which could not be brought to surrender. Colonel
Tod (the Political Agent), being made acquainted with the position of affairs,
came to the spot, and determined to try the effect of a parley. In spite of
the general's dissuasives, he offered to meet, unattended, the sirdars half-
way between the British post and the fort. They consented; four of the
sirdars sat down with him on a rock, and in half an hour all was arranged,
namely, that the garrison should have their arrears of pay, and the British be
put in possession of the first gate next morning. At sunrise, Colonel Tod
moved down with the troops, Colonel Casement at their head. The sum to be
paid was about Rs. 40,000 (£4,000); Colonel Casement had only Rs. 11,000;
but the Political Agent had a native banker with him, who made out a bill of
exchange for the balance, which was accepted, and the fort was evacuated
just as an engineer officer arrived to report on the practicability of the siege
of a place 25,000 feet above the plains, which were without shelter, there
being but one face of attack, the approach to which was over an exposed
causeway. The engineer (Major Macleod) declared that he could not have
had a gun in position for six weeks. †
Some
*Asiatic Journal, vol. xvi. p. 264.
To show "how perfectly simple was the method he adopted, and how perfectly tractable these
people are when led through the medium of their feelings and prejudices," he describes the mode
lix
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
Some surprise was felt by the friends of Colonel Tod,* that, in the distribu
tion of honours from the Crown amongst the officers of the East-India Com-
pany, his name should have been overlooked. His services were never
undervalued, but, on the contrary, were always handsomely acknowledged by
the Court of Directors; and his experience and judgment in respect to the poli-
tics of Western India were appealed to by the Government during the inquiries
which preceded the adjustment of the great India question. The admirable
paper on this subject, drawn up by him, and which is printed in the
Appendix to the Minutes of Evidence taken before the Committee of the
House of Commons on East-India Affairs, is specially noticed in their final
Report of 1833. There were, however, technical difficulties in the way of
his claims, which, though not insuperable, had he been of a temper to solicit
what he perhaps esteemed his due, were suffered to weigh with those who
dispensed the favours of the Crown. It was intimated to Colonel Tod, as an
excuse for the non-insertion of his name on those occasions, that such distinc-
tions were not conferred on individuals who had retired from active employ-
ment, and who had not been officially gazetted for military services. His remarks
on
of negociation:-
:-" The prelude to the argument was on indifferent subjects, for even in the midst
of hostilities there is no deficiency of the courtesies of life among them. My first question was on
the wuttun of each of the sirdars, a matter of interest to every human being. They were all
Mooslem; two of them from Rohilcund. With these I talked of their native land, of their towns,
which I had visited, of the gallant Hafiz Rhamut. The others had served Sindia—we had mutual
acquaintances in that camp; and in ten minutes thus passed, sundry moral links of sympathy
made us no longer strangers. Confidence once awakened, the main object was discussed; and I
soon convinced them that it was their interest, and no disgrace, to surrender Komulmér. I pointed
out to them the difficulty of their position, so different from what it might have been even a few
weeks back, when they could have had both friends and supplies from the Marwar territory;
adding, that I had now only to address the chiefs in the plains below to block up every avenue;
and that they well knew they had created abundant enemies there as well as in Méwar, who would
bar all safe retreat: for which, however, I pledged myself, if they surrendered."
* “It seems strange," writes a friend of Colonel Tod, "that one who had done so much for the
arts and literature, and so much in his military and diplomatic capacities, should have received
no honour from his Sovereign; but he was a man who could not stoop to solicit what he felt to be
his due."
lx
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
on the futility of these reasons show that he was somewhat hurt at his
exclusion.
But although such a token of his Sovereign's approbation would have been
prized by Colonel Tod, the permanent distinction he had acquired in the deep-
seated gratitude of a noble-minded nation, amongst whom his memory is
cherished with fondness, and will be perpetuated by future generations, more
than consoled him for the loss of these fugitive honours. Whatever be the fate
of Rajasthan, the praise of having raised it from ruin to prosperity, from
anarchy to peace-of having been its benevolent ruler and its enlightened
historian—of having earned the love of all but thieves and Pindarries, and
provoked the groundless suspicion of a jealous Government, through the
unwonted equity and mildness of his administration-this praise, which will
associate the name of Tod with the names of Duncan, Cleveland, and the few
real "friends of India," cannot be withheld from him, and no prouder heir-
loom could descend to his family.
Colonel Tod left two sons and a daughter.
TRAVELS
IN
WESTERN INDIA.
!
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
Motives for the present Journey.-Reasons for the Author's leaving India.-Sentiments of respect
and regard of the native Princes towards the Author.-His proposed route to Bombay.
THOSE Who have looked into the Annals of Rajasthan, could make
an easy transition from the close of that work to the commencement
of this, without needing any prefatory or introductory observations.
It would, however, be treating the reader too unceremoniously,
perhaps, if, even assuming that he transferred his attention imme-
diately from one work to the other, I should say nothing of my
motives for this last journey; nor would it be decorous towards the
reader, if I did not offer some apology for the frequency with which,
in the present work, the pronoun I is obtruded upon him.
In a narrative of personal travels, it would be extremely embarras-
sing to the relator if he were compelled to shun fastidiously, upon
all
occasions, the mention of himself. The perpetual periphrasis would
betray
B
2
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
betray an affectation more displeasing than the natural and simple
style of narrative, which can only be offensive where it is unnecessa-
rily employed: further, the reader of personal adventures must desire
to be acquainted with as much, at least, of the personal history of the
relator, as will familiarize him with the circumstances of his connexion
with the individual scenes he describes, especially where, as in the
present instance, that connexion affords a guarantee for the fidelity of
the descriptions. I shall, therefore, without scruple, and without
anticipating a charge of vanity, speak of myself and my concerns
with as little restraint as if I were speaking of another person.
At the period of commencing this, to me, the most interesting of
all my journies, I had completed the term of my banishment, twenty-
two years, and nearly another, since I first left England; eighteen of
which had been spent among the Rajpoot tribes of Western India—
the last five in the capacity of Political Agent to Government; having,
as such, the sole control over five of its principalities, namely, Méwar,
Marwar, Jessulmér, Kotah, and Boondí, besides the little state of
Sirohi. My health was so worn out by the laborious and incessant
duties of so extensive a charge (which afterwards gave sufficient
employment to four distinct agents), that it would have been impossi-
ble for me to get through another season. Occupied from twelve to
fourteen hours daily, amidst surrounding broils and discords, visited
every alternate day with excruciating head-ache, and doomed to severe
abstinence, though without intermission of toil, the only wonder to
my medical friends was, that I escaped this ordeal, and outlived such
constant persecution. Nothing, I believe, but the conviction that I
was benefiting thousands by my exertions, could have enabled me to
surmount it; but sentence of departure pressed, and with no little
bitterness
INTRODUCTION.
3
bitterness I was compelled to turn my back upon the land of my adop-
tion, where I would willingly have laid my bones.
If ever there be a time in which there is a "joy in grief," it is when
the sorrow you create or feel springs from a sense of good done. Pro-
vidence had placed me in a situation to dispense benefits, not to
individuals but to petty kingdoms. It would not become me to speak of
the expressions of gratitude from princes and nobles for their restoration
from poverty to affluence, from intestine feuds to political tranquillity;
but the epithet of baba, or 'father,' conferred by the peasantry, may
be appealed to as an unexceptionable criterion of the nature of
my services.
ور
A fortnight had been spent in preparations, and in order that I
might experience less interruption from visitors, I retired to the Su-
hailea-ca-bari, a delightful villa belonging to the Hara Queen, about
a mile north of the capital, the pleasant groves and lakes of which
I have elsewhere described. The Rana, when he came for the last
time with his court to 'grant me leave,' was amused at seeing me
surrounded with workmen employed in making cases for statues,
inscriptions, minerals, manuscripts, &c. It was a painful interview to
all parties. Till this period, not a chief present had throughout his
life ever laid his head upon his pillow without being prepared to be
roused from his sleep by the cry of "the enemy is at the gate
ancient foeman, who had come to balance the feud,' or marauding
mountaineer or forest Bhil, who had emptied his cow-pens. All these
sources of anxiety were now at an end; the predatory Mahratta, the
ruthless Pat'han, the kinsman-foe (weri), and border-plunderer,
whether the son of the mountain (Mairote) or of the forest (Vanipu-
tra), were all restrained by fear, or their swords turned into plough-
some
6
B 2
shares;
4
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
shares; and the lordly chief could now indulge his natural indolence,
or enjoy his noon-dose of opiate, without dread of hostile interruption.
To some, these halcyon days brought no content.
We had amongst
us spirits to whom "quiet was a hell." Such were Hamira, the chief
of Badeswar, and the mountain lion' (Bahar Sing.) The latter, with
many others, had good excuse for dissatisfaction, the greater portion of
his hereditary fields being now held by the Mahrattas, and it was a
part of his creed never to rest until this was redeemed.
6
The severing of such ties could not but produce a pang on both
sides; it is a libel upon our nature to suppose what, in the plenitude
of arrogance, is too often proclaimed, that no virtue can dwell under
a complexion a few shades darker than our own. On this occasion,
instead of his usual good-humoured and always instructive loquacity,
the Rana was silent and thoughtful, and what he did utter was in
abrupt sentences, with frequent repetitions of " Remember, I give you
leave only for three years. Rama-dohae! (by Rama !) I will send and
fetch you if you remain longer." But the expression which pleased
me most was a powerful appeal to the assembled chiefs: "He has
served me five years, raised the country from ruin, and does not take
even a pinch of the soil of Méwar along with him (ek chookti bei Mé-
war ca Mat'hi sung nahyn lea játa)." He was right; but having only
the example of the Mahratta lieutenants before them, they could not
comprehend how it was possible that the stranger could disinterestedly
perform all the onerous duties of a minister of revenue and finance.
Herein consists the grand secret of European superiority, which with
temper and courtesy can never fail to command unlimited influence
and respect at a native, and especially a Rajpoot court. No human
being is more alive to the abstract beauties of morality than the Raj-
poot;
INTRODUCTION.
LO
5
poot; and if he cannot through habit practise it himself, he may be
guided by a thread by one who does.
After sitting a couple of hours, it became necessary to take leave,
and the parting gifts were produced. At length, the Rana made an
effort, and bidding me be careful of my health for his sake, his steed
was summoned; and telling him to consider my cousin, Capt. Waugh,
as myself, adieux were exchanged with rapidity and pain. Several of
the chiefs lingered behind, to have a last word, especially the fat lord
of B'heendir, who afforded a conspicuous instance of what disinte-
rested plain-dealing will effect with a Rajpoot. From this chieftain,
when I mediated between the nobles and their sovereign, no less than
thirty towns and villages were taken, which, during the troubles, he
had contrived to hold in addition to his putta or grant; and it was this
chief who, during that painful and most delicate task attending a
reciprocal restoration of lands, which the feuds and frauds of more
than half a century had made objects of contention, observed to me:
“Do not expect too much, for if Bhagwan (the Almighty) himself were
to make the attempt, he would find it impossible to restore order in
Méwar."
I could expatiate longer upon these topics, the retrospect of
which is delightful to me; but more than enough has perhaps already
been said. It may, however, be requisite to explain why, in the
reduced condition of my health, instead of going directly to the nearest
sea-port for embarkation for Europe, I commenced a long and arduous
journey of discovery. These researches, which present to the mind of
the inactive an employment at once fatiguing and dangerous, were to
me recreations from the toils of public business; and often, when
compelled to fly for a few days from the capital and its cares, in
pursuit
6
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
pursuit of health, I used to pitch my tent either in the grove, in the
gorge of some valley, or at the outlet of the Bairis from its noble reser-
voir, the Oody-sagur, or perhaps isolate myself entirely in one of the
fairy islets of the Péshola lake; where, with my manuscripts, the old
Gurú, or the poet Chund, I passed the time in luxury with Pirthiraj
and the heroes of past days. Such being my disposition, and with
objects at hand which for years had dazzled my fancy, I could not
hesitate for an instant whether I should hazard a little more for their
attainment, or proceed direct to Bombay. I had traversed the united
floods of the Ganges and Brahmaputra,
"O'er whose expanse scarce dare the muse take wing ;"
had wandered where the Ganges and Yamuna break through their
rock-bound barriers, and had long set my heart upon a visit to the
'father of rivers,' the Abba-sin or Indus, to tread the Delta of this most
classical of the many noble streams of India. But this was the ulti-
mate object: the secondary, intervening ones were of vast interest to
me. First, I determined to cross the alpine Aravulli, in my route to
the Olympus of India, the celebrated Aboo, in one of the lines of its
greatest breadth, either through the independent Bhil communities of
Ogunah Panurwa, or by the more intricate region, the source of the
Bunas river, said to be the highest point of this grand mountainous
range. Secondly, to descend its northern declivity to Marwar, and
skirting this magnificent hem of the desert, penetrate by Sirohi to
Aboo. Various reasons combined to recommend the latter course, in
preference to an object of no small interest, that of visiting those
aboriginal communities, which have long been isolated, geographically
and politically, from all other societies. So far back as 1808, one of
my
INTRODUCTION.
7
my parties had traversed these tracts, and brought me accounts of their
primitive and independent condition, which made me eager to visit
them. It was in this impervious region that the arrow from a quiver
of a deceased son of the forest, given by his widow, served my mes-
senger as a passport through its otherwise inaccessible vallies. In
exchange, however, I was to see the defiles where the Ranas circum-
vented and destroyed their Mogul oppressors; the sources of the
Bunas; and at the pass of Sadri, near that by which I intended to
debouch into the plains, the celebrated Jain temple of Rainpoor. At
the same time, I despatched a party, on whose intelligence and sagacity
I could rely, to traverse the other route, and meet me at Aboo. These
objects, which had found a daily place in my meditations for many
years, were at length within my grasp. Well do I recollect when, for
the first time, in 1806, Aboo had a niche in my map. I was then in
search of the source of the Bunas river, which we had more than once
crossed in our route to Sindia's camp in that year; when, to my
inquiries as to its fountains, I was told, "they were far away amongst
the hills towards Aboo :"-and where was Aboo?" thirty coss west-
ward from Oodipoor, towards Sinde." Down went Aboo with the
Bunas on my map; and this first step made, I gradually attained its
source, the summit of Aboo, and, within a few hours' sail, the Indus
itself.
Between these points, the first and the last of my present journey, I
had chalked out many intermediate objects of the deepest interest.
After the passage of the Aravulli, and the exploration of Aboo, my
intention was to discover what remained of the ancient Nehrvalla, the
Tyre of Western India; thence to trace the site of Balabhi, for the
purpose of verifying the traditions of the Rana's family. As this would
lead
8
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
lead me by the Gulf of Cambay to the shores of the Saurashtra penin-
sula, I resolved to effect, if possible, a visit to the sacred mounts of the
Jains, the cradle and still the stronghold of their faith; viz. Palit'hana and
Girnar; and to conclude my pilgrimage in the Syria of India by a visit
to the shrine of its Baal and that of Krishna, at Dwarica, the Land's End
(juggut coont) of the Hindus. Thence, by the Pirates' Isle, Bét, cross
the Gulf of Cutch, make an excursion to Bhooj, the capital of the
Jharéjas, return to the grand mart, Mandavie, sail on to the eastern
arm of the Indus, and visit the last shrines of Hinduism at its embou-
chure with the ocean.
All this I accomplished, save the last object, which seventeen hours
of fair wind would have effected; but for ample reasons, which will
appear in the sequel, I was obliged to stretch my sail across the ocean
to Bombay, instead of coasting to the terminating scene of Alexander's
exploits in India. With this previous exposition, I shall now request
my reader to strike his tent, and begin his march with me from Oodi-
poor.
DEPARTURE FROM OODIPOOR.
9
CHAPTER II.
Departure from Oodipoor.-Enter the pass to Gogoonda.-Aspect of the country.-Gassyar.-
Asylum of Krishna.-Discharge of servants.-Improvement of the climate.-Temple of the
Buroonie pass.-Geology of the Hills.-Gogoonda.-Revenue.-Cultivation.-Chief of Go-
goonda.-Matrimonial connexion between the houses of Oodipoor and Gogoonda-Effects of
unequal alliances in Rajpootana.-The Rao of Kotario. Saimur.-Aspect and climate of the
Aravulli —Plants.-Agriculture.-Character of the mountain Rajpoots.-Chiefs of villages.-
Their traditionary tales.-Dress.-Habitations.-Sources of the Bunas.-Legend of the river.-
Western declivity of the Aravulli.-Magnificence of the pass.-Vegetation.-Fruits.
It was on the 1st of June, 1822, that I bade farewell to the capital
of the Seesodias. The morning was brilliant; the thermometer, even
at the early hour of five, standing at 96°, the medium temperature at
morning and evening for the last few days at the villa :-Bar. 27° 90′.
As we skirted the hills on our left, to gain the entrance of the valley
which was to conduct us to Gassyar, I feasted my eyes, for the last
time, on each well-known object. In the foreground, immediately to
my right, peeping through the thick foliage, appeared the spire of the
village temple, near the villa, with the little pointed arched bridge over
the rivulet, along whose banks I used to wander in the early morning,
followed by myriads of the finny tribe, which had become quite fami-
liar, from my habit of feeding them.* A little further, the cupolas of
the
* This may appear strange to some persons, but it is well known to all who have been in India,
that fish in sacred tanks will feed from the hand; and I have elsewhere mentioned, that in the
Mahanaddy, where it is three miles broad, the fish will follow for miles for a little burnt rice. I
have the merit of being teacher to those in the valley. I have also mentioned, I think, the mode of
taking the fish in the rainy season, by poisoning the waters with noxious weeds, when the fish, float-
ing to the surface, are taken by the hand, or killed with sticks; a process which alike prevailed
amongst the Americans (Robertson, vol. ii. p. 113); and in Abyssinia (Bruce, vol. 1.)
с
10
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
the Baidla chieftain's castle, embowered in a deep grove of date trees;
beyond, the well-known cleft in the rock, which indicated the pass
leading by Dailwarra to the plains, and by which I entered, eighteen
years before, a young Sub., in the train of the embassy, and twelve
years later, as Political Agent: the whole backed by the towering peak
of Rata-Mata, and the many noble pinnacles which diversify in the
most picturesque manner the outline of this fine valley.
At the distance of a mile and a half from our villa, we reached the
gorge of the pass which leads to Gogoonda, and which, taking an
abrupt sweep to the left, shut us out from the valley, and led us upon
land untrodden by the European. For some distance, we pursued our
route, over broken ground, with very little ascent, the hills on each
side being covered with the prickly thoor (cactus) to the summit, which
served as underwood to scattered trees of no great growth.
As, after a long halt, both men and cattle get tender in the feet, it
is bad policy to make a long march. We halted at Gassyar, only six
miles from the capital. From the entrance of the valley, the ascent
became gradual, and our position was some hundred feet above the
level of Oodipoor. Though I felt inclined to term the entrance to
Gassyar, the eastern hill of the Aravulli, I believe that, properly, we
must only regard the valley of Oodipoor as a fertile oasis within its
rock-bound barriers, the chains which encircle and mingle in every
way with the loftier portion of the mountain. Gassyar is an inconsi-
derable village, but obtained much celebrity from being chosen as the
retreat of the god of Nath-dwarra, during the days of evil, when
neither Mahratta nor Pat'han respected the Apollo of India, who, on
being driven from his proper shrine on the Yamuna, by Aurungzebe,
found refuge with the King of all the Rajpoots. It was the father of
the
GASSYAR.
11
the present high priest, at the recommendation of Zalim Sing of Kotah,
and with the assent of the Rana, who conveyed the god from Nath-
dwarra to this retreat, which was strongly fortified by a wall with
towers thrown across the valley, for whose defence the regent furnished
two companies of infantry. These embattled walls lend a very pictu-
resque appearance to this wild spot, which possesses some fine foliage,
amongst which I observed an elegant and majestic shrub, having a
rich crimson berry, about the size and appearance of that of the
arbutus. It was called akolia.
I had, however, little time for observation, being followed by the
minister, several chiefs, and a crowd of others, who escorted me thus
far on my journey. My cavalcade and equipage came straggling in
throughout the morning: the camels evidently not relishing in these
rugged paths their burthen of mutilated divinities and inscriptions.
Though the sun was broiling hot, we enjoyed the novelty of our posi-
tion, and had the breakfast-table spread under the shade of a fine
tamarind tree. But, let the lovers of Hyson imagine my consternation
when, on sipping the infusion, the only panacea for my ills, I found
that the whole stock was perfumed with an overpowering aroma.
In
the hurry of packing, my domestic had stowed away a bottle of cajeputi
oil in the very core of my magazine of tea, and the cork having
escaped, the precious extract, which cost me two gold mohurs the
bottle, was mixed with the yet more precious herb.
This was a day of labour, and so checquered with mingled pain and
pleasure, that it was difficult to say which predominated. It was at
once a painful and pleasing task to pay off and reward the long and
faithful services of domestics, several of whom had grown grey in
following my steps, from my thoughtless subaltern days to the moment
c 2
of
12
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
of my retirement. It is a practical reply to those who can find no
gratitude or fidelity under a dark skin, that I have yet met with none
who have served long in India, and lived to return to their own
country, who did not draw comparisons in the highest degree favour-
able to the Asiatic, in regard to all the higher qualities as well as the
subordinate—honesty-sobriety-fidelity, and respect.
JUNE 2d. Near GOGOONDA.-Another short march through a coun-
try, every step in which discovered rugged and picturesque grandeur.
The barometer at sunset, 27° 25', denoted that we were climbing, and
the thermometer, 82°, or thirteen degrees below its range in the valley,
afforded an agreeable proof of improved climate within the space of
twelve miles. We had rain yesterday, with the wind from the west;
and to day it veered to the south-west, between which points are the
prevailing winds of this season. About midway, as we abruptly entered
the Buroonie pass, its little temple came in sight-the sole indication
that man abided in these wilds, which Nature, as if in a moment of
freak, had done much to diversify; for, amidst their rugged acclivities,
there was no want of foliage, over which the tufted kujoor, or date, and
the graceful tal, or palmyra, lifted their airy forms, indicating that
there was no deficiency of water in this alpine tract. Wherever the
mountains were laid bare, they shewed their granitic formation, while
the base of the valleys exhibited slate of every form and colour, from
the massive compact dark blue, to the schistose dark brown and aqua-
marine, the predominant colour about Gogoonda, the roofs of its
houses presenting a singular appearance, from being covered with this
sea-green slate, of which the chief temple was entirely composed—its
blocks being of this material. The loftier peaks of the mountains,
which rose many hundred feet above the level of our route, were
chiefly
J
GOGOONDA.
13
chiefly of rose-coloured granite, sometimes presenting a vitreous
appearance, sparkling in the sun.
Gogoonda is a town of some consequence in this region, being one
of the sixteen great fiefs of Méwar. The estate is nominally Rs. 50,000
annual revenue; but as it is necessary, in the phrase of these regions,
to expend a rupee in order to make one, in other words, to lay out
both skill and capital, in order to secure a return, in both of which
points the nobles of this country have been, from many concurrent
causes, sadly deficient, the Gogoonda fief has not realized more than a
tithe of this sum for many years past. The prevailing mode of cultiva-
tion in these mountainous tracts is, by embanking, terracing, and
damming; but this region has for centuries been the scene of strife,
as well as under Mahratta domination. The chieftain of Gogoonda is
a J'hala Rajpoot, a tribe peculiar to the Saura peninsula. It would be
unfair to take the present incumbent as a specimen of the great vassals
of Méwar, even in these degenerate days, as he is, without exception,
one of the meanest of mortals ;-stunted in growth, dark and ill-
favoured, weak in intellect as in body, he might be supposed a specimen
of the Vanmanoos, or Man of the Woods, to whom the gift of speech
had been imparted; for his lineaments assimilate more to those of the
long-armed race than any I have ever seen. Moreover, to complete
the picture of deformity, the few teeth, which the use of metallic
poisons had left him, were black, and bound together by gold wire.
The envenomed tongue of slander, which penetrates even to the reces-
ses of the Aravulli, has ascribed this anomalous physiognomy to a son
of the forest—the Vana-putra Bhil; but let us repudiate the scandal :
for, as Chund says,
"The child of a crow must be a crow."* Now
the
Ferdousi, in his satire upon Mahmoud, says, "a raven's egg can produce nothing but a raven.”
14
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
,
the heir of Gogoonda being a perfect contrast to his father in limb and
feature, the father is not "the son of a crow," and his personal defor-
mity must be ascribed to a freak of nature. I have elsewhere explained
the reasons* which compelled the Ranas of Méwar, who boast their
descent from the deified Rama, to renounce all matrimonial connexion
with the other noble Rajpoot princes, from the moment that the latter
debased the purity of Hindu blood by alliance with the Islamite sove-
reigns of India. Accordingly, as the laws of propinquity do not admit
of intermarriage with their own nobility, the Ranas enrolled amongst
them a proportion of foreign Rajpoots, of the Chohan, Rahtore, and
J'hala tribes, through whom the line of their founder, Bappa Rawul,
was carried on; and who, on receiving wives from amongst the Ranas'
daughters, obtained an importance which wealth could never confer, and
they consequently claimed equality of rank with the lesser independent
princes of India. The mother of the present Rana was a daughter of
the Gogoonda house; a woman of an intrepid and masculine under-
standing, and whose personal attractions, if we judge by her son, must
have been eminent; for the Rana's family is esteemed the handsomest
in Rajpootana. The present heir, now Rana Jowan Sing, has been
stamped by Nature with the outward impress of sovereignty. The niece
of that Ranee is the mother of the chieftain of Saloombra, the premier
noble of Méwar, which connects him with his sovereign by a double
tie. The female issue of this connexion may be wedded to the Chohan
noble of Baidla, or the Rahtore of Ganora-two of the Sixteen; and
the daughters of such marriage may be espoused by the sovereign : and
thus the blood of the great founder of the race is transfused by indi-
rect channels into the original current, carrying with it that scarcely
less
Annals of Rajast’han, vol. I. p. 335.
THE RAO OF KOTARIO.
less noble, the Chohan, Rahtore, and Chawura, from the descendants
of the kings of Dehli, Kanouj, and Anhulwarra. The following anec-
dote at once exemplifies the dangerous effects of these unequal alliances,
and the mischiefs resulting from polygamy. In the ANNALS, I have
given an example of the former, in the case of the chieftain of Sadri,
who was betrothed to a daughter of his sovereign; whilst the chronicles
teem with instances of the evils of polygamy, engendering disputes and
appeals, which the love of authority too frequently encourages; and
where, as in the instance about to be related, the sovereign is weak
enough to lend his countenance to the females, over whom he ought
to claim no authority after they have acknowledged a lawful lord: the
consequence is lamentable.
15
The Chohan chief of Kotario, one of the Sixteen, a lineal descen-
dant of the last Hindu emperor of Dehli, had espoused two wives, one
from the Suktawut house of Bheendir, the other a branch of the royal
family, being one of the daughters of a Ranawut chief, who, by
courtesy, are styled babas, or infantas. But as love is not inspired by
the accident of birth, and the daughter of Bheendir added the virtue
of obedience to other qualities required in a Rajpoot household, she
became the favourite, to the mortification of the nobler wife. Both
had male offspring, but the inheritance of Kotario was the right, by
birth, of the son of the fair Suktawutni, who was, accordingly, received
and caressed by all. Unhappily, however, this pledge of affection
sickened and died, and the bereaved mother scrupled not to attribute
the loss to her rival's designs to secure the succession to her own son,
and openly accused her of having instigated the dakunie, or witch, to
"eat the liver" of her child. Where such superstition reigns with
unlimited sway, a doating husband would give easy credence to the
suspicions
16
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
1
suspicions of his favourite wife, which estranged him still more from
her rival. The high-born dame resented this, and, through her father,
made application for the restitution of connubial rights to their com-
mon sovereign, the Rana, with such a colouring as suited their purpose
of obtaining revenge for the grossest insult one Rajpoot can offer to
another. The Rao,-for such is the title of the Kotario chief, had
already enemies at his sovereign's court, and those chiefly of his own
kin and tribe; for, as he observed, the Chohan (his tribe) was the
most accursed of all the Rajpoot races-no man could look on his
brother's prosperity without envy. The Rana was made to believe
that this unhappy father, who had lost one son, contemplated the des-
truction of the other, the offspring of the neglected wife, in order to
avenge the favourite, who suggested the deed.
Unhappily, infanticide, arising out of the complex connubial ties of
the Rajpoots, is too common to have created surprise or doubt, and
the supposed intention was eagerly assumed by the Rana as a pretext
for commencing a series of persecutions against the last scion of a long
line of heroes. The tenure of the foreign vassalage of this court is
termed kala-putta, or, black grant; meaning that it is resumable, in
contradistinction to the ancient indigenous puttaets, whom the oppres-
sions practised on the Kotario chief would have driven into rebellion:
but his estate was isolated in the very heart of the country, and his
means of opposition were already exhausted in perpetual contests with
the roving Mahrattas.
It was this chief who, on returning from his tour of duty at his sove-
reign's court, at a time when loyalty durst not shew its front in Méwar,
with his little band of twenty-five horse, was suddenly surrounded by
the Mahrattas and called upon to surrender; whereupon the Rao,
dismounting,
1
17
dismounting, at one blow hamstrung his own horse, and calling to his
vassals to imitate his example, with their gallant steeds bleeding around
them, stood with sword and shield on their defence. As plunder, more
than glory, was the object in those days, the predatory Southron cared
not to assail those from whom, if successful, he could merely obtain
cold steel, and they wisely left the Rao and his band to regain the
castle of Kotario on foot.
THE RAO OF KOTARIO.
The family of the Kotario chief formerly possessed the estate of
Chandwar, near Agra, of which they were deprived by Secunder Lodi,
who demanded a daughter of the chief and met with a refusal. The
then possessor, Rao Manikchund, emigrated with his family to Guz-
zerat, and was well received by Mozuffer Shah, who appointed him to
command on the Kathi frontier. In an engagement with the Kathis,
he was severely wounded, and taken from the field by the king in
person. His son, Dulput, acting as an auxiliary to the Rawul of Don-
gersau, was defeated and killed. He was succeeded by his son, Sun-
gram Sing, who accompanied Bahadur Shah, of Guzzerat, against
Cheetore, when Humayoon came to the Rana's assistance. It was at
this period that the Chohan, who had 2,000 horse and 1,500 foot, with
thirty-five elephants in his train, was prevailed upon by the Rana
(Oody Sing) to remain in Méwar. The conditions attached to this
engagement were, that the Chohan should accompany the Rana only
when he took the field; that he should not act under an inferior; that
he should make his obeisance only once a week; and that his rank
should be equal to that of the highest chiefs of the Seesodia family.
The Rana, about the period of my joining his court, had sent the
Zubtee to sequestrate the only two remaining townships of Kotario
which afforded the Rao means of subsistence, the others being laid
waste
D
My
•
18
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
6
waste by the incursions of the general enemy. He had assigned them
to the surviving child, who, being the son of one of the infantas, was,
by courtesy, his nephew, and whom he considered, from this assumed
treachery of the parent, as his ward. But the Rana having, with the
assent of his nobles, made me general umpire and arbitrator in all
disputes between Southron and vassal, the case of Kotario came under
my adjudication. I was interested for the lineal representative of Kan-
Rae, the generalissimo and uncle of the last Chohan emperor of Dehli,
whose armies he led against the Sultan of the North,' and whose
glory is exalted even by the Islamite historian; for it was Kan-Rae
(written by Ferishta Kandirai) who propelled his steed against Shabud-
in, at the head of his cuirassiers, and but for his armour of proof,
the prince would have had his pretensions to the throne of Dehli for
ever sealed by that chieftain's lance. "Is the descendant of Kan-Rae
to be at the mercy of the back-biter who has poisoned the sovereign's
ear? My poverty is my foe, for I have nothing left to bribe those
around the Huzoor ('presence'), to shield me from injustice!" This
forcible appeal, the personal demeanour of the Rao, and, above all,
the abstract justice of his case, were irresistible, and I told him to be
of good cheer, for that I would willingly be his vakeel with his sove-
reign.
That day, I sought the presence of the Sun of the Hindus,' whom
I found, however, prejudiced; but I reminded the Rana of the ser-
vices of the Chohan, at times when those now basking in the beams
of his favour durst not, or at least did not, shew their faces; and urged
him to mete out the same measure of grace to the Rao that Providence
had shewn to himself. There was nothing of obduracy in the Rana's
character, and if there was a single good point in that of the client, it
was
}
THE RAO OF KOTARIO.
19
was readily admitted by him. On this occasion, our conference con-
cluded with the assurance, on the Rana's part, that if the Rao would
overcome his dislike to his Bhanaij,* and introduce him to the Durbar,
he would shew every proper attention to his interests in return. I
lost no time in telling the Rao, that compliance with the wish of the
prince was his duty, and the road to favour. The struggle was evi-
dently a bitter one, and evinced that he participated in the suspicions
of his now childless and favourite wife; and although he promised
compliance, as he said, from gratitude to me, his delays and excuses
appeared interminable. At one time, he had the small-pox; at ano-
ther, he pleaded that his poverty disabled him from carrying his wife
and family to the capital; that it would bring her kindred to visit her,
when entertainments with gifts must follow, and that he had neither
funds nor credit. Although there was truth in all he advanced, his
reasons were inadmissible, in competition with his sovereign's wishes,
on the fulfilment of which his own welfare depended. He confessed
the abstract force of my argument, but, while he acknowledged the
obligations of duty, he denied the right of the prince to interfere in
his domestic affairs. "If I yield on this point," said he, “I shall be a
slave in my own house :-far better that I should go to ruin!" adding,
that his personal enemies were desirous to get rid of him, and wished
to force him to retire on a pension to Nathdwarra, and make way for
his son.
I pledged myself that this should not be, if he acted up to
his prince's demands. All points were at length conceded, and in a
few days I had the satisfaction of seeing presented to him a fresh grant
of Kotario, in which the sequestrated townships were included. The
boy
* Bhanaij, or Bhanja, is a nephew by the female side, and Bhateeja by the male.
D 2
20
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
?
boy was introduced to me, exhibiting a fine specimen of the Rajpoot
youth of Méwar, before indolence and opium had exerted their
influence. Could these drawbacks be removed, I should not despair
of this descendant of Kan-Rae doing honour to the race from which he
sprung.
Adieu, however, to these topics! We have now done with the J'hala
of Gogoonda and the Chohan of Kotario. May their descendants prove
worthy of the many noble examples which could be adduced to corro-
borate their claims to the admiration of the good and great of all
climes !
June 3d. SAIMUR.--This is about the highest point of the cultivated
portion of the Aravulli, though peak on peak darts up around us in
every direction.
direction. At 2 P. M., the barometer was 27° 38'-the thermo-
meter 82°. At sunset, the former was 27° 32', the latter 76°—the
summer heat of England in the dog-days of the tropic of India. What
a climate, compared with the valley of the capital, where it had stood
at 95°, both at sunrise and setting, when we started on this journey!
In a transport of delight and short-sightedness, I threw away my tatties,
of which I had abundant reason to repent, as the sequel will show.
We had showers in the evening, with the wind from the south-west.
The interest of my journey over this alpine region increased at each
step; every thing was novel in nature and her works, animal and
vege-
table. We had heard that the almond and peach-trees flourished in
these wilds, and to an extent so considerable, that the kernel of the
fruit, which they call the aroo-badam, or almond-peach, formed an
article of exportation. We had seen them in the valley of Komulmér
and in the pass of Dailwarra, though we had supposed the peach to be
cultivated, and had some doubts regarding it, this having so long been
the
VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS.
21
the abode of the Mahratta chiefs, until we saw some which were
growing self-planted from amongst the interstices of the stone facing of
a well. In to-day's march we observed several. Expressing my
surprise, I was told they were more abundant in the valleys of Komul-
mér, which are said to produce many curious and useful indigenous
plants; and, besides a crab-apple, the saloo or saloo-misri, which is
either the arrow-root of our pharmacopoeia, or a plant which yields a
farinaceous substance of the same kind. It was described to me not as
a root, but as a bel or creeper, sending forth spurs or clusters, like
fingers on the hand. They, however, could not, or did not attempt to
prepare it for use.
Whether they meant to liken it to the clustered
pods of the bean, I do not recollect; if so, it is probably the same as
the calamus, described by Diodorus Siculus, and found in Ceylon. * I
wrote my kinsman, Capt. Waugh, whom I left in charge at the capital,
to procure some of it, and named the village, i. e. Kurria, in the alpine
district of Komulmér, where the wild grape (dhak), and the wild apple,
as well as the saloo-misri, were produced.†
If the true definition of alp be an upland, or mountainous pasture-
land, this magnificent region well merits the epithet of alpine; for,
amidst its towering rocks and numerous rivulets, there was not only
abundance of fine pasture, but arable land, of which a considerable
quantity was under the plough, preparing for maize, wheat, barley, and
even sugar-cane. If the operations of agricultural industry are ever
pleasant
* He says: " plenty of calamus is produced there, whose fruit has the appearance of white vetches.
When gathered, they steep it in hot water till it swells to the size of a pigeon's egg; then rub it in
their hands into a dough, knead and bake it into delicious bread.”—(Diod. Sic. book ii. c.
4.)
+ This note will, I trust, be made available hereafter for the purpose of much varied knowledge,
by that zealous botanist, Dr. Royle, author of " Illustrations of the Botany and other Branches of
the Natural History of the Himalayan Mountains."
22
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
pleasant to behold, they are especially so in these mountainous recesses,
where the forest has been levelled to make way for the plough. But
here was an additional source of interest to the contemplative mind, in
finding the Rajpoot mountaineer, descendant of the ancient princes of
the land, in the full enjoyment of all his native dignity, lofty in mien,
strong in limb, and independent in soul; and, though eating his bread
by the sweat of his brow, losing not an iota of the remembrance of his
high descent: the sword and shield being as familiar to his hand, as to
his indolent brethren of the plains; his life being a scene of warlike
defence against the lawless surrounding tribes, the Mair, Mheena, and
Bhil. All the thakoors, or chiefs of villages, collected round me to-day,
to proffer their services, and several remained in and about my tents
the whole day, regaling me with the traditions of past times,—how
their ancestors had defended to the death each pass in the vicinity,
“when the cloud of war rolled from the north," and the Toork had
resolved on the subjugation of their prince; or inroads of their maraud-
ing neighbours; or classic stories, which immortalized each peak or
dell.
One spot they pointed out, dusky and deeply wooded, which backed
the sources of the Bunas, and to which the hero Pertap was oft-times
indebted for shelter when hard pressed by his relentless foeman. To
this, as to many other of his retreats, they give the name of rana-paj,
or footsteps of the Rana. In listening to these exhilarating narrations,
or in trying my skill with the kumpta, or bamboo bow, and arrows a
full yard long, the day was soon spent. The garb of these mountain
lords was very different from that of the plains, and harmonized with
the scenery around. As the Dussanoh chieftain advanced, we might
have fancied him an antique Greek, saving the turban. His loose
chadur
SOURCES OF THE BUNAS.
23
chadur, or mantle, was tied in a knot on the left shoulder, leaving the
breast and arms free; while a cloth was wrapped round his loins, in
length and form corresponding to the kilt. In his hand he held the
bow, while the quiver depended from his shoulder. This is the usual
dress of the hills, and which I found extending to Sirohi. Some of the
more polished wear this robe over loose trousers; but this is an inno-
vation on the ancient garb. The construction of their villages is in
unison with the simplicity of their costume, the dwellings being of a
circular form, with conical thatched roofs; and, when grouped in small
hamlets, perched for security half-way up a peak, and shaded by neem
trees, their appearance is highly picturesque. Occasionally, as at Pud-
zaroh, the village temple with its spire gives dignity and effect to the
scene. As I passed, its blind chief was led out to meet me; and here
I beheld a striking contrast between the tolerant Rajpoot and the
fierce, bigotted Islamite, whose eedga, or place of worship, the mark of
conquest, was left unscathed, though within sight of the half-demolished
shrine of Pudzaroh.
Another of my enjoyments this day was the discovery of the long-
looked for sources of the Bunas river; a stream which, whether
regarded in respect to magnitude or to utility, is one of the most
important in Rajwarra. To me, who had traced its course through
many a region to its confluence with the Chumbul, the discovery of
the fountain-head could not fail to suggest those pleasurable, though
complex and indescribable sensations, which the source of a great river
always excites. It lay about five miles to the south-west of my encamp-
ment on the highest point of the table-land, and was joined by many
smaller rills, as they poured their shallow but crystal waters over their
rocky beds. If the Rajpoot "lord of the mountain and the flood”
offers
24
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
offers a resemblance to the ancient Gaul in outward costume and the
superficial points of character, the analogy is further preserved with
respect to the legends of romance, which their imaginations identify
with every visible object. Unfortunately, I confided to my memory
alone a very pretty traditionary legend attached to the source of the
Vanasi, the more classic name of this Naiad of the Aravulli. The
pith of it is, that she was a chaste shepherdess, who, while disporting
in the waters of this natural fountain, espied, to her horror, an intru-
der gazing upon her charms. A stranger to the delicacy of the lover
of Musidora, he could not say,—
"Bathe on, unseen but by the eye of love;"
6
and as, in all probability, the art of writing was unknown to the
invader, he was obliged to come forward in propriâ persona. Be this
as it may,
she prayed to the guardian divinity of the fountain to shield
her from his gaze. The prayer was heard; the waters rose and covered
the Bhilni, who was thus metamorphosed into the crystal stream, the
Vanasi, or Hope (asi) of the Forest (vana)—a most appropriate
appellation for the genius of the stream, the life and soul of the inha-
bitants of this rock-bound abode. Her subsequent course, which I
have traced through all her meanderings, from the cradle to her union
with the Chermutti (the classic appellation of the Chumbul, a male
stream), is not less interesting; and, were this a convenient place, I
would invite the reader to an excursion along her banks for full three
hundred miles. At one lonely and lovely spot, amidst the covert of
wood and rock, before she gains the plain, the legend says, a hand
sometimes appears above the waters. We should next overtake her
coquetting
* In the "Annals," I describe this spot in the journey to Komulmér; where the fable goes, that
the hand of the genius of the stream used often to be seen above the water, until a barbarian Toork
threw a piece of the sacred kine for it to grasp.
挚
​THE PASS.
25
6
coquetting about the shrine of Kanya, at Nathdwarra; but in vain she
seeks to reach the hallowed fane of Radha's lover; whether at her
command, or raised by the rival Gopis, a rocky barrier intervenes ; and
the Hope of the Aravulli,' frustrated in her design upon the Apollo
of the Yamuna, darts rapidly across the plains of Méwar, in quest of
society amongst the Dryads and Naiads of the Pathar. Another
stream, bearing the same name, takes it rise in the same elevated spot,
and, pursuing its course over the western declivity of the mountain,
sweeps by the eastern base of Aboo, and thence, by the once-cele-
brated city of Chandravati, traverses the woods of Koliwarra, and is
finally engulphed in the Run, or salt-marsh, at the head of the Kutch
gulf.
JUNE 4th. CAMP in the NULLA, or PASS. At ten A. M., the ther-
mometer was 86°; barometer 28° 12′. At 1, P. M., thermometer 93°,
barometer 28° 8'. At 6, P. M., thermometer 92°. and barometer 28°.
This morning we commenced our journey over the western declivity of
the Aravulli, leading to the "Land of Death," the sandy plains of
Maroo. From the point of descent, until we cleared the hills, the
pass (nal),* though its sinuosities were very trifling, was full twenty-
two miles in length, and twenty times more difficult than that of Ko-
mulmér,† by which we last year entered Marwar; but, like it, amply
repaying the toil,-if toil it can be called, where the mind is in one
tumult of excitement, from the varied magnificence of Nature's works.
As
* The term nala is applied to a mountain-stream, from nal, 'a defile,' indicating that the course
of a stream always presents some mode of penetrating into mountainous regions. Nal also means
' a tube,' whence the warlike nal-gola, a kind of arquebuss; a ball propelled by whatever force
from a tube; a term used by the old martial poets of India for a warlike engine, long before gunpow-
der was known in Europe.
+ See Annals of Rajasthan, vol. i. p. 676.
E
-
26
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
As it would have been impossible to make this in one march, without
distressing both men and cattle, we halted midway, in a lovely wild
spot, in the very heart of the defile, but affording sufficient room
for
my little camp, on the bank of a crystal stream, which, rising near
the sources of the Vanas, precipitates itself over the western face, and
traversing the finest districts of Marwar, falls into the Loony, or Salt
River, near J'halore. Although it occasionally expands into these
charming little spots, this pass may be described as one continuous
defile, frequently contracting to very narrow dimensions, and in one
place presenting a gorge so confined, and this for a mile and a half in
length, that it might be defended by a handful of men against a host,
who would have no apprehension of their flanks being turned, blocked
in as they would be by deep forests and other defiles on all sides.
The first sight of this superb region discovers to us the secret of the
long successful resistance of its princes against the tyranny of the Isla-
mite oppressor. All was grand in this region-lovely and wild, as if
destined by nature to be the haunt of her favourite progeny, and where
human passions should never intrude to disturb the harmony of the
The sky was cloudless; the notes of cuckoos were heard res-
ponding to each other from amidst the deep foliage, while the cuckroos,
or jungle-fowl, were crowing their matinals, as the sun illumined the
groves of bamboo which sheltered them; and groups of the grey
partridge, nestled in the trees, vied with the ring-doves in expressions
of delight, as the sun cleared the alpine cliffs and darted his fervent
rays amongst them. Others of the feathered tribe, not belonging to
the plains, were flying about, while the woodpecker's note was heard
reverberating from the hard surface on which he plied the power of his
bill. Fruits and flowers of various kinds and colours invited the inha-
bitants
scene.
BOTANY OF THE PASS.
27
bitants of the forest, whether biped, quadruped, feathered, or the
industrious bee, who here could sip the sweetest of sweets from the
chaméli, or jasmine, both white and yellow, which climbed the giant
foliage; the ca'mb'ir and ca'noa, whose clustering purple and white
flowers resemble the lilac; while the almond-scented kinér, or oleander,
covered the banks of the stream, on whose margin
on whose margin abundantly
flourished the arund (ricinus, or palma Christi), and willow. There
were likewise many beautiful plants less aspiring than the climbing
chaméli and jambolia, but worthy of notice, especially one resembling
the hyacinth. Of fruits, besides an occasional aroo-badam,* or almond-
peach, there was the anjer, or wild fig (not the gootur fig, whose fruit
issues, instead of from the branches, direct from the stem); the sureefa,
or custard-apple; the khutoom, a kind of wild grape; the rae-goonda,
also called laiswa, a glutinous fruit about the size of a walnut, and
the taindoo, or fruit of the ebony tree, which is abundant here. These
and many other objects, affording attraction to the botanist and zoolo-
gist, passed us in review. The honey produced from such a congrega-
tion of sweets far excels that of the Isle of Bourbon or Narbonne, the
latter of which I have since tasted at the fountain-head, and the
former fresh from the isle.†
The day was far too short for my inquiries, or to satisfy those of my
insatiably
* Botanists imagine the peach to be the cultivated almond; an assumption which appears to be
borne out by this double term.
+ I have yet some of the Aravulli honey, preserving nearly all its pristine flavour, ten years after
its collection. This may, perhaps, be accounted for by its having undergone no manipulation or
igneous process; it being allowed to drop from the comb into baskets lined with plantain-leaves,
from which it was poured into bottles, and well corked. I brought twenty bottles to England, which
I distributed amongst my friends, who acknowledged its superiority over all the European kinds.
There were two sorts: the one colourless, from the upland; the other of a slight brown tint, from
the mango-blossom of the lower range.
E 2
28
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
insatiably curious native friends, whose society contributed not a little
to the interest of this picturesque scene. As the night began to close
around us, I dismissed them to their homes, with a promise to write
to the Rana in their behalf; for they complained loudly that the Minis-
ter, aware of their fealty at all seasons and under all provocations, sent
his emissaries to levy contributions, notwithstanding this was prohibi-
ted since the new era set in.
GRATITUDE OF THE NATIVES.
29
CHAPTER III.
Grateful attention of the Author's attendants.-Narrowness of the pass.-Cairn.-Forays of the
Meenas.—Power of the Bhils.-Their habits, manners, origin, and language.-Wild Bhils.
Anecdote.-Aborigines of India.-Superstitions of the Bhils.-Fidelity of the Bhils to their reli
gion and country.—Causes of their change of character.-Sirna, or sanctuary.-The Saloombra
chief and his vassal, the murderer of some Bhils.-Execution of Bhil plunderers.-The Sariahs.
-Their habits and manners.
JUNE 5th.—VEEJIPOOR, or BEEJAPOOR.—The night passed without
any alarm from the inhabitants of the forest, quadruped or biped; but
what was my surprise, on issuing from my tent to give the order of
march, to see groups of my faithful Rajpoots standing to their arms
around the embers of their night-fires! they had been watching to
defend me from the Bhil or the bear while I slept. On expressing my
regret that they had not retired to their respective villages, after leave-
taking the preceding evening, a multitude of tongues hastened to deli-
ver the same sentiment. "Eh Marajah! this is the last service we
can render you—the service of the heart (mun-ca-chakri), for all you
have done for us." Will it still be said that there is even no term for
gratitude in these regions? Were this assertion true, which it is not,
here is the act without the profession. What can equal such sponta-
neous homage to one who in a few hours was to quit them for ever!
Equally strong were the expressions of gratitude from the man of
wealth in the city, and the cultivator at his plough. But let us continue
our journey through the remainder of the pass, into the burning plains
of Maroo.
Yesterday, the entrance of the pass was decorated with a rude statue
to
30
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
to Nain-Mata, whose name it bears; and, shortly afterwards, when we
began to descend, we attained a point which, forming a neck or barrier
across the Nal, becomes the head of another, or, at least, furnishes
another term to the superabundant nomenclature of these wilds, and
the remainder of this was dedicated to Seetla-Mata, protector of infancy,
and especially when visited by that scourge, the small-pox, called seetla.
We reached this point at 9 A. M.; thermometer 82°, barometer 28° 25′.
A little in advance, where the gorge contracts to the smallest dimen-
sions, and for some distance, at an angle of 45° with the horizon, the
surface is rugged, broken, and requiring all the care of the camel-drivers
and the sagacity of the elephant to thread their way without danger to
themselves and their burdens, more than once displaced by the boughs
of trees. Here we passed a cairn of loose stones, marking the spot
where the nephew of Pudzaroh had been slain in the rescue of his cattle
"driven by the Meenas of Ootwun," who, in order to avoid pursuit,
left the pathway of the Nal, and, taking a sweep through the woods to
the left, came out upon the head of a smaller diverging branch of the
pass, hoping by this stratagem to elude the chase. The boldness and
dexterity of the attempt merited success. The point of divergence from
the main pass to this branch is by a perpendicular scarp of full twenty
feet, over which a rivulet precipitates itself in the rainy season, and has
hewn for itself a path, by which they essayed to escape. The old adage,
of "one fool makes many," may be strictly applied to the mountain
cattle in these alpine tracts, who are as wild and active as colts, and,
wherever one goes, the rest follow. The Meenas, reckoning on this
propensity, when they reached the precipice, plunged their daggers
into the leading beeve and threw him over, when, serving at once as a
guide and a break-fall, the others took the leap. But, notwithstanding
this
BHIL COMMUNITIES.
31
this skilful and daring act, they were overtaken, and several fell on both
sides, and amongst them, as mentioned, the nephew of Pudzaroh, some
of whose kindred accompanied me to see me across the border.
To those who love to hear of such feuds, or the legends of the nobler
strife of past days, each valley and defile is a book teeming with records ;
and were I not afraid of taxing too severely the patience and time of
my reader, I would relate the raids of the Meenas of Ootwun among the
cow-pens of the Aravulli; or those of the more distant Bhils of Chap-
pun, in conjunction with their more civilized brethren of Ogunah,
Panurwa, and Meerpoor. But even a brief history of the Meenas*
alone would occupy too much space, while that of the Bhils has per-
haps been already sufficiently elucidated.† I have, moreover, slightly
touched, in a short geographical sketch of these regions, on the inde-
pendent Bhil communities, full of interest, from their manners,
traditions, and insulated position.
I have stated that my intention was to have penetrated to Aboo by
these towns; but I deem the interest likely to be excited by the route
I have chosen superior. When I say insulated, I mean in a geogra-
phical and political point of view. Surrounded by lofty mountains,
defended by numerous defiles and forests, almost impervious to bodies
of troops, they enjoy a life of perfect independence, subject alone to
their own chiefs, who, if congregated, it is affirmed, could assemble
"fifteen thousand bows" for the defence of their passes. The names of
the
* I intend this to form the subject-matter of a paper for the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic
Society. [This is one of the many valuable memoirs of which the lamented death of the Author has
deprived the public.]
+ Vide Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i. p. 65, for an extended account of this
tribe, by the late Sir John Malcolm.
32
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
t
the principal towns of this association of semi-indigenous brotherhood,
are Panurwa, Ogunah, Joora-meer-poor, Jowas, Sumaija, Madri, Ozah,
Adiwasa, Beroti, Novagong, &c. &c., whose chieftains, deriding their
aboriginal descent, as Vanaputras, or Lords of the Forest, claim a
mixed parentage and Rajpoot blood. The chief of Panurwa is lord
paramount of the whole, and all attend him on the military festival of
the Dusserah. He takes the august title of Rana, and has no less than
twelve hundred townships (poora) and hamlets (poorwa) under his
immediate sway, of which many are doubtless very insignificant, the
majority being in one large valley, several coss in area, in which wheat,
gram, or vetches, yams (rutaroo), turmeric (puldi), and the esculent
root called arvi, somewhat resembling the Jerusalem artichoke, are
abundantly grown. They even export superfluous produce to the neigh-
bouring states. The wild peach and pomegranate, indigenous to these
hills, are cultivated successfully, both at Ogunah and Panurwa. The
next in rank is the chief of Ogunah-his name Lall Sing, who, with the
title of Rawul, acknowledges himself to be the vassal of Panurwa, having
sixty townships and hamlets in his grant. Ogunah, which is full
twenty miles from Panurwa, is called Little Nat’hdwarra, and contains
much wealth, as does Meerpoor. The expelled purdhan, or minister,
of the Gogoonda chief, now fills the same office with the Bhomia Bhil
of Ogunah. They are very partial to the use of this epithet, which
identifies them with the soil (bhom), making them in fact the autoch-
thones. The Panurwa Rana has his little court, in imitation of the
Rana, at which I am told the greatest etiquette prevails, and that he
exacts as much deference from the numerous bowmen who constitute
his vassalage. The Panurwa, Ogunah, and subordinates, call themselves
of Pramara blood, and intermarry with the Bhomias of Joora-meer-
poor
SPIRIT OF THE BHILS.
33
poor, Jowas, Madri, who claim descent from the Chohan race of
Rajpoots. Joora and Meer-poor, which are always conjoined in name,
though five miles asunder, are situated in the tract called Nayr, touch-
ing the Eedur frontier, and embrace no less than nine hundred of these
scattered hamlets in their scope. Joora was only about twelve miles
from my position at Saimur, and it was about eight further to Ogunah,
but the route lay through an impenetrable wild. Ogunah was the same
distance from Gogoonda, having the Rana's post of Sooruj-gurh inter-
mediate, his boundary and frontier garrison, to overawe these indepen-
dents, or claim their support if requisite. There is little doubt that in
ancient days these "children of the forest" all professed obedience to
the king of the Hindus; and the excellent service which they performed,
when the honour of his house was so often perilled against the Mogul,
merited the highest gratitude, to which feeling in part, but still more
to their inability to compel obedience, they owe their independence.
Nor can they be assailed with impunity. A dispute arose between the
Rajpoot chief of Jerole, the frontier post between Oodipoor and Ogunah,
and the Bhil of Ogunah, who had led his vassals against it; but not one
returned to tell the tale. In revenge, Jodaram led his cavaliers, all clad
in quilted mail, when thousands of bowmen collected; but though only
twenty-five horse, the Rajpoots charged the dense mass, defeated them
with slaughter, and entering the town, made good their retreat with
booty which yielded twelve thousand rupees. The tract called Khuruk,
of which Jowas is the capital, touches Dongerpoor and Saloombra,
whose chiefs are at constant enmity with their inhabitants. Environed
by lofty hills, covered with deep forests, chiefly of bamboo and dhak,
(butea frondosa), successful invasion is impracticable with numbers,
and a few would be cut off, unless they took them by surprise. Death
F
is
34
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
3
:
·
is the lot of any who dare to cut a tree in the paths of outlet. Fire-
arms are only used by the chiefs and head-men; the national weapon
being the kumpta or bamboo bow, having the bowstring (chulla) from
a thin slip of its elastic bark. Each quiver contains sixty barbed arrows,
a yard long. Although they claim descent from every race of Rajpoot,
and prefix the tribe, as Chohan-Bhil, Gehlote-Bhil, Pramar-Bhil, &c.
&c., their origin is best evinced in the gods they worship and their
prejudices as to food. They will eat of nothing white in colour, as a
white sheep or goat; and their grand adjuration is, " By the white ram !"
These prejudices, however, belong only to those who affect to call
themselves Oojla, or pure Bhils; and, if we may judge by the freedom
from prejudice of the greater number, few are entitled to the distinction
of pure.' In fact, we may assert that they are still demi-savage, as
they are assuredly an aboriginal race, whether we regard their super-
stitions, their habits, or their language; for, although the latter contains
much of Sanscrit derivation, their vocables are distinct. I advance this,
however, more from the report of their neighbours than from personal
investigation—a Bhil vocabulary remaining amongst my desiderata.
Had I explored the haunts described above, I should certainly have
made some acquisitions of this kind, as well as gained a more extended
knowledge of their habits, amongst the Lares and Penates, the white
ram,' and aswa-mukhi, or horse's head (the grand symbols of adora-
tion), at their own firesides. This study will amply repay those who are
desirous to read the book of nature under every aspect; and the inqui-
rer will be surprised and gratified to prove the truth of the old axiom,
"extremes meet." Here, in the abodes of
Here, in the abodes of savage uneducated nature,
he would form an acquaintance with the virtues of truth, hospitality, and
that proud distinction, gradually disappearing from the European codes,
6
which
►
BHIL MANNERS.
35
which provides a sanctuary for the refugee. If a Bhil pledges protec-
tion, he will sacrifice his life to redeem his word; if the traveller through
his passes pay the customary toll, his property and person are secure ;
and
any insult or injury by another will be avenged. The pass-word,
Maula-ca-sirna or the Sanctuary of Maula, or whatever other name the
protector may bear, would be a safeguard from one end of the commu-
nity to the other; and if his protector did not furnish him with a guide,
an arrow from his quiver would answer the purpose, and be equally
recognised with the ambassador's signet of any court in Christendom.
Nor would he, like the mountain Afghan, perform the rites of hospi-
tality while under the eye of the Penates, yet hesitate not to plunder its
object so soon as he had passed a decent distance from his roof.
The historian of America observes, that "nations which depend upon
hunting are in a great measure strangers to the idea of property; and
with the natives of those regions, the forest or hunting-grounds were
the property of the tribe." The Bhil is a step in advance in the scale
of civilization, their hunting-grounds being separated into individual
portions, as the following anecdote, which I noted down many years
ago, will attest. The Bhils of the most desolate and unfrequented wilds
of Méwar and the Nerbudda to this day lead a life little short of that of
nature, and with the exception of a few articles of luxury, resulting from
the discovery of fire, as roasted vermin and distilled waters, are not
more civilized than the Esquimaux.on the verge of the Polar Basin, to
whom a piece of putrid blubber is not less a delicacy than a roasted
guana or jackall to the Bhil. These are delicacies to the Vanaputra
table, supplied by the spontaneous and abundant fruits of the forest,
such as nourished the forefathers of the heroes of Marathon and Ther-
mopylæ ; but our Bhil has a more varied and palatable repast than their
F 2
acorn
:
1
}
36
1
1
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
acorn dinner, viz., the ebony, tamarind, mango, and many other fruits,
besides the seeds of various wild grapes, and esculent roots : though he is
not always permitted to apply these to his own use, free from the claims
of other dwellers in the forest, the bear and the monkey. But now to
our anecdote. “Go," says the father Bhil to the suitor for his daugh-
ter's hand, "I resign yonder mountains as her daeja (dower), nor shall
I henceforth within its bounds entrap hare or fox, pluck its fruits or
roots, or its branches or leaves for fuel. All are yours." The bear
does not, however, so readily relinquish his share, but will fight for the
possession of his darling Mhowa tree. A young Bhil had fallen asleep
beside his basket, filled with its fruit, either intended for the family
dessert, or to be converted into aruc ('essence'-the whiskey of the
East), when a bear, in his rounds, roused him, somewhat rudely, from
his slumbers, and prepared apparently to make his repast on the Bhil,
who escaped much lacerated from his embrace. Such an infraction of
sylvan polity was not to be borne by the father Bhil, who sallied forth
with bow and arrow to avenge the insult. He found the bear feasting
on the scene of aggression, slew him, and carried his skin to a neigh-
bouring chief, to whom his fealty was due; and on telling the story,
thus concluded his harangue: "There is the hide of the offender; it
is hard that brothers of the forest cannot live on terms of friendship :-
but he began the war.'
""
"If,” as observed by the celebrated Goguet (vol. I., p. 78), "there
has always been a great conformity between the ordinary food of men
and their sacrifices, who have always offered to the gods a part of those
things which were the chief support of their own lives, as in the first
ages, herbs, fruits and plants, and at length animals, when they became
their ordinary food;" the legitimate inference would be, that human
sacrifices
TAX
1
BHIL MANNERS.
sacrifices and cannibalism were co-existent; but although we have on
record that the Hindu, as well as the ancient Briton, offered human
sacrifices to the Destroyer, we have no authority for the belief that the
votaries either of the Celtic Belenus or Hindu Bal participated in such
food to their gods. It is true that we might cite the brutalized Aghori
as a proof of still existing cannibalism; but he would only prove the
exception to the rule. Yet, though this proof of the last stage of human
degradation be wanting,-the very lowest dweller in these forests, we
may not resist the suspicion that the stomach which does not revolt at
making its repast on an offal-feeding jackall, hideous guana, or half-
putrid kine, would not find the transition to a human limb
very objec-
tionable.
·
At no period in the comprehensive range of Hindu tradition, is
there a time discoverable at which the natives of India were ignorant
of the element of fire, and its domestic uses; and yet it must have
been a discovery with them as with the other nations of the earth.
Who, however, would imagine that fire could be a discovery, when
nature teems with it, whether in the coruscations of the heavens,
those Jowala Mukhis (literally, mouths of flame,'-volcanos), which
rend the bosom of the earth, or the innumerable Seeta coondas, or hot-
wells, scattered over her surface? and though the story of Columbus
and the egg may present itself to the mind, when we moralize on the
subject,
6
rr
37
聚
​so simple seemed it found,
"Which yet unfound, most would have thought impossible."
it is no less true, that the mode of obtaining it for artificial purposes was
a discovery, and, to the feeders on acorns, of the most important nature.
We
38
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
We need not revert to the pages of Pliny and Plutarch for proofs of
nations being without the use of this apparently indispensable element;
for we have abundant instances of it in the more modern history of the
world, amongst the African and American tribes, and in the Isles of
the Atlantic: for instance, the Marian Isles, discovered by Magellan,
in 1521, "whose inhabitants took it for an animal which fed on trees
and wood, and felt alarm for their safety."* Nay, Bruce, whose vera-
city has been established beyond the reach of malice, by the first of
modern travellers, the enterprizing Burckhardt, asserts that people
about the sources of the Nile were ignorant of its application, or, as
Burke would have said, had not attained the degree of reason which
distinguishes a roasting animal. Our aborigines of India, the Bhil,
Koli, and Goand, had, doubtless, found the art of cooking their food
at a very early period, having a natural tinder-box and flint in every
bamboo grove, and having only to watch, during a high wind, the emis-
sion of flame from the friction of these natives of the hills, to obtain a
supply more than sufficient of the devouring element: their sylvan
retreats being often burnt over their heads. I have witnessed the
magnificent spectacle of a forest of bamboo blazing, crackling, and
exploding, said to be self-ignited; and although any hard wood will yield
fire by friction, the silicious coating† of the bamboo makes it by far the
most ready instrument of Agni, whom the universal Hindu nation, the
learned Brahmin, the warlike Rajpoot, as well as the half-savage Va-
naputra, worship as a divinity.
A thorough
* Goguet, vol. i. p. 73.
+ The substance found in the pith of the bamboo, and termed tabasheer, and used by the Hindus
medicinally, is pure silex, and would appear to be the internal flowing of the sap, which there coagu-
lates and hardens.
G
1
BHIL MANNERS.
6
39
A thorough study of the uncivilized tribes of India, the Bhil, Koli,
Goand, Meena, Mair, would disclose important links in the physical
history of man; even in those enumerated,
even in those enumerated, the most powerful
distinctions, as well in form and lineament, as in habits and supersti-
tious rites, the result of example or locality, would be observed; and
though all alike bear the impress of originality, yet their respective
characteristics are so dissimilar, that we should reject the idea of their
common descent from one great family. There is not a greater diffe-
rence between the squat, flat-nosed, Tartarian-visaged Esquimaux, and
the ancient noble Mohican savage, than between the Bhil of Méwar
and the Khole of Sirgoojur; nor are the habits of the dweller on the
verge of the Polar sea more distinct from those of the migratory races
of the Missouri, than are those of our forest indigènes from the more
locomotive Rajpoot. If man had sprung, like a fungus, from the
earth, it might be said these were the uncultivated mushrooms of India,
fixed, as the rocks and trees of their mountain wilds, to the spot which
gave
them birth. This entire want of the organ of locomotion, and
an unconquerable indolence of character, which seems to possess no
portion of that hardiness which can brave the dangers of migration,
forbid all idea of their foreign origin, and would rather incline us to
the Monboddo theory, that they are an improvement of the tribe with
tails. I do not reckon that their raids from their jungle abodes, in
search of plunder, supply any argument against the innate principle of
locality. The Bhil returns to it as truly as does the needle to the north
nor could the idea enter his mind of seeking other regions for a domicile.
Their very names imply this principle:-Vanaputra, 'child of the
forest;' Mairote, born of the mountain,'-Goind, apparently a com-
pound of Gopa and Indra, lord of the cave:' Pal-Indra, lord of the
;
pass.'
40
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
¦
J
{
pass.' In like manner, Kol, signifying 'mountaineer', from Ko, a
mountain,' which, though less commonly used than the Sanscrit word
Gir, is beyond a doubt a primitive root with the Indo-Scythic nation.
The Bhils, having no order of priesthood, have recourse to the Guru
of the Bullaes, one of the most debased of the Sudra classes. On the
occasion of any nuptial ceremony, this Guru decks himself in the sacer-
dotal thread of the Brahmin, whose appellation he assumes with the
badge, though he partakes both of the food which is dressed and of
the cup,
which flows freely. A scene of riot follows every such rite,
and a general fray is the never-failing finale. Whatever daeja or dower
is given with the bride, the bridegroom invariably presents the father
with a buffalo, twelve rupees, and two bottles of liquor, to defray the
marriage-feast. On a birth, the same self-created Brahmin names the
child, generally after the genius presiding over the day of its birth:
Boodh, if born on Wednesday, from Boodh-war, or the day of Mercury;
or Boodhia if a female. On this event, as well as on deaths, there is
another very important character called in to take part in the cere-
mony, the Camra, or minstrel, of whom there is one in every large
village. His garb is that of the Jogi ascetic, and as it is necessary he
should be initiated in the mystical doctrines of the sectarian Kabri, he
is indifferently named Kamra Jogi, or Kabri Punti. On births, accom-
panied by his wife, he takes his position with his guitar before the
door, first placing a small figure of a horse beside the threshold. He
then commences a hymn, propitiating Seetla Mata, the protectress of
infants, who is much dreaded by all the wild tribes, his wife blending
her voice with his, and beating time with the cymbals. A large d'hol,
or alarm-drum, is kept in every village, which by a peculiar beat an-
nounces such an event to the neighbours, who, according to their
ability
}
BHIL MANNERS.
ability and inclination, present gifts to the parents of the new comer.
On deaths, a monotonous beating summons the neighbours, each of
whom brings in his hand a seer of grain. Close by the door of the
deceased, the minstrel takes his post, the image of the horse and an
earthen jar of water being placed beside him. Each relation and visitor,
on approaching, takes some of the water in the palm of his hand, which
he sprinkles over the image, invoking the name of the deceased, and
presenting the measure of grain to the minstrel. Why such reverence
is shown to the emblem of the horse, I have been unable to learn-
unless it be as the symbol of the sun, adored by all classes-but nothing
is undertaken without it.
41
I have elsewhere mentioned,* that the Rajpoot tribes are conquerors,
and that the birthright of all the intricate regions of India belonged
to these aboriginal tribes, traces of whose importance in their ancient
fortified abodes are by no means uncommon, and so late as a century
ago, one of these lords of the soil had eight hundred horse in his train,
besides bowmen. Their chief warriors were styled Sawant, and, as a
distinguishing badge, wore a waistband of small brass bells. They never
went to battle but encased in armour, and to look behind was a capital
crime, and entailed loss of title, which went to the nearest of kin, or
if there were none, the most worthy was elected Sawant. During the
lengthened anarchy which afflicted these regions, and tore asunder all
the bonds of fealty or affection that held societies together in these
complicated abodes, the Bhil had often sealed his fidelity with his blood.
In those exterminating conflicts waged between the Ranas and the Em-
perors
of Dehli, the former were indebted to these children of the forest
for
* Annals of Rajast'han, vol. ii. p. 2, et seq.
G
**
Į
42
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
for their own preservation, and what is yet more dear to a Rajpoot, that
of their wives and daughters from the hands of a foe whose touch was
pollution. We have represented them, while the immortal Pertap was
confronting his inexorable foe, bearing these his treasures at one time
to the mines of Jawura, or when these no longer proved a safe conceal-
ment, threading their way through passes unknown but to themselves;
nor will it be forgotten that in more recent times, when the capital
was besieged by the great Sindiah, its protracted defence was in a great
measure due to the Bhils, who conveyed supplies to the besieged across
the lake. But the heart-stirring days which kindled a tumult in the
bosom of the Bhils, as well as in that of his lordly superior, being
exchanged for inglorious inactivity and all the vices springing from
poverty and oppression, is it to be wondered at that the children of the
forest degenerated with their superiors; or that, being oppressed instead
of fostered, they should pilfer where they once protected, hate where
they honoured, despise where they dreaded? Such was the change of
sentiment which I found in full activity, when, in 1817-18, I became a
mediator between them, and a reclaimer of their rights. I have stated
how my Brahmin envoy made treaties with 750 townships and villages
in the mountains of the west, and that these simple treaties, invoking
the sun to witness, or attested by the symbol of the plough, the dagger,
or bow and arrow, tantamount to the vow of the cavalier of the west,
May my stirrups fail me!" were religiously fulfilled; peace, good
order, and the seeds of industry were established, until these Rajpoot
superiors, taking advantage of my absence, in some places renewed
their old exactions, and in others cruelly balanced some ancient feud.
Such was the atrocious case of Kaba, a considerable community about
ten miles west of the capital, two of whose inhabitants were barba-
rously
66
RIGHT OF SANCTUARY.
43
6
rously murdered by a vassal of the Saloombra chief; and, as if in
defiance of the sovereign, within the walls of the city, at the public
well, and in the face of open day. The question involved a ticklish
point, that of sirna or sanctuary, and this with the premier noble of
Méwar; but there was only one of two courses to pursue: either to
set at nought the pledge of protection given by the Rana, and guaran-
teed by the envoy to the British government, or to disregard the right
of sanctuary of the Saloombra chief. There could be no hesitation ;
instant search was made, but in vain. Under shadow of the night, the
culprit escaped from the city; but, in spite of every attempt at conceal-
ment, I traced him through many doublings to the Saloombra domi-
nions. I requested the chief to call upon me, and at once invited him
to choose between the effects of his sovereign's displeasure, together
with the termination of our friendship, or to break the Sirna' (sirna
toorna) with the murderer, whom he might place in the hands of
justice in the way least likely to violate his feelings, or the prejudices
which none better knew than himself how much I respected. He talked
of abandoning his fief and withdrawing to Benares, and, as an ancestor,
who preferred his honour to his land, had done before him, of gaining
his bread by the manufacture of horsewhips, for that his " face would be
blackened" among his brethren if he surrendered him. This and much
more of eloquent and manly remonstrance, with the denial on oath of
all foreknowledge of the deed and all participation in it, was concluded
by his saying, he would punish his vassal in any manner commanded
by his sovereign. The negociation closed with a compromise: the
culprit was to be dismissed from Saloombra, and desired to seek
sanctuary elsewhere; and whilst in quest of this, was to be pounced
upon by a party of the Rana's people. This salvo for his honour
being
G2
ļ
44
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
•
being acceded to, the murderer was brought to the capital: but such
is the force of habit, as regards this privilege of sanctuary, which even
forms a stipulation in the grants of some estates, that, in announcing
the arrival of the culprit, the Rana, or rather his advisers, endeavoured
to throw on me the odium of the transaction. While, however, I
supported the cause of his government, I was unwilling needlessly to
invest with an odious character the British representative, and there-
fore replied, that there could be no occasion to consult me on a point
in which the personal dignity of the Rana was to be maintained. I
heard no more until the following day, when the murderer had suf-
fered the extreme penalty of blood for blood, but with a barbarous
and unnecessary severity. He was placed vertically in a pit and
covered with earth, his head alone remaining exposed to the sun; and
having during the day died, by anticipation, a hundred deaths, his skull
was smashed by a mallet. A few years back, the Rana must have
submitted to the indignity; and would as soon have thought of bearding
the tiger in his den as of breaking the Sirna of a much less powerful
chief than Saloombra. After this retaliation, the Rana propitiated
the community of Kaba by sending for the representatives of the mur-
dered Bhils, and gratifying them with turbans and silver kurras or wrist-
strings, which did more than an army to secure their fidelity.
But alas! for the poor Vanaputras, whose friends are few, and who,
being considered as outcasts from society, are likened to the sons of
Esau! a more grievous example was subsequently forced upon us, and
this occurred unfortunately about the end of my career amongst them.
My repeated absence from Oodipoor, in the countries of the Rahtores
and Haras, gave too many opportunities to the enemies of those poor
people to stir them up to acts of violence; and without a constant
and
PUNISHMENT OF THE BHILS.
45
and local surveillance, it was impossible to distinguish their return to
lawless habits from their obedience to provocation. Various were
the insidious methods adopted by their Rajpoot superiors to tempt
them to aggression; and unhappily their natural propensities led them
too easily into the snare; whether to plunder the traveller, or to molest
the camp-followers with the British cantonment at Neemuch, while
cutting wood and bamboos in their forests. I had frequent representa-
tions from the gallant Colonel Ludlow, then commanding that camp,
regarding these obstructions; and, at length, the still bolder step of
plundering one of these parties and retiring with their spoils to the
jungles, compelled me to apply to the Rana for his permission that our
own troops might punish the offence. Armed with his authority, a
party was equipped under command of Lieut. Hepburn, who conducted
it with such caution, that he took the village completely by surprise,
made prisoners about thirty of the offenders, who were not only recog-
nized by the parties aggrieved, but whose huts furnished proofs of the
plunder. Unfortunately, instead of using the discretion demanded by
the nature of the service, Lieut. H., to the no small embarrassment of
Colonel L. and myself, conveyed his prisoners to the cantonment.
Through me, the result was reported to the Rana, and it being impera-
tive to check such audacity, Colonel Ludlow was instructed to select
five or six of the ringleaders, who were delivered over to a confidential
officer of the Rana, by whom sentence of death was carried into
execution by hanging them at different posts along the frontier, the
scene of their depredations. Five of them suffered, the sixth being res-
pited by the Rana's officer on account of his youth, and at my request
pardoned. He was afterwards brought to thank me for his life, when
he promised never more to join in such raids. He was about nineteen ;
of
1
46
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
of middle stature, slim, but well-formed; complexion, a clear shining
dark bronze, eyes and hair jet black, and an expression of ingenuous-
ness, which, as far as might be judged while he was yet under the
influence of fear and the novelty of his situation, indicated the entire
absence of vice. It was long before I ceased to feel the pain arising
from this act of necessary severity, more especially when it was pleaded
in justification, that the parties were more bent on foraging for the
Bhilnis than for bamboos. Except for murder, I never would inflict
death: fines to the very limit of ability, and restitution of property, act
far more powerfully as punishments.
With the great Bhil family, I would not hesitate to class the Saireas,
inhabiting the mountains that separate Malwa and Harouti, and all
those complicated ranges which, running from the verge of the table-land
of Malwa, through Chandéri and Nurwur, terminate, some branches in
Gohud, while others merge into the masses of Boondelcund, anciently
peopled by the tribe of Sarja, now extinct, but in all probability the
Saireas of Central India.
Amongst the thirty-six royal tribes of
Rajpoots, one is called the Sari-aspa, contracted Saria, of whom we
have inscriptions of a very remote date, indicative of their consequence
amongst the ancient races of India. Whether this degraded tribe (Saria)
may be descended illegitimately from these, it is useless to enquire.
The Aspa or Aswa race is decidedly of Indo-Scythic origin, the first
(aspa) being the Persian, the latter (aswa) the Sanscrit term for 'horse,'
and were the Saireas illegitimately descended from them, it might account
for the introduction of the horse into their ceremonies. I have elsewhere
remarked the habit, amongst the old tribes of Central Asia, of assuming
the names of quadrupeds. Thus, besides the Aspa or horse', we have the
Noomries or foxes', a great branch of the Getæ or Jits of Transoxiana,
C
6
*.
'
and
1
M
47
and the Varahas, or hogs', of Mooltan and the Upper Indus. But the
habit of distinguishing families by epithets derived from objects in the
animal or vegetable creation has prevailed in every land, and many a
name, which receives our homage from blending phonetic dignity with
historical recollections, traces its origin to some humble and often
ludicrous incident; as that watch-word of chivalry, Plantagenet, derived
from the lowly broom. Besides these, the horse, fox, and hog tribes
of the Indus and Oxus, we have the hares (Seesodias, properly Susso-
dias), the Cuchwahas, from the Cusha-grass, with many others.
Whatever be the descent of the Saireas of the plateau of Central
India, they have the same distinguishing moral and physical properties
as the Bhils, though without the bad qualities which mark the most
degraded of this tribe in the west. The Sairea has no prejudices, and
will eat of any thing, but cats and dogs: whence this aversion, or whether
it extends to their brethren of the west and south, I am ignorant. They
subsist chiefly by hunting, and are most expert in the art, which
they exercise on all the inhabitants of the forest, from the majestic
nil-gae and the savage boar, to the timid hare, their entremets being
abundant from foxes, jackalls, snakes, guanas, lizards nothing is
rejected save the animals which man has domesticated. The wild fruits,
as the taindoo, the cheraonji, the aônla, the imli, i. e. the ebony fruit,
and the tamarind, they gather, and either use themselves or barter
for grain. They dig in the earth for various roots applicable to
mechanical arts; as that termed coli-cundo from which starch is made,
and the fibrous roots of the cusha-grass, which they make into brushes,
both indispensable to the cloth-weaver. They are likewise the wood-
cutters of these parts, and in this occupation collect the various gums
required in medicine or manufactures. They have, moreover, an art
peculiar
THE SAIREAS.
Val
1
7
!
7
48
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
peculiar to themselves, of making ropes and twine from the macerated
epidermis and roots of various trees, especially that of the kesoola,
of which they recognise two kinds; also from the root termed bukhora.
Whether the fibrous portions of the bark are mixed with the roots,
I feel uncertain, though my notes would imply it; the mass being
reduced to a mucilage, from which fibres are drawn of great delicacy
and length, dried in the shade, and afterwards twisted into ropes
of any dimensions. They gather a small fruit, called bahera or hurra,
abounding in the Shah-bad hills, and used by the dyers to give a yellow
ground; and a nut (reeta) used in bleaching, and which forms a substi-
tute for soap. In Harouti,―and these details apply chiefly to the Saireas
of this region, they collect the fruit of the mhowa, of which they make
a spirit resembling whisky, and at the risk of their necks, they climb
the scarped rocks and rob the bees of their produce. Occasionally,
they bring a few patches into cultivation, if loosening the scanty soil
with an iron spud, and dropping the seeds therein, may thus be termed.
When their little harvest, chiefly of Indian corn and maize, is ripening,
they move to it with their families, gathering it for consumption even
in its green state, until expended.
Of the moral habits of these people we may speak favourably: to use
the phraseology of the person* from whose intimate knowledge of them
I obtained much information, “ they are so susceptible of gratitude,
that
* Futteh, one of my Dhak Jemadars, whose name I mention in the "Annals," and who converted
these people into most useful relays on the line of post. It was almost entirely by the means of
these wild tribes that I kept up a communication between Bombay and the Provinces on the
Ganges, at the period when to my other duties I added that of Postmaster in Sindia's camp; and in
1815, I was enabled to convey to Marquess Hastings, then at Ferrukabad on the Ganges, an impor-
tant overland despatch in the short space of nine days from Bombay. This, it will be recollected,
is a distance of more than nine hundred miles, and through countries in which neither the British
Government, their allies, or enemies, had any control.
•
·
THE SAIREAS.
that it is a proverbial expression in these regions, once give a meal
to a Sairea, and he will remember it to the end of his days.'
Amongst the hills of Nirwur, Sheopoor, and those skirting the left
bank of the Chumbul, are found numbers of these children of nature,
whose first wish is to be left to the unmolested enjoyment of the spon-
taneous gifts of the great mother; but this is not permitted, the poor
forester being deemed of no more value in the scale of creation than
the boar or fox on which he preys; nor is his name ever mentioned by
his lordly superior except as the Pathal pootra, child of hell,' or by
other degrading epithets. I might add that there are some distinctions of
feature, though none of complexion, between the more northerly Bhil
and those of the western regions; the former have the lips more pro-
truding, and are generally stout, fat, and with prominent bellies. In
these traits they bear a stronger resemblance to the inhabitants of
Choota-Nagpoor and Sirgooja, than to the Bhils of Méwar, though less
strongly marked than the Khole of Sirgooja, who looks as if he were a
connecting link between the negro and the genuine Oojla Bhil.
H
49
6
"""
F
50
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
CHAPTER IV.
Beejipoor.-View of the Aravulli.—Unfavourable state of the season.-Temple of Rayn-poorji.—
Coins.-Ancient towns.-Respect paid by the Rana towards the Jain priesthood.-Bhyâd of
Beejipoor.-Correspondence between the religious rites of Syria and of the Saura Peninsula.-Sun-
worship.-Birgong.-Meena towns.-Anecdote of a Meena feud.-Great heat.-Different effects
of the same degree of heat on the frame.-Buhee.-Sarohi, Capital of the Deora Rajpoots.-
Temple of Siva.-Indo-Getic Customs of the Chohans.-Condition of the principality of Sarohi.
Its enfranchisement from dependence upon Marwar effected by the Author.—Beneficial results of
the measure.—Policy to be pursued towards the native princes of India.—Want of a Code of
Laws for British India.-Geography of Sarohi.-Reports of the Rajpoots by early travellers.-
Interview with the Rao.-Description of the Capital.-Statistics.-Early history of the Deoras.
It was nearly noon when I cleared the pass of Seetla Mata, and as
the bluff head of Mount Aboo opened upon me, my heart beat with
joy as, with the Sage of Syracuse, I exclaimed, Eureeka! Half an hour
more brought me to my tents at Beejipoor,-thermometer 98°, baro-
meter 28° 60′, shewing a difference of about five hundred feet in ele-
vation between the plains of Méwar and those of Marwar, skirting
the Aravulli on either side, the desert being the most elevated. At
3 P.M., the barometer was 28° 50′, and thermometer 102°,-the rains
collecting in the west, and the hot winds blowing a sirocco over the
desert. I lamented my folly in throwing away my refrigerators, as
I looked back from the arid sand, on which my tent was pitched, to
those lofty and delightful regions I had quitted. The prospect was
indeed magnificent, and infinitely more imposing than any part of the
gradual ascent from Méwar. Here I had a full view of the precipitous
face of the noble Aravulli; its towering and ever-varied pinnacles of
gneiss, its dark indented recesses, lined with forest and underwood,
through which stole many a crystal rivulet from its alpine cradle, to
refresh
I
ANTIQUITIES.
But the heat had been
refresh the inhabitants of Maroost'huli.
unusually great, and little rain having fallen this year, some of these
Naiads had altogether abandoned their sandy beds. Had public duty
permitted, I should have started at least a fortnight earlier; for the
clouds of the choota-bursât, or introductory monsoon, are congregating
fast, and I fear may frustrate much of my design. Already am I
compelled to forego one object, which induced a preference of this route
to that through the Bhil forest, viz. the temple of Rayn-poorji, in the
Sadri Nal, one of those clefts in the ribs of the Aravulli, accessible only
to foot-passengers; and although within view, I dare not attempt it,
being in the direction diametrically opposed to that in which the
objects of my journey lay. This is perplexing, for had I at all ques-
tioned my ability to examine this stupendous pile, I should have visited
it two years ago, when passing from Oodipoor to Jodpoor. It is an
object left, with many others, for the future traveller, who, although he
may not discover in it the exquisite proportions of the more ancient
temples of Komulmér and Ajmér, nor the sculptures of Barolli and
Aboo, will find much of solid grandeur.
many
51
I had sent my scouts in advance to the Jain town of Balli, to which
the inhabitants of Balabhi, the ancient capital of Saurashtra, fled when
assailed by Indo-Scythic invaders in the fifth century. They collected
many curious coins, some of that Indo-Scythic stamp, having a princely
head on one side and an altar on the reverse, the epigraph being in
those occult characters of which I have already given some account *
others likewise of a very singular nature, having on the obverse a kind
of hieroglyphic (if we may use the term) combined into the form of a
;
warrior
* See Transactions Royal Asiat. Soc., vol. i. p. 338 and Plate I. No. 1.
H 2
52
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
--- יד
warrior on horseback, lance in hand; or the sacred bull in a kneeling
posture, and on the reverse Sanscrit characters containing the name of
a Rajpoot prince, but neither date, tribe, nor country.* Of the same
apparent age, and also with the Devanagari character, was a third kind,
having the name and titles of a Hindu sovereign on one side, and those
of the great Mahmoud on the reverse, doubtless re-struck by the Ghis-
nivi monarch in the mint of his camp, as a token of conquest, in like
manner as the republicans of France placed the Goddess of Liberty on
the reverse of the currency of Louis XVI. I could have desired time to
explore personally the ancient towns of this tract, the contiguity of
which to the Aravulli afforded their people shelter when driven from the
more exposed kingdoms of Anhulwarra and Saurashtra, overrun at
various times by Greeks, Parthians, and Huns. It was from Balli I
obtained one of the most important historical rolls relative to the
history of the Ranas of Méwar, and, strange to say, the Juti who gave
it to me still held the honorary distinction of Guru to the kings of
Méwar, after a lapse of thirteen centuries. Although the Rajpoot is
tolerant, in matters of faith, and the present Rana especially so, his
behaviour towards those who held the Jain persuasion was always
marked by peculiar regard, a sentiment which cannot be accounted for
by their religious or social consequence, but arises out of a traditional
knowledge of some vital services they had rendered his ancestry in
very
remote times, probably on the destruction of Balabhi. I recollect well,
when some matter of importance to a Jain was agitated, and the minis-
ter urged that he held some property, the right of the crown, without
warrant, he was cut short by the remark that he should not be molested,
for
* See Transactions Royal Asiat. Soc., vol. i. p. 338 and Plate I. Nos. 2 and 3.
K
BEEJIPOOR.
for that the Rana's ancestry were under obligations to this sect, which
neither he nor his descendants could ever repay. From this feeling, as
well as from a spirit of toleration, whenever a high priest of the Jains
passes through Oodipoor on his way to visit his flocks in the desert, the
Rana advances to welcome and escort him to his capital. Of the immu-
nities and charters granted to them I have spoken at length in the
•Annals.'
53
Beejipoor is divided into four portions, held by Rajpoots, termed the
Bhyâd or brotherhood of Nana Bera, the head of whom resides at Nana.
They are descendants of the immortal Rana Pertap, and have the
customary appellation of Babas or infants, and hold equal rank with the
chief of Sunwar at the Rana's court. With the traitorous acquisition of
the rich province of Godwar, which includes Balli and all this tract, by
the princes of Marwar, this allegiance has been severed, and these
‹ children of Pertap' are now vassals of Jodpoor: but while they fulfil
all their obligations to the new power, if asked to whom their ân or
allegiance is due, it will be seen how easily Rajpoot casuistry can
reconcile service to two masters. I had a visit from the only represen-
tative of the Hero of Rajasthan who was at home, and who, though he
had adopted the garb of Marwar, had lost in heart and noble bearing
none of the marks of his illustrious descent. Excepting the prince,
heir to the throne, I know no finer specimen of royal progeny than the
petty chief of Beejipoor ('the City of Victory'): tall enough for dignity,
and strong without bulk, while his fair and intelligent countenance and
graceful demeanour would render him conspicuous in any court. We
conversed more on the past than the present, and he was not displeased
at finding me more deeply versed in the history of his race than himself.
JUNE 6th.-BIRGONG.-The line of march lay parallel to the Aravulli,
sometimes
T
F
WWW
1
f
A
!
$
54
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
sometimes touching its diverging ribs, which looked gigantic in the
early morning, before the sun had travelled over them and variegated
their sable garb with tints of gold. We crossed a small stream, called
the Jooé Nullah, which is of some political importance, being the
boundary between the provinces of Godwar and Sarohi. We likewise
crossed the Sukri river, which continues its course by the fortress of
Jhalore, and falls into the Looni, or salt river. Near where I crossed
it, I visited a small temple, dedicated to Balpoor-Siva, or Siva of the city
of Bal; in front of the mythic emblem of the god was the vahan or
courser, the bull in brass, at one time, apparently, the sole object of
worship of the Saura peninsula; a land which, there can hardly be a
doubt, was in communication with the shores of the Red Sea, Egypt,
and Palestine, in the earliest periods of history, probably long before
Hiram and the mariners of Tyre were carriers to the wise king of Jeru-
salem. What are Bal and the brazen calf, to which especial honours
were paid on the "fifteenth of the month," but the Bâl-eswar and bull
(nanda) of India; (the Osiris and Mnvis of Egypt), whose sacred day
is the black Amavus, also the fifteenth of the month, when the rays
of the sun cease to illuminate the face of the moon? Balpoor, or the
city of Bal, is therefore the same as the Balbec or Heliopolis of Syria;
coincidences in name, rites, and symbols, all denoting one universal
natural religion, namely, the worship of the sun, and his type the bull,
emblematic of fertility and production. Whence the origin of this wide-
spread idolatry, whether in the plains of the Euphrates, the Oxus, or
the Ganges, in the peninsula of Mount Sinai or that of the Sauras, it
would be vain to enquire; but it is far from improbable that the “ sweet
cane of a far country, "* which Solomon tells us was not indigenous to
Syria
* Jer. VI. 20.
}
}
·
1
>
MEENA TOWNS.
55
Syria or Egypt, may, as well as some of the architectural details of his
temple, have come from this Syria of India.
But to return to Birgong and the banks of the Bhao-Bunas, for such
is the name of the streamlet, whether from being the wedded or would-
be lord of the fair Bunas, the legend sayeth not. The centre of the
majestic Aboo bore south, 25° west, distant twenty-four miles; from
this the peaks of the Aravulli, which, by the aid of my telescope, I
brought within view, appeared highest about Sadri and Roopnigurh.
Komulmér appeared depressed below both of these, but all the inhabi-
tants agreed that the peak of Jirga near Saimur, in the heart of the upland,
is in a clear day seen overtopping all the rest. I had also distinct bear-
ings of several of the chief haunts of the Meena brigands, so long the
terror of these regions, dwelling amongst clusters of hills, which may
be considered offsets of the Aravulli, and which, from being covered
with forest, are very difficult of access: they are termed Mewassoh, or
fastnesses of the Meenas. The principal towns in these are Ootwun,
bearing S. S. 25° W. 12 miles, Kolur S. 10° E. 6 miles, Radour S. 30°
W. 10 miles, Rewarro N. 65° W. 12 miles; and last not least, Machal,
due west 13 miles. Each of these Meena towns would afford ample
materials for the romance-writer, in the history of their raids and internal
feuds, or contests with the Rajpoot chiefs their neighbours. To-day I
heard one which, related circumstantially, might form the subject of a
drama. It was between the Meenas of Ootwun and the Rajpoots of
Pirai. Constantly engaged in warfare, and generally prepared for the
midnight attacks of the mountaineer, the Rajpoots of the latter village,
on one of their gala days, had omitted the usual precaution, although
they "had Meena blood on their swords," having but a short while
before surprised the Mewassoh, fired the village, and carried off captive
1
1
the
56
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
the mother of the Mukhia, or head of Ootwun, whom they lodged in
the frontier garrison of Jodpoor. This hostage had put the Rajpoots
off their guard; but either from some private communication with her
kindred, or from indignation at her captivity, the Meena matron, de-
termined that she would be no bar to their revenge, enfranchised
herself with a dose of poison. Meanwhile, her son, at the head of his
bowmen, as soon as the enemy had retired, collected his brethren of
Machal and Radva, repairing first to the hill of Kolur, the point of
rendezvous and preparation by augury for these raids. The omen was
favourable," the arrows fell inwards, point to point,”—and as there
was yet enough of night to execute their purpose before the festivities
of Pirai were over, they sallied forth. The surprise was complete, and
forty-six Rajpoots were sacrificed to the manes of the Mother of
Ootwun.
When I reached my tents, at 10 A.M. this morning, the thermometer
ranged 96°; at 2 P.M. it reached 108° in the tent; at 5 P.M., with rain-
clouds collecting to the westward, 88°, and at 7 P.M. 86°, while the
oscillations of the barometer, at these respective hours, were 28-77,
28-73, 28-65, and 28-70. This 108° is the highest range in the shade I
ever noted of the thermometer, with the least diurnal variation; though,
whether owing to the equability of temperature, which sustained the
animal circulation in corresponding uniformity, I never suffered less
from extreme heat. Yet, if I looked across the expanded plains, the
arid soil appeared as if emitting colourless flames, and as I steadied the
barometers, suspended in their tripod-stands, the brass-work was painful
to the touch. Although this degree of heat would appear intolerable
to “the cold in clime" and " cold in blood," the external air, though
some 25° warmer than within the tent, was not beyond endurance,
and
1
EFFECTS OF HEAT.
and I have since felt infinitely more oppressed on an English summer
day than in the dog-days of India on the verge of the desert.
of the desert. I would
not draw a comparison between an autumnal day at Naples, for, while
under such influence I penned these observations, I could barely crawl
up the shady side of the Strada di Toledo, in the month of October,
two years afterwards, although in tolerable health. I leave the physio-
logist to discover the cause of these inconsistencies of sensation, merely
recording the effect of the intense heat, which, like many other evils,
political as well as personal, brings bane and antidote together. At 108°
and even much lower, the pores are all opened, and the system is in
perpetual thaw and dissolution, and were the vapour thus extricated,
condensed and made to re-act upon the calico covering, no other refri-
gerator would be required. But when the thermometer is at the
freezing point at day-break, and from 90° to 100° two hours after the
sun has passed the meridian, in the tent, and 130° when exposed to his
rays, what frame can stand this? I have, however, stood such alterna-
tions; but when I look back to those days, enumerate the companions
who have growled or laughed with me, and consider where they are
gone, I find it difficult to verify my assertions: just two out of twenty
are living!—and but one-that one myself spared to retire to his
native land. I subjoin the list as a curiosity, but alas, it is the common
fate of most who go to India.*
JUNE 7th.—BUHEE.-Our route to-day was over an uniform flat,
distance
57
* RẮMGURH, a local battalion. Col. Broughton, Major Ruffsage, Lieut. and Adj. Higott, Lieut.
Broughton, Drs. Laidlaw and Limond, all dead. 20th OR MARINE REGT. Lieut.-Col. Maclean,
Major Yule, Capts. Mainwaring, Weston, Porteous, Sealy, Lieut. Manly, all dead. Lieuts. Tod,
Murray, survivors in 1833. Macpherson, son of the translator of Ossian, dead. Montague, left
India for Europe at an early period of service. Macnaughten, dead. ARTILLERY. Capt. Graham,
dead,
1
H.
I
58
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
T
distance twelve miles and a half. Three miles from Birgong we again
crossed the Sukri, and passed, at Pawori, a thanah, or military post, of
Jodpoor, stationed to overawe the Meenas. At seven miles we passed
within a mile of Posaleo, another celebrated community within the
Sarohi territory, whose prince has established therein a military post
since he came under the protection of the British Government. Buhee,
like Birgong, possesses no local interest; but both villages are creeping
into prosperity, after many years of dilapidation from the exactions of
the state on one hand, and the raids of the depredators on the other.
Aboo lay between S. 10° E. and S. 20° W., about thirteen coss or
twenty-five miles distant, and the Mewassohs of Ootwun and Machal,
the former S. 20° E., the latter N. 20° W. Several of these banditti
leaders, of Ootwun, Machal, and Posaleo, came to visit me, and
promised entirely to abandon their hereditary pursuits. They are an
athletic, agile race, and with their bamboo bows, quiver, and dagger in
the girdle, form no indifferent subject for the pencil. Several Deora
Rajpoots also visited me here, armed like the Meena. We had a trial
of skill, and by some good luck I sent an arrow several yards beyond
the Deora. A yell of applause was sent forth by the Meenas, but I
took care not to risk my reputation by a second attempt. The change
of costume was marked, not only in the tie of the turban, but in the
enormous trowsers, or still stranger substitute, the kilt-like equipment
of the Deoras, whose favourite lock, nourished with l'huile du jasmin,
was trained over the cheek. Thermometer to-day at 9 A.M., 3 and 5
P.M., ranged respectively 86°, 99°, and 96°, and the barometer 28° 80′,
28° 77′, and 28° 75'; the second barometer, but in which I did not
confide, being 14° lower.
JUNE 8th.-SAROHI.-Twelve miles and a half. Every step of the way
was
TEMPLE OF SARNESWAR.
59
was through a diminutive forest, chiefly of the useful and tenacious
dhow, or the evergreen peloo. At the seventh mile we crossed the
Ootwun range of hills, and passed through the valley in which lays the
capital of the Deoras. One mile farther on, we passed the ruins of a
fortress, built by Koombho, Rana of Oodipoor, when driven from Ko-
mulmér by the Ghorian King of Malwa. At this point, we approached
the shrine of Sarnéswar, around which are congregated the mausolea of
the princes and chieftains of Sarohi. The original object of attraction
is a coonda, or fountain, whose waters are efficacious in cutaneous
diseases and this, as are most of the thermal springs of India, was
dedicated to Siva. The temple has a vaulted roof, supported by
columns; the shape of the dome is peculiar to this region, being the
section of an egg, the smaller portion placed perpendicularly on the
longer axis. Within is the phallic emblem of the god; and without, a
ponderous trident, full twelve feet in height, and said to be a combina-
tion of the seven metals. Two elephants, carved in stone, guard the
entrance, and the whole is surrounded by a fortified wall, erected by the
Islamite King of Mandoo, who is reported to have been cured of a
leprous disease, called kosa, by bathing in the fountain. Miracle or no
miracle, that the use of the waters is beneficial, is sufficiently attested by
his having repaired and endowed the temple, in spite of the prohibition
of the prophet. The present type of the " Lord of the Bull," is not
the original, which, together with an ancient inscription, was carried to
Méwar and inaugurated into a new temple. The cenotaphs of the
Deoras are very curious, both in their architectural form and details,
and what is unusual, each has its separate inscription; that of the father
of the present prince has a miniature shrine within the mausoleum,
beside which is a small equestrian statue of the deceased; but that of
I 2
Rao
}
60
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Rao Guj is the most conspicuous, having four Satis, besides a train of
his vassal Rajpoots, represented in basso-relievo on the internal altar,—
they are armed with sword and shield. This affords another proof of
the Indo-Getic descent of the Chohan race, converted, as has been
already shewn, to Brahminism.
My approach to Sarohi, the capital of the Deoras, was hailed by the
song of joy, sung by some of the handsomest women I had seen in
India, beating time upon brass cymbals of a peculiar form. They pre-
ceded the Rao with all his chivalry, who advanced to conduct me to
the city, through which I passed, and encamped half a mile south-
ward.
Aboo, which increased in grandeur as we approached, bore S. 10° E.
to S. 25° W.; the thermometer at 9 A.M., 3 and 6 P.M., being 86°, 98°,
; the barometer 28° 75′, 28° 70', and 28° 75'.
92°
JUNE 9th.—SAROHI.—This morning at 8 A.M. noon, 3 and 5 P.M., the
barometer stood 28° 75′, 28° 77′, 28° 75′, and 28° 70′, the thermometer
being 84°, 95º, 92°, and 92°, at the respective hours. After mid-day,
I got some new tatties, which cooled me some degrees. Halted for the
purpose of devoting one day to personal observation of the condition of
this principality, which, though one of the smallest, is not the least
renowned of Rajpootana. It possessed peculiar claims to my regard, its
political relations having been entirely under my management since the
general pacification in 1817-18, and its independence, both political
and social, having been preserved, entirely through my exertions, from
the specious pretensions of her powerful neighbour, the Raja of Marwar,
who claimed her as a tributary. These claims were so well supported
by argument and documentary evidence, as to obtain credence with the
functionary who was then the medium of the political relations of
Marwar
}
61
Marwar with the British Government, and they had nearly obtained the
sanction of the Governor-General, Marquess Hastings. It was on this
occasion, as on several others, that some historical knowledge of the
complicated international politics of these regions, enabled me to
unravel the perplexities of the case, and save the lands of the Deoras
from the relentless tribute-collectors of their powerful opponent.
Deora is the tribe of the Sarohi princes and the subordinate aristo-
cracy. It is a branch of that noblest of Rajpoot blood, the Chohan,
whose cradle is said to be on the summit of Aboo, whence they spread
over the regions skirting the Aravulli to Ajmér, establishing many
minor principalities, as Nadole, Jhalore, and others, long before the
Rahtores of Jodpoor had set foot in Maroo, but were yet enjoying all
the pomp of royalty in the splendid city of Kanouj. Sarohi, Aboo, and
Chandravati, then appertained to the Pramara race; nor was it until
the thirteenth century that the uncle of Kana Deo, prince of Jhalore,
treacherously obtained possession of the former with its dependencies,
by the slaughter of the Pramaras. The city, now the residence of the
Deora princes, is comparatively of modern date, the ancient Sarohi lying
behind a second range of mountains; but this I had not time to visit.
But to return to our politics. The envoys of Jodpoor advanced their
right to tribute and service from the time of Raja Abhi Sing, which
claims I met with counter-proofs from their own annals, shewing that,
although the quotas of Sarohi had served under the princes of Jodpoor,
it was as Viceroys of the empire, not as Rajas of Marwar; and that,
in the wars of Guzzerat, where the Deora sword was second to none, it
was under the imperial banner that they fought with Abhi Sing as
generalissimo. These were distinctions in political casuistry for which
they were unprepared, but as a corollary, they then adduced the services
actually
THE DEORAS.
✔
·
6
62
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
actually performed by the chieftain of Neemaj, the first of the Sarohi
nobles. This argument was met by the reply that there were traitors
and time-servers in every state, as none better knew than the Raja of
Jodpoor, and that Sarohi, being too reduced in power to punish or
protect her vassalage, was no exception to the rule. Moreover, Nee-
maj, being exposed on the borders of Marwar, was at the mercy of its
enemies but more than all, this chief being already primus inter pares,
whom "one step higher would make highest," looked to the aid of
Jodpoor to attain this. When they found their documents would not
bear out their claims for tributary service, they tried the pecuniary part,
presenting a schedule of unconnected levies made by predatory incur-
sions as time and opportunity served; but no continuous, regular,
conditional payment, nor written stipulation to legalise lawless inroads,
chiefly by the provincial governors acting for themselves, appeared to
substantiate this plea. They did produce one deed, it is true, signed
by the elder brother of the present prince, admitting, on certain condi-
tions, his subordinacy to Jodpoor; but they warily omitted to state the
position of the prince when this document was drawn up, namely, that
he was a captive, in the power of his would-be lord-paramount, having
been kidnapped while in the act of conveying his father's ashes to the
Ganges. Most wisely, most justly, then, did the Deora feudality
regard this deed, extorted by so unworthy an expedient, as so much
waste paper; nor was there a single rupee voluntarily remitted to the
Jodpoor treasury on this account.
When every other argument failed, they set up one of some validity,
viz. that, as Sarohi could not control or chastise her depredators, from
whose inroads they suffered, this power ought to be in their hands, and
they further supported the demand by instancing a recent outrage, in
which
THE DEORAS.
63
which the bands of Ootwun and Machal had made an incursion into
Marwar, when loss of life and property ensued. The case was well
authenticated, and made an impression on the conservators of order : but
when the wholesome maxim " audi alteram partem" was enforced, not
only were the Meena subjects of Jodpoor found to have united in this
raid, but the provocation to have originated with Marwar. Moreover, it
was pertinently asked by the envoy of Sarohi, if the raids of our Meenas,
whom we cannot all at once control, afford pretexts for the troops of
Jodpoor to enter our territory and there establish posts (which was
actually done), what reply will the Raja of Marwar give to the British
Government for the enormities committed by the hill tribes under his
dominion against all his neighbours? All these arguments, though
managed with great skill and subtlety, were unavailing when confronted
with the truth; and I finally placed the independence of Sarohi beyond
the reach of fate, obtaining for myself, in lieu, the hatred of the prince
of Jodpoor, his varlet ministers and envoys, with the doubtful gratitude
of the Deoras, whose lands were yet the scene of division and discon-
tent. The desire of Marquess Hastings, however, to conciliate all
conflicting interests, inclined him to soothe the wounded pride of Raja
Maun, whose attempts to establish supremacy over the Deoras were
thus frustrated. To this end, at a very early period of the discussion,
I had suggested that he should be invited to submit a schedule of his
tributary collections for the last ten years, the average amount of which
was to be henceforth annually paid to him through the British Govern-
While I submitted this to my Government, as a test of the
justice of his claims, I knew that I was neither overburdening the
finances of Sarohi, nor trenching upon their independence. It fully
answered the end. Raja Maun could prove no continuous exactions,
and
ment.
F
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TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
!
and though in every other respect very unlike angel visitors, they had,
like these, at long intervals, exacted contributions, but always au bout
du fusil. For a few thousand rupees, annually paid to the British
Government by Sarohi, who, however, protested against being a party
to its ultimate disposition, which might otherwise at some future period
again have involved her independence, she was enfranchised for ever
from the claims of Marwar, and now looks to the British Government
X
alone.
To the extent of his means, the young Rao has done his best to fulfil
his obligations. The Meena tribes have been restrained; posts are
established in the fastnesses, passports are given to the merchants,
artizans, and cultivators, to return to the country, with a guarantee
against exaction and promises of encouragement. The town, which had
been almost a ruin in the wilderness, is again becoming peopled; and
the merchant who, three or four years ago, would literally have entered
a den of thieves in entering Sarohi, has opened his dokân or store, and
to the utter astonishment of the inhabitants and the curious, the Meena
who may dare to shew his face in the streets, and who was wont, in
common with the bear and tiger, to prowl about the grass-covered
walks, now sees heaps of merchandize and money in the bazaar, which
by some irresistible, and to him inexplicable cause, he is withheld from
seizing. I have already, in the Annals', given a similar picture, on a
larger scale, in the account of Bhilwarra; but a miniature of the same
lineaments of peace amidst the dwellings of the Meena mountaineer, or
his Suzerain, the Deora Rajpoot, whose joint pursuits have been for
ages assimilated to those of the tigers of their hills and forests, cannot
fail to afford interest to those who care to speculate upon such strange
incidents in the history and operations of human passions. I may take
6
this
POLICY OF THE BRITISH RULE.
this opportunity to remark, that it behoves us to exercise the utmost
forbearance in the work of amelioration amongst races thus placed by
Providence under our protection; and should there even be an occa-
sional out-break, let us never forget that we are too powerful to need
being unmerciful, and that our chastisements should be attempered to
the end in view. Unhappily for the various tribes placed under the
ægis of Britain, there is too little of mercy blended with punishment;
and the rod of justice, when uplifted, is apt to kill at once where it
strikes. Our eastern legislators seem not to remember, that the natural
propensities of man gain the mastery over his political or social duties,
and to deem no penalty too severe for deviation from the paths of
perfect obedience. This feeling is, perhaps, inseparable from the
nature of our rule, styled as it is "the government of the sword," and
ephemeral in every part of the machinery, from the Governor-General
to the lowest agent; though the controlling power at home is not
obnoxious to the same reproach, but provides new measures with new
men. The exercise of their functions by the executive body is too
uncertain and transitory to enable each or either of them to observe
the gradual workings of important changes. Each is breathless to
obtain as much applause as possible in a limited sphere of action, in
conducting the portion of the machine entrusted to his guidance, and
whatever internal force impedes its equable movement, must at once be
annihilated. Perhaps this is ordained for wise purposes, and the want
of continuity of plan in the conquerors, together with the civilisation we
are gradually imparting to the conquered, may at length lead to their
emancipation from thraldom, both mental and political. By some, this is
avowed to be the end-all of their measures; but if such enlarged philan-
thropic views be in truth indulged, the means are most inaptly computed.
We
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TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
We dare not say "our yoke is easy," while our tribute is galling, and
our imposts on our immediate subjects are heavy and impoverishing.
Gainsay it who may, every fiscal and financial enactment of our Govern-
ment is framed, not with a view to better them, but to fill our own
treasury. It is curious to see men who recognise the beauty of honesty
and truth in their individual capacities, as members of society, throw
aside all these considerations when discussing the benefits which India
derives from our rule. To hear them eulogize the single-heartedness
and benevolence displayed towards its people, one would be apt to
fancy these favoured spots an Utopia. When Rome, the mother of
nations, conquered and colonised the most remote regions of Europe,
she introduced her arts, made the conquered the instruments of Govern-
ment, and left monuments of her power and her sway, in works of
grandeur and utility, many of which still survive to attest her power.
What has Britain done in this way? what portion of the millions of gold
extorted from the industry of her Indian subjects, has she applied to
their benefit? where are the bridges, the public roads, the places of
recreation, such as were raised by Trajan or Hadrian? where are the
shaded walks, the caravanserais, the wells, or reservoirs, made by our
predecessors, the intolerant and oppressive Mahomedans, during their
sway in Hindustan? Let the holders of India Stock in London answer
these questions!
S
I may conclude these reflections with one more, obviously exempli-
fying the real nature of our government of the sword. Although far
advanced into the second century of our sway, no Justinian has yet
appeared to condense into a simple form those vast, accumulating,
and crude materials called "Regulations.'
Regulations." Is it that the period of
one, or at most two lustres, accorded to our ephemeral governors, is too
limited
67
limited for its accomplishment; or does the pusillanimous maxim, "a
little knowledge is a dangerous thing," operate to prevent it? Let us
hope that this anomaly in our administration may be removed, and that
vanity, if no better feeling, may stimulate some future vicegerent to
immortalize himself by the formation of a legal code, which may be at
once adapted to the comprehension and guidance of the people, and a
fitting record of our supremacy when the Atlantic shall roll between us
and the governed.
CODE OF LAWS FOR INDIA.
The difficulty of framing a code of laws which may be applicable to
the condition of the complicated masses under our rule, may be urged
in palliation of its total omission ; but this plea cannot be deemed valid
in the absence of all experiment with the extensive provinces adjacent
to the seat of Government, as laws framed for these could always be
modified to meet a further extension of territory. As regards our tribu-
tary or subsidiary connections, the political treaties must necessarily
form the basis of our relations and conduct with them; but even these
might be reduced to something like uniformity, and instead of the
eccentric movements now given by individual will, be made to harmo-
nize with one general design.*
But to proceed in our sketch of the Deora principality, which is not
much
* In the spirit of these remarks, (which were penned many years ago) are the following obser-
vations from the luminous and masterly speech of Mr. Macaulay, on the India question, which I only
perused when the MS. of this work was nearly ready for the press :-"I believe that no country ever
"stood so much in need of a code of laws as India. It is time that the magistrate should know what
“law he is to administer, that the subject should know under what law he is to live.”—“ Much, I
"am persuaded, may be done to assimilate the different systems of law, without wounding those
"feelings (of religion and caste). But whether we assimilate those systems or not, let us ascertain
"them, let us digest them. We propose no rash innovation; we wish to give no shock to the preju-
"dices of any part of our subjects. Our principle is simply this,-uniformity where you can have
"it,-diversity where you must have it, but in all cases, certainty."
6
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TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
much larger than one of our medium-sized English counties, being about
seventy miles in length, and fifty in breadth. Although the greater
portion of this surface is mountain, and the more level part, being the
frontier* of the desert, more or less sandy, there are in the former many
fertile vallies, and the latter produces abundant crops of maize, wheat,
and barley. It is intersected in every direction by streams flowing from
the Aravulli, or from its own majestic Aboo. Its boundaries will be
best understood by reference to the map : to the east it is fenced by the
Aravulli, to the north and west by Godwar and Jhalore, the western
districts of Marwar, and on the south by the chieftainship of Palunpoor,
now under the protection of the British Government. During the
empire, and while Guzzerat formed one of its richest satrapies, Sarohi
was locally of some importance, being a place of halt for the commer-
cial caravans passing from the maritime provinces to the metropolis and
other great cities of India. Accordingly, it is noticed by all the
early travellers, Herbert, Olearius, Della Valle, Bernier, Thevenot,
and verily without good report, for "the Razpoots" appear to have
adopted, at the period of their visits, all the habits of rapine of their
Meena subordinates, plundering indiscriminately all who fell in their
way. The provocation they received was unknown to these travellers,
who could thus make neither distinction nor allowance; they did not
know that the stranger reaped what they sowed, and hence the strife
that ensued between the vassalage of these regions and the myrmidons
of Mogul viceroys, whose main principle was to get money when and
how they could. This, added to the incessant aggressions of the princes
of
S
* May not the name of this country be derived from its position at the head (Sir) of the desert
(rohi)?
THE DEORA RAO.
69
of Marwar, who attained greatness by subserviency to the kings, an
example which Sarohi long disdained to follow, tended to foster a state
of half-savage but lofty independence. Some addition to this local
importance was derived from her princes being the guardians of the
sacred Aboo, whose shrines attracted pilgrims of the Jain faith from all
parts of India. Strange to say, none of these travellers appear to have
attempted to gain access to the temples, although their celebrity could
not have been unknown to them.
On the second day's halt, I interchanged visits and gifts with the Rao,
who mustered all his vassals for the occasion: there had not been so
grand a convocation of Deoras, to do their prince honour, within any
one's remembrance. As the tosha-khaneh (wardrobe) of the descendant
of Manik Rae was not overstocked, I had a pleasure in presenting
him with gifts befitting my Government to bestow; and without much
charge to it, the jewels, garniture, &c. being the last gift to myself
from the Rana of Méwar: an elephant, a horse, both richly capari-
soned, a pearl necklace with jewelled pendant, a brilliant sirpêsha or
aigrette for the turban, with the proper number of shields (the Rajpoot
tray) of shawls, brocades, muslins, turbans, scarfs, &c., besides some
articles, more rare to him, of European fabric. In the afternoon, I
returned his visit, when he advanced half-way to my tents, with all. his
court, to escort me to the palace. There, after a long discourse on the
advantages and necessity of order, the sole return my Government
demanded for its protection, and for having rescued them from the
fangs of their enemies, his gifts were produced. I touched them, in
token of acceptance, observing that they would be taken at some future
period, when his finances might better enable him to offer them. They
were returned to his scanty wardrobe. This procedure is quite in
accordance
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TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
of
accordance with custom in the East, non-acceptance, under such circum-
stances, never being construed into insult. The Rao, Seo Sing, was
a young man of about twenty-seven, stout, but rather short, and of fair
and not unpleasing aspect, though his countenance was not indicative
of very great intellect. He possesses bravery, the natural inheritance
every Chohan, but has little experience in matters of government,
his life having hitherto passed in repelling the Meena and Kholi raids,
those of his more dangerous neighbours of Jodpoor, or the treasonable
pretensions of the first of his nobles, the chief of Neemaj. The palace
still bore testimony to the hostility of this vassal, who entered it by
storm, and with his lance shivered to atoms the splendid mirrors and
other ornaments which adorned the hall of audience. On another
occasion, this insolent traitor, supported by Jodpoor, led an army
against his sovereign, and while he hoped to supplant his prince, the
Rahtore sought to supplant both. Already had works been constructed
which entirely commanded the town, when, fortunately, the league of
1807 compelled an abrupt abandonment of the design. Sarohi is exten-
sive; the houses are good and built of brick, but still more than half
untenanted; water is within twenty to thirty cubits of the surface. The
mahl or palace is on the declivity of a gentle eminence, but has nothing
to boast in architectural beauty. Aboo is the natural fortress of the
Deoras, but, like Cheetore, as a place of residence, it is tilâk or accursed,
since the death of Rao Maun, who was there poisoned.
Sarohi affords one of many instances which might be adduced, that
the “divine right" of princes, whether or not they fulfil their obliga-
tions, is not recognised in Rajpootana more than elsewhere, despite the
authority of Menu. Their power, which is absolute, while they uphold
the laws and customs, as regards the rights of their kin and vassalage,
is
!
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71
is frequently overturned when flagrant violations of either occur. The
elder brother of the reigning prince of the Deoras was formally deposed
by a convocation of the nobles and principal inhabitants, over whom he
exerted the most infamous tyranny, extending even to the virtue of
their females. Moreover, he was never forgiven for signing away Deora
independence when kidnapped and carried to Jodpoor, as related above.
Being declared unworthy to reign, he was condemned to perpetual
captivity, and the present prince, Seo Sing, installed in his place.
Nothing can better illustrate the morality and kindly feelings of this
young man than his granting every indulgence to his captive brother,
treating with scorn the pusillanimous advice, to prevent a re-action by
the usual method in Asia, where death follows deposal.
The fiscal revenues of Sarohi may, with the continuance of tranquil-
lity, reach three or even four lacs of rupees annually, and the fiefs of
the vassals half as much more. Of these, the greater chiefs are five in
number, namely, Neemaj, Jawala, Paria, Kalindri, and Boaria; lying
within fourteen to twenty miles of the capital. In productions, Sarohi
can boast of the fine marbles of Aboo, and of its sword-blades, as famed
among the Rajpoots as those of Damascus among the Persians and
Turks. Mounted on a gallant Kattiwar charger, his lance in hand, and
sirohi (the sword being so termed) by his side, the Deora is "sans
peur."
I had intended to give the genealogy of the Deoras ab origine; but
considering that, whatever pains I had taken to unravel this knotty
subject, it would not awaken the interest of the English reader, I thought
it better to suppress it; and the more, that whatever requires to be
known of their ancestry, from the time of Manik Rae, prince of Ajmér,
the cotemporary of Haroun and Charlemagne, is already detailed in the
Annals,'
SAROHI.
6
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72
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
'Annals;' and all prior thereto is of the usual fabulous stuff which
chokes the fountain-head of every history, whether Greek, Roman,
Persian, or Rajpoot, as the following prelude from the mystic page of
their bard attests :-" The pedigree of the Deoras dates from the golden
age (satya yug), when human life was prolonged to a hundred thou-
"sand years, when man's stature was twenty cubits, and swans were
"endowed with speech." Nor do the subsequent periods of her career
contain much to which we should attach the term historical. Wars,
intestine feuds, gallant deeds, cruel oppressions, dark assassinations,
would in turn claim the attention of the romance-writer, but would
have little charm for the philosophical mind; while the repetition of
improper names," as some will call those of my heroes, would weary
those who read only for diversion. From such sources, however, the
bard has culled instances of brilliant achievement, mingled with
satirical and familiar anecdote, which he has chronicled for the
example and amusement of their posterity, making them in some
cases the foundation of popular tales. Of these I possess a collection
of nearly four hundred, which, if translated, would perhpas afford the
best portraits of Rajpoot manners.
66
66
73
CHAPTER V.
up
Maireoh.-Jain temples.-Palrie.-Reach the skirts of Aboo.-Preparations for its ascent.-Journey
the mountain.-Shrine of Ganésa.-The Rahtis, or Mountaineers.-Geological formation of
the lower part of the mountain.-Ascent to the Saints' Pinnacle.-Prospect from the summit.-
Pudda-ca, or Impress of the foot of Data-Briga and Rama-Nanda.-Seeta ascetic.-Cave-dwell-
ings.—Extensive view.-Descent from the summit.—Achil-éswar.—The brutal Aghori.—Self-
entombment of one.-Incongruities of Hindu superstition.-Rules of Jain architecture.—Agni-
Coonda, or Fire-fountain.-Temples.-Shrine of Achil-éswar described.-Act of sacrilege of
Mahomed Beyra, of Ahmedabad.-Statue of Narayana.-Inscription.-Mausoleum of Rao Maun.
-Statue of Adipala.-Ruins of Achilgurh.-Jain temple.-View from the watch-tower.Statues.
-Interview with the Rao.-Journey to Dailwara.
JUNE 10th.-MAIREOH.-Eleven miles and a half, little more than
ten in direct distance, having had to cross and re-cross the range.
The first five miles lay through a fine valley, long a stranger to the
plough, and now covered with jungle. At the end of the first mile, we
crossed a small but nameless stream, at the village of Palrie, and at
the fourth, another called the Jhamp (or leap), falling from the summit
of Aboo, and which, passing the residence of the Kalindri chief, flows
into the Sukri, and with it joins the Loony. At the fifth mile, we
traversed the valley to the range on our right, at the southern extremity
of which lay the village of Sindurh. Here the eastern declivity of Aboo
bore S. 35° E. and the two considerable villages of Damtah and Net-
torah S. E. and E., each about five miles distant. Hitherto the direc-
tion of our route was S. 50° W.; for the next three miles we deviated
to S. 15° W., when we re-crossed the Sarohi range at the village of
Hamirpoor, under which is an insulated rock, having at one end a
columnar-shaped mass, of considerable elevation, bearing the appear-
ance of a tower, and called Pahar, or the hill,' whence our place
of
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TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
of encampment, Maireoh, was nearly three miles distant. This village,
which lays in a cluster of hills, has claim to some antiquity, and con-
tains no less than five Jain temples. It is divided into three allotments,
of which one is fiscal, the second is granted to a Deora vassal, and the
third to a Charun or bard. The huge mass of Aboo now extended
from S. 70° E. to S. 15° W.
6 P.M.
28° 62'.
94°.
JUNE 11th.-PALRIE.-Seven miles six furlongs; the first four in the
direction of S. 55° W., when we reached the village of Sunwaira, whence
the extreme superior points of Aboo bore from S. 85° E. to S., and its
loftiest peak, the Guru Sikra, S. E. Two miles more brought us to the
village of Seeroria, under the lower range, where we crossed another
stream. Thence, after two miles due south, we arrived at our place of
halt, Palrie, having a rivulet of the same name on its northern side,
flowing, like the former, from the clefts of Aboo, whose extremities
ranged between N. 70° E. and S. 5° E. The Guru Sikra, S. 70° E.,
reckoned two coss or about five miles distant. At eight A.M., one,
three, and six P.M., barometer 28° 75′, 28° 70′, 28° 65′, 28° 65'; ther-
mometer 86°, 96°, 98°, 92. My second barometer, on which I placed
less dependance, at six P.M. stood at 28° 43′, shewing a difference of
range of 22′, which subsequent observation renders worthy of remark,
as I found my confidence was placed in the least worthy.
At length, we reached the skirt of the gigantic Aboo, and encamped
on the fringe of his garment. To exist for twenty-four hours in such a
position, contemplating the steeps we were to climb, required an
exercise of patience. The day was passed in preparation for scaling
the
8 A.M.
Bar. 28° 71'
Therm. 86°
Noon.
28° 71'
94°
3 P.M.
28° 65'
98°
PREPARATIONS FOR ASCENDING ABOO.
66
75
the Hindu Olympus, an enterprise not to be attempted without
invoking the aid of Boodh, or Wisdom. The Rao sent forty sturdy
mountaineers to transport me with my party to the summit. They
were furnished with two vehicles, called Indra-vahana, or celestial cars,
consisting of a couple of long bamboo poles, from the centre of which
was suspended a small seat about a foot square, by help of which alone
the indolent or infirm pilgrim could attain the "Mount of Wisdom."
Not being in robust health, I was far from sorry to see such aid at hand;
the other was appropriated to my Guru, who was determined to accom-
pany me on my pilgrimage to all the shrines of his faith. Thus the
day passed in conversing with the children of Arbudha, or gazing on
the gigantic object, till the shades of night threw a mysterious darkness
around it. The jackal had set up his howl, and the fox his shrill
bark, denoting their time for preying on the defenceless dwellers in
the forest, and with such music, almost unheeded from its frequency,
I took to my pallet to prepare for an alert on the morrow.
JUNE 12th." There are two palaces, Umeer" (Ambér),
" and
Jeipoor, surpassing all which I have seen of the Kremlin, or heard
" of the Alhambra; a third, Jodpoor, is said to be equal to either; and
"the Jain temples of Aboo, on the verge of the western desert, are
"said to rank above them all." Such is the report of Bishop Heber,
who has the merit of being the first to render Indian topics palatable
to the British public. Let us proceed to verify his declaration.
At four in the morning, all was bustle in my little camp. In half an
hour I was on horseback, the Guru and barometers by my side, and
followed by my mountain train, with the celestial cars and terrestrial
camp-baskets, containing such provender as would not offend the eye
either of Brahmin or Jain. A few of my Hindu Sipahis, Brahmin and
Rajpoot,
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TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Rajpoot, accompanied me, partly for my protection, but chiefly that
they might worship Wisdom in his sanctum. We were a full hour
winding our way through the labyrinth of forest which environs the
mount, to the point of ascent, where, suspending my barometers on
their tripods, I noted 28° 55', or ten seconds lower than the minimum
range
of the flats. At six A.M. precisely, we made the first step en
avant, and at twenty minutes past seven, attained the shrine of Ganésa,
the guardian of the ascent, called the Ganés' ghaut: we had a tremen-
dous tug before we gained this halting-place, where we lingered a
quarter of an hour to take breath and contemplate our achievement.
The Rahtis (for thus are termed the rustic dwellers on Aboo), as well
as my Sipahis, were glad to moisten their parched lips from the Ganés-
coonda, or Fountain of Wisdom, a small source close to the shrine,
though the waters were sulphureous and bitter as those of Asphaltites.
It was curious to see the elastic spring of these sturdy mountaineers,
as they stepped from one rock to another, frequently over chasms
many yards deep, the well-balanced car yielding to every inequality of
step; but my ancient instructor complained bitterly of the agility of
these sure-footed creatures, who heeded not his appeals for mercy to
his half-dislocated bones, but, on the contrary, jocularly remarked that
the carriage was like the path to Heaven, not intended to be easy.
The Rahtis style themselves Rajpoots, and the majority of those with
me were of the Pramara tribe, the rest Chohans and Puriharas, but not
a single Solankhi, or we should have had representatives of the four
Agnicùla races, who, according to the mythos, claim their origin from
the Fire-fount (agni-coonda) of Aboo, having been there created when
the Dytes or Titans waged war against Siva to expel his worshippers
from this his Olympus. The Rahtis bear more resemblance to the
Vanaputra
•
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77
Vanaputra than to the dignified Rajpoot, which may possibly be
ascribed to their situation amidst mists, and to impoverished fare, and,
during the rains, unwholesome water. But, in all probability, they
are of mixed blood, like many of the mountain and forest tribes, who
all arrogate Rajpoot descent, preferring to bastardize their origin
rather than acknowledge themselves of pure Sudra extraction. Clumps
of bamboo and the thorny thoor (cactus),—the latter is the peculiar cha-
racteristic of the Aravulli,—were abundant, but no lofty trees marked
the ascent. A stream, whose impetuous current had channelled itself
a bed in the mountain, disclosed the formation of this to be gneiss, in
which the proportions of feld-spar and quartz greatly varied, being
sometimes in equal combination, and at others, in irregular crystals a
full inch long, of rose-coloured feld-spar, interspersed in the predomi-
nating quartz. Massive veins of compact blue slate are observable in
different parts, and fragments of marble (abounding in the Kuchala Nal,
or fissure), of various hues, as well as slate of every description, strewed
the bed of the stream now parched up by the intense heat. During
our halt, many jokes were passed between the " Moon of Intellect,"
such was the significant appellation of my Guru,-and myself, on the
position of Gunésa amidst the cliffs of this pathless ascent. His station
would have been more characteristic at the outset, where he might
have determined the propriety of the undertaking; but the most
difficult being mastered, the votary would rather have invoked
Asapurna, divine Hope, to cheer him onwards. Imagination dwelt
upon the mythos of the Hindus, which had created a type for every
attribute of divinity, each having its peculiar shrine, hymns, priests,
and offerings, thus converting the land into one grand Pantheon, and
therewith a nation of priests, who enthralled the minds, while they
drained
DEITIES OF THE HINDUS.
78
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
drained the purses, of their votaries. Of the creation of Gánesa, his
duties as janitor to the supreme, and the import of his name gana-esa
(chief of the inferior divinities, the Jins or Genii of the Persian
mythos), I have spoken in the Annals.' The adoption, for this
emblem of wisdom, of the head of an elephant, requires no explana-
tion; but why they have selected a rat for his companion, unless as an
antithesis, it is difficult to comprehend. The Greeks gave Minerva an
owl, which, at all events, wears the aspect of wisdom; but the sagacious
attributes of the rat are unknown,-save to the politician.
Having refreshed our wearied limbs, we proceeded on our route, and
at ten A.M. reached the lowest point of the plateau, making several
intermediate halts. My barometers this morning evinced symptoms of
plethora, especially that to which I had pinned my faith: this, at the
shrine of Ganésa, stood at 27° 65', shewing only one degree of eleva-
tion, or six hundred feet, above the level of the plains of Maroo; while,
judging by my eye, we appeared elevated above the table-land of the
Aravulli. This was still more apparent when we had gained the crest
of the mountain, when the mercury stood at 27° 35', only 30′ for
nearly two hours of ascent. The thermometer, 77º,
The thermometer, 77°, full 15° below
what it would have been on the plains at the same hour, afforded a
truer indication of the height. In descending from the Aravulli to
Marwar, two years before, the mercury had escaped and left me in
doubt as to the comparative elevation of the regions skirting this range,
though I afterwards proved that the plains of Marwar are full five
hundred feet higher than those of Méwar: before quitting Oodipoor,
therefore, on the present occasion, I had taken the precaution of
re-filling both tubes, first purifying the mercury, and guarding against
the disjunction of continuity, and proving their accuracy by bringing
the
THE GURU SIKRA.
79
the elevation of the column to the precise point it occupied previous to
the injury. But let us proceed to the Saint's Pinnacle, which towers
over all the other diminished peaks, forming, as it were, a radiated
coronet on the head of Arbudha.
The path lay through a little forest of the Karounda, the Kantee,
and a variety of shrubs rich in flower and fruit at the same time. The
first-mentioned was large, as the cultivated kind in Hindostan, and
apparently at this time in perfection. We protracted the halt, in order
to enjoy the delicious repast, doubly welcome from the fatigue and
thirst attending our exertions. The Kantee, which was new to me,
though a pleasant and beautiful little fruit, wanted the refreshing sub-
acid of the Karounda. Midway, we passed through Oreah, one of the
twelve hamlets which decorate the summit of Aboo, whose wonders
became every instant more fully developed, while peaks of the most
fantastic forms towered from amidst noble foliage. The golden
Champá,-
66
Strong Champá, rich in odorous gold,”—*
and many other rarities of the vegetable creation, adorned our path;
but being yet more abundant in other parts of the mountain, they will
be noticed in the general recapitulation of the productions of Aboo.
The sun had reached his meridian career when we attained the
summit of the Guru Sikra, the loftiest of the peaks of Aboo, where
European foot had never trod. Although presenting externally
scarcely any sensible elevation above the crest of the mountain, as we
approached
* Hymn to Camdeo, by Sir Wm. Jones. He observes, in his Indian Botany, that "the strong
aromatic scent of the gold-coloured Champá, or Champaca (Michelia), is thought offensive to the
bees, who are never seen on its blossoms; but their elegant appearance in the black hair of the
Indian women is mentioned by Rumphius, and both facts have supplied the Sanscrit poets with
elegant allusions."
80
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
approached through the plains of Marwar, it towered full seven
hundred feet above the level of its plateau; still my sluggish
barometer only indicated 15' of elevation, being 27° 10', while the
thermometer, exposed to the sun in the dog-days of India, and within
the tropic, fell to 72°, and proved the better guide. A strong chilling
wind blew from the south, to avoid whose influence, the cautious moun-
taineers, coiling themselves in their black comlis (blankets), lay pros-
trate on the ground, sheltered behind a projecting rock. The picture
was equally grand and novel: masses of cloud floated under our feet,
through which the sun occasionally darted a ray, as if to prevent our
being dazzled with too much glory. A small circular platform, having
a low parapet wall on the outer side, crowned the giddy height. On
one side was a cavern, about twenty feet square, within which is a block
of granite, bearing the impress of the feet of Data Briga (an incar-
nation of Vishnu), the grand object of the pilgrim's attainment, and in
another corner are the pudda-ca (or footsteps) of Rama Nanda, the
great apostle of the Seeta Ascetics. In this gloomy abode dwells a
disciple of the order, who rings a bell on the approach of a stranger,
continuing the uproar till an offering induces silence. The staffs of
pilgrims were heaped in piles around the footsteps of the saint, as
memorials of their successful intrepidity. Caves innumerable were seen
in various parts of the mountain, indicative of a Troglodyte population
in former ages; and there were many curious orbicular holes, which
could only be compared to the effect of cannon-shot. I patiently
awaited the termination of the struggle between the powers of light
and darkness, in conversation with the recluse. He told me that,
during the Bursát, or rainy season, when the atmosphere is cleared of
all impurities, the citadel of Jodpoor, and the desert plain, as far as
Balotra
1
*
PROSPECT FROM THE PEAK.
;
Balotra on the Loony, were visible. It was some time before I could
test this assertion, though, during occasional outbreaks of the sun, we
discerned the rich valley termed Bheetril, extending to Sarohi; and
nearly twenty miles to the east, the far-famed shrine of Ambá-
Bhavani, amongst the cloud-capped peaks of the Aravulli. At length,
however, Surya burst forth in all his majesty, and chasing away the
sable masses, the eye swept over the desert, until vision was lost in
the blending of the dark blue vault with the dusky arid soil. All that
was required to form the sublime was at hand; and silence confirmed
the charm. If the eye, diverted from the vast abyss beneath, turned
but half a circle to the right, it rested on the remains of the castle of
the Pramars, whose dusky walls refused to reflect the sun-beams
while the slender palmyra, as if in mockery of their decay, fluttered
its ensign-like leaves amidst the ruined courts of a race who once
deemed their sway eternal. A little further to the right rose the
clustering domes of Dailwarra, backed by noble woods, and buttressed
on all sides by fantastic pinnacles, shooting like needles from the crest
of the plateau, on whose surface were seen meandering several rills,
pursuing their devious course over the precipitous faces of the moun-
tain. All was contrast-the blue sky and sandy plain, the marble fanes
and humble wigwam, the stately woods and rugged rocks. In spite of
the cold blast, it required an effort to withdraw from the state of
contemplative indolence which overcomes one amidst such scenes,
where, as if brought into the immediate presence of the Creator of
such grandeur, the mind feels oppressed with its own insignificance.
Even on my retinue it had the same overpowering influence; they
gazed on the scene, without uttering a remark on the novelty of their
position. But reflection at length warned me that it was time to
M
retrace
81
82
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
I
retrace our steps: besides the necessity of making observations on the
towns within view, there were certain indications of something more
solid than karoonda berries being required to fortify the inner man,
after efforts of strength from four in the morning until one P.M., and
our place of halt and refreshment was yet two miles distant.
Although the descent was easy, we did not reach Achil-éswar until
three P.M.;
the barometer 27° 25′, and thermometer 78° in the open
air. At four P.M., the mercury had risen to 82°, rather an unusual
change of temperature at this period of the day. The barometer also
evinced an unusual oscillation of 5′ in the same space, being now
27° 20′. At half past five, it was 27° 17', and the thermometer 78°.
Our path lay through the same scented groves, nature scattering her
bounties with a lavish hand; yet had the superstitions of man intruded,
and converted a spot fit for the parents of the human race in their
primitive innocence, into an abode of demons, where man degraded
himself to the level of the brute.
I had often witnessed, and more frequently read of, the revolting
practices of numbers of the countless inhabitants of India, the slaves of
a knavish hierarchy; but it was reserved for me this day to discover
the extent to which the debasement of man could be carried without
the intervention of priestcraft, and which, happily, was too far below
the attributes of human nature to be erected into a system. I allude
to the Aghori, who finds a place in the interminable nomenclature of
Hindu sectarian classification. I may style this outcast of human
nature the jackal of his species; but even this midnight reveller
amidst graves and impurities is cleanly in his habits compared with
the Aghori. The brute would turn away from putrefaction, and
refuse to prey on the dead of his own kind; not so the Aghori, by
whom
ANTHROPOPHAGI.
66
whom a dead man or a dead dog is viewed with equal indifference, or
rather appetite, and, disgusting as is the relation, he does not hesitate
to feed on the excretions of nature. I had heard that such wretches
did exist, not only in the sacred Aboo, but amidst the impenetrable
recesses of the other mounts dedicated to the Jain faith, in the penin-
sula of the Sauras. The illustrious D'Anville speaks of them as une
espèce de monstre," whose existence he doubted, though quoting from
his veracious countryman, Thévenot. He says: "Thévenot dit avoir
vu dans les habitans de ce lieu, un caractère de hardiesse et d'insolence
tout extraordinaire, en sorte qu'on soit obligé d'être armé en passant
chez eux; apprenant, en même temps, qu'ils étoient peu auparavant
de ceux qu'on appeloit Merdi-coura, ou mangeurs d'hommes.* Ce
qui prouve que le fait n'est pas avancé légèrement par notre voyageur,
c'est que le terme de Merdi-coura, qu'il ne parait pas avoir connu
autrement que par cette rencontre, se retrouve dans la haute anti-
quité."+
It is a curious fact, as D'Anville adds, that this "espèce de bête,"
this Merdi-cour, or properly Merdi-khor, should have been noticed by
Pliny, Aristotle, and Ctesias, under nearly the same name, Marti-chora,
giving its synonym in their own language, Apoπopάyos, for Merdi-khor is
a Persian compound from merd, man,' and khoordun, ' to eat.' Three
facts are deducible from this etymology of the Greek writers; first,
that this brutalized sect is of ancient date; secondly, that the Persians
must have had an intimate intercourse with these regions in early
times;
C
#
6
83
"Les habitans de ce bourg (Debca) estoient autrefois de ceux qu'on nommoit Merdi-Coura, ou
Antropofages, mangeurs d'hommes; et il n'y a pas grand nombre d'années qu'on y vendoit encore
de la chair humaine dans le marché.”—Voyages de M. de Thévenot; Paris, 1684.
+ Antiq. Géograph. de l'Inde, p. 96.
M 2
L
1
84
:
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
times; and thirdly, that the western historians must have had more
recourse to Persian authorities than we at present are aware of.* I
passed the gopha or cave of the most celebrated of these monsters of
the present age, who was long the object of terror and loathing to
Aboo and its neighbourhood. His name was Futteh Poori, who, after
having "embowelled," to an advanced age, whatever came in his way,
took the extraordinary resolution of immuring himself in his cell. The
commands of maniacs generally meet with ready obedience, and as he
was regarded by many in this light, his desire was implicitly fulfilled.
The mouth of the cave was built up, and will remain so until some
mummy-hunting Frank shall re-open it, or till phrenology form a part
of the modern education of a Hindu; when, doubtless, the organ of
destruction on the cranium of Futteh Poori will exhibit a high state of
development. I was informed that there was still a considerable
number of these wretches inhabiting the caverns of the mountain, from
which they seldom emerged to open day, but prowled about in search
of fruits, or whatever food the Rahtis conveyed to the paths they fre-
quented. One of the Deora chiefs told me that, a very short time
since, when conveying the body of his brother to be burnt, one of
these monsters crossed the path of the funeral procession, and begged
to have the corpse, saying that it "would make excellent chatni," or
condiment. He added, that they were not actually accused of killing
people.†
It
* A fourth might be added-the close affinity which it proves between the modern and the
ancient Persian tongues, in the identity of the meaning of the names.
+ The head-quarters of the caste are at Burputra (Baroda), and there still exists on the old site
a temple dedicated to the patroness of the order, Aghor-éswar Mata, represented as “ Lean Famine,”
devouring all. Her votaries are brought into the compendious class of ascetics, of whom they are
the
:
TEMPLE OF NAND-ESWAR.
85
It was strange to meet with the cave of a cannibal, if not within the
precincts, in the immediate vicinity, of the shrines of Jainism, whose
first tenet is, "thou shall not kill,”—not man alone, but the smallest
sentient being: presenting another anomaly in the history of Hindu
superstition, which recognises the grossest incongruities. The ortho-
dox, whether followers of Siva or Vishnu, seem to consider their
respective tenets too stable to fear the contact of other creeds; and
even the Jain Unitarian, while he professes devotion to "the Spirit"
alone, does not refuse the homage of a reverence to the symbol of
"Wisdom," to the beneficent Anapoorna or Ceres, or the universal
"Destroyer." Sects and creeds have no martyrs ; no relics of saints are
required to keep their respective votaries fixed to the principles in
which they were born; and the ignorant, the superstitious, the timid,
or the humane, may supply food even to the basest of his species, the
horrid Aghori. In this tremendous Pantheon, no one is called to
account for actions not affecting society.
Between the hamlet of Oreah and the shrine of Achil-éswar we
found a group of small temples, the most conspicuous of which was
dedicated to the "God of the Bull," Nand-éswar. It afforded corrobo-
ration of a fact hitherto unestablished, namely, that their architectural
rules
the most degraded, beyond all controversy; they eat whatever falls in their way, raw or dressed, flesh
or vegetables, and drink whatever is at hand, spirits, or their own urine.
Marco Polo speaks of a class of magicians who are akin to our Aghoris. "The Astrologers, who
practise the diabolical art of magic, are natives of Cashmere and Thibet. They exhibit themselves
in a filthy and indecent character; they suffer their faces to remain uncleaned by washing, their hair
uncombed, being in a squalid style. Moreover, they are addicted to this horrible and beastly prac-
tice-when any culprit is condemned to death, they carry off the body, dress it with fire, and
devour it."- Marsden's Marco Polo, p. 252.
The Ethiopian Troglodytes of Herodotus seem to have been very similar to them: “ their food is
lizards, serpents, and other reptiles; their language like the screaming of bats.”—Melp., p. 341.
86
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
་
-1
rules were unchangeable, and that in the general form and details,
each divinity had its peculiar style. This temple is in all respects the
counterpart of those to Ganga-bheo,* at the falls of the Chumbul, and
that on the Bairis, near Oodipoor. Its simple yet solid construction,
the external pilasters with almost Doric capitals, were of the same
mould, and one would have imagined of the same age and by the
same chisel. There was only one inscription, importing that Bheem-
deo Solankhi, lord of Anhulwarra, repaired the shrine.
At three P.M., after ten hours and a half of toil, we bivouacked in a
grove between the mausoleum of Rao Maun and the Agni-coonda.
I was indebted to the civilities of a pilgrim merchant of the Jain faith,
who compelled me to accept the use of a small tent, saying he pre-
ferred the open air, and that if I did not use it, it would remain empty.
"All hail! ye small sweet courtesies of life!" I shall forget myself when
I forget these white spots in my chequered career. The offer was,
indeed, most welcome, for I dreaded the night-dews, and nothing but
the excitement, which lent a giant's force to my frame, could have
enabled me to get through this day's labour.
While the camp-baskets were unlocking, I could not resist taking a
peep at the fire-fount and the shrine of Achil-éswar, one of the most
renowned in the fabulous annals of the Hindus. The Man-agni-coonda
is about nine hundred feet long by two hundred and forty in breadth,
excavated in the solid rock, and lined with solid masonry of immensely
large bricks. An insulated mass of rock has been left in the centre of
the coond, on which are the ruins of a shrine to Mata, the universal
mother. On the crest of the northern face of the coond is a group of
small
• Vide Annals of Rajasthan, vol. ii. p. 716.
SHRINE OF ACHIL-ES WAR.
:
87
eye
small temples dedicated to the Pandu brothers, but, like the former, a
mass of ruins. On the western side is the shrine of Achil-éswar, the
tutelary divinity of Aboo. There is nothing striking as to magnitude,
and still less as to decoration, in this, but it possesses a massive simpli-
city which guarantees its antiquity. It occupies the centre of a
quadrangle, surrounded by smaller fanes, alike primitive in form, and
built of blocks of blue slate. But it is the object of worship which
confers celebrity, being nothing less than the great toe of the devil, for
so we must translate Patal-éswar, the Lord of Hell. On entering, the
is attracted by a statue of the mountain nymph, Méra, the wife of
this multiform divinity, which, at first sight, appears to be the object
of adoration; and it is only on stooping to look into a deep fissure of
the rock, termed the Brimh-khar, that the bright nail of Siva is visible,
which has attracted homage from myriads of votaries from the remotest
ages. In front of the temple is a brass bull, of colossal size, bearing
the marks of violence on his flanks, the hammer of the barbarian
having penetrated them in search of treasure. Mahomed Beyra,
Padsha or king of Ahmedabad, has the credit of this sacrilege; but
whether it was rewarded by the discovery of any secret hoard, is not
told: though the legend details the manifestation of Siva's wrath upon
the “barbarian king" for the ill-treatment of his favourite. In descend-
ing from Aboo, after the reduction of Achilgurh, his banners" fanned
by Conquest's crimson wing," confusion waited on them from an
unlooked-for source. A legion of bees, issuing from their pinnacled
retreats, attacked and pursued the invaders even to Jhalore. To
commemorate this victory over the spoiler, the name of Bhomar-ťhál,
A temple was erected, and
from the captured arms thrown away in their flight, a vast tridanta
or Bees' Valley,' was given to the spot.
6
(trident)
T
↓
88
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
1
(trident) was formed, and placed in front of the divinity who thus
avenged the insult to Nanda.
;
•
On the outside of one of the smaller shrines which surround the
chief temple, lays a statue, Narayana, floating on Sehes-nag, the thou-
sand-headed hydra, on the waters of Chaos, and who, whenever he
awakes from his slumber, will be astonished to find himself "high and
dry." Upon my remarking to the high priest, that the "Preserver"
seemed to have indifferent accommodation, he coolly replied, "I wanted
a place for chúnám ;" and on looking into the desecrated fane, I found
it filled with lime, made from the marble with which the hill abounds
but I have little doubt that the priest would not have hesitated to
calcine the war-shell of the god also, had it answered his purpose.
Here all honour is paid to the lord of Patal, and the angelic host are
subordinate to the powers of darkness. This fact alone would deter-
mine the antiquity of the worship, fear being, amongst all uncivilized
nations, predominant over love. On quitting the temple, the eye rests
on a number of rude pillars at the gate, bearing the tilac, or maledic-
tory inscription, each having the figure of the ass (gadda) carved
thereon. Surrounding the shrine are some noble trees, among which
the mango is conspicuous; amidst its branches the vine, untouched by
the pruning-knife, was interlaced, bearing a good-sized grape, yet
unripe : they told me it was indigenous to the mountain. The champa,
chameli, seoti, mogra, and various other plants, blossomed luxuriantly
around. There was no inscription in the temple of Achil-éswar, but
I copied one from the adjacent reservoir.
On the same side as this temple, and on the very verge of the Agni-
coonda, is the mausoleum of Rao Maun of Sarohi, who fell a victim to
poison while in one of the Jain temples, where they point out a spot
CONĀ
89
in the marble stained by the poison which he voided. His body was
burnt near the shrine of his patron deity, when five queens accom-
panied him to Yamaloca, the realm of the Indian Pluto. Their effigies
are carved on a small altar erected in the centre of the monument,
which is a simple cupola supported by columns. They are represented
with folded hands and eyes cast down, supplicating that their atone-
ment may be received in expiation of the sins of their lord, that he
may be released from the grasp of Yama, and admitted to Vaicoonta,
the paradise of the Hindu, a most comfortable viaticum for the last
hours of a vindictive, cruel, and drunken Rajpoot, for such is the
character of Rao Maun. On the east side of the fire-fountain, the
remains of a temple sacred to the founder of his race, the first of the
Pramaras, strewed the ground. The statue, however, of Adipala is
firm upon its pedestal, and intact, and was to me an object of far
greater interest than anything I had previously viewed. Here was a
type of ancient days, of antique costume, and early realities. It is of
white marble, about five feet in height, and, with the exception of the
sculptured figures on the column of Barolli, the finest piece of sculp-
ture I met with in India. He is in the act of slaying with an arrow
the Hindu Bucentaur, Bhynsasūra, a buffalo-headed monster, of Tita-
nian brood, who used to drink during the night the sacred waters of the
fire-fountain, to guard which the Pramara was created. The arrow
has just sped, and the marks of his unerring aim and muscular arm
were visible in the wounds of three of these, having penetrated
through all impediments and integuments to boot. The original
representatives of the monsters must have been destroyed, for these
are coarsely fashioned of blue slate, having nothing to indicate their
fabulous attributes. The right hand of the Pramara, still close to the
ear, denotes determination of purpose; the arm is free and flexible,
of
N
STATUE OF ADIPALA.
I
90
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
of good proportions, the turn of wrist admirably managed, but the
fingers are perhaps too much curved; the limbs are well-proportioned,
and the whole attitude is graceful. Some fanatic has broken a portion
of the bow, which is not of dhunoos, or bamboo, but of the more
classic buffalo-horn, whose relaxed chulla, or bow-string, denotes more
than ordinary attention to propriety of action. The head is bold and
well set, with only its natural covering, and the sole vestment is a kilt-
like drapery, reaching to the middle of the thigh, in fashion like that
still worn by the mountaineers of the Aravulli, with a belt or waist-
band, in which the dagger is placed. A triple string of pearls, with
bracelets and anklets, attest the rank of this representative of the first
Pramara. There was an inscription on the plinth of the pedestal, but
some bigot had effaced the most material part, the Samvat or era; it
runs thus: "Samvat―[the month] Phâlgân (in spring) and Thurs-
day the 13th, Crishnapateh, or enlightened half of the moon, Sri- - râs,
king paramount; seated on the regal cushion of Achilgurh, the
Pramara Sri Dharaburz* repaired the temple of Achil-éswar." The
inscription from the shrine of Kunkul-éswar (vide App. No. I.) gives
us the era of Dharaburz, viz. S. 1265, or A.D. 1209; but I have no
idea who the paramount sovereign was, whose name terminates with
the syllable ras. The Pramaras of this period, who possessed the
three famed cities, Chandravati, Aboo, and Sarohi, in their contracted
principality,
* This name may possibly be derived from the metaphor of the Rajpoot bards, who liken the
quick-descending blows of the sword to a cascade, termed d'hara; while burz may be a repetition of
the same idea, from bursna, to rain;'" the sword rains" on the head of a foe, being a common
phraseology with Hindu poets. Or it may refer to his being a branch of the Pramars of Dhar, the
ancient capital of Central India. Dharaburz merited the metaphorical appellation, for his Sirohi
literally “rained" upon the heads of the barbarians on their conquest of India. Ferishta lauds the
energy and intrepidity of this prince of Aboo, under the name of Daraparais, which has puzzled
all the readers of Hindu-Mahomedan history, but which, we see, was not wide of the original.
91
principality, were tributary to the kings of Anhulwarra; but there is
no name with such a termination in the annals of this state at that
epoch. The execution of the statue forbids the idea that it could have
been sculptured at the period of the inscription, or we might suppose
it to have been erected by Dharaburz to the memory of the first of his
race, himself being the last who enjoyed independence in Aboo. But
the arts were already in decay in his time,* and it is probable, there-
fore, that he merely availed himself of this monument to commemorate
his act of repairing the shrine. The Hindu bard, who is apt some-
times to draw inferences to suit his purpose, ascribes his loss of king-
dom, not to political, but moral causes, namely, the impiety already
recorded, of attempting to fathom the mysteries of Achil-éswar. There
was something so attractive to the imagination in this ancient piece of
sculpture, and in the whole fable connecting the Pramara with this
Olympus of the Hindus, that I felt a powerful inclination to remove
the statue from its perilous post on the crest of the fire-fount. But
better thoughts interposed. It was the cradle of his race, and the scene
of their regeneration through the fiery ordeal. No other position could
furnish so appropriate a resting-place. I recollected, too, the anathema
of Lord Byron on the plunderer of the Parthenon:
STATUE OF ADIPALA.
"What! shall it e'er be said by British tongue,
Albion was happy in Athena's tears?
Though in thy name the slaves her bosom wrung,
Tell not the deed to blushing Europe's ears;
The Ocean Queen, the free Britannia, bears
The last poor plunder from a bleeding land:
Yes she, whose generous aid her name endears,
Tore down those remnants with a harpy's hand,
Which envious Eld forbore, and tyrants left to stand."
May no unhallowed hand hereafter displace Adipal !
The
* This assertion involves a seeming paradox, but the Jain temples executed at this period,
however splendid in their details, contain no single figure of such exquisite proportions,
N 2
92
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
The fable regarding Achil-éswar is inseparably connected with the
history of Aboo and the creation of the Agni-vansa to fight the battles
of Siva against the Dytes, who banished his rites from this his favorite
mount. It is a less refined fable than the Grecian, of the Titans
waging war with Jupiter, but the outline is the same. Having already
described this in the Annals,' I merely subjoin, for the information
of the curious in mythology, that relating to the origin of Arbudha
itself.
6
"In the golden age of man's simplicity, this spot was in high favour
with Siva and the millions who peopled the Hindu Pantheon, who
frequently assembled here in person. Here the Moonis or sages, of
whom Vashishta was head, and the representative of Siva, passed
their time in austerities and prayers, living on milk and the sponta-
neous fruits of the earth. At that time there was no mount; all was
level to the Aravulli. There was, however, an abyss, or coonda, of
unfathomable depth, into which the cow which supplied the sage
having fallen, she was miraculously floated out by a rise of the waters.
The Mooni, desirous to prevent a recurrence of the accident, wafted
a prayer to Siva, then dwelling amidst the glaciers of Kylas. He
heard the invocation, and calling the sons of Himaleh to him, he
demanded, who would make a voluntary sacrifice and become an exile
from their ice-bound abode. The youngest son of Himachil offered
to fulfil the behest; but he was lame and could not travel, whereupon
the mountain serpent, Tacshac, volunteered to transport him upon his
back. In this manner they journied together to the Holy Land, where
dwelt the Mooni Vashist. Having explained the purport of their
errand, in obedience to the command of the sage, the son of Himachil
leapt into the void, but his friend, Tacshac, refusing to quit him,
wound
LEGEND OF ACHIL-ESWAR.
93
wound his indented folds around him, and retained him in his embrace.
For this sacrifice they stipulated that their names conjoined should
henceforward designate the rock, thence called Arbudha, from ar,
'mountain,' and budha, wisdom,' typified by the serpent. But this
ample fragment of the father of mountains, either did not suffice to fill
the chasm, or the snake, repenting of his change of place, made such
writhings that Vashishta again had recourse to the divinity to still its
motion. Siva then, from the depths of Patal, extended his limb
through the earth's centre, until the toe became apparent on the
summit of the mountain. The vibration ceased, the mountain became
immoveable (achil), and over the toe of the god (éswar) was erected
the fane."
6
If this fable be deemed worthy of interpretation, I would say that
the cow, which is typical of the earth, in falling into the abyss, repre-
sented the iniquities of man, and the Dytes, who disturbed the rites of
the worshippers of Siva, are the irreligious sectarians. The son of
Himachil, who filled up the void, may signify a northern colony, whose
conversion by Vashishta originated the fable of the creation of the
Agni-vansa, said to have sprung from the Agni-coond, over which the
temple of Achil-éswar is raised.
The fissure of the rock is covered with a silver plate furnished by
the Deora chiefs, of a form emblematic of Sacti, and it is related that
an impious Bhil, not having the fear of Patal before his eyes, stole the
precious metal. He had not, however, proceeded a mile from the
spot, when he was struck blind. Repentance following punishment,
he suspended the object of his avarice on a tree, and it being
found, his sight, for this act of penitence, was restored. The emblem
was purified by agni (fire), re-cast, and replaced over the fissure.
There
94
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
There is a record of still more daring impiety in one whose especial
duty it was to guard the shrine. The Pramara chief of Aboo and
Chandravati, having determined to verify the legend of the Brimh-khar
being áthar, or unfathomable, constructed an aqueduct from the
adjacent fountain to the temple, and for six months did the water flow
incessantly into the chasm without any visible effect. For this attempt
to penetrate the mystery of Achil-éswar, the Pramar was driven from
the throne of Chandravati, he being the last of his race.
JUNE 13th. At six A.M. I quitted the Agni-coonda for Achilgurh,
whose ruined towers were buried in the dense masses of cloud that
surrounded us. The thermometer at the point of ascent was 66°, baro-
meter 27° 12′, and at eight A.M. on the summit, barometer 26° 97', and
thermometer 64°. I entered this once regal abode through the Hanu-
man portal, which is composed of two noble towers, built with huge
blocks of granite, black with the rude blasts of some thousand winters.
The towers had been connected at top by a guard-room, and the gate
served as the entrance to the lower fort, whose dilapidated walls were
discoverable up the irregular ascent. Another portal, called the
Champa-pol, from a noble champa-tree growing close to it, but which
was formerly denominated the Gate of Wisdom,' conducted to the
inner fortress. The first object that strikes the view, on passing the
latter gate, is the Jain temple to Parswanat'h, erected at the sole
expense of a banker of Mandoo, and at this time under repair. Its
columns are of the same character as those of the ancient shrine of
Ajmér. The upper fortress is attributed to Rana Koombho, when
driven from the "eighty-four castles" of Méwar; but he merely
repaired this, the Donjon of Achilgurh, which, with the inferior works,
is of the most remote antiquity. These were the ruins of a granary,
2
called

F. Mackenzie, del, from a sketch by M Cal, Hunter Bisir.
Fronted by
ORDE
ANCIENT FORT OF ACHILGURH, ON ABO0.
London, Published by W. FL Allen & Co 1839.
W.F. Sturling, scalp?
RELICS OF THE PRAMARAS.
66
95
called the Bindâr of Koombho Rana, coated within with a very strong
cement: the roof had fallen in. Close on the left is the Mahl or
palace of Oka Ranee, his queen, so designated from being of
Oka-Mundala, near the Land's End of the Hindus. A small lake in
the keep is called Sawun-Bhadoon, and well merits the names of the
two chief months of the monsoon, for, in the middle of June, it is yet
full of water. On the most elevated knoll, to the east, are the remains
of an alarum-tower of the Pramaras; from this point, the eye, occa-
sionally piercing the swift-scudding clouds, had glimpses of the ruined
altars and palaces of the brave race, who, on the spot whence I
surveyed them, had fought and bled in their defence. I thought of
Lakshun, the wise and chivalrous brother of the fair Echinie (wife of
the last of the Chohans), whose name is recorded with that of his
sovereign on the pillar of Delhi. The name of Lakshun may not perish.
The Rajpoot of every tribe, after a lapse of seven centuries, yet pays it
homage; and the stranger from the west, alike an admirer of heroic
achievement, under whatever clime or lineaments, seeks to perpetuate
the memory of one whose worth has been transmitted in the song of
the bard (Chund), and is still recalled by these moss-covered ruins.
In such a position, one may well repeat, with the first of our own
antiquaries, “Who can stand among the ruins of the mouldering pile
" without a heaving of the heart? How many reverend histories attach
"to the dark green stones you tread upon, the broken scutcheon and
"dark ivy mantling over it, where once the banner hung! What
"sublime objects for the eye of contemplation, what temples for
thought, these roofless palaces, from whence we come out humbled
"and yet hopeful, in charity with the dead and the living!"
As the sun dispelled the watery darkness which enveloped us, the
landscape
96
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
landscape of this magic realm was to the last degree imposing, every
change of position unfolding some new object. First, the Jain shrines
of Dailwarra (bearing S. 80° W. six miles distant), backed by the
peak of Arbudha Mata; the Guru Sikra (N. 15° E. four miles); with
many other pinnacles scattered over the summit of this fairy land, each
with its name and its legend. After three hours' excursion, the exces-
sive cold (the thermometer having sunk to 64°) compelled me to quit
my elevated abode, where, as my guide metaphorically said, "the feud
between Indra and the mountain was one of ancient date." On the
descent, I paid my homage to the representative of one of the worthies
of Méwar, an equestrian brass statue of Rana Koombho, who, within
these walls, had often stood the brunt of war. Besides this were also
statues of his son Rana Mokul and his grandson Oody Rana, the latter
of whom "tarnished the glory of a hundred kings." I turned from
the image of the recreant, of whom his heroic grandson, Sanga, the
opponent of Baber, said that, had Oody Sing never lived, the Toork
had never subjugated Rajasthan. There was a fourth statue, of the
domestic priest (Purohit) of Koombho Rana, which eclipses all the
others in magnitude. The cause of this distinction I could not learn,
but it might possibly be owing to some act of bravery, for the brahmins
occasionally wield the sword as well the Rajpoot. It was pleasing to
witness the homage still rendered, within these now desecrated walls,
to departed worth; prayers are made, and daily oblations of saffron
brought to the defender of Achilgurh, and these not by any of his
descendants, who are ignorant of this deed, but by others utterly
unconnected with him, actuated by the traditional record of his glory or
greatness. The humble straw shed which covers these effigies, conveys
a finer lesson to the mind than if they were enshrined in marble.
Here,
JAIN TEMPLES.
97
Here every thing is Jain, and the shrine dedicated to Vrishab-
deva* is well worthy of notice, from its containing no fewer than
twelve immense images to this, the first of the twenty-four pontiffs
who attained the honours of apotheosis. They are said to weigh
many thousand maunds, and to be a compound of all the metals.
Near the base of the inner fort, on the left hand, on leaving it, is
another temple dedicated to Parswanat'h, whose statue it contains.
This was erected or repaired by the celebrated Komarpal, King
of Anhulwarra, the patron of the sect, and disciple of Hemachundra,
a potent name among the Jains. The external sculpture is curious,
but the execution has no pretensions to elegance. At one P.M., at the
foot of Achilgurh, the barometer was 27° 4′, the thermometer 78°; at
three P.M., barometer 26° 95', thermometer 78°; at eleven A.M. on the
same day, having sent a trusty and intelligent servant to mark the
position of the mercury, on the summit of the Guru Sikra, the
result was, barometer 26° 86', and thermometer 68°; on which
difference from the former observation we shall remark hereafter.
In the cooler part of the day, as I was prowling about my bivouac,
the sound of Rajpoot military music met my ear, and shortly after,
the cortège of the Deora Prince appeared, in all the pomp and
circumstance of state,-banners flying, drums beating, trumpets
sounding, advancing towards the mango grove environing the
shrine of his patron Achil-és. The animation of this scene contrasted
well with the stillness of nature; the ruined castle of the Pramaras
recalling the day,
" When
* Vrishabdeva, vulgarly Brishabdeo, has the same meaning as the Nand-éswar of the Sivites, the
bull being the effigy of both. In order to distinguish the particular pontiff to whom any Jain shrine
is consecrated, it is only requisite to look on the pedestal for the symbol, as the bull, the serpent,
the lion, &c. &c., each having his peculiar emblem.
蓄
​0
98
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
"When they were young and proud,
Banners on high and battles pass'd below;
But they who fought are in a bloody shroud,
And those which waved are shredless dust ere now,
And the bleak battlements shall bear no future blow."
Rao Sheo Sing (who was the Lord of Aboo as well as of Sarohi)
had signified his intention to repeat his visit; but I wished to spare
him and his followers so fatiguing a journey, and to save myself
from interruption. This, however, proved unavailing, and my
reveries were soon interrupted by his messenger announcing the
Rao's desire to see me. On reaching the grove, I found his vassals
ranged in two lines, between which I passed, his Highness advancing
to greet me, when, having gone through the paternal hug with him
and his chiefs, he insisted that I should share the royal cushion ;
an honour I courteously declined. Upon this, he observed, that
he could neither measure his gratitude by speech or personal
attention to one who had saved him and his country from affliction ;
but he added, like a true Chohan, that rather than humiliate himself
by submission to Jodpoor, he would associate with the Bhil amidst
his native wilds. I liked him better on this occasion; he was less
embarrassed, and, with the pure air of his own Aboo, he seemed
to enjoy ease and freedom of speech. We conversed on various
topics, besides those affecting his own and his country's welfare :
such as cherishing his subjects, abolishing all corvées, protecting
merchants, coercing the lawless tribes and subjecting them to orderly
habits. Then, adverting,to the history of his ancestry, we dwelt
on the exploits of the famous Soortan, who, far excelling our
Canute in arrogance, "shot his arrows at the sun for daring to
incommode him." At length we parted, with many injunctions
on
THE DEORA RAO.
99
on both sides; on his part, that I would not forget him nor neglect
my health, which was dear to him; on mine, that he would be true
to himself. A general salutation followed from all assembled, with a
deep rolling hum, which expressed much from all hearts, and a flourish
of cymbals and trumpets. Having made my adieux, as the Rao
and his chivalry wound down the steep of Aboo, I turned to take a
last look at the shrine of Achilésa, and to visit my friend the
high priest, amongst whose chélas or disciples I was now enrolled.
I presented the accustomed pecuniary offering to the Gosaen.
14
It was late in the afternoon when I left the Agni-coond, and
the interesting objects in its precincts, for Dailwarra, which I did
not reach until dusk. The road lay through a succession of rugged
descents, and being very unwell from a cold caught amidst the
clouds of Achilgurh, I was forced to call the Swerga Vahana, or
celestial car, to my aid. Near the termination of this journey, we
made the détour of a small lake, whose banks abounded with the
kinér, or oleander, and the white dog-rose; while, from an umbrageous
peepul, the Kamérie* poured forth his monotonous but pleasing
notes, amidst the stillness of a lovely scene, where the last tints of
sunset illuminated the dark hues of the surrounding woods.
Passed the night in a ruined building attached to the temple, and
rose from my pallet in a high fever, and unable to articulate, the
mind having overstrained the body: but there yet remained much
to be done, for this sacred spot is a concentration of wonders. I
was about to visit the temples alluded to by Bishop Heber, and of
which
*This appellation of the cuckoo is derived from Kama, the God of Love, whose emblems are
peculiarly appropriate, being a bow and arrow composed of roses and jessamine, and other flowers
in which the Hindu poet allows no thorn to lurk.
0 2
100
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
which he had heard through my communications to a friend in
Calcutta, who published them ten years ago in one of the periodicals.
The discovery was my own: to Aboo I first assigned a local habitation
and a name, when all these regions were a terra incognita to my
countrymen; and if I am somewhat jealous of my rights in this
matter, it is the sole recompense for the toils I have gone through,
and no small deterioration of health as well as of purse.
chuhe sestā miami agat NY
STATNE VERUM MULJE TUMMA «SYMBA
| COGN
Tuin♫ Mesto
SEND MESUS, NAIM Į
Sicily
Forside Hunt
stotu, muil MER
ht
יווי
TURDA
וויו
BALLETA:
(398).
UOTE
ן יידי
HIER 4..
W~
CHAPTER VI.
SUBS
101
Dailwarra.-Temple of Vrishabdeva.-Its history.-Its description.-Ceremonies in the temple.-
Inscriptions.-Temple of Parswanath.-Its architecture and description.-Reflections on these
splendid remains. Hamlets of Aboo.-Fruits and vegetables of the mountain.-Temple of
Arbudha-Mata.--Cave-dwellings.-Lake of Naki-taloo.-Peril of the last descent.-The Gao-
mukh.-Temple of Vasishta.-Worship of the Mooni.-Inscriptions.-Cenotaph of Dhar Pramar.
-Temple of Patal-éswar.-Statues.-Reflections.-Elevation of Aboo.-Defects of the Author's
barometer.-Aspect of the soil.-Passage of the forest.-Attack of Hornets.-Circumference of
Aboo.-Analogy between the physical phenomena of Aboo and Sinai.-Severe effects of the ascent
on the Author's health.
JUNE 14th.-DAILWARRA.-At seven A.M. at noon, and at four P.M.,
the barometer stood at 27°, 27° 5′, and 27° 5′, the thermometer being
at the respective hours 72°, 86°, 90°. It is evident, from the inequa-
lity of variation, that the barometer on which I have been depending
is most unfaithful, bearing no relation to the state of the thermometer.
But a truce, for the present, to these technicalities. Let the reader
discard his shoes, and prepare to enter with me the sacred fanes of
Dailwarra. This is a contraction of Dewulwarra, the place or region
of temples,' a term aptly applied to the site of this numerous group,
from which I select two of the most remarkable.
6
The reader will be pleased to consider himself at the entrance of the
shrine sacred to Vrishabdeva, the first of the Jains. Beyond contro-
versy this is the most superb of all the temples of India, and there is
not an edifice besides the Taj Mahl that can approach to it. The pen
is incompetent to describe the exuberant beauties of this proud monu-
ment of the Jains, raised by one of the richest of their votaries (by
whose name, and not that of the pontiff enshrined within, it is still
designated),
102
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
designated), and which continues to attract pilgrims from every region
of India. Bimul Sah,* whose work has immortalized him, was a
merchant of Anhulwarra, at one time the Tyre of India, and the
ancient stronghold of the Jain faith. It was, however, towards the
close of her long career of renown, that these two edifices were
erected, and happily for these votaries of Jainism, who, to use the
words of the bard, "exchanged their perishable wealth for an immortal
name," for hardly were the fabrics reared, when the metropolis of
Western India was sacked, its merchants driven forth, and their riches
transferred to the Northern Invader. Previous to their erection, the
immediate spot was occupied by the orthodox divinities, Siva and
Vishnu, whose ministers would not tolerate the approach of
any of the
sectarian enemies of their faith; but the Sahoos of Nehrwalla, giving
this the preference over any other site on the surface of Aboo, deter-
mined to try the effect of gold on the sovereign, or, as they allegorically
say, "Lacshmi herself entered into the scheme, to gain a victory for
their faith." The bribe was high; they offered to cover as much
ground as they required for their purpose with silver coin,—a tempta-
tion too powerful for the Pramara to withstand,—and, despite the ana-
thema of the priests of Bal-Siva and Vishnu, he took the lacs of the Jain
merchants. The name of the prince is not mentioned, but the date of
the temples shews him to be the same sacrilegious Dharaburz, who
attempted to inundate the Khar of Sacti. The merchants were not
ungrateful to Lacshmi, whom they enshrined in a niche on the right
hand of the entrance.
The temple of Vrishabdeva stands isolated in the centre of a quad-
rangular
*
Sah, Sahoo, Sahoocar, are different terms for a merchant, vulgò Soucar.
1
;
**
F
103
rangular court, the length of which, from east to west, is about one
hundred and eighty feet, and the breadth one hundred feet. Along its
internal faces are ranges of cells, nineteen on the larger, and ten on
each of the smaller sides, each cell being of uniform dimensions. A
double-colonnaded piazza, elevated on a terrace, rising four steps above
the level of the court, passes all round in front of the cells, the inter-
columniations being the breadth of these; each, besides its four
columns, having two pilasters to correspond therewith and the parti-
tion walls of the cells, the roofs of which are flat. In each cell,
opposite to the door of entrance, is an elevated altar, on which is
placed the image of some one of the twenty-four Jin-éswars. Archi-
traves, passing from each pair of columns and resting on the corres-
ponding pilasters, constitute a separate vestibule to each cell, and this
is rendered the more distinct by every compartment between the four
columns having either a vaulted or flat roof. The whole is of pure
white marble, every column, dome, and altar varying in form and
ornament, the richness and delicacy of execution being indescribable.
Each of the fifty-eight cells merits an entire day's study, and a first-
rate pencil to delineate it. It is asserted that each separate cell was
added by wealthy individuals, of various cities and countries, professing
the Jain faith, which may account for the great diversity of style and
ornament, while the harmony and symmetry of the whole attest that
one master-mind must have planned and executed it, except at the
south-west angle, where some dissimilarity prevails. The altars are of
a chaste and simple design, while money, labour, skill, and taste, have
been lavished on the details of the colonnade, wherein each of the
columnar rules of Jain architecture has its example. Each cell contains *
its statue dedicated to the particular object of worship of the person at
whose
TEMPLE OF VRISHABDEVA.
K
C
-TO
104
LLEGE TR
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
»
1
whose expense
it was raised, and inscriptions recording the period of
erection are carved on the inner lintel of every doorway.
We now descend to the tesselated marble pavement in the area, cross-
ing which we reach the Sowa-munduff, fronting the shrine of Vrishab-
deva. It
It may be well, in the first instance, to explain the meaning
of this term (munduff) in Hindu architecture, which belongs more to
the Sivite than to the Jain style, and was perhaps borrowed from the
former. The munduff
The munduff may be either square or circular, and its roof,
whether vaulted or pyramidal, is generally supported by open columns.
In the Sivite shrine it contains the symbolic bull, while the appro-
priate representative, the lingam, occupies the interior cella. Who-
ever has noticed the ichnographic plan of the temple of Jupiter Serapis
at Puzzuoli, will be tolerably familiar with a Sivite shrine. With the
Jain, the munduff contains no object of adoration, and serves merely
for the votaries to prepare themselves and their offerings. The one in
question has a hemispherical vault of twenty-four feet diameter, sup-
ported by columns of proportional height. As these are ranged in a
quadrangle, ponderous architraves are thrown across, excluding the
corner columns, thus making the dome rise from an octagonal base.
This is only perceptible from the inside; externally it appears an ovate
spheroid, but obtained from an horizontal, not a radiating pressure.
Each pair of columns is connected by a torun, or triumphal arch, of
peculiar but very elegant form, and of most elaborate workmanship.
On the east, north, and south sides, intervening columns unite the
munduff with those of the piazza, and thus conjoined, they fill
up one
entire side of the area. The roofs, either domed or flat, which cover
these intervening columns, and surround the larger vault, rivet atten-
tion. In their surfaces are sculptured innumerable incidents from their
various
SHRINE OF VRISHABDEVA.
various epics, the Ramayana, the Mahabarat, &c., thus whimsically
blending the unitarian and polytheistic sects; while Kanya, in the
Ras-Mandola, is represented encircled by the Gopis, relieved by
festoons of foliage, flowers, and fruit. While the eye detects a want
of ease in the figures of the animals, the most fastidious critic could
not find fault with the copies from inanimate nature.
The flowing
lines and graceful pendant flowers could not be surpassed by the
work of any chisel in Europe.
105
A small flight of steps conducts from the munduff to the shrine of
Vrishabdeva. This consists of three parts, a colonnaded piazza, an
internal vestibule, and thirdly, the sanctum of the object of homage.
Here the mind is diverted from the contemplation of art, by the
various paraphernalia of worship. The first thing I noticed, on
entering, were two marble slabs, on one of which a devotee was
employed in preparing an unction of saffron, as an offering to Kesaria-
Nath, the familiar appellation of the god, from kesar, 'saffron', which,
after prayer, purification, and incense-burning, the votary places
before him. As I entered this large chamber, I observed through
the chiaroscuro of ghee-illuminated candelabras, whose dim light
contended with day, my Samaritan friend, who had lent me his tent,
absorbed in devotion, before the image of the god. He was stripped,
excepting the cloth round his loins; in one hand he swung a censer,
in which gum benzoin and other incense was burning, while a
bandage passed round his head, covering his mouth, that his impure
breath might not offend the divinity, or, while employed in this devo-
tional office, entail a curse by the destruction of an insect. He saw
and recognised me, but was too abstracted to suffer his thoughts to be
diverted from his occupation, and there was a benign and religious
tranquillity
4
P
106
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
tranquillity in his countenance, which said that all was right within.
There were some statues in the vestibule, and large brass bells to toll
the hour of worship; and on one side there stood a huge iron chest,
containing things savouring of mrit-loca of this nether sphere. In the
sanctum, raised on a high altar, was a colossal statue of Vrishabdeva,
in the usual sitting posture, and composed of heft-dhal, or the seven
metals; the eyes were of crystal, and there was a precious gem, or tika,
in the centre of his forehead. He was canopied by a rich web of gold
brocade, and censers filled with incense were burning before him.
But the lover of the arts would soon turn away from the contempla-
tion of the deity of this splendid edifice; for although of tolerable
execution, considering its ponderous size, it is despicable when
contrasted with the rich specimens around. The same sentence must
be passed on the statues in the vestibule, which do not at all harmo-
nize with the purity of taste in the other ornaments. My admiration,
which had advanced in an accelerated ratio until I approached the
cella, here came to a dead halt; and what with the fumes of the
incense, the glare from ill-fed candelabras, the impure atmosphere,
and the abominable physiognomy of this Kesar of the Jains, I felt as
if I were in Yama-loca, in presence of Rhadamanthus. My curiosity
being satisfied, I escaped into the region of pure air and pure art,
where my equanimity was soon restored; but the painful sensation
excited by the dazzling light from the rays of a vertical sun, reflected
from the marble pavement, drove me for shelter into the piazza.
The merchant of Anhulwarra has immortalized his name, and testi-
fied his gratitude to Bhavani, by enshrining her on the right hand of
Vrishabdeva, in the south-west corner of the quadrangle, making her
cell larger and more elevated than the rest; while in the adjoining cell
is
COLOSSAL STATUES.
107
is the statue of the twenty-second and most celebrated Jinéswar, Ném
Nât'h, also called Arish-Nemi, or black.' The statue, which is
colossal, and in keeping with his name and complexion, is carved
out of a block of marble from the quarries of Dongerpoor. On
leaving the quadrangular court, we pass to a square chamber with
numerous columns supporting a low roof, at the entrance of which,
and facing Vrishabdeva, is an equestrian statue of the founder, rather
larger than life, with his nephew seated behind him, while over his
head is raised the chattrie, or parasol, emblematic of nobility. The old
merchant is rather clumsily fashioned, and crowned with a thing resem-
bling a cacique tiara: his nephew is handing to him something like
a field-marshal's truncheon, most likely a roll of account regarding the
edifice. Surrounding the Prince of Merchants are ten figures, seated
on as many elephants, each, with the rider, being six feet in height :
they are of marble, and tolerably executed. Local tradition says, these
are the effigies of the kings of the twelve great European nations, whom
Bimul Sah, by the influence of gold, brought to swear that this work
of his hands, and its divinity, should ever be respected by them.
This story, which is not peculiarly flattering to European vanity, has
descended through centuries, and like all the legends of the place,
finds implicit credence with the true believer, the extent of whose
faith may be inferred from the fact, that they had never even counted
the number of potentates who had left their thrones to fulfil Bimul
Sah's behest. On my observing to them that there were only ten, unless
they included the merchant and his nephew in the list of "barba-
rian kings," they were not a little astonished; and when, moreover,
I pointed out that these ten infidels had each four arms, they were
still more at a loss; but as they agreed that they could not be kings,
who
P 2
108
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
who had only one pair, they thus excluded the merchants from the
barbarian association. By the morning, a new legend was got up, and
the "twelve kings" were converted into the kootum, or family of the
Sah, i. e. brothers, nephews, sons-in-law, &c. I proposed another
solution, namely, that it might be a mythological allusion to the
origin of the Sah's ancestry, which was of the Rajpoot tribe of Chohan,
whose divinity was four-armed, and that the introduction of the Sah
in the centre of the group, was probably an act of piety performed by
one of his family. Bhagwan janna, God knows,' was the calm
reply to the suggestion. Whatever the origin, it was indifferent to the
iconoclastic Toork, who had indignantly smashed the four royal arms,
leaving merely the stumps to shew that "such things were." Imme-
diately behind the equestrian statue of the founder, is a column,
several feet high, of three compartments, gracefully tapering as it
rises from a circular base, consisting of three marble steps. It is
sculptured with innumerable minute niches, each containing a figure
of the Jinéswar, in the customary contemplative attitude. This column
is a common appendage of Jain temples: I am inclined to rank with
it the celebrated Cootub Minar at Dehli, imagining that the Islamite
architects have only fluted the latter, in order to remove the obnoxious
images. Of this class also, is a column on the summit of Cheetore,
nearly eighty feet in height, similarly decorated with images, and
covered by an open cupola supported by pillars. I copied and
translated several inscriptions, one of which contained a tilac of inhibi-
tion of Koombho Rana, who, when driven from Méwar, raised the
banner of the Sun on the long abandoned battlements of the Pramaras.
Every stone teems with historical data, but it requires a wide acquaint-
ance with the past to apply them.
6
I could
SHRINE OF PARSWANATH.
109
I could have consumed a month in surveying the works of the
princely merchant, but time pressed, and other objects of equal
importance awaited me.-Passing through a court, a flight of steps
conducts to the rival temple, dedicated to Parswanat'h, the twenty-
third and most popular of the Jinéswars. This shrine was erected
by the brothers Tej Pal and Bussunt Pal, likewise merchants of the
Jain persuasion, who inhabited the city of Chandravati during the
sway of Dharaburz, and when Bheem Deo was paramount sovereign of
Western India. The design and execution of this shrine and all its
accessories are on the model of the preceding, which, however,
as a whole, it surpasses. It has more simple majesty, the fluted
columns sustaining the munduff are loftier, and the vaulted interior
is fully equal to the other in richness of sculpture, and superior to it
in the execution, which is more free and in finer taste. The span of
the dome is two feet more in diameter than the other, being twenty-
six feet; the ponderous architraves of marble, fifteen feet long and of
solidity proportioned to their length and the superincumbent weight.
The peristyle corresponds precisely with that already described, and,
like it, is united by an intervening range of columns to the qua-
drangle. It is impossible to give a distinct idea of the richness and
variety of the bassi-relievi either of the principal dome or the minor
ones which surround it. We must not, however, overlook a singular
ornament pendant from the larger vault, the delineation of which
defies the pen, and would tax to the utmost the pencil of the most
patient artist. Although it has some analogy to the corbeille of a
gothic cathedral, there is nothing in the most florid style of gothic
architecture that can be compared with this in richness. Its form is
cylindrical, about three feet in length, and where it drops from the
ceiling,
110
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
↓
ceiling, it
appears like a cluster of the half-disclosed lotus, whose cups
the eye i
are so thin, so transparent, and so accurately wrought, that it fixes
in admiration. The dome is divided into concentric compart-
ments, by richly sculptured cordons, each intervening space being
filled with elaborate and elegant devices. In one compartment, a
bacchanalian group seems to indicate the season of the year when,
all nature rejoicing, the man of wealth abandons all thought of
Lacshmi (the goddess of riches) for the verdant Vassanti or spring, in
allusion probably to the name of the founder, Bussunt Pal, which
signifies' fostered by the spring.' In the other divisions are rich
festoons, in high relief, of flowers, fruits, and birds, down to the last,
which contains figures of warriors, each standing on a projecting
pedestal, in various attitudes, some holding the sword or sceptre:
these may represent the kings of Anhulwarra. The torun divides our
admiration with the vault. It appears as if spouted forth from the
mouths of two marine monsters, whose heads project from the capitals
of the columns supporting the arch. But it is vain to attempt a verbal
description of this, and we must quit the munduff for the shrine. On
ascending the steps, we enter the vestibule, on each side of which is a
tauk or niche, partly sunk in the wall, and partly projecting from it.
The base is in the form of an altar, over which, small and
very chaste
columns support an exquisitely designed canopy. Though plain,
nothing can surpass the execution; not an unequal line or uneven
surface is perceptible. All is so finely chiselled, that it appears as if
moulded of wax, the edges, semi-transparent, not being a quarter of a
line in thickness. These niches are said to have cost a lac and a
quarter of rupees, or about twelve thousand pounds. Such was the
wealth of individuals in those days! At present, a whole year's
revenue
111
SCULPTURE IN THE COURT.
revenue of the kingdom of Anhulwarra would not suffice for the erec-
tion of one of these shrines. In the sanctum appears the statue of
Parswa, whose symbol is the serpent. Here we have the same inci-
dents of worship, saffron-offerings, candelabras fed with ghee, benzoin
incense, crystal eyes, emerald tika, and the same subordinate ill-
favoured brass images around him.
Let us proceed to the court environing the shrine. The area of the
quadrangle is about the same size as the other, or perhaps rather
larger. Its double-colonnaded piazza is equally striking as a whole,
but the columns are more simple, and the vaulted compartments
equally rich and of bolder execution. Amidst the complicated sculp-
tures of these vaulted roofs (no less than ninety in number), of satyrs,
gods, demi-gods, and heroes, there were ships; indicating that the
wealth of the founders was derived from maritime commerce, at a
period when the proud city of Anhulwarra, and her prouder kings,
the Bâlhâraés, basked in the full sunshine of prosperity, their ships
visiting all the adjacent kingdoms, and diffusing the products over the
entire Hindu land. While my eye rested with delight on these Argo-
sies of the Hindus, it was gratified by finding, amidst details often too
mystical for a western intellect, something that savoured of a more
classical Pantheon. Here, amidst a mingled crew, appeared the Greek
Pan, his lower extremities goat-like, with a reed in his mouth. To
the east, the intercolumniations of the piazza have been built
up, and
in the centre is a procession of elephants, with their riders, drums. and
caparisons, each cut from a single block of marble, of tolerable execu-
tion, and about four feet high. Fronting this is a column, similar to
that noticed in the other temple, rising from a circular base. The
various cells, their altars and their occupants, and the different Jinéswars
(each
Ka
112
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
(each about four feet high), in the usual sitting posture, are objects
eminently worthy of admiration.
But it would be tedious to particularize the varied riches of these
shrines; still less would it be desirable to repeat a vague and indistinct
outline of the architectural details of the minor temples which
surround these glories of Aboo; although each is entitled to. notice,
and, in point of magnitude, they surpass those described. That, for
instance, which still retains the name of its founder, the merchant,
Bheenia Sah, is totally different in style from the rest, being four
stories high, and resembling the temple in the Sadri Pass. The brazen
image of the Jinéswar is said to weigh 1,440 maunds, or 108,000
pounds. It rises in high relief from a huge brazen screen,
like a
pulpit in form, divided into compartments occupied by the subordi-
nate Pontiffs, men, and animals, the whole evidently cast from one
mould. Several other statues, said to be composed of the seven
metals, are ranged on either side this object of homage.
We shall conclude as we began, with Bishop Heber's remark, that
what he had seen of the palaces of Jeipoor surpassed both the Kremlin
and Alhambra ; and that what he had not seen, the Jain temples of Aboo
on the verge of the western desert, might rank above them all, a remark
which I have confirmed, and I repeat, that, taken as a whole, and consi-
dering the vast sums expended upon these temples, the skill and labour
employed upon them, the Taj Mahl at Agra is the only edifice which
may rank above them, though even this is a matter of taste, the objects
being as dissimilar in character as the Parthenon and St. Peter's. The
principal features, however, are not mere solidity and vastness; their
merits consist in the proportions, the endless variety and richness of
the sculpture; the extended colonnaded piazzas and vaulted roofs
suggesting
113
suggesting ideas, not only of unbounded wealth in the founders, but
of high refinement in the arts. The most fastidious admirer of chaste
design need not apprehend that his taste would be shocked by the
accumulation of details, or that the minuteness of ornament would
detract from the massive dignity of the whole; on the contrary, in
these instances, the breaking into parts is by no means detrimental to
the general harmony. When we reflect that all this magnificence is
found on the summit of an isolated mountain on the verge of the
desert, now inhabited by a few simple and half-civilized people, the
association cannot fail to enhance our impressions of wonder. It is
difficult to assign a reason for the forbearance of the intolerant Islamite
towards these shrines, save their being Unitarian: they may be said to
have had an almost miraculous escape, and they were fortunately out
of reach of the illiterate Mahratta, and his follower, the barbarous
Pat'han.
LANDSCAPE AT DAILWARRA.
The day was far spent before I had seen half the beauties of Dail-
warra; already the soft tints of evening were beginning to veil the
landscape, and the feathered tribe, at their vespers, warned me that it
was time to commence my pilgrimage to the shrine of Vashishta, still
five miles distant. This excursion revealed to me by far the most
interesting portion of the table-land of Aboo. There is more of culti-
vation, the inhabitants are more numerous, the streams and foliage
more abundant; here and there a verdant carpet decked the ground,
while some new wonder, natural or artificial, appeared at every step.
The kamérie, as usual unseen, uttered its welcome note, and the strong,
clear voice of the blackbird issued from a dark coppice, whence stole a
limpid brook, all serving to remind me of the almost forgotten land to
which I was about returning. Every patch where corn could
grow was
diligently
Q
114
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
diligently tilled, and in this short space I passed four of the twelve
hamlets of Aboo. These were in harmony with the scene; the habita-
tions neat and comfortable, circular in form like wigwams, and coated
with clay washed with a light ochre colour. On the margin of each
running brook, was the Aret, or Egyptian wheel for irrigation, and as
the water lies close to the surface, the excavations were not required
to be deep. The boundaries of these arable fields, chiefly of the
prickly thoor or cactus, were clustered with the white dog-rose, here
called khooja, with which was intermingled the kind called seoti,
(sacred to Seo or Siva), much cultivated in the gardens of India. The
pomegranate was literally growing out of a knoll of granite, where
there was scarcely any soil beyond the decomposed surface of the rock.
The apricot or nectarine appeared occasionally, covered with fruit,
but being yet quite green, it seems probable that it will never ripen.
They also brought grapes, which, from their size, I should have
deemed cultivated. These, as well as the citron, which I did not see,
but which they pointed out in a deep valley, are claimed amongst the
indigenous products of Aboo. The mango was abundant, and a rich
and elegant parasite, with a beautiful pendant blue and white flower,
resembling the lobelia, found root in its moss-covered branches. This
parasite is called ambatri (from amba, mango,) by the mountaineers,
with whom it appeared to be an especial favorite, as I observed that,
whenever it grew within reach, it was plucked and " wreath'd in their
dark locks" and their turbans. The trees generally, from the extreme
humidity, are covered with a vesture of grass and moss, and at Achil
gurh, the lofty cajoor or date tree was coated to the uppermost branch.
It is from this deposit that the parasites spring. Of flowers there was
a profusion amongst them were the chaméli or jasmine, and all the
varieties

F. Mackenzie, del, from a sketch by M Col. Hunter Blair
THE UKHI TALAO.
Londen, Published by WH. Allen & £91839
WF. Starling, sculp
TEMPLE OF ARBUDHA-MATA.
varieties of the goolabas, or balsam, as common as thistles. The
golden champa, the largest of the flowering trees, rarely met with in
the plains, and which, like the aloe, is said to flower but once in a
century, was seen at every hundred yards, laden with blossoms and
filling the air with perfume. In short, it was
"A blending of all beauties, streams and dells,
"Fruit, foliage, crag, wood, cornfield, mountain, vine,
"And chiefless castles, breathing stern farewells
"From gray, but leafy walls, where Ruin greenly dwells."
115
About a mile from Dailwarra, and more than half-way up a lofty peak,
upon the verge of a deep cleft in the rock, stands the temple of the
tutelary goddess of Aboo, (called by the more refined, Arbudha-Mata,
'the Mother of the Mount of Wisdom,) half hid amongst luxuriant
foliage. A streamlet issues from the cleft, and, after many windings,
precipitates itself over the eastern face of the mountain, through the
Kairlie pass, and, with several other rills, proceeds to join the Bunas,
which here flows close to the skirt of the mountain. We passed the
fragments of several ancient temples, dwellings, and caverns, where
the Troglodyte sages of the golden age spun out their existence in
adoration of the Great One.' One grotto, in a shady recess, looked
so tempting, that, with some addition to the indigenous productions, a
man might pass a summer even cheerfully there, though something
would be required to qualify the water, which has a very strong mineral
taste. At a little distance we saw the Nuki-talao, a beautiful lake,
about four hundred yards in length, which merited a day of itself; but
time pressed, and I was forced to content myself with a glance en
passant. Those who have seen the lake three miles above Andernach,
on the Rhine, have beheld its counterpart. It is surrounded by rocks,
Q 2
wooded
C
:
1
116
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
}
F
wooded to the margin, while the water-fowls skim its surface unheed-
ing and unheeded by man: for on this sacred hill, neither the
fowler's gun, or fisher's net, is known; "thou shalt not kill" being
the supreme command, and the penalty of disobedience, death. Its
waters are said to be fathomless, but I observed no traces of volcanic
scoriæ.
After two or three abrupt descents, I reached the summit of the
last, leading to the shrine of Vashishta. I was totally unprepared for
the scene, or should have taken more daylight to view it. Here I
abandoned my car, in which fatigue had forced me to seek refuge. A
tremendous abyss was before us, and the only mode of descent was
over dislocated fragments of rock, while but a narrow ledge was
between us and perdition. My old Guru, who was a little in advance,
had come to a dead halt. Amused at the novelty of his position, he
was holding forth to the mountain guides, but though conversant with
all the dialects, he failed to make them comprehend him. At length,
they caught the drift of his main question, "Where should he go if by
chance he slipped ?" to which they simply replied, "Oh Bapji (Sire),
go a great way." This is the wildest scene on the surface
About half-way down, while frowned upon by the impend-
ing crags, one still looks into the dread abyss below, studded with
magnificent foliage, the jamun, tamarind, &c. &c., and wrapped in
impenetrable gloom. The face of the mountain, from the valley
upwards, was further obscured by masses of cloud, and we almost
groped our way by the last glimmerings of light, guided by the alarum-
drum of the monastery, whose deep rolling sounds contended with the
rush of waters, which, issuing from the Gao Mukh (Cow's Mouth)
above, were received in a fountain beneath. The effect altogether was
sublime.
you would
of Aboo.
j
THE SHRINE OF VASHISHTA.
117
sublime. One false step, and what were man, so vain of his powers ?
At length, our loud "halloo” was heard, and torches appeared through
the palpable obscure, by the glare of which we descried the sacred fane,
and the ascetic disciples passing to and fro to aid the descent of the
pilgrims. Salvator Rosa would have selected the scene for a chef-
d'œuvre of his pencil. On reaching the Gao Mukh, we halted a few
seconds to take breath, and soon after attained the little plantain
grove, where I found a pal, or open tent, pitched for my reception.
Although desperately fatigued, curiosity would allow me no respite till
I had seen the shrine of Vashishta. The temple is a small plain edifice,
and though of remote antiquity, has been so often repaired, that little
of the original structure remains. In a sanctum, at the further
extremity, the head alone of the deified Mooni, or sage, appeared
through his vestments. It is of black marble, and occupies a low altar.
The whole was lighted up, and the brethren were chaunting a hymn in
praise of Vashishta. Being in boots, I stood outside the threshold,
listening with interest to the conclusion of their well-modulated strain.
The ancient Guru, or Abbot, a tall spare figure, was seated on a black
antelope's hide within the portico, and formed a striking contrast to his
sleek, well-fed disciples, looking as if he really mortified the flesh.
His hair was clotted, his body smeared with ashes, and he was too
abstracted to notice external objects. The ceremony was impres-
sive, and when it concluded, all his disciples approached, and in turn
made the dhandote, or prostration, bowing lowly, their head touching
the feet of the Guru. On retiring, they congregated in small groupes
round their fires (which the chill damp air rendered very necessary),
lounging on the floor of the ample Dhermsala. I placed my offering,
through the hands of my own Guru, at the feet of this ancient ascetic,
and
118
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
and left the contented monastics rolling about the floor; for though
their bodies were covered with ashes, it was evident from their
plump appearance, that their penance was not severe.
Had they
inhabited the plains below, with the thermometer 135°, there might
have been some merit in sitting round a penitential fire; but here,
at a temperature 70°, perched amidst the clouds, it was a luxury.*
Setting my Guru to copy some inscriptions, which covered two large
black marble tablets on each side the threshold of the temple, and of
which a translation is given in the Appendix, I surveyed the inclosure
by torch-light. The first object is of deep interest, being the cenotaph of
the last of the Pramaras, separated by a slight passage from the temple.
It consists of an ovate-formed cupola, supported by columns, with an
altar beneath, on which stands a statue of the Pramar, turning in an
attitude of supplication to the Mooni. It is of brass, about three feet
and a half in height, and had attracted the notice of the Islamite, who
had smitten it with an axe in the thigh, in search of treasure. From
the inscription, it would appear that the Mooni turned a deaf ear to
the entreaties of Dharaburz, whose twofold offence against the divini-
ties of Aboo has been already related. He was the last of his race
who ruled on the sacred hill, but tradition still respects the name of
Dhar Pramar, as he is familiarly called by the mountaineers, and the
annals of his foes attest the patriotic valour of the vanquisher of the
emperor Kootub-u-din; nor was it until the reign of Altumsh, that he
succumbed to the whole power of the empire, aided by the Chohans
of Nadole, of whom a branch, the Deora, succeeded to the patrimony
of the Pramars. These inscriptions embody the patent of the first
Deora
SE
* One of the penances of the Jogi ascetic, is to be seated between four fires in the hottest months
of the year, to which he continually adds fuel with a pair of large tongs.
{
STATUARY.
119
Deora prince, confirming the lands and privileges granted by his
predecessors and adding new ones from himself.
At the southern extremity of the area, is a small temple, consecrated
to Patal-éswar, the Pluto of the Hindus, and which is placed several
steps below the level of the court; but there was nothing to excite
attention in the abode of his Satanic majesty, whose statue, surrounded
by some of the Dii minores, was dimly visible by the light of a single
cheragh, or lamp.
Upon an altar canopied by the vault of Heaven, are placed a number
of divinities, whose temporal dwellings have gone to decay. The
image of one of these, Sham-nath, or the black god of the Yamuna,
is remarkably well-executed, as are two marble pilasters, about two
feet high, divided into compartments containing small figures in relief,
which, had they been designed as Sileni, would be pronounced excel-
lent. In the centre of the area are two allegorical figures, reported to
be Nandi-Vardana, the son of Himachil, seated on the back of his
friend, the Serpent, who, it will be remembered, conducted this halting
scion of the Hircanian cliffs, to fill up the chasm made by the bolt
(bajra) of Indra. Near this are several highly-sculptured sacrificial
stones of Satis, brought from the ruins of Chandravati.
Having seen whatever possessed interest within the precincts
of the ancient sage, Vashishta, I retired to my tent, after sixteen
hours of physical and mental excitement, exhausted by fever, cold,
and fatigue; and though a cup of green tea was imrit (nectar),
it did not contribute to " steep my senses in forgetfulness." All the
spirits of Aboo seemed unchained; the rude blast rushed down from
every crag, sweeping amongst the lofty foliage or the humbler
plantain grove, whose broad leaves rattled like a thousand ban-
“
ners,
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TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
}
F
1
waters.
ners, to which was superadded the unceasing monotony of falling
But even through this chaos of sounds, the voices of the
ascetic brethren were heard, addressing, in one united and not
inharmonious strain of adoration, the "Universal Father.' This
exercise of devotion, in the mountain solitude, inspired the most
tranquillizing sensations, and recalled to my mind the words of Rana
Raj
Sing of Méwar: "Whether the voice of the Islamite from the
mosque, or the bell of the Hindu which tolls to prayer, it is to the
same divine object." It is in such positions that the heart feels all the
sweet influences of superior protection,—an impression never yielded up
in after-life,—teaching us to abstract ourselves from the every-day bent
of human pursuits, and to cleave a path, which, while broad enough
for all social enjoyments, shall not be considered the end-all of
existence. This is not solitude, but converse with Nature amidst the
sublimest of her works. In this mood, my mind reverted to the descrip-
tion of night in the Ramayana, the most ancient profane poem in
existence, and composed by the sage, Valmika, who was the spiritual
guide of Rama. It was customary for the kings and chieftains of old
(a practice not yet renounced) to visit these sages in their cells, in
order to imbibe moral instruction for the guidance of themselves and
their families; and it was on the occasion of Rama and Lakshmun, the
two sons of Raghoo, being at the hermitage of Valmika, when he set
before them the exploits of their fathers, commanding them to sing
them, that the following beautiful invocation occurs :
"Peace be to thee! resign thyself to sleep, and may nothing prevent
thy repose, O son of Raghoo! all the trees are motionless, the beasts
and birds are wrapped (in silence), and the face of nature is over-
spread with nocturnal darkness. Evening has receded by slow degrees,
and
—
ALTITUDE OF ABOO.
and the constellations and this field of stars, resplendently shine as
though the sky were covered with eyes. The expeller of the darkness
of the world is risen, by its light, rejoicing the mind of animated
nature."*
121
Amidst such reflections, I fell asleep, and was awakened by the same
chorus, but whether in homage to the Mooni, Pluto, or some more
benign divinity, I did not inquire. At seven in the morning, the
monastery was still shrouded in mist, the prevalence of which renders
it, though dressed in perpetual verdure, a bleak and dreary abode. I
strolled into the garden, wrested from the mountain brow, and
containing a few simple roots and vegetables, trusting that the sun
might dispel the gloom and give me another view of the scene, but in
vain.
The temple is well endowed, and the zeal of the pilgrims supplies
all the wants of its inmates. Rao Sheo Sing, of Sarohi, recently
expended ten thousand rupees in repairing it, and had also consecrated
a golden chalice to Doorga Devi, the Cybele of Aboo; but the Rana
of Burrur, pretending to have a dispensation from the goddess to
partake of all her offerings, removed the gift of the Deora prince, and
actually pleaded this privilege in defence of the sacrilegious burglary.
JUNE 15th.-The barometer on which I most relied was broken on
leaving Achil-éswar, where the difference between it and the remain-
ing one amounted to no less than 1° 40′, the broken one being 26° 95′,
and the other 25° 55′. At the shrine of Vashishta, the last stood at
26° 20′, thermometer 72°; the true height, therefore, of Aboo, must
remain a desideratum until I reach the shore of the ocean, or be other-
wise
Book I. sec. 30, Carey and Marshman's Translation, 1808.
R
122
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
}
:
wise able to test its accuracy. The elevation, however, as thus indi-
cated, accords with my own rough estimate, formed from the time
occupied in ascent, the judgment of the eye, and the extent of vision
over the surrounding region.
At eight A.M., commenced my descent amidst shoals of clouds. Our
path was over a gradual declivity, frequently interrupted for several
hundred yards by trees, which had been felled by the Rahtis for
purposes of cultivation.
of cultivation. An iron spud, with which they make a hole
in the ground for the seed (chiefly of maize), is the sole substitute for
the plough. There was abundance of the fruit called in Hindustan
falsa, and the karounda accompanied us for about a third of the
descent, and then suddenly disappeared. This spot may, therefore, be
considered on the same level with that where I first met them on
ascending, and where the plethoric barometer stood at 27° 35'. Many
bulbous roots were shooting forth, and I was told that in a fortnight
hence, when the rains shall have fairly commenced, the ground will be
enamelled with flowers.
At eleven A.M., we reached the tank at the foot of the mountain,
where I had ordered my people to meet me; but neither man nor horse
was to be seen, and I was indebted to the civility of the Girwur chief,
who furnished me with two of his own horses. On one I mounted my
old Guru, and on the other a lame domestic, while I retained the
celestial car to traverse the woods to Girwur, our place of halt, four
miles distant. In passing through the tangled forest, which I have
already described as fringing the base of Aboo, my little escort expe-
rienced the same fate as the barbarian king of Guzzerat. A legion or
hornets, from some lofty kor trees, so called from the leprous-like
(koira) bark, descending with furious impetuosity, fastened on every
individual.
•
ATTACK OF HORNETS.
123
individual. Sauve qui peut! was the order of the day. The old Guru,
like Johnny Gilpin, ventured to put his heels to his steed, his white
vestments streaming like a meteor to the troubled air; the soldier
threw away his firelock to facilitate his escape; the celestial car and its
occupant were abandoned, and but for the charity of a domestic, who
threw his chudder or mantle over me, I should have suffered doubly,
being too ill to save myself by flight. Partly from this panoply, partly
owing, as the Rahtis said, to my offerings to Achil-éswar, I remained
unscathed. While waiting till the hum of our foes receded in the
direction of pursuit, the lame domestic passed at full gallop on the
Thakoor's mare, albeit big with foal, roaring out "Ali Mudit!” “For
the aid of Ali!" The baker passed without either scarf or turban, and
I was obliged to send back a pallet to bring in a Sipahi, who was so
severely stung as to be unable to move.
At noon, we reached Girwur, where I found my tents just arrived
from Palrie. The barometer now stood at 28° 60′, and as at Palrie,
(the base of the point of ascent) this same instrument was 28° 50′, a
value is at once stamped upon its results.
I have elsewhere mentioned that the natives estimate the external
circumference of Aboo at from twenty to twenty-five coss, or forty to
fifty miles. Of the approximation of this to the truth, the following
rough sketch, founded on a direction I took from the highest peak, the
Guru Sikar or Sikra, north, to the shrine of Vashishta, or rather to the
tank at the base of its descent, will give a tolerable notion: it pretends
not to exactitude. The general direction of this line is S.S.W., and with
all its sinuosities and elevations, is estimated at eleven coss, or twenty-
two miles; but we must add two coss, or four miles, more for the
abrupt descent, were it practicable, from the Saint's Pinnacle to the
R 2
plain,
124
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
201
plain, which would make the span of the mountain, with these
inflexions, thirteen coss, or twenty-six miles, and this, minus a third,
might give the direct horizontal distance, at the base, of seventeen
miles, which would produce the maximum estimated circumference:
but this I consider too much. Perhaps we might form a more correct
estimate by calculating from the line contained between the Guru
Sikra N., and the shrine of Vashishta S., considering these stations as
the terre-pleine of Aboo. This line is eight estimated coss, or sixteen
miles, including inflexions and inequalities of surface, but certainly
not more than twelve miles in direct distance. With these extreme
diameters of twelve and seventeen, we have a mean of about fifteen
miles, or forty-five miles for the circumference, which is also the mean
of the native computation.
Arbudha Deut
Déluarrâ
ASS
Vashishta
YUP BAR
Nuki-tallao
Guru-sikar
Tank
Achilgur
There is a singular analogy in some of the phenomena of nature
between this sacred hill of the Hindus and one connected with the
belief of the Christian, Mount Sinai, which, although four degrees
more to the north, presents nearly the same variations of temperature,
with the same results in the vegetable kingdom. The first of modern
travellers,
+
1
OBJECTS OF NOTICE AT ABOO.
125
travellers, the ingenuous and intrepid Burckhardt, was on the summit
of Mount Sinai at the same period of the year that I was on Mount
Aboo,—i. e. the middle of June. He says the thermometer at the
base ranged from 100° to 110°, while the summit enjoyed the summer
heat of England, 76°. With me, it ranged from 95° to 108° at the
base, and on the summit from 64° to 76°. "The apricot, which ripens
at Cairo at the end of April, was not," he says, "eatable on Mount
Sinai in the middle of June:" a perfect coincidence with the state of
the same indigenous fruit on Aboo, whose botany would appear to
afford even a greater variety than the Mosaic Mount. Burckhardt
does not record the height of Sinai,* but we may judge of it from the
temperature, and the snow which covers its top in winter, a pheno-
menon never witnessed in India south of the Himalaya.
Now that my pilgrimage to Arbudha is over,† I feel content; it is
one of my desiderata accomplished; but there is another in store,
Chandravati, which I fear I must relinquish, and rest satisfied with
being its discoverer. Aboo has completely demolished me ; the fever
raging, my face and hands prodigiously swollen and inflamed from a
vertical sun, whose power was intensely felt through an atmosphere
quite keen when his beams were withdrawn. The European traveller
should mistrust his physical powers on this seductive mount, when
cool, refreshing air tempts him to exertion, from which he eventually
suffers. Moreover, none should approach it who cannot command
ང་
more
* [The elevation of Mount Sinai is 7,952 E. feet.]
+ I brought away a work called the Aboo Mahatma (a term applied to all the books relating to
sacred places), which explains the rituals to be practised, interspersed with notices of princes who
had either endowed or repaired its shrines, and of the "eight thousand various plants" found on its
surface. This work, a fine specimen of caligraphy, is in Pracrit (if I recollect rightly), having an
interlinear Sanscrit interpretation; but I had no leisure, when my Yuti tutor was with me, to exa-
mine its contents. It is now in the museum of the Royal Asiatic Society.
I
F
༑
126
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
*#*
more time than I had, for a month at least is requisite merely to
contemplate its precious and wonderful stores. A topographical map,
views of its varied landscapes, plans, elevations, and sections of its
shrines, and, if possible, casts of some of their details, sketches of the
princes who have ruled, of its mythology, and varied superstitions,
together with an account of its zoology, mineralogy, and botany, would
form a work of no common interest.
MyL
IND
:
This opus magnum we leave to the future traveller and lover of nature
and the arts, whom we would, however, apostrophize in the words of
the bard, whose muse would have found ample scope in these regions :
AMMA
Let such approach this consecrated land,
And pass in peace along the magic waste,
But spare its relics-let no busy hand
Deface the scenes, already how defaced!
Not for such purpose were these altars plac'd:
Revere the remnants, nations once rever'd:
So may our country's name be undisgrac'd.
Mur
Temple on Aboo.
MNM
aus
72%
سالسه
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سما
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justo
سر
Sul m
ང་པོ

Mackenzie, del. from a sketch by 4 Col. Hunter Flair.
Founded by
UNTO SUP
47
LOLOS
SOUTEL
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MARICEL
wirgomer
LOS
GE LAUAL NOR
Peak Pon
BRY
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LOUPORN OF
LAPIDUR
MIXER
OVE
OR
REMAINS OF A BRAHMINICAL TEMPLE AT CHANDRAVARTI
London, Published by WB. Allen & C 1859.
W.P.Sterling, sculp
J. 1
:
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127
CHAPTER VII.
Girwur.-Chandravati.-Dilapidation of its relics-Discovered by the Author.-Inscription.-
Epochs of Chandravati.-Description of the ruined city.-Baories.-Coins.-Journal of Mrs.
Blair.-Journey resumed.-Desertion of ancient roads.-Character of marauding tribes in the
time of early European travellers.-Mountainous range.-Sarotra.-Return to the plains.-
Cheerasani.-Palhanpoor.-Dewan of the district.-Antiquities of Palhanpoor.-Major Miles.-
Sidpoor. Ruins of the Roodra-Mala, a temple to Siva.-Inscriptions.
▾
GIRWUR: JUNE 16th.-Heavy masses of clouds, congregating from
the rainy quarter, indicate that the monsoon is at hand, and that I
must push on, lest the swollen streams obstruct my passage to Baroda.
With grief I renounce Chandravati, and the reader must rest satisfied
with some slight details regarding it.
Chandravati, or, as it is pronounced, Chandrôati, to which, denoting
it to be a fortified city, the word Nagri is added, bears S.E., and is
ten miles distant, from Girwur, in which fief it is situated, and in the
principality of Sarohi. Although indebted to the chief of Girwur for
much civility and information, I cannot view with any antiquarian
charity the dilapidator and salesman of what Time and the ruthless
Toork have spared of its relics. Yet this sentiment is, perhaps, a false
one, for it is already excluded from the haunt of man, and but for the
cupidity of its owner, who derives a petty annuity from the sale of its
remains, the link which connects it with the past might be lost.
Nature herself, so prolific in these regions, is rapidly covering the
glories of the Pramaras with an impenetrable veil. The silence of
desolation reigns amongst these magnificent shrines, and the once
populous streets, which religion and commerce united to fill with
wealthy
128
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
wealthy votaries, are now occupied by the tiger and the bear, or the
scarcely more civilized Bhil. With the destruction of Chandravati,
the route of commerce was changed, and but for straggling passages in
ancient books or inscriptions, it would not have left a record in the
desert. The first intimation I had of it was from the Bhoj Cheritra,*
in which it is related, that when Raja Bhoj was driven from the throne
of Dhar by some northern invader, he fled to Chandravati, from which
we may infer that it was then a fief of Dhar. Still my attempt to
discover its position was long futile, chiefly, as I afterwards found,
from the corruption of its name to Chundaôli. At length, one of
parties, roaming for inscriptions, discovered a clue to it on a reservoir
at the village of Chaupi, in the chieftainship of Korabur, on the
southern side of the Aravulli. This inscription, which mentions the
international wars waged by the Gehlote princes of Cheetore, the
Solankhis of Anhulwarra, the Pramaras of Chandravati, and the
Chohans of Nadole, remarks, when touching the genealogy of the
latter tribe:" Ari Sing had two sons, mighty warriors, Kanya and
Beetyuc; both fell in the battle of Chandravati-Nagri, fighting with
Sri-bhavan-gûpta. Sri-bhavan-gupta had two sons, Bhima Sing and
"Sri-loca Sing. In the heart of the dwelling of pleasure of Visala-
my
deva, Haradri, Kurrun, and Moolraj, did Bhima Sing, inflicting
"wounds on mighty warriors, receive his death. His brother, Sri-loca,
attempting to gain the city of Sasra-Arjuna (now Chooli-Mahaswur,
66 on the Nerbudda), was killed on the field of battle at Bamunst'hali,
66
by his foeman Somaverma, prince of Malwa." A great deal follows
before we reach the founder of the reservoir, whose date is S. 132 -the
66
66
66
66
concluding
*Cited by me, in a paper printed in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. I. p. 223,
to settle the period of Raja Bhoj.
129
concluding cypher being obliterated, say S. 1325, or A.D. 1269. The
allusion, however, to the battle of Chandravati, is about a century
earlier, as is demonstrated by inscriptions of some of the actors there
mentioned, i. e. Ari Sing Chohan, and Somaverma Pramara; the first
of which I obtained at Nadole, the other in Haravati. Thus, from the
history of Raja Bhoj we have two epochs of that of Chandravati; the
first being in the seventh, the other in the twelfth century. How much
earlier than the first it may have existed, we have only tradition to
enable us to judge. We have likewise a third period, i. e., the fifteenth
century, when it was sacrificed to give life to the city of Ahmed, the
new capital of Western India. I have detailed in the Annals' the
rise of the dynasty which founded Ahmedabad, erected out of the ruins
of Chandravati, and which not only eclipsed it, but also Anhulwarra,
the more ancient capital of Guzzerat; but the city of Ahmed, whose
architectural beauties proclaim the design and workmanship of the
Hindu artist, is rapidly going to decay. When Ahmed, the grandson
of the apostate Jaka,-better known in history under his Islamite name
of Wujeh-ol-moolk,-determined to immortalize himself by a new
capital, the site he chose was the residence of a community of Bhils,
whose marauding exploits were the terror of the country; in order to
commemorate whose extirpation, he disregarded its local disadvantages,
and the city rose upon an uninteresting, unhealthy, low flat, on the banks
of the Sahermaty. Not content with transporting the materials of
Chandravati, he resolved that its soul as well as body should migrate-
that the population should follow the spoils of the temples and the
dwellings.* But the Jain votary, the soul of Chandravati, when placed
between
CHANDRAVATI.
6
$
*This general migration was once attempted by a still more magnificent madman than Ahmed-
Mahmoud the Ghilji-who resolved that Dehli should take root on the Vindya Hills; but Mandoo
and Ahmedabad shared the like fate.
ــــــــ
1
130
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
1
1
}
between the Holies of his faith, Mounts Aboo and Arasinni, languished
on the banks of the Sahermaty, and, like the banished Hebrew of old,
wept by its waters, as he contemplated the gorgeous mosques erected
from the shrines of his ancient abode.
"But to return to Chandravati and its site. A little better than half-
way to it from Girwur, and in the S.E. direction, is the village of
Mahole, said to have been a suburb of the city, and at which stood one
of its gates. The Bunas river passes Mahole and flows under the ruined
city, which probably stretched along its banks. A low ridge, running
southward from the base of Aboo, is crossed before reaching the village,
and the route is through one continuous forest, where it was impossible
for my baggage to penetrate. The city itself is now overgrown with
jungle; its fountains and wells choked up, its temples destroyed, and
the remains daily dilapidated by the Girwur chief, who sells the marble
materials to any who have taste and money to buy them. Chandra-
vati stands midway between the shrines of Amba-bhavani and Tarin-
gi on the one hand, and Aboo on the other; the former being
fifteen miles east, the other the same distance west. They are almost
equally attractive, and, like Aboo, are equally sacred to both Jain and
Sivite. If we may credit tradition, this city was more ancient than
Dhar, being the metropolis of Western India when the Pramar was
paramount lord, to whom the Nokoti Maroo-ca, or Nine Castles' of the
desert, were the grand subordinate fiefs. These are enumerated in a
stanza elsewhere given,* shewing that the sway of this tribe extended
from the Sutledge to the Nerbudda, and in which Dhar is mentioned
as one of these fiefs. Although, as before stated, the word Nagri
shews that Chandravati was a fortified city, yet the castle of Aboo
6
must
* See 'Annals,' vol. i. p. 760.

Ba
E Mackenzie, del. from a sketch by M Col. Iuuter Blair
Granted by Mr Jeeems
155
New
London, Published by W. II. Allen, & C 1899.
OLA
MARBLE PILLARS AT CHANDRAVARTI.
W. F. Starling, sculp
CHANDRAVATI.
131
must have been its stronghold in emergency; and however ineligible
its position may now appear as a commercial mart, we must on the
other hand remember that religion and traffic are twin-sisters in the
East, and that every place of pilgrimage is a place of trade, and being
in the centre of several, and little out of the route which served to con-
vey the maritime commerce of both peninsulas over India, this must
have ensured its prosperity. Were proof of it required, we have
only to look at the work of the merchant-brothers on Aboo. The date
of this shrine, S. 1287 or A.D. 1231, forty years after the subjugation
of Northern India by the Islamite, strikingly attests the magnitude of
its wealth, the power of its princes, and the yet undecayed condition
of the arts. It is evident, however, notwithstanding the inscription
says "the umbrella of the godlike Dharaburz alone shaded Chandra-
vati,” that he acknowledged the paramount sovereignty of Anhulwarra,
from which dependance his ancestor, Jaita, had been snatched, and
gave his allegiance with his daughter "the wise Echinie,” to Pirthi Raj,
the last Rajpoot monarch of Dehli.* That the Pramaras did not long
preserve independence after Dharaburz, is evident from an inscription
found at the shrine of Vashishta, recording the conquest of Aboo by
Kanir-deo Chohan, prince of Jhalore, and containing the following
singular adjuration: that should the Pramar regain his birthright, his
religious grant should be perpetuated to the shrine, under the penalty of
sixty thousand years' residence in hell. There is no date to this, but as
his
* One of the sixty-nine books of the last of the bards, Chund, is devoted to the war for the
restoration of the independence of Aboo and Chandravati, subjugated by Bhima, sovereign of
Anhulpoor, and which ended in his defeat and death. Jaita, who had his dominions restored,
became one of the most renowned of the hundred and eight Sawunts or leaders, and his son,
Lacshan, eventually became Premier to the Chohan.
s 2
132
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
F
}
4
his son, Beerum-deo, was driven from Jhalore by Alla-u-din in S. 1347,
or A.D. 1291, it is probable that Kanir-deo wrested Aboo from Prela-
dum, the son of Dharaburz. At all events, it was a transitory acquisi-
tion; for the Deora Annals state that it was Rao Loombho who made
a final conquest of Aboo and Chandravati; of the former in S. 1352, or
A.D. 1296; of the latter in S. 1359, or A.D. 1303. The battle which
transferred the sovereignty of the Pramaras to the Deoras was
fought at the village of Baraillee, where Merhutungi, son of Aggun
Sén, fell with seven hundred of his kindred. Between these periods,
however, the Chohans had been gradually reducing the inferior fiefs of
the Pramaras, each conquest giving birth to a new branch, and many
of these being made without the aid of their Suzerain, their descen-
dants are disposed to pay but a scanty obedience to his representative;
such are the chieftains of Madar, Girwur, &c.
But however interesting such details may be to the investigator of
Hindu antiquities, the general reader can scarcely participate in this
feeling. I shall, therefore, take leave of ancient Chandravati, which,
on the foundation of Sarohi by Rao Subboo, in S. 1461, or A.D. 1405,
as well as Ahmedabad, fell into utter decay. I sent a party to the
ruins, from whose report I might better judge than from the gossip of
my Deora friends, for whom these relics have no charms. Their
accounts only the more excited my desire to visit one of the most
important of my discoveries, which I rank with Arore on the Indus,
Soorpoora on the Jumna, Barolli on the Chumbul, Chandrabhaga in
Harouti, and many other long forgotten names. They spoke in raptures
of the temples, and Baoris, or reservoirs, yet remaining; of
Columns strewn on the waste sand,
And statues fall'n and cleft,
Heap'd like a host in battle overthrown,
which
cabat am
1
133
BAORIS, OR RESERVOIRS.
which remain to immortalize the pencil of some future traveller. It is
a curious fact, that sacred architecture alone remains in India to indi-
cate the past state of this art. There are scarcely any vestiges of civil
architecture, except in Cheetore; but wherever they do exist, they are
at once apparent, from the walls having a talus, or external slope, like
the Egyptian. We may include in the domestic structures, those
useful and ornamental excavations called baoris, which serve both as
reservoirs and abodes in the hot season. Some of these are on a
gigantic scale, and may be described generally as circular pits, from
twenty to fifty feet in diameter, and of depth proportionate to the
springs. Suites of chambers, story below story, approached by a
staircase, surround them from the surface to the water's edge, which,
in hot weather, form delightful retreats for the chiefs and their families.
Unless the internal slopes are prominent and walled with cyclopean
masses, the external pressure, conjoined with the ever-springing vege-
tation so destructive to edifices in India, reduces them, in the course
of a few centuries, to ruin. It is rarely that the treasuries of the
modern princes permit them to indulge in such luxuries. The sole
exception within my knowledge, is the Boondéla prince of Dutteah,
who has constructed one both solid and capacious.
My exploring party likewise found among the ruins three antique
coins of the Pramaras, on one of which the legend is visible. And
here I check my own dull chronicle of the past, to enliven my page
with an extract from the journal of the friend to whose pencil my work
is indebted for its chief attractions. The world will look
The world will look upon the
monuments of past ages with redoubled interest, when it learns that no
traces of them longer exist. The dilapidator of Girwur, whom I have
already anathematized, has "done his worst," and the domed shrine of
Siva
134
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Siva and those magnificent toruns, or arches, of the Unitarian Jain,
have been despoiled, sold, and converted into lime, probably to cement
some structure ignoble as the spoiler.
"The ruins of Chundrawuttee, which was anciently the capital of
the Pramar Rajahs, are situated about twelve miles from the foot of
the Aboo mountain, on the banks of the Bunass, and in a fine well-
wooded country. The city is said to be mentioned in ancient legendary
tales and poems, but until the beginning of the year 1824, when this
view was taken, it had never been visited by Europeans, to whom it
was scarcely known even by tradition, and its past history is lost,
except some particulars in the possession of Colonel Tod. The city,
to judge from the fragments of marble and stone strewn over an exten-
sive plain, must have been of considerable size, and its pretensions to
great refinement and riches, may be admitted from the beautiful
specimens still remaining of its marble edifices, of which twenty of
different sizes were discovered when the spot was first visited by his
Excellency Sir Charles Colville and his party in January 1824. The
one here represented is Brahminical, and adorned with rich sculptured
figures and ornaments in high relief, those of the human form being
nearly statues, and only attached to the building sufficiently for their
own support. They are executed with a degree of excellence scarcely
equalled in Indian sculpture, and which would not in some instances
disgrace more cultivated artists. Of these images there are one
hundred and thirty eight. The smallest are two feet high and placed
in niches of the most elegant workmanship. The principal figures are
a Triad, or three-headed statue, with a female seated on his knee, sitting
on a car, with a large goose in front :-Siva with twenty arms :—the same
with a buffalo on his left, the right foot raised and resting on a small
figure,
•
+

J
FANSEN
F. Mackerie, del, from a sketch by M Col Hummer Blair
TEMPLE AT CHANDRAVARTI.
London Published by W Allen & 61839
3wwMER
W. F. Starting, sculp
·
SCULPTURE.
135
figure, resembling Garud a figure of Death with twenty arms, one
holding a human head by the hair; a victim lying beneath, and a
nymph on each side; one seems drinking the blood falling from the
head, the other devouring a human hand :—with many others, sur-
rounded by different attributes and in various postures: but the most
admirable are the dancing nymphs, with garlands and musical instru-
ments, many being extremely graceful and well executed. This
building is entirely formed of white marble, and the prominent parts
have retained their lustre ; but those which recede are become dark
from the influence of weather and atmosphere, adding to, rather than
diminishing, the effect of the rich carving.
"The interior of the temple and centre dome is highly finished ; but
the roof and exterior of the domes have lost their outer coating of
marble. The pillars in the foreground of the drawing appear to have
been part of a colonnade, which once surrounded the temple: they are
of marble, which material is strewn over the adjacent ground in great
profusion, and columns, statues, cornices, and slabs, are tossed in heaps
all around.
And many a proud
Cotemporary pile the Wilderness
Environs with her solitary waste,
1
Where mortal visits rarely-save the step
Of Eastern Bandit over the deep wild
Tracking the Beast of Deserts."
G
JUNE 16th.-SAROTRA.-Being sufficiently recovered from my fa-
tigues, and laden with all that tradition and the Scalds of Sarohi could
supply, I struck my tents. At ten A.M., the thermometer 86°, baro-
meter 28° 90′, distance ten miles, general direction S.S.W. The road
lay through a deep forest, consisting chiefly of Dho trees, and although
quite practicable for foot-passengers and oxen, I was obliged to send
on
1
136
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
on men with hatchets, to clear the way for the larger animals. No
better proof can be given of the abandoned condition of this country,
once the highway of commerce between the sea-ports and Northern
India, than this relapse of civilization into a state of nature. Here,
with all the wonders of Aboo, Taringi, and Chandravati around us, the
one fallen, the other fast sinking into decay, we can speculate upon
the Hindu doctrine of the destruction of worlds, and the passions of
their lordly inhabitants. These roads, once crowded with caravans of
commerce and of pilgrims, or resounding to the tramp of the war-horse,
were now little trodden, save by the foot of the savage Koli, who finds
shelter amidst his own indigenous woods and rocks. This tract was
celebrated, in the first days of European travel, for the loose, maraud-
ing habits of the Razbouts, as well as the Kolis, whose manners, as
detailed by Thévenot and Olearius, prove that the morale of my Deora
friends is not worse now than in the days of Shah Jehan.*
Four miles from Girwur, we crossed a rivulet, called the Kalairè,
which has its source in a small lake, named Moongt'hal, four miles
west of the first mentioned town. On our right, bearing due west and
four miles distant, rose a lofty three-peaked mountain, on which is a
temple dedicated to Aya-Mata, also called Isani, the tutelary divinity
of the Kolis. This, and the effigy of the horse, are the only objects
of adoration among this aboriginal race.† This Tricuta, or triple-
pinnacled
“Nous rencontrâmes une Caffila, ou caravane, de marchands Benjans, qui nous dirent, qu'ils
avoient été attaquez par deux cens voleurs Razbouts, qui les avoient contraints de se rançonner de
cent ropias, et que nous devions nous tenir sur nos gardes; parceque, le jour précedent, ils 'en
avoient vû cent autres, qui, ayant appris d'eux ce qu'ils avoient payé à leurs camarades, ne leur
avoient rien dit, et s'etoient contentez d'emmener un de leurs bœufs; mais qu'ils alloient joindre
les prémiers, et qu'ils ne manqueroient pas de nous attaquer.”—Olearius, vol. i. liv. 1, 113.
This is the first time I ever saw a personification of Mother Earth; such is Isáni, from Isa,
'goddess,' and Awani, 'earth,' the universal nurse-mother, (aya-mata). Whether the worship of
the
7
137
MOUNTAIN RANGES.
pinnacled hill, is the commencement of a range which runs westward
to Deesa and Dantiwarra, and, though superficially unconnected with it,
no doubt has a subterranean union, as well as the more prominent
ridge on the left, crossed midway between Girwur and Chandravati,
and which afterwards, though broken, shews some fine picturesque and
primitive peaks rising as it were out of impervious woods, which form a
foreground; while the giant Aravulli, towering in the eastern horizon,
fills up the distance, having a fine valley between, fifteen miles in
breadth, watered by the Bunas. It is from this point, where crowned
with the shrines of Arisinni and Taringi, that the Aravulli sweeps
away to the south, encircling Poloh and Eedur, and with more or less
continuity and elevation, to the Nerbudda, which severs it from the
Indian Apennines, the Koncan chain, terminating at the bridge of
Rama. I omitted to mention that this broken ridge on the left ceases
at Dantal, twenty miles distant, the residence of a chief of the
Rajpoot race, called Burrur, with the title of Rana. This tribe is said
to be originally from the valley of Sinde, and the legend says that his
ancestry were conveyed thence by Bhavani herself, from whom he has
license to divide with her all offerings of gold and silver made at any
of her shrines. This is the chief who abstracted the golden chalice
from the temple of Arbudha Devi; and here was another charge
against him, of having laid impious hands on a cup presented by the
chieftain of Daroo to the Cybele of Arasinni. If his origin was Sinde,
his ancestors must have been transplanted many centuries ago, though
the terrific Devi still has a shrine and worshippers far west of the
Indus, on the shores of Mekran.
At
the horse is typical of the sun, "the swiftest of created, representing the swiftest of uncreated
objects," I know not; but in this they resemble the other forest tribes, the Bhils and Séryas.
T
138
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
At the village of Kuraitur, midway between Girwur and Sarotra,
we crossed the Bunas, which, emerging for a moment from the coverts
of the forest, passes on to Sarotra, where we encamped on her banks.
The forest was alive with wild-fowl crowing in all directions, and the
cuckoo accompanied us as far south as Cheerasani: the Kolis call
this bird sûk'hi, or 'ease-giving'—perhaps as expressive as Kaméri,
'the bird of love.' In the valley of Oodipoor, and on the plateau
about Kotah, they apply other epithets to this bird, alike indicative of
its being sacred to Cama-deva. The psychologist cannot fail to be
surprised at finding a metaphorical language and allegorical allusions
of the most sentimental cast amongst these uncivilized denizens of
the mountain and forest, whose occupations are so incongruous.
Sarotra is in Koliwara, and is the head of a small talook or tithing.
The language changed rapidly. At Sarohi we could make ourselves
understood, but here with great difficulty, and only on the commonest
subjects. These are the descendants of the Koli friends of Bernier,
who will pursue the same mode of life until the axe is laid to their
forest, which is as old as Isáni herself. Chandravati is reckoned eight
coss, and Dantah thirteen, from hence. The shrine of Vashishta bore
N. 25° E., and the triple-peaked hill from N. 25° to 35° E.
JUNE 17th.-CHEERASANI.-Direction S. S. W., distance eleven miles
and a half. Here our eyes were again blessed with a sight of the
plains. For the first seven miles, the road was through the same deep
forest, at the termination of which a village had been recently esta-
blished by the chief of Palhanpoor. Two miles further, we crossed a
stream, called the Balaram balla, or rivulet, flowing from the Aravulli,
and which joins the Bunas four miles below a small temple dedicated
to Bala-rama, whence its name. Here ceased the forest, through which
we
139
PALHANPOOR.
we had marched from the skirt of Aboo, a distance of twenty-five
miles. The broken ridge, described in yesterday's route as occasionally
rising into lofty peaks, still preserved the same character, and ran
parallel to our route, at the distance of four to five miles, as did the
Isáni range, diverging in a S.W. line to Dantiwarra. Towards the end
of this day's march, the sandy nature of the soil increased, and the
plants underwent a corresponding change. In lieu of the lofty dho
and the variegated kesoola, of whose leaves they form cups and platters
by means of rivets of grass, we had the babool (mimosa arabica), the
evergreen peloo, and the khureel, all inhabitants of the desert. At
every step the sand augmented. The declivity of the country through-
out this march was apparent to the eye, and was confirmed by the
barometer, which at noon stood at 28° 80′, and the thermometer 96°.
From a knoll near Cheerasani, I took my last bearing of Aboo,
N.N.E..
JUNE 18th.-PALHANPOOR.-Direction S.S.W. distance nine miles.
This town is the head of a small independent district, which is now
under the protection of the British Government, in the presidency of
Bombay. Half-way, its chief, or as he is styled, Dewan, did me the
honour of a greeting, and with great courtesy conducted me to his
city, where he saw me safely lodged under the hospitable roof of
Major Miles, the resident agent, through whose judicious superin-
tendence the town was rapidly rising to prosperity. The Dewan is a
Mahomedan, and his ancestors held Jhalore and other dependencies,
alike ephemeral, in grant from the kings of Guzzerat, whence they
were expelled by the Rahtores. The Dewan is a young man of
promise, of great propriety of demeanour, and all about him indi-
cated comfort and respectability. His retainers are chiefly Sindies,
T 2
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140
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TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
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I
holding lands for service. Palhanpoor is walled, and said to contain
six thousand habitations. It was an ancient appanage of Chandravati,
and claims especial notice from having been founded by Pal Pramara,
whose name it bears and whose statue it contains. The respect paid
to him, however, is rather of an equivocal character, as he is nearly
imbedded in a heap of lime, amassed for the repairs of the shrine
which shelters him. Whether this statue originally belonged to Pal-
hanpoor, or was brought from Chandravati, I know not; but it is of
far inferior stamp to the slayer of the Bucentaur on Aboo, though the
general costume and character are the same. It is either very antique
or very modern; but the appearance certainly does not authorize the
latter conclusion. Palhanpoor also boasts of being the birth-place of
that beacon-light amongst the Balhara kings, the great Sid-Rae. If
she has a title to this distinction, his mother, the wife of Raja Kurrun,
must have been travelling elsewhere with her precious burthen, to pay
her vows, than to the shrine of the Hindu Cybele, west of the Indus, as
stated in the history of Komarpal; but more of this hereafter.
I remained all this day and the next with Major Miles, and have
seldom passed eight and forty hours more agreeably; for in him I not
only found a courteous and friendly brother-officer, but one whose
mind was imbued with the same taste and pursuits as my own.
We
had much to talk over and to compare, and our general conclusions as
to the character of the dynasties of ancient days were the same. It
was gratifying to find in the wilderness one pursuing similar avocations
with myself. I gave the Major the strongest proof I could of my
esteem, in a duplicate of the Bactrian medal of Apollodotus, which I
obtained either from the ruins of the ancient Avinti, or from the sacred
lake at Ajmér.
SIDPOOR.
:
1
190
141
TEMPLE OF ROODRA-MALA.
6
SIDPOOR.-JUNE 20th. In the infancy of our geography of India,
the illustrious D'Anville said of this city, "ville qui tire son nom des
Shites, ou toiles peintes, qui s'y fabriquent ;" but it boasts of a more
dignified etymology, being called after its patron, the Balhara prince,
Sid-Rae. By some he is supposed to be the founder, but there is every
reason to believe that he was only the renovator, of this place, the
position of which on the Sarasvati, flowing from the shrine of Amba-
bhavani, is well-chosen. Here are the remains of what in past ages
must have been one of the grandest efforts of Hindu architecture, a
temple dedicated to Siva, and termed Roodra-Mala, or the chaplet of
Roodra,' the god of battle; but so disjointed are the fragments, that it
is difficult to imagine what it may have been as a whole. They are
chiefly portions of porticoes, one of which tradition names the prostyle
of the munduff, or vaulted mansion occupied by the bull, companion
of Roodra, whose sanctum was converted into a mosque. It is said to
have been a rectangular building, five stories in height, and if we may
judge from one portion yet remaining, this could not have been less
than one hundred feet. This portion is a mass of two stories, each
supported by four columns, and the columns of a third story, preserving,
without any entablature, their perfect perpendicularity :
Self-poised, the top-stone seems to rock,
ages past have seen it mock
But
The winter's storm or earthquake's shock,
which have levelled the glories of its more modern neighbour, the city
of Ahmed.* The pencil of my friend and fellow academical, the
Honourable
* The minarets of its finest mosque, called the shaking minars, from the vibratory motion which
could be given by any individual on their summit, were, with many other splendid objects, thrown
down by earthquakes, and would scarcely have been known but for the pencil of Captain Grindlay,
who has preserved them in his interesting work, The Scenery and Costumes of Western India. '
142
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
7
A
·
Honourable Lincoln Stanhope, enables me to give this singular
remnant to the public. It is built of a coarse sand-stone, containing
much small granulated quartz, and the sculpture is like the edifice and
the material, bold but rough. I found two inscriptions, from one of
which I learned that it was commenced by Raja Moolraj (the founder
of the Solankhi dynasty of Anhulwarra), in S. 998 (A.D. 942), and
from the other that it was finished by Sid-Raj. The following is the
translation:" In Samvat 1202 (A.D. 1146), the fourth of the month
"of Mâg, the obscure half of the moon, know that the Solankhi Sid
completed the Roodra-Mala, and with pure mind performed worship
"to Siva, thereby leaving a name in the world.”
A couplet records its destruction by All-u-din :-“ In S. 1353 (A.D.
1297), came the barbarian Alla: the Roodra-Mala he levelled,
66
66
66
carrying destruction amongst the lords of men." This is the very
year, according to Ferishta, of the conquest of Guzzerat, and the
massacre of its prince Kurrun, erroneously called the Gohil' by that
historian; but even this remorseless tyrant, whose nom de guerre was
Khoni, or the sanguinary,' appears to have been actuated by some
compunctious visitings, when he spared so much of this splendid temple
of idolatry. Besides these fragments of inscriptions, my scouts.
obtained me the acquaintance of Sankla, the chronologist, who was
crammed with tradition, and who spouted a volume of antiquarian
metrical lore, of which the following is a sample:-" The temple to
"Roodra had 1,600 columns: 121 statues to Roodra, each in its sepa-
"rate cella: 121 golden pinnacles (cullus): 1,800 smaller statues of
"other divinities: 7,212 resting-places in and about the temple:
“125,000 carved screens: and of other pootlis or images, namely, of
"heralds bearing flags, heroes, demigods, mortals, or animals, thou-
"sands
J
*
“sands and tens of thousands." But every-where tradition says, that
Sid-Rae expended "fourteen millions of pieces of gold" upon it,
though the value of each piece is not specified. The chief fragment of
this once superb monument is enclosed and half-hidden by the huts of
Koli weavers, who one of these days may have their fragile habitations
as well as their own heads broken by some of Roodra's skulls falling
amongst them ;* for although the foundations are on a rock, I have
found that the earthquake of 1819, which was felt throughout all
Western India, threw down two of the loftiest columns. The only
good view which can be obtained of the ruins, is from the interior of
these sheds, which form but an indifferent foreground to the picture.
༦༢་
*The chaplet (mala) of Roodra, a name of Siva, as the ensanguined god of battle, is composed
of human crania,-the drinking-cups of the Rajpoot heroes of past days.
میری ۔
TEMPLE OF ROODRA-MALA.
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143
MY
Gateway of the Fort of Unchulgurh, top of Aboo.
144-
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
CHAPTER VIII.
KINGDOM OF NEHRWALEH.
Nehrwaleh, the ancient capital of Western India. Its site discovered by the Author.-Inferiority
of the Arabian to the Greek geographers of ancient India.-Errors in respect to the position of
Nehrwaleh, or Anhulwarra.-Mistake of Gosselin, and probable accuracy of Herodotus.-
Annals of ancient Anhulwarra, the Tyre of India.-Origin of the title 'Balhara.'-Sun-worship.
-Remains of the city of Balabhi.-Change of capital from Balabhi to Anhulwarra.—The Komar-
pal Cheritra, or chronicle of Anhulwarra.-Extracts therefrom-Synchronisms.-Proofs that
historical works are not unknown in India.-Traditional foundation of Anhulpoor.-Revolutions
in India at this epoch.-Sudden magnificence of the city.-List of its princes.-Balhara coin.
Relation of the Mahomedan travellers in the ninth century.
NOTWITHSTANDING the immense strides which geography has made
since the days of the illustrious D'Anville, and my no less illustrious
countryman, Rennell, the position of Nehrwaleh, the ancient capital
of Western India, was still amongst the desiderata until, in 1822, I
discovered, in one of the suburbs of modern Puttun, and touching the
ruined Acropolis of the Balhara kings, the name which to this day had
puzzled the most celebrated geographers, ancient and modern. The
name of this suburb is Anurwarra, and in the more correct orthography
of the annals of its dynasties, Anhulwarra, whence the very slight
corruption of Nehelvaré, Nehewaleh, or, as in Edrisi, Nahroara. How
many able heads have been at work upon this name-Greek, Arabian,
French, English, German,-exemplifying the adage, that even the
errors of the learned are wise! All have at least concentrated their
scattered rays upon the illustrious dynasties which ruled in this hidden
capital, and were known throughout the East as the Balhara, or more
correctly
1
THE ARABIAN TRAVELLERS.
· 145
correctly Balha-raes, exalted kings.'
'exalted kings.' When we contrast the lucid
intelligence, slight as it is, on oriental subjects, which guided the pens
of Justin, Strabo, and Arrian,* with the crude, incomprehensible
details of the Arabian travellers, many centuries later, we are at a loss
to account for the discrepancies of the latter; for while the position
traced by the first writers is scarcely liable to doubt, that assigned by
the Arabians is so vague as to apply equally to any part of the king-
dom, so much so as to raise a question in my mind as to the existence
of such travellers, the more especially that, as far as regards that
portion with which I am acquainted, the world would have lost nothing
had their account never seen the light. The translator of these
"Arabian travellers of the ninth century," the Abbé Renaudot, in a
long prefatory discourse, attacks every wayfarer in the paths of Arabian
literature, from Greaves, the translator of Abulféda, to honest Sir John
Chardin, not even sparing the learned Hyde; but, excepting some
slight phonetic resemblance in the names of towns, with the mention
of the silver currency, both of which facts they might have obtained
from any common sailor, without quitting their own "happy" shores,
the whole appears apocryphal; at all events, so equivocal is the produc-
tion as far as regards "the Balhara kings of Moharmi al Adar, or of
those who have their ears bored," that the literary world would not have
lost an iota of knowledge had the " Relations anciennes" of M. Renaudot
never appeared. The commentators, Arabian and European, after wast-
ing a great deal of ingenious conjecture, have done little to illuminate
this darkness. Following Ulug Beg, the princely astronomer of Samar-
66
cand,
* Author of the Periplus, and who resided at Baroach, or, as he called it, Barugaza, as a com-
mercial agent, in the second century of our era; Baroach was within the Balhara sovereignty.
U
146
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
J
cand, they fix the site of Anhulwarra in 22° north latitude, thus
bringing it into the Gulf of Cambay, and making this, the sea-port,
the ancient capital itself, whose actual position is 23° 48′ north, and
longitude 27° 10′ east. · How different is the notice given by El
Edrisi, in the twelfth century! It is true he has said little, but that
little is accurate as regards the extent of the Balhara kingdom, its
riches, commerce, and religion, and confirms all my own previously
conceived opinions on these points.
Happily—perhaps unhappily for many-the time is past which
admitted of literary fraud, or when the loose or corrupt text of a
credulous authority, such as Herodotus, could illumine the pages of
such men as Gosselin with brilliant nothings. This justly celebrated
geographer pours forth all the vials of his wrath upon the father of
Indian geography, our own Rennell, for daring even to suppose that
the Padeens, Ichthyophagists or Anthropophagists of the Indus, could
have been allowed a habitation on the fair Ganges; and in the excess
of charity for his error, supposes he must have been led into the
mistake by the word Paddar, (" meaning the Ganges in Sanscrit,") for
which he complacently quotes Pomponius Mela as his authority!
Seizing the old geographical error, that a river named Paddar issued
from the hills at Ajmér and flowed into the Gulf of Cutch, he deems
it proof demonstrative that there only should be found the Padeens of
Herodotus, and sneers at our countryman for the "idée bizarre de
chercher à confondre les Padeens avec les Gangarides. It is amusing to
see scholars quarrelling about the shadow of a shade; there is no
Paddar flowing from Ajmér into the Cutch Gulf, and the Salt River,
or Loony, which thence has its source and flows into the great. Runn,
""*
* "Recherches sur la Géographie des Anciens," par Gosselin.
..
or
I
THE TITLE "BALHARA."
or salt marsh overflowed by the Indus, has no Padeens on its banks.
As Herodotus does describe his Padeens as hunters, and eating raw
flesh, it is most probable he had heard of the class termed Pardis, the
hunters and fowlers to this day of India, but whose abode, like their
occupation, is unrestricted.*
I now proceed to illustrate the state of the kingdom of Anhulwarra
from its own Annals, with something of its present condition, from
personal observation.
Of the ancient Nehrwaleh, which D'Anville had set his heart upon
discovering, we may say, as did the Jewish prophet of old," and they
"shall weep for thee in bitterness of heart, and lament over thee;
saying, What city is like Tyre ?" Anhulwarra was the Tyre of
India, though not a sea-port, her port being that of Cambay; neither
is it improbable that ancient Tyre did contribute to the varied
commerce of this city, through which ramified the produce of Africa
and Arabia from the remotest times; nor that the mariners of Hiram,
the ally and carrier of Solomon, may have found their way to the land
of the Sauras-the Syria of India.
Previously to furnishing extracts from the Komár-pál Charitra, a
historical work, which sketches the dynasties that ruled over Anhul-
warra, it may be as well to ascend to a more remote period, in order
to trace the origin of the title, Balhara, assumed by its successive
sovereigns. Amongst the earliest of the tribes which conquered a
settlement in the peninsula of Saurashtra (the most interesting region
in
66
147
C
* We are gravely informed by the same author (p. 222), that the Syrastrene has its name from a
small village called Syrastra, " vers le fond du Golfe de Cutch," and again, vol. iii. p. 224, where a
similarity of sound sufficed to establish a fact, that, “Dunga se reconnoit avec une simple transposi-
tion de deux lettres dans le petit village de Gundar.”
U 2
148
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
in all India) was the Balla, by some authorities stated to be a branch
of the great Indu-vansa, and hence termed Bali-ca-pútrá, and said to
have been originally from Balica-des,* or Balk, the Bactria of the
Greeks. Whatever truth there may be in this tradition, it is power-
fully corroborated by the Bardic title bestowed on the chiefs of this
race, i. e. "Tatta Mooltan ca Rae." Another authority asserts that Balla
was the son of Lava (pronounced Lao), eldest son of Rama; that he
conquered the ancient city of Dhaûk, also known as Moongy-patun,
capital of the region, or division of the peninsula, called Bâlâ-khetra
that in process of time they founded the city of Balabhi, and assumed
the title of Bala-râé; that they were consequently of the race of Surya,
not Indu: and of this stock are the Ranas of Méwar. The present
chief of Dhaûk, who, when I passed, was in confinement, is a Balla.
The Balla pays adoration almost exclusively to the Sun, and it is only
in Saurashtra that temples to this orb abound;† so that religion, tradi-
tion as regards their descent, and personal appearance, all indicate an
Indo-scythic origin for this race, and in order to conceal their barba-
rian (mletcha) extraction, the fable of their birth from Rama may have
been devised. The city of Balabhi, written Wulleh in the maps, and
now an inconsiderable village, was said to be twelve coss, or fifteen
miles, in circumference. From its foundations, gigantic bricks, from
one and a half to two feet in length, are still dug; but of this hereafter.
Enough has been said to trace the origin of the Balhara of the Arabian
travellers,
;
C
*Its former importance is still recognised in its epithet of Um-ul-Belad, the mother of cities,'
as we are informed by Mr. Elphinstone.
There is a Sun-temple at Baroda, dedicated to Surya Narayana; the object of worship of the
prime minister of the Guicowar, who is of the Purvoe caste, descended, I believe, from the ancient
Guebre. There is also, if I mistake not, a Sun-temple at Benares.
}
THE KOMAR-PAL CHARITRA.
149
travellers, the Baleokouras of Ptolemy; for, even in the second
century, it had claims to the attention of the royal geographer of
Egypt.
We shall at once commence our extracts from the Komár-pál Charitra,
which will introduce the change of dynasty and capital, when the
Chaura or Saura succeeded to the Balla, and transferred the gádi from
Balabhi to Anhulwarra. This work, consisting of thirty-eight thousand
slocas or stanzas, the original of which is in Sanscrit, was composed by
Sailug Soor Acharya, a celebrated teacher of the Jains, in the reign of
the prince whose name it bears, who ruled from A.D. 1143 to 1166,
and whose life it is chiefly intended to illustrate.* In order, however,
to connect the history of the dynasty to which he belongs, the Solan-
khi, with the Chaura, which preceded, the author commences with
the establishment of the latter in S. 802 (A.D. 746), the epoch of the
foundation of Anhulwarra, passing over very succinctly the princes
prior to his own, and what he does insert is from the Vans Raj Charitra,
or history of the founder of Anhulwarra, a work whose existence I
ascertained, and only through a mistake, failed to obtain a copy of it.
I shall neither follow the order in which it is written, nor give it
verbatim, but take such extracts as suffice to develope the past great-
ness of this kingdom, commencing with a chronological table of its
dynasties, with a few comments on such of the princes whose actions
were remarkable. I am too well aware, that such details can afford
little
* There is a version of this work in the dialect of Guzzerat, and it was a copy of this, obtained
from the Rana's library at Oodipoor, written in S. 1492 (A.D. 1436), which I first translated. It
was evidently from this version that Abulfazil composed his sketch of the ancient history of
Guzzerat, and furnished his list of its dynasties. Subsequently I obtained from the library at
Anhulwarra a transcript of the Sanscrit original, which, by the aid of my Jain Yuti, I likewise
translated, and which proved the fidelity of the Guzzerati version. Both editions I presented to
the Royal Asiatic Society.
150
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
A
1
I'
little general interest; and they are therefore more especially addressed
to those who continue blindly to assert that the Hindus had no such
thing as historical works of any kind.
Names of Princes.
Bunsraj
Joograj
Kheemraj
Boerji
Birsing
Rutnadit
Samunt
DYNASTIES OF ANHULWARRA.
FIRST.-CHAORA, CHAWURA, OR SAURA DYNASTY.
Moolraj
Cháond, or Chamund ....
Balli Rao, or Ballabi Sén
Doorlub, or Nahr-rao
Date of
Installation.
Samvat.
A.D.
802
746
852
796
887 831
912
856
885
919
925
941
966
981
988 932
1044 988
1057 1001
1057 1001
Length
of
each Reign.
Bhímdeo
1069 1013
Kurrun
Sidraj Jey-sing
1111 1055
1140 1084
Komár-pál
1189 1133
Chonipál, Aji-pál, or Jeipál 1222 1166
Bhola Bhímdeo
1225
1169
Ballo Mooldeo .....
1228
1172
50
35
25
29
25
15
T
186
SECOND.-SOLANKHI DYNASTY.
56
13
42
29
49
33
3
3
21
-Q
261
The chronicle says, "he ruled fifty
years and lived sixty."
First Arabian traveller (A.H. 237,
A.D. 851), and second (A.H.
254, A.D. 868.)
Reigned till S. 988, or A.D. 932.
Mahmood placed on the throne one of the
Ancient Rajas, perhaps this Ballabi.
11 Cotemporary with Moonj of Dhar, father
of Bhoj, whom he visited on resigning
his throne to Bhímdeo.
Confederacy of the Hindu princes against
the Moslems, in A.D. 1044.
Subjugated the Kolis and Bhils.
REMARKS.
Commenced the monument of Sidpoor.
Conquered by Mahmood A.H. 416, or S.
1064 according to Abulfazil.
Cotemporary with Jey Sing of Canooj.
Antagonist of Pirthi-raj of Delhi,
Reigned till S. 1249, or A.D. 1193.
SALE
-
[
I
R
λ
THIRD.-BHAGAILA DYNASTY, still called Chalook in Inscriptions.
Names of Princes.
HISTORICAL AUTHORITIES.
Beesildeo
Bhímdeo
Arjundeo.
Sarungdeo
Gehlá Kurrundeo
Date of
Installation.
Samvat. A.D.
1249 1193
1264 1208
1306 1250
1329 1273
1350 1294
Length
of
each Reign.
15
42
23
21
3
104
REMARKS.
Aboo inscriptions.
Somnath inscriptions.
151
Ended S. 1354, or A D. 1298; ac-
cording to Ferishta, a year earlier.
The two first dynasties are exclusively from the Komár-pál Charitra,
which work terminates with Komár-pál; the concluding names of this
dynasty, as well as that which follows, are from two sources: first, from
the genealogies of the bard of the Solankhi chieftains, descended from
that line, and now dwelling in Méwar; and secondly, from a miscellany
of genealogical, geographical, and historical matter, in the western
dialect, obtained from a Jain priest.*
*Moreover, I have tested the
chronological accuracy of these royal lines by a series of inscriptions,
collected during twenty years' research, which, with transcripts from
the annals of other families, establish a tissue of synchronical evidence,
such as few Oriental histories may claim. These will be briefly
noticed as we advance. We may remark en passant, that the sage
Abulfazil did not pronounce ex cathedrá, like our own critics, that the
Hindus had nothing approaching to history. He begins his " Summary
of the kings of Guzzerat" thus: "In the books of the Hindus it is
“written,
* This contains a chronological list of all the dynasties of Anhulwarra, an account of the source
and course of the western Bunas river, and various matters highly interesting to the antiquary.
152
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
!
1
!
:
"written, that in the year S. 802 of the era of Bikramajit, correspond-
66
ing with A.H. 154,* Bans Raj was the first king who made Guzzerat
"an independent monarchy." He proceeds with the details, which
vary in some degree from the Charitra, though it is evident the
original source is the same.
S
Now, if from the foundation of Anhulwarra, in S. 802 (A.D. 746),
to its destruction by Alla-u-din in S. 1354 (A.D. 1298), we can esta-
blish an unbroken chain of princes, cotemporary with Charlemagne, the
Caliph Haroun, and the Saxon Heptarchs, down to the Plantagenet
John, shall we still be told that the Hindus have nothing even
approaching to history? If it be meant that the philosophy of history
is not intermingled with the narrative of events, à la bonne heure ; but,
because the Jain monk, in the year S. 1220, did not deem it necessary
to draw deductions from the facts which led to Komár-pál's assumption
of the crown of the Balharas, are we, therefore, entitled to say, these
facts do not belong to history? Look to the Saxon, the Ulster, and the
French chronicles of this period the foundation of the super-
structures of Hume, Hallam, Vernet, &c., are they materially more
copious or philosophical? Let us, then, abandon this assumption,
which serves only to palliate the apathy of those whose researches are
restricted to a contracted sphere of observation, and which, if not
controverted, would quench the spirit of discovery. I repeat that we
must examine the Jain libraries of Jessulmér and Anhulwarra, and the
numerous private collections of princes and chiefs in Rajpootana,
before
56
* Abulfazil's comparative chronology (or that of his translator) is here at fault. A.D. 802-
746; but A.H. 154 is A.D. 771 ; making a difference of 25 years. We shall of course follow
the Hindu date only, which gives S. 802 A.D. 746, for the foundation of Anhulwarra, and the
chronology of its dynasties.
LEGEND OF BUNSRAJ.
before we indulge such unprofitable conjectures. Meanwhile, we
proceed with the Chronicle of Anhulwarra.
“In Guzzerat, there is a tract called Budyar, of which Panchasra is
the capital. Thence one day, as Sailug Soor Acharya was walking in
the wood, in search of omens, he found a child in a mantle, suspended
from a tree, and close by a female, who proved to be its mother. On
being questioned, she said she was the widowed queen of the king of
Guzzerat, whose capital had been sacked and her lord slain by an
invader; that she had escaped from the massacre and had brought
forth the infant in the forest. On hearing this, the Acharya gave the
child the title of Bunsraj, or correctly Vanaraja, signifying forest-
king.' When arrived at man's estate, he associated with Soorapal of
Maolah, a celebrated robber, and plundered the revenues going to
Kalian. By this means, he raised troops, and established himself in a
territory, where he erected a city, the site of which was determined by
a cow-herd, named Anhul, after whom he called it Anhulpoor, or
Anhulnyr."*
Before we proceed, it may be as well to mention what the Miscellany
and the Bardic traditions relate concerning this epoch in the annals of
Guzzerat. The former work states that " Vansraj was the posthumous
son of Jusraj Chaora, prince of Saurashtra, whose capital cities were
Deobunder,† on the western shore of the peninsula, and Puttun
Somnath; that, in consequence of the piracies of the Chaora princes,
especially towards the vessels of Bengal, the sea rose and overwhelmed
the former city, in which catastrophe all were involved save Soonde-
rupa, the mother of Vansraj, who was forewarned of the danger by
Varuna,
(
* Nyr is the Pracrit for Nagara, a fortified city.'
+ The port (bunder) of Deo or Diva, 'the island,' written Diu by the Portuguese.
153
6
X
154
F
3--
▼
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Varuna, the genius of the waters." Tradition, while it recognises this
event, and adopts this parentage of Bunsraj, affirms that his father,
Jusraj, and all his race, were slain by a foreign invader, and that the
infant, in gratitude to the Jain priest who saved his life, cherished the
sect and embraced his faith. Though some such event may have
occurred to Deobunder, I much more incline to adopt the tradition,
supported also by the books of the bards, that it was sacked by some
foreign invader. I have elsewhere related that there was an unusual
stir amongst all the Hindu monarchies at this period; that revolution,
dethronement, and creation of new dynasties and tribes, were taking
place all over India. It was at this precise time, that Ajmér was
attacked, and the Chohan prince, Manikpál, slain by a foe from Sinde,
according to the Chohan Chronicle. At this epoch, also, Bappa (called
likewise Balla) Rawul, whose ancestors fled from Balabhi, obtained
Cheetore, which he defended from a foreign invader for his uncle the
Mori. At this exact era, the ancient Indraprest'ha, or Dehli, was
re-founded by the Tuar line of princes; the Pramara sovereign,
Bhoj, was driven from Dhar, and, as stated in the Bhoj Charitra, by a
northern invader, and forced to seek shelter in Chandravati; the
Chalook or Solankhi princes were driven from Sooroh-Bhadra, on the
Ganges, and established themselves at Kalian, in Malabar; the
Yadu-Bhattis were driven across the Sutledge from Salthanpoor,
in Panchalica, and forced to fix themselves in Maroost'hali, the Indian
desert; and even at Gowal-coond (Golconda) was felt the dire
influence of the same destructive foe, who might well be typified, in
these books, as the Magician of the North,' the demon (danoo) from
Gujlibund,' &c. &c. All these dates and events correspond with the
first appearance of Islam, bringing in its train myriads of Indo-scythic
'
tribes,
Ele ་=་
***
155
tribes, whose only objects of worship were the sun, their horse, and
the sword, and who were ready to adopt any faith or sect; and autho-
rise us to conclude it was at this time that the Cattis crossed the Runn,
in their passage from Mooltan, and established themselves in the
region of the Sauras,* where their influence became so predominant,
that the name of Catti-war superseded the ancient appellation of
Saurashtra. Let those who will, still deny the locomotive habits of
the ancient Hindu; but they cannot dispute the changes that must
have resulted from these incessant irruptions, both before and after
Alexander's time. Even if the Indus had been an attuc† to those intra,
it was not so to the plundering hordes extra, Imaus; hence, in this
small peninsula, specimens of many of the ancient northern tribes may
yet be found. But to proceed.
After the foundation of Anhulwarra by Bunsraj, there follows the
account of the city, which seems to start into magnificence at once.
Whether the hieratic scribe drew its picture as it then existed under
his own eyes, or represented it as it was under the founder, we
can only conjecture. It is impossible, however, that the splendour and
prosperity described by him, could have been the growth of a single
reign, although the facility for peopling a new city in these regions of
revolution is wonderful. But if the Acharya is correct, we can only
come
THE CATTIS ENTER SAURASHTRA.
{
*It is not unlikely that the term Chaora, the tribe of the first dynasty of Anhulwarra, is a mere
corruption of Saura; the ch and s are perpetually interchanging. The Mahrattas cannot pronounce
the ch; with them Cheeto is Seeto, &c. The Saura princes of Deo and Somnath, in all likelihood,
gave their name to the peninsula of Guzzerat.
<
† Attuc means a barrier ;' a name bestowed upon the Indus in modern times, when the Hindu,
from difference of faith, became exclusive. But notwithstanding Menu tells us that Hinduism was
established in Central Asia, our Savans in Indian literature made the Indus as complete an attuc to
their researches as the Hindus did to their faith.
x 2
156
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
come to the conclusion that the fugitive Chaora prince merely trans-
ferred his capital from Deva-puttun to Anhulpoor; and we may add
from authority, that the dispersed subjects of the devastated Balabhi
flocked in to augment the population of this new capital of the Balla-
Raes. It is not impossible that a city did already exist, which Bunsraj
augmented,―an hypothesis supported in some measure by the Annals
of Méwar, which state that when Bappa (whose ancestors, be it
remembered, were in remote times sovereigns of Balabhi), the founder
of the Gehlote dynasty, was firmly fixed in Cheetore, he marched an
army to reinstate his nephew, the Chaora prince, in the territory of his
ancestors; from which we may also infer, that the Chaora princes of
Deva-puttun were subordinate to Balabhi. S. 796 (A.D. 740) is the
period assigned for this intervention in the Méwar Annals.* The
Chronicle continues : Anhulpoor was twelve coss† (or fifteen miles)
in circuit, within which were many temples and colleges; eighty-four
chaoks, or squares; eighty-four bazaars, or market-places, with mints
for gold and silver coin. Each class had its separate mohilla, or quarter,
as had each description of merchandise, i. e. hati-dhant, or elephants'
teeth, silks, purples, diamonds, pearls, &c. &c.,-each had its separate
chaok. There was one bazaar for shraufs, or money-changers; one
for perfumes and unguents; one for physicians; one for artizans; one
for goldsmiths, and another for silversmiths; there were distinct
mohillas for navigators, for bards, and for genealogists. The eighteen
burrun or castes inhabited the city. All were happy together. The
66
palace
C
!
* Vide Annals of Rajast'han,' vol. i. p. 227.
+ In Guzzerat they estimate the coss by the lowing of kine (gao), which in a still day may be
heard at the distance of a mile and a quarter. Thus twelve coss is baragao.
Best explained by the Italian piazza.
•
CITY OF ANHULWARRA.
157
palace groaned with a multitude of separate buildings, for the armoury,
for elephants, horses and chariots, for the public accountants and
officers of state. Each kind of goods had its separate mandavie, or
mart, where the duties of export, import, and sale, were collected: as
for spices, fruits, drugs, camphor, metals, and every thing costly of
home or foreign growth. It is a place of universal commerce ! The
daily amount of duties was one lac of takhas.* If you ask for water,
they give you milk. There are many Jain temples, and on the banks
of a lake is a shrine to Seheslinga Mahadeo. The population delights
to saunter amidst the groves of champa, poonaj, thal (palmyra), jambu
(rose-apple), chundun (sandal-wood), mangoe, &c. &c., with every
variegated vela, or creeper, and fountains whose waters are imrit.
Here discussions (badha) take place on the Vedas, carrying instruc-
tion to the listener. There are plenty of Boharas,† and in Birgong
there are also many. There is no want of Birterans (Yutis, or Jain
priests) or of merchants, true to their word and skilled in commerce;
and many schools for the Byakurn (literally, grammar-schools). Anhul-
warra is a Nir-Samudra (sea of men). If you can measure the waters
of the ocean, then may you attempt to count the number of souls.‡
The
* A copper coin, varying in value, but, at the general rate, about twenty to the rupee, which
would give five thousand rupees, daily, as the import duties of Anhulwarra alone; or, annually,
eighteen lacs, equal to two hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds; which in comparative value,
even in the present day, would equal a million. If to this we add the import and export duties of
her eighty-four ports, we need not marvel at the accounts which the early Arabian travellers give of
the magnificence of this city.
+ The money-lenders to the artizan and the husbandman throughout India, who receive written
pledges for the fruits of their industry; somewhat analogous to the Métayer of the old French
system.
The chronicler interweaves the following exaggerated anecdote, in proof of the dense popu-
lation: "One day, a woman had lost her husband. She went to her prince and related her
"misfortune.
158
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
The army is numerous, nor is there any lack of bell-bearing elephants.
Sailug Soora made the tika of installation on the forehead of Bunsraj,
who erected the temple to Parswanath, whose religion he followed.
This was in S. 802. Vansraj ruled fifty years and lived sixty."
With this short introduction, the Chronicle, satisfied with a bare
genealogical list of the Chaora kings, successors to Vansraj, proceeds,
without comment, to the change of dynasty, which introduces his
subject, Komar-pál, to whom the work is especially devoted. We shall,
however, make a few remarks upon other names from cotemporary
authorities.
JOOGRAJ Succeeded to the founder in S. 852 (A.D. 796), and ruled
thirty-five years.
Kheemraj succeeded, S. 887 (A.D. 831), and died in S. 912 (A.D.
856), having ruled twenty-five years. It was towards the close of this
prince's reign that the first of the Arabian travellers visited the king-
dom of Anhulwarra, i. e. in A.H. 237, corresponding with A.D. 851,
while the second visited it seventeen years later, or in A.H. 254 (A.D.
868), in the reign of his successor,
BOERJI, who succeeded in S. 912 (A.D. 856), and died S. 941 (A.D.
885), having ruled twenty-nine years.
Without attempting to apportion the information respectively
furnished by these Arabian travellers, who have not even mentioned
the names of the princes ruling at the epochs of their visit, we may
avail
misfortune. He ordered the heralds to proclaim throughout Puttun, that whoever went by the
name of Ranoh, the blind of one eye, should appear at the grand Chabootra, or altar of justice;
when lo! nine hundred and ninety-nine persons blind of one eye, and each bearing the name of
Ranoh, appeared. The disconsolate wife went through the ranks, and yet her husband was not
there; nor was he found until a second proclamation was issued.”
42
159
REPORT OF THE ARABIAN TRAVELLERS.
avail ourselves of their joint testimony, as far as it goes, in corrobora-
tion of the Chronicle, on the greatness of the kings of Anhulwarra :
“This Balhara is the most illustrious prince in all the Indies, and all
the other kings there, though each is master and independent in his
kingdom, acknowledge in him this prerogative and pre-eminence :
When he sends ambassadors to them, they receive them with extraordi-
nary honours, because of the respect they bear him. This king makes
magnificent presents, after the manner of the Arabs, and has horses
and elephants in very great numbers and great treasures in money.
He has of those pieces of silver, Tartarian drachmas, which weigh half
a drachm more than the Arabesque drachm. They are coined with
the die of the prince, and bear the year of his reign from the last of his
predecessor. They compute not their years from the era of Mahomed,
as do the Arabs, but only by the years of their kings. Most of these
princes have lived a long time, and many of them have reigned above
fifty years; and those of the country believe that the length of their
lives, and of their reigns, is granted them in recompense for their
kindness to the Arabs. In truth, there are no princes more heartily
affectionate to the Arabs, and their subjects profess the same friendship
for us.
“BALHARA is an appellation common to all these kings, as was
Cosroes and some others, and is not a proper name. The country,
which owes obedience to this prince, begins on the coast of the
province called Kamkam, and reaches by land to the confines of
China. He is surrounded by the dominions of many kings, who are at
war with him, and yet he never marches against them. One of these
kings is the king of Haraz, who has very numerous forces, and is
stronger in horse than all the other princes of the Indies, and who has
a greater
}
160
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
1
}
a greater aversion to Mahomedism. His dominions are upon a
promontory, where are much riches, many camels, and other cattle.
The inhabitants here traffic with silver they wade for,* and they say
there are mines of the same on the continent. These kingdoms border
upon the lands of a king called Rahmi, who is at war with the king of
Haraz, and with the Balhara also. This prince is not much esteemed
either for his birth or the antiquity of his kingdom; but his forces are
more numerous than those of the Balhara. In the same country, they
make cotton garments in so extraordinary a manner, that no where else
are the like to be seen. Shells are current in this country, and serve
for small money, notwithstanding they have gold and silver, wood,
aloes, and sable-skins, of which they make the furniture of saddles
and houses.'
در
We may remark upon this description, first, of the title Balhara,
that it was derived from Ballâ-câ-Raê, whose ancient capital was
Balabhipoor, on whose site Ptolemy has placed a Byzantium. Secondly,
on the “Tartarian drachmas" of silver,† of which I have one, with the
effigy of the prince on one side, and the obverse covered with the
incognate character of the Jains, surrounding a Pyreum. Thirdly, on
the great duration of the reigns; these travellers were in Puttun during
the reigns of the third and fourth princes, and the mention of “
many"
might puzzle us, were they otherwise exact or intelligible: but we may
easily imagine, with their imperfect knowledge of the Guzzerati
dialect, that from the reign of Vansraj of half a century, and that
of his successor of thirty-five years, they might deem themselves
66
entitled
* Hence the name of Roopavati, in the Peninsula, from roopa, 'silver.'
+ The translator guards us against supposing them to be Tartarian, saying they are the coin of
the country, and spelling the word with a Th.
1+
LIMITS OF THE BALHARA RULE.
161
entitled to use this word; or, as I have already said, there was only a
transfer of capital from Deva-puttun, the reigns of the princes, anterior
to this event, may possibly have authorized the remark. The priestly
chronicler, Sailug, did not go further back than the inauguration of
Vansraj in Nehrwalla. Fourthly, as to the geography of the travellers,
the translator remarks: "the situation of all these places is so very
doubtful, that we can hardly even guess at them." There is, how-
ever, no doubt that the ignorance of the translator, which he charges
to his predecessors, in his Preface, has gone far to render utterly
unintelligible what was already obscure, and which the utmost local
knowledge of these regions, as well as an acquaintance with their
books and traditions, cannot clear up. Every one knows, that the
slightest error in the position of the nooktas, or points,* in Arabic and
Persian, completely mystifies all proper names, of which we could
append a few notable instances, to shew how much a new translation
is required of this work.
The limits assigned for the kingdom of the Balharas, from the
Concan (the Kamkam of the travellers) to the borders of China, would
have been perfectly applicable if the "Relations" had been composed
in the next dynasty, when Sid Raj held sway over eighteen kingdoms,
and his successor, Komár-pál, " conquered to the Himalaya mountains,
raising his banner even in the city of Salpoora," the ancient capital
of Panchalica. We must, however, dispute entirely this extent of
dominion at this period: for the Solankhis then ruled the Concan,
and
* Ex. gr. p. 87 : "In the Indies there are certain men called Bicar, who go all their lifetime
naked." Who would recognise Fakir in Bicar? a mistake arising from misplaced or deficient
punctuation. This error is copied verbatim by St. Croix, as editor of that curious work, the fabri-
cated Ezour Vedam, composed by Robertus di Nobili.
Y
162
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
and cotemporary annals inform us of their independent neighbours.*
Of the king of Haraz, the greatest of the foes of Balhara, or of the
king called Rahmi, not much esteemed for his birth, with both of
whom he was at war, we can conjecture who they were, and the
translator, in his annotations, gives us wide scope for this, when he
says, "the kingdom of Geraz or Haraj must be somewhere on the
continent between Cape Comorin and China." The appellation of
Gújerat is derived from the tribe of Gújur, one of the indigenous
Soodra tribes of India; but whether any principality, founded by
this race, then existed, we know not, and it would appear that the
travellers were ignorant of its application to the region which formed
the best part of the sovereignty of the Balharas. I have imagined that
this king of Haraz might be the Hara prince of Gowalcoond, a great
branch of the Chohans of Ajmér, who were always at war with the
Balla-Raes. This supposition would suit well with his contiguity to
the king of low birth, Rahmi, whom I conjecture to be Ram Pramar,
of Telingana, who at one time possessed the title of universal
potentate. The fine cotton garments, mentioned as made in his terri-
tory, would strengthen this opinion; for these, with the muslins
(sindonis) and purple cloths of Boorhanpoor, were renowned even in
Rome, and formed the great articles of commerce, according to the
author of the Periplus. Shells or cowries, which they mention, were,
and are still, every-where current, and even the seed of the date is to
this day used along the coast in these regions.
"The kingdom of Kaschbin," described as a desert country full of
mountains, must be Cutch-bhooj, and we might be tempted to suppose
"that
* We have a conspicuous instance, at p. 87, of the ignorance of " the travellers" on the political
geography of India, where they call " Kanouge, a great city in the kingdom of Gozar," meaning
Guzzerat.
ERRORS RESPECTING THE BALHARAS.
163
“that the small and poor kingdom of Hitrunje" was the chieftainship of
Satringa-Palit'hana,* still famous.
still famous. After discussing the geographical
position of "Nehelwareh, a city, which, according to the tables of
Nasir-u-din and Ulug Beg, is in 102° 30′ longitude, and latitude 22°
north, and therefore neither can have been Calicut, Cochin, nor
Visiapoor ;"—the commentator adds, that the Balhara "translated
himself to Calicut for the convenience of the pepper-trade; it is, there-
fore, probable that, before he went to Calicut, he resided somewhere in
Guzzerat :" and he quotes the Portuguese author, John de Barros, “who
had seen the books of the country, who says he had been invested with
the authority of emperor, or king of kings, over all the Indian princes."
It will be seen presently that an intimate relationship subsisted
between the Balharas of Anhulwarra and the princes of the Concan,
whose capital was Kalian, and whose possessions eventually merged into
one great kingdom, although not in the time of these travellers. It is
also a curious fact, and which may account for the introduction of the
name of Calicut, that the Nyr, or fortified city of Anhulwarra, was
called, and is still recognised as, Kali-kote, or Castle of Kali,' in
ignorance of which, the annotator has thought it necessary to send the
Balhara sovereigns into the heart of the peninsula of India, to gather
pepper! I shall conclude these remarks with a curious piece of intelli-
gence
from the Annotations (p. 24), for which no authority is cited:
"The commendations our authors bestow on the Balhara, for being
kind to the Arabs, suit very naturally with these princes, the last of
whom, Sarama Payrimal, became a Mahomedan and ended his days
at Mecca."+
*The S, as I have elsewhere remarked, is the Shibboleth of these regions. Salim Sing is pro-
nounced Halim Hing, forming a compound of cress' and assafoetida'!
C
C
See Wilson's Mackenzie Collection, vol. i. p. xcvii.
Y 2
164
t
+
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
CHAPTER IX.
History of Anhulwarra continued.—The Solankhi princes of Kalian.-Change of dynasty of the
princes of Anhulwarra.-Synchronisms.-Importance of Kalian.-Confusion of Mahomedan
writers.-List of princes of Anhulwarra continued.-Sidraj.-Succession of a Chohan prince to
the regal chair of the Chalucas.—Countries subject to the dominion of the Balhara.—Actions of
Komár-pál.-Confirmation of the Charitra, as to the extent and splendour of Anhulwarra.—The
country of the Lar.-Komár-pál the supporter of Buddhism.-He apostatizes to Islamism.-
Ajipal.
WE shall pass over the intermediate princes from those who
occupied the throne of Anhulwarra, when this city was visited by the
Arabian travellers, to the period of Samunt, the last of the dynasty
founded by Vansraj, and introduce the Solankhi line of cotempo-
raneous princes ruling at Kalian, the capital of the Concan, who
displaced the Chaoras in Anhulwarra, after they had held it one
hundred and eighty-six years. For this purpose, we must take a leaf
from the chronology of the Solankhis, as given me by the representa-
tive, the chief of Roopnagurh (now a vassal of Méwar), whose bard,
the hereditary scion of the Vates of Anhulwarra, still "holds the books"
of his ancestry.* As the bard is to tell his own story, we must indulge
him with the usual fabulous commencement of all royal lines. He
}
disputes
* We may append the Gotra, or genealogical text of the race, in their own tongue. Its transla-
tion would afford no satisfaction to the general reader, but there may be, of those who dip into this
book, "two or one" who may prize it in its own Doric dialect:
"Madwani Sac'ha-Bardwaj gotra—Gur❜h Lokote—Khâr nekâs—Sarasvati nadì—Sham Véda—
Kupliman-déva - Kurdimán Rikheswar -Teen-purwar-Zinové-Súrí-pâna-ca-Ch'hatto - Gaopal-
oopas - Gya-nekâs - Kewnj-Dévi-Maipal-Putra." This Maipal, styled Putra, was adopted
among the Penates of the Solankhis for his heroism in the field of Nairanóh. He was the third
son of Raja Boerdeo, who married the daughter of the Chohan prince of Sambhur; and it was in
defence of the maternal house against an irruption of the Islamite that he fell. Each great family
commemorates
M
ORIGIN OF THE SOLANKHI PRINCES.
disputes the birth of his princes from the fire-fount of Aboo, and says
that "when Brimha had finished the work of creation, he repaired to
the Ganges to perform ablutions, and at the Sooroh ghaut (ford) of
that sacred stream, he created the Chaluca from a blade of the holy
d'hoob grass, the which, holding in the palm (chaloo) of his hand,
and pronouncing the life-giving incantation (Sujevan-mantri), a mortal
had birth, hence called the Brimha-Chaluca, and Solankhi from
the place.
Here they erected their capital, also called Sooroo,
whence a name of the Ganges, Sooroo*-bhadra; and here they ruled
throughout the Treta and Dwapur, or gold and silver ages." The
reader will estimate this extract at its worth, while the geographer
obtains at least the origin of one old capital, which was celebrated so
late as the last Chohan emperor of Dehli, and which is still a place of
religious resort. We learn also from the Gotra, or genealogical text of
the tribe, that their origin is northern, i. e. from Lokote, an ancient city
of Panchalica (the Punjab), on their expulsion from which, they esta-
blished Sooroh on the Ganges. But without further adverting to the
fabulous period of their history, we will set our feet on the terra firma
of the Bard. "In the seventh century of Vicrama, two brothers, Raj
and Beeja, left the Ganges for Guzzerat. The former married the
daughter of the Chaora king of Patun, whose issue, in the course of
time, ascended that throne, and from Vansraj to Kurrun, expelled
by Secunder Khuni, was five hundred and fifty-two years." So
much
commemorates some similar event. In like manner, Lot Putra, son of Manik Rae of Ajmér, who
fell on the first onslaught of Islam, is placed among the household gods of the Chohans. Putra in
this sense invariably means a stripling,' or one who has not yet attained manhood.
C
165
They still give this name to the dry bed of the river at Khas-gunge, past which the Ganges
formerly flowed. I am not quite sure whether this ancient town is not the Sooroh of the Solankhis.
Boerdeo was the cotemporary of Manik Rae, which affords another valuable synchronism.
166
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
much for the Bard of the Solankhis of Thoda and Roopnagurh. We
now return to the authority of the Charitra.
"Of Chaluca race was Raja Boerdeo, king of Kanyacubja (Canouj).
From his seat of government, Callian-Cuttuc, he came and conquered
Guzzerat, slew its king, and, leaving his garrisons there, returned to
Callian.* Boer-rae had a daughter, named Milandevi, who was married
to the Chohan king of Ajmér, and from whom in the fifteenth genera-
tion was Komár-pál," whose name this book bears.
"Boer-rae had a son, Kurrun, whose son was Chandradit; his son
was Somadit, and his Bhomadit, who had three sons, viz. Ur or Ar,
Dhitac, and Abhirama. Ur went to Patun, to worship at the shrine of
Soméswar (Somnat'h), and married Liladevi, daughter of Raja Samunt.
This princess died in child-birth, but the infant was cut from the womb,
and being in the Mula-nacshitra (the sun in Libra), the astrologers gave
him the name of Moolraj. Raja Samunt Chaora, having no male
issue, during his lifetime made over the kingdom of Anhulwarra to
Moolraj, but repenting, was about to resume it, when his nephew put
him to death. There are seven things without gratitude: a daughter's
husband, a scorpion, a tiger, wine, a fool, a sister's son (Bhanaij),
and a king. Each is incapable of estimating benefits."
Before proceeding further with the chronicle of the Balhara, we
may, at this point, which transfers its crown from the dynasty of the
Chaora to the Chaluca or Solankhi, place in juxtaposition the collateral
dynasties of each.
CHALUC
* The chronicle of the Solankhi bard places a prince of the name of Indra-dowan amongst the
princes of Callian, and states that he founded the temple of Juggernauth, and the suburb, or Poori,
called after himself, Indra-poori. The latter fact may be true, and he may have repaired, but he
could not have founded, the temple.
THE CHALUC AND CHAORA DYNASTIES.
CHALUC KINGS OF CALLIAN.
1. Boerji
2. Kurrun.
3. Chandradit.
4. Somadit.
5. Bhomadit.
CHAORA KINGS OF ANHULWARRA.
6. Ur. Dhitac. Abhirama
married ……... ……………. Liladevi ………………..
3. Kheemraj.
4. Boerji.
5. Birsing.
KA
1. Vansraj (A.D. 746 to A.D. 796).
2. Joograj.
6. Rutnadit.
7. Samunt.
daughter of Samunt.
167
issue
Moolrâj,
whence commenced the second dynasty of Anhulwarra.
Although both these authorities coincide very well, there is some
discrepancy in the outset, the bardic chronicle saying that the two
Chaluc brothers, Raj and Beeja, left the city of Sooroh in the seventh
century, while the Charitra at once commences with Boer-rae, king of
Canouj, who invaded Guzzerat, slew its king, and returned, not to
Canouj, but to Callian, on the Malabar coast.
It is well not to pass
over the possibility that this may be the conqueror who drove the
Chaoras from their more ancient seats of Deva-puttun and Somnath,
for acts of piracy admitted in the old chronicle; and this would agree
with the Bard's date, the seventh century, for the migration from
Sooroh, in the kingdom of Canouj, and establishment at Callian. This
supposition derives added weight from the anecdote relating the first
exploit of Vansraj, the founder of Puttun, in associating himself with
robbers, and plundering the revenues going to Callian. An inscrip-
tion of the Mackenzie Collection, translated by Mr. Colebrooke, and
inserted in the Asiat. Res. vol. ix. p. 435, but hitherto without any
application,
*******
A
TETYT JO CON
-
་་ "
168
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
}
application, proved of great value to me in confirmation of these
opinions, and in corroborating the truth of the manuscript authori-
ties, which record the foundation of the dynasty more than one
thousand years ago.
It is of the fourth prince, Somadit, and gives his
tribe, Chaluca, and his capital, Callian. It runs thus: "For ever be
propitious to Soméswara,* &c. &c.; a distinguished personage of the
noble race, the ornament of the Chaluca tribe, &c. &c., who reigns in
the city Calyan, &c." Were there no instance but this, it would suffice
to shew the importance of recording all inscriptions, and this is only
one of many which have rewarded and encouraged my research.
Callian, or Kalian, was a city of great importance, commercial and
political, at a very early period. It is frequently noticed by Arrian,
in the Periplus, from whose work we may infer that it was a fief of
Baleokouras, or the Balhara sovereigns of Balabhi, in the second
century, and its extent is attested by the ruins described by Orme in
his "Fragments."
The transactions of these early periods have attracted the notice of
several Mahomedan writers, but their imperfect intelligence has only
tended to darken the subject. Abulfazil, unable to disentangle these
perplexities, extends the kingdom of Canouj to the shores of the
ocean, and Masoudi, who wrote in the tenth century an account of
these regions, talks of the "kingdom of Bouroh" as the same as the
kingdom of Canouj, an error which can be explained by his ignorance
of the name of Boer-rae, the prince of Callian, the emigrant from
Sooroh in the kingdom of Canouj, which former city appears to have
disputed the palm of greatness with the latter, and was then probably
the
•
* It is scarcely necessary to explain that Soméswara and Somadit have the same signification, the
Sun, or lord of the Moon.'
La d
#market W
MA
I
1
1
MAHMOUD INVADES ANHULWARRA.
169
the seat of its sovereigns; in fact, Sooroh, according to Persian or
Arabic orthography, would require but a point under the S to be
Booroh. According to the Arabian travellers, there were four
supreme monarchies in India at the period of their visit, and they
only assign the fourth magnitude to that of the Balharas, whose power
they nevertheless magnify beyond all belief, making his army amount
to half a million of men. Abulfazil's statement of the power of
Canouj at that period is equally remote from truth; for, instead of
extending from the Ganges to the shores of the ocean, the potent
principalities of Ajmér, Cheetore, and Dhar, intervened even between
Canouj and Anhulwarra, whose international wars and marriages even
at these periods are recorded. But to proceed with the new dynasty
of the Chaluca.
MOOLRAJ ascended the gádi of Anhulwarra in S. 988 (A.D. 932).
His reign, like that of the founder of the Chaoras, was of great length,
being fifty-six years, and if we take the Miscellany before mentioned
as our authority, we should have to add two more. He carried his
arms westward to the valley of the Indus, and fought with its prince,
Rajpoot ; and he laid the foundations of the temple of Roodra-Mala,
which we have elsewhere described.
CHAOND or Chamund (erroneously written Jamund by Abulfazil)
Rao succeeded in S. 1044 (A.D. 988). He ruled only thirteen years,
and the conclusion of his reign was most eventful to him, as well as to
all India. It was in S. 1064, or A.D. 1008 (A.H. 416, A.D. 1025,
according to the Islamite historian), that the Ghiznivite king, Mah-
moud, invaded Anhulwarra, throwing down its battlements, and casting
the materials of its temples into the trenches surrounding its walls
that, after a six months' repose in Puttun, the conqueror sought out,
;
and
Ꮓ
1
170
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
and placed upon its throne, one of the ancient line of monarchs, called
by the uncouth name of Dabschelim, who, being said to be the son of
the prince of Deo and Somnath, was evidently of the Chaora tribe,
which, according to inscriptions there found by me, did hold their
patrimonial possessions in Anhulwarra so late as in the twelfth and
fourteenth centuries. In my edition of Ferishta, he is called Bab-
shelim, with the epithet Mor Taj, and this approximates to the Ballirao
or Ballabisén* of the Chronicle, the successor of Chamund, and as this
authority only allots him six months' sway, he can be no other than the
interloper Dabschelim. The epithet Mor Taj, which is a duplicate
expression in the Hindu and Persian languages, each meaning 'head,'
'chief,'' crown,' induces me to conjecture that it may be a corruption
of Chaor Taj, or chief of the Chaoras. Such is the inadequacy of the
Persian language for the expression of proper names, that, as already
remarked, a point misplaced may completely disguise them. The
reader may consult Ferishta and Abulfazil for the disasters which befel
Anhulwarra, and the romantic account of the dangers of Mahmoud's
army in his retreat to Ghizni, where his guides led him through the
desert in revenge for his atrocities on Somnath and the other cele-
brated shrines in this land.
DOORLUB, or Nahr-rao, succeeded in S. 1057 (A.D. 1001), and had
reigned eleven years and a half, when his conscience suggested to him
the care of his soul. He abdicated, and placing his son on the throne,
retired to Gya: a practice by no means uncommon amongst the
Rajpoot princes of ancient days. Doorlub was the cotemporary of
Raja Moonj of Dhar (the father of the celebrated Bhoj), and we
learn
* Abulfazil has given his version also of this name, of which the translator of the Ayeen Akbery
makes Beysir; and D'Herbelot, following the Arabians, styles this the Dabschalimat race.
1
T
1
DEFEAT AND EXPULSION OF THE MOSLEMS.
171
learn from the Bhoj Charitra, that the abdicated king paid Moonj a
visit on his route to Gya, by whom he was recommended to resume
the gádi, advice which was subsequently resented by the son.
BHEEM DEO Succeeded in S. 1069 (A.D. 1013), a name celebrated
in the cotemporaneous annals of the Rajpoots. He had a long and
not inglorious reign of forty-two years, during which, the Islamites
made repeated irruptions into the north of India, and it was during the
reign of Modud, the fourth in succession to Mahmoud, that the
Hindus made a grand effort to shake off the yoke which oppressed
them. The celebrated Chohan king of Ajmér, Besuldeo, (the Visala-
deva of the Jyt-khumbo, or pillar of victory, at Dehli,) headed this
confederacy in S. 1100 (A.D. 1044). The king of Anhulwarra was
invited, with the other princes of the land, who had chosen Besuldeo
as generalissimo on this the last united stand which they made for
their religion and liberties; but the ancient jealousies between the
rival houses of Ajmér and Anhulwarra prevented him from obeying
the call, and his refusal subsequently produced a war between these
states, which forms the subject of one of the sixty-nine books of the
poet Chund. Besuldeo proceeded at the head of the allied troops from
triumph to triumph, till the Punjab itself was cleared of their enemies ;
and it was on this victory, as recorded on the pillar of Dehli, that from
the Vindhya even to the Himachil, the barbarian was expelled, when
the region of Aryaverta became once more the land of virtue.' Chund
says, "the oath of allegiance (ân) was sent from Ghizni, demanding
tribute, when the lord of Sacambhari issued his firmans to call in his
vassals. Then came the array (bhár) of Mundore and Bhatnair,
with the chiefs of Tatta and Mooltan. The clans of Untervéd*
repaired
*The lands lying between (unter) the Jumna and Ganges.
z 2
172
1
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
L
repaired to his standard. All came but the Chaluca, who trusted to
the shade of his own sword for independence. The rival armies
met at Sojut, in Marwar, when the Solankhi was defeated. He retired
upon Jhalore, which appears to have been the frontier-post between
him and his rival's dominion; but he was compelled to relinquish it,
and was pursued by the victor even to Girnar, in the heart of the
peninsula. Having reinforced his army, the Chaluca prince sent his
ambassadors to the Chohan, already in retreat to his own country,
demanding his reasons for this unwarrantable invasion, and asserting
his perfect equality with him, while, in reply to his demands, he said
"the only tribute should be the sword, whose fragments he might
collect if he were again worsted in fight." Besuldeo, with the usual
courtesy of a Rajpoot, not only gave him a chance of redeeming
himself, but dismissed all his prisoners, and returned all the spoils,
that he might, as says the bard, "have something to win back."
"The Chohan formed his army in circular array (chacra), and soon
had two thousand Solankhis fallen," when the Bal-ca-rae headed a
band in person and broke it. “Then the sword made pilgrimage in
a river of blood." The rivals engaged hand to hand, and both were
wounded. Night alone separated the combatants. The next day, a
treaty was made, in which the Chaluca agreed to give his daughter in
marriage to Besul, and in remembrance of the battle, a city was to be
erected on the spot, bearing the Chohan's name. The town of Beesul
Nugger, still existing, proves the fidelity of the Chronicle. Throughout
this account given by the bard, the sovereign of Anhulwarra is men-
tioned solely by his title, Bal-ca-rae; but in the Hamir-rasa, a work
relating the exploits of Hamir, the Chohan prince of Rinthumbor, and
which recedes to his ancestry, the bard alludes to this battle, stating that
Besuldeo
""
173
Besuldeo took prince Kurrun (son of Raja Bheem) prisoner. Raja
Bheem had two wives, viz. Beekul-devi, and Oodimati. The first bore
him a son named Kheemraj; the other had a son called
KURRUN, one of the most renowned Rajpoots who ever sat upon a
throne, and who succeeded his father, in prejudice of his elder brother,
in S. 1111 (A.D. 1055). Amongst his many exploits, he completely
subjugated the Koli and Bhil tribes, slaying Assa-bhil, styled the
Pillipati, lord of one hundred thousand bowmen. He rased his city,
and founded on its site the city called after himself, Kurnavati,* of
whose position we are ignorant. The Chronicle likewise states that he
banished the seven Diddas (the letter d) from the land, viz. dind, dand,
dbomb'h, dhakun, dur, damb'h, and doobha; or exactions, violence,
jongleurs (which term denotes, at once, itinerant minstrels and jug-
glers), witches, alarm, impostors, and depression. He erected a superb
temple to Nemnat'h, on the summit of Revatachil, in addition to the
fifty-two already there existing, and which was called after him, Kurrun
Vihar. He espoused Milandévi, daughter of Ari-cesar, lord of the
Carnatic, who bore him the celebrated Sid-raj, the glory of Anhul-
warra. It is related that when the daughter of this Lion of the
Carnatic† reached Anhulwarra, she was so ill-favoured, that Kurrun
positively refused to give his hand to her, and it was only in obedience
ACTS OF RAJA KURRUN.
to
* We frequently meet with notices of the great power of the aboriginal tribes at this period, and
there are many ancient sites of fortresses and cities appertaining to this race which are well worthy
of being explored.
† See Asiatic Res. vol. xvi. for notices of this prince; also the Mackenzie Collection.
Cesar or
Késar, 'a lion,' is by no means an uncommon epithet with the Rajpoot kings of past days, and it is
synonymous with the more common appellation of Sing'h or Sing, the affix indiscriminately of all
Rajpoots. Whether from this Sanscrit term for the king of the forest is derived the Persian Kaesar,
the Czar of the Russians, and the Roman Cesar, we leave to etymologists to determine.
174
|
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
S =
to his mother's prayers, and to prevent the bride committing suicide,
that he at length complied; but it is added, that for years he did
not cohabit with her, until, as related, the unwearied manifestation of
her good qualities not only conquered his aversion, but won his esteem
and affection. Kurrun ruled twenty-nine years, and was succeeded by
his son,
SID-RAJ JEY SING, in S. 1140 (A.D. 1084), under whose reign of
half a century, Anhulwarra attained its utmost splendour. He held
sway over eighteen distinct kingdoms, either by inheritance or con-
quest, and was justly entitled to the appellation conferred on him in
the Charitra, of "the most mighty of all the princes of his time.' As
the names of these countries will appear in the reign of his successor,
where they will be synchronically connected with the affairs of other
states, we shall hasten on with the chronicler to the next reign, that of
Komár-pál, to which the foregoing succinct analysis merely serves as a
preface. I shall follow nearly his own version.
"The mighty Sid-raj,* the conqueror and king of eighteen regions,
had no offspring, which took from his riches and power all value.
He convened the brahmins, astrologers, and soothsayers, and offered
whatever man can covet for an heir. At length, to the demand of
who should succeed if Heaven did not grant his desire, one of the
seers replied, it was decreed that the son of the chief of Dytulli should
succeed.
6
،
*There is a curious anecdote in illustration of the name Sid. His mother (who in the original
Sanscrit is called the daughter of Ari-cesar, and in the dialect Gya-césar, the one meaning the lion
of Ari,' the other the invincible lion,') was said to have been twelve years enceinte, during which
she suffered such extreme torture, that she set out to end her days in the ocean at Dwarica. On
her journey she encountered a Sid or Dervésh, to whom she confided her intention, but through
his prayers she was safely delivered of a boy, whom, in gratitude for his mediation, she named
Sid-raj.
HISTORY OF KOMAR-PAL.
175
succeed. At this the prince was wroth, and sending forthwith an
army, Dytulli was attacked, the Chohan chief slain, whose son, Komár-
pál, with difficulty escaped the general slaughter, and found refuge and
concealment with his brother-in-law, Krishundeo, who dwelt in Patun.
But here, from the rank of his relation, who was one of the ministers
of Jey Sing, he could not expect to remain long undiscovered, and he
fled to the house of a potter, where he remained some time, and after-
wards, in various disguises, contrived to live even within the walls of
Patun, at one time associating with mendicants. He even regained
his birth-place, Dytulli, but once more was nearly taken, when
again a friendly potter saved him by hiding him in a brick-kiln. He
now determined to try Oojein, and had reached the port of Cambayet,
when, famished with hunger, and oppressed by fatigue, he fell asleep
under a tree. At this time, the celebrated Hemacharya was proceeding
with his pupils to the neighbouring woods. He awoke the youth, and
perceiving that he was no ordinary person, admitted him amongst the
Jain youths, his scholars. Here the Acharya cast his horoscope, which
foretold his future greatness; but the spies of Sid-raj at length
discovered him, when, trusting to the garb of a Jogi, he in safety
gained Baroach. A banya, or merchant, of Cambayet, who under-
stood the language of birds, was the companion of his flight. Just as
they reached the port, the Devi bird of omen perched on the ball
(cullus) of a temple, uttering two distinct notes, which the banya
interpreted as dominion over both Hindu and Toork. Once more his
retreat was discovered, and he fled to Kooloo-nagar. Here a cele-
brated Jogi taught him an incantation (muntri), which was to reveal
his future fate, but which, to have any power, must be recited seated on
a dead body. He obeyed, and such was the potency of the spell, that
the
176
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
ļ
the dead spoke, declaring that in five years he should be king of
Guzzerat. Thence, in his Jogi garb, he went to Kanteepoor, in the
country of Kalian-karica,* and hence again to Oojein, where he sought
refuge in the famed shrine of Kalka-devi,† where a serpent (serpa)
addressed him as prince of Guzzerat." He then travelled to Cheetore,
and after visiting and describing all the shrines, there is a long
dissertation on the founding of this ancient metropolis of Central
India by Chitrung-gud. Thence he continued his wanderings to
Canouj, Kasi or Benares, Rajgraha, and Sampoo,-all renowned in the
history of Buddhism. At the last of these cities, in Chinese Tartary,
he describes a wealthy seit or banker, called Jugroo, who in the famine
of S. 1172 served out crores upon crores to the princes of the land.
Amongst those enumerated as having benefited by the bounty of
the merchant, was Hamira of Sinde.§ Komár-pál continued his
wanderings, the narrative of which does not contain much useful
information, until S. 1189 (A.D. 1133), when the end of Sid-raj
approached, of whom it is related that, calling his ministers, Krishun-
deo and Kamideo, he made them lay their hands on his neck, bidding
them swear never to place Komár-pál upon the throne; but while they
were hastening to obey, he expired. A relative of the deceased king,
of
*This, in another part of the work, is called Kalian Cuttac'-the discovery of Kanteepoor
would settle this geographical point.
C
+ This temple, of the most remote antiquity, still exists. Kalka is a female personification of
time.
This is likewise in accordance with the local traditions, which make Chitrung Mori the founder
of Cheetore.
This simple fact is of great importance; by supplying the date of this prince's reign, during
which, according to the traditional couplet, the desert stream called Caggar or Kankra was dried
up. See Annals of Rajasthan,' vol. ii. p. 294.
(
I
1
1
SELECTION OF KOMAR-PAL.
of Solankhi race, was raised to the gádi, but, proving a fool, was as
promptly deposed. The moment the tidings reached Komár-pál, who
was still amongst the mountains of Thibet,* he repaired to Patun,
where he found all classes worshipping the paduca, or impression of
the footsteps, of the deceased, in such veneration was his memory held.
The great officers of the Court, perplexed about a successor to the
throne, adopted the same expedient as obtained the Persian crown
for Darius; but the Rajpoot nobles, instead of a horse, selected the
more regal and sagacious elephant, to discover a fitting ruler for
the eighteen kingdoms dependant on Anhulwarra. A gurra or
jar of water was placed in the trunk of the elephant,† and it
was agreed that that individual should be their king on whom the
representative of Ganesa should discharge its contents.
All was
amazement when the animal overturned the gurra upon the head of
a mendicant Jogi, who was instantly led to the gádi "on the black
fourth of the month Megsir, S. 1189." This Jogi was the disguised
prince
2 A
177
* There is no doubt that it was a community of religious belief that procured Komár-pál shelter
in the mountains of the north. The characters in use amongst the monasteries of Thibet are the
simplest modification of those in Buddhist or Jain inscriptions found in Central and Western India.
But although the Buddhists of Thibet occasionally visit the holy mounts of their common faith in
Saurashtra, it is hazarding too much to say that this religion was thence transported to the north.
† In all probability, the great actor in this scene had been well drilled for the occasion, and the
scheme preconcerted by the brother-in-law of Komár-pál. It was very easy to prepare this saga-
cious animal, by parading him through the street and rewarding him with a few pieces of sugar-
cane when he made the ablution over some proxy of the prince. The stratagem which gave regality
to Darius was said, in like manner, to have been preconcerted, by tying a mare to the outskirt of his
camp, a secret confided to the ominous steed, who, when loosened, set off neighing to join her—
a ruse imitated with equal success, though with a less brilliant result, by my friend Edward Blunt,
in our donkey sweepstakes at Agra. He trained his by making him follow a horse with a corn-bag
tied to his tail, the contents of which were awarded him on reaching the winning-post. On the
day of action, the soundness of this practice was proved, and the recollection of the bribe at the goal
won his master the sweepstakes.
"
1
!
T
!
4
I
,
:
178
prince Komár-pál. "When the relative of Sid-raj was placed upon
the gádi, the assembled nobles enquired how he would govern the
eighteen regions left by Jey Sing; his reply was, according to your
counsel and instructions;' but when Komár-pál, now seated on the
throne, was called upon to answer the same question, he started on
his feet, and grasped his sword. Shouts of admiration filled the hall,
and all felt assured that he was a fitting successor to Sid-raj." Here
follows an account of the inauguration, which it is unnecessary to
insert, and which, with the wanderings of Komár-pál, occupies a great
portion of the thirty-eight thousand slocas of the Charitra.
Before we proceed further with this prince, however, we must
revert to some details which regard the era of his predecessor, whose
name and exploits are recorded in the poetic annals of every state in
Rajpootana existing at that period.
The bard Chund alludes to his wars against the monarchs of Canouj,
when "he washed his blade in the Ganges," and to the alliance
between the princes of Méwar and Ajmér to check his aim at universal
conquest. This is likewise recorded on more durable monuments than
Palmyra leaves,-on inscriptions in stone from sites of towns whose
very names are forgotten. He married the daughter of Irno Raja,
who held seven hundred villages under the prince of Cheetore. This
grand fief was on the Pat'har, or highland on the eastern skirt of
Méwar; its capital was Mynal (elsewhere fully described),* amongst
whose ruins I discovered an inscription proving this alliance. Another
most important inscription, relating to the Pramar dynasty of Chandra-
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
6
vati,
* See 'Annals of Rajasthan,' vol. ii. p. 746. Another inscription was found amidst the ruins of
Mynal, which appeals to the "gate of Balabhi” as a testimony of the greatness of the princes of
Méwar, themselves the ancient Balharaes.
SYNCHRONISMS.
179
vati, informs us that Irno Raja was likewise a cotemporary with Komár-
pál. It runs thus: "In the battle between Komár-pál and Irno-deva,
Lakshun-pál gathered from the field of battle the fruit of immor-
tality."
In the Sanscrit edition of this Charitra, it is mentioned that Sid-raj
fought the Pramar princes of Dhar, and after many years of brave
defence, captured it and its prince, Nirvarma. I have already settled
by a series of cotemporaneous inscriptions and MSS. the era of this
prince, the son of Udyadit, and to these I must refer the curious,*
merely adding that they afford with this notice in the Charitra another
valuable synchronism. The celebrated Jugdeo Pramara, the actions
of whose life fill a small volume, resided twelve years in sanctuary with
Sid-raj at Patun. We learn that Yasúvarma, son of Udyadit, had two
sons, Rindhawul by a Bhâgéla princess, and Jugdeo by a Solankhani
Ranee of Patun. The former obtained Dhar, and after his death, by
the instrumentality of Sid-raj, Jugdeo succeeded him.
In the same small volume, regarding Jugdeo, it is mentioned that
Sid-raj married a daughter of Phoolji Jharéjah of Cutch, better known
to tradition as Lakha Phoolani, one of the Desert kings, who flourished
at the end of the twelfth century of Vicrama, and whose marauding
exploits have signalized him in all the chronicles of his neighbours.
The annals of Jessulmér mention that its prince, Lanja Beeji-rae,
married a daughter of Sid-raj Jey Sing, and although no date is
assigned to this event, we can easily approximate thereto. Doosaj,
the grandfather of Lanja, mounted the throne of Lodorva† in S. 1100,
and Jessul, the grandson of Beeji-rae, founded Jessulmér in S. 1212,
the
་་
•
See Trans. R. A. S., vol. i. p. 207.
+ This city, now in ruins, and formerly the capital of the Desert princes of Jessulmér, I have to
enumerate amongst my discoveries.
}
2A2
180
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
the intermediate term being adopted for the accession of Beeji-rae,
proves another satisfactory synchronism. The Bhatti annals shew the
mother of this prince advising her son, in consequence of his marriage
with the daughter of Sid-raj, "to defend the gates of Patun against
the northern barbarians.' We might multiply these synchronisms,
but the preceding will suffice to prove the general accuracy of the
genealogies of the Charitras.*
KOMAR-PAL, as already stated, commenced his reign in S. 1189 (A.D.
1133). His first act was to call around him all those who had shielded
him in his adversity. Hemacharya was brought from his seclusion at
Baroach, and honoured with the title of Guru, or spiritual guide,
exchanging his duties, as preceptor of Jain youth in the philosophy
and language of Buddhism, for the more responsible office of chief civil
minister to the king; while Krishundeo, who was the first to afford
shelter to the fugitive prince, was constituted the chief military coun-
cillor, with the control of all the vassal chiefs, of whom seventy-two
are designated as composing this council. The Charitra proceeds with
an account of the pedigree of Komár-pál, with the various tribes, and
an enumeration of the eighteen kingdoms dependent on Anhulwarra.
Komár-pál was not of the same tribe as Sid-raj, but a Chohan,
descended from the kings of Ajmér. "In Guzzerat is a town called
Dytulli, in which dwelt Tribhawun-pál, chief of twelve townships. By
a Ranee of Cashmere† he had three sons and two daughters, viz.
Komár-pál, Muhi-pál, and Krit-pál, Pemuldevi, and Dewuldevi. His
family
*
Amongst the numerous inscriptions in the ancient character of the Jains that I have amassed,
there is one of Sid-raj, which, with many others, remains undecyphered.
† We find frequent mention of these matrimonial alliances between those Rajpoot princes who
followed the Buddhist doctrines, and the princes of Cashmere, which would indicate a community
of creed.
RAJPOOT MONARCHICAL PRINCIPLE.
181
family was the most exalted of the thirty-six tribes," of which a
catalogue is subjoined, concluding with the following stanza :
"Of all these the greatest is the Chohan,
Of which tribe is Komar-Narind,
Like the sun in heaven,
Like the swan in Mansur war,
Who made the Chaluc house resplendent."
We may here make a reflection on the succession of a Chohan chief
to the regal chair of the Chalucas, without changing the name of the
dynasty; a procedure which demonstrates two facts, illustrating the
principle of the Rajpoot monarchy, proving it to be at once elective and
adoptive, though the exercise of the first right is only had recourse to
on emergent occasions. But of the absolute privilege being reposed
in the great feudal vassals of these states, we could record many
instances, where, in case of any personal defect in the heir-apparent,
another branch of the family has been elected. by them, and adopted
by the monarch at their desire; though I recollect no other instance in
which a chief of another tribe was installed, without altogether
changing the dynasty. Notwithstanding Komár-pál did "not bind
round his head the turban of Sid-raj" (the symbol of adoption), during
the lifetime of that prince, having now become a Chaluc, it was his
duty to forget he had ever had other father than this monarch; and so
entirely is this identity recognised, that the Solankhi bard, in his list
of the tribes, does not even allude to his ever having been other than
a Chaluca. "Of all these tribes, the chief is the Chaluca, whose
ornament is Komár-pál, whose Guru is Hemacharya, the sun and
moon of mankind.'
""
We now proceed to the names of the eighteen countries subject to
the dominion of the Balhara at this period, embracing so wide a range,
that,
182
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
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that, but for confirmation by inscriptions, we might be inclined to
treat it as an empty boast of the chronicler; yet, strange to say, this
account, written in the twelfth century, accords perfectly with that
given in the eighth by the Arabian travellers, since this rule literally did
extend from the shores of the Indian peninsula to the base of the
Himalaya mountains. "Guzzerat, Carnatica, Malwa, Maroo-dés,
Soorut, (Saurashtra,) Sindhu, Concan, Sewaluc, Rushtra-dés, Bhans-
ber, Lardés, Sunkuldés, Cutchdés, Jhalindir, Méwar, Deepucdés,
Ootch, Bunbér, Kaerdés, Bheerâk; besides fourteen other regions,
within whose boundaries no animal life was taken." Then follows an
account of his establishments; but the amount of his army exceeds
belief, even supposing his power to have been absolute over the
countries described: eleven hundred elephants, fifty thousand war
chariots, eight lacs or eight hundred thousand foot soldiers, and
eleven lacs or eleven hundred thousand horse, an aggregate far ex-
ceeding all that Xerxes ever brought against Greece. The copyist
may have added a cipher to each, but even then the amount would
-
exceed probability, in spite of the almost universal power of the
}
Balhara sovereigns at this period, although Arabian visitors of the
eighth, tenth, and twelfth centuries, attest their vast numerical array.
Komár-pál had sixteen queens, seventy-two great councillors and
leaders of his armies. He divided Anhulwarra into twelve districts,
placing a chief magistrate over each. He expelled the tribe of Lar
from his kingdom. He made war on his brother-in-law, Poorunpál of
Sacambhari, whose kingdom he invaded, making him prisoner. He
attacked Samar-és, the lord of Soorut, whom he subjugated.* In S.
1211
* Perhaps this is the Sarama, surnamed Perimal, i. e. of the Pramara tribe (p. 163), mentioned
by Renaudot, who turned Mooslem and ended his days at Mecca.
1
1
:
183
1211 (A.D. 1155), he erected the gilt dome of the temple,* and with
foreign tribute defrayed the expense of excavating the steps which led
up to the sacred mount, Girnar, and it is stated that he had many
battles with the Islamite invaders, probably by the route of Sinde.
Komár-pál is styled in the Charitra " the pillar of Jain faith," which, as
it deprecates the destruction of animal life, is not a fitting creed for a
Rajpoot, and still less was it desirable to have had a minister of this
persuasion at the head of affairs.
JAIN TENDERNESS TO LIFE.
Returning from the war in Sacambhari, in the rainy season, the
sacrifice of animal lifet was so great, that he made a vow, probably at
the suggestion of Hemacharya, never again to undertake a war at that
period of the year. To shew the extent to which this principle was
carried, it is related that he sent a letter, with his portrait in an
attitude of supplication, to Jey Sing, monarch of Canouj, entreating
him to put a stop to the slaughter of animals in his kingdom, a request
which, being backed by two millions of gold coin, and two thousand
chosen steeds, met with a ready acquiescence from the Rahtore, though
we know he had it not in his power to abide by the agreement. His
enemies failed not to avail themselves of this infatuation, and the bard
states, in the genealogies of the Solankhis, that the kingdom of Patun
was overturned, from the Jain religion prohibiting the shedding of
blood. In the words of the Charitra: "The Khan of Ghizni attacked
him,
* As it is only styled the temple, we may imagine it to be the grand Sun-temple of Puttun
Somnath.
+ When I was in Marwar, in 1820, the discontented soldiery complained that while they were
starving, the dogs were fed by hundreds by the ministers of the Jain faith. To this same spurious
feeling may be attributed the destruction of Anhulwarra. It is a curious but little known fact,
that almost all the mercantile communities, especially the Oswâl, consisting of one hundred thou-
sand families, are descended from the Solankhi Rajpoots of Anhulwarra, and it is from this class of
laymen (the Oswâl), strange to say, that the successors to the Jain hierarchs are selected.
.
184
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
""
him, but his astrologer, who would not let him fight in the monsoon,
by the aid of magic, conveyed the invading general in his bed to the
palace of the Chaluc king, between whom and the khan great friend-
ship arose. The Hindu chroniclers seldom take the trouble to give a
proper name where a title will suffice, and we have no record in the
Islamite histories of any invasion from Ghizni within the period of
this reign, so that we cannot identify this attack except with the
expelled prince Jellaloodin, to whose invasion of Sinde and assault of
the Raja of Omerkote, allusion is made both by Hindu and Mooslem
authorities. But this magical nonsense is merely an invention, to
shew that Patun was captured. The end of the story is even more
eventful. Komár-pál's friendship with the Mooslem ripened into a
love of his doctrines, in which Hemacharya set him an example, and,
like whom, he might have died a convert to them, had not poison
carried him off in the thirty-third year of his reign. His son and suc-
cessor, Ajipal, was suspected of this deed, and the reason assigned is,
that, when the prince found it had been administered to him, he sent
for an antidote made from some kind of shell (seep), which Ajipal,
however, had taken care to remove. Hemacharya had died the year
before, and although they attempted to conceal or slur over this
remarkable apostasy in one of the greatest Acharyas of the Jains, by
placing it to the score of insanity," nothing but Allah, Allah,' passed
his lips." But the most irrefragable proof of his conversion was in his
remains being committed to the earth. This celebrated character died
in S. 1221. He was born in S. 1145. We conclude the reign of this
prince in the words of the Charitra : “In S. 1222 (A.D. 1166) Komár-
pál became a ghost. He left this world poisoned by his successor,
Ajipal."
6
We
CONCLUSIONS OF D'ANVILLE.
185
We shall now comment on the curious and diversified information
contained in the narrative of this prince's reign, and from various
authorities confirm the general accuracy of the Charitra. It was during
this reign that the celebrated Arabian geographer El-Edrisi visited the
kingdom of the Balhara, and from, whose work Bayer and D'Anville
gleaned much information. Immediately following the quotation
already cited, D'Anville continues: "Dans Edrisi on lit NAHROORA, et
c'est non-seulement sur la province de l'Inde, que nous connoissons
actuellement sous le nom de Guzzerat, mais sur la ville la plus consi-
dérable de tous les royaumes Indiens, que cette ville a dominé, selon ce
géographe. Un monarque respecté de tous les autres souverains de
l'Inde, et auquel le titre de Balahara, signifiant ‘le seigneur,' ou 'roi,'
par excellence, étoit réservé, faisoit sa résidence en cette ville.
Ptolémée, dans une province de l'Inde qu'il nomme ARIACA, con-
tigue à celle de Larice, que, plus haut, j'ai remarqué être le Guzzerat,
plaçant une ville, sous le nom d'Hippocura, en qualité de ville royale
du Baleocur; la grande affinité de ce titre avec celui de Balahar, jointe
à la convenance de région, me persuade que c'est du même potentat
qu'il est question." This acute and learned man then draws the
following legitimate deduction: "Voilà donc un état Indien, pré-
éminent en dignité, que nous découvrons existant dans le commence-
ment du troisième siècle (qu. deuxième ?), et dont il est encore
mention, comme subsistant, dans un auteur Arabe qui écrivoit dans
le douzième:" and he might have added, "to the fifteenth." He
concludes with the following important information :
"Edrisi nous
instruit que le Balahara est adorateur de Bodda !"*
Upon this and other information, D'Anville proceeds to discover
the
* Eclaircissemens, p. 75.
1
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}
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186
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
the site of this famed city : "Les géographes orientaux ne s'expliquent
pas avec assez de précision sur la situation de la ville royale de Bala-
har, pour qu'il soit facile de la reconnoître. Selon Ebn-Saïd, elle est
située en plaine, à trois journées de la mer, et Kombaye est son port,
duquel elle tire ce qui lui est nécessaire." These lucid passages,
extracted from the Nubian geographer, confirm, in the most satisfactory
manner, all that the Charitra states respecting the grandeur of Anhul-
warra, the power of its kings, and the religion they followed; and when
Edrisi tells us that it was the largest metropolis of all the Indian king-
doms, we no longer hesitate to credit the extent of fifteen miles circuit
assigned to it by the author of the Charitra, and the necessity for its
division into "twelve districts" by Komár-pál. Edrisi likewise adds
his testimony to the extent of the power and influence of this prince,
observing that " he was respected by all the other sovereigns of India ;"
and we have other authority still stronger and more durable to the
same point. We might have imagined the list of eighteen regions,
over which he spread his arms, to have been apocryphal, like his
armies, but for indisputable collateral evidence. The most powerful
is obtained from two inscriptions (App. Nos. III. and IV.), one pre-
served in a temple at Cheetore, the other at the town of Puttun. Here
is undeniable proof of his actual conquest of Méwar, as stated in the
Charitra, and of his having established his power in the city of Salpoor
in the Punjab, and even as far as the Sewaluc mountains, an external
range of the Himalaya. From this, the conquest of Jhalinder, Ootch,
and Sindhu, all small states, was comparatively easy, and this supports
the Arabian geographer, Abulfeda, quoted by Bayer, in his description
of Chorasmia (Khwarezm): "Terram Khanbalek ab Austro attingunt
montes Belhar, qui est rex regum India." By these extracts from the
Charitra,
COUNTRIES OF LARICE AND ARIACA.
187
6
Charitra, we are enabled also at once to clear up two long-disputed
points regarding the countries of LARICE and ARIACA, which Ptolemy
makes contiguous to each other. According to him, it appears to have
been an important division of the Syrastrene, or peninsula of the
Sauras. The Charitra enumerates Lar-des, or country of the Lar,'
amongst the eighteen regions dependent on Anhulwarra, but for some
fault, Komár-pál "chased the tribe of Lar from the country." Ebn-
Said settles the point of position, saying that he had met with "autho-
rities which placed the famous temple of Somnath in the country of
Lar."* At all events, this proves that this tribe was so powerful in the
time of Ptolemy, as to give its name to a country, and of sufficient
strength even in the twelfth century to draw upon it the especial ven-
geance of the king of Anhulwarra. The remains of this ancient tribe
are now only to be discovered in the third or mercantile caste, forming
one of the eighty-four great families residing in Maroo, and following
the Jain faith. So much for the Larice of the great Egyptian geogra-
pher, and the inhabitants of our Lari-ca-dés, or country of the Lar.'
As to the province adjoining Larice, which he names Ariaca, we have
already incidentally introduced it to the reader, and had the learned
Wilford always adhered to such expositions as that "On the site of
Tagara, the capital of Aria," he would have been one of the most illus-
trious scholars who have ever cultivated the study of Hindu antiquities.
The occasion of this dissertation upon Tagara and Ariaca, arose out of
an inscription discovered when excavating among ruins at Tanna,
near Bombay, and which fortunately fell into the hands of General
Carnac. They are beyond doubt amongst the most interesting addi-
tions to ancient history hitherto found, and it is but justice to Wilford
C
to
* Eclaircissemens, p. 69.
S
།
1
r
2 B2
188
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
!
to say,
that none, since discovered, have found so able an expositor.*
I deem myself fortunate in being able to throw additional light on
these valuable records, which at the same time illuminate the subject
in hand.
6
These copper-plates, recording a grant of land made in the year
A.Sac. 939, or A.V. 1074, corresponding with A.D. 1018, enter as
usual into the ancestry of the donor. Stanza fifth shews that Capardin
was "chief of the race of Silâra," which is introduced amongst the
thirty-six tribes subject to the emperors of Anhulwarra, with the epithet
Raj Tilac, or diadem of kings.' In all probability, it is the same as
Lar, with the prefix Si or Su, meaning par excellence, and as, even in
the days of Ptolemy and Arrian, the adjoining provinces of Larice and
Ariaca were subject to the same prince, we may admit the inference
without hesitation. The final a is superfluous, and put in by the
English editor; it is mute, and calculated to mislead when appended to
proper names. The eighth stanza says that his grandson "afterwards
became the sovereign of Gogni ;" in all probability, he had conquered
the important city and sea-port of Cambayet, whose ancient name was
Garjni or Gajni, and which lay between, connecting Larice and Ariaca.
The sixteenth stanza gives the proper name of the grantee in Aricésar,
which, though very properly translated a lion (césar) amongst foes
(ari),' would have been rendered more correctly 'the lion of Aria,'
his country; his proper name, Deva-Raja, being developed in the next
sentence, viz. “Aricésar Deva-Raja, king of the race of Silar, sove-
reign of the city of Tagara, governs the whole region of Concan,
consisting of one thousand four hundred villages and cities," &c. &c.
&c., one of which, and an important one, was Tanna, adjoining
·
Mambei
* See Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 357.
/
GREEK AGREE WITH NATIVE AUTHORITIES.
189
Mambei (Bombay). Quoting from the Periplus of Arrian, Wilford
says: "Tagara was the metropolis of a large district called Ariaca, which
comprehended the Subah of Arungabad, the Concan, &c.," (in fact, repeat-
ing exactly the words of the inscription); "for Damaun, Callian, Sal-
sette (in which was Tanna), Bombay, &c. belonged to the Raja of
Larikeh, or Lar, according to Arrian and Ebn Said:" precisely the point
I had reached through the Charitra and native authorities. Wilford
continues, still extracting from Arrian: " In speaking of Tagara, he
(Arrian) says that the Greeks were prohibited from landing at Callian
and other harbours on that coast," which was not formerly the case, as
they were freely admitted into the Deccan to send off the goods to the
coast, as Callian, Bombay, where they shipped them. He adds, that
Baroach (Barugaza) was the only port at which they were allowed to
reside for the purpose of trade, by order of Sandanes, Raja of Larikeh
or Lar, who commanded all who disobeyed to be captured and sent to
Baroach. Probably, this arose from the superior influence of the
Roman agents, who, as Wilford remarks, after the conquest of Egypt,
monopolized the India trade, and shut up the Red Sea to all strangers.
Wilford suggests that the Greeks had attempted to force a settlement at
Salsette, to facilitate their conquests in the Deccan, towards which the
influence of their brethren of Bactria may have tended.
have tended. When we
reflect that Menander and Apollodotus penetrated into the kingdom of
the Eupo, the Sauras, the suggestion is far from improbable. He cites
Pliny, Arrian, and Ptolemy, as to the prevalence of piracy in the ports
south of Callian, which deterred the Greeks from landing there.
Now, when we unite all these scattered proofs, we see distinctly the
same people as in latter days; and singularly enough, the native tradi-
tions assert that it was from acts of piratical violence that the Saura or
Chaora
;
1
190
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Chaora prince of Deva-bunder was driven from Lari-ca-dés. Who, then,
was the expeller? Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, who had all in turn
monopolized the trade of India, were driven from the Nile and the
Red Sea, on which the flag of Islam floated in triumph, when Anhul-
warra was re-founded by Vansraj Chaora, in A.D. 746. It must have
been, therefore, by the fleets of the great Haroon that this catastrophe
was effected, not Varuna, the god of the waters. There is no necessity
to say more on Komár-pál being the great supporter of the religion of
Buddha, a fact attested by the Charitra, and corroborated by El-Edrisi,
whose valuable information proves that of which there never should
have been a doubt, that Jainism and Buddhism are the same, the one
being but a modification of the other. But, as I shall conclude this
outline of the annals of Anhulwarra with some reflections on its reli-
gion, commerce, and maritime relations, we shall finish our remarks
on Komár-pál by stating that the Mooslem historians do not record
any distinct invasion previous to the eruption under Shahbudin, which
sealed the downfal of Hindu supremacy, about twenty years later
than the proselytism of Komár-pál and his Guru, Hemacharya. My
own preceptor, who traced his spiritual descent from this celebrated
Acharya of the Jains, which proved of no small use to me in my
researches in Anhulwarra, admitted the truth of the tradition, though
the conversion is slurred over by attributing it to the effect of magic,
which produced madness, whence we might almost conclude that the
conversion of both was forcible. Komár-pál may, therefore, be dis-
missed with the reflection that he was the greatest prince of his time,
and alternately the strongest supporter and the most vehement opponent
of the faith he professed, and from which he apostatized to that of
Islam.
AJIPAL
1
HISTORY OF AJIPAL.
191
AJIPAL Succeeded in S. 1222, A.D. 1166. He is mentioned in the
Jessulmér annals, as the competitor in S. 1215 with its prince for the
hand of the sister of Rindhawul,* son of Yasúvarma, king of Dhar,
and a reference to the Pramar inscription settling the important era of
Raja Bhoj,† at once attests the synchronical rectitude of the Solankhi
and Bhatti annals. It is by no means clear whether Ajipal was the
son as well as successor of Komár-pál. In the genealogies of the
Solankhi bard, he is called Chonipál which name also appears in
cotemporary inscriptions. The same authority states "that he was the
founder of the third or Bâgéla dynasty; and that the astrologers having
foretold that Komár-pál would have a son born in Mula Nacshitra, who
would cause his father's death, he was sent as an offering to the shrine
of Bâgéswara Mata, by whom he was not only preserved from destruc-
tion, but she herself, in the form of a tigress (bag), suckled the young
Solankhi, whence his issue, which spread over the country, obtained
the distinctive name of Bâgéla.”‡ Like his father, he became a convert
to Islamism, and the first act of his reign was the destruction of every
temple of religion, orthodox or heterodox, Jain or Brahmin, through-
out his dominions. One, however, escaped, the temple on the hill of
Taoringi, said to have been built of kugar wood, which they assert is
incombustible.§ Ajipal did not long survive his exaltation and three-
fold
1
* The same Annals mention that the Pramara had three daughters, and that, besides Ajipal of
Patun, the heir-apparent of Cheetore was there, in the capacity of a suitor, and although to their
own prejudice, they honestly give an anecdote illustrating the superiority of the prince of Méwar,
who quarrelled with the Bhatti for presuming to drink water from his cup. Here are no less than
four cotemporaneous dynasties brought into notice.
+ See Trans. R.A.S., vol. i. p. 226.
The princes of Bâghélcund are of this race, and there are many petty chieftainships of this
tribe in Guzzerat, as Lunawarra, Mandvie, Mahera, Godra, Dubboye, &c.
§ This shrine, reported to have been once nine stories in height, is said still to exist.
Į
7
192
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
fold guilt of parricide, apostasy, and sacrilege. In a fit of rage, he
put out the eye of the successor of Hemacharya, and soon afterwards,
falling from his horse, the animal dragged him through the streets till
he was killed. Abulfazil states that Komár-pál reigned twenty-three
years, and Ajipal eight, but the Charitra places them both within the
period of thirty years, allotting to Ajipal less than two.
The chronicle concludes in the following manner :
"Thus ends the
Charitra, done into the Guzzerati dialect in S. 1492 (A.D. 1436), and
this copy thereof was written in the reign of Akbar. The original
history is in Sanscrit, consisting of thirty-eight thousand slocas, com-
posed by Sailug Soor Acharya, and this version in Guzzerati of
thirteen thousand.
""
CHAPTER X.
193
History of Anhulwarra continued.-Bheemdeo.-His character.-Cause of the war between
Anhulwarra and Ajmér.-Battle between Bheem and Pirthi-raj of Delhi.—The former slain.—
Conquests of Pirthi-raj in Guzzerat.-Inscriptions.-Mooldeo.-Beesuldeo.-Bheemdeo.-
Opulence of Anhulwarra.-Arjundeo.-Sarungdeo.-Kurrundeo the madman.-Invasion of the
Mussulmans.—The Balhara sovereignty extinguished.—The Taka race obtain Guzzerat and change
the capital.-Name of Anhulwarra degenerates into Puttun.-Value of these historical records.—
Enumeration of the results.
BHEEMDEO Succeeded in S. 1225, or A.D. 1169. In the cotempora-
neous annals, he has the distinctive prefix of Bhola, which means
simpleton, fool, or madman. The Rajpoot annalist, instead of apply-
ing numerals to distinguish princes of the same name, has recourse
to some characteristic epithet. It is only from the Chohan Annals
that we gather anything regarding Bheemdeo, who, if Bhola, would
have been the third" madman" in succession on the royal cushion of
the Balharas, a circumstance sufficient to sink the most powerful
monarchy, even had all their predecessors been Solomons. It is not
improbable that the copyist may have substituted Bhola for Bala, as
Chund designates him Bal-ca-rae Chaluc vira, or the Chaluc warrior,
lord of [the country of] Bal;' yet if the poet really means thus to
characterize him, it must be understood in the sense so peculiarly
applicable to the Rajpoot, of arrogance.
Bheem seems rapidly to have repaired the excesses of his predeces-
sors, and, as a valiant warrior, appears to have been in every way
worthy of wielding the sceptre of Sid-raj. His wars with Soméswar,
the Chohan king of Sacambhari, whom he slew in battle, and subse-
quently with his son Pirthi-raj, the Rolando of the Rajpoots, are
amongst
2 c
194
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
amongst the most interesting episodes of the grand epic of Chund. If
these were madness, it was of a lofty description. It would be out of
place here to extract largely from the bard, more especially as I hope
one day to give a great portion of this poem to the public; but I will
cite enough to shew its value, not alone as illustrative of the manners
and customs of the Rajpoots of past days, but as an historical chroni-
cle of the period, particularly in what appertains to the subject under
discussion. The battles give occasion to describe not only the
personal qualities of" the foe of the Chohan," but the resources of his
kingdom, and the variety of its tribes, with their leaders, as they
assemble under the banners of the Balhara.
"In Goojur-d'hur ruled Bhola-Bheem Bhoing,* whose array of
horses, elephants, and chariots, was innumerable. The lustre (pani)†
of his falchion was bright and deep as the waters of the ocean. To
whom shall his uncle, Sarungdeo, be compared? a god in form, whose
son Pertap and brothers seven were like lions. The lustre of Rajpoots
sparkled in their countenances. Strong they were, and wise as strong,
and in the pride of strength they communed with the rolling thunder.
When the command of their lord is to oppose a foe, they fall upon
him as the lightning of heaven scorches the earth. It was they who
slew the Ran, and the lord of the Rans,‡ the powerful Jhala, who
resembled a flaming fire. Sarungdeo had gone to the heroes' abode
(Suraloca) and Pertap had succeeded. With five hundred warriors in
their train, each of whom felt himself a hero, the brothers with zeal
served
* Bhoing, a contraction for Bho-jung, an opma, or comparison to the serpent.
+ Used in the same sense as in speaking of the water of a diamond: likewise applied to the
temper of the steel.
the
‡ Ran is the title of the head of the Jhala tribe. Jowala signifies 'flame,' a jeu de mots upon
name of the tribe. Chund abounds with such.
WAR BETWEEN ANHULWARRA AND AJMER.
served their prince, and of the seventeen thousand towns of Goojur-
d'hur, they were the calpa-vrisha,* faithful to their lord, in whose
cause they made the mountain-pinnacle to bow its head.”
The story goes on to relate an inroad of the mountaineers and
foresters upon the plains of Guzzerat of so serious a nature, that the
Balhara in person headed the war against them.
headed the war against them. The marauders were
quickly driven back to their savage retreats, and the prince and his
chiefs amused themselves by hunting in the woods. But an incident
occurred which we must not mar by a partial relation, that of slaying
in self-defence the favourite elephant of the king, which act drew upon
them his resentment, and the desvati, or sentence of banishment.
They proceeded to Ajmér, where they were received by the Chohan
king with all the observances of international courtesy and hospitality.
"He put into their hands a written grant (putta), and gave to each a
dress of honour and one hundred horse. They were enrolled
amongst the Sawunts, or great leaders of the Chohan, and prosperity
was their portion, till one unlucky day, "when the heir of Somésa,
like Soméru, seated amidst his warriors, was listening to the deeds of
the days of yore; Pertap's soul was on fire, and as he kindled at the
story, his hand was curling his moustache."
To curl the moustache (interpreted as an act of defiance) is a piece
of ill-breeding unpardonable in a Rajpoot, especially before a superior.
It was noticed by the reckless Kân-rae, the brother of the Chohan
king, and uncle to Pirthi-raj, whose armies he led during his minority,
and who is immortalized even by Ferishta, under the name of Khandi-
rae, for his personal conflict with, and defeat of, the Sultan of Ghizni.
The furious Kan-kaka (the uncle Kan), misinterpreting the act, felled
Pertap
{
195
*The fabulous tree in the heaven of Indra, yielding golden fruit.
2 c 2
196
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Pertap to the earth. His (Pertap's) brothers drew their swords to
rescue and revenge him. All was confusion: the youthful prince
´escaped, but the council chamber became a scene of blood and death.
The brothers were all laid lifeless, and had the honour of the bard's
applause, who probably incited the mischief which he loved.
"Re-
nown to the Chaluc who, in a foreign land, was true to the sense of
shame. It was evening when Mahadeo completed his chaplet.* The
Joginis† had their platters well filled. The Chohan heroes lay in their
gore, Kan, like death, stalking in the midst, for with blood did the
brother of Soméru irrigate the field of council.
Such was, such often is, the Rajpoot, and so far he well merits the
epithets benda and bhola,-one who would fight for a feather. Yet for
this does Chund sound his praise. "Kan is like Bheem in the Bharat.
Kan is like Rawuna. Kan puts the string in the nostril of the
strong."
It was this mad act which occasioned the war between the ancient
rivals of Anhulwarra and Ajmér, and cost the lives of both, besides
preparing the way for the eventual success of the Islamite. The
sentence of outlawry was forgotten; the incident which occasioned it
forgiven: “the honour of the Chaluc race was implicated," and
nothing but revenge was breathed in Anhulwarra, when the fate of
Pertap and his brethren was made known. "The Chaluc Bheem and
his warriors heard of the fate of the sons of Sarungdeo: rage
inflamed their bodies.' A letter was sent to the Chohan declara-
tory of war for the the Chaluc's murder of kinsmen, which received the
laconic reply, that Somésa" would meet him in arms.”
The above is a bare outline of the cause of the war. The next
Samya,
""
99
* The chaplet of the god of war consists of human skulls.
† A kind of female harpy-they frequent the field of battle.
WAR BETWEEN ANHULWARRA AND AJMER.
197
Samya, or section of the sixty-nine books, opens with the preparations
for battle on both sides, and gives us the names and families of the
leaders, and the tribes which assembled under their banners.
"In Goojur-dés reigns Chaluc Bheem, equal to the Bheem of the
Pandus. His renown and his rules of government (Rajnita) cannot
be described by words. But Somésa of Sambhur is a thorn in his
heart; night nor day has he rest."
Then follows the proclamation of assembly to his vassal lords,
several of whom, as they reach the presence, make speeches.
6
"Thus to the Ind* of the Chalucs spoke Runingdeo, lord of the
Jhalas: If such flames of anger devour you, call on the array of the
land, that we may fall on the foe with the velocity of the wind; that
as the Bhil robs the honied nest, we may plunder this Sambri.' Then
spoke Kun, lord of the Catti (Catti Narind), and Runing Rajb'han
the mighty, and the warlike Dhawulanga,† lord of Deo, and the
Dholara, Soortan; the Mocwanoh leader, Sarung, with the Joona-
gurh Tatar,‡ whose body is covered with innumerable scars. Amidst
his chiefs in council, the Chaluc thus spoke: My ancient feud is like
a needle in my heart. Yet, what is Sambhur to me? for till I dye the
head of its lord, I can know no rest. Is it because he won the fight of
Sajut he is called the player in the game of battle? but he is a thorn
in
my flesh until I meet him in arms.' Then replied the Runing Rao,
and the Chaurasima Bhan, and Shamoh, the lord of the men of Sham,§
6
and
* A contraction of Indra, lord, or chief.'
In this epithet, meaning 'the flag of Siva,' we recognise the ancient princes of Deo and Som-
nath, now tributary to Anhulwarra.
This shews the influence the Mooslem had in this kingdom, being entrusted with this important
fortress in the very heart of the peninsula.
Are we to understand from this that he had Syrians in his array? Sham is Syria. This was
the period of the Crusades, and Shahbudin had Franks incorporated with his army.
198
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
and the Catti warrior Thanung, whose mind was deep and his body
fair,* and strong to support his prince in battle. Birsing the Chohan,
who stormed with rage, and would engulph in his wrath the volcano
in the ocean.
All swear they will so fight that the world shall hear
of it."
The march is then described.
"The array advances and increases
as it moves, like the dark rolling clouds from the mountains of the
north. The warriors strong and haughty stride on; in their pride they
say, 'where are our equals?' As did the heroes of Râm advance on
Lanka, so does the army of the Chaluc advance on the Chohan. The
eye is confused in scanning its numbers. But what shall I say of the
Sewaroh Amra Sing,† whose face is the index of fidelity to his
prince? what of Bhiroo the bard, imbued with lore? what of the
Brahmin Leeladur, familiar with the Vedas ?‡ what of the fair-faced
財
​Charun Dandroopa? These four ministers (muntris) accompanied
Bheem.
""
As we have nothing to do with the Chohan hero, we proceed to the
close, which was fatal to Soméswar, a result which Chund, with a
laudable partiality, attributes to his young hero Pirthi-raj's absence
in the north." The son of Jey Sing § is like the star of the north; yet
he would not have set his foot on our land had Pirthi-raj been here."
Like a true Rajpoot, he pays this marked compliment to his foe:
" As
* This is a good picture of the physical qualities of the Catti, the ancient foe of Alexander, for
not only are they fairer than those around them, but blue eyes are met with amongst them, indica-
tive of their northern origin.
† Séwara means a priest, among the Jains: but we must not mistake this Amra for the cele-
brated author of the dictionary, who flourished at the Balhara court several reigns antecedently.
We are not to infer, because a Brahmin was in the councils of the sovereign of Anhulwarra,
that he was a worshipper of Siva.
§ Meaning the son of Aji-sing, the last prince. Jey means 'victorious,' Ujya, 'invincible.'
padd
WAR BETWEEN ANHULWARRA AND AJMER.
"As the Chaluc approached, even the inhabitants of Dehli trembled
in their abodes. The standard of Sambhur advanced, like the varie-
gated blossoms of spring. Somésa towered amidst the warriors in the
red field of fight," which continued six ghurries, when, “with fifty
mighty chiefs, Somésa drank of the wave of battle. Immortality was
gained. Somésa upheld Somésa. The lord of Sambhur lay in the
field, while the Chaluc was borne off in his litter. If ever the Chaluc
and Chohan meet again, it must be with other chiefs, for no heroes
are left.
That immortality which the recluse gains after a long life of
austerity, Soméswar attained in the twinkling of an eye. The world
shouts Applause!'—the gods cry' Alas!'”
In this war we see no diminution of strength in the kings of Anhul-
warra, who claimed full sovereignty over the seventeen thousand towns
of Guzzerat and the peninsula, the quotas from whose extreme points,
Jhalawar, Cattiawar, and Deo, are mentioned, and repeated with
many others in the sequel. The success of the Chaluc king, however,
on this occasion, ultimately proved his destruction. Pirthi-raj, who
was destined to be the first and the last Chohan emperor of Dehli,
determined to avenge his father, and the forty-first Samya, or section,
thus opens:
"Like a green wound night and day is this Bheem; a
thorn in the heart of the lord of men; he is devoured with flame,
which the blood of his foe alone can extinguish." As he expresses
himself, "the feud of my father is still on my head; each time I taste
water it is like drinking my own blood; yet my enemy is strong."
Yet," (he adds in another place,) "one day I shall take my father
from the very entrails of this Bheem."
A most animated description is given of the assemblage of the sixty-
four thousand and their leaders, forming the array of the Chohan, the
account
66
199
6
1
200
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
}
account of which soon reached the Chaluc, who, nothing daunted,
prepared to meet the strife. For the sake of the names of these levies
we shall briefly cite it, and we must again admire the noble spirit of
the hostile bard, who thus speaks of the foe:
"The son of Jey Sing was enraged; the muscles of his frame started
from passion; his eyes became inflamed as he called upon his chiefs to
prepare for battle. Throughout the land he sent his summons. The
lords of men obeyed. Then came two thousand khans, armed with the
khotban.* Then advanced the Bulla of Cutch, in quilted mail, with
three thousand horse. With one thousand warriors came the lord of
Soret,† and the Kakraicha Kale, bowman of the hideous face, an archer
unequalled, for no second arrow is required from his quiver. Then
came the Jhala Narind of Jhalawar, and as he advanced, the sun hid
his beams. Then Mukroand, the Kaba‡ chief, at whose approach the
country fled. Then advanced the barrier of the Cattis, Narind, whose
foe must ever be a stranger to repose-with many of less note, whose
names to what extent shall I, Chund, relate? Such were the hordes
forming the host of the Chaluca, from his own land of Goojurkhund, and
such did the spies of Dehli see assemble, and report to their lord. They
said, ' like the rolling thunder does the Chaluc advance that the bounds of
ocean were broken down, whence poured forth a hundred thousand men
and a thousand elephants."
It is not my intention to say anything of the array of the Chohan, of
which Kan Rae, who had also to avenge his past defeat, was made
generalissimo on this occasion, as in later days when he defeated Shah-
budin,
* A javelin or dart propelled through a tube.
+ Soret either means the modern Surat, or else one of the subdivisions of Saurashtra.
A famous thievish tribe in Guzzerat, not yet extinct.
201
budin, the emblems of royalty, "the Châor and Cheter* waved over
the head of Kan. Pirthi-raj himself led the van (herole), Nidder
Rae the centre, while the rear was commanded by the Pramara.
Another passage, characteristic of the Rajpoot, may be given. As
the armies advanced to meet each other, the heralds on either side
exchanged defiance from the princes, and as the bards fulfil this
important office on warlike occasions, Chund was deputed by his
youthful monarch to the Balhara. "Tell the Chaluc, O Chund, I am
come for revenge, yet take from me two gifts; one a coloured turban,
the other a corset (kanchali), and bid him accept either, as his fancy
may incline. Say that this world is a dream, and that one of us must
fall." Chund, relying on his sacred character, as d'hool, or envoy, adds
a great deal more of very curious impertinence from himself, to all of
which the Chaluc replies with great dignity: "Bheem I am, and like
Bheem [of the Bharat] I will give you battle. The fate of the father
awaits the son"-and in return he sends one of his bards, by name Jug-
deo, to Pirthi-raj. His words are not given, but they doubtless were, as
the bard says, full of venom (vis), for Chund, as the spokesman for
his prince, cuts him short with a sarcastic allusion to the unrefined
dialect of his country: "Why torment us with this Guzzerati
gibberish ?" shewing the difference in those days to have been as
striking as at present.
"The armies meet, and the poet is in his glory. He says, “ A noble
field was displayed for Chund, the road to Suraloca was soon crowded
with travellers, and immortality was extorted." The battle was long
and
WAR BETWEEN ANHULWARRA AND AJMER.
""
* The ox-tail and umbrella, not unfrequently placed over some chief of consequence, to divert
attention and protect the king from danger: in Shakspeare's description of the battle of Bosworth
field, Richmond, in assaulting the gallant usurper, says "Three have already fall'n who wore that
crown."
2 D
202
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
and desperately contested. Many chiefs on both sides, whose names
and actions are recorded, had fallen, when the youthful Chohan
fought his way to his foeman. "For one pahar* the sword had rained
upon the casque; the armour of heroes was hewn in pieces. Sarasvati†
rose with the torrents of blood. The Joginis filled their cups from the
stream of the field, and the Palcharas had their cravings appeased.
Pirthi-raj espied his foe; he gave his steed the rein. Earth shook
with affright. The guardians of the world fled from their posts. The
gods trembled. His hand was lifted to the heavens, and when his
bow forms a halo, what can escape? Then Siva's meditations were at
an end: his chaplet fell from his hands as the Chohan and the Chaluc
encountered in fight. Each warrior wields the lightning's flash,‡ and
as they met, Pirthi-raj exclaimed, O Bheem, thine hour is come!'
'Beware!' said Bheem, for I shall send you to Soméswar.' On
rushed Pirt'ha, and where the thread adorned the neck of Bheem, there
smote the steel, and as he fell, he made the teeka in the fore head of
Pirthi-raj. Then the gods shouted Victory!' and the Apsaras in their
heavenly cars cast a shade over the field. When their lord fell, the
Chaluc army took flight.”
6
The bard praises the noble bearing of Bheem, of whom he adds:
"But he is gone in the chariot of the gods to Seopoor." But it was no
easily-gained victory. "Fifteen hundred horse, and fifteen hundred
heroes of renown (amongst whom was Jait, the lord of Aboo), besides
five thousand of less note, lay mangled on the field." His description
C
of
* A watch, quarter of the day.
†The river which flows past Anhulwarra.
‡ Beejulsar, meaning the essence or cream (sar) of lightning, a name not unfrequently adopted
by a Rajpoot chief for a favourite sword. The Beejulsar of Pirthi-raj was as renowned as the
Balisarda of Ariosto.
WAR BETWEEN ANHULWARRA AND AJMER.
66
}
of the night succeeding the battle, though irrelevant, may be appended
for the sake of the metaphors.
203
Pirthi-raj had gained the fight. The heroes sounded the shell of
victory, though their bodies were covered with glorious wounds. The
wrath of the Chohan was extinct, for his father was avenged. The
warriors laud each other's deeds. The glory of his warriors is the
wealth of Pirthi-raj. They remained that night on the field of battle,
attending to the wounded: but the night was long; anxiously they
looked for the morning. Night fled-the lotus of morning expanded ;
the bee, which it enveloped in its shade, took to wing. The stars grew
dim-the veil of darkness was rent asunder. The host of Chandrama
soon became invisible. The portals of the gods were opened to admit
the prayers of mankind.
of mankind. The eyes of the bird of night were again
closing. The shells in the divine mansions sounded. The sun com-
menced his course.'
22
Immediately after this climax, the poet, as if startled into sympathy
for those scattered around him, by whom the influence of the beams
of the luminary would never more be felt, exclaims: "How many
warriors have trod the earth, who have given their bodies to the sword!
but the glory of these Chund himself has rehearsed. The world is a
dream! whatever it contains will one day yield to destruction. The
hearts of men are foolishly fixed on worldly desires; but though death
is a butcher (khaluk), the meed of the warrior is the only real wealth,
for by the sword's edge alone is immortality obtained:" a doctrine
which, fortified by the joys of Suraloca (the heroes' heaven), a place
combining all the luxury of the Mooslem's paradise, diversified with
the strife and feasting of the Scandinavians,-is well calculated to foster
the devotion of a Rajpoot for his prince and country.
2 D 2
The
204
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
The Chohan king of Dehli and (since his father's death) also of
Ajmér followed up his victory, and “ conquered the eighty-four sea-
ports of the Chaluc."
Chaluc." He raised to the throne a prince named
Cutchra, to whom he restored ten of these ports, and carried him to
Dehli. Who this Cutchra was, I have in vain attempted to discover.
The name may denote a branch of the family who held Cutch as a fief,
the final syllable marking the genitive case, as ra, ca, da, cha, which
are touchstones of the dialects.
The year S. 1224 is given in the annals of the Chohans for this
invasion of Guzzerat; but in the chronicle of the Solankhi bard, S.
1228 is the period assigned for the death of Bhola Bheem, a dis-
crepancy quite immaterial; so that we have another very satisfactory
synchronism, further confirmed by the Hansi inscription, of a most
important epoch, when all the Hindu thrones were on the eve of being
overturned. The inscription alluded to, which I brought away from
the ruins of Pirthi-raj's palace at Hansi, and sent in the same year to
Marquess Hastings, to be presented to the Asiatic Society of Calcutta,
but which has never since been heard of, was of infinite value, not、
only as giving the era of the last Hindu emperor of Dehli, but as
affording parallel synchronisms with cotemporaneous dynasties.
these, one instance has been detailed in the war with Anhulwarra.
There is another, scarcely of minor importance, settling the era of the
great ancestors of the princes of Ambér. Rao Pirjoon was then its
prince (of Ambér), and one of the most conspicuous of the great vassals
of the Chohan. His name appears in the Hansi inscription, as
holding, in conjunction with Hamira, the guardianship of that
important frontier fortress. He is likewise mentioned in the battle in
which Soméswar, the father of Pirthi-raj, was slain; and a short samya,
Of
ΟΙ
205
or canto, called the Pirjoon Samya, is introduced between this battle
and the one we have just related. It gives an account of an incursion
made by this leader for the recovery of a plume lost in the field where
his monarch fell. The bard records his success, and the re-instate-
ment of this feather in his cap, we may take it for granted, was a
metaphorical expression for a successful foray, as Marik-eswar, or Lord
Marcher. An account of the inscription alluded to is given in the
Trans. R.A.S. (vol. i. p. 154), as I had fortunately preserved a copy
and translation of the original.
THE BHAGELA DYNASTY.
BALLO MOOLDEO ascended the throne in S. 1228 (A.D. 1172). Here
is another example of the use of a figurative distinctive affix, and it
is not a little curious that the first and last of this dynasty should bear
the same name, from each being born under the same zodiacal sign.
He ruled the kingdom of Anhulwarra twenty-one years, or until S.
1249 (A.D. 1193), an era for ever memorable in the history of the
Rajpoots, when the star of Islam shone triumphant over the palaces
of Dehli and Canouj, and when the chivalrous Pirthi-raj fought and
fell on the banks of the Caggar, and the monarch of Canouj, having
lost all, save his honour, was drowned in the Ganges in his flight.
But though the great rivals of Anhulwarra were thus disposed of, the
shock did not reach ‘little (ballo) Mooldeo,' who was succeeded by
BEESULDEO Bhagéla. He commenced his reign in S. 1249 (A.D.
1193). Why he should be styled the first of the Bhagéla or Bhagaila
dynasty, I never could discover, for the anecdote which caused the
change of name is related of the son of Komár-pál, indicating that
Mooldeo was first entitled to the appellation. It is, however, a matter
of no importance, as all the inscriptions, even after Beesuldeo, con-
tinue to use the prior name of the tribe, Chaluc or Solankhi, We
have
206
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
have not a single fact regarding this prince, who ruled fifteen
years.
BHEEMDEO Succeeded in S. 1264 (A.D. 1208), and ruled no less than
forty-two years. Besides this, of itself a very good proof that the arms
of Islam, which had already overturned the monarchies of Dehli,
Canouj, Cheetore, did not scathe the kingdom of Anhulwarra, we
have the testimony of the temples of Cheetore, erected twenty years
after the accession of this prince, and by his ministers. All the
inscriptions found on Aboo designate him as paramount sovereign, and
as the Pramara princes of Chandravati and Aboo had reverted to a
state of vassalage under this kingdom, from which they had been
temporarily rescued by Pirthi-raj, we may infer that neither westward
nor southward had the power of the Balaraes declined. In fact, the
Balabhi inscription, recording the "virtue" of Arjundeo, his succes-
sor, clearly proves that not only the country of the Lar, but all
Saurashtra, was firm in its obedience, though the mariners of Arabia
had been permitted to form settlements on the coast. A more striking
proof of the riches of Anhulwarra cannot be afforded, for if we take
the temples simultaneously erected on mounts Aboo and Taringi, in
the city of Chandravati and on the shores of the ocean, as criteria of
its prosperity, we might affirm that if she were not in the zenith of her
greatness, she could at least not have materially declined. Or if, since
the mighty kings, Kurrun and Sid-raj, to whom both history and
tradition point as the great ones of the land, she had deteriorated
during the reigns of the "three madmen" which concluded the second
dynasty of her kings, what must not her resources and magnificence
have been in the plenitude of her glory, when even a century after-
wards, during which invasion had twice swept the land, she was yet
able
P
DEDUCTIONS FROM THE BALABHI INSCRIPTION. 207
able to expend such munificence on these shrines, each of which cost
millions, contributed from the redundant coffers of three only of her
merchants? well may we exclaim "her merchants were princes!"
Bheemdeo, in conjunction with his brave vassal, Dharaburz, defended
himself nobly against the Islamite, defeating the emperor, Kootub-u-
din, who was wounded; nor did his successors gain any advantage
over Anhulwarra until the reign of the sanguinary Alla, half a century
later.
ARJUNDEO Succeeded in S. 1306 (A.D. 1250). As he ruled twenty-
three years, he in all probability followed the policy of his father, and
while he opposed the arms, cultivated the friendship, of the Mahome-
dans, who were rapidly environing his kingdom. Yet his title of
Chaluca Chacraverta (on the Balabhi inscription), or the universal
Chaluca,' to which is appended, "always victorious," shews no diminu-
tion of power. This inscription is a kind of rescript to his admiral,
Noor-u-din Feroz, a native of Hormuz, who was chief of the port of
Billacul, near Somnath, and to the vassal princes of the Chaora tribe,
holding the island and port of Deo, to see certain duties on merchan-
dise appropriated to the repairs of the grand temple of the sun at
Somnat'h, of which the Chaoras continued to be custodes. This
valuable record involves four great points. First, that the temple of
Somnat❜h, or 'lord of the moon,' is the great sun temple of the Sauras,
who gave their name to the peninsula, Saurashtra, the Syrastrene of
the Greek kings of Bactria, two of whom, Apollodotus and Menander,
carried their arms into this very region of the Σúpo.*
Second, that the Chaora or Saura princes of the island of Deo and
the holy city of Somnat'h, though subordinate, continued in the
fourteenth
* See dissertation upon this subject in Trans. R.A.S. vol. i. p. 313.
C
S
208
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
fourteenth century in possession of this ancient capital, being driven
from which, they founded Anhulwarra in A.D. 746.
Third, that the city of Balabhi, whose sovereigns were the Bala-raes,
had a Samvat or era of their own, corresponding with the era of
Vicrama 375, or A.D. 319.
Fourth, that an Arabian Amir of the port of Hormuz, was admiral*
of one of the fleets of Anhulwarra so late as A.D. 1250.
SARUNGDEO succeeded in S. 1329 (A.D. 1273). His reign was a long
one for these troublous times, being twenty-one years; but the period
was fast approaching when Anhulwarra was to bend her proud neck.
6
Gehla KurrunDEO succeeded in S. 1350 (A.D. 1294). At this
momentous epoch in the fortunes of the Rajpoot kingdoms, when each
required the wisdom of a Solomon to direct its superabundant valour,
the gádi of Anhulwarra was occupied by a madman or imbecile. Such
is the import of Gehla,-not Gohil, as Abulfazil has it, for none of this
tribe ever sat upon the cushion of Vansraj. At this time, Khuni
or the Sanguinary,' the only title by which the Hindus recognise the
ferocious Alla-u-din, who was the angel of destruction to every Raj-
poot dynasty in India, approached Anhulwarra, where, as in all places,
❝he saw and overcame." With Gehla Kurrun the sovereignty of
the Balharas became extinct, after having subsisted for five hundred
and fifty-two years from the foundation of Anhulwarra. Petty chief-
tains of the last dynasty, the Bhagéla, continued to hold important
fiefs in and about the metropolis, but their dependence was sealed, and
the proud walls of Kali-kote were levelled with the earth.
1.†
Years
* It
may
not be generally known that the word Admiral is of Arabic extraction, viz. Amir-al-âb,
lord of the waters.'
+ The Balharas have left few traces of their greatness. Of the first dynasty, the Chaora, there
are
I
ISLAMITE DYNASTY.
209
Years after this catastrophe, a new dynasty once more succeeded to
the curtailed sceptre of Anhulwarra, in the person of Seharun, of the
ancient
are a few estates in Guzzerat, the most extensive of which is rated at a lac of rupees. The next in
importance is equal to forty thousand rupees. With all of these the Ranas of Méwar keep up their
ancient matrimonial intercourse, esteeming the pure blood of the Chaora in preference to the more
affluent houses surrounding them. The mother of the present Rana of Méwar, and his sister, the
ill-fated Kishna Komarie, was a daughter of the latter house. The Raja of Rewah, whose country
is called Bhagélkund, is a lineal descendant of the first of this dynasty, and they enumerate thirty-
two reigns from Bhagji, the founder. Of those descended from the second or Solankhi dynasty, who
still remain on their native soil, the Loonawarri chief is the head. Peetapoor and Therâd are both
Bhagélas. The Solankhi chiefs of Tonk-Thoda were celebrated in their day; witness their feud with
Boondi, related in the "Annals." They are said to be descendants of one of the outlawed brothers
of Anhulwarra, the origin of the feud between Bhola Bheem and Pirthi-raj. They acquired the
putta, or grant, of Ramsir, near Ajmér, and Boerdeo obtained the sister of Pirthi-raj in marriage.
In S. 1280, Govind Rae, the third in descent from this alliance, expelled the Goelwal Rajpoots
from Thoda, whose ancient name is Taksilla, and which, when I passed it in 1806, presented some
fine specimens of architecture. The Thoda Raos consolidated a very snug principality, and were
altogether on a footing with their more powerful neighbours. This consisted of Rin- Binai, Uniara,
Todri, Jehajpoor, and Mandelgurh. The two latter districts were held as fiefs of Méwar. In
Mandelgurh I found, in a dilapidated reservoir, a pair of large slabs, inscribed with the genealogies
of these chiefs, in which they are styled (and still recognised by tradition as) the Balnote Solankhi,
shewing their affinity (ote means 'belonging to') to the father-land. Of the Balnotes of Mandel-
gurh, the Mircheakhaira and Butwarro chiefs are the representatives, retaining the title of Rao,
but possessing only a single village each! Rae Calyan lost Thoda. It was taken by Raja Maun and
annexed to Ambér. He assigned to Calyan lands near Newye, to which he moved with all his
bussi,—a term expressive at once of subjects and household gods,—and where he pitched his tent a
town arose, still retaining the name of Bussi; and here the descendant of the Raos of Thoda, heir
lineal of the great Sidraj of Anhulwarra, rules over threescore subjects instead of "eighteen king-
doms." The oppression of Meer Khan has reduced the Rao of Bussi to this condition. His
kinsman, who held the chieftainship with the title of Rao of Tonk, is not better off. But despite
the loss of "many a rood of land," their alliance is not the less sought; the honour of a Rajpoot lies
not in his purse, and the great Jey Sing of Ambér took a wife from the impoverished Solankhi of
Tonk. The chief of Roopnagurh, in Méwar, is a branch of the Tonk-Thoda family, and more fortu-
nate than the elders. He is said to hold the heir-loom of the war-shell of Sidraj. It was through
him that I made acquaintance with the "Chronicler” of the race. Many of the mixed tribes claim
descent from the Solankhis of Anhulwarra, as the Gûjers (doubtless the aborigines of Gujerashtra,
contracted to Guzzerat) of Sonte and Kotario, the Bhils of Ogunah and Panurwa, and those of Mow-
Maidanoh in Harouti, the Soonars or goldsmiths of Bonkun, and various other handicraft tribes.
Thus have we traced the once mighty Balharas through all the phases of their fortunes, from the
eighth century, when seated on the gádi of Anhulwarra, to the nineteenth, when dispersed through
the land.
GEN
2 E
210
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
ancient but now extinct race of Taka, but who, in becoming a prose-
lyte to Islam, concealed his name and race under the appellation of
Mozuffir. His son was the celebrated Ahmed Shah, who, aspiring to
be the founder of a long line of kings, removed the capital of Guzzerat
from the banks of the Sarasvati to the Saburmati. With Ahmedabad,
raised from the wrecks of the ancient metropolis, and with the frag-
ments transported from Chandravati, the name of Anhulwarra, in
process of time, was altogether forgotten; and when the Ahmedshahi
kings, and the yet more glorious line of Timoor which succeeded, each
in turn to be forgotten, gave place to the Gâéwar (as the name
imports, simple cowherd) princes, Ahmedabad was in turn neglected,
and Damoji, with all the ambition of a conqueror, raised a new town,
or rather new walls round a suburb of the city of Vansraj, but which,
instead of Anhulwarra Puttun, the " city or capital of the land of
Anhul," was styled simply Puttun.
To some, this meagre chronicle will present little more than a
record of ascents to the gádi, and descents to the grave; but those
who look beneath the surface will observe that it contains hints, allu-
sions, names of things as well as persons,-ideas, in short, which, to
those who can follow them out, afford valuable matter for all that is
styled the philosophy of history—whether on religion and the singular
sects of this period; on commerce, and its probable extent with the
nations of antiquity; on the migration of tribes; on the arts, especially
of architecture, sculpture, numismatics; on war; on geography, politi-
cal and physical, and the international intercourse of the Rajpoot
princes, during a period of eleven hundred years. Our own historians
did not find the philosophical deductions and illustrations which
constitute the charm of their works, when diving for truth, in the dark
chronicles
1
RESOURCES FOR HISTORY IN SAURASHTRA.
chronicles of antiquity: the woof they wove was of divers materials,
obtained from many a source, "the fruit and flower of many a
province" in the extended domain of history, in which nothing was
overlooked that could contribute to their object.
Nor is there wanting in these regions matter applicable to similar
purposes, although the staple may be of a quality less likely to stimu-
late or reward research than that of the country which gave us birth,
or the states connected therewith. But, although secondary, the
interest to be derived from the pursuit is still of a positive description.
To confirm by inscriptions the chronological verity of the Charitras, or
Annals, and to trace by the aid of the Bardic chronicles the migrations
of tribes from higher Asia, as Getes, Turshkas or Tacshacs, Ballas,
Ariaspas, Hoons, Cattis, and others* of foreign nomenclature, and
their settlement in these regions; to speculate on the varied worship
they may have brought from the "father-land," and on the changes
this underwent from their partial amalgamation with those they
displaced, and to discover what yet remains of ancient habits and
institutions, are objects presenting no mean scope to the thinking
mind, and facilities for such research exist in the peninsula of the
Sauras to an extent surpassing, perhaps, any other field of enquiry in
India.
•
211
Here is the very cradle of Budhism; this is the land which either
gave these sectaries birth, or nurtured and sheltered them on their
expulsion or migration from other regions. The province of Syras-
trene, or region of the sun-worshipping Sauras, which anciently
extended from the Cutch Gulf to the delta of Sinde, was only divided
from the fire-worshippers of Aria and Bactriana by the Indus, no attuc
to
* For the list of tribes, see Annals of Rajasthan, vol. i. p. 81.
ì
2 E 2
212
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
ī
to the Budhists, whose traditions affirm that their primates were
accustomed to cross it long before the appearance of Islam, to visit their
dioceses in the west. What reference the term Arhya and Arhya-punti
(punti, a path'), used to designate Budhism, may have to Aria, the
land of Zerdusht and the Samaneans, we can only conjecture, in like
manner as we may speculate on the resemblance of this sect in name,
and perhaps in matters of faith, to the Budhist, some of whose last
Jineswars, as Parswa, may have been from Aria. The period of this,
the twenty-third of their deified pontiffs, was about A.C. 650, when
fresh hordes were pouring into India from Western Asia. Even thẹ
name evinces an analogy with the ancient Pars, and the Parthic fire-wor-
shipper; and the characters and symbols on the coins and rock-inscrip-
tions of the sacred mounts of the Jains, have no affinity with the Hindu,
and are in all probability a modification of the Chaldean, derived
either directly, by communication with the Euphrates, or through Aria :
a supposition which would be countenanced by some of our cosmogo-
nists, who make these shores the line of route of the Semitic emigrants
into India. Further research amidst the wrecks of ancient civilisation
and rock-inscriptions, in these unfrequented holy mounts, may yet
reveal some secrets.
Of architecture, from the different features hitherto found in the
Budhist and Jain temples, we may conclude that, if they did not bring
its elements with their religion from Western Asia, what they adopted
has been so modified as to have a distinct style, as is seen in their yet
existing monuments, of which I have had the pleasure to present to
the world the first specimens.
Summary as is the detail of the foreign products imported by the
Tyre of India in the eighth century, it affords sufficient ground to
assume
+
"
THE METROPOLIS OF THE BALHARAS.
213
assume the extended and long established commerce which must have
obtained these results.
When I say that the Charitras and chronicles, aided by coins,
inscriptions &c., present matter for even a continuous history of
Anhulwarra and its dependencies, it may be asked why I have not
attempted such an undertaking. The reply is easy-not satisfied as to
my powers for the task, I have preferred blending historical and
chronological facts with matters of personal observation, and am
content to furnish, as in my former work, materials for the histo-
rian. Nevertheless, we may in this place endeavour to unite the
severed links which connect the history of the Balhara kings of
Western India from a period almost coeval with the era of Chris-
tianity.
The contiguous countries of Gujerashtra (vulgò Guzzerat) and
Saurashtra (the region of the Gujers and Sauras), formed the nucleus
of the Balhara sovereignty, and in one or other, according to political
contingencies, was placed the metropolis. Of this we can clearly trace
three changes of position, and nearly twice that number of dynasties.
According to the Annals of Méwar, the first dynasty was formed by
their ancestor Keneksén,* of the Surya (qu. Chaora) race of princes,
from the northern regions, of which Lokote was the capital. Dhauk
or Moongy-puttun† was their residence. Thence they founded
Balabhi, proved, by the fortunate discovery of the inscription, to have
had an era of its own, commencing in A.D. 319. On the destruction
of this city—"where the bells of eighty-four Jain temples summoned
the
* The invasion of this prince was about the beginning of the second century of the Christian era.
Had it been somewhat earlier, it might have been supposed that he was the Kanaksha of Wilson's
chronicle, the Raj Taringini.
+ Also called Tila-tilpoor Puttun.
214
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
J
誓
​ད
!
T
the votaries to prayer"—in the fifth century, by an irruption of Parth-
ians, Getes, Huns, or Catti, or a mixture of all these tribes, this
branch fled eastward, eventually obtaining Cheetore, when the isle of
Deo and Somnath Puttun, in the division termed Larica, became the
seat of government. On its destruction, in the middle of the eighth
century, Anhulwarra became the metropolis, and this, as recorded,
endured until the fourteenth, when the title of Bal-ca-rae became
extinct. Besides the collateral testimony of various writers to the
greatness of these kings, we have the corroboration of their coins,
which I have found amidst ruins in Cutch, and in those of the ancient
Oojein. The characters on these are Budhist, a religion intimately
and inseparably connected with the Balharas.
To the author of the Periplus we are indebted for the first notice of
the commercial greatness of these princes, in whose territory he
resided, viz. at Barygaza, correctly Brigu-gocha, the modern Berwuch,
or, anglicised, Baroach, which was still one of the "eighty-four
ports," when the metropolis was removed to Anhulwarra. Ptolemy
also mentions the kingdom of Baleokouras, though we can make
nothing of Hippocura, which he assigns as the capital: a name,
however, which surprises us less than a Byzantium placed by him
on the site of Balabhi. Arrian informs us of the piratical habits
of the people of Larica, for which, no doubt, they were expelled
the country, as mentioned, in the reign of Sid Raj. From the
days of Arrian in the second, to the founder of Anhulwarra in the
eighth, and to the time of the last of the second dynasty in the tenth
century, notwithstanding its inland position,, the commerce he des-
cribes appears not to have languished; the same products enume-
rated by the Grecian agent in the second, continued to crowd the
eighty-
66
¿
TRADE OF ANHULWARRA.
215
"eighty-four bazars" of this grand mart in the eighth and twelfth
centuries. Her position on the Sarasvati, at a point equidistant from
the ports in the gulfs of Cutch and Cambay, threw into her lap all the
products of Africa, Egypt, and Arabia. Her chief port, Gujna or
Cambayet, was not above one hundred miles distant, and that of
Mandvie little more. If Antwerp, in the early stages of her prosperity,
had “ten thousand carts constantly employed in carrying merchandise
from the four hundred ships at one tide under her walls to and from
the neighbouring countries," what may we not credit of the Tyre of
India, the metropolis at one time of "eighteen kingdoms," which drew
her maritime wealth from every port in Asia, and her inland trade even
from the mountains of Tartary? facts which filled the minds of the
Arabian travellers of the eighth, tenth, and twelfth centuries, with
astonishment. Let us compare the chief articles specified by Arrian*
as forming the trade between Barygaza and the Red Sea, with those
enumerated in the Charitra. After the precious stones, as diamonds,
pearls, &c., he particularly notes muslins (sindones) of the colour of
mallows, as being sent down from Ozene. These are the "Saloos"
of Anhulwarra, which, with purples and silks, had a separate bazar.
From hati-dhant, or elephants'-teeth, appearing as one of the chief
imports to Patun, doubtless from Africa, we may conclude that the
same extensive rage for chooris or bracelets† existed amongst the fair
sex in the earliest ages. Wine being one of the imports, we may
hence infer that the Rajpoot of those days was as partial to the ‘piala'
as
* See Dr. Vincent's translation of the Periplus, pp. 408 and 459.
+ These bracelets sometimes cover the arm from the wrist to near the elbow. I have elsewhere
given an account of two marble statues built up in the porch of the ancient church of Moissac, near
the junction of the Tarn and Garonne, representing females in a perfectly Asiatic costume, and in
all probability of the age of the Visigoths, whose capital was Toulouse.
216
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
▸
as now. The learned translator of Arrian asks," Might such be palm
or toddy?" To which we reply, neither, for they had abundance at
home of the fermented juice of the jâl; but the pure grape (perhaps
of Shiraz), whose praise is alike sung by Solomon and Hafiz. The
seven metals (heft-dhat) were found in Anhulwarra, but the tin could
be procured nearer home than the Cassiterides, for India had abun-
dance, as the mines of Jawan in Méwar indicate that they have been
worked from the earliest ages, and the hills abound in lead, copper,
tin, and antimony. The Venerable Bede was possessed of pepper,
cinnamon, and frankincense; Dr. Vincent asks, "how such articles, in
that age, A.D. 735, found their way to a monk's cell in Britain ?"
Precious perfumes and unguents are enumerated by Arrian, and in
the Charitra they are described as having a separate market in Anhul-
warra. Nard, long pepper, myrrh, the onyx,* are also mentioned by
Arrian as being sent down from Minagara, where, he says, " a Parthian
potentate resided, who received tribute from Guzzerat. All these
articles, except the last, are the products of Thibet, and in making
this circuitous route, it is evident that the Indus was the direct
medium of commercial intercourse. De Guignes mentions an Indo-
Scythic irruption in the second century, and Cosmas one of Huns in
the sixth century, the first fixing themselves at Minagara, the Sami-
nagur or Tatta of the Delta; the other, higher up. The first was the
period of the Yuti or Gete irruption, which I have described in the
Yadu Annals,† and to these Indo-Parthic or Indo-Getic invaders, we
must attribute some of the host of ancient medals, and perhaps of the
rock-
""
* The onyx has a peculiar and almost superstitious value in the East, and is especially chosen for
amulets. Chaplets of this stone are much esteemed.
+ See Annals of Rajasthan, vol. ii. p. 221.
TRADE OF ANHULWARRA.
217
rock-inscriptions, with their incognate characters, yet abounding in
all these regions. The onyx, the Sulimani Putr (petros), or stone of
Solomon, is found at Rajpipli, in Guzzerat, as well as all the precious
agates. I possess a vase, purchased in Scindia's camp, evidently of
Grecian workmanship, and the numerous cameos* of the onyx found
in the Punjab, and other relics of Alexander's conquests, attest the
abundance at that time.
Silks of various fabrication are also stated by Arrian to have been
one of the staple articles of export, and are mentioned in the Chari-
tra as occupying one of the eighty-four bazaars in Patun. Doubt-
less this grand entrepôt of Western India did not confine its selection
of these fabrics to the nearer market of Tagara; we have a right to
suppose that the great silk marts of Mooltan, Sirhind, and other places
in those northerly regions (not yet supplanted in these productions),
supplied the Balhara capital. The ancient western writers have gene-
rally agreed in placing Serica in the south-eastern provinces of Chinese
Tartary. But may we not conjecture that there was no occasion to
cross the Caucasus for this silk mart? Sirhind, or Sirica-hind, the
'head' or frontier of India, might have furnished the supply.†
It is far from improbable that, when Arrian wrote, the Punjab was
under the dominion of an Indo-Grecian or Indo-Getic prince, since
from
* In such numbers were these cameos found in 1803-4, when Lord Lake dictated peace to
Holkar from the Altars of Alexander, that the native artists of Muttra and Agra carried on a
successful imitation of them for some time, which encouragement might have raised to celebrity.
My friend, Edward Blunt, of Kempshot, possesses one of the pure Grecian specimens, where the
artist has availed himself of the dark lamina of the onyx, to place a Moor's head in contrast with
that of a beautiful female, cut in the white portion of the stone.
+ In this same manner, as explained, Larice is the contraction of Larica-dés, or country of the
Lar. Sir, 'head,' is the most common term for a political or geographical boundary, and Sir-ca-
hind, or the frontier of India (proper), might be contracted to Sirica.
2 F
218
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
from the days of Darius, who considered it the richest satrapy of the
Persian crown, to the present time, it has been an object of contention.
It was on account of the silk trade that the prince termed Porus, sove-
reign of Oojein, sent an embassy to Augustus, and a letter written in
Greek shows the footing they had in Central India. This prince being
styled Ranæ, Dr. Vincent refers to him as the ancestor of the Ranas of
Méwar, and draws the following curious inference. "Now, were it
possible to connect the interests of the Ranas, the most powerful of the
Rajpoot Rajas, with those of Guzzerat, we might prove that the trade
carried on at Barygaza and Nelkunda was of such importance as to
make an intercourse necessary between these Indian potentates and the
Emperor of Rome: if an Indian history of these early times should ever
be obtained, that possessed a degree of consistence or probability, some light
might be thrown on this subject, which at present is mere conjecture and
speculation." Singularly enough, we can prove that "the interests of
the Ranas," the most powerful of the (then) Rajpoot princes, were not
only "connected with those of Guzzerat," but that they (though not as
Ranas) actually governed it as the first Balhara kings, from Keneksén
in the second, to Sailaditya in the fifth century, when Balabhi was
sacked by Indo-Scythic invaders.
I have elsewhere stated my opinion, that the name of one of the
oldest and most powerful tribes of India, namely, the Pramara, pro-
nounced Powâr (sovereigns of Oojein and Dhar from the remotest
period), gave occasion to the corruption of the name of the tribe to a
proper name, both of this prince, the correspondent of Augustus, and
of the opponent of Alexander. I can also prove that the supreme title
of Rana did belong to this family of Ozene, and is still borne by the
deposed prince of Omerkote in the Desert, of the Soda tribe, one of
the
TRADE OF ANHULWARRA.
219
the most conspicuous subdivisions of the Pramaras, at one time sove-
reigns of all Western India from the Sutledge to the ocean. The
ancient title of the princes of Méwar was Rawul, and that of Rana was
assumed when they overcame the Rana of Mandore, the capital of
Maroodés, in the thirteenth century.
It is unnecessary to pursue further the comparison of the merchan-
dise described by Arrian in the second century as forming the invest-
ments for the ports in the Red Sea, and those of the Balhara
metropolis, on which Barygaza was dependent; nor does it matter
whether that capital was Anhulwarra or Deva-puttun in the region of
the Lar, and on the shores of the Suroi peninsula ;-the family was one.
Well might the Arabian travellers expatiate on "the vast empire, the
riches, the splendid court, of the monarch reigning in Guzzerat, by the
name of Balhara, his capital Nehelwarra." But we may repeat, that
this emporium was not the creation of its founder; on the contrary,
the fact of its inland position more strongly proves the antiquity of
this commerce, and even this disadvantage did not alter the usual
channels of traffic which filled her bazars with wealth; on which point
I shall draw an important inference from Masoodi, who visited Anhul-
warra in the tenth century, about the period of the change of dynasty
from Chaora to Chaluca, and who confirms all that his predecessors had
advanced on the opulence of the Bal-ca-raes, and the still increasing
greatness of Anhulwarra. He gives us a quaint reason for this, and
one honourable alike to Hindu toleration and to Mooslem good
conduct. "The Moosulmans were much respected, and they had
mosques in the city, in which prayers were read five times a day, and
they [the people of Anhulwarra, I suppose] ascribed the long life of
the Balharas to their prayers." This points to the conclusion of the
reign
2 F 2
SAN
220
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
reign of Moolraj, who occupied the throne fifty-six years, or from the
middle to the end of the tenth century. And although, not many years
after this, Mahmoud, with his legions of barbarians, carried desolation
over the land, destroying the cities, and sweeping away their wealth,
from which Gujni* derived its splendour, yet Anhulwarra rose like a
phoenix from her ashes; and when El-Edrisi visited it in the twelfth
century, towards the end of the reign of Sid-raj, and the commencement
of that of his successor, Komár-pál, he found the same splendour and
superabundant wealth as were recorded by his predecessors in the
eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries. No argument is required to show
that commercial industry alone could have been the foundation of this,
and the sources thereof were not only too numerous and important,
but too firmly established, to be cut off by any temporary calamity,
even such as the visitation of Mahmoud. One passage from El-Edrisi
we may quote as containing much interest; "Regnum hoc hereditario
jure possidetur a regibus suis, qui omnes uno invariabili nomine vocantur
Balahara, quod significat Rex Regum. Ad urbem Nahroara multi se
conferunt mercatores† Moslemanni ad negotiandum ;" and then he goes
on to say that the worship of Buddha was the prevalent religion, as
already quoted. This toleration extended beyond the admission of the
mercatores Moslemanni into the capital; for a chief of Islam held in fief
the important fortress of Joonagurh, in the very heart of the peninsula,
while
* The Yadu Rajpoots claim this as one of their ancient cities, founded by Raja Guj. See Annals
of Rajasthan, vol. ii. p. 222.
+ Throughout the sea-coasts of Saurashtra, at Gogo, and Mandavie, are seamen who call them-
selves Hindus, but who keep entirely distinct from all other classes. Some of them claim a descent
from the mariners of the Arabian shores, but still as Hindus. An inquiry into these classes and their
peculiarities of dialect (if any), would be interesting.
+ Ap. Geog. Nub. p. 63.
.
TRADE OF ANHULWARRA.
221
while a native of Hormuz commanded the fleet, a toleration ulti-
mately attended with ruinous results, as has been explained.
From the foregoing, we shall make one important deduction in this
place, the consideration of which may be resumed as we advance into
the peninsula of the Sauras, when we have occasion to remark on the
religion, the tribes, and the strange characters on rocks and coins, viz.
that an extensive commerce was maintained between the Rajpoot sove-
reigns of Western India, and the shores of Arabia, Egypt, and the
Red Sea, at periods long anterior to Christianity; and independently
of the evidence of Greek and Roman agents being resident amongst
the eighty-four ports of the Balharas, in the second century of the
Christian era, we are assured on undisputed authority, that the
Romans remitted to India annually, a sum equivalent to four hundred
thousand pounds, to pay for their investments, and that, in the reign
of the Ptolemies, one hundred and twenty-five sail of India shipping
were at one time lying in the ports of Myus, Hormus, and Berenice; the
ports whence Egypt, Syria, and Rome herself, were supplied with the
products of India, and whence the pepper of Malabar found its way
into the cell of a monk, during the period of the Saxon Heptarchy.
}
222
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
CHAPTER XI.
Remains of Anhulwarra.-Their rapid disappearance.-Four architectural relics only left.-Speci-
men of the Saracenic arch.-Its invention, Hindu.-Ruins of Anhulwarra applied to the building
of Ahmedabad and modern Puttun.-Antiques contained in the new city.-Inscriptions.-The
Library. Saved from the Mahomedans.-Property of the Khartra sect of Jains.-Extent and
condition of the library.-Other libraries of the Jains unexplored.--The Vansraj Charitra.
:
THE sceptic in scriptural prophecies should repair to the once proud
metropolis of the Balharas. He would there just see sufficient of this
once magnificent city, with its "eighty-four squares and eighty-four
bazars," to mark the facility with which capitals are raised and over-
thrown. He would discern but one vestige of the lofty circumvallation
which enclosed the palace of its Cæsars; of the rest, like the walls of
Babylon, there is not one stone left upon another. When desertion
commences in the East, there is soon nothing remaining but sacred
edifices, and the baories, or reservoirs of water.
The first object that attracts the eye, is a fragment of the Kali-kote,
or inner city, consisting of two strong bastions, called the towers of
Kali, from a small shrine of Time underneath, near one of the princi-
pal entrances to the city. From the summit of these towers, the eye
can trace the course of the walls, which formed an irregular trapezium
of perhaps five miles circuit, around which extended, chiefly to the
east and south, the suburbs, to which there may have been an external
circumvallation. The following imperfect sketch may suffice to give
an idea of the site..

phones
HOPPER
Man
E Maconie del fron a shench by Men Stair
DEEW
MITTIT
ANHULWARRA PUTTUN.
London, Published by W. Allen (1839
Bo SpumanLED
W. P. Starling, sculp
Arched
Gate.
Towers and
Shrine of
Kalka.
I
IM
S.30°E,
N
MODERN
REMAINS OF ANHULWARRA.
N.70° E.
CIRCUMVALLATION
CITY
S.70° E
OF
PAT UN
CONTINENT
ARE A
RUINS OF
ANURWARRA
Gres
OF
1
1
1
Į
1
KALI-K
OF
THE
CITY
ANTIENT CI
vand Bone muu materʻbane "Damer H
Palace of
Sid Raj.
1
Ghee-ca-
Mandavi.
s hoon dous name meant star grads
223
Four relics only are spared of the three dynasties which ruled Anhul-
warra; but these, with the aid of the Charitra and tradition, sufficiently
attest her past greatness. First, the towers of Kali; second, the remains
of the old palace of Sid-raj; third, the ruins of one of the eighty-four
markets, called the Ghee-ca-Mandavi, four miles distant from the
towers; and last, not least, the ruins of Anhulwarra itself, two coss, or
three miles, from the gate of Kali-kote.
With this discovery, years of anxiety terminated: here, then, is the
site of the first city of Vansraj, still locally known; but a few years
more, and this will be numbered with the things that were. Damaji
Guicowar
224
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Guicowar has the credit of doing more than either time or Toork
towards the destruction of Kali-kote; but this may be doubted, for it
is well known that the sanguinary Alla not only levelled the walls, but
buried the greater part of the temples in their foundations; razed the
palaces, and, as the last token of conquest, ploughed up the ground on
which they stood with the ass. All is now deserted, and the evergreen
peloo, which delights in sand, luxuriates amidst the ruins of the
Balharas. Kali-kote was elevated considerably above the surrounding
country. The remnant of what is still called the palace of Sid-raj, is
in the centre of an artificial basin, but the excavation is now barely
discernible. There is the ruin of a noble reservoir, from the fragments
of which, a new one has been constructed in modern Puttun,* and of
a smaller one, bearing the name of the Fountain of Ink, wherein, it is
related, the scholars of Hemacharya dipped their pens to write down
his dicta.
About one hundred and fifty yards from the Towers of Time,
stands the skeleton arch of a noble gateway. Were we to take this
magnificent relic as a specimen of what the city of Anhul had been,
we might at once solve a great problem in architecture; for it is one
of the finest outlines of what is termed the Saracenic arch that I ever
saw, and could we prove it to be Hindu in origin, we might discover
in it the prototype of those in the Alhambra, and the varieties of the
pointed style, denominated Gothic, spread over Europe. If, originally,
it formed part of the circumvallation raised by Vansraj in A.D. 746, it
would
*The accompanying print is from a drawing by Mr. Arthur Malet, whose description is sub-
joined: "Ruins of a bowree (a well with a flight of steps down to it) in the old fort at Puttun. The
steps and the galleries have fallen in, and the only part remaining, is one side of the well, finely
sculptured, the stones of which probably were taken by the Mussulmans from some Hindu
temples; they are covered with figuręs.”

e
J.Netherclift Lithog
Wwe
LINK
BOWLEE AT ANHULWARRA PUTTUN.
London. Published by W.H. Allen & Co. 1839.
THE ARCH OF ANHULWARRA.
would be nearly the period of the Alhambra, the edifice,' par excellence,
raised by Haroun in the kingdom of Granada. I have already given
an opinion that, although the Chaora prince established his dynasty at
this epoch, it is most improbable that the city could have attained its
extent or splendour during his sole reign; and we may surmise either
that Vansraj, when driven from Deobunder for the piratical habits of
his family, fled to a secondary metropolis, or that he succeeded to a
more ancient dynasty. We know that the Caliphs of Bagdad, who
added naval dominion to their wide conquests by land, inherited
the exuberant prosperity of a long-established commercial intercourse
with India, and that they nationalized whatever they discovered of
value in art or science, in every country which they subjected. I have
elsewhere* stated, that so early as the eighth century, the arms of
Islam were both on the Indus and the Ebro; but where did the Arab
learn to turn this arch? Not from the Visigoth in Spain, nor from the
architraved edifices of the ancient Greeks or Persians ;-not from Tad-
mor in the desert, nor from Persepolis; neither from Hauran nor from
Haleb. Did they then invent and spread it over Europe; or did they
acquire the knowledge of it from the Silpi, or architect of the Hindus,
who had their Vitruvius before Romulus was born? Of one thing we
are confident, that this arch was erected by a Hindu mason, and that
its ornaments are pure Hindu, and if the Arabians had anything to do
with it, their merit was confined to the design. Can we reasonably
concede even so much to probability? We know that the Mooslem
never ruled in Patun; that when the race of Taka obtained Guzzerat,
they almost immediately changed the metropolis; nor was it by any
means likely, that after Alla, from religious frenzy, had thrown down
* Annals of Rajasthan, vol. i. p. 243.
its
225
2 G
226
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA..
its mindras and its walls, any prince of Islam would rebuild them for
a Hindu to inhabit. The character of this architecture is of a much
earlier date, being nearly that of the Ghorian dynasties preceding Alla,
which afterwards gradually softened down until it attained the florid
embellishments, and effeminate though striking distinctions, of the
Mogul. The varied conceptions of the pointed style, in Europe, are
much less easy to discriminate than those of the Indo-Saracenic, a
term we may be permitted to use, in order to distinguish it from the
simple Saracenic, as found in the Western conquests of the Arabians,
who, as they and their successors invariably destroyed every edifice of
religion, or converted it to the worship of Islam, have left us no means
of determining what was purely Hindu. Were any artist, or any
curious enquirer, to go to ancient Dehli, and live for a few months
amongst the inexhaustible ruins of its various dynasties, he would be
enabled to distinguish these with more accuracy from the architecture
of the tombs, than from the pages of the historian, each having its
character more clearly defined than the styles which we divide into
Gothic, Byzantine or Tedesque, Saracenic, and Saxon. We may,
I think, claim for the Hindus the invention of the Ogee or contracted
arch, of which the pointed horse-shoe arch, as the Saracenic is not
unaptly termed, is a modification, as this is the commonest form of
their torun, the nuptial or triumphal arch. It is at least far more
probable that the wealthy and scientific Hindu, whose claims to dis-
coveries in the highest walks of astronomy, algebra, and all the
subtleties of metaphysical lore, are placed upon an indisputable
foundation, should be the inventor, than the roving Bedouin of the
desert.
Before we abandon the arch of Anhulwarra to time and the Guicowar,
we
RUINS OF ANHULWARRA.
227
we may ask, how has this escaped the general ruin? We can find no
motive, but its intrinsic beauty, to account for its solitary towers, with
the pure Hindu kankras and embattled parapets, being untouched by
Hindu and Toork. I have already said that there remain only the
skeleton ribs from the spring to the apex, without a particle of loading;
the pilasters supporting these ribs have lost nothing of their perpendi-
cularity, and they are as firmly rivetted to the masonry which supports
them, as on the day of erection. They are chaste and well-propor-
tioned to the arch, and the capitals are purely Hindu, being orna-
mented with chain festoons, having the Vira-gantha, or war-bell, the
most ancient and general decoration of the columnar architecture of
the Jains (of which faith were the Balharas), suspended by a chain
between each festoon, like the columns at Barolli.* On each side, and
about half-way up the segment of the arch, is the lotos. It is but fair
to add, that many of the most celebrated mosques of Ahmedabad have
similar ornaments; which, however, would merely prove that the
Islamites, in founding the new city of Ahmed from the ruins of
Chandravati and Anhulwarra, took from these cities whatever materials
suited their purpose.
Why the inhabitants should restrict the name of Anurwarra (as they
pronounce it) to that portion of the ruins extending three miles south-
ward of the gateway, I could not learn; and though it would have been
more gratifying to discover the chaok, or square, appropriated to the
Arabian mariners, or that for the purples of Tagara, I was satisfied
with finding the Ghee-market, as signally corroborative of the truth of
the Charitra, which assigns to every article of trade its separate mart.
I am surprised that the city should not have been placed upon the
* See Annals of Rajasthan, vol. ii. p. 710.
bank
2 G 2
228
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
bank of the river Sarsooti, now some distance from it, though I am
strongly induced to pronounce that, at least on the north-east, it must
have stretched to the stream, and that it included more of modern
Puttun than the adherents of the Guicowar are willing to admit. I
incline to this opinion, partly from the ancient temples within the walls
of the new town, and partly from the magnificent tank (still in excel-
lent preservation) in that quarter, which never would have been exca-
vated had nearly three miles intervened between it and the city. There
is another and yet more noble reservoir, called Munsurwar, on the
Ahmedabad side, now completely dry, to which a legend is attached,
importing that it was the work of an Or, or brick-maker. Just as it was
finished, a quarrel arose between him and his wife, who imprecated a
curse upon his work, on which the water exuded as fast as it flowed in.
The reader, who has dipped into my former work, may recollect a
similar tradition regarding the noble lake at Jhalapatun, also the work
of an Or. The fact is, though or or ora is significant of the caste of
brick-maker, as khomar is of that of potter, there was in ancient times
a powerful race of this name, kings of Orissa, of whom inscriptions are
found in the same incognate character as those in the regions we
describe.
From the platform of the tower of Kalka, or Kali, all these objects
are distinctly seen, the surrounding plains being very slightly undulated
and but thinly wooded. The view is bounded by a distant horizon.
To the south, there is much more wood, which serves to diversify this
monotonous flatness, further relieved by the minor ranges of Aboo,
whose dark summits contrast finely with the clear blue which canopies
them. These mountains probably afforded the material with which
Anhulwarra was built.
The
RUINS OF ANHULWARRA.
The circumvallation of modern Puttun is built half-way up with
blocks of stone from the ancient city, and the ambition of Damoji to
be its founder has led him to use indiscriminately whatever material
was best adapted to the end, whether from the palaces, fountains, or
temples of the Balharas. From the slight inspection I was enabled to
make, I have no doubt time and labour would be well rewarded in
hunting amongst these sculptured fragments for costumes and inscrip-
tions.* The brick wall, which surmounts these more solid foundations,
has a very gingerbread-like contrast, evincing that the Guicowar
founder has nothing of the Titanic blood of the races reared from the
Anhulcoond, or fire-fountain of the Rajpoot Olympus. I had omitted
to mention that the towers of Kalka are of brick, and I have made no
note of whether they had foundations of stone, though it is most likely
they have, for as all these sandy regions† abound in saline ingredients,
which corrode and in time undermine all brick walls, it is a matter
of necessity to lay their foundations in stone. In fact, from the process
visible in all cities whose edifices or walls are of brick, it would be
very possible to deduce the age of their erection. The city and walls
of Agra afford an example in point, for though little more than two
centuries old, not a single wall has its foundation perfect, each
presenting, near its level with the ground, according to the strength
of the corrosive ingredient, a cancerous crumbling line, shewing that
nature, as the Hindu would say, is often at war with art. The shrine
229
of
* I have elsewhere mentioned having made a valuable discovery of the appanage of a Hoon
(Hun) prince in Central India, from a diligent inspection of the walls of Bhynsror, which, like
most of the ancient cities and sacred edifices of the Hindus, have been often thrown down and
rebuilt.
C
* Baloo is a Hindu word for 'sand:' Bal-ca-dés would be the region of sand;' whence the
northern invading tribes, the "Tatta Mooltan ca Rao," on conquest and settlement, might have
assumed the epithet of Balla.
6
230
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
1
1
!
1
1
i
of Kali, or Destruction, has nothing worthy of remark, save the
memorials of her power in the fragments of ancient sculpture which lay
around it. Close by is the excavation that served as the inkstand of
Hemacharya.'
6
The new city is, however, not devoid of attraction, and contains two
objects deserving especial homage: the statue of the founder of Anhul-
warra, Vansraj; and the Pothi-bindar, or library of the Jains. The
former, placed in the temple of Parswa, is of white marble, and about
three feet and a half high. Another statue, of smaller dimensions,
placed on his right hand, is styled his prime minister, but is more
probably intended to represent his preserver, the Acharya. To each
an inscription is attached, evidently supplying the place of others
destroyed by the great Iconoclast, Alla, whose name is also carved
thereon. 66
Mahraja Sri Khuni Allum Mohumad Padsha-his son (or
successor) Sri Allum Feeroz, by whose favour, in the full moon of
Kartika, Thursday, (Vrishpatwar)," &c. &c.
“Of Sandera-gatcha (sect), in the forest (vana) of Panchasra,
Sailgun Sura went to seek omens. Under a Mhowa tree, suspended
by a jhola (swing), was a new-born infant shaded by the tree, which
shade remained stationary-from which Sailgun Sura divined his future
greatness. He conveyed him, with his mother, to his disciples (sewuk),
and desired them to foster him, which they did. Being born in the
woods, he was named VANSRAJA, and in S. 802 he drew the line
of circumvallation of Anhulwarra, and Devichandra Sura Acharya
composed the Pratishta to Aleswara* Mahadeva.
The other is as follows: "S. 1352 (A.D. 1296), Friday the 9th of the
month Vaisak. He, whose abode is in the East, whose tribe is that of
Mor,
99
* A new title, probably from Alaya, or Alya, a habitation.'
Y
231
INSCRIPTIONS IN THE TEMPLE OF PARSWA.
Mor, the son of Nagindra, the son of Kelun, whose son, Asora,
obtained from the world the essence of riches, with which, in the
temple (mindra) of SRIMAN MAHRAJA VANSRAJ, in order that the
flowret of the climber of renown might expand, the statue of Asa
(Hope) was enshrined by his son Ari-Sing, and the ceremony of instal-
lation performed by Devichandra Sura, son of Sailgun Sura Acharya.”
These inscriptions are either coeval with the founding of Anhul-
warra, or they are copies of such, and the initiatory invocation to the
sanguinary Alla on the one, and the date S. 1352, that in which he
destroyed the city, on the other, must be considered merely as compli-
mentary to, or imploring the forbearance of, this destructive tyrant.
The first contains the outline of the extraordinary birth of the founder,
corroborating the Charitra ; and the second discloses an important fact,
namely, that this founder, Vansraj, had the honours of deification, or
of apotheosis. In all probability, however, this statue may have
been recovered from the shrine dedicated to his manes, which was
overturned in the general destruction; or, on the other hand, they may
have converted his shrine into a temple to Parswa, in which this votary
from the East obtained a niche for his own tutelary divinity, Hope.
We cannot easily determine whether this family of the Mor tribe was
of the second or third caste, military or mercantile; but as a Rajpoot
never talks of riches, or any wealth save that extorted by the sword
from his foeman, they were possibly of that great branch of the
Rajpoots, which, on becoming proselyte to the Jain doctrine, aban-
doned, in obedience to its peaceful tenets, the profession of arms for
commerce. Each of the Rajpoot tribes, Pramara and Chohan, claims
a subdivision called Mor or Mori, and as Hope is the tutelary goddess
of the Chohans, this wealthy individual may have been a merchant of
SA
this
232
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
this race, who in his avocation had come to establish a connexion with
the grand mart of Western India. "The East" is a term of wide
import, but it is generally applied to the provinces we term Bengal
Proper, extending to Benares, and he may have been a native of the
Kalikote of that rich land, corrupted by us to Calcutta.
The veneration of the Jain inhabitants of modern Puttun for the
memory of the royal disciple of the great Acharya, continues unabated,
and though with Pat-Pramara and Dharaburz, the first and last of that
race, he may have been too late for the honours of deification, the
Chaora prince receives a portion of the saffron offered to Parswa
himself. In this simple fact alone, after the lapse of eleven hundred
years, we have the most incontrovertible commentary on the life of the
Saura Vansraj, proving that, whatever might have been the faith of his
ancestors, whether they were followers of Bal-Siva or simple sun-wor-
shippers, he became a disciple of Budha; while, from his not giving his
name to the new city, according to universal custom, it would appear
conclusive that he was not its original founder.
I may mention that there are several temples in the Noa-poora, or
new town, though they present nothing particularly worthy of remark.
Two are dedicated to Raghu-Nath, and were raised by the potters and
goldsmiths. A third to Maha-Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, was
erected by the merchants of the Burr tribe, and is placed near the gate
called Tripolia; and there is another by the same class to Gordhun-
Nath, the Apollo of the Hindus. The Goorjrie gate has a statue of
Hanuman, as janitor, and another gate has one to Sidnath-Mahadeva,
the tutelary divinity of the mendicant Sids.
We proceed to the other object of interest, the Pothi-bindar, or
library, the existence of which was totally unknown until my visit to
it.
b
THE LIBRARY OF PUTTUN.
233
it. It is contained in subterranean apartments in that quarter of the new
town which has appropriately received the name of Anhulwarra. Its
position screened it from the lynx-eyed scrutiny of Alla, when he
destroyed all that was destructible in this ancient abode. The collec-
tion is the property of the Khartra sect, of which the celebrated Amra
and Hema were the Sripooj, or primates. This sect, called Khartra, or
the orthodox, (a title conferred by Sid-raj after long theological dispu-
tations,) is the most numerous of all the Jain votaries, enumerating at
one time no less than eleven hundred disciples, extending from the
Indus to Cape Comorin. Though every one, lay or clerical, bearing
the name of Khartra, has a property in the library, it is in strict charge
of the Nagar-Seth, and the Panch, or chief magistrate and council of the
city, while its immediate superintendence is confided to some Yutis
spiritually descended from Hemacharya, the senior of whom has some
pretensions to learning. Years before my visit, I had known of its
existence from my own Guru, who was equally anxious with myself
to place the fact beyond doubt, and on the very day of our arrival, he
hastened to "worship the Bindar." Although his venerable appearance
was quite enough to make the padlocks fly open, nothing could be
done without the fiat of the Nagar-Seth. The council was convened,
before whom my Yuti produced his patravali, or spiritual pedigree,
tracing his descent from Hemacharya himself, which acted like a spell,
and he was invited to descend and worship the treasures of ages. The
catalogue forms a large volume, and I should fear to hazard my own
veracity, or that of my Guru, by giving his estimate, from its contents,
of the number of books which filled these chambers. They are care-
fully packed in cases, filled up with the dust of the Mugd, or Caggar-
wood, an infallible preservative against insects. The old man returned
}
1
2 H
to
234
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
T
to me in raptures at what he had seen. But there was a want of corres-
pondence between the catalogue and the contents of the boxes, forty
of which he examined in seeking for two works named therein, i. e. the
Vansraj Charitra, and the Charitra Salivana, the leader of the Tak or
Tacshac horde, which invaded India from the north, overturning the
throne of the supreme monarch, Vicrama, and substituting in the south
of India the era called Saca for that previously used. The excessive
closeness of the subterrene atmosphere compelled him to desist from
the search, which he did the more readily, as he was promised permis-
sion to copy any work he desired on his return. Moreover, he had to
follow me twelve miles, for the monsoon had already set in, and with
very enfeebled health, I had yet a long journey before me. Had time
even admitted of my remaining, I had no copyists with me to employ in
this new field of research, and I can only hope, therefore, that my
discovery may lead the way to others. Extreme caution and delicacy
must, however, be observed in the attempt; the use of anything like
power might seal every volume for ever, for the deposit, as before
stated, is scrupulously guarded, and only known to the initiated. As
they could not have had time to prepare such a receptacle beyond the
walls of ancient Puttun, when invaded by Alla, and taking also into
consideration the name of Anhulwalla, which this part of the city still
bears, we have additional reasons for believing that this portion of the
modern city must have been included within the ancient limits.
Books may be borrowed from the library by members of the gatcha,
who dwell within a certain distance, but they cannot be retained above
ten days.
Until we have some insight into the contents of the subterranean
"bindar" of Anhulwarra, and a more extended knowledge of the
Oswals
LITERARY TREASURES OF THE JAINS.
S
235
Oswals of Jessulmér, with access to its library, which is equally
numerous and probably more select than that of Puttun; above all,
until we have formed some acquaintance with the dignitaries of the
Jain sect and their learned librarians, we are not in a condition to
appreciate the intellectual riches of the Jains, and can only pity the
overweening vanity which has prompted the assertion, that the Hindus
possess no historical records, and which seeks to quench the spirit of
enquiry, by proclaiming such research a vain labour. I
labour. I may here
slightly anticipate my own movements, in order to point out the
practicability of profiting by these concealed stores.
Being detained by the monsoon, and extreme bad health, at Baroda,
the kindness of the resident, and his influence with one of the ministers
of the Guicowar, himself a Jain, induced the latter to write for a copy
of the Vansraj Charitra. It was promised, and I longed to unravel
the early history of this prince's family, which would carry us back to
Vicrama and the princes of Balabhi; but alas! when the volume did
arrive, either through the negligence of the scribes, or inadvertence in
the letter of request, I found they had transcribed the Komár-pál
Charitra, of which I already had two versions. It was not possible at
that time to remedy the error. But among the more important
objects of future enquiry, would be a copy of the catalogue itself;
for though the titles of works, both of the orthodox and heterodox
sects, often have little analogy to their contents, this is not the
case with respect to the historical tracts, the Rasas, Charitras,
Stipasas, Mahatmas, &c. I may also repeat, what cannot be too often
stated, in order to stimulate exertion, that I obtained many MSS. from
Jessulmér, both on paper and palm-leaves, the latter three, five, and
eight centuries old, which still silently adorn the shelves of the
2 H 2
Royal
Imageplučenc
236
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
→
Royal Asiatic Society's Library.* The most ancient of these are works
on grammar, and of this perhaps our wise men think they know
enough. But would it not be worth while to examine works of this
antiquity, if only to convince the curious that nothing new is revealed
by them? But enough on this head, or, in Indian epistolary phraseo-
logy, “what more can I say ?”
One, a copy of the Harivansa, is now under translation by an Orientalist of Paris. If the same
learned individual would undertake the Aboo Mahatma, he would find much of the history of nature
and man intermingled, to diversify the dulness of the ritual.
}
I
237
CHAPTER XII.
Journey resumed.—Ahmedabad. Its architecture. The ruins of Anhulwarra employed in it-
The work of Hindu Silpis.-Comparison of the Islamite and Hindu styles.-Kaira.-Miseries of
travelling in the monsoon.-Hon. Col. Stanhope.-Antiquities at Kaira.-Perilous passage of the
Myhie river.—A groom drowned.-Baroda.-Sojourn with Mr. Williams, the Resident.-History
of Baroda.
THE rains had now (June) fully set in, and we had to pursue our
route fetlock-deep in mud. I had one hundred and fifty miles to march
before I could reach a place of rest. There was nothing new to detail
in moving over this slightly-undulated and sandy plain, studded with
the evergreen khoenie, a tree of goodly growth, peculiar to Bal-ca-dés,
the name of that portion of Guzzerat lying between the Bunas river
and Saurashtra. It is, in fact, the southern termination of Marust'hulli,
or the great desert: but as there is a good soil beneath this sandy
surface, it is admirably calculated for the variety of maize crops and
tares, and would be a prolific bed for the potatoe.
Three long marches brought me to the city of Ahmed, the rival of
Anhulwarra, and I took up my abode in a beautiful summer palace of
the Mozuffur kings, whence I could contemplate their short-lived but
brilliant grandeur, in their mosques and madrissas, whose minarets and
domes lifted their heads amidst its once populous streets, now the
abode of silence and decay. Nothing can more powerfully illustrate the
fact, that political greatness must be of gradual growth, and that king-
doms and their capitals, like the human frame, will not be forced, than
the state of Ahmedabad, Mandoo, and other cities, where the con-
queror
!
238
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
·
→
t
queror has merely left enough to shew that he could hold but an
ephemeral existence amongst the débris of the indigenous tribes. He
must be more deeply imbued with Rajpoot prejudice (I use the word
in its liberal sense) even than myself, who, in contemplating the
triumphs of architectural art in this city, (some yet nearly intact) does
not award the meed of lofty conception to the minds which
gave them
birth, though we cannot shut our eyes to the combination of incon-
gruous elements, even in the finest structures, especially in the columns
and their ornaments, which proclaim their Hindu origin, in spite of the
Mooslem's attempt at metamorphosis. Indeed, it is strikingly evident,
not only that Chandravati and Anhulwarra have been dilapidated to
raise Ahmedabad, but that the work of re-construction has been done
by the Hindu Silpi. But, with all their incongruities, we must, never-
theless, admire the perseverance and skill which have surmounted the
difficulties of rearing Saracenic superstructures over a Hindu stylobate,
without shocking the eye. A more powerful contrast could scarcely be
furnished than exists between Mooslem and Hindu architecture ;-the
one pointed, lofty, airy; the other compact, massive, dignified; and I
can imagine, were it put to the vote, that the Islamite style would have
the majority of suffrages, especially if association were discarded :
though, as with the Grecian and the Gothic, each will ever have its
admirers. Viewed as a picture, the dark shades, from the deep-indented
masses of the Hindu, give a more solemn aspect, and are more in
accordance with the sable sky of a monsoon, laughing to scorn the
power of the tempests which play around its pyramidal sikra (spire);
while the domed mosque and its fairy minarets, towering to the skies,
appear most to advantage when nature is at rest, or when the sun-beam
from a cloudless vault plays unrestrained on the marble dome or
through
T
239
through the painted casement. But the pen is de trop where the
pencil has already told so much and so well. I recommend all who
desire to be acquainted with Hindu-Saracenic architecture, to the work
referred to in the note.*
THE MONSOON.
KAIRA.—I was happy to come to an anchor at this place, and to ride
out, in such anchorage as I found here, the increasing wrath of the
monsoon.
"Cloud upon cloud is piled along
The darksome brow of yonder skies, enshrouding
The face of the bright sun, who, o'er the earth,
High on his throne of ether erst did reign
In splendour cloudless, dazzling, and serene.
The spell of awe hath bound the face of heaven,
The spell which but the poet's gifted eye
Can trace, and but his flexile heart can feel,
Attracted."
Whatever amusement there may be in reading the wanderings of a
traveller in India, when "the waters are out," there is not much
enjoyment for him, and still less for those about him. A caricaturist
would find excellent materials for the exercise of his art in camp
during the monsoon, especially in a soil like that of Guzzerat. In the
day it is bad enough; first, the attempt to dry the paraphernalia,
soaked during the march; then, the endeavour to cook under the
canopy of heaven, while Varuni and Agni, fire and water, are contend-
ing for the mastery; camels chewing the cud of reflection; horses with
their heads hanging, but shewing a stern front to the pitiless torrent,
shaking, not drops of dew from their manes, but buckets full, with
every contortion; while the bipeds move about, shivering, silent, and
sulky. "Eh Bhae, my khana kis soorut sa pukasgeh," exclaims the sepahi,
who fears he must, rest satisfied with châbéni, and that the grateful
aroma
* Captain Grindlay's "Scenery and Costumes of Western India."
240
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
6
aroma and simmering sound of the ghee and little Pelion of flour-cakes
will not gratify any of his senses to-day, while the more luxurious
Pat'han horseman in vain sighs for the flesh-pots of Egypt. If the gods
hear their prayers, perhaps Surya is commanded to pierce through the
mantle of Indra, and cut short the reign of Varuna; then all issue forth
from their corners, chattering, laughing, every hand at work to make
dinner while the sun shines. But if the water-god will not yield, and
Surya sits in darkness, the Mooslem must rest content with unwrap-
ping from his cloth the cold provender of the preceding day, while the
sepahi, whose caste forbids his eating a cold dinner, has no resource
but parched peas and water, of which there is no lack. Then all turn in
for the night, dreaming of the morrow, and determined to work double
tides for lost meals; perhaps their dreams are broken by one loud
universal roar of Andhi Aya,' the storm is come!' All hands are out
without any piping, to hold on, and keep their pals or coverings from
falling about their ears. Certes, it is a pleasant thing to be awakened,
with one side of the wet kanats, or walls of your tent, splashing against
your pallet, and the klassies, or tent-pitchers, roaring out " Oota Sahib,
dera girra jota," 'get up, Sir, the tent is falling! You get up and
paddle for your slippers in vain, and find that the force of the torrent
has broken the embankment raised in the evening, and petty rivulets
meander under your bed; thrice happy if the united efforts of your
servants and the sepahis, who always come to the rescue, prevent the
last crack, by holding on the weather-side, until larger tent-pins, or
bashes, are driven into the drenched and yielding soil, to supply the
place of those which had given way. Meanwhile, water has " done its
worst ;" your bedding is soaked through, and you have no alternative
but to put on your clothes, if they have escaped, and eke out the rest
of
TRAVELLING IN THE MONSOON.
241
of the night with your legs on the table; or, if "Nature's soft nurse"
has not fled to any crib but yours, to hunt for her under the mattrass,
which, if of horse-hair and not too ponderous, may afford you repose,
and a comfortable rheumatism in the morning to boot.
Yet, after such a weary night, and a wearier day of aches and pains
succeeding, the traveller must be alert; if he meets an old inscription,
or ancient temple, want of time, or a world of waters, would be no
excuse to the antiquary: as for him who loves to be amused with inci-
dent or novelty, you must note it down with all its diversities, and
endeavour to cast about for mirth when you have not an atom of it in
your composition. For instance, after such a night as this, your
horse at the tent-door, housings wet, the road knee-deep in mud, your
ears dinned with the disasters of the night, the tappa, or fowl-basket,
filled with drowned subjects, your favourite steed seized with the
gripes, and all the minor miseries that flesh is heir to,—there is but one
remedy-march! and let fresh adventures, good or bad, efface the
recollection of the past. There is no philosophy like Sancho's, "there
is a remedy for every thing but death :" under this consolation, and
another favourite apophthegm from his 'budget,'" the longest day has a
night,” I have acted literatim, and have found them worth all the philo-
sophy of all times, whether Sanchya or Platonic.
At Kaira, I found my old friend and fellow-academician (of Bonny-
castle's), the Hon. Colonel Lincoln Stanhope, H.M. 17th Dragoons,
commanding the station. We had been in communication from his
first arrival in India; and during the Pindarrie war, from information
one of
my subordinate agents had transmitted him from Oojein, he
had been enabled, with the advanced squadron of his regiment, to
perform one of the most dashing exploits, on a small scale, which these
2 I
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TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
F
armies of freebooters experienced throughout the contest. As we were
returning to Europe about the same time, we had arranged to go over-
land together, and to pay our respects to the illustrious lady who bears
his name, inhabiting the Libanus. But the continuous pressing labours
of the last six months had worn both mind and body to such a degree,
that I found I should only be a clog to my companion, and with grief
I
gave up this long-cherished plan, from which I had anticipated some
singular results, in contrasting, by local inspection, the religion and
architecture of the Hindu, the Egyptian, and the Syrian. I remained
a week under my friend's hospitable roof at Kaira, and found myself
sufficiently renovated to proceed on my journey.
Even at Kaira, discoveries might be made. The vast mounds
and embankments evince the site of some extensive capital, and
during my short stay, I added to my collection several silver coins,
found amidst the ruins, without inscriptions, but impressed with
curious emblems. My friend, Col. S., added two or three to my
number. In this way, research, if properly stimulated, might do much
in every part of India. But I must repeat what I have often urged,
that in numismatics, antiquities in every branch, in the collection of
ancient inscriptions or MSS., the English have as yet done next to
nothing in exploring ancient India; and when I affirm that, with health
and leisure, I could have done ten times more than I have done, and,
with increased means, ten times ten, some faith may be placed in my
assertion.
Made a tremendous march to get over the Myhie river, every day's
contribution adding to its magnitude. I found but one small boat to
pass my cavalcade and baggage, and the river was already greatly
increased in volume, and flowing with considerable velocity to its
estuary
r
PASSAGE OF THE MYHIE.
243
estuary of Cambay. The only method of passing the horses, which by
no possibility could be got into the boat, from its high bulwarks, was
by lashing them to the side and ferrying them over.
This operation,
though the common one, was attended with the risk of strangulation;
besides, the afternoon was far advanced, and it would have taken as
many hands as I had horses, namely, thirty, to have passed them in
detail: moreover, it was pouring torrents of rain, and no supplies
were to be had but on the other side. In this dilemma, I turned to the
old Rusaldar commanding my party, saying, "what would Secunder
Sahib say, if he saw his men checked by a stream like this ?" It was
quite enough: strip' was the word, the veteran setting the example.
In five minutes, their clothes were bundled into the boat, the old man
plunged his mare into the stream, which she took kindly, and, followed
by the little troop, buffeting against the current, some trusting to the
tails, others to the manes of their steeds, all reached the opposite bank
in safety. It was a most anxious moment; the impulse given, there
was no checking it as soldiers, it would have been wrong, and as
“Skinner's soldiers," doubly wrong, for they knew what was expected
of them. But when I add that the river was about two hundred yards
in breadth, very deep, and with a velocity of at least five miles an
hour, the act will be acknowledged worthy of applause. The old man
evinced a quiet, unaffected intrepidity, and the operation was per-
formed in perfect silence, without hurry or disorder. On reaching the
place of encampment, I found one of my grooms missing; not being
able to swim, he had given my noble Hae-raj to his assistant. But
evening set in, and he did not appear; search was made down the
river in vain, and it was reported that, when the train was almost over,
he had been seen to plunge in, as if to swim across,—an act of madness,
especially
21 2
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1:
makan di kalangan za
244
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
1
especially as he could have waited and passed by the boat. The old
adage of the country was too well confirmed by the fate of this poor
man: 'Ottura Myhie, Hooa Suhye,'" you are safe when you have
crossed the Myhie;" though this proverb is applied to other dangers,
resulting from the lawless habits of the tribes inhabiting the banks, in
all its singular course, from its source in the Vindhya hills, to its
outlet in the Gulf of Cambay, ten miles distant. One tribe, which
dwells on or near its margin, is termed Myheer, and is a branch of
the aboriginal race of Goand. There is another termed Mankur, but
their habits are similar, and they possess prejudices which transcend
all that belong to the most fastidious and high-caste Brahmin, for a
touch of either Hindu or Mooslem defiles them, and renders imme-
diate ablution requisite. They consider the Sanscrit-speaking Brahmin
and the Toork alike foreign to them. There is something of originality
in this. Amongst the many names given to the Myhie or Muhie, one
is Papasini, or River of Guilt;' another, Crishna-bhadra, or Black
Stream;' which latter may have originated all that has been written
on the Paddar falling into this gulf.
6
The evening was made sad by uneasy sensations regarding the
poor Saés, who was a quiet good servant, and had been with me
some years.
BARODA.-JUNE I was rejoiced to enter this haven of rest,
made, by the more than brotherly kindness of the Resident, Mr.
Williams, one of unbounded comfort. The roads were impassable to
Bombay, and my state of health made me soon yield to his friendly
arguments that I should pass the monsoon under his roof. In the
mean time, I secured a passage, and as no berth was procurable until
the new year, I contemplated with delight the increased feasibility of
my
▸
•
S
BARODA.
245
my desire to penetrate through Saurashtra, a scheme encouraged by
my friend, who even promised to accompany me, and aid in the prose-
cution of my views. The intermediate time was fully occupied in
making up for lost ground, translating numerous MSS. and inscrip-
tions, which were to be amalgamated with my sketches of the Rajpoot
races, and not a day passed without adding something to my stores.
Baroda itself, though very ancient, presented nothing worthy of
research. I did find one inscription in a reservoir, in the ancient Jain
arrow-headed character, but the ignorant possessor had defaced it.
The ancient name of Baroda is Chandanavati, founded by Chandun,
Raja of the Dor tribe of Rajpoots. He is not unknown to legendary
lore. By his wife, Muleagri, also a celebrated character, he had two
daughters, named Socri and Nila, with whose history I shall not
trouble my readers.
readers. Like all ancient cities, its name of Chandanavati
('the City of Sandal-wood') was changed to Veravati, or Abode of
Warriors;' and again to Burpotra, or 'Leaf of the Bur,' perhaps from
some fancied resemblance in its circumvallation to the shape of the
leaf of the sacred tree, which Milton describes "broad as Amazo-
nian targe." From this the transition to Baroda was simple, and its
sovereign lord, the Guicowar, seems inclined to let it rest under its
present designation.
6
246
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
CHAPTER XIII.
Departure from Baroda.-Gajna.-Huns.-Cambay. Its former names.-Legend of the modern
name.-Cambay one of the seats of Jain learning.-Library.-Manufactures of Cornelians, &c.-
Cross the Gulf.—Gogo.-Inscriptions.-Past and present history of Saurashtra.-Origin of the
Saura tribe.-Resemblance between the customs of the Syrians and Sauras.-Establishment of
the latter in the Peninsula.-Modern Saurashtra.-Traces of Scythic tribes.-Diversity of races
in Saurashtra.-Seat of the Buddhist religion.-Various attractions of the country.-Account of
Gogo and Seerum.-Atrocious conduct of the early Portuguese in these parts.-Anecdote of
Albuquerque.-Bhaonuggur, capital of the Gohils.-Reception of the chief.-Motley character
of his Court.-Portraits of English princes.-Nick-knackery.-Navy of the Gohil chief.-His
possessions. Sketch of the family of the Gohils.-Piracy their principal occupation.-Seehore,
a Brahmin colony.-Balabhi, the ancient capital of the Méwar princes.-Ancient fountain and
temple of Bheemnath.-Legend.-Place of pilgrimage.
CAMBAY. NOVEMBER 4th.-The rains having ceased, and the roads
being passable, we marched from Baroda on the 26th October, and
crossed the Myhie river at Ometa. It was my intention to have
proceeded to the now almost nameless village of Gajna, near the
embouchure of the river, a place of this name being celebrated in the
annals of the Gehlote princes, when they ruled in the Saura peninsula ;
but here tradition was mute, and I was told there was nothing to
indicate past greatness on either side the estuary. All I could learn
was, that Gajna had been formerly inhabited by a powerful community
of the Koli tribe, from whom it was captured by the Myrens, a branch
of the Bhagéla Rajpoots. Alluvial flats are not favourable to tradition,
nor can dynasties be perpetuated by brick-built cities, which soon
undergo decomposition in these moist regions. Gajna was the ancient
name of a city some miles more towards the head of the estuary than
the present Cambay, and it was said to be the seaport of an inland
capital,
22
THE ANCIENT CAMBAY.
6
247
capital, previous to the existence of the latter. This account is in
perfect unison with the Annals of Méwar, which rank Gajna next to
Balabhi, the capital of the Bala-Raes. At a small village opposite
Ometa, I discovered a few huts of Huns, still existing under the
ancient name of Hoon, by which they are known to Hindu history.
There are said to be three or four families of them at the village of
Trisavi, three coss from Baroda, and although neither feature nor
complexion indicate much relation to the Tatar-visaged Hun, we may
ascribe the change to climate and admixture of blood, as there is little
doubt that they are descended from these invaders, who established a
sovereignty on the Indus in the second and sixth centuries of the
Christian era, and who became so incorporated with the Rajpoot
population, as to obtain a place among the thirty-six royal races of
India, together with the Gete, the Cat'hi, and other tribes of the Sacæ
from Central Asia, whose descendants still occupy the land of the sun-
worshipping Saura or Chaora, no doubt one of the same race. Were
we to adopt the term Indo-Getæ, or Indo-Sacæ, for all these exotic
races, it would be far more appropriate than the indeterminate desig-
nation of Indo-Scythic.
The ancient Cambay, or, as locally termed, Cambayet, now a ruin,
three miles from the existing city, was anciently called Papavati, or the
Sinful City,' with reference to its position, close to the entrance of
the Myhie river into the Gulf, the Papasini deriving its name from its
dangerous character. This was exchanged, in after-times, for a more
euphonous, but alike ephemeral appellation, viz. Ameravati, or the
'Immortal City.' Hence it was converted to Bagavati, or the Abode
of Tigers ;' and Trimbavati, the 'City of Copper,' from a notion that its
walls were of this material. Its last transition was to Cambayet, or
6
Khumbavati,
Sy
ད
248
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
“
Khumbavati, the City of the Pillar,' which is thus accounted for. A
prince, finding the ancient city no longer fit for a residence, probably
from the reception of the waters of the gulf, or an increase of the
alluvial deposit of the Myhie, founded the present city, on which
occasion he erected a pillar (S'thamba, vulgò Khumb) to Devi, the
goddess, on the sea-shore, on which he inscribed a grant of the ancient
town, with eighty-four villages, whose resources were to be applied to
the maintenance of her shrine, which he placed in the new city.
Although no vestige remains of the column, the truth of the story is
attested by the existence of a Jain temple dedicated to S'thamba
Parswanath, erected by Sid Raj in the eleventh century, and since
converted into a mosque, now forming the only conspicuous object in
the town, although presenting a strange mixture of Hindu and
Mooslem composition.
The remains of the ancient city are overgrown with jungle, and the
sole relics, I was told, are two temples, one to Parswanat'h, and the
other to Mahadeva.
The modern city of Cambay presents nothing very interesting to the
eye. It is the residence of the descendant of one of the satellites of the
Court of Ahmedabad, whose dwelling, yclep'd a palace, he gravely told
us, was on the model of that of Sufder Jung at Dehli. As it appeared
to satisfy his wishes, it would have been cruel to disturb his complacent
conviction, though it was very unlike its boasted prototype. Long
anterior to Hemacharya (see p. 175), and down to this day, Cam-
bayet has been renowned as one of the seats of Jain learning, and there
are no less than fifty or sixty places of worship of these sectarians
within its precincts at the present time. Here, as wherever the Jains
are numerous, is a library of considerable importance belonging to the
community,
CAMBAY.
249
community, and if proper measures were taken to examine its contents,
without exciting alarm, something new might be elicited as to their
tenets, and the past history of their patrons, for it is from individual
biography that we must draw the materials for history. But this can
only be effected by great caution and patient inquiry, never by a shew
of authority. The best plan of investigation would be to take a Jain
priest, as moonshee, one whose patravali might trace Hemacharya or
Amra amongst his spiritual ancestry; through his means the bolts
would fly open. A Brahmin must never be employed: even a Mooslem
would have better chance of success.
Cambay still enjoys celebrity for its agates, mocha-stones, cornelians,
and all the Chalcedonic and Onyx family, brought from the ruins of
Rajpipla, and here worked into every variety of ornament,―cups, boxes,
necklaces, handles of daggers, of knives and forks, seals, &c.,—which
find a ready sale amongst the European population, who send them as
gifts to England. It is a curious fact, that the colour of cornelians is
brought out by exposure of the rough mass to heat, when the milky
white becomes a yellow, the yellow an orange or brown, and so forth. I
purchased many for friends, and could have loitered more time away
in the selection, if I had not had more important objects in view; so
we merely remained a sufficient length of time to procure boats to
transport ourselves, our horses, tents, and baggage, across the gulf to
the shores of Saurashtra.
NOVEMBER.—The long muddy beach of Cambay at the reflux, far as
the eye can stretch before it rests upon the Loona-pani, as our Ganga-
rides term the 'salt water,' was no very pleasing sight to one who was
all anxiety to behold the majesty of ocean, after twenty years of
absence. It was late when the tide served for embarkation, but the
2 K
evening
!
1
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TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
}
་
evening set in beautifully, and our pattamar glided gently over the
waters until near midnight, when the tide turned. Then "let go the
anchor,” was the order. I felt as if under a species of enchantment in
this scene, so new to me, and both mind and body were renovated by
its influence. Captain Shore, who was a fellow-passenger, brought forth
his violin, and I my flute, and mounted on the choppered poop, under
"the sweet influences of the Pleiades," we discoursed most eloquently
(as we flattered ourselves) with the Nereids of the gulf.
The morning air blew freshly, and in eighteen hours we came in
sight of Peerum Isle, and the range of hills twelve miles inland. We
landed at Gogo, where we were obliged to wait a few days until our
heavy baggage had made the détour of the Runn, at the head of the
gulf. The port of Gogo has greatly deteriorated, and is now merely a
nursery for seamen, who, in feature, appear a distinct class, partaking
much of the Arabian. They are, however, Hindu, and descended from
the navigators fostered by the kings of Nehrwalla, in which city an
entire square was appropriated to them: they, in return, filling it with
the wealth of foreign lands. Still Gogo has a venerable air, and its
dusky walls, which must have defended it against the pirates always
abounding in these seas, give it an imposing and picturesque aspect.
The southern face, with its numerous round towers of unequal height,
cannot be less than one thousand two hundred yards in length; yet
this is much less than the western side, where the fortifications have
been destroyed, apparently undermined by the sea.
Gogo was formerly the residence of the Gohil Rajpoot princes, and
in the south-west angle of the town is a smaller castle, which served as
their abode. Amongst the few objects to remark, is a baori, or reser-
voir, faced with blocks of stone, the deep-indented annulets on which,
caused
+
1
251
caused by the action of the water, give some notion of its age. The
remains of an inscription, in the arrow-headed character, were visible
upon it, but this had been replaced by a modern inscription in the
Guzzeratti, not above two hundred and fifty years old. It contains the
gadda-ghal of Rajwarra, or anathema on whomsoever should desecrate
the fountain, the offender being desired to look at his parents, a couple
of apes (gadda), with rather obscene allusions. We likewise found
some Arabic and Persian inscriptions, one of which bore the name of
Zuffer Khan bin-Wujeh-ool-moolk, [in the reign of] Shah ool-Azum,
Shems ood-doorica ood-Din, Sooltan Mozuffer." Its date is the 10th
Rejib, 777 (A.D. 1375.)
This is an important memorial, especially to any one desirous of
attempting a sketch of Ahmedabad, as it shews that Gogo was the first
object of ambition to a family which eventually attained considerable
splendour. Wujeh-ool-moolk was the apostate chieftain, of the ancient
Taka or Indo-Getic race, a brief outline of whose history I have given.*
Zuffer Khan, his son, of whom this is a record, was driven from
Nagore at the close of the fourteenth century, by Chonda, the Rajpoot
sovereign of Mandore, grandfather of Joda, the founder of Jodpoor, the
present capital of Marwar.† Zuffer Khan's failure to obtain a settle-
ment amongst the Rajpoots was fortunate, for there success could have
been but temporary, and he found a more fitting field for his ambition
amidst the dislocated and less warlike materials of the kingdom of
Nehrwalla. Sixty-four years later than this record, Ahmed, the son of
Zuffer, and grandson of Wujeh-ool-moolk, founded, on the banks of the
Sabermati, the new capital called after himself. We are entirely igno-
rant
66
FAMILY OF WUJEH-OOL-MOOLK.
* Annals of Rajasthan, vol. i. pp. 99, 105.
+Ibid. vol. ii. p. 15.
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TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
6
rant of the means by which the ancestor of Ahmed wrested this com-
mercial port from the Gohils, who had retained it since S. 1200, when
they were driven from Khérdur, the land of Khér,' in Maroosthali,
upon the irruption of the Rahtores from Canouj. But we shall reserve
this matter for a sketch of the Gohil family, which still rules in this
region, and has given its name, Gohilwar, to a subdivision of the penin-
sula of the Sauras. Perhaps, as we have now fairly entered this diversi-
fied region, through which my future course will lie, this may be the
fittest place for a glance at its past and present history, chiefly as
regards the races who have held dominion there.
Saurashtra means the region of the SAURAS, an ancient tribe of
sun-worshippers, whose origin is lost in the darkness of ages. It is by
no means improbable, however, that this was one of the Indo-Getic
families of higher Asia, whose redundant population has been constantly
radiating in different directions, even from the earliest times of which
history affords authentic records, as the names and manners of the rem-
nants of these races, still existing, attest; while the remains of the
ancient sun-temples have still their votaries among the Catti, Comani,
Ballas, whose physical appearance, notwithstanding the commingling
of their blood with the older-established races, vindicates their northern
origin.
At what epoch this peninsula was subjected by the Saura race, we
are ignorant; but from Justin, Strabo, Ptolemy, and both the Arrians,
we can trace their sway to a period coeval with Alexander the Great..
The conquests of Menander and Apollodotus in the land of the Eupor,
or Sauras, have given rise to much disquisition by the learned Bayer,
and the annotators on the French translation of Strabo, who, finding
Σupor coupled with DVIHOV, were for transferring the Syria of the Indian
Sea
I
IDENTITY OF THE SAURAS AND SYRIANS.
Sea to the Syria and Phoenicia of the Mediterranean. It was, however,
an easier task for the kings of Bactria, even with the deteriorated
remnants of the Phalanx,* to which, no doubt, they drilled their Indo-
Getic subjects, to pass from Aria and Arachosia, down the valley of the
Indus, into Saurashtra, than to penetrate through the desert lands or
hostile tribes which would intervene in their wide march to Syria. In
the terms Surastrene and Syrastrene, employed by the ancient authori-
ties to designate our Indian Syria, we have Saurashtra without any
variation, and could we master the strange but perfect characters on its
old silver coins and rock-inscriptions, we should be enabled to tell, at
least, the names of the helmed princes, whose effigies are impressed on
the obverse of the fire-altar, and whose profiles proclaim unity of feature
with the ancient sun and fire-worshipping Saca of Aria.†
It is vain to do more than surmise, that the Saura tribe, thus power-
fully marked by ancient writers, and by local traces in their chief
emblems of worship, the Sun and the Phallus, may be of the same
stock as the Sauromatæ of Herodotus. Certain it is, that the same
rites, under the same names, without variation, were performed to the
same divinities, on the same sacred days, in the Peninsular Syria of
India, as in the Syria on the shores of the Mediterranean. But as I
have elsewhere enlarged on this, I will only repeat, that the Syrian Bal
and Belanus is the Bal-Nath (god) of the Sauras, whose grand temple
of Somnath is the counterpart of the Syrian Balbec, Soma-Nath being
merely a figurative appellation of Bal, as the ruler of the lesser orb,
Soma,
253
* The ani, or wedge, is one of the formations mentioned in the Sangram-sar, a treatise on the
Rajpoot art of war.
+ [Since this was written, and subsequently to the death of the Author, great progress has been
made in reading the characters referred to, and the result has been rather to confirm than to destroy
these conjectural conclusions.]
254
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Soma, or the moon. Add to the grand object of worship, the Sun, his
symbolic representatives, "the pillar raised on every high hill, and the
brazen calf under every tree," of the demoralized Israelites, and we
have the Lingam, or Phallus, and the Bull Nanda, similarly placed on
hills and under trees, especially sacred to these mysteries. Nothing is
wanting to complete the picture, but the day set apart by the
Syrians for this worship, and followed by the chosen people, "when
their hearts were turned away from the Lord;" this was the 15th of
every month. Here we have another coincidence with the Sauras and
other tribes of India; it was on the day termed Amavus, which divides
the lunar month into two periods, called Crishnapacha and Sookul-
pacha, when Surya and his satellite appear face to face in the horizon,
the one setting, the other rising, in perfect fulness, that the Hindus,
like the Sabeans, "threw up their caps at the new moon, and proclaimed
a feast."
Whence these minute resemblances? We know perfectly well, that
the adoration of the host of heaven is the first element of natural
religion, common alike to the inhabitant of the Polar Sea, and to the
ancient Gete, who believed in the soul's immortality. But here are
peculiarities scarcely to be accounted for without a common origin, or
direct intercourse. On this we may by and bye be inclined to hazard
some few speculations, as time and place may call them forth.
Saurashtra is mentioned as a subdivision of India in the ancient
writings of the Hindus. It occurs in Menu; in the Poorans, especially
in the parts touching on cosmography; but it is yet more renowned as
the scene of the exploits and death of the deified Crishna, and other
leaders of the Mahabharat. Although, therefore, we may not venture
to assign a date for the establishment of the Saura race in this penin-
sula,
1
1
255
PRESENT STATE OF SAURASHTRA.
sula, with such authorities before us, we cannot be wrong in assuming
that it must have been some centuries anterior to Alexander the
Great, and at least coeval with Saul, or the century before, when the
Syro-Phoenician colonies spread in every region. The dynasty which
founded Anhulwarra was of the Saura race, inhabiting the sea-coast,
whose pursuits were nautical; and there are curious, though unsup-
ported traditions (which will be noted by and bye) of some of the
tribes, with their religion, being from the coasts of Arabia and the Red
Sea, to which these strange inscriptions would appear to lend a
sanction.*
Saurashtra now enjoys no distinction in the political nomenclature
of these regions, although so late as Akbar's time, a subdivision of the
peninsula still had the appellation, contracted to Sorat, of which Joona-
gurh was the capital, held by a Gehlote prince (of the tribe of the
Ranas of Méwar), whose military quota to the empire is stated by
Abulfazil; and though three centuries have not elapsed since this
period, there is now scarcely a Gehlote in the land. Such is the rapidity
with which tribes are extinguished in these countries.
At present, the peninsula is divided into numerous chieftainships,
and although the Cattis hold but a small portion, yet by some conven-
tional process, this Indo-Getic tribe has given its name to the entire
peninsula, and Cattiwar has completely superseded Saurashtra. There
was, however, an intermediate term used to designate it (before the
irruption of the Cattis), a term familiar to the author of Almagestum,
as well as to the Hindu geographers, and this was Lar-dés, from the
tribe of Lar, whence the Larica or Larice of the Greeks.
Saurashtra
* The letters S and Ch undergo constant permutation, according as they are pronounced by an
inhabitant of the north or south. Thus the notorious Pindarrie leader, Cheetoo, was always called
and written Seetoo by those who followed the Dekhany phonetics.
A graduate výkonnte je
256
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
*
་די
Saurashtra forms the most important portion of the kingdom of
Anhulwarra, nor is there throughout India any region so well calcu-
lated to form a compact principality. It is about one hundred and fifty
miles in breadth, from Cape Juggut to the Gulf of Cambay, and the
same from the small northern Runn, the receptacle of the waters of
the Bunas and Sarasvati, to Deobunder, the ancient capital of the
Chaoras. It is surrounded by the ocean on every side but the north,
where the apices of the two gulfs approximate by means of those vast
aranyas (corrupted to runn), or marshy wastes, leaving but a space of
sixty or seventy miles open to invasion. It possesses within itself
every variety of soil, with numerous streams flowing from the central
range (termed Paryati in Hindu geography), towards either coast,
these hills affording every description of material for building, and the
rivers abounding with fish and their banks with wood. Since the
dynasties of Anhulwarra passed away, its various tribes appear to have
led a life of nomadic or marauding independence, until the Guicowar
princes established feudatory claims over some, and absolute power
over other portions of the country. The chief subdivisions are Gohil-
war, or the district of the Gohils, on the Gulf of Cambay ; Jhalawar, to
the north, inhabited by the Jhalas; Noa-nuggur, to the west, by the
Jains, a branch of the Jharéjas; Pore-bunder, by the Ballas; Joona-
gurh, by a Mahomedan chief; with various other minor districts, In
the centre of all are the Cat'his, while the Portuguese have for three
centuries held Deobunder, the old Chaora capital, now converted into
Diu. Besides the tribes originating these divisions of the Peninsula,
many others of an equally Scythic character are to be found, as the
Camari (now the Jaitwa); the Comani, called a branch of the Catti ;
the Mac-wahana, who claim to be a branch of the Jhalas; the Jits, or
Getes
ATTRACTIONS OF SAURASHTRA.
257
Getes of Jitwar; and several other original, besides the mixed races of
Myreas, Cabas, &c. &c., who will be spoken of as we encounter speci-
mens of each.
6
In fine, for diversity of races, exotic and indigenous, there is no
region in India to be compared with Saurashtra, where they may
be
seen of all shades, from the fair and sometimes blue-eyed Catti, erect
and independent as when his fathers opposed the Macedonian at
Mooltan, to the swarthy Bhil, with keen look, the offspring of the
forest.' Besides this field for the enquirer into the natural history of
man, there is one equally wide for investigating the history of all
the religions which have swayed the human mind within this sea-girt
corner of Asia. Of the religion of Buddha, it will be seen, as we
proceed, that of two points, one must be conceded; either, that it
originated here, or that this was the region where it took root on
importation from Aria. The discussion of this question involves that of
the nearly consentaneous worship of Crishna, which, if we are to credit
tradition, is an offset from that of Buddha. The antiquary and the
architect would find abundant scope for their researches, and new
ideas for their studios, in decyphering the cryptographic documents,
and in forming hypotheses on the mechanical genius that planned the
multiform shrines which have perpetuated the faith of their founders.
And lastly, the painter might revel amidst harmonious contrasts, and
a diversity of beauty, on the mountain top, or on the margin of the
ocean, under a cloudless, dazzling sky, or amidst the almost primeval
darkness of the monsoon. He might associate the latter with the shrine
of Somnath and the dark rites of Siva, while, on the fane of Radha's
lover, he would throw "hues which have words," and tell of youthful
loveliness. Or, as he ascends the mountain to the temple of the
worshipper
2 L
258
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
worshipper of the Spirit,' whatever characterizes the grand and the
simple, in form as well as in colour, would be present to his mind. This
is a feeble picture of the attractions of the land through which I now
propose to conduct the reader, a land containing subjects for many
volumes and many portfolios; but my researches, being limited to a
rapid tour, (though with some previous knowledge of the subject,) will
oblige me to restrict myself to the most prominent among the many
interesting objects of the peninsula of the Sauras.
Let us return to Gogo, which gave its name to the tribe which, at
the end of the twelfth century, found an asylum here, when driven
from Khérdhur, and which, for the sake of distinction from their more
eastern brethren, are termed Gogara Gohil. The now insulated Peerum
had precedence of Gogo in the first settlement of the Gohils, at which
period, according to tradition, it had not the disadvantage of its present
insular position, being connected by a mole with the main land, when
in all probability it was the stronghold of the port of Gogo. We have
a strong proof, in one of those incidental and pleasing coincidences, per-
petually occurring in these closely-connected chronicles, of the priority
of Peerum. In the Annals of Méwar, and on the occasion of the ever-
memorable catastrophe attending its capture by Alla, in A.D. 1303,*
in the enumeration of the chiefs who defended the palladium of
Hinduism, mention is made of "the Gohil from Peerum," a place
regarding which I could obtain no information when I translated the
work, nor until this present time. The chronicle and traditions of the
Gohils have preserved the remembrance of this event, which increased
the honours of the tribe. Akhi Raj was the name of the Gohil chief,
and it was on his return from a pilgrimage to Benares that he lent his
sword
* Vide Annals of Rajasthan, vol. i. p. 266.
>
ATROCITIES OF THE PORTUGUESE.
sword to the defence of Cheetore, and fell amongst the crowd of heroes
on that disastrous event, having previously received the title of Rawul
for his services, which continues to be used by his successors. More-
over, his lineal descendant, the present chief, informed me that his
ancestor had the still more distinguished honour of receiving in
marriage a daughter of Cheetore, her name Soojan Komari; but the
virgin-bride became the suttee victim of Alla's success. This anecdote
belongs to another part of this work, though it appertains to the name
of the ancient city of Peerum, the epithet of the tribe from Gogo,
which has to attribute its disasters to the discoveries of Vasco de Gama,
and the settlement of his countrymen on these coasts.
"It was in 1532 that Nunna de Canha, governor of the Portuguese
interests in India, having failed in his first attempt on Diu, left Antonio
de Saldanha, one of his captains, for the express purpose of piracy.
They sacked both the coasts of Saurashtra without mercy, burning
Gogo, Patam (Puttun Somnath), twelve leagues from Diu, and
carrying off their riches."* Five years after this, they murdered in the
most treacherous manner their benefactor, Buhadoor, emperor of
Guzzerat.† In 1546, Gogo was once more attacked and fired, the inha-
bitants put to the sword without resistance, and the cattle hamstrung ;
many other towns, with their shipping, sharing the same fate. These
were the first specimens of Christian warfare against the heathen of
Hind. Such were the proceedings of a people professing a religion
which inculcates, as a primary duty, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself." The bloody Mahmoud, the diabolical Alla, were satisfied, and
instantly granted the boon of protection to the infidel, on his calling
out
* See Churchill's Collection of Voyages.'
+ See Col. Briggs' Ferishta.'
<
259
C
2 L2
260
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
out “La Illah, Mahomed Rusool Illahi," or by taking tribute in lieu of
life. It would, perhaps, be fortunate for Christianity, if the historic
muse in India were mute, as many have endeavoured to prove her to
be, since atrocities like these are alone sufficient to have scared the
Hindu from all association with her creed.
Yet, amidst all this crime, there are glimpses of greatness in men
and actions, and many curious traits of magnanimity are recorded.
One anecdote of Albuquerque is characteristic, not only of the man,
but of the manners of those with whom he had to deal. Being in want
of an immediate supply of the primum mobile to ambition, he coupled
his demand upon the city for a loan, with the singular pledge of his
moustache, which was enclosed in the letter. This guarantee was the
most potent he could offer, and if Lusitanian in its origin, was in
perfect keeping with the custom of these regions, where honour and
the mouche are convertible terms, and stand or fall together.
BHAONUGGUR.-NOVEMBER.-This city, the present capital of the
Gohils, is nearly eight miles N.w. of Gogo, and is placed upon a small
stream, which falls into the gulf at a few miles distance, whose tides
convert it into a good and safe harbour for shipping. The country
from Gogo is a dead flat, until you approach the city, when a range of
heights intervenes, which screen it from view till
you are close upon it;
its lofty and roofed towers then appear, shooting up from amidst a
grove of mango trees. As we entered the city, there was nothing to
call for particular notice, excepting the crowds of wealthy merchants
traversing the streets, from whom, as the poet Chund says, "cities
derive their beauty;" and in this point of view, Bhaonuggur was
certainly beautiful.
This city was founded, or rather re-founded, four generations ago, by
Rawul
RAWUL OF BHAONUGGUR.
261
Rawul Bhao Sing, chief of Gogo, who gave it his name. Beeji Sing is
the appellation of the present chieftain, who courteously advanced
more than half-way to Gogo to receive and conduct us to his capital.
In a Rajpoot, I always recognise a friend, and my being from the court
of Hindupati, or the head of the Hindu race, by whom his ancestors
were ennobled, if titles could ennoble them, secured me an additional
share of courtesy, besides that I should have enjoyed from the society
of my friend, Mr. Williams. The few miles we rode together were
enlivened by social converse, and ere we made our triumphal entry
into the capital, amidst salvos from his ships and ramparts, we had the
outline of his history and that of his family, from their expulsion from
the “land of Khér," to the present, together with his policy, resources,
grievances, friendships, and feuds. My Rajpoot prejudices, however,
would not allow me to overlook one grand deviation from the customs
of his ancestors, which, as in other matters of far greater import,
evinced that the laws of the Rajpoots were not, like those of the Medes,
unchangeable. A band of Arab tabors, instead of the Dholi minstrel of
his forefathers, chaunted their renown, preceding the Thakoor in the
state procession, which altogether presented a singular, though not
unpleasing medley. The like incongruities pervaded the durbar, when
we paid our visit at the palace in the afternoon, and whether of things
animate or inanimate, the conclave was the most motley I ever beheld.
Arabian and Rajpoot costumes were here commingled, and every thing
had a sort of amphibious aspect. The hall of reception was embellished
by handsome glass lustres, but these were hoisted by double-blocks,
evidently belonging to the dock-yard, and which might have reeved
the halyards of a first-rate top-gallant sail. The ceiling was clustered
with mirrors as close as they could stow, in which were reflected from
the
262
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
the walls portraits of princes, whose memory was associated with every
thing English,-among them, George III. and his Queen. As I
doffed my hat to the representative of the revered monarch, it did not
escape the notice of the lord of the Gohils. The portrait of George
III. and of his father, Frederick, Prince of Wales, are by no means
uncommon in Rajpootana. The Rana of Oodipoor had one of each,
and he was not a little amused when, coming unexpectedly upon them,
I made the salutation, so rare in these regions, of uncovering the
head; but I remember well, that when the act was explained, he did
not lose so good an occasion to testify to those about him, that neither
time nor place should ever make a good subject forget "the majesty
which hedges in a king." I might have said to him, had it occurred to
me at the moment, that this homage to our good old sovereign, espe-
cially in a foreign land, was instinctive, and part and parcel of
parcel of every
Englishman's national feeling, born in my time, when the royal birth-
day was a gala to all the youth of England.
Amongst the varieties of nick-knackery, was a splendid organ, which
on one side had its ornamented pipes, and on the other a beautiful
piece of mechanism, a musical clock, with scenic representations of a
waterfall, and the ocean, on whose margin was depicted the story of
Perseus and Andromeda, the former of whom was styled a sea Rakus,
or demon, about to devour a virgin, who was rescued by a cavalier.
This had belonged to the late head of the Mahratta confederacy, and
had cost him four thousand pounds; but the Thakoor boasted of having
obtained it for a tenth part of that sum, at the sale of the Peshwa's
effects. It is from such evidences of mechanical skill that the natives
imbibe high notions of our superior attainments. A traveller in the
East cannot carry better passports than some of the nursery philoso-
phical
OBJECTS OF CURIOSITY IN THE EAST.
phical apparatus of his native land. I had a magic lantern, with slides,
to shew some of the simplest of the celestial phenomena, groups
forming constellations, with another set of slides made to order, by
Jones, of all the Hindu mythology; others of landscapes, Holbein's
Dance of Death, &c. &c.; mirrors of various kinds, distorting objects,
elongating or compressing the countenance, with which Scindia nearly
frightened one of his chiefs into a fit of illness; chemical tests, which
excited especial wonder, and which, in the transformation of colours
and substances, appeared to approximate to the secret. But the most
surprising of all these appliances, was the Camera Obscura, the
delight of the most refined, and by which even the dying moments of
the prince of Oodipoor were soothed. He used to say I brought him
Mun-ca-dowa, or medicine for the mind, as I sat for hours daily by his
pallet, exhibiting these things. On such occasions, he was surrounded
by females of the interior, unveiled, of whose name and quality I was
ignorant, but it was to be supposed they were only handmaids to the
elect.
263
The youngest child of the chief afterwards produced all his Chinese
toys, and we had to admire every thing in turn, which the good-
humoured attention of our host rendered no difficult task.
From the durbar of Beeji Sing, we went to visit the port, his grand
hobby. A Rajpoot emigrant chief, from the great desert of India, in
the capacity of merchant and ship-owner, is a strange compound. We
found two vessels, one a snow, pierced for eighteen guns, the other a
brig, besides small craft, ketches, and pattamars, all belonging to the
Gohil chief. He entered most pathetically into the history of one of
his largest vessels, then under condemnation by the Admiralty Court
of Bombay, having been seized in conveying a cargo of slaves from
Mozambique.
264
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Mozambique. He said it was very hard upon him, who had nothing to
do with the trade, whether illicit or otherwise; that he had hired her
to a merchant for a specific sum, and all he cared about was the freight.
Not having looked into our maritime code, he could not for the life of
him see the justice of condemning the ship on account of the illegal
acts of the man who owned the cargo. We gave him no hope of a
reversal of the decree. The greater portion of his revenue was derived
from the port duties, which formerly amounted to seven lacs of rupees,
but since we obtained the ports and commercial marts in the neigh-
bourhood, as Dholarra, &c., it has diminished more than one-half; his
land revenue is of nearly the same extent, in all amounting to about
seven lacs. He told me that eight hundred townships owned his sway
within and without the division of Gohilwar, and in fact that he was
lord of nearly one-fourth of the peninsula, for, besides his own region,
by right of conquest, he held lands in Cattiawar, Jhalawar, and even in
the distant Babriawar. But the spirit of conquest is now laid, and the
basis of possession is the foundation of order in these days of universal
repose.
I shall now present a slight sketch of the family of the Gohils,
chiefly with a view to shew that neither time nor place, change of
condition or pursuits, can ever make a Rajpoot chieftain forget his
ancestry. It is by the itinerant sons of rhyme, who come annually from
the ancient land of Khér, that they are reminded of the days of old,
for the spirit of poetry and commerce being amongst the antipodes of
creation, Sarasvati, the Hindu muse, does not delight in sea-ports and
cotton-bales, and I must confess that the chronicles of Bhaonuggur
are amongst the most illiterate of the species I have ever encountered.
The old capital of the Gohils, in the land of Khér, is, or was, ten miles
west
THE GOHIL FAMILY.
265
west from Bhalotra. Sejuk was the chieftain expelled by the Rahtores,
and the first emigrant to the land of the Sauras, where he established
himself in a new conquest, to which he gave the name of Sejukpoor.
His son was Ranji, who added another old township, giving it his own
name, Ranpoor. His son, Mocarro, took Bheemaj, Chamaruni, Om-
ralla, Khokra, and the ancient Balli, or Wulleh, all in the tract now
known as Gohilwar. He also captured Gogo and Peerum from the
Kolis, making the latter his abode. He became a celebrated pirate,
and with the gains of his profession he fortified Peerum, and had
become so formidable, after the capture of six richly-laden ships, that
the king (the legend does not say what king) sent an army against him.
Mocarro, whose stature was six cubits, made a brave defence, slaying
the king's nephew with his own hand in a sally, nor did he yield till
death, and after twenty-five thousand men had fallen. Upon this event,
the family was once more dispersed. Doonga, the elder son, remained,
however, at Gogo, and Somsi-ji, his brother, went to Nandode, and his
descendants rule at Rajpipla to this day.
Doonga had Beejuli, who had Kanji and Ramji. Kanji was killed
in battle, defending Gogo against the king, and his son, Sarang, was
carried off captive; but a faithful servant gained access to his prison,
broke his chains, and carried him to Cheetore, whose sovereign sent
him at the head of an army to redeem Gogo, then held by Kanji, his
uncle, who, being oppressive, was detested by his subjects. He was
deposed, and had the tuppas of Palit’hana and Lat'hi, consisting of
forty-four villages, assigned to him as a domain. Sarang's son was
Seodas; but once more the royal army dispossessed the Gohils of
Gogo, and they fled to Khokra and Omralla. Their foe, in all proba-
bility, was Wujeh-ool-moolk, whose inscription we have recorded.
2 M
Seodas
1
266
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
+
Seodas had a son named Jaita, he, one called Ram Sing,-the same
who fell in defence of Cheetore, and whose wife, Soojan Komari,
burned with him. He left three sons, Sutta, Dewa, and Beera, and from
the two latter, two fresh tribes sprung, called Dewana and Beerana
Gohils. Sutta had three sons, and to the eldest, Beesul, was assigned
the township of Seehore, bestowed in charity on Brahmins, by Mool-
raj of Anhulwarra; but they fought among themselves in S. 1575
(A.D. 1519), and elected a chief to rule over them. The son of Beesul
was Dhoono; his son, Akhiraj, who, having no children, adopted his
grand-nephew, Har-brimha, whose son was Akhiraj, whose son was
Rutna, whose son was Bhao Sing, who in S. 1779 (A.D. 1723) found-
ed Bhaonuggur, on the site of Joona-Burwar, or ancient Burwar.
Bhao Sing had Akhiraj, and Beesa, who was long a Barwuttia, or
outlaw; but at length he got Wulleh and Chamaruni in fief. Akhiraj
had Bukht Sing, commonly called Atta Bae, whose son, Beejy Sing, is
the present chief. His son and heir, Bhao Sing, revives the name of
the founder in the fourth generation, and has the management of Balli,
the ancient Balabhi, where he resides.
Thus, from the first emigrant from the land of Khér to the present
time, there has been a lapse of six hundred and twenty-nine years, and
twenty-one generations, averaging twenty-nine years to each, being six
years above the general average of the inland princes. If correct, we
cannot attribute the increased longevity either to a better atmosphere,
or a more peaceful life, for piracy appears to have been the principal
occupation of the Gohils, ever since they were driven from their
original birthright.
The chief of the Gohils is metaphorically and locally designated
Poorub-ca-Padsha, or King of the East,' restricting the term to the
6
eastern
SEEHORE.
267
eastern portion of the peninsula, which is, however, equal to some of
the sovereignties of the Saxon Heptarchy, and an empire compared to
the "kingdom of Fife." The king of the East is entitled to the
character of a courteous, well-bred gentleman. Although only forty-
four, he is grandsire to a boy of six. He appeared much gratified by
our visit, and we were not less so at the signs of order and industry in
every thing about him; and, attached as I am to the ancient customs of
these regions, I could not but think them well exchanged for the
useful and humanizing civilization attendant upon enlarged commerce.
SEEHORE.-NOVEMBER -The distance to this town was nine
coss. The site of this ancient Brahminical colony, founded in the tenth
century by Moolraj, the potent king of Nehrwalla, is most romantic,
and the utter contempt of every principle of fortification displayed in
its circumvallation, serves to heighten its beauty. Its round towers on
every detached peak, connected by low curtains, are commanded by
the lofty hills behind. A fine stream runs round the town walls,
bordered with trees of considerable magnitude. Seehore boasts of great
antiquity, and is associated with much of the legendary lore of past
days, besides having been the chief abode of the Gohils between the
time of their losing Gogo, and the founding of Bhaonuggur. Its
original sanctity arose from a fountain of medicinal virtue, sacred to
Gotama (one of the great sages of antiquity), and from the use of
whose waters, Moolraj was cured of some inveterate disorder, on which
occasion he made a grant of Seehore and its lands to the Brahmins.
With them it remained, until internal dissensions arose, ending in a
political conflict, when the survivors of these church militants deter-
mined to give themselves a master. They made choice of the Gohil of
Gogo, but while they invested their new lord with all the rights that
2 M 2
regarded
268
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
regarded the defence and political control of the community, with the
exception of sufficient ground for a garden, they reserved all its lands
for themselves, and the Gohil, not having yet overcome early preju-
dices, has not dared to abrogate the Sasun, or religious grant of eight
centuries' duration, the punishment for which act would be sixty thou-
sand years' residence in hell. The heir-apparent of the Gohil, Bhao
Sing, has jurisdiction here, and according to custom, not exclusively
Asiatic, is not on good terms with his father, for here, as in more
favoured lands, the rising and the setting sun is not worshipped by
the same votaries.
BALABHI.—One of the chief inducements for my visiting the " land
of the Sauras," was to trace this ancient capital of the princes of
Méwar, when driven from the land by the Indo-Getic invaders during
the first centuries of the era of Vicrama. The name of this is now
Balli, or Wulleh; but it rejoiced my heart, when enquiring of the
Gohil chief concerning it, to hear him give its ancient designation in
full, Balabhipoora, though I was grieved to find that the city, which in
former days was eighteen coss (twenty-two miles) in circumference,
and in which " the bells of three hundred and sixty Jain temples rang
the votaries to prayer," had left not a vestige of its greatness, save the
foundation-bricks, which are frequently dug up, upwards of two feet in
length, and weighing half a maund, or five and thirty pounds each.
Coins of a curious description were likewise often found by the
shepherds. As the ruin lay full ten coss to the north of my route to
Palit'hana, and the Gohil chief, in whose territory it is, assured me
there was absolutely nothing left to interest a visitor, I abandoned my
design of proceeding there.
Balabhi continued to be occupied by a descendant of the ancient
race
THE ANCIENT BALABHI.
269
race of Suryavansa princes, until the time of Sid Raj, who expelled
him for his oppression to the sacerdotal tribe, on whom, upon the
completion of that gigantic temple, the Roodra Mala at Sidpoor, he
conferred the city, together with one thousand townships, in Sasun, or
religious alienation. It continued in possession of the grantees, until
internal dissension half exterminated the community, when one of the
belligerents bribed the Gohil chief, with the offer of their adversaries'
portion of the lands, to come to their aid; since which period, three
centuries ago, they have been subject to the Gohils.
An opportunity was reserved, however, till the period of my arrival
at the sacred Palit'hana, to make some interesting additions to what I
already knew of Balabhi, which amply confirmed all I had recorded of
it from the Yutis of Balli and Sandera in Marwar, the descendants of
those who were expelled on its sack in S. 300 (A.D. 244). My
informants were learned priests of the Jains, who corroborated these
facts from books in their possession, as well as from tradition. Both
sources afforded them the means of descanting on its celebrity, in
antiquity, extent, greatness, and on its having been the cradle of their
faith in the earliest periods of their history, when it was ruled by
princes of the Surya race. Like myself, they could only surmise the
analogy between Surya and Saura, which latter gave its name to the
peninsula, and both being so called from being sun-worshippers. My
subsequent incidental, but most important discovery, that Balabhi had
an era of its own, gave ample confirmation to all that was affirmed
regarding it, as did the inscription at Mynal, in Méwar,* which
appealed to "the gates of Balabhi" to testify the greatness of its
princes, proving that they must have migrated from Balabhi, whose
glories
* Vide Annals of Rajasthan, vol. ii. p. 217.
270
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
glories were at an end when the northern invaders "polluted the foun-
tain of the Sun with the blood of kine."
Still, both books and tradition connect the tribe of Balla with the
ancient sovereigns of Balabhi. They state that Keneksén, a descendant
of Lava, or Loh (the eldest son of the Surya king of Ajodia, who
established himself at Loh-kote, in Panchalica, the modern Punjab),
migrated to the peninsula, and fixed his residence at Dhaunk, anciently
called Moonjipatun, and that, on the subsequent conquest of the
region called Balla-khetra, they assumed the title of Balla Rajpoots.
The lord of Balla-khetra would, of course, be Bal-ca-rae, which doubt-
less originated the epithet, so often noticed, of the Balhara princes.
Dhaunk is still occupied by a chieftain of the Balla tribe, which enjoys
considerable celebrity within the peninsula; but although they call
themselves pure Rajpoots, it is said that they mix their blood with the
Catti. The Catti, again, says he is a branch of the Balla, and both
tradition and the "byrd of the bard," viz. Tať'ha, Mooltan-ca-Rao,
place the Catti in the very spot where the Cat'hi opposed Alexander,
and near to Loh-kote, the cradle of the race. But we anticipate the
narrative.
Not far from Balabhi, there is a spot still sacred to the pilgrim, and
connected with the grand national epic, the Mahabharat, called
Bheemnat'h, where there is a fountain, whose waters, in past days,
were of miraculous efficacy, and on whose margin is a temple to Siva,
which attracts votaries from all quarters. The origin of this spot is
referred to the adventures of the Pandua brothers, and their wander-
ings in exile amongst the forests of Berat, which tradition places in
this very region, and its capital, Beratgurh, is held to be the more
modern, but still interesting Dholka, included in Balla-khetra, and
affording
LEGEND OF BHEEMNAT'H.
affording fresh and almost superabundant testimony to the veracity of
the ancient chronicles of Méwar, which state Balabhi, Beratgurh, and
Gurh-Gajni, to have been the three chief cities which owned their
sway on their expulsion from the "land of the Sauras.'
Bheemnat'h derives its name from the Pandua Bheem, and its
foundation is ascribed to his affection for his younger brother,
Arjoona, who, by the force of a vow, never touched food until he had
first made adoration to Siva. But they had wandered several days in
the impervious woods of Herimka (in which was Berat), without
meeting any symbol of the god, and Arjoona, faint and exhausted,
could proceed no farther, when Bheema, retiring to a little distance,
discovered a charwa, or water-jar. Filling it with water from the
stream, he half-buried it in the earth, and placing round it flowers and
leaves of plants sacred to Siva, such as the vela, the aka (euphorbium),
and dhatura (stramonium), he flew to his brother, and, with the zeal
of a discoverer, bade him rejoice and worship. Having, by means of
this deception, recruited his brother's strength, he was seized with an
irresistible impulse to disclose the fraud, and amidst shouts of laughter,
told him he had worshipped an old water-jar. His levity so displeased
Arjoona, that they were nearly coming to blows, when Bheem, to
convince him, with a stroke of his mace broke the charwa to pieces,
when behold! a rent appeared in the earth, through which a torrent of
blood bubbled upwards. Bheem, shocked at his impiety, resolved on
self-immolation, and, deaf to the supplications of Arjoona, was pro-
ceeding to fulfil his intent, when Siva himself appeared, in the form of
an aged ascetic, accepted his repentance, and moreover offered to
grant any wish he might frame. Bheem besought the god that the
recollection of his impiety might be perpetuated, by having his own
name
271
""
272
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
name conjoined with that of the divinity he had offended, that the
spot might become sacred to future ages; and hence its name of
Bheemnat'h.
The object of worship is an emblem of Siva, on the margin of the
fountain. Some time ago, according to tradition, the chief priest, in-
tending to raise a temple over the visible type of the deity, was tempted
by curiosity to explore its depth in the earth. Thirty feet had been
excavated, but no soundings were found; he continued his work, until
Siva personally manifested himself, and said that he desired no other
shelter than the magnificent Burr (the ficus religiosa), whose stately
pillared arms, and umbrageous canopy, afforded the most appropriate
roof for himself and his votaries. There is a very large establishment
maintained by the zeal of the pious, and however Siva
may find himself
proof against the elements, his followers, resident and non-resident,
being made of more penetrable stuff than stone, have deemed it right
to have a better protection against them than the stately evergreen.
Accordingly, the buildings for the devotees, who come from all parts
to this shrine, are considerable. The high priest had, until lately, a
stud of one hundred of the choice breed of Cutch and Cattiawar, but
he lessened the number one half, by gifts to the bards, a reduction to
which economy is said to have been the real motive. Here, as at most
of the spots of pilgrimage, the chief priest maintains a sudda-birl, or
daily distribution of food to all comers, without regard to caste. This
teerut, or place of pilgrimage, is held in especial veneration by the
nomadic Catti. Here, before the ignoble days of peace, ere his lance was
turned into a plough-share, he was wont to repair, and bribe Siva to
grant success to his intended raid, by the promise of a tenth of the
anticipated spoil, or if his mare was barren, he intreated the god to
make
SHRINE OF BHEEMNAT'H.
273
make her fruitful, dedicating the first-fruit to his service, or, what is
the same thing, to the high-priest; but whether the rover fulfilled his
votive offering any better than the kungerin, or green-seller of Agra,
rested with him and his conscience. As the story goes, she had lost
her ox or her ass, which carried her vegetables to market, and she sent
forth a vow, that if recovered, she would dedicate one-half its value to
the neighbouring mosque, or to the poor. The animal was found, but
instead of evincing her gratitude, she disturbed the people around her
by bitter lamentations. A neighbour kungerin inquired the cause of
her grief, and on being told that it was from the necessity of selling
her beast, she laughed heartily at her, saying, "if that is all the cause
of your sorrow, hold your tongue and keep your heart, for I have
often taken in the deity in this way."
Such are the virtues of a pilgrimage to Bheemnat'h, that the mere
use of the name is a safe passport every where, and will act as a charm
to a traveller, though his route should lay through hostile bands. I
shall conclude this notice with the surmise, that this may be the
identical Suryacoonda of Balabhi, polluted by the northern invader.
There is no moving in this region without meeting at each step
some objects interesting in themselves, or which have become so from
association with the mingled history and mythology of past ages.
2 N
274
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
CHAPTER XIV.
Palit'hana.-The holy land of the Jains.-Mount Satrunja.—Jain pilgrims.-Liberality and intelli-
gence of the Jain sect.—The Mahatma.—The five teerthas of the Jains.-The Sikras of Satrunja.
-Personages to whom the edifices on the Mount are dedicated.—Hindu character of the temple
of Mecca.-Dates of the erections on Satrunja.-Road from Palit'hana to the mountain.-
Ascent.-Shrines and temples.-Temple of Komár-pál.-Shrine of Adnath.-Sad effects of the
dissensions of the garchas, or sects.—Few ancient relics in the temples.—Bad taste of the orna-
ments in the temple of Adnath.-Prospect from the temple.-Statue of Adi-Budha- Nathji.-
Shrine of Rutna-ghor.-Statue of Adnath.—Analogy between the appellations of the Jain divini-
ties, and those of Siva, and their symbols.-Tomb of Henga Peer.-Descent.-Temple of the
sons of Deoki.—Minstrel.-Endowments of the sacred mounts.—Assemblies of pilgrims.—Pali-
t'hana.-Etymology of the name.-Paucity of antiquities.-Love-legend of Sadwaeh and Sawa-
linga.-Modern history and condition of Palit❜hana.
PALIT'HANA.—NOVEMBER 17th.—I was too unwell to make any obser-
vations on the tract intervening between Seehore and this famed spot,
the Holy Land of the Jains; although there was nothing known to
be worthy of remark there, yet it is next to impossible to pass over
fifteen or twenty miles of any part of this territory, without encounter-
ing something to reward the toil of an inquisitive traveller, either in
the peculiarities of the inhabitants, or local features. I was, besides,
too much absorbed in expectation to permit anything not absolutely
striking to make an impression on my mind; and never did pilgrim,
Jain or Buddhist, approach the sacred Mount Satrunja with more
excited feelings than I, a "barbarian" Frank.
I had, however, allowed imagination to outstrip experience, having
no right to look for grand discoveries in the lands over which
Mahomed and Alla had led their legions, fulfilling the iconoclastic
injunctions of Moses, conveyed through the Prophet of Islam; but
though
MOUNT SATRUNJA.
275
though they ruthlessly defaced whatever militated against the second
ordinance of the Decalogue, fortunately, the conversion of the temple
into the mosque was held meritorious, and the “Allah Akbér” pro-
claimed within was a sufficient purification from previous pollution.
Moreover, however extensive their demolition of religious edifices, it
was beyond the power of these conquerors to destroy the memorials
of a sect which, more than any other, depended on tradition for the
perpetuity of their tenets.
Palit❜hana,' the dwelling of the Palli,' is situated at the eastern base
of Satrunja, the mount sacred to Adnath (the first of the twenty-four
hierophants of the Jains), which rises nearly two thousand feet, and is
between two and three miles in ascent, taking the sinuosities of the
route into account. My researches in this interesting spot were
materially aided by an introduction through my own Yuti to some
learned priests, now here on a pilgrimage, who gave me much informa-
tion on points connected with their religion, as well as details
concerning the teerut, from the Satrunja Mahatma, a portion of which
work they had with them. I may give this, among other instances, in
proof that there exists no barrier to inquiry from those narrow jealou-
sies, which have been so much exaggerated by my countrymen. I have
ever found great liberality, and no small portion of intelligence,
amongst all of this persuasion, lay or clerical, with whom I have
conversed.
S
Every place of pilgrimage has its Mahatma, a work descriptive of
the religious rites required from the votary, with which is interwoven
much biographical matter, in recording benefactions to the shrine,
in repairs, or grants of land, generally perpetuated by inscriptions,
besides (as in the Aboo Mahatma) some notice of the natural produc-
2N2
tions.
276
TRAVELS IN. WESTERN INDIA.
tions. "The Satrunja Mahatma was composed by Dhuneswar Sur-
Acharya, of Balabhi-Nagara, in the year 477, (A.D. 421,) when
Raja Silladitya, of Suryavansi race, repaired the temple of Adnath.'
In this extract, we have a practical example of the advantage of con-
sulting these works, for in this simple record of the date of a book, we
have three important historical facts relative to this region. First, the
dedication of the hill to Adnath, whose shrine being merely renewed
in A.D. 421, allows of our receding at least some centuries for the
original erection of the temple; secondly, we have the name and
abode of the author, an Acharya of Balabhi; and thirdly, the most
important fact, that this prince, Silladitya, was of the Surya race; all
confirming, in the most signal manner, the Annals of Méwar. This
was the very prince stated therein to have fallen in defending Balabhi
from the "barbarian" invaders from Western Asia. This was the
second invasion on record prior to Mahomed, the first being in the
second century, as mentioned by the author of the Periplus; and the
third, on the authority of Cosmas, in the sixth century, when the Huns
were established in the valley of the Indus. Hence the origin of the
Getes or Jits, Hoons, Catti, &c., still discoverable in Saurashtra.
""
As if to crown my unremitting researches into the history of the
most distinguished dynasty of India, and to complete the elucidation
of Balabhi, a little further on I discovered the tablet recording that it
had an era of its own, instituted a century prior to the composition of
this Mahatma.
Satrunja is one of the Panj-teert'has, or five places of pilgrimage of
the Jains. Of these, three, viz. Arbudha, Satrunja, and Girnar, are at
hand. The fourth, Samel-sikra, is in the ancient kingdom of Magadha,
now Behar, and the fifth, Chandragir, the Silver Mount, also called
Shéscuta,
APPELLATIONS OF THE MOUNT.
Shéscuta, or the thousand-pinnacled,' lies amidst the snowy regions.
of the Hindu Kho, or Parbut-put-pamer, the Caucasus and Paropa-
misus of the Greeks. The Indus was formerly no Attuc to the hierarchs
of Buddha, and, blending fable and magic (a grand ingredient in their
faith) with tradition, they have it written, that "when Jainaditya Sur-
Acharya used to visit his flocks west of the Indus, he floated himself
across the stream upon his mantle; that, one day, the deity of the
waters demanded dân, or a propitiatory gift, for passing his domain,
when the Acharya cut off and presented his thumb; and that this magic
mantle is still preserved, together with the book, written in strange
characters,* in the temple of Chortaman, at Jessulmér, and the mantle
is placed on the shoulders of every pontiff, as the token of inauguration
into the chair of Jainadit.'
“
277
د.
This mount boasts of no less than twenty-one appellations, and one
hundred and eight distinct sikras, or peaks, uniting it with the sister
mount Girnar, which alliance is further traced by the Jain geologist to
Aboo and Taringi, by the connecting links of Seehore, Balla, and
other eminences, often very low and sometimes subterrene. The
following is a selection from the nomenclature.
First. Sri Satrunjya-teerthanamina. The etymology of this name is
thus given in the Mahatma. In distant ages, Sookh Raja ruled in
Palit'hana. By the aid of magic, his younger brother assumed his
appearance, and took possession of the royal cushion. The dispossessed
prince wandered about the forests, and during twelve years, daily
"poured fresh water from the stream on the image of Sidnat'h," who,
pleased with his devotion, gave him victory (jya) over his foe
(satru)
* This Sybilline volume, now a sealed book to all," is suspended by a chain, and only taken
down once a year, to be worshipped and re-placed with a new cover. Its characters are a mystery,
and caused blindness to a female Yuti, who endeavoured to master its contents."
9
278
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
(satru), and in gratitude, he enshrined the god upon the mount,
hence called Satrunjya. The hill must, therefore, have been originally
dedicated to Siva, one of whose chief epithets is Sidnat'h, as lord of
the ascetics, a title never given, I believe, to Adnat'h, the first of the
Jains.
Pundarie-parvati, or Hill of Pundarie, a favourite disciple of Adnat❜h.
Sri-Sid-khetra-parvati, or Mount of the Holy Land.
Sri-Bimlachil-teertha, the Pilgrimage of Purification (from bimla,
'purity').
Suragir, Hill of the Gods.
Mahagir, the Great Hill.
Poon-rasa-teerthanicum, Virtue-bestowing Place of Pilgrimage.
Sri-pati-parvati, Wealth-bestowing Mount (from the goddess Sri, or
Lachsmi).
Sri-mookhta-síla, Beatitude-giving Rock.
Sri-prithavi-peeta, Crowning the Earth.
Sri-Patal-mula, whose foundation is in hell.
Surt-Camada-parvati, the Hill which realizes all desires.
To prepare the reader for the architecture of Satrunja, it is proper
that he should be introduced to the personages to whom the buildings
are dedicated, or whose names they bear, from their having raised
them; we must, therefore, again have recourse to the Mahatma, which
affords the following extract. "Adnat'h had two sons, Bharat and
Bahubala. Bahubala had the country of Mecca, called Bali-désa,* and
his image was brought thence (from Mecca) by Javur Sah, one
hundred
* Baloo is 'sandy' in Sanscrit. Baloo-désa would be the Persian Reg-ist'han, or desert, very
applicable to Arabia Deserta. Balkh, or Balu-ca-dés, in Hindu geography, may have the same
meaning.
ARABIAN ORIGIN OF BUDDHISM.
279
hundred years after Vicramaditya, and placed on Satrunja. Thence it
was removed to Gogo, where it remained, until the Gohils changed
their capital to Bhaonuggur, where this image now is. From Bahubala
came the race termed Chandravansa, and from his elder brother,
Bharat, the race of Surya."
This is one of the most singular passages I ever met with, at once
giving an Arabian origin to the religion of Buddha; and, coupled with
the fact that Menu and the Purans countenance the notion that Bharat
was progenitor of the races which spread over Bharatversha, or Bharat-
khund (which included the portion of Asia between the Caspian and
the Ganges), we have some approximation to ethnographic distinc-
tion. Adnať'h is a loose term, and may be rendered 'patriarch,' from ad,
'first,' or 'progenitor;' and their thus sending two great branches, one
apparently direct into India through the Arabian coasts, the other
northerly, would indicate the early dispersion of mankind from this
admitted centre of radiation, whence might be derived the distinction
of Saura or Syria to this peninsula, with its religions, analogous to the
Syria of the west; and hence, probably, in like manner, the prominent
name of Yavana, or Javana, as recorded by Menu, amongst the Sacas
and Getes of the Bharatversha, from their being the offspring of Javan.
We may bear this in mind, as we proceed, and especially as we look
on the Ethiopic face of " the black Nemi," his curly head, and protrud-
ing lips; and at the temple of Crishna at the Land's-end of the
Hindu, still containing the older shrine of Budha-Tri-vicrama. Again
I urge that some attempt be made to master the rock-inscriptions at
Girnar.
It has been asserted that Mecca was a Hindu temple, where a
paganism, akin to the Hindu, was the worship, and those who have
had
1
*
span way a
ימוש
}
}
A ë
,
280
had access to this shrine, Burckhardt among the rest, prove that the
black stone, still reverenced by the Islamite, is the Saligrama of the
Hindu, sacred to the "black divinity, Crishna." We also have the fact
placed beyond a doubt, that Hindu pilgrims frequented Mecca from
the earliest times, and the colony yet existing at Astrakhan pursue the
worship of Vishnu on the banks of the Wolga, as they did in their
native land, Mooltan, and are of the same stock as Javur Sah, who was
a rich merchant of Cashmere, the period for whose induction of the
image of Bahubal into Satrunja, viz. one hundred years after Vicrama,
would be A.D. 46.
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
+1
To return. The hill is divided into three portions, called tooks: one
being named Múlanath; another, the chaok, or square, of Sewar Somji,
a rich lay-inhabitant of Ahmedabad, who, in S. 1674 (A.D. 1618),
repaired the shrines, and surrounded them with a wall, at an enormous
expense, for "the sum of eighty-four thousand rupees (nearly ten
thousand pounds) was expended in cordage alone, to bring up the
materials." The third division is called the Moodi-ca-took, after a
wealthy corn-merchant of Baroda, who, in like manner, expended
immense sums upon it about half a century ago. Within these are the
various consecrated objects, ranged according to their antiquity, as
follows:
"The first building was erected by Bharat. The next by the eighth
in descent from him, Dhundvirya; the third by Isa-Nundra, a devotâ,
or god; the fourth by Mahindra; the fifth by Brim-indra; the sixth
by Bhowur-hatti; the seventh by Sagra Chakravati, an universal poten-
tate; the eighth by Vintra-indra; the ninth by Chandra Jesṣa; the
tenth by Chakra Aeyudâ; the eleventh by Raja Ramachundra; the
twelfth by the Pandua brothers; the thirteenth by Javur Sah, a
merchant
I
MOUNT SATRUNJA.
281
merchant of Cashmere, one hundred years after Vicramaditya; the
fourteenth by Bahirdeo-Mehta, minister of Raja Sid Raj of Anhulwarra ;
the fifteenth by Sumra Sarung, uncle to the king of Dehli, in S. 1371
(A.D. 1315); the sixteenth by Carmu Dasi," the slave of good works,
minister of Cheetore, in S. 1578 (A.D. 1522.)"
It is added, that Jawur Sah (who transported the image) eventually
settled at the ancient city of Madhumavati, now Mhowa, on the coast
of Saurashtra.
The road from Palit'hana to the foot of the mount is through an
avenue of noble Burr trees, affording a sanctified shade to the vast
concourse which flocks to worship. It is spacious, and has at intervals
coondas and baories, fountains and reservoirs of the pure element,
excavated by the pious. A flight of steps, cut in the living rock,
conducts from the base to the summit, and on either side of these are
altars bearing the impress of the feet of some of the most conspicuous
of the twenty-four hierarchs, as Adnat'h, Ajitnat'h (to whom Mount
Taringi is sacred), Suntnat'h, and Gotama (or Gotamrie, as he is fami-
liarly called), the successor of Mahavira, the last of the twenty-four;
but though his name is spread over regions of far greater extent than
India, he has not the honours, amounting to deification, enjoyed by
his predecessors. A little way up the hill is a beesama, or halting-place
for the pilgrims, rendered sacred by the paduca, or footsteps of Bharat,
the eldest son of Adnať'h, and king of Indo-Scythia. Still a little
farther, we reach a fountain called Eetcha, of excellent water, alike
sanctified by the paduca of Neminat'h. About four hundred yards
beyond, is a second resting-place, with a fountain, excavated by
command of Komár-pál, king of Anhulwarra, close to which is a shrine
dedicated to Hinglaz Mata, the Hindu Hecate. Thence, and nearly
20
half
282
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
half-way up the hill, is a third beesamba, of greater space than any in
the ascent, and termed, after its reservoir, the Silla-Coonda, having a
small garden, and a series of steps to increase the fall of a miniature
cascade. This spot is deemed especially holy, from having the paduca
of Purméswar, a name applied exclusively to the Creator of all. There
are many other resting-places, with fountains, and footsteps of various
sages of past days. In all the tanks, the water was excellent. After
considerable winding, we reached the base of the most elevated peak,
which is completely enclosed by an embattled wall, on the eastern
tower of which is displayed the white banner of an Islamite saint,
called Henja Peer, upon whose intrusion amongst the apostles of the
Jains we shall remark hereafter. Leaving this on our right, we wound
round the southern face of the mount to the took, or space sacred to
Adéswara, the road for some distance being walled on each side, until
we arrived at the first fortified gateway, called the Ramapol, or Portal
of Rama.' Thence, after passing through four others, over a paved road,
bordered on both sides with Neem trees, we reached a little
grove of
temples, clustering the south-eastern face of the mount. A large foun-
tain, immediately beyond the Ramapol, is dedicated to Koonti, the
mother of the Panduas, and tradition says that it was executed at her
command, while her sons were exiles in the forest of Virat; but the
rock has been rent by some concussion, and this pious memorial of
the daughter of Vasdeo is exhausted of its element. The second
gateway bears the name of Sugal-pol, after a banker of Bengal, in
return for his munificent piety, and close to it is a fountain excavated
by Nogun, "the first Gohil" of Palit'hana. Here visitors alight and
halt, and the pilgrims pursue their devotions at the various spots of
worship. The third portal is called the Waugun-pol, or Tiger-gate,'
6
6
and
MOUNT SATRUNJA.
283
6
and here is a small statue of Sing-Cesari-Mata, or the Lion-born
Mother,' the Hindu Cybele. Here also is the Chaori, or nuptial-hall, of
Neminat❜h, of Girnar. Adjacent to this building there is a plain flat
stone, having, about three feet above its insertion in the ground, a
square hole of fifteen inches diameter, called the mookt-dwara, or door
of bliss,' and whoever can so compress his body as to pass through this
ordeal of purity, is sure of beatitude (mookt). Few of the sons of
Mammon, who "lard the lean earth," can bear this test, unless they
greatly mortify the flesh. Strange to say, there is a stone image of a
camel, nearly as large as life, in juxtaposition with the door of bliss,'
and as all these erect stones are termed sula, or needle,' our scriptural
text could not but suggest itself to the mind. At the fourth portal, or
Hatipol, the Elephant's-gate,' is a shrine to another of the most con-
spicuous of the Jaineswars, viz. Parswa, with the cognomen of Shés-
phanu, or the deity whose canopy is the thousand-' (shés) 'hooded'
(phanu) serpent: suggesting another curious analogy to the Egyptian
Hermes, whose symbol was the serpent, and one of his names
Phanetes.
6
6
6
6
We next arrive at a temple erected by the famous banker of Bengal,
well known to history as Juggut Set'h, or the 'universal merchant,'
whose name was synonimous with wealth, at the time the Mahrattas
invaded Bengal, and on whom the loss of two crores of rupees, equiva-
lent (taking the value of labour and commodities into consideration) to
eight millions sterling, made no sensible impression,—a fact so recent,
as to be received without distrust. Another shrine adjoins it, called
the Shesra-stambha, or thousand-columned,' although it has actually
but sixty-four columns. Close by is the temple of Komár-pál, which
alone contains fifty-two statues. Between this and the fifth portal, are
202
6
two
284
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
*
two fountains, called Suryacoonda and Iswaracoonda, by the former of
which is a temple to Siva, and, at a stone's throw, the shrine of a
more amiable divinity, Anapurna the Nourisher, the beneficent Ceres.
We now approached the holy of holies, by a considerable flight of
steps, leading through an archway, called the portal of Pundarie, which
brought us in front of the shrine of Adnat'h. Pundarie, whose gate
guards the entrance of the chowk, or quadrangular court, was the
favourite disciple of the Pontiff, and his abode was the chamber over
the gateway. All that is most celebrated for antiquity or sanctity, is
contained in this court: but sectarian animosities, the ambition to be
regarded as founders, and the bigotry of other creeds, have all
conspired to deface the good works which Faith had planted on this
holy mount. It is notorious, that sectarian zeal, amongst persons of
similar faith, is more destructive than the hatred of those of dissimilar
creeds; and here, from the mouths of learned Jains, whose universal
law is to "hurt no sentient being," I became acquainted with the fact,
that the wars of their two chief sects, the Tup-gacha and Khartra-
gacha, did more than the Islamites to destroy all records of the past;
for “when the Tup'has had the ascendancy, they tore down the
inscribed tablets of the Khartras, and replaced them by their own,
which again were broken into fragments, when, during the reign of
Sid Raj, the Khartras had power." The separation of these two leading
sects took place in the reign of Doorlul Sén, the fourth of the
Solankhi kings of Anhulwarra, who ascended the throne A.D. 1011.
Such was their mutual bitterness, that many pitched battles took place
between them, and, forgetting their first tenet and the sanctity of the
mount, they polluted it with each other's blood. Aji-pál of Anhul-
warra overthrew all the temples raised by his predecessor, Komár-pál,
an
1
SHRINE OF ADNAT'H.
285
an act ascribed by some to the bigotry of his prime minister, but by
others, and more in accordance with history, to the fact that this prince
had imbibed doctrines altogether opposed to any Hindu sect.
We have no evidence that Mahmoud of Ghizni visited the sacred
mounts of the Jains; but it is well attested, that the fury of the
sanguinary Alla" made all sects conceal their gods under-ground, for
those they did not hide he destroyed. Many have since been brought
to light, but comparatively few of the sculptures of ancient times are
now existing. In like manner, the temples suffered, those only
escaping which were converted into mosques. The consequence is,
that in the Chaok of Adnat'h, although you cannot look around
without beholding every where vestiges of antiquity, no entire edifice
appears to claim this distinction, as they are for the most part incon-
gruous structures, raised from dilapidated remnants, so that Komár-
pál's own temple, from continual deterioration and repair, does not
bear any greater signs of antiquity than that recently erected by the
wealthy banker.
66
Although the shrine of Adnat'h is an imposing edifice, it possesses
none of the architectural beauty of the shrines of Aboo, either in form
or material. The sanctum is a large square chamber, with a vaulted
roof; a Sowa-munduff, or external vestibule, likewise vaulted. The
statue of the god, of colossal size, is of pure white marble, and in the
usual sitting, contemplative posture, the hands and legs crossed. His
symbol, the bull (Vrishaba), whence his common appellation, of
Vrishabdeva (vulgò Ricabdeo), is carved in basso-relievo beneath.
There is much of that placidity of mien, which is the chief character-
istic of all the statues of the Jain hierarchs; but the crystal, or table-
diamond eyes, do not improve the expression, any more than the
golden
A A A 2
[AME__CON+Jade Ad
286
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
golden collar and bracelets, with which he has been decorated by the
tasteless zeal of some modern votary. The effect of the whole is still
further injured by the base taste, probably increased or prompted by the
vicinity of the Franks, and visits to some of the Portuguese churches
at Deo-puttun (Diu): the fane of Adnat'h being decorated with gilded
paintings of heavy Dutch-built figures, and cherubim, consisting of
fat faces and gilded wings, similar to the emblems in a country church-
yard in England. Add to these, a cluster of English lamps, which
illuminate the altar, and that the priests are awakened to matins by
the iron tongue of a bell from some Portuguese man-of-war, and which
bears the name of its founder, Da Costa, and you have some idea of
*the incongruities of this sanctified abode.
The vestibule contains, besides a marble statue of the bull, an
elephant, of small size, of the same material, on which is seated Maru-
devi, the mother of Adnat'h, holding in either arm her grandsons,
Bharat and Bahubal. There are two tablets at the doorway, bearing
inscriptions, but unimportant. One runs thus: "From Chutterkote
(Cheetore) Méwar, the merchants Josi Oswal, Beesa, Kurmar Sah,
repaired this temple in the time of Buhadoor Shah of Guzzerat,
Saturday, S. 1578." The other is the Varnun, or eulogy on Adnať'h,
the magnificence of his shrine, and the piety of its renovators. On the
left hand on entering the area, is a spot peculiarly sacred to all of this
faith, where Adnat'h used to sit in adoration of the "One God," when
the mountain-top, with no canopy but the sky, was his sole place of
worship. A Raen tree still marks the site, and is firmly believed by
the faithful to be a never-dying scion of that which shaded the first of
their prophets, and which now overshadows his sanctified paduca. He
could not have selected a spot more calculated to assist the mind's
devotion,
1
PROSPECT FROM THE MOUNT.
287
devotion, and to elevate it, "through Nature, up to Nature's God."
The prospect was sublime, and though clouds obscured the view on the
land-side, a beam of the sun burst over the ocean, irradiating the
ancient Gopnath and Madhumavati (now Mhowa), on the south-
eastern shore of the peninsula. To the west, we had a glimpse of the
mount sacred to Neminath, and the noble Girnar; but to the north and
east, the gloom restricted us to Seehore, and tracts within twenty
miles. We saw the serpentine (nagavati) stream shining in mazes at
the base of the mount, and darting towards the salt sea, with many
smaller rills; and lastly, Palit'hana itself, with its minarets towering
through the dense foliage, and its lake east of the town, were lighted
by gleams of occasional splendour. Close at hand is a small temple,
sacred to his second son, Bahubal, who here shares a great portion of
the devotion paid to his father, but no where else in India have I
heard of this “lord of Mecca” being an object of adoration. Immedi-
ately adjoining, are representations of the other two sacred mounts,
without the Land of the Sauras, viz. Sehéscuta, or the thousand-
peaked,' said to be beyond the Indus, and Samétu-sikra, in the ancient
kingdom of Magadha, now part of Bengal. Near the shrine of Bahubal,
is a small image of a Devi, or female divinity of the Jains, named
Sasan; and, touching the slope, there is another female personi-
fication of their faith, called Mata Vehoti, and a shrine erected by the
princely merchant of Anhulwarra, not to compare, however, with that
he raised on Abou.
Cells without number run laterally round the faces of the court-wall,
each containing some statue, and which serve as places of repose or
devotion to the pilgrims who come from all regions to worship the
footsteps of Adnat'h. I placed my tripod under the scion of the Raen
tree,
}
288
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
tree, and found the column of mercury stand at 28° 4′, the ther-
mometer at noon being 72°; the former shewing the same elevation as
the shrine of Ganésa on Aboo, and that of the elevated valley of
Oodipoor.
6
Notwithstanding the incongruous associations of ship-bells, English
lamps, cherubim, and burgomasters, which disfigure and disparage the
shrine, he would be a fastidious critic, and but little imbued with the
spirit of eld, who could leave Baba Adam-ca-took, the took of Father
Adam,' without a sense of satisfaction; albeit, there was little to gratify
the historian or the artist. I sought in vain for inscriptions of the olden
time in the Pali, or some more cognate character. The oldest I found
was of S. 1373, corresponding with A.D. 1317, or twenty years after
the death of Alla, the "Avatar of Yama," or God of Hell. On every
side are ruins of the most ancient times, from which modern shrines
have arisen to commemorate the past.
We must now quit this shrine, and proceed to the next division of
the mount, called, after the rich corn-factor of Baroda, Prem Moodi-
ca-took. Nothing can better exemplify the omnipotence of wealth,
than the circumstance that the name of the plebeian Moodi, of but
half a century's duration, should extinguish that of the illustrious
Sumpriti Raja, who flourished in the second century of Vicrama, and
who has left so many superb memorials of his piety, greatness, and
good taste, in the temples of Ajmér and Komulmér,* being, more-
over, universally recognized by the Jains as the greatest and best of
their princes, since Srinica, king of Rajgraha, to the present time, not
even excepting the lords of Anhulwarra. I am indebted for this fact to
the books of the Acharyas (already mentioned), and local traditions,
* Vide plates in Annals of Rajasthan, vol. i. pp. 671 and 779.
which
IDENTITY OF THE BAUDDHAS AND JAINS.
289
which combine the name of Sumpriti with that of the Moodi. This
last, however, was worthy of distinction, for he not only repaired and
embellished the fallen temples, endowing them with funds for the
support of the priests, but encircled them with a strong embattled wall
for their defence. No-where are the gods better provided with the
means of resistance, and here Adnat'h and his disciples might remain
free from all alarm, if they would put faith in the arm of flesh.
A valley divides the peaks, which communicate by a grand flight of
steps cut in the rock, and so constructed as to render the ascent as
easy as possible to the short-winded sons of wealth. About half-way
up stands the statue of Adi-Budha-Nathji, or the First Divine Bud-
dha,' of amorphous proportions; and close to it is a fountain, of healing
influence, dedicated to Khorea Mata, a form of the Great Mother, who
disjointed (says the legend) the bones (khor) of the danoos and dytes,
the Titanic brood who infested and defiled all the places of sacrifice
and worship in this holy land. This name affords another proof
of the identity of the impersonations of Buddha and the Jineswars;
indeed, my authorities recognized no difference between Ar-budha and
Ad-nat'h, the First Intelligence and First Divinity, though Europeans
have contrived to puzzle themselves on the subject. Let them make a
pilgrimage to the sacred mounts, and drink conviction at the fountain-
head, from existing practice and from the professors of the doctrines.
We soon reached the shrine, bearing the local appellation of Rutna-
ghor, built of white marble, by the Moodi. Within this are five marble
statues of Adnat'h, held to be the original work of the Pandua
brothers, each of whom dedicated one to "the first of the Jains;" and
a sixth image below is attributed to the piety of their mother, Koonti,
who accompanied them in their exile in these lands. Close to the
door
2 P
6
290
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Za geog
****
E
!
1
ī
door of the temple is "the habitation of the five Panduas," which
claims a share of regard from pilgrims of every sect, and a little
farther on is a fountain called Jinjoo-coond.
Passing through a portal in the embattled wall, we quit the Moodi-
took for that of Sewa-Somji, a rich inhabitant of Ahmedabad. His
pious munificence has been rewarded by his name being conjoined
with the object of worship, whose original temple, which he repaired
or re-built, was coeval with the era of Vicrama, nearly nineteen centu-
ries ago. The statue of Adnat'h, designated Chao-mookhi, or quadri-
frons, is of colossal size, not inferior to that in the chief shrine, which
is about eleven feet high. It is related that it cost £8,000 to
transport the single block from the quarries of Mokrano, on the
eastern frontiers of Marwar; but they needed not to have gone so
far for it, as marble, even of a finer grain, abounds in Aboo, as well as
in the Aravulli, close at hand. A leaf of the Satrunja Mahatma affords
the following record of this work: " S. 1675, in the time of Sultan
Nasr-o-din Jehangir, Sowae Vizya Raja [universal victor], and the
princes Sultan Khoosru and Khoorma. On Saturday, Bysak-sudi the
13th [28th of Bysak], Deoraj and his family, of which were Somji and
his wife, Rajuldévi, erected the temple of the Four-faced Adnat'h."
This is followed by a long list of Acharyas, which I passed over, until
I reached the name of "Jina-Manika-Suri," to which is appended the
distinction of having obtained a warrant from the Emperor Akber,
embodying the first of boons to his creed, inhibiting the slaughter of
animals wherever the Jain faith was practised. It was this scrupulous
regard for the religious opinions of all the varied sects within his
mighty realm, that procured this monarch the enviable designation of
Juggut Guru, the guardian of mankind,' and which caused him to be
6
regarded
ANALOGY BETWEEN THE JAIN AND SIVITE DEITIES. 291
regarded by the Vishnuvite as an incarnation of Kanya. His son,
the unstable Jehangir, eventually confirmed this and all their other
privileges, although, while swerving from the tenets of Islam, he
wandered amongst the metaphysical sects of the Hindus: on one occa-
sion, he had actually commanded the circumcision of all the priests of
the Oswals in his dominions, a fate which was only averted by the tact
of an Acharya.
On quitting the took of Sewa-Somji, I visited a small shrine of
Marudévi, the Mother of Adnat'h, who invariably receives a portion of
the homage accorded to her son. There was likewise a small temple to
Sunt-nath, the only one of the twenty-four Jain apostles who has a
niche on Sid-Achil, sacred to the "First." In this name, one of the
many designations of the mount (a'chil being a figurative term,
meaning 'immoveable'), and in several other appellations of the First
Divinity of the Jains, we have an analogy continually presented with
that of the Sivites. One of the names of Siva is Sid-nat'h, chief of all
ascetics. Adnat'h and Adiswara are commutable, while the most
familiar symbolic name of the former, Vrishabdeva, is the synonym of
Nandiswara, each meaning lord of the bull.' Accordingly, the
statues of Adnat'h, or Vrishabdeva, are always to be recognized by
his symbol (the bull), carved invariably beneath him; and Iswara, or
Siva, is as inseparable from Nanda as Osiris was from Mnevis. Each
has probably the same astronomical import, and the only ground for
astonishment is how they should be alike found in the Palit’hana of
the Indian, as in the Palestine of the Mediterranean Syria—on the
Nile, as on the Indus and Ganges-in all which regards the priests of
Bâl, or Surya, the Sun-god (whose name and worship in all proba-
bility originated the name of Syria in both countries), worshipped in
2 P 2
the
292
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
the Tauric type, or the symbolic phallus or lingam, in which the
Buddhists and Jains at one time coincided.
We must now descend from the abode of Adnat'h, after this rough
sketch of the three tooks of his hill. A detail of each separate shrine,
or the tradition and fragments of history, which more leisure and
better-directed inquiry might detect, could not be expected from my
transient visit; but I would recommend to others a more minute
research, and to consider what I have done as a mere specimen of
what may be effected by a better knowledge of these singular and
interesting sectarians.
From the loftiest point we made our exit through a wicket in the
wall, the most northern limit of the sacred inclosure, and soon reached
that conspicuous mark of Mahomedan intolerance, the tomb of
Henga Peer. Our endeavours to discover who this saint was, and when
he flourished, were fruitless; ignorance, the parent of bigotry, could
give no information beyond the tradition that it was in the time of
Ghori Belum, nephew of the king of Dehli, who resided in Palit’hana,
and by whom the mosques and eedgas, both inside and outside, were
erected. We may, however, gather from the following legend that the
"Peer" was in the train of some conqueror of "the Faith." It states
that he said " Henga applied his mace to the head of Adnat'h," who,
though he could not ward off the blow, "struck the aggressor dead,"
when he became a Jin, or wandering spirit, and so much annoyed the
priests at their devotions, that a grand conclave was held, before which
the ghost of Henga was summoned to appear, and interrogated as to
what could obtain his shade repose. "To lay his bones on this
pinnacle of the holy mount," was the reply; and here lies “ Henga
Peer, who, when living, could control the elements." The Hindus
-
have
A MINSTREL.
293
have a happy knack at getting up a legend to palliate insults to their
faith, to which they could oppose nothing stronger. At present,
however, the dervésh attendants on the tomb of their saint have found
it requisite to conform to the rules of the place, and never touch
food on the rock, nor partake of animal food below.
As we descended, the clouds, which had been congregating for some
days, dissolved in gentle showers, cooling the air. The barometer
stood at 28° on the summit, and the thermometer at 72° even at the
foot of the hill. At a short distance, as we wound our way round the
western declivity, we passed the pallia, or sepulchral stone, of a sweet-
meat-maker, who, as it relates, "sold his life in defence of the sacred
mount," when the roving Cattis levied black-mail from the priests of
Adnat'h. Further on, we came to the t'han of the six sons of Deoki
(the mother of Crishna), slain by Kansa, the Herod of India, which
fate Crishna only escaped by flight to Dwarica. The temple is hypo-
thral, consisting simply of columns and entablature, and the represen-
tations of the six murdered infants are in black marble. At this point,
we encountered a "motley fool," in the shape of an old minstrel. His
head was covered with a cap of red cloth, ornamented with mock
pearls; he had a doublet of silk, with bells on his legs and castanets in
his hand. Beating time with these, and jingling his bells, he sang his
old provincial songs-stanzas from the bards of the olden time-with an
occasional varnan, or eulogistic stave to Adnat'h. Happy in the notice
he drew from others, and his self-estimation, he preceded us merrily
down the hill until we parted at its base.
Before we take to our tents, or visit Palit'hana, we may add a few
words on the endowments of the sacred mount.
The temporalities of Adnat'h are managed by a committee of weal-
thy
294
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
ļ
thy lay-votaries from the chief cities, as Ahmedabad, Baroda, Puttun,
Surat, &c. These nominate resident and ambulatory agents, who receive
the offerings of the devout, carry them to account, and note the disburse-
ments for repairs, daily oblations of frankincense or saffron, the feeding
of the sacred pigeons, the animals whose lives have been redeemed
from sacrifice, or worn-out kine, which find pension and pasture
within the holy precincts. The present resident manager is a native of
Méwar. The treasury of the chief shrine is said to be well filled with
gold and jewels, and in this Sat-yug, or 'golden age' of pacification,
its stores must rapidly increase. The predatory Catti, whose roving
bands for the last fifty years deterred the wealthy Srawucs, or Jain
laity, from visiting this their Palestine, are now known only by name;
whereas, in past days, it was a chance that the pilgrim found his
journey conclude with a bird's-eye view of the sacred rock from some
riever's castle, there to languish until ransomed. But the little
kingdom of the ancient Sauras, if governed with the same paternal
care as at present,* will again see its rich plains covered with the gifts
of Ceres, and the highways will be no longer scenes of jeopardy to
those of Adnat'h. On particular festivals, immense bodies of pilgrims
pour into the peninsula from every part of India. These congregations
are termed Sungs, and sometimes amount to twenty thousand. It is
not uncommon for some opulent merchant to put himself at the head
of all the pilgrims from the region where he dwells, and to dispense
subsistence to his poor but pious brethren in the faith, to and from the
sacred mount, a species of charity which has its reward. It is
on these occasions that the personal wealth of Adnat'h is displayed
and added to, every pilgrim making a gift according to his means.
The
* The name of Elphinstone carries with it its own eulogy.
295
FESTIVALS OF ADNAT'H.
The statue is then laden with massive chains (sankla) of gold and
silver bracelets, besides golden coin, which flows into the strong box
of Adnat❜h. Hema Bhye, a rich banker of Ahmedabad, recently
presented a crown of massive gold, studded with large sapphires,
valued at a sum equivalent to £3,500. There is always a diadem upon
his head, its value adapted to the occasion: that in which I saw him
was a plain embattled crown, of silver gilt.
But, what will more interest the Frank pilgrim of the West, it is on
occasion of these Sungs, or assemblies, that the literary riches are
brought forth for contemplation, and to receive the homage of the
learned doctors (Acharyas), and other wise men amongst the Jains.
The name of the most celebrated of all these festivals, which occurs on
the 5th of the month Cartic, is in itself complimentary to knowledge,
being the Gyan-Punchamee, or Intellectual Fifth,' when the contents
of the Jain libraries throughout India are conveyed in solemn pomp
from their hidden retreats to the light of day, cleaned, worshipped, and
replaced. The bindar, or treasury, whether for literary or worldly
wealth, is in the safeguard of Adnat'h himself, adjoining his statue.
6
PALIT'HANA.—All is sacred ground for several miles round the base
of Satrunja, and the abode of the Palli is in contact with the mount.
"What's in a name ?" I had long indulged the most sanguine expecta-
tions, that on the spot where the Palli had perpetuated his name and
his faith, I should supply one of the many desiderata regarding this
nomadic race, the Galatæ or Kettæ of Indo-Scythia. Let the antiqua-
rian reader guess my mortification, when I had, on authority, an
etymology not only utterly destructive of the hypothesis, but one so
coarse, so unclassical, as almost to annihilate all my enthusiasm for
Palit'hana, Satrunja, Adnať'h, and his disciples. Instead of finding
some
Sp
296
"
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
some analogy or affinity with the Philites of Egypt, or the Pales of the
Celto-Etruscans, I was referred to a mighty magician, named Pada-
lipta, who used to make aerial excursions from his residence at Brigu-
gacha, (the Barygaza of the Greeks, the modern Baroach,) to the mount
of Adnať❜h, and the nom-de-guerre of this Vediavan, or magician, was
said to be from smearing (lipna) the soles of his feet (pada) with a parti-
cular ointment, preparatory to a flight. We are thus far constrained to
follow the truth of the Mahatma, as expounded by the learned Acharyas,
puerile and unsatisfactory as is this etymon; but, having sacrificed to
candour by this statement, I do not hesitate utterly to reject old Pada-
lipta and his unguents, with whatever magical powers he may have
possessed; to deny that his name could have been the foundation for
that of this abode of the Palli, who have left traces throughout
Western India, in their strange characters and names of cities; and, in
short, to assume that it is derived from some grand migration from
Central Asia, which brought in its train the elements, at least, of this
very religion, here matured into Buddhism or Jainism, and sent back,
in its more refined state, to humanize the regions whence it issued.
PALIT'HANA presents few remains of past ages. There are many
déwuls, or sacred structures, but none of any antiquity have been left
by the worse than Gothic Islamite. The buildings are also chiefly of a
free-stone, the decomposed surface of which peels off, to the destruc-
tion of inscriptions, though these are most frequently engraved on
tablets of compact limestone, or basalt. The town was of much greater
extent in former times than at present, comprehending within its walls
the mosque, now outside, erected by the Ghori Belum ; but in vain I
sought for an inscription to guide me to the discovery of the "king's
nephew." History acquaints us with none of the race of Ghori
who
!
LEGEND OF SADIVAEH AND SAWALINGA.
who ruled in these regions, nor even of any viceroyalty from Dehli.
But this, as well as the other Mooslem remains in Palit'hana, gives
evidence of the genius and taste of the Hindu architect, even to the
mambar, or pulpit of the Moollah, which has on either side the torun
sacred to Siva.
297
Within the city there is, indeed, one ancient monument, and this is
a public baorie, or reservoir, consecrated by tradition to the illustrious
pair, Sadivaeh and Sawalinga, whose romantic story forms one of the
many love-legends of the Hindu, and could we prove this from inscrip-
tions, we should count full eighteen centuries as the least period since
its construction. Sadivaeh was the son of the Tacshac Salivahan,
vanquisher of Vicrama, the supreme ruler of Hindustan, and whose
era, still dominant in Northern India, was fifty-six years anterior to
the Christian. At one time it was universal in India, until this chief of
the Tacshac, or Takas, invaded and subverted the rule of Vicrama
south of the Nerbudda, introducing his own era, which, in its applica-
tion of Saca, gives us another indication of his Scythic or Getic origin.
If we credit tradition, their wars terminated in a compromise, by
which Salivahan retained Peninsular India, and Vicrama all north of
the great line of demarcation, the Nerbudda; and to this day the era
in the former region is termed Saca, and in the latter Samvat. But to
return to the legend of the reservoir.
The heroine of the tale, Sawalinga, whose beauty and accomplish-
ments were the theme of eulogy at this period, was of the Jain faith,
and the pride and comfort of her father Padama, who was the most
opulent merchant of the time, dwelling in Pait'han,* on the Godavery,
the
* This is the Tagara of the author of the Periplus, which supplied the sindones for the Roman
market, a name which I do not hesitate to say is corrupted from Tak-nagara, the city of the Tak,
or Takshac.
t
2Q
298
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
the metropolis of Salivahan. She had been sought and obtained of
her parent, by one of her own faith and rank in life, from the distant
city of Parkur, in the southern part of the Marust'hali, or great desert
of India, and her future lord had come to Pait'han to claim his
betrothed. But alas! the heart of the fair Sawalinga was not in her own
keeping; she had seen the son of Salivahan; she loved and was loved,
and death would have been preferred to separation from the youth,
and exile to the oasis of Parkur. Hitherto their love was pure; they
had grown up in ignorance of their mutual attachment, as pupils of
the same Acharya, studying together in the temple of Kalka-devi, the
Universal Mother, nor until the fatal day of separation approached,
were they aware that the invisible Camadeva (Cupid) had presided at
their lessons, and taught them one more easy to acquire, and more
difficult to forget, than all that the wisdom of the Acharya could incul-
cate. But the fatal secret must be told, and Sadivaeh was made
acquainted with her destiny even at the altar of Kalka, who had
attested their mutual vows that they would live only for each other.
"
It had been fixed that, on the morning following the nuptial rites,
the merchant of Parkur should depart with his bride, visiting, in their
route to the desert, all the celebrated shrines of his faith situated in
the land of the Sauras. With this she contrived to make her lover
acquainted, and appointed a last meeting at the altar of the goddess
who had witnessed their mutual pledges of attachment. Sadivaeh
repaired to the temple, where the enamoured fair joined him; but the
goddess, indignant at this dereliction in one who was now the wife of
another, defeated their design by casting the prince into a deep sleep,
from which all the passionate efforts of Sawalinga could not rouse him.
Time flew on swift pinions; she had discovery to dread, but to leave
the
LEGEND OF SADIVAEH AND SAWALINGA.
the object of her love for the last time, in ignorance that she had been
faithful to her promise, was misery. An expedient, a last resource,
presented itself; with the expressed juice of the pan, she wrote her
name in the palm of her lover's hand, and departed. It may be easily
supposed that the prince, on awaking from his trance, was in despair.
Disguising himself as a mendicant Jogi, with pilgrim's staff, and the
antelope hide on his shoulders, he quitted the regal abode of Pait'han
in pursuit of his beloved. On reaching Palit'hana, he went to make his
ablutions in the ancient baorie of the city, and as he bathed, a tablet
met his view, on which he read "Remember the vows in the temple
of Kalka." No interpreter was needed to decypher these characters,
unknown to all "except the eye of love." Joy filled the heart of the
heir of Salivahana; he instantly, and with alacrity, grasped his staff,
and, full of hope and ardour, renewed his journey towards the desert.
The reader must rest content with this portion of the tradition (the
remainder having unaccountably escaped my note-book and my
memory), or repair to the reservoir of Palit❜hana to learn the sequel
from the living chroniclers; for though the tablet of Sawalinga has
ceased to grace it, as long as the baorie shall endure, so long will this
tale be handed down from mouth to mouth. India abounds with such
narratives, having generally some historical incident for their basis,
and familiar alike to the peasant and the prince. But vain was my
search for ancient inscriptions, the ruthless Toork had been before me,
and the habit of using inscribed tablets with the other materials of
dilapidated edifices in the erection of new ones, both by Hindu and
Mooslem, will ever hide much of the past from the eyes of the
present generation, or until these in turn fall sacrifices to Time
or some other destroyer, when these relics may, perhaps, again
see the light.
Met
299
2 Q2
The
300
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
REFEREN
EN
4+
Be a SLEPT — I
*** ****** *FITOPENITOS DE
Leather
1
A
The modern history of Palit❜hana is soon told. It has been possessed
by a branch of the Gohil family ever since this tribe settled in
Saurashtra, twenty-five generations ago. Its consequence has been
considerably augmented within the last sixty or seventy years, by the
depopulation of Guriadhar, whose inhabitants fled hither in a body to
escape the inroads of the Cattis, and the merciless oppression of the
Guicowar government. The name of the present chief is Kanda Bhye;
he is about fifty years of age, and enjoys a fair reputation. His little
principality consisted of seventy-five townships, including the tything
(tuppa) of Guriadhar; but all are greatly depopulated and impove-
rished, partly from the jealous hostility of the senior branch of his
family, the Rao of Bhaonuggur, partly from the encroachments of the
Catti, or the rapacity of the officers of his Suzerain, the Guicowar.
Having been compelled, in accordance with the habits of the times, to
entertain a motley crew of mercenary Arabs for his defence, he found,
when the reign of peace began, that this precarious source of his
protection formed his chief danger, and to save himself from their
clamorous threats, reserving an annuity of forty thousand rupees, he
mortgaged all his estates, including the pilgrim-tax, to a banker, who
advanced the sums necessary to get rid of the turbulent Arabs. How
the system works, the facts, collected in a day's halt, afforded not the
means of judging. It is manifestly the interest of the renter, who has
a ten years' lease, to improve the lands and encourage the prosperity
of the cultivator; but the reign of terror has been of such lengthened
duration, and the internal policy is so ephemeral in its nature, that
they have yet to learn how much their own interests are involved in
the welfare of the community. The tax levied by the Gohil chief on
the pilgrims was formerly from one to five rupees each, according to
* A LE
their
SEPULTURAL STONES AT PALIT'HANA.
301
their means, and the distance they came, but I was told that it is
now only one, without regard to circumstances; but even at this ratio,
if the rich always pay for the poor, supposing the Sungs, or bands, to
amount to from ten to twenty thousand, the town must again flourish.
At present, cultivation is scanty in the environs, although the soil is
rich, with much of that kind which here, as in Central India, they
denominate mal, a black friable loam, whence the name of Malwa is
derived.
We must not leave Palit'hana without mentioning the clusters of
pallias, or sepultural stones, at the western gate of the city, and at
various other points skirting the base of the sacred mount. These
memorials of the chivalrous days of Saurashtra, forcibly strike a
wanderer from Upper India, more especially if he have not travelled
through Rajpootana, where the joojurh (the synonym for pallia),
which marks the spot where the brave has fallen in defence of his
rights, is not uncommon, but here we find them planted thick as
grave-stones in an English church-yard. The "short but simple annals,"
often engraved upon these vestiges of the past, are worthy of attention,
and if the traveller fail to extract historic data from them, he may
always gain some record of the manners and customs of a people
different from any within his knowledge. Even the little allegorical
relievi, rudely sculptured upon these, afford something more than
amusement, denoting, in the absence of inscription, the class in society
of the individual. For instance, at the adjoining village of Khyrwa,
the effigy of the slain was represented in a car, which of itself bespeaks
antiquity, as the war-chariot has long been disused.
I will reserve the little I have to add regarding the Jains, their
traditions, theogony, and modern condition, until I have made the
pilgrimage
44
•
302
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
6
pilgrimage to the Mount of purity,' Girnar; even then
even then my remarks
will be very succinct, as, independently of the allusions to them
inseparable from the preceding pages, my friend Major Miles has
anticipated me in most that I had to say, which he has told so fully
and so well, that I should only risk repetition by enlarging upon the
subject.* Our sources of information being the same, and our views
and mode of attaining it similar, the results are necessarily so, and I
shall therefore restrict myself to the few points which have come less
within the scope of his enquiries.
* Vide Trans. Royal Asiatic Society, vol. iii. p. 335.
303
CHAPTER XV.
Guriadhar.-Aspect of the country.-Damnaggur.-Agriculture.-Akalla.-Pestilential air.-
Umrélie.-Region of the Cat'hi.-Manly aspect of the Cat'his.-The provincial chief of Saurash-
tra.-Apparatus for irrigation.—Mean appearance of the villages.-Magnificent mirage.-Deolah.
-The chief, a Cat'hi.-Coincidences between the manners of eastern and western tribes.-Anec-
dote of Jessajee.-A robber turned saint.-Gurreah.-Habits of the Cat'his.-Asylum of the
Pandus.-Legend of Koomti.-Statue of Baldeo.-Toolsishama.-Scene of combat between
Crishna and the Dyte.-Shrines.-Incorrect geography of our maps of this part.-Dohun.-
Geological notices.-Kowrewar.-Pastoral character of this region.-Superiority of the cattle.—
Holy Mount Mool-Dwarica.-Soodrapara.-Improvement in the habitations of the peasantry.--
Temple of the sun.-Source of the Sirsooti.
GURIADHAR.—November.—We marched about seventeen miles to
this place, over a fertile tract, as far as regards the capability of the
soil, though, except in the vicinity of the villages, there is little culti-
vation. The plains are gently undulating, sometimes confining the
vision within a radius of a few miles, and at others opening the
prospect and disclosing Mount Satrunja and its subordinate hills
ranging to the southward. The country is but scantily wooded, though
a few neem and mango trees, at all the villages, relieve the eye, and the
plains are studded with the babool (Mimosa Arabica), which makes
up in utility for its want of majesty. Guriadhar has nothing which
merits observation, from the causes stated in the preceding chapter,
though it is still the head of a tuppa, or tything, and the residence of
a relative of the chief of Palit'hana.
DAMNAGGUR.-NOVEMBER 19th.-This was a short march of twelve
miles. Its being a Khas talooya, or royal domain of the Guicowar,
accounted for the superior cultivation, owing to the protection afforded
to the husbandman. It was in former days a Gohil possession, but had
been
304
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
wrested from that tribe, and now forms a portion of the division of
Umrélie. It bore a Hindu appellation anciently, but Damoji, the first
southern suzerain of these regions, gave it, decus et tutamen, a defence
and his name. This is the same prince who fortified the modern
Puttun. We saw some patches of magnificent black sugar-cane, and
the young gram was thriving luxuriantly, as well as the til, or sweet-
oil plant, and the useful moong; but the thin stalks of the autumnal
crops of jowar and bajra afforded evidence that the unusual fall of
rain on the continent had equally affected the peninsula of Guzzerat.
I observed some very fine fields of cotton, and a novelty to me in
agricultural economy, the same field containing a promising crop of
the arend, or castor-oil plant (ricinus). Water was stated to be within
twenty feet of the surface, yet there were no wells or traces of irriga-
tion for wheat, nor have I seen any since we left Gogo, though a finer
soil for it could not be found. The deficiency must be attributed to
political causes. A small stream flows past the town, and contains a
most delicate fish, very like the gorya of Upper India, which resembles
whiting,
AKALLA.—NOVEMBER 20th.-Apprehensive of fatiguing our follow-
ers if we made one march to Umrélie, said to be twenty-two miles
distant, we determined to divide the journey, but were somewhat
annoyed at finding Akalla only nine miles from our last ground, so
that we reached our tents at eight A.M., the thermometer being only
68°. This is a small village, situated on a pretty streamlet, called a
river in the kingdom of Saurashtra. The soil, surface, and crops, the
same as yesterday, but with more commanding views, embracing the
whole range, with its grand boundaries, the holy mounts of Girnar and
Satrunja, at either extremity, with many intermediate elevations. I
passed
Sta
UMRELIE.
V
305
passed a small
group of hills, on which is placed a shrine dedicated to
Khorea Mata, a most unhallowed place of pilgrimage. No ascetic can
dwell here for any length of time with impunity, whatever his strength
of faith or frame; three months' probation is the utmost limit to
endurance in this pestilential spot, although every second or third year
the air is said to be purified by a self-ignited fire, which sets the jungle
in a blaze. From this we gather that there is some subterrene combus-
tion which occasionally bursts out, while sulphureous agency is always
exerted upon the atmosphere. The small town of Sautee is three miles
distant.
UMRELIE.
NOVEMBER 21st.-Thirteen miles. Roads excellent, and
the soil in natural fertility cannot be surpassed, while the cultivation
far excels any we have seen in the peninsula. For the last seven miles,
the young wheat was springing up luxuriantly, as was the til, or oil-
plant, but the gram was less abundant. The villages, however, had a
most impoverished appearance, and their walls of clay must have been
a poor defence against the Cat'his.
The town of Umrélie has rather a striking appearance on approach-
ing it, presenting a solid circumvallation, with round towers of good
dimensions, enclosing about two thousand houses, with a small stream
winding round the northern face. Here the provincial governor resides,
it being the chief town of five districts, styled khas, or 'personal
demesne,' and consequently in a rather flourishing condition, which
has been greatly improved since the general protection extended by
the British Government to the tributary vassals of the peninsula. The
majestic Girnar continues to develope his fine conical form, and on
ascending an eminence, all the sikras, or peaks, which link it with
Satrunja, were seen sweeping in a bold semicircular curve on our left.
We are now in the very heart of the region of the Cat'hi, which is
divided
2 R
י
306
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
divided from the land of the Gohils by the Ghagra. This morning I
was gratified for the first time by the sight of a genuine Cat'hi,
proceeding to the economy of his wheat-fields, which were most indus-
triously irrigated, and, like himself, a fine specimen of purely natural
production. His manly form, open countenance, and independent gait,
formed a striking contrast to the care-worn peasantry we had left
behind, and those throughout Gangetic India. His look denoted that
the field was his own, and that courtesy would be more efficacious than
force in obtaining the tithe of its produce. Everything was sub-
stantial; the bullocks large and well-fed; the ploughmen, all Cat'his,
in their peculiar garb, gave us a courteous salutation, and frank
replies to whatever questions were put to them, and stood erect,
as if they felt themselves of some importance in the scale of
humanity.
The Cat'hi, though embued with all the chivalrous pride of the
Rajpoot, unlike him, "venerates the plough;" yet even in putting his
hand to this implement, it is with an air of conscious dignity, and he
is equally ready to enact the part of Cincinnatus, and grasp his lance,
which, ere he commences his day's work, he plants firmly in the
furrow, as if to say "gare qui touche" the field or its owner. To him
the transition from eternal strife to monotonous tranquillity cannot but
suggest conflicting reflections, and knowing them to be surrounded by
ancient foemen and despotic masters, I should be sorry to see a wider
disunion between their military and industrious habits: but while ever
ready to resist aggression, I would have them learn to appreciate the
blessings of peace, and so long as their rights are respected, we may
hope that their lawless habits may be controlled without the destruction
of that ennobling spirit, which has secured their mental independence
from the days of Alexander.
In
307
In the afternoon, the provincial satrap, by name Govind Rao, paid
us a visit, and having conversed for some time, we proceeded together
to look at the town, and accompanied him afterwards to his dwelling.
The main street of Umrélie is spacious, and thronged with an indus-
trious population. About the centre, there is a chaok, or square,
whence the streets diverge. In the N.E. angle of an inner circumvalla-
tion, is a place of arms, solid, though not extensive, erected under the
reign of Damoji, having in front a well-fortified court, in which, under
a tiled shed, is placed the Guicowar park of artillery. As we entered
the governor's house, we received a salute of five guns. I cannot
conceive anything more calculated to surprise the European traveller,
than his introduction into the habitation of the satrap of Saurashtra,
more especially if fresh from his own land. We were ushered into a
hall about fifty feet in length, twenty broad, and somewhat more in
height, supported by six columns on each side, connected by arches;
the ceiling ornamented with a cornice in good taste, from which
were suspended four large lustres in cut glass, the intermediate spaces
being filled with rows of globular lamps. Surrounding this spacious
saloon, was a verandah, full twenty feet wide, having a sloping roof of
painted wood, with similar rows of lamps. At the upper end of the
room, chairs were placed for us. Immediately in front, was a jet-d'eau
in full play, through whose irradiant and mist-like medium, we looked
upon a brilliant display of fireworks, let off from the grand court.
Verily, we were not a little surprised at this scene from the Arabian
Nights, in the heart of this wild region, where but a few years back
nothing was heard save the clattering of the moss-trooper's horse, or
the report of his matchlock. We sat a full hour in pleasant conversa-
tion with our host, a man of courteous manners and good understand-
ing; and after being perfumed with attur, and sprinkled with rose-water,
2 R 2
INTERVIEW WITH THE GOVERNOR.
we
308
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
we were congédies with the pan-leaf, and its aromatic enclosure, to eat
or not as we judged proper.
DEOLAH.-NOVEMBER 23d.—This proved a long, and to our follow-
ers, a tiresome march, being full twenty-seven miles, instead of the ten
coss on which we had reckoned. The sun had reached the meridian
ere we got to a place of halt, and, to add to our annoyance, we found
that Toolsisham, the object which brought us by this route, (instead
of going by that which conducts directly to Mount Girnar,) was ten
coss farther, instead of six, and, moreover, through intricate paths in
the mountains, which will compel us to break it into two marches.
This would be nothing, but that time presses, and there are those far
hence who already deem me on the deep waters, instead of playing the
pilgrim in the wilds of Cat'hiawar. The air to-day was delightfully
invigorating until ten a.m., but by the time we reached the tent, the
thermometer stood at 90° within. Cultivation in this tract is abundant,
and the leathern bucket for irrigation, requiring but one man to apply
it, was everywhere in use. Like all the apparatus of industry in these
regions, its construction and application are the simplest imaginable,
and although throughout India they have something similar, I have
not met the precise counterpart of this. I subjoin a sketch of it.
L
IK
E
H
с
A
B
F
BUCKET FOR IRRIGATION.
309
A B. The well.
C D. A pole elevated on the edge of the well.
E F. A transverse pole, moveable on a pivot, D.
E. Mass of clay, or stone, to sink the bucket, H.
F G. A rope by which the cultivator raises or depresses the bucket.
I H. Flexible leather bucket, open at each mouth, the larger mouth,
H, about fifteen inches diameter, kept open by a circular iron ring,
and two transverse iron bits, as a, b, c. d.
K. A peg of wood, driven firmly into the ground, at the edge of
the well.
K I. A thong fixing the flexible tube to
K L. A water-course.
The bucket being filled, the action, on elevating the lever E D F,
brings the main body of the bucket nearer to the cultivator, giving a
tension to the thong K I, which at the same time brings its mouth
into the trough, or water-course, where it remains stationary, and
pouring out its contents, as the larger end is raised, until emptied. In
like manner, it descends to be refilled by its own weight.
It might easily be adapted to irrigate garden or nursery-grounds,
where water is near the surface. That great agriculturist, Zalim Sing
of Kotah, who never failed to seek out whatever was useful or econo-
mical, copied it.
Eight miles from Umrélie, we crossed the main branch of the
Satrunja river, which has its source in the hills south of Girnar, and is
the largest I have yet seen in the peninsula. The villages were
numerous, but the habitations mean, and the contrast between them
and those of Guzzerat, where commerce and agriculture intermingle,
is very great. Here there is no trace of commerce but in such towns
as
Per
r.
*
310
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
as Umrélie. The direction of the route to-day was southerly, with
Girnar on the right, and Satrunja on the left, about equi-distant, and
their diminished hills for the eye to rest on. The grandeur of each was
enhanced by their being seen through a magnificent mirage in the
early morning, when the fantastic and perpetually-changing forms,
which the sacred mounts assumed, presented a complete phantasma-
goria. At first, a dense black column rested on mount Girnar,
gradually expanding to "the Abode of Adnat'h" (Satrunja); a bold
sweeping line, embracing about half the circumference of vision. This
lurid mass of vapour soon filled up the entire space between the two
mounts, and was in powerful contrast with the more transparent
medium to the north, in which the towers of Umrélie were reflected,
and elevated by this mirror, from their low position, into gigantic
height, appearing as if connected with the distant peaks of Seehore.
Every moment brought change to Satrunja. From a dark unshapely
mass, with precipitous sides, it took a columnar form, then appearing
of nearly its natural size, and in a few seconds assuming another
disguise, with a huge fragment apparently rent from the side, and
parts of the low connecting ridge raised, while the larger mass was
depressed. But the most striking effect was when a beam of the sun,
rising from the bed of the ocean, darted upwards, lighting up the
whole extent, similar to a lake of liquid fire in the midst of chaotic
darkness; the light gradually gaining on the vapour until the upper
limb of the orb o'ertopp'd the level of the hill on which it had rested,
with precisely the effect of a flash of cannon in a dark night. As his
power increased, the vapours lost their continuity, and at length broke
into a variety of mystic forms, and quickly faded into nothingness. I
have witnessed but two of these spectacles superior to this, the one at
Hissar,
CATHI CHIEF OF DEOLAH.
311
Hissar, in the north of the Desert, the other in Kotah, both of which I
have elsewhere described.*
We commenced the ascent of the ridge, which is a portion of the
chain connecting the sacred mounts, at the village of Jair, and having
passed over five miles of this wild upland, covered with the t'hoor
(cactus), and khajri (mimosa), we reached our place of halt, the small
village of Deolah, of little importance save to its possessor. Still it had
its diminutive wall of clay, with towers, of which he was as proud as
Louis XIV. could have been of Lille. A small mountain-rill of good
water completed the exterior of Deolah, whose denizens, few in
number, were of the Koombi and Koli tribes; their superior, from
whom we had a visit in the evening, being a Cat'hi.
Jessa, or with the more respectful post-fix, Jessajee, was a fair speci-
men of his race. He said his age was fifty, but had he mown the stubble
upon his chin, which was of a full week's growth, his black mouche and
clear complexion would have allowed a deduction of five good years.
After sitting at his ease for some time, indulging, like a true Cat'hi, in
the most unrestrained freedom of speech, I turned the conversation to
his past life, by asking whether he had not carried the honourable
profession of arms to some distance beyond his own sequestered abode.
"A mere trifle," replied the moss-trooper, with the greatest noncha-
lance; "never farther than Bhaonuggur, Puttun, and Jhalawur." If the
reader will consult the map, he will find that Jessajee's three points
form a triangle, embracing the most remote quarters of the peninsula,
east, south, and west; and that a trifle beyond, in either direction, both
the horse and his rider must have gone into the sea. On pushing him
a little further, by observing that these were very confined limits, and
inquiring
* Vide Annals of Rajasthan, vol. i. p. 768.
F
2
312
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
?
inquiring if he had never tried the northern or continental portion,
with the same simplicity of manner and tone, he replied, in his meta-
phorical diction, " Why, I have driven my lance into the gate of
Ahmedabad." I wanted no more; Jessajee, the suzerain of Deolah,
and of one dozen subjects, his township covering about as much soil as
a good-sized mansion, had, single-handed, insulted the capital of
Guzzerat! I was struck by the metaphor, which has since been more
strongly impressed upon my mind by reading, amidst the scenes which
gave them birth, the exploits of the early tribes who conquered
Northern Italy; the identical image, used by the Cat'hi Jessa, being
applied by the Longobard Alboin to prove his successful prowess.
From another, of the same race with Alboin, we have nearly the
same figure of speech for a similar purpose. When the successor or
Rurik, the founder of the empire of the Czars, for the first time
crossed the Borysthenes, at the head of eighty thousand men, in a
raid against that capital (still the object of ambition), in order to mark
the humiliation of the city and his own glory, he "nailed his shield to
the gate of Byzantium, on whose emperor he imposed a treaty,
sworn to by the Varangian guards of the conqueror on their shields
and their arms. In this we have not only the metaphorical record of
conquest, but the peculiar form of oath, a form entirely Rajpoot, and a
common expression in the mouth of the nomadic Cat'hi. But the
Longobardic Alboin, and the Varangian Czar, were both Norman, of
the same tribes who peopled the estuaries of the Weser and the Elbe,
and were distinguished, even by the first chroniclers of Scandinavia, as
the Asi, or Asiatics. Every day is adding fresh proof that a primitive
eastern language is plentifully mixed with the Teutonic, which has
even obtained the distinctive epithet of Indo-Germanic, while their
ancient
""
hi
'
313
ancient superstitions and customs are parallel: so that, wide as is the
separation in country, colour, religion, and manners, between the
inhabitants of these regions at the present time, there is not only no
impossibility, but no improbability, that the Cat'hi of the Elbe, and
the ancestry of the Cat'hi opponents of Alexander, may have migrated
from the same regions of Central Asia.
But let us proceed with the sketches of existing manners, in the
interesting specimens that come in our way, and return to Jessajee.
The present days of ignoble peace are the bane of his repose, and his
activity of mind is checked by vague apprehensions of being caught
with the javelin in hand in some distant foray, of which he has already
had a foretaste, as he related to us with his customary simplicity. He
has been reduced from his equestrian state to the superintendence of
his serfs in the fields around his dwelling, to which alone he must now
trust for support. But to his anecdote. Besides his desultory occupa-
tions, Jessa had established his gras, or black-mail, on four villages of
Gondul, and it was the lesson which the good riever had read to him
on this head that first undeceived him as to his influence. Returning
quietly to his alpine abode, with the korees tied in his cumerbund, or
girdle, the last kist, or instalment of his dues, or more properly extor-
tions, he was beset, dismounted from his mare, the companion of all
his travels, and lodged, with base fetters on his limbs, in the castle of
Gondul. Jessa's genius did not desert him; an old nail, drawn from
some part of his novel abode, answered the purpose of a picklock to
his fetters, and awaiting the hour of midnight, he took the chance of
breaking his neck by dropping from his prison walls, and luckily
escaping unhurt, in a few hours reached a Cat'hi village in safety. As
he finished his narration, he complained bitterly of the retention of
his
2 s
CAT'HI ANECDOTE.
Gam
314
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA
his mare, nor can he comprehend on what principle they can retain
her, or even justly withhold the korees, which, though originally
extorted at the point of his javelin, had, from long custom, assumed
all the validity of prescriptive right. Jessajee's physiognomy affords an
abundant guarantee for his assertion, that he never drew blood, though
he" used to frighten the folks to make them part with their cheetura,”
orbits of rags,' which signified, in the riever's vocabulary, turbans,
scarfs, and such like things; "sometimes a buffalo or cow from Bhao-
nuggur, a horse, a mare, or any other trifle that might fall in my way."
This old bandit has agreed to become our guide through the hills as
far as Puttun, and states, what there can be no reason to doubt, that he
knows not only every dell in it, but every stone on the road. We shall
probably have more anecdotes before we part company.
I may relate another incident illustrative of the manners of these
rovers of the peninsula. A Brahmin was holding forth to us on the
piety of the Cat'hi proprietor of Charoori, a village of eight thousand
rupees' annual rent, which we passed in yesterday's march. Not only
had he built and endowed a temple, but distributed to every mendi-
cant Jogi ascetic a blanket and a rupee, besides his liberality to the
Brahmins. In short, he was pourtrayed by our informant as a saint.
Curiosity tempted me to inquire farther into the history of this
isolated man of virtue in the heart of a den of gentlemen-robbers,
when he turned out to be one of the most notorious and enterprising
of the plundering bhyad (frérage) of Cat'hiawar; but, having become
too infirm to follow the active duties of his profession in person, he
had resigned them to his sons, while he amused his age and calmed
his conscience with these devotional pursuits, and in charitable dispen-
sations of his youthful plunder, or the acquisitions of his sons. Thus
in
315
PICTURESQUE SCENERY.
in every page of history we find the same features in similar periods of
civilization. We have only to change the scene to the Guelphic
ancestry of our own monarch, speaking of whom, prior to Conrad, in
the dark period of the middle ages, the illustrious Gibbon
know little of them, but may fancy that they plundered in their youth,
and built churches in their old age."
66 we
says,
Force is not the argument likely to eradicate the notions attached
to a life such as the Cat'hi's, for not only is there no dishonour affixed
to these professional pursuits, amongst "the landed interest" of these
countries, but even their lords hold them not in less regard for their
past misdeeds, if they ultimately accomplish their conversion, rejoicing
more in the surrender of one such restless spirit, than in ninety and
nine quiet, regular, tax-paying subjects, who never dreamed of
"running the country."
GURRIAH.—NOVEMBER 24th.-Marched nearly seven miles over this
wild upland scenery, picturesque and interesting in the highest degree.
Small rivulets pour their pellucid waters from the dark clefts through
well-wooded glens, at every mile of our route, and meander over the
table-land, until they find their way to the Satrunja river. Hamlets are
seen amidst the dark foliage, at intervals, to shew that man is not
wanting in a scene which should be the very paradise of the riever,
who may enjoy his otium and opium under the umbrageous Burr and
Peepul, or superintend the labour of the Koombi serf, as he raises his
bread from the patches of cultivation, for where there is soil, it appears
as rich as that of the plains below. The summits of hills are seen in
the blue distance, and the majestic Girnar, instead of the regular cone
which he presented at Umrélie, here discloses five distinct peaks. The
approach to Gurriah is a good picture of a Cat'hi chieftain's abode;
the square black tower, built of blocks of freestone, with its loop-holes,
perched
2 s 2
Th
316
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
perched on a pointed rock, the hamlet creeping as it were around
and below it for protection, the whole embowered in a deep grove of
Burr trees, with a crystal stream flowing through it. As I reached this
retreat, I found the little camp pitched, and the domestics and
followers enjoying their repose after the fatigues of yesterday. To
complete the scene, old Jessa, his javelin in hand, and mounted on a
neighbour's horse, entered the grove, whence issued at full gallop on
a powerful mare, bare-backed, and with merely a rope in her mouth,
an athletic figure with a blanket thrown loosely over his shoulders. He
made a courteous salaam as he rushed by me at speed. On enquiring
of Jessa regarding this apparition, I learned that he was a Balla
Rajpoot, proprietor of an adjacent hamlet, in quest of a cow that had
strayed. The idea amused me, though it was not a novel exhibition,
for it accords with Rajpoot manners every-where. The hamlet over
which the Balla claimed sovereignty, contained three subjects, two
Kolis and a Koombi. He afterwards came to see us, along with the
Bhomia of Jhirrie, of the same tribe. On the faces and forms of both,
nature has set the seal of manhood; the one had a long beard, termi-
nating in two peaks; the other was a sturdy youth of twenty-two.
Jessajee seemed to know them well; and there is no lack of charity in
surmising that they had often, in company, "cried stand,' to many a
true man." Captain Macmurdo, in his acute observations on the
distinctions that characterize the various tribes of the peninsula, draws
a line between the Rajpoot and the Cat'hi, which in some situations
may be just, but in scenes such as these, when we find them associating
for the same lawless objects, it would be refining too much to seek for
distinct lineaments: in dress, manners, food, superstitions, and modes
thinking, they are one-a shade, a name only divides them.
TOOLSISHAM.-NOVEMBER 25th.-The conventional coss, or estimated
distances
6
THE GURRIAH AND THE RANLA.
317
distances in the highlands of Saurashtra, differ materially from the
continental, or gao coss; for instead of the ten or eleven miles, which
the seven coss from Gurriah would have given, we came full sixteen;
yet did we not weary, nor was it possible for any one, with pretensions
to taste, to think of self amidst scenes of such diversified beauty. The
first two miles were over a table-land, still somewhat ascending, but on
passing between two peaks, which stand as portals on either side, we
commenced our descent through upland wilds; nor can I better
describe the rest of the journey, than by saying that it was a succes-
sion of descents into distinct, well-wooded amphitheatres of limited
extent, bounded by irregular peaks of some elevation. From the plains
of Umrélie, the ascent to the table-land was gradual, and it is only
from the descent, which is abrupt and rapid, that one receives a just
idea of the elevation of the mountainous tract connecting the two
grand peaks of Satrunja and Girnar. The barometer marked a descent
of full five hundred feet in this day's march. The centre of elevation
was well marked after leaving Gurriah, by the course of all the streams
southward; hitherto they had flowed down the western declivity
towards Satrunja. These streams merit more notice in the geography
of Saurashtra, from their physical importance. The "black Gurriah”
sweeping on our left, through one continuous well-wooded dell, finely
contrasted with the milky Rânla, pursuing her course to the sea at
Oona, which we crossed and re-crossed four times. I apply this term
to the Rânla, because her calcareous bed is no sooner agitated, than
the limpid stream becomes of a milky whiteness, indicating that her
course is over a limestone formation. From some troopers who had
passed over the ground in our campaigns against the Cat'hi, I learned
the particular insalubrity of these waters. The plume-like tamarisk
(jhow)
318
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
(jhow) hung drooping over the stream in great abundance, and
amongst the numerous trees which covered the banks, I recognized
the ebony (taindoo), some of considerable size.
My guide through these intricate and interesting regions was
mounted on a noble mare, being, as I premised, no less a man than
the Cat'hi lord of Gurriah, who beguiled the way with local legends,
and never was there a spot better adapted to be the scene of spirit-
stirring tales. As we passed a cairn of loose stones, lying on the left of
our pathway, and near the river's edge, he very coolly said, "there fell
my brother, when the Babrias came to prosecute their feud, and his
death balanced an old account." As the old rover passed a log of wood
which lay across the path, his mare shyed, when he strapped her
unmercifully with a leathern thong. As soon as he had effected his
object, I observed, "I thought you Cat'his looked upon your mares as
your children, and always treated them kindly:" on which he replied,
that it was true, but that his mare knew as well as either he or I did,
that it was a log of wood; and then he began to expostulate with her
her folly, as if she had been endued with reason. His village of
Gurriah belongs to Joonagurh, yet the Guicowar has the chauth, or
fourth of his revenue, an abominable tax, and, until done away, the
Cat'his never can, and never should, be quiet.
upon
On nearer approach to the object of our pilgrimage, every foot of
the way was over classic ground. It was in this savage tract, emphati-
cally called Herimba Vana, or Wilderness of Herimba,' that the
Pandu exiles found shelter when banished from the fair banks of the
Yamuna, and although, on the lowest calculation, three thousand
years have elapsed since this event, such has been its importance and
influence on the universal Hindu mind, that tradition to this day has
consecrated
319
consecrated every spot where these penalties were mitigated, or their
sufferings enhanced. Within two miles of Toolsisham we came to one
of these hallowed scenes, the final resting-place of Koomti, the mother
of the Pandus, sanctified by an act of filial affection. Here, in their
wanderings to elude the spies of their enemies, the mother of the five
brothers was overcome with fatigue, and faint from thirst; but there
was no water to revive her, when Bheem, smiting the rock with his
mace, a spring of water gushed forth; but the pious act proved fatal,
for the vital spark and the thirst of Koomti were quenched together.
Here the last rites were performed, and a small shrine, which the
veneration of subsequent ages has continually renewed, was erected to
her memory. A pathway to the left of our route leads to the spot,
where the traveller will have pointed out to him the chasm in the
rock, whence flows a clear stream, in attestation of the truth of the
tradition. It has ever since been held insalubrious, and to this day the
howa-pani, air and water,' are under the ban.
6
There is another legend attached to the site, and perhaps the more
appropriate one. It is said to have been the theatre of combat between
Crishna and the Danoo, Toolasie, after whose defeat and death,
Crishna, being anxious to lustrate and refresh himself, his kinsman,
Baldeo, struck the rock with his ploughshare, when a stream issued
through the fissure. The cleft still retains the name of "the furrow of
Baldeo,” and on close inspection of the statue which the admirers of
filial piety had consecrated to the mother of the Pandus, I found it to
be a statue of the Indian Hercules, and, to prevent mistake, the name
Baladeva was carved upon the pedestal. They were all together, and
all were of the same kindred, of Heri-cula, or race of Heri,' an epithet
especially appropriated by Crishna.
LEGEND OF KOOMTI.
TOOLSISHAMA
&
1
F
T
320
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
TOOLSISHAMA is a very sanctified spot, and celebrated as the arena of
combat between Shama (an epithet synonimous with Crishna, and
denoting his 'black' complexion,) and Toola, the demon (dyte) of
Saurashtra, the terror of all the sacred classes, who, having obtained
the boon of invulnerability by any mortal weapon, set the gods them-
selves at defiance; but he was told to beware of the incarnation of
Crishna, which would be fatal to him. And the legend sayeth, that as
he lay expiring at the feet of his conqueror, he preferred this last
request, that his name might not perish with him; and hence the
conjoined names of the victor and vanquished, Tooli-shama, designate
the scene of combat. The abode of this Titan is a wild dell, completely
enclosed by hills, and may not unaptly be compared to a large bowl,
having its sides covered with wood, and at its base a Seeta-coonda, or
hot-well, the grand object of curiosity. A reservoir has been con-
structed to retain the waters, which are deemed efficacious in certain
complaints. It is eighty feet in length by forty-five in breadth at top,
with a flight of steps, which diminishes its base to fifty-five by twenty.
I was tempted to bathe in it. The temperature of the water was 21°
above that of the external air, and it was disagreeably hot. At this
hour, within the tent, the thermometer was 86°, and only 89° outside.
After some minutes' immersion in the coond, it rose to 110°; but when
taken out, it fell almost instantaneously to 76°, and as rapidly
recovered the external temperature of 89°.
There is a small and rude temple, dedicated to the black deity,
whose image decorates the interior, and presides over these sanatory
There are also shrines to the warlike divinities, Siva and
Bhiroo, at the entrance of the enclosure. If we accept the local tradi-
tion for the origin of the hot spring, it would appear that it did not
waters.
exist
MOUNTAIN SCENERY.
321
exist in the life-time of the giant Toola. Shama, hungry and fatigued
after his battle, was awaiting with some impatience the culinary opera-
tions of his favourite wife, Rookmani, who with her own fair hands
was preparing a mess of rice. But hunger getting the better of temper,
he used some phrase which she resented, and overturning the boiling
rice, she ran up the hill, leaving her hungry and sulky spouse to "chew
the cud of sweet and bitter fancy." As the Gods of Hind, like those of
Greece, never get into "hot water" without some consequences
resulting from it, the rice-water then spilt became a perennial stream,
bestowing sanctity and sanity on all who used it. In proof of the
tradition, they appeal to Rookmani, whose enshrined image still looks
down upon the Seeta-coonda.
It is a wild sequestered spot, but too confined for a large party, and
here, within our bowl, horse, foot, and carts were crowded, creating a
din most unsuited to such a solitude. An outlet from the coond allows
the superfluous water to drain off, and this is the origin of a small stream,
bordered by date and other trees, which meanders through abrupt and
broken ridges, presenting some pretensions to the picturesque.
DOHUN. NOVEMBER 26th.-For fifteen miles, we pursued our route
over execrable roads, if so they may be called, which roads were none,
with all the ruggedness, and none of the beauties, of the scenery in the
ascent. Like most mountainous regions, one rejoices in having seen it;
but, romantic as it is, one has no desire to repeat the visit. The
geography of all this tract is very incorrectly delineated in our maps,
and the political divisions and potamology are peculiarly defective;
but it is easier to point out errors than to correct them, and my health
would not admit of the labour of surveying. Of this I have had enough
in my day, but, had I health, I know of no pursuit that would yield
1
Segund
2 T
me
322
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
me higher gratification than to lay down minutely the natural and
political features of this interesting region. At the village of Heteeah,
within two miles of Dohun, we cleared the hills. Heteeah is placed
between two lovely streams, broad and well-wooded, both of which we
crossed; one was the Machandri, on whose clear surface the feathery
tamarisk and a species of willow were reflected in great abundance,
while it was sufficiently expansive to yield an extensive view of its
waters. The water of the Dohun river is esteemed particularly insalu-
brious, producing dropsy at some seasons to such a degree, that the
village belonging to a Koli chief, with several others (depending on
Joonagurh), is entirely depopulated by death and desertion. We are
here six miles distant from Oona, on the sea-coast.
Kowrewar.—NOVEMBER 27th.-The ten coss of this march proved
to be twenty-one miles. What a delightful change to the pastoral
district of Nosgair, over whose verdant surface we moved to-day, from
the sterile, unwholesome, and mountainous Babriawar, through which
we passed from Toolsisham! The first four miles were over an indif-
ferent road, strewed with loose fragments of a pale cellular, or rather
vermicular sand-stone, of a very close grain, and containing minute
particles of quartz. Wherever the ground was uncovered, the forma-
tion appeared of this same substance, presenting wavy lines, as if
ploughed through by myriads of serpents. Shortly after entering these
pastoral plains, we crossed the Roopni, or 'mirror-like' stream, whose
clear and deep waters were confined in a narrow bed, with well-wooded
banks. Soon after, we passed over the Sangavari, and another Machan-
dri, near Goreedur. Here is fine exercise for the pencil; the village,
surmounted by its castle and quadrangular towers, black with age,
seated upon a rock, and overlooking a noble expanse of hill and dale.
On
1
C
323
On one side, the five peaks of Girnar; on the other, the towns upon the
sea-coast, whose rocky bound is elevated so as to exclude a view of the
ocean. About midway in our journey, we rested between the villages
of Jamunwarra and Bheâl, amongst the ruins of a fine old temple,
dedicated to Byjnath Mahadeo, placed in a very secluded spot, on the
left bank of a small stream. The portico yet stands, and the sanctum,
in which is the symbol of the god, is in tolerable preservation; but the
munduff, or body of the shrine, is a mass of ruins. There was a
ministrant in character with the place, a poor, cadaverous and leprous
Jogi, who was drying in the sun the produce of a patch of tobacco.
My Rebarri guide threw himself in great fervour before the emblem,
and muttered a prayer, most probably a selfish orison, that his cows
might yield copious streams of milk. This is called the Ad-Poshkur, or
original' Poshkur, and I learned to-day that there were no less than
twelve teeruts bearing this appellation.
After twenty-two years' residence in India, I may say that this is the
only region of unmixed pastoral character, except Heriana, that I have
yet seen, and with pleasure I observed that its occupants partook of
the simplicity we attach to this state of existence. The herdsmen,
dwelling in these rich and extensive plains, are called Rebarris, by
which, in Northern India, we generally understand the rearers of, or
attendants on, camels. Here the term is restricted to their avocation of
graziers, and they form a numerous community, I might even say
tribe, for as such they are classed by some of the genealogists, who
likewise state that Hoons, or Huns, are intermingled with them. The
herds of cattle we saw luxuriating in these fine pastures are not
surpassed in shape, beauty, or strength, by any in India, not even in
Heriana, where, in the farm of Colonel Skinner, I have seen such
2T 2
pictures
|
REBARRIS.
|
1
1
जु कुম
324
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Na pa
pictures of the bovine race, as even from an inexperienced eye
claimed all the admiration usually reserved for the nobler horse; and,
in fact, their heads had all the symmetry of the Arabian, while the
eye (which, even in India, where they are worshipped, is the synonym
for stupidity) was full of intelligence, and their limbs were fine and
well-formed. Their comparative value may be known by the prices
they fetch. Cows sell from ten to fifteen dollars each, and a pair of
four-year old (grass four-year) oxen average forty dollars, the currency
in which the Rebarris treat for them. As I mentioned the honest
simplicity of this race, I may give the instances on which I founded
my judgment. My guide, himself a grazier, civil, obliging, and intelli-
gent, refused the silver I offered him, when, having accompanied me
fourteen miles, and being in sight of a village, I wished him to return
to his own. He even excused himself for doing so, saying that he
would most willingly have gone all the way with me, but a favourite
buffalo-cow would permit none but himself to milk her; but, added he,
pointing to a hut at the village we approached, "you will find my
sister's son there, and have only to call him out ;" and having made
his farewell salaam, and a few steps homewards, he again turned about
and begged I would not forget him. I promised I would not, and now
have redeemed my promise to the honest peasant of Babriawar.
Another I saw, who divided his cake with his comrade, and importuned
him to take it all. These facts, and the contented physiognomy (I
have always been a disciple of Lavater) of the inhabitants of these
plains, have made me jump to the conclusion, that their manners are
in accordance with their pursuits. I hallooed to the "sister's son" of
my guide, who answered to the call, and came forth from the hamlet
of Meeteah; but Kowrewar, the end of our journey, being in sight, I
let
TEMPLE OF RINCHOR.
325
let him
go back to his work, and proceeded, leaving the
square towers,
with the memorial Pallias, on my right. These towers, placed so as to
protect the whole village, have become an important feature in the
scenery of this region. They are generally two stories high, or at least
have two tiers of loop-holes for matchlocks. Some have flat roofs of
clay, while others are unwisely of thatch, which, if fired, would
presently unkennel the defenders.
About a mile before Kowrewar, we crossed the finest stream I have
yet seen in Saurashtra, called the Singora (and also Nekoomati),
pouring its transparent waters in beautiful rapids over a pebbly bed,
the banks studded with noble clumps, or rather groves, of the sacred
Burr tree. I dismounted, and walked along the margin to our tents,
behind which rose the castle of Kowrewar, and a temple of Rinchor
is placed upon the stream, which has its source in the chain of hills
called Chirchae, and flows past the shrine of Roodra Mahadeo, six coss
to the north, falling into the sea at the holy mount, Mool-dwarica,
which it helps to insulate at high water.
This is all sacred ground to the Hindu, but more especially to the
votary of Vishnu, who claims this mount as the primeval (mool)
dwara, or portal of the divinity, long anterior to the incarnation of
Kanya, whose statue, bearing the ignominious epithet of Rinchor, or
'deserter from the field of battle,' is here worshipped. It was originally
enshrined in the island of Bote, at the mouth of the Gulf of Cutch,
whence it was removed 1,400 years ago, and being reputed the "Real
Rinchor," the Brahmins have made a good thing of it. He is indebted
for a new shrine to the piety of the Déwan, or Premier, of the
Guicowar, who has also enshrined here a very ancient symbol of Som-
nath. A great multitude congregates in the Aka-teej, on the third of
the
,
326
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
the month Bysak, to worship both divinities. About twelve coss from
this is another place of sanctity, called Gaopati Prag, where a small
stream, which bubbles up from a fountain, is dignified by the name of
Ganga, or the stream,' and here is a temple of Sanyasis, or recluses,
who find a livelihood in the faith of the pilgrims who come to purify
in its water. Kowrewar has political as well as religious importance,
being the head of a Chourassi, or district of eighty-four townships.
SOODRAPARA. NOVEMBER 28th.-Sixteen miles over a very good
road and interesting country, while the change from the miserable
jhopras, or huts of the upland we have just quitted, to the comfortable
habitations of the peasantry in the plains of Kowrewar, is very conspi-
cuous; for however delightful it may be to have a gossip with Nature in
her russet garb, amidst the tangled thickets, wild rocks, and ever-
flowing streams of the highlands of Saurashtra, it is no less pleasant to
alternate, and contrast this scene with more of man and civilization.
The mind becomes tired of beholding him always in a pugnacious or
predatory attitude, and although on our entrance into the plains we
saw that the ploughshare had banished the sword, still there was
enough of military habits to prevent tameness. The quadrangular
tower frowned black defiance over every township of any consequence,
and though now untenanted, the reliques of the Mooslem, in mosques
and graves, evinced the struggles made against his dominion. We
passed several such villages, as Singur, Lodwa, Puchnowra, and
Soodrapara itself, whose castle, near the sea-beach, built of masses of
hewn stone, is very respectable. The inhabitants were chiefly of the
Aheer, Gohil, and Kairea tribes, the first being entirely pastoral; the
last, though Rajpoot, as the name implies, now husbandmen by profes-
sion, and assuredly the cultivation was excellent.
Between
TEMPLES.
327
Between the town and beach of Soodrapara there is a singularly-
fashioned temple, dedicated to the sun, in which is a personification of
Surya, the divinity once presiding over this fair land, but shorn of his
beams, and otherwise so metamorphosed, that it can scarcely come
within the meaning of the second article of the Decalogue. As every
divinity in the Hindu, as in the Grecian Pantheon, must have a
partner of his toils, the pootli, or image of Rinadevi, is placed near her
lord. Wherever there is a temple to Surya, there is also a coonda, or
fountain of the sun, and this has an inscription, but it only tells of the
repairs of the temple four hundred years ago. Near it is a temple to
No-Doorga, or the nine Cybeles,' of whom there are nine small
statues; and a short distance east of the temple is another fountain,
dedicated to a Roosi, or sage of ancient days, called Chowun.
'
About seven miles to the north is a place called Prachie, which,
being the source of the Sirsooti river, is held in high veneration, and
attracts crowds of pilgrims. On its bank there is a statue dedicated to
Madhu-Rae (the 'Intoxicator'), one of the roopas, or forms, of the
Indian Apollo, regarding which it is related, that although the stream
frequently overflows its banks, to the total submersion of the god, he
nevertheless keeps stedfast to his ground. At the same place there is
a small shrine to Looteswar, the god of plunder, especially worshipped
in these parts. He was called a form of Siva, but I should think more
fitly of Budha, or Mercury, who receives great homage, as will be
seen by-and-bye, in quality of protector of the pirates, who have
infested this coast from the earliest times. Mélas, or assemblages for
prayer and traffic, which always go together in these regions, are
frequently held at Prachie, and are attended by Brahmins and Banias
from the adjacent towns, as well as by numbers of the ' 'Independents'
from the wild tracts we have quitted.
י
328
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
CHAPTER XVI.
Puttun Somnat❜h, or Deva Puttun.-Its celebrity.-Temple of the Sun.-Shrine of Sid-Eswar.-
Legend of Kanya.-Place of his death.-Temple of Bheemnat'h.-The Koteswara.-Sculptured
cross in a shrine of Mahadeo.-Description of the ancient city.-Original architecture.-Pointed
arch.-Temple of Somnath described.-Beauty of its site.-Name of Mahmoud, its destroyer,
unknown in the city.-MS." Story of the Fall of Puttun."-Traces of a destruction anterior to
Mahmoud's.-Two new eras.-The modern city.
6
6
PUTTUN-SOMNAT'H.-NOVEMBER 29th.—At length, I obtained a view
of this, perhaps the most renowned of all the shrines of India, ‘the
city' par éminence, more reverentially styled Deva-Puttun, the city of
the god,' or still more accurately, Deva-Pat'han, the chief dwelling of
the deity.' The distance from our last ground was seven miles, over a
low flat tract, the soil good and well-cultivated. As we approached,
we crossed the Triveni, or three united streams, viz. the Vrijini, the
Sarasvati (a name of the Hindu Minerva), and the Hiranya, or
'golden.' The first, flowing through a morass, has little to recommend
it; but the others are fine and clear. On crossing the last, the
unpinnacled temple of the sun, and the dusky embattled towers of the
city, seen amidst the green foliage, carry the mind's eye through the
vista of eight centuries, to conquest and Mahmoud. What a host of
associations arose to one who had indulged the hope of making a
pilgrimage to this the most celebrated shrine connected with Hindu
and Mooslem history! Pressing on to the goal, I passed, with mingled
prejudice and contempt, the place of sepulture of the Mooslem saint,
Abbi-Sah, nor halted for breath, until within the "temple of the sun,"
deserted, desecrated, a receptacle for kine, the pinnacle, to its spring
from
TEMPLE OF THE SUN.
329
from the cella, demolished, and the fragments strewing the ground.
There is nothing of immensity, though there is great solidity, in the
structure, which is of the order of sacred architecture called Sikra-bund,
or 'pinnacled,' and with all the details of decoration laid down in the
Silpi-sastra. The figures are bold in design, the attitudes of some
striking, but the material, a coarse gritty sand-stone, does not give
great scope or facility to the chisel; yet, as a whole, the edifice is
imposing. The jambs and lintel of the entrance-door are of a well-
polished yellow-coloured mineral, apparently jasper, though it may be
that species of marble akin to the jaune antique. The munduff, or
central dome, is not above sixteen feet in diameter, supported by strong,
slightly ornamented columns, having a portico all round, terminated
by square pilasters abutting from the external wall. Beyond the
munduff, there is a domed vestibule, with pillars and pilasters, leading
to the sanctum, where a globular patch of red paint, placed by the cow-
herds, is now the only symbol of the sun-god. The sovereigns of Nehr-
walla had repaired the injuries done by Mahmoud ; but the spire, again
thrown down by the sanguinary Alla, has never been re-erected.
North of the temple is the Surya-coonda, excavated from the solid
rock. The descent to it is by a steep flight of narrow steps. The water
is said to cure the diseases of both body and mind, the term of ablu-
tion and probation being one solar revolution, during which, not only
faith, but good works must be manifested, in order to make the remedy
efficacious. Those who are not in a state of grace, we were gravely 、
told, are detected "by having all the silver they carry with them
turned into copper." Hence, it may be inferred, first, that the truly
faithful part with all their silver to the priests of Surya ere they taste
the waters; and secondly, that the others, who keep their cash about
their
2 U
1
1
S
}
▸
330
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
=
their persons, are made to believe that it is transmuted by their sins,
instead of by the sulphureous agency of the water.
6
From the shrine of the god of light, I descended to that of Sid-
eswar, the god of the monastic orders, obscurely buried in an excava-
tion of the rock, dismal and damp, the low roof supported by a few
crumbling columns. One might fancy this the cave of Delphos, though
the perceptions of our blind oracle proved far more acute than those of
most of his brethren. However rudely executed, all was strictly
characteristic of " hell's dark abode." Besides statues of Hinglaz Mata,
and Patal-eswar, lord of the infernal regions,' there were nine small
figures in high relief, carved on the frieze of a miniature shrine, said by
the blind minister to be "the images of those who rule the destiny of
man." There was a small square court in front of the cave, whose walls
have been repaired or constructed out of the ruins of other temples,
having fragments of the gods in every attitude. It is shaded by some
fine Burr trees, which are sacred to Siva. Although there is nothing
attractive here, yet whoever is conversant with mythology will be
struck, not only by the classical nature of the cave-temple, but by the
perfect contrast it exhibits between the powers of light and darkness,
in juxtaposition, and the rapid transition of the votary from the one to
the other.
From this cave I proceeded to a spot, deemed by the Hindu the
holiest of the holy, where the shepherd-god resigned his breath. We
have elsewhere fully entered into the history of this prince of Yadu
race, who during his lifetime was deified, and invested with the
honours of Vishnu, under the title of Crishna, or Shama (denoting his
dark complexion), but more familiarly known as Kanya. In the civil
wars of his kinsmen, the Cúrús and Pandus, he sided with the latter,
and
LEGEND OF KANYA.
331
6
6
and shared their exile. He had then thrown aside his Apollonic
character of Múrali, when, by the sounds of his pipe (múrali), he
captivated the shepherdesses as he attended the kine in the pastoral
Surasén, and had assumed that of Chacradhari, or wielder of the
discus,'* the most ancient of this Indo-Getic race. But although on
this occasion he entered the region of the Sauras as a conqueror, this
character was not always preserved; for he had before been compelled
to seek shelter there on his flight from the king of Chedi, which
obtained him the unenviable epithet of Rinchor,' already explained.
But whatever name he assumed, he gained fresh votaries, and like
those who, with Falstaff, think that "the better part of valour is discre-
tion,” the Hindu appears to consider Rinchor a complimentary title,
as under this designation they worship him in crowds.† But, I
repeat, he now visited the land in company with a few of his kinsmen,
the remnant of that tremendous civil conflict which desolated India, to
pass
the remainder of their days in this insulated nook, the Land's-end
of the Hindu, in sorrow and repentance for the blood their ambition
had shed, though in defence of their rights. Thus, wandering from one
teerut, or place of pilgrimage, to another, he, with his friends, Arjuna,
Yudishtra (the abdicated paramount sovereign of India), and Baldeo,
approached the sacred soil around the shrine of Somnat'h. Having
performed his ablutions in the holy Triveni, Kanya took shelter from
the noon-tide heat under an umbrageous Peepul, and while he slept,
a forester Bhil (says the legend), mistaking the padma, or lotus-like
mark on the sole of his feet, for the eyes of a deer, sped an arrow to
the mark. When his kinsmen returned, they found that life was
extinct.
* The Sikhs are the only people in India who now make use of this weapon.
+ We must except the majority of the Rajpoots from the number of these votaries.
2 U 2
332
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
6
extinct. For a long time, Baldeo would not part from the corpse, but
at length they gave it sepulture at the point of junction of the three
streams. A Peepul sapling, averred to be "a scion of the original
tree," marks the spot where the Hindu Apollo expired, and a flight of
steps conducts to the bed of the 'golden' Hiranya, for the pilgrim to
lustrate himself. This place of purification bears the name of Swerga-
dwara, or 'door of bliss,' and contends with that of Deva-puttun for
superior efficacy in absolving from sin. It is adorned by two beautiful
reservoirs, called the Bhalca and Padma-coondas, the dart and lotus
fountains.' The former is a dodecahedron, whose diameter is about
three hundred feet. The lotus-coond is smaller, having its surface
covered with this elegant flower, sacred to Kanya, and whence his most
euphonous appellation, Comala, is derived; while on its eastern bank
there is a small shrine to Mahadeo. These fountains are peculiarly
sacred in the eyes of the followers of the shepherd-god, and were so in
Akber's time; for Abulfazil devotes some space to the holy pilgrimages
of Peepulsirr and Bhalcateerut (bhal, a dart'). Mooslem intolerance
is strikingly obvious in the erection of a place of prayer touching the
consecrated Peepul, and although the government of these regions has
now long been under Hindu princes of strong religious zeal, the
offensive Musjid remains undisturbed, furnishing a powerful contrast
between the amiable endurance of the one, and the bigotry of the
other faith.
6
From this I bent my steps a little farther up the Hiranya, to a
temple in honour of Bheemnat'h, an epithet of Siva. The sikra, or
distinguishing order, is of the kind called Derah, or tent-fashioned, its
roof being the frustrum of a pyramid, perhaps the most ancient form
of temple dedicated to the Destroyer. I should, however, rather speak
of
TEMPLE OF PAP-ESWARA.
333
of what it has been, than what it is, for a wide-spreading Burr tree has
contrived to take root therein, thrusting its branches through the roof,
and this will in time destroy the whole, and leave the vault of heaven
for its sole canopy. Nor dare the votary touch the tree, it being
equally sacred with the temple to all-destroying Time; so it is not
without meaning that Siva has adopted the Burr amongst his many
devices. I put the question to the officiating priest, arguing, that if he
did not destroy the tree, it would ruin the temple, and of two evils
why not choose the least? He acknowledged the truth of this,
observing, in his metaphorical language, that he "was between a well
and a fountain,” i. e. the horns of a dilemma.
Near this shrine is a multiform symbol of Mahadeva, called Kotes-
wara, meaning 'with a million of lingams.' It is a huge cylinder of red
freestone, covered with miniature lingams. It had stood in a temple,
of which there is not a vestige left, dedicated to Pap-eswara, or Sin
personified. This was the first time I ever heard this member of the
boundless Pantheon mentioned. The fair Rookmani, the favourite
wife of Kanya, is said not only to have been the high priestess of this
temple, but to have erected it. If this be true, it is another proof that
Crishna, before his exaltation amongst the gods of Hind, and the
enrolment of his followers into a sect, adored the impure orgies of
Siva, as well as made homage to Buddha, the protector at once of
thieves and learning. The Mooslems appear to have taken especial
pains to fulfil the sentence of their law upon this temple of sin, for
they have actually not left one stone standing upon another; but why
they permitted the emblem itself to escape destruction, I could not learn.
The whole story, however, is allegorical, and a very curious allegory it
is; and though, like many others, at the first aspect it appears too
puerile
334
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
puerile for notice, it supplies food for reflection. But although the root
of sin is justly fixed in hell, we cannot see the propriety of making the
fair Rookmani, the partner of the deified Yadu (whom they clothe in
the varied garb of Apollo, Phoebus, Mercury), the ministrant. Just
across the Hiranya is the site of another temple to that orb, "the eye
and soul of this great universe," proving the combination of the
mythological analogies.
Hence I passed to the Sungum, or point of junction of the two
smaller streams with the Hiranya, and to the embouchure of their con-
fluent waters with Samudra, or the ocean, where there are a few small
mindras and dhermsalas, shrines and resting-places for the devotee,
for whom alone they have any attraction, though we may well conceive
the exaltation of feeling in the pilgrim from the continent, who for the
first time sees the expansive surge driving back into their confined bed
the united Triveni. Having seen these, the accessories, and but the
accessories, to the grand object of my pilgrimage, and having, with all
the fervour of the most ardent worshipper, made my salutation to
Samudra, who was connected with all my earliest associations, to
whose mighty voice I had been a stranger for twenty long years, and
on whose waters I was soon once more to trust myself, I turned my
steps to the shrine of Somnat'h. Midway between the temple of Surya
and the portal of the city of Bal, I passed a shrine of Damoodra
Mahadeo, which had been thoroughly renovated by Vitul Rao, the
Dewan of the Guicowar, whose munificent piety and works of real
utility have done honour to himself and his government, and what is
very uncommon (not alone in India), the repairs, internal and
external, are in unison with the original design. Although worth
seeing, it merits no laboured description. I must remark, however,
that
WALLS OF DEVA-PUTTUN.
335
that an external canopied niche, where heretofore stood a statue of
Sookha Mata, an impersonation of Famine, is now occupied by a
large slab bearing a St. Andrew's cross. I never heard of the peregrina-
tions of Scotland's Peer' so far east, and am probably not wrong in
attributing this to the Portuguese, who once possessed all this coast,
and proved greater foes than Mahmoud himself to the ancient
glories of Saurashtra. Crosses, however, of many kinds, are not
uncommon emblems with the Hindus, especially the Jains, on whose
coins and structures I have met with the Crux ansata of the Egyptians,
another added to the many curious resemblances between their
respective objects of worship.
6
I entered Deva-puttun by the Suryapol, or portal of the sun.' The
walls which environ the city are, in character and material, worthy of
the object for which they were raised. They are composed of large
square blocks of freestone from the adjacent quarries, and imbibing the
moisture of a saline atmosphere, they have acquired a tinge which
increases the sable hue of antiquity, while the square towers, con-
structed with a bold external slope, or talus, only to be met with in
the remains of ancient days, lend an air of beauty and strength. The
vallation is estimated at three quarters of a coss, but I incline to think
it not less than a mile and three quarters. The western face, which is
the shortest, is about five hundred yards, running nearly north and
south; the southern, or sea-face, not a straight line, but, for the last
two hundred yards, bending to the north-east, is in all about seven
hundred yards, and the eastern about eight hundred.* The height of
the walls varies from twenty-five to thirty-five feet, and they are about
sixteen
6
* By some mischance, I found no computation for the fourth, or north side, in my journal, but
we may suppose it full six hundred.
336
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
sixteen thick at the base. A ditch, twenty-five feet broad, and about
the same in depth (faced with masonry, and, like the walls, having a
regular talus, or slope), which could be rendered wet or dry at
pleasure, with an excellent fausse-braye, surrounds the whole. I
did not count the towers, but they are sufficiently numerous to
command and defend the curtains, and are pentagonal at the corners
(at least at the S.E. angle), with the salient angle towards the country.
Who was the Vauban to the kings of Nehrwalla, history deigns not to
inform us. If these are not the individual ramparts and towers to
which the ladders of Islam were applied, they must have risen from
their ruins, the site and shape being similar. They are, however, only
the defences of Somnath, not the circumvallation of the mortal
dwellings of Deva-puttun, being far too circumscribed to contain either
its wealth or population, the limits of which are pointed out at the
distance of a mile. It does not, indeed, necessarily follow that the city
was walled in. An important inscription (No. V.), found in the temple
of Bhadri-Koli, sets this point at rest, and shews that whatever portion
of the ancient barriers of Somnat'h escaped the pioneers of Mahmoud,
the whole was rebuilt exactly two centuries after him by Komár-pál,
king of Nehrwalla, and paramount sovereign of Saurashtra. The
entrance to the city on the east side has, besides the external gateway,
an internal court of defence, having another portal of noble dimensions,
with the pointed arch, whose ribs spring from, and are supported on
each side by, four richly-ornamented flat pilasters. The capitals of
these represent a marine monster, from whose expanded jaws the arch
springs, while into his mouth a human being is represented, in various
attitudes, as entering unwillingly, and in others he is making his exit
by the monster's throat, which he pierces with a javelin. There is a
unity
337
unity of design, proportion, and execution, in the whole, that would at
once justify our deciding it to be Hindu. The mythological device and
application are entirely so, for the torun, or inverted arch, in all ancient
temples, Jain or Sivite, is represented springing from the jaws of this
same marine monster. I have thus found it in the Sivite temples of
Barolli on the Chumbul, and in the Jain temples of Aboo. The very
utmost I would concede is, that if an Islamite architect gave the
design of this arch, it was erected by a Rajpoot prince, i. e. Komár-pál
and his architects.* As to the pilasters, they are beyond suspicion
Hindu, and the superstructure being in perfect harmony therewith, we
are almost within proof of the origin of the pointed arch. Its height is
thirty feet, and the breadth proportional. At this gateway, I found
the inscription (App. No. VI.) recording the good works of a fair
votary, named Yamuni, daughter of a prince of Yadu race.
The main entrance, however, is on the north face, near its centre,
and is at once the strongest and most modern, if we can apply this
term to what is rebuilt from the débris of ancient temples. It is a
tripolia, or triple portal, formed by a sort of double court. The first
gate faces the north; the second is at right angles with the first, or to
the east, and the third, in like manner, is at right angles with the last ;
on escaping from which, the grand temple appears in full view. The
height of this fortified portal is full sixty feet. It is a noble place of
arms, well calculated for resistance, and bears internal evidence that at
this point was the main attack of the warriors of the Faith. A circular
watch-tower, solid and symmetrical, surmounts the second gate,
increasing its resemblance to the castellated style of the Normans, and
rendering the whole an admirable subject for the pencil. There is
much
ORIGIN OF THE POINTED ARCH.
* Vide Inscription.
1
2 x
338
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
}
much of sculptured ornament, the most pleasing portion of which is on
the first gate, representing that favourite device in Sivite temples, man
engaged in contest with the lion, on whose back he is seated, and
while the animal's head is strained to seize, he plunges his javelin down
its throat, probably allegorical of the force of reason and dexterity,
over mere brute courage and strength.
Behold me in the vestibule of Somnat'h, the far-famed shrine of
idolatry which lured "the star of Islam" from its orbit amidst the
Paropamisan and Caucasus, to the sandy shores of the Indian ocean
within the torrid zone; and though now but the shell of what it was,
though denuded of its sikra (pinnacle), whose fragments strew the
ground, divested of its majestic superstructure, and but the trunk of a
once perfect form, yet from its wrecks we may judge of its pristine
character. That so much has been spared, we owe to that excess of
zeal, which made conquest incomplete without conversion; which
transformed the mindra into the mosque, and the altar of the sun-god
into a pulpit for the Moollah, whence, while yet reeking with blood,
the song of victory resounded amid shouts of "La Illah, Mahomed
Rusool Illahi," There is but one God, and Mahomed is his prophet.'
But without is another symbol of conversion, the pinnacled minarets
at the entrance of the temple, the handiwork of the Mooslem artificer,
whence the Muezzin of Mahmoud called aloud on the soldiers of the
Faith to give glory to God and his prophet, for the victory obtained
over the infidel. Could we be assured that any spark of genuine taste
and liberal feeling induced him to spare even this mutilated remnant
of the days of old, we might try to veil the barbarities inflicted in the
name of religion, under the spirit of chivalry which braved the
varied perils encountered in her cause; for this, the twelfth expedi-
tion
TEMPLE OF SOMNAT'H.
tion of Mahmoud, must be ranked amongst the hardiest enter-
prizes which frenzied ambition, under the cloak of sanctity, ever
undertook.
339
The construction of this temple differs not from that of Lakha Rana
in Cheetore, (the sculpture the same, though far less ornate,) and
other ancient temples to Siva in the remoter parts of India, which
escaped the Islamites' domination. The ichnographic section* will give
the best idea of the plan, while the picture will represent far better
than the pen, the dimmed glories of him "who rules the moon
(Soma). It is divided into four portions: the external vestibule; the
munduff, or body; and an inner vestibule, leading to the sanctum.
Colonnaded aisles surround the whole. The outer circumference is
336 feet, its length 117, and the extreme breadth seventy-four feet.
Those who have formed their ideas of magnitude from St. Peter's or
St. Paul's, the Cathedral of York or the Duomo of Milan, must
remember that the idolaters of Asia did not worship in crowds, and
should, moreover, call to mind the simple majesty of the Pantheon, to
correct their standard of grandeur, which does not depend upon mere
bulk. But we would recal another temple, familiar with our earliest
impressions, and forming a far better object of analogy, being of the
same antiquity, and taken perhaps from similar models, that of Sion,
which, in length, was exactly that of Somnat'h, while the latter
surpasses the temple of the "wise king" in breadth and height;
and yet
in those days, and in those countries, says the Jewish historian, "
such had ere been built." Nor should we exaggerate its claims to
antiquity by assigning an earlier date to the temple of Balnath, in this
Syria of India, than either to that on Gerazim or Balbec in the wilder-
none
ness,
See the end of the Chapter, p. 354.
99
2 x 2
340
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
!
:
"
1
F
:
ness,
"when the children of Israel served Baalim and Ashtaroth, the
gods of Syria, and the gods of the children of Ammon.'
We should think little of a cathedral in Europe no larger than that
of Somnat❜h; but its cyclopean solidity, as if constructed in defiance of
time and human malevolence, impresses the mind with a juster idea
of grandeur. What then must it have been when its spire was the
beacon of the mariner; when its colonnaded aisles were entire; before
the vaulted roof of the portico was destroyed, and more than all, when
its grand accessory, the munduff of Nanda, a temple in itself, with its
columned dome, under which, and facing the emblem of Bal, knelt the
brazen bull (the other chief type of the sun-divinity), was perfect. Let
us, however, return to details; and first as to externals: the beet'h, or
stylobate, is divided into bands or compartments, each of which takes
its name from the character of the sculpture thereon. Immediately
above the inferior beading, the first compartment is filled with heads
of the gras, the griffin of Hindu mythics. A small cincture divides
this from the next hood-fillet, or band, called the guj-tur'h, or elephant
range, containing busts of this noble animal. Above this is the aswa
tur'h, filled with horses in various attitudes, over which is a still broader
fillet, with groups of Bacchanals (peculiar to the shrines of Iswara), in
different positions, and bearing various instruments and emblematic
devices. The sculptured figures above the plinth are of much larger
size and in groups, but all so mutilated, that it would be impossible to
describe them. A few fragments, at one place, discover the heavenly
nymphs in the Ras-mandola, that mystic dance, typical of the harmo-
nious movement of the spheres, and although the hammer of the
Mooslem has deprived them of heads, arms, and legs, some of the
trunks shew superior execution.
.
,,
The
TEMPLE OF SOMNAT'H.
341
The dome of the central munduff is complete, but unfortunately too
little in unison with the original design to sanction a belief that it is
Hindu. The span of the arch is thirty-two feet, and as it is the section
of an oblate spheroid, the height is greater than the radius, being, from
the ground to the spring of the arch, about thirty feet.* The dome
rests upon eight columns, (so placed as to form an octagon) whose
capitals are connected by immensely ponderous architraves, of a marine
conglomerate, of varied exuviæ, small pebbles, siliceous sand, and
cement of shell-lime; its specific gravity is great, its texture remark-
ably close, and when struck, it is sonorous as metal. The position of
these columns, and their architraves, forming an octagonal basis for a
hemispherical superstructure, attest the Hindu design of an arch on
the principle of horizontal pressure; but the present arch is on the
more scientific or radiating principle, and moreover of brick, which
compels us to come to the conclusion that, whether the work of Hindu
or Toork, it was not a part of the original edifice. There is yet
another strong proof to the same effect, and favouring the supposition
that it was the work of the Mooslem. The intercolumniations,
excepting at that face leading through the vestibule to the sanctum,
are built up and arched, the arches being alternately pointed, or
slightly elliptical. A spacious vaulted and colonnaded vestibule inter-
vened between the main body just described, and the sanctum, which is
now choked up with rubbish, precluding entrance. This devastation is
of recent origin, and attributed to the reverberation of cannon, placed
upon the roof of the temple to keep off French privateers, which
frequented the coast during the war. I, however, made my way to the
cella,
gad
* There is a little obscurity in my journal on this point. I give the extract verbatim: «the span
of the arch is thirty-two feet, its height nearly the same, and from the ground to the spring of the
arch, thirty feet." I suppose I have put inadvertently the spring for the vertex.
342
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
1
cella, a plain dark chamber, twenty-three feet by twenty, having a
small internal gallery to communicate with its aisle, probably for the
priests of Bal to propound his oracles, through their brethren, to the
votaries in the munduff. The spot where stood the symbolic lingam is
deserted, and in the western wall, facing the holy city of Mecca, is
excavated a pulpit for the Moollah. There is a range of massive
columns between the main compartments of the temple and its
external wall, from which project pilasters, flat or semicircular, on
which rest the beams of the roof. The material is sandstone, of a very
compact texture, from the Joonagurh hills, fashioned into immense
square or oblong blocks, cemented with that calcareous concrete called
conker, dug from the pits around Puttun.
But the temple of the Bal of the Sauras was only primus inter pares,
superior to, yet deriving a great portion of its majesty from, the shrines
of the Dii minores surrounding it; in this also resembling the temple
of Solomon, which, as the annotators tell us, "was but a small edifice,
though the many courts and offices about it made the whole a vast
pile." The temple of Somnat'h stood in the centre of an immense
quadrangular court, defended by its own lofty battlements. The subor-
dinate shrines, which, like satellites, heightened the splendour of the
Lord of the Moon,' are now levelled with the earth, and mosques,
walls, and the habitations of mortals, have been raised from their
débris. The extent of the court may be estimated by the simple fact,
that the nearest of the reservoirs for the lustrations of Bal and his
priests is full one hundred yards distant from the shrine. The great
mosque, called the Joomma Musjid, must have absorbed the materials
of at least five of these minor shrines; for its five vaulted cupolas, with
all their appendages, are purely Hindu, and the enormous triple-
colonnaded
343
colonnaded court, in which it stands, must have cost a dozen
more.
BEAUTY OF THE SITE.
Such was and such is the shrine of Somnat'h, even now a noble
object, yet how much grander in the high and palmy days of Hinduism,
with all its ministrant appendages! Mahmoud himself could scarcely
have contemplated its present degradation. Even with the Hindu, all
reverence for it is gone, nor do the minarets at the portal, or the
pulpit pointing to Mecca, command the slightest homage from the
Mooslem, whilst all the waters of the Ganges would not suffice to
lustrate the now desecrated dwelling of the sun-god. Ahelia Bhae, the
wife of the great Holcar, and whose munificence is conspicuous
throughout India, from the glaciers of Cailas to the Land's End, has
erected a shrine on the site of one of the minor abodes, to which the
votaries of Somnat'h now repair. To this a spacious dhermsala, or
pilgrim's hall, has been added by the Dewan of Baroda, already
spoken of.
Nothing can surpass the beauty of the site chosen for the temple,
which stands on a projecting rock, whose base is washed by the ocean.
Here, resting on the skirt of the mighty waters, the vision lost in their
boundless expanse, the votary would be lulled to a blissful state of
repose by the monotonous roar of the waves. Before him is the bay,
extending to Billawul, its golden sands kept in perpetual agitation by
the surf, in bold and graceful curvature; it is unrivalled in India, and
although I have since seen many noble bays, from that of Penzance to
Salernum, perhaps the finest in the world, with all its accessories of
back-ground, and in all the glory of a closing day, none ever struck
my imagination more forcibly than that of Puttun. The port and head-
land of Billawul, with its dark walls raised as a defence against the
pirates
344
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
pirates of Europe, form a noble terminating point of view, and from
which the land trends northwards to Dwarica. The peaks of Girnar,
twenty coss distant (N. 7° E.), would raise the sublimest feelings, or if
he choose more tranquil scenes, the country around presents objects of
interest, the plains being well-wooded, and diversified both by nature
and art.
Such is the chief temple of paganism, the destruction of which, in
A.H. 416 (A.D. 1008), was deemed by the Sultan of Ghizni an act of
religious duty. It might be supposed that the record of this war, a
theme of glory for the Islamite historian, and in deeds of chivalry not
surpassed by any in the annals of the Crusaders, would have been
written with an adamantine pen on every stone of the temple; but it
is no less true than unaccountable, that the earliest and direst scourge
which ever inflicted misery on a nation, Mahmoud the Great, is
unknown alike by Brahmin, Banya, or Byrajee, as well as by Mooslem,
even in name, within the city of the god. With the aid of
my friend
Mr. Williams, and all the means he could command, I failed to
discover a single traditionary legend, oral or graven, of him who had
merited an eternity of infamy from the Hindu, and although the frag-
ments of the once proud pinnacle of Bal are a book to those who know
Ferishta, they are as Runes, illegible and unintelligible to those whom
they most concern. Happy would it be for mankind, were the pall of
oblivion ever thus cast over the head of ambition, instead of the tinsel
crown which lures even the wisest to destruction. But would the
pilgrim to Joppa, Acre, or even the Holy Hill itself, meet with more
success at this day, if he asked tidings of Richard Cœur de Lion, or his
more accomplished antagonist, Saladin?
On the last day of our halt, our unremitting search for MSS. was
rewarded
"THE FALL OF PUTTUN."
rewarded, and one of my friend's officials obtained from the ignorant
scion of an ancient Cazi, the fragment of a poem, "unknowing what it
told," containing some account of the past. It has all the appearance
of being a transmutation from an old original Persian poem, into the
purest Hindee dialect, by some scald of the Rajpoots. I seized on it
with avidity, and divesting it of its metrical character, have the
pleasure to lay before the reader, in plain prose, the substance of the
story of "The Fall of Puttun.
""
345
“The Hadji Mahmoud came from Mecca in a trading vessel,
landing at Mangrole, a sea-port thirty miles N.W. of Puttun, whence
he subsequently obtained the appellation of Mangroli Shah. Thence
he came to Puttun, and sojourned at the house of a Rebarri (grazier).
Here he learned that a Mooslem was daily devoted to the idol,
Somnat❜h, whose tika was made with the blood of the victim. Desirous
of further information, he went into the town, and accosting the widow
of an oilman, who was sending forth heart-rending lamentations, he
learned the cause, in her only son being demanded by the priests as a
sacrifice to Balnat'h. The Hadji told her to be of good cheer, for that
he would offer himself to save her son; but, on its being reported to
the prince that a stranger had volunteered his life to save the oilman's
son, the idea was repudiated. The saint, however, was not to be
repulsed. Repairing to the shrine, he sat himself down on the steps of
the external temple, leading to the brazen bull, before whose images
the sacrifices took place. Already the prince and the officiating priests
were convened, and the victim at hand, when the Hadji asked the
former if the bull ate the offerings placed before him. The prince
replied in the negative, but said that it was always customary to bring
gifts of ladoos, or comfit-balls. The Hadji called for water, and while
2 Y
one
346
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
one of the votaries went to the fountain to fetch it, he seized the
platter and held it up to the bull, who forthwith began to eat. All
were struck with amazement, but when the Hadji gave the yell of
· Allah Akber!' the symbol of Somnat'h vanished, and an Ethiop
started up in his place, who was commanded to bring water in the
saint's own cup. He obeyed, and instantly after, it was reported that
the reservoir was dried up, and that the sacred fishes were expiring.
The cup of water was sent back, and again the reservoir was
overflowing. The life of the oilman's son was spared; but the Hadji,
not satisfied with his own miraculous ability to punish the idolaters of
Puttun, despatched a messenger to Ghizni. The mandate of the holy
man reached Mahmoud when his eyes were nearly blind from dis-
temper; but he had no sooner reverentially carried the holy rescript to
his forehead, than his sight was restored. The miraculous cure and the
order of march were consentaneous.”
Whatever faith we might have in the miracles of the Hadji, we can
have none in his chronology, though, perhaps, the Hindu scald, who
has intermingled his own Bhakha with the polished speech of
Iran,
may have to answer for the anachronisms. Mahmoud is made to
cross the Sutledge near its confluence with the Indus, and to come
through the desert by Jessulmér (not built till two centuries later) to
Mangrole, against which the Shah bore a grudge. According to the
MS., Mahmoud lost twenty-four thousand men ere Puttun capitulated.
On his investing the city, fresh anachronisms occur. Komár-pál is
made the prince of Puttun, while his brother, Jy Pal, is stated to
govern at Mangrole. Now as Mahmoud's invasion took place in A.D.
1008 (or 1025), and Komár-pál died in A.D. 1166, the idea suggests
itself that this may be the invasion (unnoticed in Mooslem history) des-
cribed
"THE FALL OF PUTTUN."
cribed in the Charitra, which led to Komár-pál's dethronement, conver-
sion, and death, followed by the succession of the 'mad' Ajipal.* The
sole stumbling-block in the way is the name of Mahmoud; but this, or
the similar one of Modud, was not uncommon amongst his successors
at Ghizni. The Charitra further favours this suggestion, by mentioning
that Komár-pál rebuilt the temple, gilded its dome, &c., and this would
account for what I state regarding the reversed sculptures in its
foundation. But to the MS., which has evidently an authentic
basis.
"The king took post at the great tank, and the Raja of Puttun at
the Bhalca-coond,‡ and many severe battles were fought, with immense
slaughter on each side, during one entire month. The Sultan then
placed strong posts in their rear, and likewise at the sacred Triveni ;
but the Gohil brothers,§ Hamira and Begra, aiding the chief of Puttun,
cut their detachments in pieces. Five months had fled, when another
general battle took place, in which the army of the king lost nine
thousand men, and the Hindus sixteen thousand. But the armies of
the Faith pressed on; the Sultan gained the temple of Kankali,
which he made his head-quarters, and soon he gave orders for a
general assault on the works which defended Somnat'h. On that very
day, when victory was about to crown his enterprise, the Hadji died.
For three days the king tasted no food, and his grief was increased by
his not having beheld the holy man for some time," (from which we
may conclude that he was in the hands of the infidel). "At this period,
although the Mooslem had lost more men than the Hindus, these sued
for
* Vide page 184.
+ Vide page 351.
347
‡ Vide page 332.
§ The Gohil brothers had not settled in Saurashtra till long after Mahmoud.
1
2 Y 2
348
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
for peace, and all its messengers, the Charuns and Bhats, and other
heralds, were sent to Mahmoud to offer any terms, or any sums, if he
would cease his persecution. But nothing short of reading prayers in
the temple of Somnat'h could satisfy him. The sixth month was
ushered in with another general engagement, in which the two
Rajpoot champions being slain, the rest retired within the fortifica-
tions, and manning the fausse-braye, or Rani, they thence hurled
defiance at their adversary. Unable to force these gigantic barriers, the
king had recourse to stratagem to withdraw the defenders from their
vantage-ground. He made a feint of retreat, surrendered all his
advantages, and withdrawing his outposts, retired five coss from the
walls. The besieged fell into the snare, and with shouts of joy for
their deliverance, gave a loose to exultation.
It was the Jooma rat, the Sunday of Islam. In the dead of the night,
the green standard of the prophet was unfurled, and entrusted to a
chosen band, led by two brothers, Jaffier and Mozuffur. They reached
the gate almost unobserved. A huge elephant, whose mighty head
generally served in ancient times, in lieu of a petard, to break open the
portal, flinched from the projecting spikes, when a camel was made
the herole (vanguard), the interposition of whose bulk saved the
pioneer's head, and the gates were burst asunder. In rushed the tide
of battle, and the advance, led by the brothers, was immediately
followed by Mahmoud at the head of the main body. Indiscriminate
massacre was the order of the day. For the glory of God and the faith
of Islam, rivulets of blood ran through the streets of Puttun, and
saving those who called for mercy in the name of the prophet, neither
sex nor condition, helpless infancy or old age, was spared from the
steel of the brutal Tatar. The language of supplication, in an unknown
tongue,
"THE FALL OF PUTTUN."
tongue, would have found few listeners among the savage hordes from
the north, infuriated by every bad passion. Revenge for the loss of
relatives and friends in the long-protracted siege, the frenzy of
religion, which made every infidel head a trophy of redemption to the
zealot, and worthy of acceptance by the prophet; these, and the more
gross stimuli of lust and spoil, were barriers of adamant against the
flood of mercy. The Rajpoot defenders of Somnat'h fought in the
spirit of despair, with all the hopes of Vycoont before their eyes,
besides every incentive to the energies of manhood. They knew the
only terms for safety were the destruction of their temples, the aban-
donment of their religion, and prostration before the altars of
Mahmoud. Torrents of blood inundated the city; innumerable were
the victims who fell on either side, in the cause of religion, ambition,
or glory. The leaders of the chosen band, Jaffier and Mozuffur, were
among the slain, and the mosque westward of the temple, dedicated to
their memory, marks the spot of their martyrdom. The streets were
choked with the dead, and thousands were strewed around the shrine
of Somnat❜h. Still, all the efforts of Mahmoud and the hardy myrmi-
dons of the north were in vain, for on that day the banner of Islam
was not destined to wave from the battlements which encircled the
Palladium of the Hindus.
349
“Brief was the interval till the terminating conflict; seven hundred
heroes, with their prince at their head, made their last stand at the
threshold of the temple, to save the altar of their divinity from pollu-
tion. In the interim, the offer of forty lacs was made to obtain peace,
which, whether from avarice or a more generous sentiment, was
favourably received by Mahmoud; but his lagging zeal was stimulated
by the reproaches of his advisers, and the cry of 'no terms with idola-
ters !
350
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
ters! destruction to the temple!' prepared them for their impending
fate. The temple was stormed, and after an awful struggle, carried.
Few of its defenders survived; the symbolic image was broken into
fragments, and the name of the true God and his prophet resounded
from the holy of holies, the altar of Somnat'h. The city was given up
to plunder, and, together with the accumulated wealth of the temples,
afforded an immense booty to the conquerors. Meeta Khan was left in
charge of Puttun and its dependencies, and Mangrole, with its
chourassi, or 'hundred,' was bestowed on a relative of the Hadji.
After the king's departure, the Hindus rose on Meeta Khan, but the
insurrection recoiled on themselves ;" and thus ends the MS.
The fragment does not give the name of the princely defender, who,
I suppose, was of the Chaora Rajpoots, the ancient lords of Saurashtra,
and from this we may assume that Ferishta's authority is good, when
he
says he escaped on board a ship. The MS. further records the fable
retained by this historian regarding the self-suspended image in the
temple, which Mahmoud brought to the ground with a blow of his
mace: it is only worthy of repetition as proving the MS. to be a
fragment of original authority, perhaps the Tarikh Mahmoud-i-Ghizni,
to obtain which, all my researches, even in the metropolis of
Hindust❜han, were vain, though several copies exist in Europe. An
inspection of this can alone decide whether this conglomerate belongs
to it, and we might at all events discover the name of the prince who
thus bravely contended pro aris et focis with the Sultan of Ghizni.
Another point of yet greater consequence it would be satisfactory to
ascertain; namely, if the existing remains are a portion of the identical
temple devastated by Mahmoud, whether his religious fervour was
appeased by the desecration of the shrine of Bal, and its conversion
into
DESTRUCTION PRIOR TO MAHMOUD.
351
into a mosque of Islam. Could we be certain that the minarets of
entrance, and the mambar, or pulpit for the Moollah, were left by
him, we should see at once the extent of his destruction. Inde-
pendently of there being no record of a second visitation of Islam,
there is yet a stronger reason for this conclusion; i. e. no prince subse-
quent to Komár-pál (whose inscription shews that to him we are
indebted for its repairs) had the means of raising so vast a pile; for the
monarchy of Nehrwalla, after his death, went rapidly to ruin.
But if this inference be just, a still more perplexing question arises,
and this is, who was the overturner prior to Mahmoud? Overturned it
was beyond a doubt, for on a very minute inspection of the stylobate,
I detected, at a spot where a portion of the facing had been
withdrawn, a massive sculptured stone, still forming an integral
portion of the foundation, with its figures reversed, and which could
not by any possibility have been a repair, being a part never exposed
to injury, and demonstrating that the existing foundation is formed of
the debris of more ancient buildings. But we know of no invaders
before Mahmoud, whose creed enjoined destruction (to idols), and
none of the Indo-Getic invaders from Central Asia cared about such
matters: at least, we are not told that they were iconoclasts, though
they did pollute the Fountain of the Sun at Balabhi with blood, to
compel the surrender of its defenders.
Although I have elsewhere touched upon the inscription which I dis-
covered at Billawul (App. No.VII.), originally taken from the temple of
Somnath, I cannot pass it without notice in this place, connected as it
is with our subject. On its value as an historical document I have
already descanted. It presents to us two entirely new eras, the Balabhi
and the Seehoh; the first of which, corresponding with 375 of Vicrama,
relative
I
1
1
1
352
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
E
f
+
relative to the Surya princes of Balabhi, is most important. The disco-
very of the other inscription (App. No. IV) is a happy confirmation of
this. It records Komár-pál's reign, not in the usual era of Vicrama, but
in the Balabhi Samvat 850+375—S.V. 1225, being that following his
eventful accession, and likely to be marked by an act of piety after all
the dangers he had gone through before he grasped the sceptre of
Anhulwarra.*
The destruction of Balabhi by the Indo-Getic invaders, is stated in
the archive MSS. of Méwar to have occurred in the year 300, of
course meaning its own era. Therefore, 300+375-675-56 (difference
between the Christian and Vicrama eras) makes A.D. 619 for the sack
of Balabhi and the overthrow of the dynasty of Keneksén from Lokote.
This is the precise period to which Cosmas ascribes the invasion of
the Abteteles, (Abteles) or White Huns, with a host of Getes, or Jits,
who settled in the valley of the Indus at Minagara. This, we must
repeat, was the second irruption of this race, the first being in the
second century, as mentioned by the author of the Periplus, followed
by D'Anville, Gibbon, De Guignes, &c. These tribes have left their
stock in Saurashtra, but we should not expect from them the dilapida-
tion of the shrines. We have but one conjecture left to account for
this, yet one of great verisimilitude, i. e. that the power which drove
the Chaora princes from Diu and Deva-puttun, in A.D. 746, on account
of their piracies, and led to the foundation of Anhulwarra, was the
Caliph Haroun, instead of Varuna, as recorded by the early traditions.
So much for the ancient Deva-puttun.
The present town contains about nine hundred houses, of which two
hundred
* [The Author appears here to have fallen into some mistake, in respect to the chronology, which
it is impossible to explain or rectify. The date of the accession of Komár-pál (see p. 150) is S.V.
1189.]
RELICS OF PUTTUN.
353
Kapan |
hundred are Brahmins, four hundred Mahomedans, the same number
of the mercantile or Banyah tribes, and the remainder of all classes. If
this census be correct, the population must be under five thousand.
The environs are interesting, presenting many objects connected with
its past glory, especially fine reservoirs for the luxury and convenience
of the people. The first of these tanks is about one thousand yards
from the northern gateway. Its circumference is eighteen hundred
yards; its figure a polygon of so many sides that it approaches a
circle; it is lined throughout with solid blocks of close-grained free-
stone, and has flights of steps all round, while at the cardinal points
there are descents for cattle. Half a mile N.W. of it are the Bhalca
and Padma-coondas, already noticed. These traces of the most remote
periods of Hindu superstition are further interesting, from pointing out
the positions of the invading armies of the north, as the MS. before-
cited mentions that Mahmoud encamped near the Bhalca-coond. The
innumerable graves around Puttun attest the myriads of martyrs to
Islam; more are not to be seen about the largest cities of Hindusthan.
On the beach is a large Eedgah; so that this nameless edifice may
said to have placed the fame of the founder on a sandy foundation.
be
Billawul, or correctly Velacula, is the port of Puttun, and had some
pretensions to consequence in the flourishing days of Anhulwarra,
when Noor-u-din of Ormuz served as admiral of its fleets, which have
now dwindled down to a dozen commercial pattamars for the usual
coasting trade, or the export of pilgrims to Mecca. It suffered, as did
all the cities on this coast, from "the idolaters of Europe," whose
rapacities and cruelties were not surpassed by those of the Tartars in
the tenth, or of the Afghans led by Alla in the thirteenth century. I
have already given a quotation from an ancient collection of voyages,
relating
2 Z
པཾ-ཎྞ༥ ཀ་
354
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
relating to the conduct of Nuna da Cunha, and his worthy lieutenant,
Antonio de Saldanha, in 1532. They were, in fact, licensed pirates, and
fulfilled every function dependent on that character, such as were
written in types of blood by their brethren of Spain, amongst the
unhappy aborigines of the new world.
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NUTILIZES ZUMAIAKY
E.
CHAPTER XVII.
Remnant of early civilization in the knowledge of distances.-Character of the soil.-—Shrines and
inscriptions.—Inhabitants.-Choorwaur.-Aheers.-Mallia.—Unyalla, or Ooniara.-Joonagurh.
— Its ancient history and modern condition. The " Ancient castle" described.-Reservoir of the
Yadus.—The "Robber's cave."-Incognate characters.-Ancient inscribed rock of Girnar.—The
characters.—Shrines.-Cryptographic inscriptions.-The "Leap of Bhiroo.”—Isolated masses of
rock.-Ancient palace of Khangar.
CHOORWAUR. DECEMBER 4th.-This day's march, according to the
estimated measurement, was eight coss; it could not be less than
sixteen miles, and about fourteen and a half of direct distance.
Amongst the many points which present themselves to the reflection
of a traveller in India, one which ought to strike him with surprise is,
the general knowledge possessed by all classes of the distance of
places within their immediate neighbourhood; and, however the
standard may vary in different countries, yet within their own, a most
singular uniformity and correctness prevail. To what can this be attri-
buted? assuredly not to accident, nor to the mere report of the public
casids, or runners. It is, in fact, a remnant of that ancient civilization,
which we are accustomed to hold so cheap, embracing whatever
related to the welfare, comfort, and intelligence of the community, and
which, though buried under the ruins of ages of moral and political
subjection, is not yet altogether obliterated, either from tradition or
written record, both attesting that in remote times there were road-
metres throughout India. This alone can account for the surprising
facility which exists for laying down a champaign country from verbal
estimation, with all the exactitude of the chain and theodolite. My
2 z 2
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countrymen,
356
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Jaya 1 SA
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TA*
1
!
} ?
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countrymen, who, in a march of one thousand or fifteen hundred miles,
meet all the varieties of the coss, and who are apt to measure the
pretensions of the natives to accuracy by their appetites for breakfast,
will consign them au diable on finding the average Gangetic coss of
two miles elongated by what the Scotch highlanders call "a wee
bittie," or some four or five miles. But this variety merely denotes the
numerous subdivisions of Rajaships, each of which had its own
standard in currency, weights, and measures, the power to alter which
is one of the marks and privileges of royalty.
The character of the country was like the preceding, and where the
substratum was laid bare by the action of water, we saw that it was of
that porous crumbling sandstone, which appears to run from the base
of the central ridge, bisecting the peninsula, to the sea. Cultivation
was restricted to the vicinage of the villages, where there was no want
of young wheat, barley, and some fine patches of black sugar-cane.
The sacred Girnar disclosed fresh peaks with our change of position,
and from Choorwaur bore N. 26° E. twenty-five coss, or about forty-
five miles of direct distance.
At the Aheer village of Dhab, about four miles from Puttun, are
the ruins of two temples, one of which had been dedicated to the sun.
There is also a fine old baorie, or reservoir, which I was told had an
inscription, but unluckily it was below the water-line. We crossed
several streams, and we heard that, at the embouchure of one with the
sea, there was a temple to Choorwaur Mata, and also a large statue to
Hanuman. Choorwaur would imply the city of thieves,'—a title not
unmerited, for every harbour on the coast was a pirate's nest in past
days. The present race of inhabitants pursue a very different occupa-
tion, being chiefly of the Rebarri and Aheer, or pastoral tribes. There
6
were
་
357
were likewise the tribes of Korea aud Raezada, the latter a branch of
the ancient Chaurasima, once the princes (Raes) of the land. The
chief of Choorwaur is a Jaitwa Rajpoot; all were fine, noble-looking
fellows. There was nothing remarkable in the town; but I found an
interesting inscription (App. No. VIII.), which had been brought from
the ancient sun-temple of Koraussi. This I saw at a distance on my
right. The inscription is not only valuable for its formula of invocation,
but for its reference to the Gehlote tribe (that of the Ranas of Méwar),
as having "conquered Saurashtra," which accounts for what otherwise
appeared unaccountable, the declaration of Abulfazil, that in Akber's
time "Circar Sorat (contraction for Saurashtra) was an independent
territory; that the chief was of the Gehlote tribe, and commanded
fifty thousand cavalry and one hundred thousand infantry." It may be
remembered, that the great object of worship of this race, on settling in
Méwar, was the sun, and it is still the most important, though not, as
then, the sole object of devotion. I owed the discovery of this to a
Jain priest of the Lonka sect (gachá), a man of mild, unaffected
manners, of some learning, and of considerable information in every
thing relating to the shrines of his faith within the peninsula. He
travelled much for amusement and instruction, and although he had
never encountered a Frank before, I found him perfectly unreserved
and communicative.
THE LONKA SECT.
The Lonkas are deists; they worship the "One" alone, and “not in
temples made by art," which they never enter. The mountain-top and
sylvan solitude are deemed by them more fitting places to pour forth
their homage. They credit the missions of the twenty-four Tirthancars,
considering them as superior mortals, whose sanctity and purity of life
gained them the divine favour, and the reward of mookht, or beatitude.
Accordingly,
358
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
L
Accordingly, they esteem them objects of reverence and intercession,
but not of worship. My new friend has promised to accompany me to
"the holy mount," and aid my researches. Happily, the "moon of
intellect," my own revered Guru, is too enthusiastically bent on know-
ledge to be jealous of any one who 'can add to his stores.
CHOORWAUR is of considerable extent, being estimated at fifteen
hundred houses, though it is far from fully peopled at present. The
classes are Banya, Mooslem, but chiefly of the pastoral Aheer, and a
tribe of which I never heard before, named Hat'hi; in appearance and
occupation they resemble the Aheers, who form, perhaps, the most
numerous part of the population of central Saurashtra. I have else-
where described this singular and inoffensive community, who were in
ancient times of some importance, and have every appearance of
being the remains of the Palli race. In Central India, there is a large
tract, designated after them, Aheerwarra, which is in the very heart of
a region where every thing terminates in pál, as names of towns, &c.,
and a long dynasty of princes, whose capitals were Bhelsa and Bhopal,
where are some of the finest remains of ancient Budhic architecture,
and inscriptions in that peculiar character termed Palli, all denoting
that this pastoral race professed the tenets of this heresy, of which
every day adds strength to an hypothesis I was the first to start,
namely, as to its not having originated in India Proper.
In Akber's reign, the Aheers were of political importance in the
Saura peninsula, and Abulfazil tells us, that "on the banks of the
river Doondy, there was a subdivision of them, having the local appel-
lation of Poorunja, who mustered three thousand cavalry and the
like number of infantry, and who were in a perpetual state of hostility
with the tribe of Jam" (Jharéja). This intelligent cosmographer makes
the
359
the Cat'hi a branch of the Aheer, but most erroneously observes, that
some people consider the tribe to be of Arabian origin," a mistake
which sprung
from their great attachment to horses. Doubtless, their
manners may have assimilated, the Aheers, like the Cat'his, being
divested of the prejudices belonging to the Brahminical hierarchy, and
having all the freedom of their mixed predatory and pastoral occupa-
tions.
66
MALLIA.-UNYALLA.-JOONAGURH.
MALLIA. DECEMBER 5th.-Seven coss. This is a place of high anti-
quity, of which, however, there are now few traces. It is prettily
situated on a fine stream, which has its source in the upland beyond.
Altogether, the condition of man in this morning's march was not
very favourable: the villages were small, ragged, and depopulated; the
cultivation was scanty and neglected. The population of Mallia was
chiefly of the Banya and Rebarri tribes. Another village that we passed
consisted entirely of Cat'his and Hat'his, but there were many Raj-
poots of a tribe quite new to me, called Karya, said to be of Pramar
origin, and several Koli families intermixed with the mass.
or
UNYALLA OF OONIARA.-DECEMBER 6th.-Nine coss. Our route was
one continued but gradual ascent, over an expanded plain. From
Shirgurh, a fortified post on a height near the end of our journey, we
had a distinct view of the town of Mangrole, upon the coast. Ooniara
signifies the abode of heat (oon), a name referrible, I suppose, to its
southern aspect and unsheltered position. The inhabitants were chiefly
Mooslems, and the Lobana, a mercantile tribe, of Bhatti Rajpoot
origin, very common in the valley of the Indus.
Joonagurh.—DECEMBER 7th.-Nine coss. Throughout this morn-
ing's march, of nearly eighteen miles, we found the villages few and
far between, in the heart of low jungle and brushwood. We might in
truth
360
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
❝ all was
truth have exclaimed, that from Ooniara to Joonagurh
barren;" yet there was no lack of interest, for each step brought us
nearer to the sacred hill, the grand object of my pilgrimage. The
villages were chiefly inhabited by Aheers, who raised some scanty
crops around their habitations; but every thing denoted that the
tyranny of man was the chief obstacle to prosperity; and here, unfortu-
nately, the people have to contend against the double operation of
political and religious antipathies, their governor being a Mahomedan.
The origin of Joonagurh is lost in the mists of time; tradition, or
its living chroniclers, merely say it is bhote joona, 'very ancient,' and,
in fact, its foundation having no date, it has been spoken of from
distant ages as "the ancient castle." Recorded annals, however, state
that it was the capital of princes of the Yadu race. It was so when the
Rana of Méwar's ancestors were sovereigns of Balabhi; it was so when
Mandalica, the last of his race, was vanquished by Mahomed Be-gacha :
from which we have a right to infer that the line was unbroken, and
consequently that a Yadu prince ruled on the invasion of Mahmoud, in
the tenth century of the Christian era. Let us hear what Abulfazil
says
on this subject, in his statistical account of Saurashtra, which in Akber's
time was "formed into nine divisions, each inhabited by a different
tribe. The first division, commonly called New Sorat, had not been
explored for a long time, on account of the thickness of the forests
and intricacy of the mountains. A person was carried through by acci-
dent, who informed others of his discoveries. Here is a stone fort
called Junagurh, which was conquered by Sultan Mahmood, who built
another fortress at the foot of it."*
JOONAGURH,
* Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 66, Gladwin.-There is no language so ill-calculated to transmit proper
names, and, of course, aught appertaining to geography, as the Arabic and Persian. Abulfazil's
compendium
361
JOONAGURH, although now inhabited, presents much the same
character as described by Abulfazil centuries ago. It is encircled by a
belt of deep forest, several miles in breadth, chiefly of the thorny
babool (mimosa Arabica), so closely interwoven as to admit of no
ingress, but by two or three avenues cut through it, leading to the
principal adjacent towns. Such belts accord with the injunctions of
Menu, whose miscellaneous code includes the arts of war, as well as
those belonging to civil society and religion. Whether or not this
forest adds to security, it assuredly increases the insalubrity of all
places so confined, whose inhabitants must constantly inhale impure
air from the decomposed vegetation. Of this we had experience, for,
although it was the most healthy period of the year, a few days' halt
produced numerous cases of fever amongst our followers. In former
times, the city was seven coss, or fourteen miles, in circuit, extending
far beyond the limits of its present vallation, which is not above five
miles; but even this reduced scale is far too large for the population,
which does not exceed five thousand souls. The most numerous classes
are the Nagar and Girnara Brahmins. In nearly equal numbers may
be
the Mooslems, and the rest is made up of the agricultural and artizan
classes, as Aheers, Kolis, &c. &c., there being few, if any, Rajpoots.
The present lord of "the ancient castle," is a Mooslem of the Babi
race, with the title of nawab, who is tributary to the Guicowar. His
revenues are scanty, and his views of ambition circumscribed as the
belt which hems him in; he lives amidst ruin.
JOONAGURH.
From
compendium of the statistics of this region, is deprived of much of its value from the mask borne
by all the ancient towns and people. Chunagurh for Junagurh is a slight deviation; but who would
ever discover the holy mounts of Satrunja and Girnar in Beranjy and Gowreener? (p. 67.) Again,
in describing the third division, he says: "At the foot of the mountain of Sironj is a large city, now
out of repair:" who would expect these to be Satrunja and Palit hana? And so on.
3 A
362
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
From whichever side Joonagurh is viewed, the mind is immediately
carried back to the earliest periods of history, and it must be pro-
nounced coeval with the first line of Yadus who ruled Saurashtra, and
probably the abode of Tessarioustus (qu. Teja Raja ?), the opponent of
Menander and Apollodotus. It is venerable from its age, and romantic
from position, while its numerous massive square towers, and crenel-
lated parapet, give it an appearance of strength and dignity. Assuredly
it had as much claim to the one, before the invention of gunpowder,
as it still has to the other. The position, then judiciously chosen, is on
a terminating elevation of the sandstone ridge, which forms the sub-
stratum of the whole country, from the base of the central range of
Saurashtra to the sea, and which here rises into a plateau about thirty
yards in height, at the N.E. angle of which is the citadel, in itself a
gigantic work, and which is only separated from the granitic range by
the interposition of the Sonarica river.
North
Jungle
kn
400
T
800 av
1600 Yard's
500
700
0
W
350
Lake
N
West
Jungle
L
OOL
South
B
THE "ANCIENT CASTLE."
The ichnography of the "ancient castle" will admit of no specific
classification. It is an irregular trapezium, the form of which may be
best comprehended by the sketch, as I took its angles, and paced
three sides of its circumvallation. The southern and shortest face,
which is the chief entrance, is seven hundred yards; the eastern,
which also has its gateway, is eight hundred, and nearly a straight line;
and each of these has seventeen square towers, whose intervening
curtains do not occupy greater space. The western and most extensive
side is nearly two miles long; while the northern and most irregular
is curvilinear, full another mile in length, having its portal at the head.
Its huge rampart being carried along the edge of the Sonarica, whose
deep precipices are hewn from the solid abutment of the rock, this
forms the strongest side. A ditch has been chiselled out of the rock,
varying from twenty to thirty feet in depth, and little less in breadth ;
and the ramparts, reared from the material, are placed on the very
verge
of the excavation: so that there is a vallation of from sixty to
eighty feet, and, where it stands on the margin of the stream, of one
hundred feet of perpendicular height, and there being a gradual slope
from the external terre-pleine, the ditch could never be filled by the
débris of the walls, even had there been cannon in those days. From
the northern face the view is imposing. Girnar is seen towering in iso-
lated grandeur through the opening of the range, one of whose natural
portals bears the appropriate name of Doorga, the turreted Cybele, while
the 'gold-flowing' Saronica is seen gliding through its gorge towards
the castle-walls, which when she quits, her face is darkened by the
shadows of the deep woods covering both sides of her ample margin.
The influence of Mr. Williams obtained us ingress to the citadel, a
favour never, it was said, granted before to any European; and though
3A 2
abandoned
363
364
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
L
And
F
*
abandoned to all the luxuriance of nature within, it is guarded
externally with a jealousy perfectly oriental. A guard of honour
received us at the entrance, the number of which might imply respect
or distrust; and as only half the huge portal grated on its hinges for
our admission, we should not be wrong in imagining the operation of
both sentiments. If there could be a doubt as to the antiquity of the
city, the appearance of the citadel would remove it. Every stone
carries us back to the days when the Chapun cula Yadu, the fifty-
six Yadu tribes,' had paramount sovereignty in India. Whatever
period may be assigned to the sway of Shamnath (afterwards deified)
in Saurashtra, there is no doubt that a Yadu prince ruled here when
Canac-shen, the Rana's ancestor from Lokote, in the Punjab, con-
quered Balcadés in the second century.
•
We entered through the two grand demi-lunes in the S.W.
angle of the citadel, which defended the entrance. Having passed the
first portals, we came upon a court, on the further side of which is
another gateway of very antique design. The external faces of each
gateway had the pointed arch, but internally there were architraves of
huge blocks of granite, having a frieze in coarse marble of rude execu-
tion, resting on strong flat pilasters of the same material, four on each
side. A more spacious court intervenes, bounded by a similar gateway,
and over both are guard-rooms, of a bold and solid construction, for
the defence of the court and entrance. The portals, made to shape the
pointed arch, were of massive wood, covered with iron plates, of which
patches were completely oxidized by atmospheric action. But what
struck me as the greatest curiosities of this fortified entrance, were a
sword and shield of stucco, in considerable relief, placed in the most
conspicuous part of the guard-room overlooking the gate of entrance.
In
THE "ANCIENT CASTLE."
In such a position, no motto is required, the thing speaks for itself;
but whoever has perused the early history of the Varangian sovereigns of
Russia, will find a pendant for this shield in that nailed on the portal
of Byzantium by the son of Rurick, who, at the head of eighty thou-
sand men, passed the Borysthenes, and even in the eighth century,
imposed terms on that city, which yet is not theirs. Let us, however,
recollect that the Varangians were Norman, and even at that time
half Asiatic; and when we add to this that the parole treaty was con-
firmed by the Varangian guard, who swore "by their arms" for its
maintenance, we might fancy them Rajpoots.
On quitting these defences, we ascended the terre-pleine of the
castle by a flight of steps cut from the solid rock. Whatever buildings
may have graced the interior, not one of Hindu construction now
remains. An edifice has usurped the crest of the ancient castle—an
enormous mosque, built with the debris of the shrines and palaces of
the Yadus, as a memento of the success of Islam over the infidel
Rajpoot. It is attributed to Sultan Mahomed Begácha, on his subjuga-
tion of Raja Mandalica. One uniform motive seems to have actuated
each successive conqueror, and the greater the number of shrines sacri-
ficed to "the true faith," the greater the glory, temporal and eternal.
But even here, as far as regards the former, they have signally failed:
for whether mosque, musjid, or eedga, the incongruous mass, though
Mooslem in design, is Hindu in all its parts and materials. When I
term it incongruous, I do not mean to deny it or its founders the
merit justly due to it as a work of art: for, singular as its construction
is, the architect has produced a fabric which, for uniformity, extent,
solidity, and simplicity, deserves the epithet of magnificent. When
I say that it is one hundred and forty feet in length and one hundred
365
in
366
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
in breadth, having its plafonds, vaulted and flat, supported by more
than two hundred pillars and pilasters of granite, the reader will admit
that, in respect to dimensions, the epithet is not misapplied. It is
divided into three compartments, viz. a centre and wings. The centre
consists of three octagons, each thirty feet in diameter, running longi-
tudinally, with a colonnade round each, the intercolumniations of
which are only eight feet. Domes were contemplated to cover these, in
the usual Hindu style; for temporary columns, of rounded granite,
thirty feet in height, each consisting of three portions, of equal dimen-
sions, to answer the purpose of a centering until the vaults were
completed, are still standing. The columns of the wings are square, all
of granite, and about sixteen feet high, with plain capitals and
pedestals. Immense architraves are placed over each pair of columns,
which support a flat roof. Around the central domes, each pair of
columns is connected by a pointed arch, which greatly relieves the
somewhat heavy appearance of the mass. The north side (and the west,
if my note is not incorrect,) is built up; the others are open, and have
the pointed arch between each pair of columns. A pulpit, or screen,
of a single block of variegated marble, about eighteen feet by ten, is a
fine piece of sculpture.
Several reasons authorize a belief that this edifice was constructed
from the wreck of other temples: chiefly the correspondence in size
and shape between these columns and those yet left in several of the
half-mutilated temples on the sacred hill above. The grand munduff
of Komár-pál's temple had been carried off entirely, and likewise that
of Nemnat'h, and their dimensions correspond with the intended
domes of the Musjid. That of Somprit Raja, on the mount, which is of
similar diameter, was, no doubt, destined for the third; but whether
death
1
}
KHOPRA'S CAVE.
367
death or revolution arrested the founder's purpose, signifies not; this
monument of one of the principal supporters of the Jain faith, who
lived two hundred years before the Christian era, still stands intact on
its granite foundations-itself of granite.
There is one indestructible monument of the Yadus,-a reservoir
excavated in the solid rock, and not less than one hundred and twenty
feet in depth. Its form is elliptical, the largest diameter being about
seventy-five feet. The rock is faced with masonry. And we must not
omit the grand defender of the castle, a tremendous piece of brass
ordnance, placed on one of the western bastions. Its length is twenty-
two feet, the diameter at the breach two feet two inches, and at the
muzzle nineteen inches; calibre ten inches and a quarter. It had two
inscriptions, indicating that it was cast in Turkey. It doubtless came
in the fleet of Solyman the Magnificent, which attacked Diu in the
fifteenth century, when that monarch obtained the crown-jewels of the
sovereign of Guzzerat. Such are the few objects worthy of note within
the "ancient castle," which is overgrown with jungle-the sureefa, or
wild custard-apple, being predominant.
Descending by the north-west face, I visited the caves outside
of the many objects of the pilgrim's attention. An elevated plateau of
some extent has been entirely hollowed out into rude chambers of
considerable size, to which fancy and tradition have assigned various
occupants. One suite is designated after the Pandu brothers. Another
belonged to Khopra Choor, the Robin Hood of past days in these
regions, but whose exploits were far bolder than our hero's, for this is
the individual who is represented ascending the pinnacle of the temple
at Barolli, to steal the pieces of gold deposited in the kullus, or ball.
Khopra's cave is divided into numerous compartments; one is termed
A
his
368
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
his hall, another his kitchen, a third his stable, and so on. It is a
square of sixty feet, supported by sixteen massive square columns,
about nine feet in height, disposed thus.
Khopra, the Robber's Cave.
Stables
201
N
20f.
Kitchen
30f.by 271.
The process of transmutation is visible here, the Islamite having
converted the unhallowed abode of Khopra into the Durgah of Shekh
Ali Dervésh. The same incognate characters of which I have so fre-
quently spoken, are inscribed on the walls. The following are speci-
mens.
6
X L D X H F 8 1h 7 4 8 [ + h E b
6
<
6
But it is time to put ourselves en route to Avanti Gir, the Hill of
Safety,' one of the twenty-five classical appellations of the King of
Hills,' Gir-raj, more familiarly known as Girnar, from gir, a hill,' and
nari, which has the same import as swami, master.' Among others,
are Ujanti Gir, or 'sin-destroying hill;' Harsid-sikra, the peak of
Harsid,' or Siva, as lord of ascetics; Suverna-gir, the golden mount;'
Sri-dhank-gir, or overshadowing all other hills;' Sri-shesra-Comala, or
'like the lotus of a thousand petals;' Mordevi-parvati, or the hill of
Mordevi,' the mother of Adnat'h; Bahabali-tert'ha,' the place of
pilgrimage of Bahabal, the second son of Adnať'h; &c. &c. Of all these,
the
6
www
6
ܝܝܢܝ ܝܫ ܐܬ
CAUSEWAY AND BRIDGE OF SOONDERJI.
369
the most significant is Suverna, or golden,' an epithet likewise
attaching to the stream, which has numerous little feeders from the
dark clefts and recesses of the mountain. I am convinced that the
precious metal exists in this primitive mountain, not only from its
name, in conjunction with the Sonarica, or 'golden-flowing,' but from
a tradition at the very head of the annals of the Rana's family, which
assigns as a reason for the powerful Yadu sovereign of Saurashtra
giving his daughter to a refugee stranger, that "he had the art of
discovering the precious metals, and pointed out their existence in the
hill of Girnar.'
But let us proceed, step by step, through the arched portal in the
eastern face of the "ancient castle." The magnificent vanity of
Soonderji, the horse-merchant, has commenced and proceeded far in a
work, which will immortalize his name, while it secures the benedic-
tions of the pilgrims, for making easy the road to the great object of
adoration. From the walls of the city he has cut a noble avenue
through the forest, planted on either side with mango, jamun, and
other trees, which in due time will afford both shade and food to the
wearied votary. At the point where the avenue meets the Sonarica, is
an extensive paved causeway, running parallel with it, and terminating
where the river runs directly across the gorge of the pass with a bridge
of three arches, of great strength and in excellent taste, having an open
casemated parapet. While it adds greatly to the picturesque effect
of the scene, the utility of the work enhances its beauty; for not
only does it give bread to a great body of poor people, but, when
finished, it will entirely remove all danger from the devotee, formerly
apt to be swept off by the sudden rise of the river. It is already carried
over the most difficult part; and although Soonderji is dead, it does
not languish under his son and successor, who, with religious zeal, is
executing
3 B
370
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
יז
executing his father's commands to continue the causeway to the
second ford of the stream, beyond which it would be more ornamental
than useful. The views from the bridge are sublime: in front, seen
through the range called the portal of Doorga, is the mighty cone of
Girnar, towering in majesty, while behind, the "ancient castle" lowers
"in proud decay," seeming as if erected as an outwork to defend the
pass leading to the holy hill.
Leaving the bridge, let me describe what to the antiquary will
appear the noblest monument of Saurashtra, a monument speaking in
an unknown tongue of other times, and calling on the Frank Vedyavan,
or Savant, to remove the spell of ignorance in which it has been
enveloped for ages. Again, thanks to Soonderji, but for whose liberality
it would still have remained embosomed in the pathless forest, covered
with its tangled veil of the impervious babool. I should, however,
previously notice two subordinate objects: the first, a fine piece of
water, almost on quitting the gate of the city, called "the Goldsmith's
Pool;" the other, a small shrine, at the base of Doorga's mount, dedi-
cated to Bageswara Mata, the veritable Phrygian goddess, or at least
her sister, and, like her, wearing an embattled crown, and whose steed
is the tiger (bag) or lion, with both of which the forests of Saurashtra
formerly abounded.
The memorial in question, and evidently of some great conqueror,
is a huge hemispherical mass of dark granite, which, like a wart upon
the body, has protruded through the crust of mother earth, without
fissure or inequality, and which, by the aid of the "iron pen," has
been converted into a book. The measurement of its arc is nearly
ninety feet; its surface is divided into compartments or parallelo-
grams, within which are inscriptions in the usual antique character.
Two of these cartouches I had copied, by my old Guru, with the most
scrupulous
ROCK-CHARACTERS.
scrupulous fidelity, and a portion of a third, where the character
varied. The affinity of the former to the inscriptions on the triumphal
pillars at Dehli, on "the column of victory" in the centre of the
lake in Méwar, and in various of the most ancient cave-temples of
India, is apparent. Each letter is about two inches long, most symme-
trically formed, and in perfect preservation. The examples of a more
modern character are, from the vertex and the west side of the mass,
similar to those on the Indo-Getic medals I engraved for the Transactions
of the Royal Asiatic Society, and of which I found several specimens
in the ruins of Kali-kote and other ancient cities on the opposite side
of the gulph. I here present them to the reader, that he may compare
them with the rock-inscription. I may well call it a book; for the rock
is covered with these characters, so uniform in execution, that we may
safely pronounce all those of the most ancient class, which I designate
the 'Pandu character,' to be the work of one man. But who was this
man? They are of an age so evidently anterior to Menander and
Apollodotus, the conqueror of the Suroi, that, despite the curious
admixture of characters decidedly Grecian, we cannot suppose this to
have been a land-mark of their visitations amongst the Rajpoots, or of
their victory over Tessarioustus, or Teja Raja, in all probability the
Yadu prince of Joonagurh. The philologist will remark the number of
letters which resemble the more ancient Greek and Celto-Etruscan
characters, as follows:
I E F
XΙΕΣ ΔΟΘ 6ΓΕ7 19 4 Δ γραπEy
D Y
Again, of Samaritan characters are the following:
F / J T A Yɣx o h
r
४ ४
aleph
be
pe
he
ain
tau tau
371
nún
3A 2
With
372
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
1
With each of these, as simple letters, there are various others com-
pounded in the rock-inscription.
I am aware that by proving too much we prove nothing; but it has
been no less pithily observed that, " à force de scrupules sur la vérité, on
reste étranger à la vérité même," and I will risk an attempt at pioneer-
philology. Endeavouring to facilitate the subject, I selected such
characters as appeared simple, and from these traced their compounds.
The first are limited to sixteen, but the compounds are innumerable.
Of the simple O (Omicron) I found no less than seventeen compounds,
and so of the rest. If the research yield no result, it is but the loss of
my time; but when I state that two of these, viz. E, concluding one
of the cartouches, form the monogram on the intaglio, having the form
and all the characteristics of the Greek Hercules,* I cannot but hope
that a more rigid scrutiny and comparison of the ancient alpha-
bets of Syria will yield some curious fruits. I do not pretend to
be the first who has noticed the similitude between these characters
and the Greek, and the old square character; for on our first inter-
course with Northern India, more than half a century ago, the first
Englishman who saw the pillar in the ancient palace of Feroz,
pronounced it to be "a record of Alexander over Porus." I leave it to
the Vedya to proceed with this, and to the Asiatic Society of Bombay
to complete the subject, before time makes further inroad on the
granite, whose upper surface has peeled off about the vertex of the
mass, a very common occurrence with this material, and which renders
it peculiarly unfit for the purpose of receiving inscriptions a fact I
have had often to lament amongst the shrines of Girnar. On this
account, basalt, compact limestone, black and grey, and even slate
schist, are selected by the Hindus for their records.
* See Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. iii. p. 139.
S
The
SHRINES AND BUILDINGS.
}
373
The latter character is of a modern date, and modifications of
it were in common use with the Jains, and them only, so late as
the twelfth century. Of these I formed a large collection (the earliest,
of the fifth century, recording the exploits of a prince of the Jit or Gete
race), which were decyphered by the great assiduity of my Guru,
through whose means I afterwards ascertained the important fact that
the Sri-Pooj or Pontiff of his sect, with his librarians and favoured
disciples, had a perfect knowledge of, and key to, the most complicated
of this style of character; though he doubted as to the square kind,
which has no analogy with the others.
Let us now cross the bridge, and entering the pass or opening in
the range, proceed on our pilgrimage. The ever-fanciful Hindu has
personified the two terminating points which form the portals to this
narrow gorge. The Centaur Bhynasara guards the right, while Jogini
Mata has taken post on the left, to prevent the ingress of the profane.
From the gorge, the road winds along the left bank of the Sonarica,
leaving a contracted path between her bed and the mountain, which is
covered to the summit with foliage. The most conspicuous among this
is the teak, gigantic only in its leaf, which scarcely seems to belong to
its dwarfish, stunted stem. It, however, yields materials for husbandry
and for house-building.
The first sacred edifice that attracts notice on the skirt of the hill, is
dedicated to Damodra-Mahadeva, and is of considerable dimensions.
Here the Sonarica is dammed up to form a reservoir, wherein the
pilgrim purifies before he ascends the flight of steps leading to the
temple, which is enclosed by a lofty wall, having dhermsalas, or places
of repose, for the weary devotee. An upper flight conducts to another
fountain, excavated from the rock, and faced with hewn-stone, its
compartments
Į
374
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
compartments shewing the wrecks of sculptured figures, all mutilated
by the Mahomedan. It is called the Rewati-coonda, and was dedicated,
by the ancient Yadu lords of Joonagurh, to their great ancestor, Kanya.
I was fortunate enough to discover an inscription (App. No. IX.) which
had escaped the destroyers. From it we learn the impropriety of
assigning this temple to Siva, as Damodra was also an infantine appel-
lation of the deified Yadu leader, Kanya-most probably in the
desperate sectarian warfare waged about the eighth century, between
the Sivites and Vishnuvites, some votary of the former installed the
image of his tutelary deity. A small temple, adjacent to the coonda,
contains an image of Baldeva, the kinsman of Kanya, with the
mace, discus, and war-shell. The ignorance of the Brahmins here is
amazing; they do not even know the commonest symbols and attri-
butes of the divinities they serve. There are
There are several sepulchral
mindras on the opposite side of the stream, of pilgrims who were happy
enough to die on the skirt of the holy mount. This spot appears also
to have been the Necropolis of the Yadu princes of Saurashtra, an
opinion strengthened by the inscription. Vishnu (whose attributes are
assigned to Kanya) has a double privilege to preside over this lustral
fountain; first, as the great progenitor of the race, and secondly, in his
quality of mediator and intercessor, and even conveyer of the souls of
the dead to their destination. The inscription is valuable on several
accounts. It records many of the names of the princes who ruled in
this region, and are still well known to tradition, especially Mandalica
and Khengar, with whom are numerous associations. Two bearing the
former name are mentioned; the first lived in times of yore,' as the
original has it, for it is very common in these stone records to mention
some ancient land-mark, and pass over twenty generations to the more
immediate
G
CRYPTOGRAPHIC DATES.
375
immediate ancestry of the person to be commemorated. This inscrip-
tion appears to be a testimony of gratitude from Jey Sing to his chief
warrior, Abhye Sing, of his own race, who fell in defending Jingir-
kote against the "Javan," a term applied equally to the ancient
Grecian, and to the Islamite barbarian.' Of Jingir-kote I have no
knowledge, nor of its application to Joonagurh, though in its character
of tulaiti, or lower town, it answers well enough to the description. It
also furnishes an excellent example of cryptographic data, in which the
Brahmin, like the Egyptian hierophant, delighted to hide every thing
from profane understandings; but as I have elsewhere given a key to
these, I will only briefly show how this is expounded. The Samvat, or
era, is thus symbolically expressed: "Rama, Toorunga, Sagur, Mahi ;"
these must be read inversely, i. e. from right to left, when we have the
date 1473. The rationale is this: there are three Ramas; Toorunga is
the steed, Septaswur, the seven-headed courser of the sun; Sagur
signifies the four seas which surround Mahi, or the earth, which is
Unity.
6
Half a mile further, where the stream is once more crossed, in a
most romantic dell, overshadowed by the noble foliage of the tamarind
and peepul, are a temple and fountain sacred to Bhavanath Mahadeo.
Here fresh ablutions are made, and the pilgrim receives the tika of
bhaboot, or ashes, from the ministering priest, when he goes forth
refreshed mentally and corporeally by a halt in this cool and delightful
retreat. Another half-mile brings us to the place of rest of two Islamite
saints, over whose tombs is raised a kind of altar, covered with cloth,
upon and around which strutted with free license about a dozen cocks,
of gaudy plumage, apparently conscious of their independence. Both
Hindu and Islamite bowed the head to these memorials-one of the
many
,
376
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
many instances of the intuitive reverence of the Hindu for any object of
a sacred character. Here we had the last view of the golden-flowing'
stream, afterwards lost in the recesses of the forest, which became at
each step more dense as we gradually attained the base of Gir-raj,
where, in the S.E. angle, is her principal source. The path now became
narrower, allowing space only for single passengers, and the deep over-
arching foliage requiring to be put aside to protect the face. After a
very short progress in this intricate pathway, the pilgrim is arrested by
the paduca of one of the great sages (moonis) of yore, which exacts
his prostration; and close by are five shrines, of the earliest and rudest
style of architecture, having domes supported by columns of granite.
These are ascribed to the Pandu brothers, and two more, in a still
more ruinous condition, are given to their kinsman and companion,
Kanya, and to Droopdevi, the common wife of the five Hindu-Scythic
chiefs. To this point, the ascent from the gorge of the pass, a distance
of three miles and a half, is gradual; from the paduca it becomes
decided, and here the traveller discerns tremendous orbicular or
columnar masses, severed by some convulsion from the pinnacles
above, and hanging, as it were, suspended, ready for another fall. Such
is the huge isolated fragment called the Bhiroo Jamp, about one
hundred feet in height, and twice that in circumference, from whose
summit those tired of this transitory world "leap the life to come,"
whence its name, the 'leap' or 'jump' of Bhiroo, the god of destruc-
Ambition is generally the impelling motive to this suicide, the
hope to better the victim's present condition-" to be a king in the
Nya-jenem, or new birth." They are, therefore, never of the higher
class, but consist of those who cannot be exalted by any ordinary effort
of their own in this life. My friend Mr. Williams was here in 1812,
tion.
when

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PALACE OF KHENGAR.
377
when the Sung, or assembly of pilgrims, amounted to twelve thousand,
yet only one made the leap to Bhiroo, and he was a poor wretched
creature. Another of these dissevered masses is styled "the Elephant;"
it is nearly half-way up the mountain, and on the very ledge of a cliff,
fifteen hundred feet in perpendicular height. It is pyramidal in shape,
from sixty to eighty feet high, and between it and the mountain there
is just room for the pilgrim to pass. To this point the hill is covered
with wood; but here vegetation ceases, and nothing meets the eye but
bare granitic cliffs, which must be traversed with caution to attain the
ruined palace of Khengar. The piety of the wealthy has rendered the
path over these precipitous cliffs comparatively safe and easy, by means
of low narrow steps, cut from the rock, and carried, according to the
tortuous formation, in innumerable windings, and often on the extreme
verge of the precipice. The preceding evening I had been seized with
sudden lameness, and was compelled to be carried up in one of the
mountain litters described at Aboo, and my sensations on passing these
scarped ledges of rock, against which the car grated on the left, while
on the right I looked down a perpendicular abyss of fifteen hundred
feet, were not of the most agreeable nature. At eleven I entered the
portals leading to the palace of the ancient kings of Saurashtra, whose
black walls might defy the combined princes of the universe. Supersti-
tion could not have chosen a safer asylum to secure her shrines from
profanation, nor could these have a more appropriate station from
whence to elevate the soul to superior excellence. Here, on the very
verge of the rock, in a small guard-room in the palace of Khengar,
whose roof is supported by two pointed arches, I took my breakfast,
at a height of nearly three thousand feet above the "ancient castle,” on
whose
3 c
378
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
:
whose ruins, and from amidst ruins, I looked down. Casting a glance
upwards, the temple of " the Mother of the Gods" appeared upon a
peak full six hundred feet higher, with a crowning peak above, all
inviting to enterprise.
L
379
CHAPTER XVIII.
Reflections of the Author.-Ascent to the peak of Goruknat'h.-The other peaks of Girnar.-
Islamite saint.-Legend of the shrine of Kalka.-The Aghoris.-A wild ascetic.-Shrines.-
Sects of the Jains.-Description of the shrines.—Inscriptions.-Temple of Nemi.-Resemblance
between the statue of Nemi and that of Memnon.-The Khengar family.-Night spent in the
ruined palace.-Descent of the mount.-Pilgrims to the shrine of Nemi.-Aged female Pilgrim.
-The Elephant Rock.-Return to the tents.
In all ages, the mountain-top has been sought by the devotee, from
whence to offer praise and homage to the Creator, and singularly
moulded must be the mind which does not feel its conceptions of
omnipotence enlarged by the contemplation of His works, when thus
elevated above the jarring elements of the world. If reflection ever
exert its power, it must be in such a position, where, as I sat in soli-
tude amidst the ruins of ancient days, the deep silence only interrupted
by the screaming of the kite, or the howling of the winds through the
abode of desolation, I looked down upon man and his occupations.
with feelings of compassion. A distant view of that ocean, faintly illu-
mined by the departing sun, on which, twenty-two years before, I was
borne from home, and on which I was once more about to embark on
my return thither, could not fail to kindle a host of associations, in
which pain and pleasure were intermingled. At such a moment,
and in such a scene, the mind reviewed in rapid succession the
crowded actions of a life; and who, that has moved through so
chequered a career, could do this without varied emotions? With me,
the cycle of exile was complete; I was returning to the point whence
I started, and vividly recalled the moment when I first bade a joyous
farewell
3c2
380
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
farewell to country and friends, to taste the "sparkling brim" of "life's
enchanted cup,” and calculated only the days which must intervene,
ere I entered on the sphere of independent action. And this was
destined to be of no scanty radius. From the snowy barriers which
bound India on the north, to the mouths of the Ganges, Brahmaputra,
and Indus, I had opportunities to observe much of man, his occupa-
tions, and varied habitudes; many friendships I had formed; many
were dissolved by the hand of death; much of good and of evil had
crossed my path; I had much to regret, yet more to remember; many
bright scenes of exultation and hope, to balance against dark specks of
grief and disappointment; and still clung to,-certainly was averse to
quitting, perhaps for ever, the country consecrated by early recollec-
tions; while the prospect of kindred and country before me was
clouded with a sentiment of sadness at leaving those in whose com-
panionship the joyous period of life had passed.
At sunrise I recommenced the ascent in the Indra-vahan, or
celestial car, and reached the shrine of Amba-Mata, the Universal
Mother, just as the sun had cleared the outer range of hills. I only
waited to mark the height of this peak, and pushed on for the sikra of
Goruknat❜h. Elevated as we were, the air was yet close. The sun rose
in clouds, and the thermometer, which was 66° at starting, mounted
only one degree when he had been two hours above the horizon. To
attain the peak of Goruknat'h, I had to make a considerable descent,
and scale an intermediate elevation, and when I got to it, I found it so
steep, as to compel me to abandon the car, and, with a pilgrim's zeal,
clamber up the almost perpendicular cone on all-fours. On reaching
the summit, I found myself on a small platform, not above ten feet in
diameter, in the centre of which was a small monolithic shrine, sacred
to
PEAKS OF GIRNAR.
to Goruknat'h. This fine peak is a truncated cone, about two hundred
feet from its own immediate base, and about one hundred and fifty feet
higher than that of the "Universal Mother." Satisfied with having
attained the highest point of Gir-raj, I sat down by the paduca of the
saint, covered by this miniature shrine, and took the bearings of the
peaks, which my unseasonable lameness would not let me visit.
Notwithstanding the weather was not altogether favourable for distant
objects, the view was very grand. I did not obtain, as I had hoped, a
bearing of Satrunja; but the sun lighted up the surface of the ocean,
and though we could not discern the towns upon the coast, its direc-
tion, even at the distance of forty miles, was distinctly traced from
Puttun to Poorbunder, while Dooragi, Jaitpoor, and other towns
within the space of twenty-five miles, were clearly visible.
Girnar has six distinct peaks, although but four are prominently
seen from the plains, and these only on diverging from either side his
meridian; for, looking from the east or west, he appears one perfect
cone. Majestic as these individually are when observed from Goruk-
nat'h, and distinct as some are even at the distance of twenty-five
miles, every mile beyond that, they gradually merge into the general
mass. From Umrélie, the cone appears perfect, evincing the uniform
direction of the peaks.
The following are the bearings from Goruknat❜h :-
Peak of Mataji
Ogur Sikra, or peak
Guru Dhatarie, do.
Kalka Mata, do.
Raen Mata,
do.
…….
381
West.
N. 70° E.
N. 70° E.
East.
S. 73° E.
Other
382
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Mataji.
Herimba's Swing
Jumal Sah's Shrine
Khengar's palace, and cluster
of temples, 3,000 feet above
the plain.
Other objects.
Goruknat'h.
Ogur Sikra.
Dhatarie.
Koonduli Coonda
S. 70° E.
S. 30° W.
Raen Mata.
Kalka Mata.
The distance between the shrines of the two " Mothers" of Produc-
tion and Destruction may be about two miles in a direct line; the
summit of the peak of the latter is not higher than the base of the
former, while the intermediate peaks diverge just enough from the
right line to be distinctly disclosed. From the shrine of Kalka, the
descent to the opposite valley is abrupt and rapid.
6
From the pinnacle of Goruknat'h a just notion is obtained of the
whole mass, fully justifying the epithet of Meru Samun, like Méru,'
towering over the subordinate hills, which encircle it like a diadem,
and forming between his base an immense amphitheatre, covered with
impenetrable forest, through whose dark masses glide numerous
streams, which have their sources in the fissures of the rock, each with
a distinct appellation—as the Sasu-vana, or 'hare-wood;' the Hanuman
Bhara,
OBJECTS ON GIRNAR.
383
Bhara, or 'monkey-streamlet,' &c. &c. Every wood and stream, as
well as every peak in the surrounding range or on the mountain, is
dedicated to some object of hope or terror, and tradition is eloquent
with their legends. On one of the greatest elevations to the S.W., an
Islamite saint, named Jumal Sah, has his station, and is an object of
intercession with the faithful. “Imam ca Khyr," "the blessing of the
Imam, and bodily health for himself and master," was the reply of an
old Moslem servant, when I asked what he had sought there. One
portion of the forest was pointed out as the " Swing of the daughter of
Herimba," the forester-king in the days of the Pandus, and the rings
are said yet to be seen by those with whom curiosity is more potent
than fear, as the path leading to it is under the peak sacred to the
infernal goddess. The legend tells, that the hand of the forest-king's
daughter was to be his who could cause her gigantic frame to oscillate,
and that Bhima was the happy man: the same legend exists in the
Mokundra pass to this day. In another spot was pointed out a reser-
voir, called the Kumundali or Koondull coonda, where a hermit had
passed a life prolonged far beyond the limits of mortality; his age was
said to be one hundred and twenty years. He was almost worshipped,
for the purity of his life and great beneficence, having, from the offer-
ings of the devotees, established a Sudda-birt, or perennial charity, for
the poorer pilgrim to Girnar. I could have wished to converse with
him, but the will and the power went not together.
I was much more annoyed, however, at not being able to reach the
shrine of Kalka, which tradition and universal report had clothed with
something mysterious; and as I had signified to Lalla Joshea, the
Guicowar's agent, my determination at all hazards to penetrate to this
dread spot, in spite of his warnings, he and the rest very gravely
imputed
384
A
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
imputed my sudden lameness to this profane resolution. To this awful
penetralium the pilgrim never ventures, and the legend relates, that
whoever has been so fool-hardy, has paid dearly for his temerity. A
stranger was said always to join the sacrilegious visitor en route, who,
on throwing aside her incog., proved to be the dread Mother herself.
Her rites are performed by the hideous Aghori, whose patroness she
is, as Aghoriswara Mata; and it was a strong desire to unkennel some
of these cannibals which tempted me to prolong my rugged pilgrimage
to the Kalka Sikra, which in other respects has nothing attractive. At
one time, they existed in these regions in some numbers; but, like
brutes of the most noxious kind, they were only found in the wildest
retreats, in the mountain-cave, or the dark recesses of the forest.
Having elsewhere touched on the subject, I shall here only seek to
establish the facts by some additional anecdotes.
The Ogur Sikra was called after one of these Murdi-khor, or man-
eaters, who there established himself. Gazi was the name of one of
these brutes, who used occasionally to quit his mountain-lair for the
plain, to indulge his appetites. The last time he was seen, a live goat
and an earthern vessel full of shraub were placed before him. He tore
up the animal with teeth and nails, gorged, drank, slept amidst the
offals, awoke, again gorged and drank, and then returned into the
forest. In 1819, I appealed to my friend Mr. Williams (now with me)
regarding these monsters. The following was his answer: "When I
was in Cattiawar, there were three or four men who literally lived like
wild beasts, realizing the story of Nebuchadnezzar, except that they
also ate raw and human flesh. One of these devils came, I think in
1808, to Baroda, and actually ate the arm of a dead child. Another
came into the camp of the Sirsohoh of Cattiawar, in 1811, but he was
not
Gy
#
385
not suffered to remain, although they covered him with shawls, &c.
At one of the Jatras at Girnar, one of these Aghoris came to the rock
amongst the pilgrims, who made pooja, or worship, to him, and clad
him with shawls, turbans, rings, &c. He sat for some time, and at
length, with an idiotic laugh, sprung up, and darted into the forest." I
was told that, not many months ago, one of the wretches issued from
his retreat, and finding a Brahmin's boy who had strayed a little way
from the temple, brought him down with a stone, but having only
broken his leg, his cries summoned some one to his rescue. The
Aghori fought for his prey, was mauled, and left for dead. Since this,
they have kept still closer, and this last offender is said to have quitted
the forest of Girnar altogether.
A WILD ASCETIC.
tion
My reader will recollect, that although I have digressed into these
details, he left me perched alone upon the pinnacle of Girnar, looking
to the shrine of the "Great Mother" of these accursed images of man,
and entirely absorbed in the chaos of ideas to which my singular posi-
gave birth. My solitude was disturbed by a being whose approach
I had not perceived, and who silently took his seat before the shrine
of Goruknat'h. A rag of cloth was his sole covering; his loins were
girded with a rope of hair, and his whole frame and matted locks were
smeared with ashes. His features were fine, his figure manly and well-
formed, but though not above twenty-two, he had already attained a low
degree in the degradation of humanity. His eyes were inflamed, and he
was in a state of stupefaction from drugs; yet he appeared to possess
an instinctive sort of perception of the ceremonies he commenced. As
soon as he was seated, facing the miniature shrine of the saint, he
closed his eyes, and remained for some time in motionless abstraction.
In a few minutes, there were certain indications of the spirit, expressed
3 D
by
1
:
F
1
!
386
by contortions of the muscles of the face, writhings of the frame, and
agitations of the neck and heart, as if the infernal divinity he wor-
shipped had inspired him. When the fit was over, he rose, threw
himself into attitudes, howling "Aluc! Aluc!" I allowed time for these
ravings to subside, ere I disturbed him, for the speculation of his
mind's eye was too cloudy to see me; but in vain did I endeavour to
extort a sound from him. He heard, and even smiled, but this smile
was the sole symptom of consciousness he evinced of my presence.
He had a wallet, evidently containing provisions, a small coco-nut
hookah to inhale his intoxicating drugs, and a pair of iron tongs, to help
himself to fire. But what most surprised me, was a flute made of
bamboo, which he carried in his hand. What effect the "concord of
sweet sounds" could have on a creature who had banished every out-
ward vestige of humanity, his impenetrable silence prevented me from
ascertaining. Having made his final obeisance to Goruknat'h, howling
“Aluc!" he departed, and clambered down the peak towards the inter-
dicted shrine of Kalka, when intervening objects soon hid him from
my sight. In vain I enquired who he might be; it was sufficient that
he held no converse with his fellows, for those who beheld him to
conclude that he must be more than man. Whether he was a Murdhi-
khor, I could not determine, although, as he went off direct to the
Aghori peak, said to be frequented only by his sect, it is probable that
he belonged to the fraternity.
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
QURU
I remained for some time upon the platform of the saint, musing
upon the singularity of the encounter. There is always something
awful in the absence of that god-like attribute, reason, and a certain
feeling implanted in our nature makes us hasten from the contempla-
tion of an object from whom the Almighty has hidden his face. But
there
387
there was no mode of escape here from one who seemingly partook of
the maniac and the demon, placed as I was upon a pinnacle between
three and four thousand feet from the plain. Such speculation, how-
ever, never occurred to me, and my sole sensations were those of
melancholy excitement and deep compassion for this outcast of
Nature.
SHRINES.
The sun soon began to warm, and at the same time to remind me
that I had yet much to see; but it was not easy to resist the influence
which enthralled the senses in such a scene. I pity the man who has
never felt the luxurious languor of undisturbed cogitation, to which for
a while I surrendered my entire energies. A cough, a hem, the lament
of the wearied passing pilgrim, acted like a knell upon my nerves. I
was jealous of my solitude, and felt as if the presence of others was
an intrusion. But there must be an end to all things, and retracing my
steps, I at length regained the temple of the more beautiful and more
amiable "Universal Mother.'
99
Taking a look at the goddess, who occupies an altar under the
munduff, or vault, I passed to the western balcony, where, placing
myself upon a block of granite, I feasted my eyes on the clusters of
temples adjoining the ruined palace of Khengar below. The bird's-eye
view of these monuments of Jainism is very grand, and affords a
correct notion of their design and distribution. They are erected on
the crest of the western extremity of the mountain, here forming a
half-moon, on whose extreme edge, near a precipitous cliff full one
thousand feet high, rises a lofty wall, like the rock it rests upon, of
granite. The southern end is flanked by the palace of Khengar,
surrounded by embattled walls, and defended by massive square
towers, built of blocks of granite, and forming the sole entrance to this
3D 2
sacred
388
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
+
I
Gateway.
Nemnat'h
Digumbra.
sacred enceinte, a fit abode for Doorga herself. As a fortress, Gir-raj
would be unrivalled; for if well provisioned, having abundance of
water from above, and being commanded by the peaks of Mata and
Goruknat❜h, no enemy could get possession of it. But let me conduct
the reader seriatim through each of these shrines, of whose singular
position the following sketch will present a correct idea.
Deo-kote, or Fortress of the Gods.
S
T
Kengar Mahl
ロロ
​Nemnath
Tej Pal and Buswunt Pal.
Of
Samet Sikra. Malinath. Sumeru.
Sches Phanu
Parswanath
Rishabdeva
Gurhi ca 100ka
Sehes Phanu
Parswanath
Soni
Parswanath
1
1.
Somprit Raja's
Temple.
LOO
* See plate of Khengar's palace.
Komarpal
L
II
Bheema
Coonda
B
111
In descending from the peak of the "Great Mother," to whom
there are divers manifestations of the Unitarian Jains' devotion, the
reader will observe the numerous colonnaded cupolas placed upon the
projecting eminences,* and imagine their picturesque effect in the
general scene. He may likewise remark females gathering the white
béla, and other favourite flowers, which are woven into chaplets, and
sold to the pilgrims for offerings to the holy ones of Girnar.
The first temple adjoins the entrance-gate, and was erected by the
Digumbra
SECTS OF THE JAINS.
389
Digumbra sect to Nemnat'h, the only one of the twenty-four Jinéswars
whom they acknowledge, or who obtains their homage. I
may here
suggest to those who are ignorant of this religion, that the Jains have
separated into two grand divisions, viz. Digumbra and Sweetumbra—
the former signifying one who dispenses with all covering (umbra) but
the canopy of heaven (dig), in contradistinction to Sweetumbra, or
one with “pure” raiment. Sid Sena Devaca Acharya was the founder
of the former, in S. 400 (A.D. 344). The Sri-pooj, or Guru of the
sect, accordingly, remains without vesture, not even covering his loins,
except in the cold season, when he throws a loose quilt over him, as a
protection from the weather; but few only (and one of these is now at
Girnar) obtain this privilege, the reward of austerities and denial of all
mundane feelings.* The colossal statues in the caves at Gwalior, some
of which are fifty feet in height, and all of a similar description
throughout India, belong to this sect. The present Guru has his head-
quarters at Surat; his name is Vedyavandaboosen, and this orna-
ment' (boosen) of 'science' (Vedya) has a high reputation for know-
ledge. He has but few disciples about his person, but there are several
scattered over India. The votaries or laymen of this sect are Banias,
or of the mercantile class, and chiefly Hoonibanas, one of the eighty-
four great families. They calculate that there are forty thousand fami-
lies of these lay votaries, many of whom are at Jeipoor, where there are
several Digumbra temples. But even this sect is subdivided into Kashta-
Singis and Mura-Singis, the former being merely an etymon for the
parent stock, and the latter designated from carrying a feather of the
pea-fowl (Mura). These sectarians do not give eyes to their statues of
•
Nemi
* I have seen one of these animals, to whom was assigned the place of honour at the Court of
Dhalpoor, without even a fig-leaf.
390
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Nemi (as do the other sects) of crystal, diamond, &c., and they deny
beatitude to females, notwithstanding the homage the latter pay to the
great unclad Sri-pooj, which he receives very imperturbably. Another
peculiarity of this personage is, that he never feeds himself, the office
being performed by one of the lay attendants. There is nothing parti-
cularly worthy of notice in this shrine.
The next is a group of three temples, erected or repaired by Tej Pál
and Buswunt Pál, the princely brothers who devoted their immense
wealth to the temples on Aboo. From an inscription (App. No. X.)
found here, dated S. 1204 (A.D. 1148), it appears these were prior, by
nearly half a century, to those of Aboo; but they do not compete with
them either in extent or costliness. They are placed upon a large,
elevated, paved terrace. The central shrine contains the statue of
Malinat'h, the nineteenth deified Jain; that to the right is called
Sumeru, and that to the left Samet-Sikra, two of the "Five teerthas,"
or holy mounts of pilgrimage of these Unitarians.* The shrine of
Malinat'h, whose dark-blue colour often causes him to be mistaken for
Nemnat'h, consists of four stories, diminishing to the apex, which is
surmounted by a small image of Chandra Pribhu, the eighth Teert'han-
There is besides an image to each cardinal point. At one is a
miniature representation of the Hill, Méru, in yellow jasper, which
also enters into the material of the roof.
car.
The next temple, dedicated to Parswa-nat'h, the twenty-third
deified pontiff, was erected by Raja Sompriti, a prince of great
celebrity, of the Jain faith, whom I have often noticed, and who
flourished
* Samet-Sikra is in Behar, part of the ancient kingdom of Magadha, sacred to Parswa, whose
sect there flourished in former times, while to Méru, the Hill, they give a local habitation and a
name' far west of the waters of Sinde, and, as I have already surmised, towards Balk-Bamian,
whose colossal Jain figures, as described by Abulfazil, still exist.
391
flourished in the second century before Vicrama. This is the third
temple it has been my good fortune to discover, attributed to this
prince, and my reader has only to refer to the plates of my former
work,* to see the two finest specimens of Jain, I might say of Hindu,
architecture yet given to the western world. This memorial, if not so
simple in design, is by far the finest specimen of architectural display
on the hill of Girnar, or, indeed, in Saurashtra. Its situation is very
fine, being on the verge of the rock, three stories from the ground,
while its congregation of columns of dusky granite lend it a venerable
aspect. The following ground-plan, which does not lay claim to perfect
accuracy of measurement, will give a general idea of its construction.
E-R-1
學
​VA
402
#
lo
TEMPLE OF PARSWA-NATH.
We
W
A
Ya
The entrance (now blocked up) to the west, was by a flight of steps
to a small colonnaded portico, conducting to the body of the temple.
Proceeding through a triple-colonnaded and vaulted hall, we reach the
munduff, or central dome, about thirty feet square, and supported by
pillars. Colonnaded aisles, with pilasters at the walls, connect this with
a vestibule, and an interior munduff, also with a vaulted roof, beyond
which
Annals of Rajasthan.
392
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
which is the Sompat, or sanctuary, containing, upon a raised altar, the
statue of Parswa. The columns are not above fourteen feet high; but
on looking up and seeing a vaulted roof variously sculptured between
every four columns, mere elevation is disregarded in the imposing and
massive design. Both internally and externally, this work presents
ample scope for the pencil. Near the western door, there is an
opening in the floor, disclosing a subterranean retreat, by which Raja
Mandalica made his escape, when his country and capital were subdued
by Mahomed Begra.
From this shrine, I proceeded to the Bheema-coonda, excavated by
Raja Bheemaca, one of the Yadu princes of the land, at the northern
extremity of Devacuta. A flight of steps, cut, as well as the reservoir,
in the living rock, leads to the water, which is confined within a space
of seventy feet by fifty.
Adjoining this is a temple, said to have been founded by Komár-pál,
of Anhulwarra. Its dilapidation renders this probable, as his successor
is stated to have thrown down every temple that he raised, save that
sacred to Ajit-nath, on the hill of Taringa. The superstructure is
entirely destroyed down to the architraves covering the columns, some
of which are also removed. I have already hinted, however, that
Mahomed Begra, or whatever Mooslem conqueror erected the mosque
at Joonagurh, probably applied the materials of this, among others,
thereto. The plan of this is a complete copy of the temple of Parswa,
and the extent about the same. The Committee of Jain laymen, who
superintend the affairs of their churches, had commenced its restora-
tion, and part of the sanctum was completed, when the bigotry of the
great banker of these parts interposed, who determined to enshrine his
own object of worship, the symbol of Siva. This was met by the only
kind
..
SHRINES.
393
kind of opposition in the power of the Jains in charge, who threatened
self-immolation on the threshold. Here the matter rests, and, between
the two, Komár-pál has little chance of having his name perpetuated on
Mount Girnar. This facility of changing one tabernacle into another,
between the followers of Siva and Jaina, of Ad-eswara and Adnat'h,
might throw some light upon their common origin.
The next, surrounded by a high-walled enclosure, is a temple to
Sehes Phanu Parswanat'h, whose canopy is the thousand-hooded
serpent, his vahana, or emblem. The familiar name of this shrine is
Soni-Parswanath, from a goldsmith (soni) of Dehli, named Singram,
who, in the reign of the emperor Akber, with whom he was a great
favourite, rebuilt it at his own expense. Many tales are told of the
vast wealth of this lay votary of the Jain faith, of his skill in magic,
and in the transmutation of metals. Although this temple wants the
externally antique appearance of that of Sompriti, it maintains a good
character internally, having fine columns of syenite, of a dusky green.
Its general shape is the same as that already detailed, and along the
lateral wall of the court are cells, containing small statues of the
Primates, according to the fancy of the various worshippers by whom
they were enshrined.
The next portion is called Gurhi-ca-tooka. The shrine, sacred to
Rishabdeva or Adnat'h, is very noble, possessing many fine columns;
but it would be endless, as well as uninteresting, to give a minute
description of it. There are miniature representations of the holy
mounts of the Jains, Meru, Samet-sikra, &c., in white marble and
yellow jasper; and also ranges of cells adjoining the area walls of the
quadrangle, in which are enshrined the "Twenty-four."
3 E
The
394
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
The last of the group, and which adjoins the palace of Khengar, is
dedicated to Nemnat'h, the tutelary divinity of Girnar; but although
the original shrine is of high antiquity, it is so disfigured by bad taste
and modern repairs, that it may not compare in nobility of appearance
with that of Sompriti. Like the temple of Adnat'h on Satrunja, its
interior is bedecked with paintings and gaudy ornaments, more
bespeaking the wealth than the taste of the votaries of the present
day. In the Devachunda (chunda, choice'), or Gumbarra, as the
penetralium is termed, the black statue (Sham-moorut) of Nemi is
placed upon an altar, and adorned with golden chains and bracelets,
wearing a crown of silver, and having crystal eyes. Lights in high
brass candelabras, and incense, are kept perpetually burning, and here
the offerings of the pilgrims are made. This shrine is lower in the
rock than the others, and a passage is hewn for the votaries to reach
it. There were many inscriptions in this passage, but the granite is so
apt to exfoliate, that I could not find one perfect, and the two frag-
ments I did find here are little more than five centuries old, and
mere memoria of the pious repairers of the shrine. One, however,
(App. No. XI.) contains a curious fact; besides a donation of two
hundred mohurs, this recorder of his own munificence lent two thou-
sand on interest for the purpose.
6
Another inscription (App. No. XII.), placed at the entrance of the
palace of Khengar, also records its repairs by one of its own princes,
Raja Mandalica; but whether the first or the third, we are left to con-
jecture; for, in the long line which for ages swayed in Joonagurh-
Girnar, four princes are enumerated bearing this appellation. We must,
therefore, dismiss it with the vague remark applied to the "ancient
castle"
1
TEMPLE AND STATUE OF NEMI.
395
castle”—bhote joona, 'very old.' At all events, he was the fourth prince
anterior to Khengar; but several of this name are also enumerated.*
I will not attempt the details of the shrine of Nemi. Let it suffice
that it is an immense fabric, with a lofty spire; but plans of each
would be required to satisfy curiosity. The most interesting object was
the statue of the black Nemi himself, of basalt, or black marble. It is
of colossal size, in a sitting posture, the hair crisped like a Negro's,
and the countenance expresses benignity and repose. The striking
resemblance between the Nemi of the Budhists of India, and the
Egyptian Memnon in the British Museum, has often occurred to me,
and the idea was more powerfully impressed upon me by the follow-
ing passage from Burckhardt: "The heads of the Colossi at Ebsam-
boul, in Nubia, bear a great likeness to this, with this difference, that
they are of sandstone. The expression of the face is the same; perhaps
a little more gravity is expressed in those of Nubia, but the incompa-
rable serenity and god-like mildness are remarkable in both." No
better language could be selected to pourtray Neminat'h, whose
crisped Ethiopic hair, lotos symbol, and black colour, cannot but
suggest notions that a connection existed between the Indian Syria
and the coasts of the Red Sea, in matters of religion as well as
commerce, in ancient days.
It would be futile to enter into an elaborate description of the ruins
of the palace-the pencil must speak instead of the pen. Still less
would the reader thank me for detailing the interminable Yadu tradi-
tions
* It is very common in Rajpoot families to repeat names of celebrity in their lines. There were
three Umras in the dynasty of Oodipoor; but, unfortunately, they do not, like us, attach numerals
to distinguish one from the other, and the epithets which marked them when living, from some
mental or physical peculiarity, are lost in after-generations.
3 E 2
396
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
tions respecting the root of its genealogical tree for the founder of the
dynasty of Joonagurh. They do, however, trace it to Roodrapal, many
generations after the War. The family carry their origin to Pridoman,
son of Crishna, by his wife Rookmani. We have no check
upon these
traditionary accounts until we reach this Mandalica, and his son,
Khengar, the rival of Sid-raj of Anhulwarra for the hand of the Deora
Ranee; and as this prince reckons the peninsula amongst the eighteen
kingdoms he conquered, probably Khengar's independence was sacri-
ficed to his gallantry. According to a stanza familiar to all the bards of
this region, and those of the Yadus in particular, there were four
Mandalicas, nine Noguns, seven Khengars, five Soorujmals, and eight
Roop-palas, in the genealogical chain of princes who ruled in Joona-
gurh-Girnar.
I quitted these relics of old with highly gratified feelings, and
returned to the guard-room over the gateway of the palace to repose,
after a day of unusual exertion-if repose it could be called, when I
had to embody the host of objects that had come under review, which
operation continued until light nearly failed.
The day was fast closing when I carried my chair to the parapet
guarding the crest of the cliff, to take a last look at the sweeping
prospect seen from Deva-cuta. Through the opening in the pass, the
murky towers of Joonagurh were dimly visible, while our tents
appeared like white specks in the distance. The intermediate space
presented bold projections, sometimes crowned by slender cupolas,
rising out of the forest, which the shades of evening blended into one
indistinct tint.
The clouds, which had been floating about during the day, had con-
gregated into a dense mass, obscuring the entire concave of heaven,
excepting
A NIGHT IN THE RUINED PALACE.
397
excepting a narrow belt occupying a few degrees of the visible
horizon. Behind this darkness, the sun had descended unobserved,
and as I supposed, departed; when suddenly, like the lightning's flash,
his fiery disk appeared, resting on the bosom of the ocean, illumina-
ting its broad expanse as if by magic. The coast was rendered distinct
from Puttun to Mangrole, though the cities which studded it remained
wrapt in gloom. A momentary splendour flitted over some white
objects, which were named as certain towns; but it was alike beautiful
and brief, as was the dazzling effect of the sun's last ray slanting upon
the Sonarica, and irradiating at intervals its serpentine course from the
sea to the base of Girnar. In a few seconds, a tenfold gloom succeeded
this "
excess of brightness." I remained some time enjoying in perfect
silence the remembrance of this evanescent vision; but the evening
was cold, and I retired at length to the deserted guard-room.
The weather now became boisterous; the howl of the winds
increasing till midnight, and I found the scanty bed-covering, though
superabundant for the plains, far too slight here. The spirit of the
blast yelled through the crannies and doorless halls of Khengar-a
fitting lullaby for the scene, but for the coldness which accompanied
it. I contrived, however, to diminish this, by filling up the opening to
windward with bushes and straw, and, tired with the excitement of the
day, soon fell asleep. How long I had reposed I know not, but all at
once, my slumbers were rudely broken by some heavy mass rolling
over me, and extinguishing the light. I started up, in doubt whether I
was to attack a bear or an Aghori, or whether the "Dread Mother"
herself had caught me in her rough embrace, when a sudden rush of air,
from the space I had previously barricaded, revealed the quality of my
nocturnal intruder. I presently got the barrier replaced by the aid of the
watchmen
ngh
398
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
watchmen of the Nawab, whom I roused from their bivouac in the court
below, where they were chattering round their night-fire to beguile the
time, and after this fitting finale to the drama of the last twenty-four
hours, I once more, and not in vain, courted the "soft restorer.
Early next morning, I commenced my descent, and as I passed
through the portals of the palace, the scene which in the evening had
been dimly visible, opened in all its magnificence. The sun had risen
in unclouded splendour, throwing his golden gleams on the dark
masses of the mountain and forest, and cheering on their way crowds
of pilgrims to the shrine of Nemi, and others of the many objects of
adoration. Amongst the various groups, my attention was drawn to an
aged female and her son, who, while she reclined against the rock, was
engaged in the pious task of shampooing her enfeebled limbs,
benumbed by the toil of the ascent. I entered into conversation with
her, and found she had come from Gokul; had traversed on foot every
spot sacred to the shepherd-god, from that, his own and her birth-
place, to Dwarica and Peachee, the scene of his death, and was now
returning to her pastoral land. As a model of content, the aged
pilgrim was worthy the chisel of a sculptor, and the picture of mingled
filial affection and devotion touched me sensibly; the feeling was
perhaps heightened by the name of her country, Gokul, a scene which
recalled many days of thoughtless happiness, and my earliest and
dearest friends, but one of whom, alas! survives. Other pilgrims replied
to my queries regarding their native land, that they had come from
Ganga-tith, the banks of the Ganges,' from Jamuna Cavari, the
skirts of the Jumna,' from Casi-ji, the sacred Benares, and as we passed
on, the shout of Ganga-ji-ca-jey! 'victory to Ganga!'
victory to Ganga!' was responded
to by numerous stragglers, who were clambering up the rock.
6
I halted
6
""
dy
THE ELEPHANT ROCK.
399
6
I halted at the point called the Elephant,' but though the sun had
great power, it being now eight o'clock, the feathered Troglodytes of
Girnar, the eagles and vultures, had not left their cells, which honey-
comb this face of the mountain, where they were in full conclave.
These crevices have a singular appearance, and unless carved out by
the Monotheistic preservers of life, in whatever shape, for the purpose
of sheltering the birds, I cannot account for them, many occurring in
places not likely to be affected by the action of the atmosphere. Some
of the larger perforations have smaller ones within, the resort of
pigeons and lesser birds. Moreover, the surface is covered in many
places with large black snails, so thickly studded, that, in some parts,
not a particle of the rock can be seen. Whether the eagle, or more
ignoble vulture, will condescend to touch such quarry, I know not;
but, unless they feast with the Aghori, they must go abroad for their
prey. The crow is not a denizen of Girnar, in which he shows his
accustomed sagacity, wisely preferring association with the carnivorous
Sivite, to the spare vegetable diet of the Jain.
High on this detached mass, cut in the living rock, in large, fair
characters, appeared the name of "Rao Runingdeo, who, in S. 1215,
performed the pilgrimage." Neither tribe nor country is mentioned,
but I have no doubt that he was the chief of the tribe of Jhala, of Jhala-
war, one of the subdivisions of Saurashtra, and the first vassal of Bhola
Bheem, king of Anhulwarra. He is honourably named in the history
of Pirthi Raj, the emperor of Dehli, who, in that year, first buckled on
the sword to avenge the death of his father, Somesa, prince of Sambhur,
slain in battle by this very king, Bhola Bheem. The name of Runing-
deo is conspicuous amongst the feudal array that assembled to oppose
Pirthi Raj, and it is conjecture equal to proof, that the Jhala chieftain
took
400
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
1
took the opportunity to visit this holy mount in progress from
Jhalawar to the court of his sovereign.*
From the palace of Khengar to the Elephant Rock, all was bare; but
here the foliage re-commenced, and I continued to feast upon every
variety of prospect until I re-passed the lower portals of the "ancient
city" to our tents in a nook of the forest, where I arrived fatigued, but
delighted with the pilgrimage; for though Girnar may not compete
with Arbudha, its pastoral plains (or terre-pleine), its lakes and rills, its
varied vegetation, or the costly grandeur of its shrines, it has merits
peculiarly its own. To many, as to me, the dusky syenite and
ponderous granite columns may outweigh, in their antique magnifi-
cence, the more decorative marble and lighter workmanship of the
other, while the eye, ranging over the expanse of ocean, conveys
feelings to the mind which cannot arise in contemplating the sandy
desert of Marust'hali.
Many a varied country have I since traversed; I have seen, from the
summit of the Righi, the sun rise over the icy peaks of the Helvetian
Alps, and beheld from the ruined Tortona his descent through a
winter sky, crowning with roseate splendour the snow-clad Apen-
nines; I have passed" the gathered winter of a thousand years" which
nestles in the side of Mont Blanc; have watched, at the midnight
hour, the moon clear the broken arches of the Coliseum, and between
the Scirocco and sadness, have been excited into fever, as from the
sable gondola I contemplated Venice in her humility, and wished the
thunder of Jove could blast the bastard eagles perched on the palaces
of her nobles; I have sat with the wild unscrupulous Calabrian amidst
the ruins of Pæstum ; these and many other sights, calculated to call
forth heart-stirring emotions, have I witnessed; yet none produced
such
* Vide p. 197.
SUBLIME SCENERY.
401
such sentiments as I experienced on the summit of the seven-peaked
Girnar, with the maniac Aghori heaving forth the outpourings of the
spirit before the shrine of Goruka, in the presence of a solitary Frank;
and on the precipitous verge of Deva-cuta, when, the shadows of night
stealing around me, I saw the ocean lighted up by the sun's last rays,
while silence ruled over the remains of fading glory. The only position
which might compare with these, was a midnight descent from Mont
Cenis, in the very heart of winter, when, clad with snow many feet
deep from the summit to the valley, a brilliant moon illuminated the
silvery surface of the mountain, throwing lengthened shadows from
the clumps of dusky pine, which, as we rapidly whirled past, assumed
an air of mysterious interest, heightened in no small degree by those
grand appliances to the sublime, positive danger, and a stillness
unbroken, save by the crackling of the horses' hoofs upon the frozen
mass.
I found the barometer 10° higher than when we ascended, from the
weather having cleared up. We halted a day to visit and receive the
Nawab, the lord of Joonagurh.
3 F
402
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
CHAPTER XIX.
Dandoosir.-Jinjirrie.-Kattywauna.-Altered course of the Bhadra.-Tursye.-Old city of Kun-
dornah.—Bhanwul.-Miserable appearance of the country.-Ruins of Goomlí.-Temple of the
Jaitwas.-Temple of Ganpatí.-Jain temple.-The Portal of Rama.-Monumental pallias of the
Jaitwas.-Inscriptions.-Historical account of the Jaitwas.-Destruction of Goomlí.-Chronology
of Jaitwa history.-Migration of the Jaitwas.-Nugdeah.-Deolah.-Origin of the Aheers.-
Mooktasirr.-Dwarica.-Desolate country.-Temple of Dwarica.-Shrines.-The Mahatma.—
Legend of the Temple.
DANDOOSIR.-DECEMBER 17th.-Four coss. Crossed a plain
Crossed a plain thickly
strewed with the babool, and occasional scanty patches of cultivation,
chiefly gram. The villages were poor, and inhabited by Aheers and
Koolmbies, the pastoral and agricultural classes of these regions; but
some contained wholly Sindies.
JINJIRRIE. DECEMBER 18th.-Six coss. Cultivation as yesterday,
but in addition to the usual classes, we had another western tribe, the
Buloteh.
KATTYWAUNA. DECEMBER 19th.-Eight coss. This place is entitled
to be called a town, having three thousand houses, enclosed by a
substantial wall; it is situated on the banks of the Bhadra, which has
a volume of water larger than any of the peninsular streams I have yet
seen. Abulfazil commends it for the excellency of its fish, but the
only one we caught (by the hook) by no means justified the recom-
mendation of the Indian Herodotus, tasting villainously of the tannin,
which also discoloured the stream. The last two miles of our march
were on the edge of the river, on whose bank we encamped. This
town boasts of some antiquity, and in former ages was called Koontul-
poor, and still possesses an interior castle dignified with the name of
Kali-kote.
KUNDORNAH.
403
Kali-kote. The "eighteen burrun," or castes, are said to have representa-
tives in Kattywauna; but the population consists chiefly of the Bunya-
Bhatti, from the valley of the Indus, and the Momun, or Mooslem
cloth-weaver. The Bhadra has changed its course-a fact attested by a
bridge now high and dry. The last famine had left marks of its ravages
both in the town and country, and thinned the population of each.
The villages were poor, consisting of from twenty to seventy huts, and
the most useful classes so often named, Aheers and Koolmbies, were
in a sad condition.
TURSYE.
DECEMBER 19th.-Eighteen coss. About five miles from
the commencement of our march, we passed a considerable place
called Esarioh, peopled by Aheers and Koolmbies, which had decided
marks of improved cultivation, while on our left lay the old city of
Kundornah,* belonging to the chief of the Jaitwa tribe. At Deolah,
there is a small fortress on the bank of a stream which separates the
Joonagurh territory from that of the Jam, while a third boundary lies
a mile and a half to the left, that of the Jaitwa Rana, at Khulsuna.
The hitherto scanty cultivation here becomes scantier still; the
peasantry are of the same classes so often named. Tursye is close to
the eastern line of the Burda hills.
BHANWUL
* From a small miscellaneous collection of mingled history and genealogical facts, belonging to
a most intelligent Bhât, I extracted many notes on the old cities of Saurashtra ; amongst others,
the following on this place :-" The name of Kundornah, or Kundolah, was in very remote times
Visalanagri, afterwards changed to Sillánagri, again to Tillapoor, and Thun Kundole, now Kun-
dolah." This is the order in which I copied from the Bard, but I think its name of Tillapoor should
have preceded that of Sillánagri, if called after Sil Comar of the Jaitwa tribe. For many years I
had vainly searched for Tillapoor-Puttun, one of the ancient capitals of the Ranas' (of Méwar)
ancestry in Saurashtra, and cannot help conjecturing that this is the very place; nor is it at all
improbable that its name of Sillânagri may be from Silladitya, of whom there were two, previous
to the destruction of Balabhi, one in S. 477, the other, the last of the line who ruled them, in S. 56
A search for inscriptions might decide the question.
3 F 2
404
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Bhanwul.—DECEMBER 20th to 23d.-Seven coss. As we advance,
BHANWUL.-DECEMBER
the country becomes more miserable, a few patches only of cultivation
appearing amidst extensive plains of rank grass and the thorny
mimosa. We passed the village of Maepoor, in which are the remains
of a fort destroyed some years back on account of its harbouring
marauders; it is now inhabited by twenty-five families of miserable
Aheers. Bhanwul belongs to the Jam of Nova-nagari, and contains
about fifteen hundred houses, chiefly of the manufacturing Momun.
The town stands upon the Bunwarri river, and what is not drained off
in cultivation, falls into a large stream, the Vitodra, on the banks of
which stands a temple dedicated to Indra.
RUINS OF GOOMLI.-We halted at Bhanwul some days, and were
joined by Major Barnewell, the Political Agent in this province, for
the purpose of exploring the ruins of Goomlí, the ancient capital of
the Jaitwa tribe, once distinguished in the peninsula.
Goomlí is situated at the northern face of the hills of Burrira, whose
appellation in ancient Hindu geography was Puryata, famed as one of
the retreats of the sage Brigu. This old city lies about three miles
from Bhanwul, and from its sequestered position, takes the traveller
by surprise, not even the spire of its famed shrine being visible till
near ; it may be said to be buried in a dell or valley, bounded to the
south and east by the Burrira hills, rising about six hundred feet from
their base, and the rest is concealed by a low ridge. The astonishment
of the visitor is not diminished, when he learns that many centuries
have elapsed since Goomlí ceased to be inhabited. Three faces of a
most substantial circumvallation, built of masses of the calcareous
concrete termed conkra, and strengthened with large square towers,
enclose it to the east, north, and west, and unite it with the hills,
which
TEMPLE OF THE JAITWAS.
405
which form a material defence to the south. These walls had, more-
over, been carried up the mountain, which presented the remains of a
castle on the summit, now a den for wild beasts. A gateway is placed
in the centre of each wall, nearly facing the cardinal points; the
eastern and northern sides, about five hundred and eight hundred
yards long, are the most perfect, the former, indeed, having its
parapets and battlements complete. The western wall is most dilapi-
dated—the remains of a spacious ditch are visible.
The first object that attracts notice, on entering this town, is the
temple of the Jaitwas, near the palace, in the re-entering angle of the
hills. This edifice is cruciform, a shape not uncommon in Hindu
sacred architecture, and the entrance faces the rising sun. It stands on
an elevated terrace one hundred and fifty-three feet in length, one
hundred and twenty in breadth, and twelve in height, built of hewn
stone, with a handsome enriched cornice. The shrine consists of an
octagonal munduff, of twenty-three feet diameter, two stories high,
surmounted by a dome, about thirty-five feet from the ground. The
architectural and sculptured details of this are both uncommon, and
differing from any thing I had ever seen. A series of columns placed
octagonally, about twelve feet high, connected by sculptured stone
architraves, formed the base. Above these is a second series of
columns (having a stone gallery and railing in front), covered by a
dome, embellished with sculptured figures, representing the ras-
mundala, or heavenly dance, part of which has fallen in. The vesti-
bules, projecting towards the east and west, like the nave of our
cathedrals, are about fourteen feet by eight, having numerous columns,
and a central vault, with a lotus ornament richly carved at the apex.
Several smaller domes surround the large one, and like it, are
supported
406
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
supported by columns. The devachna, or penetralia to the west, is a
small chamber about ten feet square; this is now empty, and a consi-
derable portion of the Sikra, or pyramidal spire, which rose over it,
has been thrown down. Although the extreme internal dimensions are
only sixty-three feet by fifty-four, I have seen few edifices more calcu-
lated to excite admiration. The mythological sculptures of this temple
of the Jaitwas are striking, especially the capitals of the columns
supporting the main body, which exhibit a greater variety of singular
devices than I have ever yet seen, representing lions, sphynxes, the
gras, or griffin, monkeys, &c., and the never-failing substitute for the
Grecian Caryatidæ, the distorted Gatachuc. These objects have every
variety of posture, and are so well carved, that they would not be mis-
placed in some of our most ancient Saxon churches. There are no
symbols within the temple, whence to infer the specific object of
adoration; but the external sculpture of the devachna contains emblems
of all-destroying Time, sufficient to authorize the conclusion, that it
was dedicated either to Siva or to Hursid-Mâtâ, the tutelary goddess
of the Jaitwas.
At a short distance to the S.W. stands the temple of Ganpatí, the
chief of the dii minores gentium of the Hindu pantheon, his elephant-
head, emblematic of wisdom, wanting the proboscis. The construction
of this shrine is very singular; instead of columns around the cella, it
has a wall with casemated windows, and a spherical roof. In an
adjoining cell, carved upon the architrave, are personifications of the
No-grahas, or nine planets, which rule the destinies of man.
6
C
Immediately to the north of this shrine of Wisdom,' are the ruins
of the temple of Knowledge,' belonging to the heterodox followers of
Budha. The construction of this, likewise, differs from any temple I
have
1
}
I
THE RAMPOL OF GOOMLI.
have yet seen of this sect, having four contiguous munduffs, supported
by columns, whose capitals, though somewhat dissimilar from those
above described, and even repugnant to the tenets of the sect, are of
the same whimsical character, and evidently of the same age, and by
the same workmen, as the orthodox shrine of Hursid. Within was an
image of Parswa, and a slab containing in relief the portraits of the
twenty-four Jineswars, or deified Jain primates. The tree sacred to
Time has been insidiously, but surely, operating upon these edifices,
and will in a few years triumph over both.
From these ruins I passed to a baoree, or fountain, which affords
some notion of the munificence of purse and spirit of the ancient
Jaitwas; here my research for inscriptions was slightly rewarded by
one bearing date S. 13- -, but merely attesting its repairs.
The most interesting, perhaps, as the most perfect, remnant of
antiquity in Goomlí, is the Rampol, or portal of Rama, from whose
generalissimo, Hanuman, as will be seen, the Jaitwas derive their
origin. It is on the western face; but the pencil alone is competent to
give a notion of its sculpture or its architecture. Three pilasters on
each side support architraves composed of overlaying masses of stone,
and on either side of this the most ancient form of arch, and in
powerful contrast thereto, are two pointed arches, though evidently less
ancient than the other; but as Goomlí, on indubitable evidence, has
been utterly abandoned for nearly eight hundred years, how can we
escape
the conclusion that they must be Hindu? Sculptured designs
of a most extraordinary character cover the whole; in some compart-
ments, as in the ruins of Barolli and elsewhere, the noblest animal,
man, is in conflict with the noblest beast; in another he is repre-
sented on his steed, and while the horse is rearing, the rider is
loosing an arrow from his bow. Again, there are groups of male
and
407
408
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
and female figures, descriptive of some mythical episode; but, stranger
still, satyrs like Pan occur, human to the waist, and goat below!
From the Gate of Rama,' I proceeded to the monumental pallias
of the Jaitwas, overgrown with reeds and the thorny mimosa; many
are thrown down, and the characters upon all are nearly obliterated.
By diligent search, however, I obtained the memorials of five, for
which, though brief, I felt highly grateful to the Destroyer, as they
fully confirm the family légends regarding the destruction of Goomlí.
These attest that the Rajpoot is no egotist, and that he was not in the
habit of ascribing all the virtues under heaven to him who fell in his
country's cause, the simple name and the date of self-devotion appear-
ing to have sufficed for the eulogy of the deceased; thus:
S. 1112, on the 7th of the month of Pos
S. 1112, on the 13th of Cartica
S.
...
Vikut, Oomra and Venaji Jaiti, Huria-
bunya Chohan, and Soonsirwa Jaitwa.
S. 1118, The full moon of Phalgun (Spring), on
Monday, the Mahraja Harí Sing, Jaitwa.
Dhalota.
Bharug.
S. 1119, The 6th of the month Cartica (December), Veera Jaitwa.
Thus the few of these remains, which presented any thing in the
shape of a date, are as early as from A.D. 1056 to A.D. 1063, or
thirty to forty years after the invasion of Mahmood of Ghizni; we
shall see presently how far these dates accord with the destruction and
fall of Goomlí.
On our return to camp at Bhanwul, we had the pleasure to find
Major Barnewell, the Political Agent for this province (accompanied
by Dr. Macadam), who had come from the capital of the Jam to meet
us. To his courtesy I am indebted for the account I am enabled to
draw
·
THE BUHAE VANSA.
409
draw up
of the Jaitwa princes of Goomlí. Already I had sketched an
outline of their history from the oral traditions of an intelligent
Charun, the living chronicle of these regions, who was likewise con-
versant with the general history of Saurashtra ; but Major Barnewell
sent to Poorbunder, on the coast, where the present chief of the
Jaitwas resides, and his messenger returned accompanied by the family
bard and the books of chronicles and kings.
The Jaitwa is one of the oldest Rajpoot families of the peninsula,
and their power, about the period of the irruption from Ghizni, appears
to have embraced the whole western nook, bounded by the Bhadra
and the gulf of Cutch, and including the subdivisions of Hallour,
Burrira (the Burda of the maps), and the western portion of Jhalawar.
Although they boast of perfect independence at this period, it is
evident from the annals of Anhulwarra, that they must have been
under a feudal subjection to the Balharas. Since the destruction of
Goomlí, the Jaitwa power has been on the wane, and the encroach-
ments of his neighbour, the Jam, have confined him to a small tract
south of the Burda hills, yielding not above one lac of annual
revenue. Yet, despite this diminution of territory, the "Poonchería
Ranas," or long-tailed princes, of Poorbunder, continue to hold up
their heads amongst the smaller nobility of the land, and, proud of
the ancient blood which circulates in their veins, look down with a sort
of scorn upon their peasant suzerain, the Guicowar.
As I waded through the Buhae vansa (Book of Genealogies) of the
Jaitwas, I felt the full force of St. Paul's advice to Timothy, "not to
give heed to fables and endless genealogies." My two days of labour,
however, were repaid by the consciousness that I, at least, knew as
much as they did themselves of their origin. Names, with few facts,
3 G
and
410
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
1
66
fewer dates, made the sum of this tradition. Yet I bore with exem-
plary patience the recital of a list of one hundred and forty-five princes,
from the foundation to the destruction of Goomlí, with their intermar-
riages, the names of their wives and tribes,-hoping to be able by
synchronisms to make something of this extensive chain of pedigree,
which would be honoured even amongst the Cimbri of Wales. The
book proved one of the greatest curiosities I had ever examined, and
an excellent specimen of the craft.
As a curious instance of the distortion of mind that can record such
absurdities, I will subjoin a single extract, which may vie with any
ever concocted by a Scald or herald of the west. I have elsewhere
had to remark on similar fables in the origin of tribes, invented to cover
their barbarous origin. They pretend that the progenitor of these
6
long-tailed" chiefs came from Socotra, an island at the entrance of
the Red Sea, (known to have been colonized at an early age by Greeks,
Arabs, Egyptians, and Hindus, congregated for mercantile objects,*)
which they classically term Sankhó-dwâra, the gate of the shell.'
This personage was the generalissimo of Rama, the monkey-god
Hanuman, who led his armies to Lanka, for the recovery of his wife,
Síta. The maternal parent of the Jaitwas was no other than a Macar,
(a marine animal, spoken of by Menu,) either a shark or an alligator.
On the victorious return of Rama and his chivalry from Lanka, Macar-
d'huraj (standard of the Macars') was landed by his mother on the
western coast of Saurashtra, there to establish a human race of sovereigns.
But as distinction is transmitted ex parte paternâ, the mother, as the
witty Gibbon remarks, going for nothing, the patriarchal Jaitwa bore
one of the physical characteristics of his sire, in an elongation of the
spine,
* Edin. Review, No. cxxiv.
411
spine, which, like that of the races described by Lord Monboddo and
Dr. Plot, has gradually worn away in the succession of many genera-
tions, and the degeneracy of his posterity; so that the family bard found
some difficulty in solving the question, whether the present incumbent
had aught beyond the title of "poonchería," though he stoutly con-
tended for a superfluity of down in Prince Sontân, only four genera-
tions ago.
*
CHRONOLOGY OF JAITWA HISTORY.
My
6
Passing over the improbable period, and taking the more rational
Charun as my assistant, we must endeavour to reduce these wild chro-
nologies to something like reason and common sense. The first capital
of this stranger race, the Macars, from Socotra, was erected on the spot
where Macard❜huraj was first landed, and named Srinagara; and the
affix of d'huraj, or banner,' was borne by the princes until the time of
Indrajeet. His son, Sil, changed both the name of the tribe and the
capital. He founded Goomlí, and, by an obvious metonymy, assumed
the name of Camar in lieu of Macar. Sil Camar went on a pilgrimage
to the Ganges, and had the honour to receive the hand of the daughter
of Anungpal, the Tüar prince of Dehli. Could we place any confi-
dence in the records of the Jaitwas, (and in this they are supported by
tradition,) we have at once a date for the foundation of Goomlí; for
Anungpal was the regenerator of Dehli, whose era was S. 749, or A.D.
693. Even with this antiquity a Jaitwa might be satisfied, and a single
glance at Goomlí confirms its truth. So much has been said of the nor-
thern tribes from central Asia, which have at various periods migrated
into
* The credulous "father of history," who would have taken for gospel these chronicles of the
Jaitwas, speaking of the Sileni, the companions of Dionysus or Osiris, the god of Nyssa, the first who
reigned in that island, and who was so very ancient that none knew his origin, says, "forasmuch as
he had a tail growing out of his rump, his posterity, partaking of his nature, had the same badge.”
•
F
3 G 2
412
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
¿
into these lands, that we shall merely remark, without disputing the
Socotra origin, that the tribe of Camar is or was one of note in higher
Asia; nor is it impossible that the legend of descent from the monkey-
god has been invented to cover their "barbarian" origin. The Jaitwas
have intermarried for ages with the Yadus of Joonagurh, the Ballas
of Dhank, or Pra-puttun, with the Gohils of Mongy-puttun, the Sodas
of Oomurkote; and last, not least, the Chaoras, who may dispute with
the Yadus the ancient settlement in this peninsula. Nay, of this tribe
(the Chaora) I learned, amongst their remains here, that they assert
the same origin as the Jaitwas; "they came beyond sea from Socotra
Bate, or
'the island of Socotra,' in the Red Sea, and first fixed in
Okamundala, thence they went to Prachee Puttun, &c. &c."
The fourth prince from Sil, called Phool-Camar, erected the temple
to the sun, still existing in Srinagar; and his successor, Bheem, con-
structed the castle on the summit of the Burda hills, overhanging the
city of Goomlí, and called after him Bheemkote. My compagnon de
voyage, Mr. Williams, who scrambled up, describes it as very exten-
sive, and built of large hewn stones, closely fitted to each other without
cement, though there are appearances of their having been clamped
with iron or lead. There was a tank for water. But this strong-hold
of the Jaitwas is now a receptacle for wild beasts, and my friend's spirit
of research roused a boar from his lair.
..
·
The eighth prince is stated in the chronicle to have defeated Kurrun
Bhagail; but an acquaintance with the annals of Anhulwarra detects
this anachronism: for, instead of being victor over this celebrated prince
of the Solankhi dynasty, Goomlí was actually destroyed during his
reign.
}
The tenth prince, Bhanji, is made to invade Cutch, capture its then
metropolis,
JAITWA PRINCES OF GOOMLI.
metropolis, Canthi-kote, and likewise the famed city of Bumunwarro,*
in Sinde.
413
The fourteenth prince, Rama, is stated to have been cotemporary
with Rao Choorchund Yadu, of Joonagurh, whose name appears in
the Girnar inscriptions.
Mehap, the successor of Rama, married the daughter of the Cathi
chief of Tullaye: a circumstance proving the "barbarian" origin of
the Jaitwa.
There is nothing worthy of record until we reach Khemoo, the
twenty-second prince of Goomlí; and his name is only worth preser-
vation as being associated with that of his minister, Jaitoh, whose caste
was the cheepah, or printers, to whose munificence is ascribed the
noble reservoir in Goomlí before alluded to.
The twenty-fifth prince, Adit, had a son named Hurpal, who es-
poused the daughter of an Aheer, or of the pastoral tribe, and their issue
are the Babrias of Dedan, occupying twelve villages, extending as far
as Oona, Dailwarra.
Others succeed, some of whom intermarried with the aboriginal
tribe of Mhér ; and of this mixed issue, and bearing the maternal name,
there are not less than two thousand, subject to the Jaitwa chief,
capable of bearing arms.
At length, with the eighty-fifth prince, (who, being born under the
Jeyt constellation, received this name,) the existing patronymic of
Camari was exchanged for Jeytwa, or, as I write it, following custom,
Jaitwa; and with this new appellation they assumed or received a new
dignity, in the title of Maha-raja.
The
Sheodadpoor is yet known as Kote-Bumun, and probably the Bumunwasso of my inscrip-
tions, and the poems of Chund.
414
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
#
+
The ninetieth prince, Champ-sén, sheltered the celebrated Hamira,
of the Soomra race, when expelled Sinde. This is the prince during
whose reign the Caggar river (which, issuing from the grand northern
chain, once watered the Indian desert) dried up, according to the tra-
ditional couplet still extant, but which was of little value until the
name of Hamir synchronized with the annals of Anhulwarra. In this
reign, the Jaitwa chronicle gives us a long account of royal nuptials at
the court of Keneksén Chohan. Amongst the sutiors are said to be
Hamir of Méwar, and the Chaora king of Anhulwarra; but the
“long-tailed” Jaitwa carried off the prize. Unfortunately for the
chronicle, Hamir of Méwar lived four centuries after the destruction
of Goomlí.
*
The hundredth prince of Goomlí, named Bhanji, took prisoner in
battle prince Kurrun, the heir-apparent of Anhulwarra; and, as the
price of his ransom, had the present title of Rana conferred on him by
the Balharae. With the name of Bhanji, we reach something like a
standing-place in the interminable ladder of Jaitwa genealogy. In this
reign "the Ghorí Sûltân had his garrison (thânée) at Mangrole ;* he
came to see Goomlí and Srinagara, and became the adopted brother of
the Jaitwa queen." Bhanji was succeeded by Seoji, whose son, and
heir to the sceptre of the Jaitwas, was named Salamun.
In a neighbouring state, the daughter of a Chohan chieftain had the
gift of poesy, and her productions were the theme of universal admira-
tion: nor did she put her light under a bushel, but, with that freedom
granted to the Rajpoot fair in those chivalrous days (prior to the
Islamite
Mangrole is stated to have then been occupied, as it was centuries after, and I believe still is,
by the Macwhanas, said to be a branch of the Húns, and probably a colony of this race, while
reigning at Minagara.
A
INVASION AND OVERTHROW OF GOOMLI.
415
Islamite coming amongst them), she used to circulate her incomplete
couplets, challenging the princely Komârs around to fill them up.
One of these poetic circulars reached Goomlí, and in full durbar was
placed by the itinerant bard of the Chohans in the hands of Salamun,
who in an instant improvised a completion of the couplet, and in due
time received the promised reward-the hand of this Sappho of the
Chohans. But the king of the Jaitwas, instead of feeling pride in his
son's successful talent, visited it with jealous wrath, sentencing him to
desvati, or banishment. Salamun, with his bride, sought shelter in Sinde,
from whose prince he received the lands of Doba and Dharaja for his
support. There he remained, and had a numerous progeny, who, with
himself, became converts to Islam; and, according to tradition, it was
his son who brought an army from Sinde, and overturned Goomlí.
Without any apparent intention, the tale which occasionally adorns
the dry genealogies of the Hindu bard has some moral or didactic ten-
dency, and it is rarely that the overthrow of thrones is not ascribed to
some act of impiety. The rape of a brazier's daughter, and its conse-
quences, drove the princes of Goomlí from the throne, and in lieu of
being lords of almost all the western peninsula, not a tithe of their
ancient possessions was left them. The brazier's daughter was virtuous,
and we may suppose beautiful; she rejected with indignation the base
overtures of her sovereign, and feeling insecure against his power,
sought the protection of the altar. But the mad passion of the prince
rendered him blind to all consequences; he demanded that she should
be delivered up, and this being refused, violated the sanctuary, and
dragged his victim forth amidst the curses of the priests, who, impre-
cating vengeance on him and his race, slew themselves before the altar
of the god. Soon after came the invader from Sinde, when Goomlí
was
[k">
416
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
was invested, and defended for six months. All that was precious to
the people, their families and children, were placed in Bheemkote,
whose defence was entrusted to the Mhérs, whilst the prince, his
chiefs, and auxiliary Rajpoots, defended the tulaîti, or lower town.
As the siege slackened at night, the defenders used to visit their
families in Bheemkote, of which the besiegers took advantage,
entered Goomlí, and, following up their success, scaled Bheemkote.
An indiscriminate massacre followed, in which Seoji, the Tarquin of
Goomlí, his kindred and friends, were cut to pieces: their names are
enumerated, and amongst them are many of the ancient tribe of Dâby.
The date of this catastrophe in the chronicle, as in the oral traditions
of the bard, is S. 1109 (A.D. 1053), three years anterior to any date
found on the monumental pallias. The Asuras (as the Islamites are
generally styled by the Rajpoot bard) are distinctly stated to have
worn long beards; and it is added, that, "having read the Koran in the
temple," they forthwith returned to Sinde.
I have repeatedly drawn attention to those cities, as Cheetore,
Goomlí, &c., on which the tilâc, or imprecation of the suttee, has been
pronounced, reminding one of the curses of the Jewish prophets
against Egypt, Edom, and Tyre; and of that denunciation, so power-
fully and awfully, yet so simply, depicted in Holy Writ, that " "they
should be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate," so
characteristic of the condition of Goomlí, which, in its lonely ruins,
appears as if the wing of the angel of destruction had swept over it. It
has all the marks of a city suddenly abandoned. The solemn vow
extends even to the very stones, which accounts for the perfect state
of the relics, seldom seen in any city gradually depopulated and
deserted. Two awful warnings sufficed to perpetuate the suttee impre-
cation,
*.
GUINE
:
1.
417
cation, and to protect the ruins of Goomlí. The first was in the exam-
ple of Morewarra, built entirely from the ruins of the Jaitwa capital,
and thrown to the ground by one of those visitations to which this
region appears devoted, an earthquake, which was construed into a
punishment for disregarding the anathema. So of Bhanwul, where
several houses, constructed from its materials, so conveniently at hand,
fell simultaneosly, burying their inmates in the fall. The remains
have, therefore, little to fear from man, and may exist, as objects of
curiosity, until some future throe of nature shall lay prostrate the
ancient city of the Camari.
Thus we have two events in the history of the Jaitwas, the founda-
tion of Goomlí in S. 749, and its destruction in S. 1109, each esta-
blished on good grounds, the former by Sil Camar, the cotemporary of
Anungpal of Dehli, (whose epoch we have established elsewhere by
chronological tables, and proved by synchronisms with the annals of
other states,) while its downfall is attested by the pallias, or monu-
mental stones: a few years later, perhaps S.1119, might be adopted in
preference to the chronicle. Between these two dates, including a
period of three hundred and sixty years, we can admit only twenty
crowned heads, and, in happy confirmation of this, my friend the
Charun assured me that this was the number his list contained, and
that the catastrophe happened "seven hundred and seventy years ago,"
an account in perfect accordance with the pallias. There is an interme-
diate period worthy of a passing observation, that of Singji, ten gene-
rations anterior to the fall of Goomlí, and who in the chronicle is said
to have married a princess of Cheetore. Allowing the usual average
of twenty-three years to a reign, this would place Singji in A.D. 823,
which approximates sufficiently to that grand event recorded in the
3 H
annals
SYNCHRONISMS.
Ken
By
418
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
annals of Méwar, the first invasion of the Islamite, when all the Raj-
poot chivalry assembled for the defence of Cheetore; and amongst "the
eighty-four princes whose cushions were spread within its walls," that
of the Jaitwa chief is distinctly mentioned by the bard of Méwar. The
circumstance recorded in the Jaitwa annals as having led to this inter-
course, and carried its leader from "the land's-end" of Hinduism to
protect its interests in the person of the king of Cheetore, though in
itself puerile, becomes valuable as it shows that the story of its singular
parentage is not of modern invention. An itinerant minstrel of
Cheetore, in his vagabond journeyings, reached the court of the Jaitwa
prince, by whom he was laden with gifts, and made the medium of a
proposal of marriage; to which the Rawul of Cheetore indignantly sent
answer, that "he would bestow no daughter of his on the issue of a
monkey-father and shark-mother." This refusal, coupled with the
reproachful stigma, deeply affected the Jaitwa; whereupon, the family
Bhât repaired to the shrine of Hursid, on the summit of the Burda
hills, and performed sacrifice and penance so severe, that the patroness
of his order appeared, and taught him the ancient genealogies of the
Jaitwas, with which he repaired to Cheetore, and conquered the scru-
ples of its prince. In this curious admission, we can at once account
for the “one-hundred and forty-five crowned heads" of the Pooncheria
princes, who melt into thin air when tried by a synchronical process.
Moreover, Hursid was no conjurer, and "the sun of the Hindus not
over bright, in allowing his fair daughter to be craftily transferred to
the arms of the satyr-chief. Through these loose anecdotes we may,
however, discern true historical facts, all appertaining to that dark, but
interesting period, the few centuries preceding Islâm in India, when
new tribes were pouring in, and amalgamating with the older Rajpoot.
""
It
1
ERAS OF SAURASHTRA.
419
It will be recollected by those who bestow a passing thought on
Hindu chronology, that the Balabhi inscription, so often alluded to,
contains no less than four distinct samvats, or eras, one, the latest, of
which is styled Seehoh. Thus the Balabhi Samvat 945 — S. Vicrama
1320 Seehoh S. 151, which-1320, leaves S. 1169, or A.D. 1113, for
its institution. At this period, the potent Sidrâj, king of Anhulwarra,
was lord-paramount over all these regions. Is it likely that this,
the greatest of all the Balharas, would have permitted the institution
of a new era in a nook of Saurashtra, the nearest of his eighteen
kingdoms? Yet to no other than the Seehoh of Goomlí can it be
applicable. But Goomlí was destroyed, and its impious monarch
gone to receive his reward. The Charun confirms the whole legend of
the unhappy couplet, the banishment of Salamun, and "his protection
by Jam Oonur of the Sinde-Summa dynasty, whose son, Bamunea, led
the army to avenge and reinstate him
and reinstate him; but Salamun, disgusted with a
place where the blood of a father and of Brahmins had been shed, and
which had been further desecrated by the anathemas of the suttee,
abandoned altogether his native land and returned to Sinde, where he
married two wives, one, the daughter of the Jhareja of Dhumarka ; the
other, from the Soomra of Oomurkote—thus his stock became Mooslem,
and still holds the lands of Doba Dharajee, in Sinde.
The offspring of Salamun by the poetic Chohan returned to the
peninsula, and established himself at Rampoor, where the family
resided for many generations. Now as Goomlí was destroyed in
S. 1109, and the Seehoh Samvat commenced in S. 1169, we have
only to conclude that the son of Salamun and grandson of Seehoh
commemorated his new era by the foundation of his new capital, very
naturally naming it after the last lord of Goomlí.
3 H 2
To
420
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
To conclude this eventful story. The Jaitwas continued at Rampoor
until dispossessed by the Jam, on which event they retired to the sea-
coast, and erected temporary shelter (chaya). The buildings gradually
attained the dignity of a city, which yet bears the name of Chaya; and
although they subsequently raised upon the site of Sudamapoor the
present capital, Poorbunder, the installation of the Jaitwas continues
to take place at Chaya. Eleven generations have elapsed since this
last change. The present Rana of the Jaitwas is called Khémji, and is the
bhanaij, or maternal nephew, of the Jam. He has two wives, one from
the Bhalla of Dhank, the other from the Jhalla of Choara Rampoor.
In this admixture of Cat'hi, Cunani, Mhér, Balla, Jhalla, and Jam, the
Camari blood has not degenerated; and although they are enrolled by
the chronicles of Saurashtra amongst the "Chatees Rajcula," or thirty-
six royal races, we may assert that they have become Hindu only from
locality and circumstance. The Capit d'huraj, or banner bearing the
figure of Hanuman, still precedes his descendant in all processions,
and the pooncheria, or tail, will continue to be the subject of muzzak
or badinage amongst the kinsman of their wives while a Jaitwa
remains in the land. Hursid is still their tutelary divinity, but his
ancient shrine in the Burda is under the ban, and a new temple has
been raised at Meannee. Bhalnat'h, Maha-deo, however, divides the
homage with Hursid; but all are types of destruction and reproduction.
NUGDEAH.-DECEMBER 24th.-Seven coss, or fourteen miles. A
dreary march through desolation; the three or four hamlets we passed
were peopled by Aheers, who, here and there, in the midst of babool
jungle and rank grass, had tilled a few fields, protected from wild beasts
by hedges of impenetrable cactus. One of these villages, called Rajirio,
possessed some interest, from having belonged to a family of Charuns,
who,
I
421
who, on the invasion of Mahmoud, committed traga, or suicide, the sole
revenge of the bard against the oppressor. The pallias, or sacrificial pil-
lars of these sons of song, confirm the tradition, and are still the objects
of religious homage to their descendants. This day my eyes beheld the
magnificent mount Girnar for the last time.
ORIGIN OF THE AHEERS.
DEOLAH.-DECEMBER 25th.-Six coss. About half-way we crossed
the Lanni rivulet, also called the Okapât, near the village of Asiabhadra,
the ancient boundary of Okamundala to the east. To the north is Hollur.
Nearly the entire population is Aheer, but they are said to have no
proprietary right in the soil, which belongs exclusively to the Rajpoots,
who are very thinly scattered over this region. For the first time, I heard
the Aheers speak of their origin; they claim to be of Yadu-vansa, and
to have followed in the train of the shepherd-king, Kanya, from the
pastoral Surasena, on the Jumna. At all events, their pretensions have
a classical foundation; to the nomadic character their claim is indispu-
table. Take them altogether, the Aheers are not surpassed in personal
qualifications by any class in the peninsula, and the matériel of agricul-
ture, as ploughs, carts, and cattle, is unequalled throughout India;
yet are the villages mean, averaging about thirty huts, and there is
more of personal than domestic comfort. Meannee, whence we obtained
some excellent fish, lay four coss on our left.
MOOKTASIRR.—DECEMBER 26th.--Eight coss, full eighteen miles.
But two hamlets, and these ten miles apart, viz. Sutteepoor, two miles
from Deolah, consisting of twenty-five families of Aheers; and
Bogant, of about fifty. Unequalled pastures cover these highlands,
from which all the day we have been gradually descending, and
herds of fine cattle were thriving on the luxuriant dhoorba and other
grasses. The lake of beatitude,--such is the interpretation of Mook-
tasirr,'
422
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
tasirr,'-was covered with wild fowl, and in its bed is found that rich
yellow mineral, of the jasper family, so much used in decorating the
temples of these regions.
DWARICA.-DECEMBER 27th.-Ten coss. From "the lake of bliss " to
"the door (dwara) of the deity,"* a distance of full twenty miles, all
was barren and desolate. There was, or rather had been, one village,
called Maddi,† upon the brink of the ocean, but it had remained
deserted since it was attacked by pirates some years ago. About four
hundred yards west of this deserted village is the Khary rivulet, its
embouchure closed by a bar of sand; which if removed, this nook
(coont) of the world (juggut) would, as in the days of Crishna, be
insular. We skirted the ocean rolling its breakers upon the sands, or
hard concrete rock, the substratum of the island, barren of every thing
but the l'hoor, or cactus, which thrives equally amidst barren rocks or
sand. When about six miles distant, the spire of the temple of Dwarica
became visible, and within a mile of it we forded another Khary, whose
waters covered the saddle-flaps. Passing through the fortified town,
we took a glance at the sacred fane, on our way to the camp, pitched
at the Land's-end 'of the Hindu.
6
Bar. 30° 4′.-Therm. at 6 a.m. 62°; noon 85°; sunset 79°.
The temple of Dwarica, the most celebrated of all the shrines raised
to Crishna, is built upon an eminence rising from the sea-shore, and
surrounded by a fortified wall, which likewise encircles the town, from
which it is, however, separated by a lofty partition-wall, through which
it is necessary to pass to see it to advantage. The architectural cha-
racter of this temple is that to which we are accustomed to give the
name
* Dwarica-nať'h.
+ Maddi bearing S.E. dist.1 mile. I took the east bearing of the Goomlí hill, bearing S. 72°
E., and thus these bearings will connect shore and shore
THE TEMPLE OF DWARICA.
name of pagoda. It may be said to consist of three parts: the munduff,
or hall of congregation; the devachna, or penetralia (also termed
gabarra); and the sikra, or spire.
To begin with the munduff, which is here square, measuring twenty-
one feet internally, and five distinct stories high. Each story is colon-
naded, the lower being twenty feet in height, and of the same square
form to the last, where the architraves are laid transversely to form a
base for the surmounting dome, whose apex is seventy-five feet from
the pavement. Four massive pillars on each face of the square form
the foundation for this enormous weight; but these being inadequate
to sustain it, intermediate pillars to each pair have been added, to the
sacrifice of all symmetry. A colonnaded piazza surrounds the lowest
story, of about ten feet in breadth, from which to the north, south, and
west, portions are projected, likewise colonnaded. Each story of the
munduff has an internal gallery, with a parapet of three feet in height,
to prevent the incautious from falling. These parapets, divided into
compartments, had been richly sculptured; but the chisel of Islâm had
been also at work, and defaced every graven image, nor is there enough
remaining to disclose the original design: nevertheless, this oblitera-
tion has been done with care, so as not to injure the edifice.
The basement, or square portion of the temple, from which springs
the sikra, was the sanctum in former ages, when Budha-trivicrama was
the object of adoration, anterior to the heresy of Crishna, who was
himself a worshipper of Budha, whose miniature shrine is still the
sanctum-sanctorum of Dwarica, while Crishna is installed in a cella
beyond. The sikra, or spire, constructed in the most ancient style,
consists of a series of pyramids, each representing a miniature temple,
and each diminishing with the contracting spire, which terminates at
one
423
424
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
*
one hundred and forty feet from the ground. There are seven distinct
stories before this pyramidal spire greatly diminishes in diameter; each
face of each story is ornamented with open porches, surmounted by a
pediment supported by small columns. Each of these stories internally
consists of column placed on column, whose enormous architraves
increase in bulk in the decreasing ratio of the superimposed mass,
and although the majority at the summit are actually broken by
their own weight, yet they are retained in their position by the
aggregate unity. The capitals of these columns are quite plain,
having four cross projections for the architraves to rest on; and
by an obtuseness in the Silpi not to be accounted for, several of
these architraves do not rest on the columns, but on the pro-
jections; and, strange to say, the lapse of centuries has proved their
efficiency, though Vitruvius might have regarded the innovation
with astonishment. The entire fabric, whose internal dimensions are
seventy-eight feet by sixty-six, is built from the rock, which is a sand-
stone of various degrees of texture, forming the substratum of the
island;—it has a greenish hue, either from its native bed, or from
imbibing the saline atmosphere, which, when a strong light strikes
upon it, gives the mass a vitreous transparent lustre. Internally it has
a curious conker-like appearance. The architraves are, however, an
exception, being of the same calcareous marine conglomerate, not
unlike travertine, as already described in the temple of Somnat❜h.
The foundation of this shrine must have been laid in the solstice, as
its front varies ten points from the meridian line; and as the Silpi, or
architect, in these matters, acts under the priest, we may infer that the
Surya Siddhanta was little known to the Goorgoocha Brahmins, the
ministrants of their times, who took the heliacal rising of those days
C
as
SHRINES.
425
as the true east point; its breadth is, therefore, from N.N.W. to
S.S.E. Contrary to custom, it has its back to the rising sun, and faces
the west.
Crishna is here adored under his form of Rinchor, when he was
driven from his patrimony, Surasena, by the Budhist king of Magadha.
A covered colonnaded piazza connects the cella of Crishna with a
miniature temple dedicated to Deoki, his mother; and, within the
ample court are various other shrines, one of which, in the S.E. angle,
contains the statue of Budha Tri-vicrama, or, as he is familiarly called,
Tricam-Rae and Trimnat'h, which is always crowded with votaries.
Opposite to this, or at the S. W. angle of the main temple, is a smaller
one, dedicated to another form of Crishna, Madhu* Rae, and between
these is a passage leading by a flight of steps to the Goomtee, a small
rivulet, whose embouchure with the ocean is especially sacred, though
it would not wet the instep to cross it. From the grand temple to the
sungum, or point of confluence, where there is a small temple to
Sungum-Narayn, the course of the Goomtee is studded with the ceno-
taphs of those pilgrims who were fortunate enough to surrender life at
this "dwara of the deity." Amongst them are four of the five Pandu
brothers, countenancing the tradition that the fifth proceeded across
the Hemachil, where, being lost sight of, he is said to have perished in
its snows, and whither he was accompanied by Baldeo, the Indian
Hercules, whose statue is enshrined in the south-west corner of the
great munduff, several steps under ground. Baldeo is represented on
his ascent from pâtâl, or the infernal regions, after some monstrous
combat.
* Madhú is one of the poetical names of Crishna, viz. the intoxicator, from Madhwa, 'strong
drink;' and Madhú, the bee'-perhaps originating our Mead.
3 I
426
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
}
was
combat. At "the shrine of confluence" there
there was a very aged
ministrant, called Byragi, said to have passed his hundredth year. He
had been a great traveller, especially to all the teeruts of Vishnu, both
in and out of India: but I found it difficult to extract from him any
information. Not the least curious or interesting sight, were the hulls
of two piratical ships, hauled high and dry upon the beach, close to
the shrine of Sungum-Râe, the divinity under whose colours and
protection they scoured these seas.
My search for inscriptions was unrewarded, for though I did
obtain two, they were so designedly obliterated as to be perfectly
illegible; and though the pilgrims and devotees of all ages and of
all countries have covered the walls with their names, I could not,
after much labour even amongst these humblest of records, obtain
any thing worth noting in my journal. The ministers about the
temple of "the god of thieves, as of harmony," are the most ignorant
of their order, and the Dwarica-Mahatma is a dull prosaic ritual,
without the redeeming admixture of profane events, which such works
generally contain. The priests are expert enough in putting the
chaup or seal of the god upon the arms of the votaries, and by a
process similar to that employed by our sailors. The operation is
performed at the sungum; the hair of the head being first cut off, as an
offering to the deity of the waters, and the fees being paid, they can
triumphantly appeal to this sign of their faith on return to their native
land.
They ascribe the erection of this temple, over that of the more
ancient fane of Tri-vicrama Budha, to Bujr-nâb, prince of Okamandala,
and grandson of Crishna, whose posterity continued a century after
the great international war and dispersion of the Yadus to various
regions
LEGEND OF RAIB AND SAIB.
427
regions upon and west of the Indus. Bujr-nâb himself eventually
retired to Bhadri, in the mountains of the north, and his offspring, by
intermarriage with the inhabitants of that region (called danoos in the
tradition), returning to the "Land's End," took possession of Sankho-
dwara, and erected Kulore-kote, where they ruled a thousand years.
At this juncture, two Yavanas appeared, called Raïb and Saïb,
who slew these, and in their issue maintained it for one thousand five
hundred years, when Mahomed Dhoonkra, in whose possession was
the magic ring of Vicramaditya, came from Dehli, having already by
it obtained Gor and Gujni. The descendants of Raïb and Saïb, who
were of the Belem tribe,* were put to death by Mahomed, who seized
upon Kulore-kote and Oka. Then came Keneksen Chaora from the
east, whose descendants ruled during many generations, until Oméd
Sing, of the Rahtore tribe, came from Marwar, slew the Chaoras and
took possession of the "nook,"† since which it has been called
Wadail, or Badhail, from badha, massacre.' Bate, or the island,
continued to be the capital, and the offspring of these Rahtores, by
intermarriage with the pre-existing classes, were called Wagairs, and
were famed for their daring piracies. It was during the time of Samla-
Manik, Wagair, that Arungzebe came, destroying all the temples, on
which occasion that of Dwarica had its sikra, or spire, thrown down
but Samla had previously removed the statue of Rinchor to Bate,
where it still remains. The descendants of Samla-Manik continued
to hold the lands of Oka, and pursue their piratical practices, until
S. 1876 (A.D. 1820), when Mulloo Manik's atrocities drew
6
;
the
upon him
vengeance of the English. Such is the pith of the story which
connects
6
* Tradition assigns to this tribe and its chief, Gorí Belem, the destruction of Pali'thâna.
This later portion of the traditional history of Okamandala is confirmed by the Rahtore annals.
€
312
428
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
connects the installation of Crishna at the Land's-End' of the
Hindu, the expulsion of his successors by the Yavanas, or Greeks, the
invasion of Mahomed (qu. bin Cassim ?), and the final extirpation of
the pirates of Sungum-Râe, with the death of their leader, Mulloo
Manik, by an army led by my friend and schoolfellow, the Hon.
Colonel Lincoln Stanhope.
It would be a waste of time to erect hypotheses on such loose
traditional tales of Asuras and Yavanas, of the Belem chiefs who
succeeded, and who in turn were sacrificed by Mahomed, or Mah-
mood, followed by the Chaoras and Rahtores; but the three latter
events are historical facts, and succeed in chronological order. Of the
Belem we have already traditional notice in the destruction of Pali-
t'hana, and we have full knowledge of the fact that the Yavanas, or
Greeks, under Apollodotus and Menander, conquered these regions of
the Suroi, at a period not very wide of the tradition. Their predeces-
sors, the danoos, or Asuras, may have been Assyrians, which would
account not only for the name of this peninsula of Sun-worshippers,
but for its singular inscriptions.
6
1
་
}
•
429
CHAPTER XX.
Beerwalla.-Aramra.-Ancient Dwarica.-Goreja.-Graves of Yavanas.-Pallias of Pirates.—
Bate, or Sankho-dwara.-Tradition of Crishna.-Shells of Bate.-The Rajpoot war-shells.-
Pirates' Castle.-Shrines to the Hindu Apollo.-Meera Bae, the Rajpoot poetess.-Historical
notices of the sea-kings.-Devotion of the Pirates.-The extent of their navigation.
DECEMBER 30th and 31st.-ARAMRA and BATE. For eighteen miles
we marched along the margin of the gulf, on an excellent road,
passing the walled town of Beerwalla, and the little castle of Cutch-
gur❜h. The ancient and interesting town of Aramra is separated from
Bate by the sea, but all was waste, and the t'hoor, or cactus, was the
sole natural product throughout the morning's march. Some herds of
fine buffaloes, tended by Rebarris, contrived to crop herbage enough
to fatten them, and afforded the only symptoms of life. The piratical
habits of ages have inflicted the vice of barrenness on their lands; yet
we found the industrious Loharra Bhatti, who may be met with
wherever money can be made, mixed with the Kharwa mariner, and
the piratical Waghair or Macwahana, the latter being the most nume-
rous class. The Pâtel of Aramra, however, still vaunts his pure Rahtore
blood, and if correct, he may indeed be vain of his descent. With
several other sites, Aramra puts in its claim, and with good reason, to
be considered as mool or 'ancient' Dwarica; its own appearance, and
the many decayed shrines about it, furnishing strong evidence in favour
of the boast. Here the pilgrim can receive the seal of Crishna, as well
as at the greater shrine; but instead of the Brahmin, a Charun stamps
the votary with the chaup: the fee is eleven rupees, from which not
even the mendicant Byragi is exempted.
GUNAAN
There
1
430
!
para e
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
C
There is much that is interesting in the environs of Aramra, in
which are several temples, but all bearing testimony to the rough
usage of the Mahomedans. A colony of owls had found shelter in
that dedicated to Gordhun-nath,* or lord of the mount of wealth,'
one of the innumerable names of Crishna. At Goreja, or Goreecha,
which we passed in the morning, and which they term Cacha Gujni,
we saw the graves of two celebrated Yavanas, whose names of
Assah and Purrah are still preserved, and the subject of wonderful
narratives. They were upwards of twenty feet in length and of propor-
tional breadth; but there are five others at Aramra said to be thirty-six
cubits long and six broad, indicating that the Asuras, or Yavanas, who
first dwelt in this "nook of the world," were veritable giants. Burck-
hardt, when descanting on the tomb of Neby Osha (the prophet
Hosea), in Palestine, says, "It is in the form of a coffin, thirty-six feet
long, three broad, and three and a half in height, constructed in
conformity with the notion of the Turks, who thought all their fore-
fathers were giants, especially the prophets before Mahomed;" and he
adds, that “the tomb of Noah in Colo-Syria was still larger." If
these Asuras of Aramra were of Aramean stock, the emigrants from
the old Assyria, they would in all these practices be following the
customs of their forefathers.
Let us quit the graves of the giants of Aramra for its more interest-
ing memorials, the pallias of the pirates, which speak in a language
not to be misunderstood, albeit a species of hieroglyphic, though one
which will not admit of a double interpretation; for amidst the
mouldering
* Gord'hun, a contraction of Goverd'hun, is a hill in the pastoral land of the Surasení, where
Crishna was born, and which first attested his miracles. It still attracts myriads, and is annually
lustrated with milk.
1
ESTA
431
mouldering cenotaphs and broken tomb-stones, there remain two, on
which are sculptured in high relief" the ships of Tricam-râe" engaged
in combat. One of these is a three-masted vessel, pierced for guns;
the other is of a more antique form and character, having but one
mast, and none of those modern inventions of war. Both are repre-
sented in the act of boarding the chase. One of the piratical sailors,
with sword and shield, is depicted as springing from the shrouds ;
another from the bow of his ship; and it may be supposed they are
the effigies of the heroes who lay here. Another pallia was inscribed
to the memory of "Rana Raemul, who, in S. 1628 (A.D. 1572),
"performed the saka, when attacked by the king; twenty-one of his
"kindred were slain with him, and the Jaitwâní* became Suttee.”
Pallias are erected to each of the twenty-one. There was another, and
the latest in date, erected to the memory of these buccaneers of
Aramra, and sufficiently laconic: "S. 1819, (A.D. 1763), Jadroo
Kharwa was slain on the seas." Kharwa is the most common epithet
of the Hindu sailor.
PIRATES ISLE.
6
6
JANUARY 1st 1823.-Crossed over to the Pirates' isle, emphatically
called Bate, or the island,' but in the classic traditions of the Hindu,
Sankho-dwara, or the door of the shell,' one of the most sacred spots
of his faith. It was here that Crishna, or Kanya,† acted the part of
the Pythian Apollo, and redeemed the sacred books, slaying his Hydra
foe, Takshac, who had purloined and concealed them in one of those
gigantic shells, whence the island has its name. The whole history of
Kanya, or Crishna, who assumed the form of Vishnu, is allegorical, but
neither
* His wife, of the Jaitwa tribe.
+ Kanya, or Vishnu, resembles the sun-god of the Egyptians in name as well as symbols. Kan
was one name of the sun in Egypt, and his eagle-head is a well-known type.
1
432
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
neither devoid of interest nor incapable of solution. There is no part
of their mythology more easy of illustration than this, which is allusive
to the sectarian warfare carried on at this period between the new sect
of Vishnuvites and the more ancient one of Budha. The races who
supported the religion of Crishna are typified under his emblem,
Garuda, or the eagle; while their wily adversary, the Budhist, is figured
by the Tacshac, Naga, or serpent, a denomination given to the races
of northern origin, which at various periods overran India, and of
which were Taksiles (the friend of Alexander, the site of whose capital
is still preserved in the Memoirs of Baber) and the still more famed
Tacshac Salivahan, the foe of Vicrama.* In the legend of the Yadu
prince, Crishna, (himself a seceder from the faith of Budha-Trivicrama
to that of Vishnu, if not its founder) receiving the sacred volumes from
his hydra-foe at this remote point of Hinduism, as well as his first
combat with him in the Jumna, we have but the continuance of the
same sectarian warfare, in which Crishna was in this instance suc-
cessful, driving them before him both in the north of India and here:
thus, his title of Rinchor was given on his defeat by Jarasindha, the
king of Magadha, of the heretical faith, and at length these religious
and civil conflicts led to his death, and the dispersion of the Yadu
race, of which he was the chief support.†
Sankho-dwara
* On both these points I must refer the enquirer into such matters to the Annals of Rajasthan.
+ These Yadus, I surmise to have been all originally Budhists, and of Indo-Getic origin, as their
habits of polyandrism alone would almost demonstrate; and when we find the best-informed of the
Jains assuring us that Nemnâth, the twenty-second Budha, was not only Yadu, but the near kinsman
of Crishna, all doubt is at an end; and I am strongly inclined to pronounce decidedly, what I have
before only suggested, that the Yadus are the Yute, or ancient Getes of the Jaxartes, amongst
whom, according to Professor Neumann from Chinese authorities, one of the Shamanean sages
sprung, eight hundred years before Christ. Both Nemnat'h and Sham-nat'h have the same personal
epithets, derived from their dark complexions, the first being familiarly called Arishta-Nemi, the
C
black
SHELLS OF SANKHO-DWARA.
Sankho-dwara is still renowned for its shells, and one bank, un-
covered at low water, whence they are obtained, is close to the
landing-place; but as the rin-sank'h, or war-shell, with which he was
wont to peal a blast, the onslaught to battle, no longer graces the hand
of the Rajpoot in these degenerate days; its use is now restricted to the
Brahmin, wherewith "to awake the gods in the morning;" to let the
world know when he dines; or, what is of more importance, to form
chooris, or bracelets, for the arms of the Hindu fair. Bengal is the
best customer for the shells of Sankho-dwara; and I recollect an entire
street occupied in the ancient city of Dacca by shell-cutters, all
supplied from Bate. The banks are farmed of the Guicowar govern-
ment by a Parsee merchant of Bombay, who contracts with the
Kharwas, at the rate of twenty korees (from five to six rupees) per
hundred, and loads them for Bombay, whence they are shipped for
Bengal. The last exportation had taken place only two days before,
and out of half-a-dozen, I obtained but one such as the heroes of old
would have condescended to use. Perpetual allusion is made, in the
martial poetry of the Rajpoot, to the "blast of the shell," which is as
common as the charge of the brazen trump of our western chivalry.
Of two of these, pre-eminent mention is made in the "Great War,"
viz. Crishna's own shell, named Pan-chaên, so ponderous that he
alone could lift it; and that which belonged to his friend and brother
in arms, Arjuna, called Dacshinaverta, from having its spiral reversed,
and which fell a trophy to his rival, Bhisama, the leader of the Curus.
One
433
3 K
<
black Nemi,' the other Sham and Crishna, both also meaning dark-coloured;' and when this is not
only confirmed by tradition, but the shrine of Budha itself is yet preserved within that of Crishna
at Dwarica, we have no reason to question that his faith, prior to his own deification, was that
of Budha.
-
t
0
434
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
6
One of this kind is said to be ámaluc, or without price;' and the sole
one recorded besides this, belonged to the Balhara king, Sidrâj of
Anhulwarra, and is said to be now in the possession of his descendant,
the Solanki chief of Roopnagurh, one of the second class of nobles in
Méwar: but although I have often questioned him touching his
illustrious origin, I never thought of the war-shell heir-loom.
I have said that the pirates' castle was formerly called Kullore-kote.
This castle, situated on the western side of the island, is compact and
imposing, having lofty massive towers, on which there is no lack of
iron ordnance, and very judiciously, the shortest and most efficient
face is to the sea. It is fortunate for the lovers of the picturesque,
that the determination of the last pirate chief to bury himself in its
ruins was overruled; and there it will long stand as a memorial of a
scourge, which from the earliest periods of history infested these
waters, from the Sankho-dwara, at the entrance of the Red Sea, to the
Gulf of Cutch, and the eradication of which is not the least of the
benefits derived from British supremacy in the East.
As, amongst the Syro-Phoenician and Celtic people, the sun-god
Belenus, or Apollo, was the patron of the mariner; so, in these lands,
the sea-kings of Larice and Saurashtra almost monopolized this divi-
nity, transferring their homage from Budha Trivicrama; nor is it less
singular that with the Hindu as with the Greek mythics, the exchange
of characteristics should take place between Apollo and Mercury.
The arrows of Apollo, through whose influence he could hush the
stormy wave, were purchased of his priestess by the Celtic mariner,
who here bribes the god with a portion of his anticipated gains,
whether his intents be lawful or unlawful. Accordingly, in no other
region are there so many shrines to him (being almost as numerous
as
1
1
།
CANTICLES OF MEERA BAE.
435
as his various forms) as at this Land's-end of the Hindu. Of these,
the most ancient is that of Sankh-Narayn, and correctly the most
legitimate object of worship; but the last form, Rinchor, has super-
seded it. His present dwelling, of the order styled decah, or tent-
fashioned, is quite modern, having been erected about one hundred
and fifty years ago by the Jam, on the invasion of Arungzebe; but the
statue has been stolen, removed, and recovered, at least a dozen times.
It is not a little singular, and attests better than any thing else his
votaries' belief in his mortal mould, that wherever a shrine is raised to
his honour, there is one to Deoki, his mother, the wife of the Yadu
king, Basdeo of Maťʼhura. "The divinity was asleep" when I visited
the temple, and being on the point of embarkation for the opposite
coast, I was obliged to decline the invitation "to wait until he
awoke."
But the shrine which proved most attractive to me, was that raised
by a princess of my own land, Méwar, the celebrated Meera Bâé, wife
of Lakha Rana, to the pastoral divinity of the Surasení, in his genuine
character as the lover of the Nine; and assuredly this Rajpoot queen
was one of the most ardent of his votaries. The productions of her
muse are said to have been unequalled by any of the bards of the day,
and it is asserted that a tika, or sequel to the Gita Govinda, or canticles
in honour of Kanya, will stand a comparison with the original by
Jydeva. This and other odes, descriptive of the spiritual charms of
her divine lover, and which still exist, are so fervidly Sapphic, as to
have afforded themes for no small scandal-perhaps the malicious
invention of the regular sons of rhyme, envious of her fame. But since
the fact is attested, that she abandoned all the duties of her station,
and that her life was passed in excursions to every land in which
3 K 2
Apollo
).
;
436
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
t
Apollo was enshrined, where she danced before the god of her
idolatry, in the character of one of the celestial nymphs in the mystic
rasmandala, she afforded some ground for malice to build upon. Her
lord and sovereign, however, never having entertained any jealousy or
suspicion, notwithstanding, in one of these devotional ecstacies, Murali
descended from his pedestal and embraced his devotee, it is but fair
to infer that there was no just cause. Moreover, his son, Bikramajit,
the opponent of the emperor Hemayoon, imbibed all the holy zeal of
his mother, and "made offer of his own head, and the heads of one
hundred thousand Rajpoots, to convey the deity from the polluted
land of Vraja, daily desecrated by the blood of kine:" an undertaking
which was executed by his gallant descendant, Rana Raj Sing, in the
reign of the bigot Arungzebe.*
I had the satisfaction to encounter a most intelligent chieftain of the
Jhala tribe, whose sister was wife to the last pirate chief of Bate, and
who not only supplied me with some curious traditions regarding the
origin of his own tribe, but of the Badhails, who had occupied the
mundala, or region of Oka, for the last seven centuries. I had likewise
the good fortune to fall in with one of the professional historians of
the sacred 'nook,' from whose books of chronicles and kings I trans-
cribed several pages.
Oméd Sing Rahtore was father to the first chief of this tribe who
settled in Oka, and whose son obtained the epithet of Badhail from the
treacherous massacre (badha) of the Chaoras, who then possessed
this region. Aramra was the chief city of the Chaoras, and is still the
teelât, or place of installation of the Badhails. Neither the Jhala
I
chieftain,
* The reader who may desire to know more on the subject of this worship, may consult a paper
of mine in Vol. II. of the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society.
:
↓
1
CHRONICLES OF THE SEA-KINGS.
437
chieftain, nor the chronicler, could give me the date of this event, or
the number of generations elapsed; but the difficulty is cleared up by
the annals of Marwar,* which state that a branch of the founder of this
race in Maroost❜hali, or the great Indian desert, settled in Oka. The
unscrupulous Rahtore, who, in his extirpation of the Chaoras, merely
obeyed the first impulse of the Rajpoot, which is "to get land," soon
adapted himself and his hardy followers to their new mode of life,
and that of their predecessors the Chaoras, whose piratical habits, as
has been related in the annals of Anhulwarra, caused the destruction
of Diu in the eighth century of Vicrama.†
Sungum-dharra, the nom-de-guerre of the sea-kings of Bate, was made
the title of one who lived some generations after the first Badhail. He
was the most notorious pirate who had swept the seas for ages; but
his audacity at length led him into the toils-he was made prisoner,
and conveyed to the king. But his spirit was as indomitable in the
presence of Timoor, as on the deck of his own ship; they could not
make him bow to the throne. He was not the first who expe-
rienced the clemency of these magnanimous princes. The pirate,
instead of losing his head, returned to Bate with a title. He afterwards
espoused the daughter of the Jhareja Rao of Cutch, and fell in an
attack on Warasurra, a town belonging to the Jaitwas. Three genera-
tions after Sungum-dharra, was Rinna (the new title) Sowah, who was
not inferior to him in daring intrepidity. To illustrate his gallantry we
can desire no stronger terms than the language of the chronicle:-" he
gave sanctuary (sirna) to Mozuffer, the king of Guzzerat," and not
only
* Annals of Rajasthan, vol. ii. p. 14.
† In the additional fact, of this most remote corner of the peninsula being inhabited, even to the
twelfth century, by the Chaoras, we have further confirmation of their being at one time the
sovereigns of all Saurashtra ; and perhaps the Suroi of Strabo, the opponents of. Menander.
:
1
438
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
only refused to surrender him, but sent him safely in one of his own
ships across the gulf, while he stood a siege in Aramra, and nobly fell
in its defence. What a contrast does this pirate's conduct afford to
that of Rao Bhara of Cutch (the son of Khengar, the founder of Bhooj,
twelve generations ago), who bartered the person of his suppliant
sovereign for the district of Morbee, in the peninsula! The emperor
kept his word; he surrendered Morbee to the infamous Jhareja, but
his head was the nuzzerana, or fine of relief for the gift, in this
atrocious traffic of his allegiance ;—and still further to mark his sense
of the infamy of the Jhareja, and the honour of the pirate Badhail, he
erected two pallias at the gates of Dehli, issuing an edict that whoever
passed that of the Badhail should crown it with chaplets of flowers,
while on that of the Jhareja the passer should bestow a blow with his
slipper. Nor was the pallia of Jam Bhara exempt from this indignity
until the period of Jam Jessa, who having by some service gained the
royal favour, and being permitted to proffer any suit, intreated that the
pallia might be taken down, or, at least, relieved from insults
which affected the honour of every Jhareja.
Rinna Sowah, or Sowae, was only the title of this noble pirate,
whose name was Raemul, and whose pallia, recording his death on
the saka of Aramra, in S. 1628 (A.D. 1572), I had the satisfaction of
discovering, as already mentioned. This date gives us the clue to this
eventful epoch in the history not only of the sea-kings of Bate, but of
their suzerains of Guzzerat.
The following collateral lists shew the descendants of the worthy
and unworthy of that day, exhibiting nine chiefs from Raemul to
Singram, a man of forty-five years of age; and eleven from the
infamous Bhara to his descendant, who bears the same inauspicious
name.
Rinna
CHRONICLES OF THE SEA-KINGS.
Rinna Raemul,
Akhirâj,
Bheem,
Singram,
Bhajraj,
Dadoh,
Bahap,
Makha Bae,
Singram,
Rae Bhara,
Meg,
Tumachee,
Raedhan,
Prâg,
Ghor,
Dessil,
Lakho,
Ghor,
Raedhan,
Bhara and
Desil,
brothers.
439
Rinna Bheem drew upon him the whole power of the Imaum of
Muscat, who attacked him by land and water, in retaliation for the
mischief done to his subjects by his piracies. Rao Dessil of Cutch
was a partizan of the Muscat admiral on this occasion, and the small
castle called Cutchgur'h was erected on the main by him to batter
Kullore-kote. Several descents were made upon the pirates' isle,
whose castle's strength laughed to scorn their united efforts; and the
admiral having had several vessels stranded in the intricate navigation,
and his ally of Bhooj being bribed by a promise of the lands around
Cutchgur❜h in gros, the fleet withdrew, and the admiral was compelled
to rest satisfied with a single trophy of his success, the wooden portals
of the shrine of Sankh-Narayn. These he converted forthwith into a
bed; but to his horror was overturned in the night, and awoke with the
infidel trophy laying over him, which, according to the legend, he
forthwith sent back to Bate.
There is little of importance in the history of the pirates until
Singram,
440
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Singram, the last of the Dharaêts of the Sungum, whose grandfather
had been visited by an English frigate, which excited their astonish-
ment (having never seen such a vessel before), destroying their vessels
and soon reducing them to submission. The benevolent Colonel
Walker, subsequently, by pacific measures, reclaimed them from their
piratical habits, including them in his general arrangements for the
peace of the peninsula. But his treaty, it is said, was not observed,
and some ill-treatment received at the hands of the Guicowar officers,
made the pirates rise upon his garrisons. At the same time, the priest
of Tricum-Râe, who was prime-minister to Singram, had received a
dispensation to violate his engagements, and once more to collect
booty on the high seas. This sealed the fate of the lord of Sankho-
dwara, and the same blow which destroyed the Wagair pirates of
Dwarica, annihilated the Badhails of Bate. The rapidity and severity
of the vengeance, in the escalade of the strong-hold of the former by
the British force under the Hon. Colonel Lincoln Stanhope, induced
Singram to sue for terms, and he agreed to surrender Bate, and to live
at Aramra on a stipend furnished by his suzerain, the Guicowar. It
may be supposed that this surrender on his part was linked with a
guarantee on ours; but, be this as it may, Aramra is no longer a place
of aram (repose) for Singram; the last of the Badhails has been
ejected, and is now a refugee in Cutch.
Of the Wagairs of Dwarica, who, with the Badhails of Aramra, were
so long the terror of these seas, it is necessary to say something. They
are a spurious branch of the Jhareja family of Bhooj, one of whom,
called Abra, with the cognomen of Moochwal, or the whiskered,' from
a tremendous pair of these adjuncts to the face, came from Cutch in
the time of Rinna Sowah, in whose family he intermarried, and from
whom
6
:
CAPTAIN MARIOTT.
whom he held in charge the t'hânâ, or garrison of the castle of Goomtee,
or Dwarica. His son had offspring by a woman of impure caste, and
they assumed the name of Wagair, with the distinctive affix of Manik,
or 'gem.' The last four chieftains of this race were Mahap-Manik,
Sadool-Manik, Sameah-Manik and Muloo-Manik, who, with all his kin
and motley company of Wagairs, Badhails, Arabs, &c., after a des-
perate defence, was slain in the storm, or attempted retreat. Nor was
this gallant feat achieved without loss to the assailants, amongst
whom one daring spirit may be mentioned, who made his first and
last essay in arms, on that day, against the pirates of Dwarica. Captain
Mariott seems to have been born for the profession, and to have
possessed in a high degree all the noble and chivalrous feelings, with
which it ought ever to be associated. The spot where he fell, precipi-
tated from the summit of the ladder, was appropriately selected for his
tomb; but, not content with this memorial, his friends have raised upon
the utmost projecting point of land a column in remembrance of this
young hero, of whom it might well have been said, as of another high-
minded soldier,—of Mariott as of Marceau,-
"Brief, brave, and glorious was his young career."
He obtained the fate he always wished, and while he yet lives in the
remembrance of his brother officers, it may be soothing to his more
distant friends to learn that the ground has become holy with the
Hindu, and the abode of an ascetic; and when the navigator, no longer
dreading to "hug the land," as he clears Cape Juggut, inquires why
that pillar rose, he will learn the tale and the moral together.
Such is a brief outline of the pirates of the Land's End of more
modern days. Could we fill it up with details, or go back to more
remote times, and furnish an account of the sea-kings of Larice or
Saurashtra,
3 L
441
Co
442
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Saurashtra, it might afford some interest; but we have only isolated
facts, with intervals of centuries: from Alexander to the author of the
Periplus in the second century; from the destruction of Deobunder,
the capital of the Chaoras, in the eighth, to that of Dwarica and Bate
in the nineteenth, the same depredators existed, and under the same
appellation, for the Sangadians of Alexander are the Sungum-dharians
of whom we speak, the robbers of the Sungum, the sanctified embou-
chures of the streams with the ocean, whence they sailed to scour the
seas, and to which they returned for shelter and security under the
protection of the divinity, patron of thieves, to whom all these creeks
and points of confluence (sungum) were and are sacred. Various
authors have descanted on the name of Sangadian, or Sangarian, as
being that of a particular race, and at the head of them is D'Anville.
He says:
"Les Sanganes, dont Thévenot et Ovington font mention,
occupent cette côte, et infestent cette mer de leurs pirateries. Le
nom de cette nation est très ancien; car, on ne sauroit le meconnoître
dans celui de Sangada, qui était propre à la contrée qui sort immé-
diatement de l'embouchure du Sinde, selon le Journal de Néarque, par
qui la flotte d'Alexandre fut conduite."
On this we have to remark, that wherever there is an embouchure,
there is a sungum; and wherever there is, or was, a sungum, there were
Sangada, or Sungum-dhara, i. e. nests of pirates; and whether this
embouchure was that at the Goomtee of Dwarica, or that of the Khary,
one of the arms forming the delta of the Indus, in both is a shrine to
Sungum-Narayn, the god of thieves, their protector; and this point
Narayen-sirr, on the Khary, to which I am hastening, will be the "Turn-
again" of my journey. Such is the etymology of a name immortalized
by Arrian and D'Anville; not that of a nation, but a simple synonym for
'pirate,'
ļ
}
THE SANGADAS, OR SUNGUM-DHARIANS.
"pirate,' "the children of Tricum-rae," as they styled themselves.
Whether those of Dwarica and Aramra ever formed a junction with
their professional brethren of the Delta cannot be determined; but
we distinctly recognize the same principle actuating each-religion and
robbery conjoined. These corsairs never stretched their sails in quest
of prey without first propitiating or bribing their deity, and never
returned without offering a share of the spoil to this Mercury. Like
the Pindarries, those scourges of India, "who prayed seven times
a-day,” these "seizers of rings" considered their hazardous occupation
not only honourable, but sanctified: so indulgent is the human mind
towards its own deformities. Whether the Sangarians of the Indus, or
the Sauras of Saurashtra, ever boldly stretched the sail across the
mighty deep to other lands, it is difficult to say;
but so many
names of Hindu divinities and heroes mark the line of coast from the
Indus to Arabia, that there can be no question of its being familiar to
them. The last of the Rover galleys which was laid high and dry, was
a goodly and imposing-looking vessel, having a lofty poop and beaked
rostrum.
But here is the tindaêl of my own good vessel, moored in view,
with the sails all trimmed, to transport me across the Canthi-colpus,
the gulf of Cutch, and eventually to the old haunts of the Sangada
of Alexander.
443
3L 2
444
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
CHAPTER XXI.
The author embarks.-Parting with companions.-The author's Guru.-The Canthi, or gulf of
Cutch.-Description of the Gulf of Cutch by Ptolemy and Arrian.-The Rin.-Land at Mandavie
-Description of the place.-Pilgrims.-Vessels of Arabia manned by Africans.-Effect of the
abolition of the Slave Trade.-Historical notices of Mandavie.-Sepulchral monuments.-Coins.
JANUARY 1st, 1833.-We started with a fair wind, and so low
is either coast, that we soon lost sight of both shores, and were
o'er-canopied by the bright blue vault down to the dark line, which,
as the Hindu bard would say, separates the domain of Indra from that
of Varuna. I had not, however, much poetry in me, having parted
with friends in whose society I had passed the last six months,
enjoying that hospitality which is (or was) only known in the East.
Moreover, whatever of interest these gleanings may possess, is chiefly
owing to my friend, Mr. Williams,* through whose influence every
facility was afforded to my inquiries, and whose knowledge of the
tracts and the people materially guided my judgment in the selection
of objects, and who furnished me much information upon all. It is
with a grateful recollection of his prompt kindness that I extract from
my journal this tribute of feeling, then warm from the heart, and still
undiminished by the years which have intervened. Here also I parted
with my friend and tutor," the moon of intellect," the Yati Gyanchan-
dra, who had been with me from my subaltern days, and who, during
more than half the period of my sojourn in India, was one of the great
comforts
* [The death of this gentleman, the Resident at Baroda, and political commissioner in Guzzerat,
is announced whilst this sheet is passing through the press.]
3
1
THE AUTHOR'S GURU.
445
comforts of my exile. He is often mentioned, in these pages and
elsewhere, and being in fact identified with all my antiquarian labours,
some description of him may not be unacceptable. He was a tall,
spare figure, and though not more than threescore when we parted,
had the first claim to veneration in his white locks; and when he
entered the apartment, his long scarf flowing in the air, his head
uncovered, and his staff in hand, he looked a true vediavan, or
magician. He was a priest of Budha. He enjoyed as much as I did
these ramblings in search of the relics of past days, and to his great
historical knowledge, and patience in decyphering inscriptions, I am
indebted for my chief discoveries. Along with him, I parted, too,
with my gallant and favourite steed, Javadia, the gift of the Rana of
Oodipoor, to whom I returned him after his pilgrimage, with a special
request, that none but himself or my old equerry should ever cross his
back; and, moreover, that he should enjoy the distinction of being the
first pooja'd in the grand military festival, the duserra.
To dissipate painful reflections, I spread out the map, and with the
"Eclaircissemens de la carte de l'Inde" before me, while the isles of
Baraee were yet in sight, commenced my speculations on what change
the can'thi of Cutch had undergone since the days of Ptolemy and the
author of the Periplus. According to the latter authority, who in all
probability visited it in his commercial speculations from Baroach,
"Baraee est le nom d'un enfoncement du golphe, qui renferme des
isles au nombre de sept :" and, from the Egyptian geographer,
D'Anville says,
"Un port nommé Balseti, ou Barseti, y paroît
couvert de quelques isles, qui représentent celle de Baraee dans
Ptolemée, à la droite de l'entrée du Canthi-Colpus." No argument can
be requisite to prove that Bate, the pirates' isle, is the same so circum-
stantially
446
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
stantially designated as the Balseti of D'Anville, and the Baraee of the
second century; its nominal resemblance is the last of these tokens,
the first being its position, to the right on entering the gulf of Canthí,
(a term for this coast still recognized); the next, the number of islets
about and further up the enfoncement. Bate is a name locally applied as
the island, and one would be disposed to pronounce it a contraction of
Balseti; but whence this derivation? All this land is sacred to Kanya,
Crishna, or Narayen, whose infant appellation is Bala, Bala-nat'h,
Balmokund, in his juvenile character as Murali or Murani, the shep-
herd-god, with his symbols, the reed (murali) and shepherd's staff.
The resemblances are endless, and in the East deviated into grossness
and monstrous inconsistency; while in the west, they are moulded and
refined into those glowing and simple forms which disdain all associa-
tion with the original.
4
Let us endeavour to clear up and reconcile another point at issue
between these two great names:-"Le golphe, qui dans Ptolemée est
appelé Canthi-colpus, paroît désigné sous le nom d'Irinus dans le
Periple." Canthi is not only the general designation for a coast, or
margin, but is to this day especially applied to all that portion of
Cutch lying between the hills and the sea; and the application of the
term Irinus by Arrian must have been restricted to the fenny portion
at the head of the gulf (colpus), familiarly known as the Rin, a
corruption of the Sanscrit word aranya, or 'waste.' In like manner, the
phrase Erinos, used by the first Arrian, must be understood to desig-
nate the greater Rin, which, uniting as it does with the smaller,
actually makes Cutch insular. Further to silence cavil, the Looni
river (whose course I have traced from its fountains,* and which flows
through
* See map, Annals of Rajasthan
|
-
4
i
1
THE ORBADRI OF PTOLEMY.
6
6
through, and may
indeed be said to aid in the formation of, the greater
Rin), is the same as that which, under the name of Khary, unites with
the eastern arm of the delta of the Indus; Looni and Khary having
the same meaning, the 'salt river.' If the Looni ever had a distinct
exit or entry into the minor Rin, at the head of the Cutch gulf, we
might account for the Orbadri of Ptolemy, which he makes there to
fall in, and trace in this Sanscrit compound the same designation,
confirming the attention paid to geography by the Hindus of past
days, a fact already beyond dispute. Bhadra is a generic term for
river,' and the prefix or, means a salt-marsh,' or salt-lake,' or
where salt is deposited, the characteristic of the Looni, which every
where, throughout its course, leaves a saline deposit. The town at the
embouchure of the gulf, called Ari-sirr, would support this etymology,
sirr being another term for a lake, and chiefly one of a saline nature ;
and if this river (bhadra) passed through it into the gulf, we should
have a superfluity of characteristics, for the origin of its name. But as
I have visited the Looni at its fountain-head, and crossed it in various
parts of its course through Maroost'hali, or the desert, so I shall soon
visit its embouchure, at Narayen-sirr, the last Hindu shrine within the
Indus. Then may I say, what no individual can, that from Heri-dwara,
where Ganga cleaves her course through the northern chain, to the
conjoint sungum of the Brahmaputra and Ganges (the Aurea Regia of
Ptolemy), also famed for its pirates, and to the sungum of the Indus
with the sea of Onam, I shall have journied; but these earlier
wanderings were never noted in a book, or at very irregular intervals-
an omission now amongst my subjects of regret.
JANUARY 2d.—The high peak of Ninovee (the Ninoué of D’Anville),
in the Bhooj range, bearing N.N.E., appeared in sight, as the wind
6
447
01
died
448
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
died away,
and left us rolling in the trough of the sea all night, to the
infinite disquietude of the Gangaridæ in my train; and it was two p.m.
of this day when we came to anchor in the Khary of Mandavie. But,
worse than this, the wind had chopped round, and was now directly
adverse to my further progress to the shrines of Koteswar and Narayen-
sirr, the end of my pilgrimage: and the nakhoda talked of taking a
week, instead of getting there in eighteen hours. The Sarah was to
leave Bombay for England on the 15th of the month, and I had paid
near £400 for my passage, and thus remained in no slight dilemma
between my hopes and my fears. Having despatched an express to
Mr. Gardiner, the resident at Cutch, descriptive of my wishes, I abided
his reply, and the temper of the winds.
Early in the day I received a visit from the sons of the respectable
and venerable Jaitaji, the governor of Mandavie, who accompanied me
to the shore, under a salute of cannon, to a garden-house which he very
kindly placed at my disposal; but I preferred my galley. Mandavie, or
'the mart,' is the most celebrated on this coast, and generally termed
Musca-Mundee, from the large village of Musca, separated from it only
by the Rookmani river. The city is enclosed by a seherpunna, or
circumvallation, having many towers, mounting cannon. It is the head
of a district, but its importance arises from its wealth and position,
having sometimes more than two hundred sail of vessels in its roadstead.
Many are the property of its inhabitants, of whom the most wealthy
are the Goséns, uniting, as already mentioned, commerce and religion,
and who have branch establishments at Palli, Benares, &c. &c. There
are upwards of fifty shroffs, or bankers, each of whom pays a tax of
one hundred rupees to the state: it is a house-tax, from which none
are exempt, and which is said to yield twenty-five thousand rupees
per
:
MANDAVIE.
449
per annum. The mercantile transactions of Mandavie are principally
with Calikote (qu. Calicut ?) and Muscat, in the Persian Gulf, though
it trades with all the ports of Arabia and Africa. From the first it
imports lead, kaneh, or green glass, copper, cardamums, pepper, ginger,
bamboos, teak-wood for ship-building, kustoori (a medicine), ochres,
dyes, drugs, &c.; from Muscat, the areca-nut, rice, coco-nut, dry dates
(kharik) and fresh dates (pind-kujoor), silks, spices, &c. &c. The
port duties are said to realize a lac of rupees annually.
I passed the day in perambulating the town and quays, all presenting
new and interesting scenes, with
groups of
persons from all countries;
the swarthy Ethiop, the Hindkí of the Caucasus, the dignified Arabian,
the bland Hindu Banyan, or consequential Gosén, in his orange-
coloured robes, half-priest half-merchant. I went from group to
group, whether ship-owners or pilgrims, and put questions to all. The
latter were to me far the most attractive. They came from Dehli,
Peshawur, Mooltan, and various parts of Sinde, and were huddled
together on the beach, or praying in columns, while their wives were
preparing their meals, many having children about them. All were
clad in the blue garb of the Huj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, which they
are enabled to perform gratis, begging their food wherever they halt,
and which it is meritorious to bestow. This explains the boast, that no
Moslem power ever conquered or imposed tribute upon Cutch, and the
act of liberality was at least as politic as it was charitable. There is a
secret sympathy which unites strangers, of whatever class, or creed, or
clime, when accidentally thrown together on a foreign strand, and I soon
collected a considerable crowd around me. I pleased a group from
Peshawur, who styled themselves the Loag, or multitude,' when I
called them “the Hindkí,” remembering the term from Mr. Elphin-
6
3 M
stone's
2
450
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
stone's description. With others I conversed of Shah Shujah; of
Runjeet's crusade against their native land, which they heard with
perfect indifference, for in these despotic climes, love of country, and
what we are accustomed to call patriotism, are by no means identi-
cal terms.
From these varied groups I passed to a yet more novel spectacle,
the ships in the roadstead, which ply to "the golden coast of Sofala,”
or "spicy shores of Araby the blest;" nearly twenty sail were manned
by the sable sons of Africa. Their average tonnage was six hundred
candies, or one hundred and twenty-five tons, and each carried cannon,
which, through the meritorious exertions of the Bombay Marine, in
the extirpation of the Joasmees, are now only required for salutes.
These pirates of the Arabian coasts were long the scourge of these
seas, never sparing the lives of the captured, pleading a double motive
for adding murder to piracy: "Without blood," they said, "it will be
said we stole your property, but did not capture it, and religion forbids
our eating the bread of infidels, whom we spared when in our power."
The energetic measures of the Bombay Government have crushed, it is
hoped for ever, this pest of commerce.
The construction of the Arabian vessels is, I suppose, the same as
in the days of Hiram. They have an enormous quantity of canvas,
stretched on yards large enough for the mainsail of a first-rate. Like
the men, every thing was of sable hue, and their stems were hung
Since
with hundreds of earthen jars, the ventures of the sailors.
human flesh has ceased to be an article of commerce, the grand
markets of Swâl and Jungibar (the Sofala and Zinguebar of the maps)
have ceased to be frequented; and although this illicit trade is not
altogether extinguished, it exists but to small extent. The liberal
opinions
•
CESSATION OF THE SLAVE TRADE.
451
opinions of the philanthropists have been largely imbibed by the
African serf, who has, to use the words of my informant, "completely
lost his habits of industry and fidelity," which, in the poor Sidi's
vocabulary, perhaps means submission to stripes and toil: " they are
not fit for us any longer," he added, " for when we tell them to work,
they reply they will when they please; and if for this we punish them,
they run away. Before, when the Rao's government was supreme,
they were reclaimed; but now your power is there also. If compelled
to short-commons ourselves, they will pilfer to make up for it, and
some, if threatened with a blow, say they will return it; whereas, in
former times, the only threat was, that they would kill themselves in
revenge, saying, What is life to us? there is none to weep for us when
we die, and we leave no unfriended mothers or offspring behind us.
This is word for word the remark which was made to me by one
who had derived profit from this unhallowed trade. I never saw
merrier or more nimble and well-knit fellows than the Sidi sailors,
whether the crews of the ships in the roads, or those belonging to the
ports. The select of these, in the palmy days of slavery, fetched from
two to three hundred korees, about eighty rupees, or ten pounds
sterling. How the foregoing anecdote would have rejoiced the heart
of Wilberforce !
6
JANUARY 3d.-The cruel wind still remains adverse; I have, there-
fore, modified my plan, and determined to make a run for the coast of
Bhooj, and should any accounts there reach me of delay in the
despatch of the Sarah, or the wind be propitious on return, I will
risk every thing. I sent off a horseman last night to Mr. Gardiner,
accepting his invitation to visit the court of Bhooj. To expedite my
journey, he has placed a relay at Gujni, and I have sent off another
from
3 м 2
452
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
1
from hence; and the old governor, the respected Jaitaji, has placed a
saddle-horse and some troopers at my disposal for the first stage. I
shall start at dusk this evening, and as the distance is under fifty miles,
shall be there to breakfast to-morrow.
I filled up the time by prowling about the town and the quays, and
making an excursion to some old sites in the neighbourhood. The
town is large, having five thousand substantial houses, said to contain
twenty thousand inhabitants. In the full tide of prosperity, not less
than four hundred sail of shipping plied to and from this port, chiefly
the property of its own wealthy merchants. But the universal stagna-
tion of commercial enterprize has affected Mandavie, and with the
exception of a few vessels to the ports of Arabia and Africa, the trade
is mostly coasting, and confined to Malabar. Mandavie was at the
height of her prosperity during the rule of Rao Ghor, who took a
lively interest in maritime pursuits; and, in order to follow them to
advantage, he erected a palace at this port, on the model of a Dutch
factory; but the last earthquake, which left nothing untouched
throughout Western India, shook to pieces this work of Rao Ghor,
who also established a dock-yard, and personally superintended the
building of his own ships. With all the zeal of the Great Peter, he
determined that a ship constructed in his own yard, commanded and
manned entirely by his own subjects, should navigate the seas to
England. The voyage was performed, the good ship returned in safety,
reaching the Malabar coast during the monsoon; but the nakhoda,
like a genuine tar, sacrificed both ship and cargo at the shrine of a
sable Venus; and, what is more astonishing, the Rao had the magnani-
mity to forgive him, in recompense for his skill and courage in the
fulfilment of his project. Even now there are between two and three
hundred
1
RAEN.
453
hundred vessels in the Khary and roadstead, one of them three-masted,
belonging to the prince of Cutch. In Rao Ghor and the Gohil chief
of Bhaonugger, we have two conspicuous instances of the pliancy of
the human mind, and its adaptation to circumstances, for nothing in
nature is more anomalous than the association of ships and trade with
the Rajpoot. Hides of the rhinoceros, semi-transparent, resembling
immense cakes of glue, were hanging up in the streets, prepared for
being fashioned into shields; elephants' teeth for female bracelets and
other ornaments; dates, dry and fresh, raisins, almonds, pistachios,
all spoke the names of the lands with which Mandavie still maintained
commercial intercourse. Cotton, however, is perhaps the staple article
of trade; it is here packed in flat, circular, well-compressed bales;
there were also cotton cloths of a coarse texture, sugar, oil, and ghee.
Mandavie, in the native records, is still designated by its more
ancient name of Raepoor-bunder, or port of Raepoor, from the ancient
site of Raen, three miles up the creek, or Khary, and to which I paid a
visit. Two small hamlets are erected on its ruins, which offer no
memorial of the past, but a small temple sacred to a divinity called
Toorun-Nat'h, and he, they say, was a celebrated ascetic, who kept up
a communication with the powers of darkness. It is related that, for
neglecting some injunction to reform their lives, he caused Raen and
all its subordinate towns to be overwhelmed. This Hindu tradition,
like many others, affords an historical fact deeply imbued with
fable; doubtless the ancient princes of Raen were not worse than
their successors at Bhooj in the present day, who are still subject to
earthquakes, and, in truth, they can hardly lay their heads on their
pillows without the chance of being awakened by one.
The
454
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
The tide formerly admitted vessels up to Raen, but since its day of
doom a bar of sand has choaked up the entrance, and the stream
under it is no longer khary (salt), but fresh. I repaired to the remains
of the ancient shrine of Toorun-Nat'h, and mounting the steps, found
an ancient Jogi ascetic, of the class designated Kanfarra (from having
his ears split), performing certain mysterious rites over the churnpud, or
impress of the feet of Toorun, of whose school he was a disciple. I
waited till he had "poured water," strewed green leaves, and waved the
censer over each tumulus to the manes of his predecessors. These
are the most singular sepulchral monuments I have yet seen in India,
and evidently, from their allusions, belong to the priests of Bâl. They
are very small, consisting of a series of concentric rings or steps,
terminating in a little pillar at the centre, thus:-
I entered into conversation with this solitary being, whose abode
was amidst graves and ruins; but he either knew nothing beyond the
ritual of his creed, or chose not to be communicative. I prowled about
the fragments of desolation, amongst which I was told silver coins
were frequently found; and my research was rewarded by two antiques,
in excellent preservation, having the effigy of a helmed king on one
side, and a pyramidal-shaped symbol on the reverse, with an epigraph
in that incognate character found on the Girnar rock-inscriptions.*
From the ruins of Raen to those of ancient Oojein, throughout
the
* Vide p. 377.
▸
"
COINS.
455
the coasts and cities intervening, the same coins have occasionally
been discovered, plainly denoting that some powerful dynasty pos-
sessed extensive sway-but whether the Balharas of Anhulwarra, or
a race of kings still more ancient, is mere conjecture. Let us hope,
from the impulse which this branch of investigation has received, that
it may not always remain a mystery.
V
456
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
العلي
CHAPTER XXII.
Cath-kote, the ancient seat of the Cathi.-Necropolis of the Raos of Cutch.-The city of Bhooj.-
The Jhareja chiefs visit the author.-Their costume.-Visit to the prince, Rao Desil.-The hall
of mirrors.-The hall of audience.-Historical notice of the Jharejas.-The Yadu race.-
Genealogical traits of the Rajpoots.-Extent of the Hindu affinities.-Union of the Budha faith
with the Yadu race.-Yadu ancestry of the Jharejas.--Power of the Yadus.-The Yadus an
Indo-Scythic race from Western Asia.-The Sind-Summa Jharejas.—Chronology.—Extract from
the Jhareja chronicles.-Conversion of the Sind-Summa Jharejas to Islam.-Successors of Lakha
the Proud.-Evils of Polygamy.-First settlement of the Summa race in Cutch.-Origin of the
custom of infanticide amongst the Jharejas.-Catastrophe of Mohlutkote. The practice still
continued.-Lakha, the first Jhareja.-Raedhun, the founder of the Jhareja state, led a colony
to the Great Rin.-Rao Khengar, founder of Bhooj.-The results of the genealogical history of
the Jharejas.
JANUARY 4th.-To the steady-going occidentalist, who loves to loiter
over and after a good dinner, it might appear a hardship to be
summoned "to horse" instead of to coffee, and to pass the night on
his saddle; but habit would soon reconcile him to such discipline,
in which he would find abstract pleasure, independently of such objects
as I had in view, to reward him. With the slightest dash of the
romantic or love of adventure in his disposition, his own reflections
would not only preserve his eyes from slumber, but would so kindle
speculation, that the dawn would take him by surprise, and make him
wish the night and his fancies prolonged. Certain associations and
ideas would be awakened as he passed through the dark wood, or barren
plain, in which he would find nothing to bear witness of humanity
save in the group around him, or when the torches flared upon some
ruined pile, such as the Cath-kote,* the ancient seat of the Cat'hi, where
I scrambled
* There are various branches of this nomadic race, the most celebrated of which is the Coman-
Cat'hi. Abulgazi describes a famous tribe in Khwarezm, the ancient Chorasmia, called Comani, the
remains
I
*
EASTERN NOTIONS OF ANTIQUARIES.
457
I scrambled about the massive fragments of its temple, hunting for
inscriptions. All around was silence, save my own and my guide's
steps clambering amidst the ruins: even the gallant steeds appeared not
insensible, as they turned their heads with inquisitive gestures to each
other, as did their riders, when the flambeau's light glared upon their
wild bearded faces, in which surprise was strongly depicted at the
actions of the Frank. It was a scene for Gerard Dow or Schalken,
and well worth a night on horseback in Cutch. Burckhardt tells us
that, when visiting the Wady Moosa, and tomb of Haroon (Aaron),
seeking amidst ruins for inscriptions, he was invariably distrusted, and
regarded as a magician in search of treasures: and, throughout India,
the same impression prevailed, even where I was well known, and
they were few who credited the assertion of my research being
prompted not by Mammon but Minerva. Nor is it wise to disregard
altogether the expression of this feeling; for inhabitants of countries
subject to eastern despotism, having no security for their riches
beyond depositing them in the earth, naturally enough imagine that
these tablets mark the spot where such hoards exist.
As the day broke, the hills of Bhooj appeared in sight, their wavy,
barren summits covered with walls and towers, evincing little skill in
the
remains of which were expelled by Jungeez Khan: and the royal author adds, "Urgens was not
always the capital, and Abulfeda tells us Cat'h, also spelt Kaht, in 41° 45′ N. lat., was formerly the
metropolis." What affinity there was between these, the people of Cat'hay, and Alexander's Cat'hi,
it were vain to ask: it is sufficient for our purpose to trace them from "the Five Rivers," and to
observe that the name of their first settlement in these regions was Cat'h-kote, from which, as stated,
they were dislodged by the first Jhareja colony from Sinde. It is said of them, that they repeat
couplets describing their migration from Mooltân, and temporary settlement in the tracts called
Pawur, north of the Rin, and of Megum Rao, their leader conducting the first Cat'hi colony across
the gulf into Saurashtra eight hundred years ago; and so predominant was their power, that it
changed the ancient name of the peninsula to Cat'hi-wâr.
3 N
I
458
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
the Jhareja engineer, though they give a picturesque character to this
otherwise desolate-looking valley. The last earthquake had been
almost their only assailant, and had effected sundry breaches, which
the present adminstration has had the sense not to repair. At sunrise,
I reached the residence of the political agent, Mr. Gardiner, who was
already seeking "health in the breeze;" and, in order to fill up the
time, I steered my course to the necropolis of the Raos of Cutch.
The monuments are placed to the westward, on the margin of the
lake, which has a small island in the centre, and present objects of
interest, both to the antiquary and the painter. The earthquake of
1818 had, however, committed sad havoc amidst the most splendid of
these memorials of the Jharejas, while the humble pallias stood unhurt.
Some, in fact, were masses of ruin, and even the mausoleum of Rao
Lakha, the most recent as well as the most substantial, had suffered
not a little. Their construction differs somewhat from those of
Rajpootana, for, instead of being merely a cupola, sustained by open
columns, resting on a terrace, these are enclosed by a stone screen or
lattice, as if to keep out the profane. Through this I saw the pallia of
Rao Lakha,* who is sculptured in relief upon it, on horseback, with
lance in hand; subordinate pallias on each side correspond in number to
the wives, or handmaids, who "seized the sut" (faith) on the occasion.
Close to these pallias, or, as we should say, tomb-stones, is a small mace-
shaped pillar, on whose head there is hollowed out a receptacle for a
lamp, denoting the union of Mooslem with Rajpoot funereal rites;
though, in fact, the Jhareja would now find it difficult to say what is
his creed, so often has he changed it. All these cenotaphs shewed, in
their
(C
* For an admirable and correct drawing of this mausoleum, I refer the reader to Capt. Grindlay's
Scenery of Western India."
晕
​THE CITY OF BHOOJ.
459
their sculptured effigies, that they were raised over the relics of
warriors, except that of one, who had fallen by his own hand. This
figure was of a man kneeling, and, with a gesture of imprecation, pointing
a dagger to his heart: in all probability, representing some remarkable
traga of a Charun, or Bard, taking the only vengeance in his power
against the oppressor.
As the city of Bhooj can only boast of three centuries of antiquity,
my search for inscriptions pertaining to the Jharejas was fruitless; but
there were some simple pallias, erected on plain altars, of ancient days,
the inscriptions on which were effaced by time.
On my return, I found the Resident and his assistant, Lieut.
Walter, and met with such a welcome, as afforded an ample recom-
pense for the small inconveniences endured in excursions of this
nature. To quiet my anxiety to reach the eastern arm of the Indus,
Mr. Gardiner offered to lay a post instantly for me at Lukput; thus
placing me, to use an eastern phrase, "between a well and a fountain;"
for, if I accepted this offer, I had not a moment to lose, and must
forego my search into the records and traditions of the Jharejas, which
I had meditated. I therefore decided to make the most of six-and-
thirty hours at Bhooj, and trust to the uncertain winds, on regaining my
bark at Mandavie, for the completion of my enterprize. My intention
was soon made known, and the zealous kindness of my host not only
aided me with his own information, but soon furnished me with the
bards and their books; while a long and interesting conversation with
the respectable Ruttunji, the leading and most sagacious member of
the Regency, gave me a thorough insight into the Jhareja form of
government, and wherein it deviated from Rajpoot polity. He devoted,
in fact, the whole of his time to me, in the most kind and gentlemanly
3 N 2
manner,
460
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
manner, patiently allowing me to note down his reply to each question
as I put it, and with the results I will conclude my sketch of Bhooj.
After breakfast, I was honoured by a visit of welcome from the
minister, the members of the Regency, and all the Jhareja chieftains
then at the capital. I was much gratified with the manly aspect and
manners of this singular aristocracy, who are decidedly a fine race,
though not tall, as I had understood them to be; nor does their
complexion differ materially from the more eastern Rajpoot tribes,
from whom they are chiefly distinguished in personal appearance by
their long and inverted double-peaked beards, rendered so by their
chin being shaved in the middle. Another difference consists in the
superfluity of drapery which the Jhareja affects, with his huge trowsers,
and loose but graceful turban. The next day, at noon, I attended the
court of the minor prince, who is only seven years of age, having the
family name of Desil, and being the fifth from the last who bore it.
In this custom of recurring to distinguished family names, like the
Rajpoots, they add, in order to distinguish them, the patronymic; thus
the present is Desil Bharaní, or son of Bhara; in contradistinction to
Desil Ghorani, or son of Ghor, &c. &c. These are the only two of
this name, but the changes are repeatedly rung on those more
celebrated, of Lakha and Raedhun, conspicuous links in their long
genealogical chain. All that I had time to see of the town was in my
route to the palace, and if it was a fair specimen of the whole, I lost
nothing in not seeing more.
The young rao was seated upon a throne more elevated than is usual
among the princes of Rajwarra, probably in order that he might at
least be on a par with the coorcis, or chairs, of the Saheb-loag, which are
never introduced in Rajpoot durbars. The long hall was crowded with
the
I
I
1.
461
6
the Jhareja vassalage, from the farther end of which the bards, as we
entered, recited the names and deeds of the Jhareja heroes of old.
Having sat the usual ceremonious time, the young rao gave us our
congé in form, when we accompanied Ruttunji to inspect the lion of
Bhooj, the Sheesh-mahl, or hall of mirrors,' of which there is one in
every noble's palace in Rajwarra. This gorgeous bauble, on which
were expended eighty lakhs of korees (more than three years' revenue of
the crown-land of Cutch), implies neither taste nor judgment in the
founder, Rao Lakha, who thus dissipated the treasure accumulated by
the frugality of his predecessor. Its interior is of white marble,
literally inlaid with mirrors, each separated by gilded ornaments. The
ceiling, from which lustres are pendant, is painted in fresco; and the
floor, which is laid with China tiles, was covered with Dutch and
English chiming-clocks, which were all set a-going at once, forming a
true Dutch chorus; while shelves about the centre of the wall were
covered with all sorts of glass-ware, like a pawnbroker's shop, the
resemblance being not a little increased by a variety of glass figures,
which decorated the walls themselves. In the centre of this costliness,
is placed the pallet of Rao Lakha, that in which he died, which stands
on golden or gilded feet, and in front of which lights are perpetually
burning. It is thus already enrolled amongst the penates of the
Jharejas, and, if its perishable material will last long enough, may
receive their homage as the substitute of Rao Lakha. A verandah
surrounds this hall, the floor of which is also tiled, and a strange
anomalous collection of portraits adorns its walls: Rana Juggut Sing of
Méwar in contact with the Empress Catherine of Russia! Raja Bukt
Sing of Marwar and Hogarth's Election, with other Flemish, English,
and Indian subjects, intermingling with the princes of Cutch, from the
first
THE HALL OF MIRRORS.
1
I
462
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
Бях пер
1
first rao, Khengar, to the present time. With all these incongruities, even
the portrait gallery of a Jhareja affords some food for speculation; and
in contrasting the drapery and decoration of the past and present raos,
we trace deviations from their primitive simplicity, in dress and in
bearing.
Thence we proceeded to the newly-erected durbar, or hall of
audience, not yet finished, whose simplicity of construction and
decoration contrasted advantageously with the bauble we had quitted.
Here solidity, utility, and comfort were studied. It is a place fit to
receive the entire Jhareja bhyâd (frèrage), and is insulated by a canal,
ornamented with jets-d'eau, to keep them cool, or make them fancy
themselves so, in hot weather. The palace overlooks the lake, and may
possess other objects of attraction, which my limited time would not
permit me to see.
Let us now bestow a glance upon the past history of the Jharejas.
I had entered the country full of hopes favourable to the old establish-
ments of the family in these regions, trusting to recognize in them the
descendants of Tessarioustus (Teja Raja ?), whose kingdom was over-run
by Menander and Apollodotus two centuries before Christ; and my
surprise was great to find the Jhareja positions in Cutch within the
limits of the Mooslem conquest, and their power as a substantive state
not reaching beyond three hundred years. The genealogy of the
Jharejas embraces a period of full three thousand years, in which,
however, we cannot glean above three or four facts applicable to
genuine history; but these, though indirectly obtained, are of impor-
tance, and
repay the investigator of Hindu antiquities for his wearisome
and often unprofitable task.
The Jhareja is a branch of the great Yadu family, once the dominant
race
t th and
¿
3
463
race in India. They claim an origin from Crishna, prince of the
Suraseni, a country particularized by Menu for the warlike qualities of
its inhabitants, as also by Arrian, the historian of Alexander. I consider
the existence of Crishna, the son of Basdeo, son of Sursén, the prince
of the Yadu race ruling on the Jumna, twelve hundred years before
Christ, as much entitled to credence as any historical fact of the same
age in any other country. By a singular piece of good fortune, or rather
by unremitting research, I discovered the remains of Surpoora, the
capital of the Suraseni, founded by the grandfather of Crishna; and,
as
if to connect Hindu with Grecian history, it was amongst the ruins
of this ancient site that my precious medal of Apollodotus was
found.* The line of the Jumna, from where it bursts its rocky
barrier, to Yoginipoor (modern Dehli), Matʼhura, Agra, Surpoora, to
its confluence with the Ganges at Prâg (the modern Allahabad), the
capital of the Prasii of Megasthenes, was the bar of the ancient Yadu
power; and not only is this clearly defined in the Puranic genealogies
and old traditional couplets elsewhere given,‡ regarding the successive
capitals of this race, but, in confirmation of this testimony, we have the
evidence of the same unknown characters at Dehli, Allahabad, and
Joonagur❜h. Whatever be the origin of the Yadu race, whether
descended, as their vansanali asserts, from Budha, prince of the Saca
race of Western Asia, we shall not further inquire, but rest content
with some material facts, gathered from their own and corroborated
by other channels, which shew that Hinduism has been modified since
those days of patriarchal sway.
GENEALOGY OF THE JHAREJAS.
Nothing
* Vide Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i. p. 314, for an account of this.
+ Sungum is the point of confluence of two streams, and where a third joins, as at Prâg, Triveni :
the Sarasvati is the name of the third stream.
Annals of Rajasthan, vol. i.
464
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
ד**
*
**A
Nothing is so repugnant to the ideas of the modern Rajpoot as
intermarriage with the same tribe; he holds it to be strictly in-
cestuous. Yet Crishna's own mother, Deoki, was cousin-germane
to his father; nay, we even see amongst this race traces of the
polyandry of the Getes of Transoxiana (the Yute, or Yuechi, of
the Chinese historians), amongst whom, according to Neumann, from
these authorities, a Budha was born eight hundred years before
Christ. If the reader will consult my Essay on the Yadu princes of
Jessulmér (who with the Jharejas alike claim from Crishna), and on
the Jits, or Getic race,* he will observe that the latter claim kindred
with the Yadus, whom we trace from Gujni (Gazni), migrating
eastward to Salpoora in the Punjab, and eventually, with the progress
of Islâm, across the Sutlej, to their present seats in the Indian
desert. While the Yadu-Bhatti family thus claim Gujni as their
ancient capital, and the Chagitai as a renegade branch of their race,
they at the same time ascribe their migration to Western Asia
to the great civil war and death of their leaders, Crishna and the
Pandus. But the fact is, as I have often stated, and will once more
repeat, there was at that period a community of belief, and free inter-
communication, from the Oxus to the Ganges. Every day is at length
opening the eyes of those savans who dared not even look across the
Indus for aught that was Hindu; but hermetically sealed it against all
but the "barbarians." These contracted notions are renounced; Hindu
cities and Hindu-Getic medals are discovered even in the Caucasus
nor shall I be surprised at proof, that the Yadus, Pandus, and Curus
of
* Annals of Rajasthan, vol. i. p. 106, and vol. ii. p. 179.
+ See Annals of Rajasthan, vol. ii. p. 321.
It would be well to bear these matters in mind, in our attempts to decypher these medals and
inscriptions.
+
¿
Ja
465
of the Great War were Yuechi, Yuti, or Getes; that Budha was their
patriarchal leader and prophet, and that the mystic characters en-
graved on their triumphal columns at Dehli, at Prâg, and Girnar, belong
to their race.
NEMI THE BUDHA.
In proof of this intimate union of the faith of Budha with the Yadu,
Yuti, or Gete race, let it be remembered that the apostle Nemi, the
twenty-second Budha, was a Yadu, and of the family of Crishna, i. e.
they were sons of two brothers; and as it is affirmed that Crishna, prior
to his own deification, adored Budha-Trivicrama at Dwarica, it is
evident that the act was then heretical. The chair of Budha is always
filled by election, and in those days invariably from princely families;
while, in the present, the elective right to the sri-pooj, or primacy, still
obtains in the Oswal tribe, descended from the kings of Anhulwarra,
but who have relinquished the sword for commerce. I mention this
to account for the election of Nemi, the "Glory of Girnar," into the
chair of Budha; and I will further add a tradition yet current amongst
the Jains, in proof of the simultaneous bifurcation of these sects, to
account for a deviation from Budhic ceremonials, in the erection of closed
temples. The rites of Crishna, like those of Adonis, at first obtained
chiefly amongst the Indian fair, and all flew to the shrine of the shepherd-
god, to the neglect and abandonment of Budha. It was then that the
Acharya of Budha transgressed a grand principle, not to worship "The
One within walls;" and a statue of Nemi was enshrined, to bring back
the fair to their own faith and their own gods. Although, however,
from the traditions of the past and a knowledge of the present, we are
satisfied that the unity of the divinity was the first principle of their
belief, we at the same time observe that, like all early nations, they mixed
up therewith adoration of the host of heaven, the sun, and his type the
horse,
3 0
466
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
4
.
A
horse, which they annually sacrificed to him, as did the ancient Yuechi
or Getes, who, we are told by Herodotus, held the immortality of the
soul, on which doctrine nothing in paganism more sublime was ever
penned than in the discourse of Crishna to his friend Arjuna.*
But these are not only uninteresting, but distasteful subjects to the
many; we shall, therefore, descend another step from that period of
Yadu tradition to the time of Alexander, and try whether we may not
recognize in some of his opponents on the Indus the ancestors of these
Jharejas. Let me once more repeat, that we are to treat of Crishna in
his mere mortal capacity, as the prince of the Yadus, who was expelled
from the land of the Suraseni, slain by the foresters of Saurashtra,
and who left numerous issue by his eight wives. From one of these,
named Jambavati, the Jharejas claim their origin; and of her issue, one
son was named Samba.† After the death of Crishna, and the dis-
persion of the Yadu tribes, some, as the ancestry of the Jessulmér
family, proceeded by the Punjab across the Indus, eventually esta-
blishing Gujni. Another branch continued to maintain itself in
Saurashtra ; while a third, that of Samba and his followers, gained a
footing in the valley of the Indus, and erected a city, called after their
leader Samba or Sama-nagara, at the bifurcation of the delta of the
Indus, and on or near the site of modern Tat'ha. With the foundation
of this capital, the name of Samba became titular to its princes and to
his tribe, which has existed to modern days, and is described in the
native annals, and recognised by Mooslem historians, as the Sinde-
Summa dynasty. Saminagara, or the city of Samba,' is not only
frequently mentioned by the Jhareja chronicles, but in the early
6
annals
* See the Bhagvat Gita, translated by Sir Charles Wilkins.
† Ba, ra, sa are marks of the genitive case, or 'of' Sam, or Sham, the commonest epithet of
Crishna, from his dark complexion.
▸
PT
THE BUDEUS OF ARRIAN.
467
annals of the collateral branch of Jessulmér, as Summa-kote.* I,
therefore, here repeat what I stated elsewhere many years ago, there
can be no doubt that the Saminagara of the Yadus is the Minagara
of the author of the Periplus, who observes that it was the metropolis
of an Indo-Scythic king, when he was at Baroach, that is, in the
second century. Whether Arrian meant that a recent irruption from
Higher Asia had supplanted the Summas, or that this race was con-
sidered by him entitled to the appellation of Scythic, it would be idle
to enquire; but as the whole Balotch tribe, the most numerous of that
region, is said to consist of proselytized Jits, claiming to be of Yadu
stock, the suggestion is worth attending to by those whose inquiries
are directed to the ethnography of the Hindu race.
Arrian, when touching on the genealogy of the family which
enjoyed supreme dominion when Alexander was in India, states that
their great ancestor was named Budæus (Buda), or Budha; thus
attesting the intimate union of Budhism with Yadu genealogy, which
is in strict conformity with the Yadu annals. For all the information
possessed by Arrian and other writers on the subject of Hindu history,
they are indebted to the now lost journal of Megasthenes, who was sent
as ambassador by Seleucus to the king of the Prasii at Prâg, one of the
chiefest and most ancient seats of Yadu power. Its king, Sandracottus,
on whose name so many changes have been rung, is supposed to be
the Chandragupta of the Puranic genealogies, a name belonging to
each of the Yadu, Chohan, and Pramara races, at the earliest periods;
but taking this coincidence of name, in conjunction with the incidental
mention of Budæus by the Greek writer, as the patriarch of the then
dominant race, we cannot hesitate to conclude that he was the Yadu
prince
* Kote, nagara, are terms indifferently applied to a castle or fortified city.
302
468
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
3
**
prince of Prâg. A further proof of the continued existence of Yadu
power, subsequent to the loss of universal dominion in India, is to be
found in the frequent traditional notice of Sompriti Raja, prince of
Bahar, in the second century, who was of the Budhic faith and Yadu
race, and whose monuments at Ajmér, Komulmér and Girnar, are
existing testimonies of his authority. But even in the peninsula of
Saurashtra, ennobled by the death of their leader, the Yadu race was
still powerful after the dispersion, of which we have a variety of
proofs, and can appeal to inscriptions as well as to the Mahatmas, or
rituals, of the sacred mounts, which repeatedly notice the pious muni-
ficence of the Yadu princes of Joonagur'h, in the repairs of the ancient
shrines of the Budhist faith. The annals of other states also frequently
allude to the Yadu princes as ruling in Joonagur❜h at the earliest
periods of their own establishment: thus, the annals of Méwar
describe the Yadus* as lords of Joonagur❜h, when they first settled in
these regions, in the second century of Vicrama. So likewise do the
chronicles of the Jaitwas and the Chaoras, which record their first
matrimonial connections with them in the seventh and tenth centuries
of Vicrama, periods long anterior to the migration of the Jharejas
from Sinde to Cutch. The exuberance of tradition regarding the
Yadu princes in this peninsula had indeed long been a subject of
perplexity to me, as I confounded them and the Jhareja princes
together, until from the chronicles of this family I found the latter in
power in Saminagara on the Indus, even down to the twelfth century.
In short, my opinion is, that the Yadu is ab origine an Indo-Scythic
race from Western Asia; that under their patriarchal leader, Budha,
(the
Let it be remembered, that the celebrated tribes of Sarwegas and Chaurasimas, no longer
known in Saurashtra, were branches of the Yadu.
}
469
(the Budæus of Arrian), they conquered all Gangetic India, which
they apportioned into petty principalities, ruled by the branches into
which they subdivided, known to history and tradition as the "Chapun
cula Yadu," or fifty-six Yadu tribes, i. e. Cúrú, Pandú, Aswa, Tacshac,
Saca, Gete, &c., &c.; that, in their international wars, a dispersion
took place, when some returned towards their original countries, ap-
proximating the regions on the Oxus and Jaxartes; that they founded
Gujni in the Caucasus; Salpoora, or Salkote, in the Punjab; Sami-
nagara, Sehwân, and other cities, on the Indus; that change of creeds
and other causes drove some back on India; and that the Yadu-
Bhattis of Jessulmér, and the Sinde-Summas, or Jharejas, of Cutch,
are the representative branches, of which Crishna is the parent stock.
I return to the Sinde-Summa Jharejas. Referring to the annals of
their neighbours, I shall endeavour to corroborate the authenticity of
their own, and shew that they were still powerful upon the Indus in
the earlier centuries of Vicrama. We will trace the Jhareja genea-
logy from the existing prince upwards, until we find a name men-
tioned in collateral dynasties. This is Choorchund, the fortieth prince
anterior to the present, who in the Jaitwa annals is the cotemporary
of Ram Camari, the fourteenth in descent from Sil, the founder of
Goomlí. Now, 40 reigns × 23 (the estimated number of years
in each reign*) 920 1880 S. 960 or A.D. 904, for the period
of Choorchund Summa, king of Saminagara. Let us try this compu-
tation by the pallia inscriptions at Goomlí, whose prince Salamun,
when banished, fled to Jam Oonur, who aided the refugee with an
army to reinstate him. Jam Oonur, a name of celebrity in the
Jhareja chronicles, being the first who changed the patronymic
Summa
* For the data on which this average is founded, see Annals of Rajasthan, vol. i. p. 52.
THE SINDE-SUMMA JHAREJAS.
-------
-
470
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
1
Summa to Jam, was the eighth prince in descent from Choorchund,
and 8 × 23 184 + 960 = S. 1144, differing but an inconsiderable
number of years from the chronicle of the Jaitwas, which places the
destruction of Goomlí, "by the Asuras of the Bamunea Summa race
from Sinde, with long beards, and true Mooslems," in S. 1109; or, if
we go by the inscriptions on the pallias, S. 1119. Thus we have two
fixed dates of great value,-that of Jam Oonur, in A.D. 1053, shewing
the conversion to Islâm and change of patronymic to be simultaneous;
and that of Choorchund, the cotemporary of Ram Camar of Goomlí,
in A.D. 904. It is stated also in the Jaitwa annals, that this prince
married the daughter of Tullaji Cat'hi, of Cat'h-kote, which yields
another important synchronism, viz., the establishment of this Indo-
Getic tribe in the peninsula at least a thousand years ago. But this is
not all; for we deduce another important inference; namely, that the
Yadu-Summas, Cat'his, Camari or Jaitwas, Chaoras, Jhallas, Ballas,
Hoons, &c. &c., were all upon an equality as to blood, or pedigree,
evincing none of the Rajpoot discriminations of these days in their
intermixture by marriage; and, therefore, we may assume them to be
of those tribes so often recorded by Arrian, Cosmas, &c., as migratory
hordes, at various periods, from Higher Asia.
It is not worth while to recede further into the legends of this race,
satisfied with tracing it as still holding dominion in Sinde in the year
A.D. 904. The titular name of Samba was revived with the son of
Choorchund, in whose reign the religion they professed (whether that
of Budha or their deified ancestor, Crishna) was exchanged for that of
Islâm, in connexion with which change, we have a singular piece of
genealogical craft engrafted on the history of the tribe. Let me here
recal the period of Choorchund of Sami-nagara, viz. S. 960, or A.D.904.
His
JHAREJA CHRONICLE.
His son, Sam-Yadu, had five sons, viz., Aspati, Nirpati, Gujpati,
Bhompati, and Sampati. Nearly two centuries prior to this epoch,
the caliphs had made the conquest of Sinde;* and the singular story
of Dahir, prince of Arore, and the Mooslem generalissimo, Mahomed-
bin-Cassim, is familiar to every reader of Indian history. Conversion and
conquest were conjoined, and the descendants of Samba, prince of
Saminagara, when they subsequently alternated between Islâm and
Hinduism, in order to conceal their forcible conversion, had recourse to
the following invention. I give the passage verbatim as translated by
the Purvoe, or English scribe, at the residency, from the chronicle of
the Jharejas." Whoever came from Sham, in the country of Room,
are called Summa. Sâd, the grandson of Sri-Crishna and Jambavati,
dwelt in Sham, whence his descendants fled from fear of Nubee (the
prophet), and arrived at the hill of Oossum ; but to their surprise, there
they found Nubee at dinner. Perceiving that escape was impossible,
they prostrated themselves before him, and Aspati accepted the invita-
tion to dine with him, and drank water from his kra, or earthen jar.
He became king of the Chagitais, and his brothers became tributary to
him. Nirpati had Sinde, and inhabited Samai, whence the tribe was
called Summa. Gujpati's descendants were called the Bhatti-Summa,†
and held Jessulmér," &c. &c.
471
Thus, when dressed out in the trammels of Islâm, they find a birth-
place in Syria, instead of the region of Sauras (in which is the hill of
Oossum), and thus assume to be of the great Shemetic family; yet in
flying before this Nubee, if they mean Mahommed, they at once
renounce all pretensions to antiquity. It is strange enough, however,
that
* In A.H. 95, or A.D. 713. See Annals of Rajasthan, vol. i. p. 231; but the final conquest of
Sinde was near half a century later, ib. p. 244.
† The Ashambhatty of Abulfazil.
472
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
that they should maintain, with the Yadu-Bhatti of Jessulmér, that the
Tacshac, Turushca, or Turkish race of Chagitai (of Japhetic stock),
belong to them, as well as that of Gor; and to this last some colour
is given in the cognomen of Sam, which was held by Moezodín, the first
conqueror of India. All this may be traced to a wish to conceal that
blot in their genealogical history, their conversion to Islâm, which
makes their alliance detested by the genuine Rajpoot; and as they
vacillated between their more ancient or modern faith, they sacrificed
the name of Samba, their great Hindu progenitor, for that of the
Persian Jamshed, and Sam became Jam; the epithet which now
designates the branch residing at Noanagar.
We may pass over the seven princes intervening between Choor-
chund (the grandfather of the apostate Sam-Yadu), and Lakha, whose
surname was Ghoraro, or the Proud, and who continued to rule in
Saminagara. He had a numerous offspring, with a branch of which
originated the Jhareja. By a lady of the Chaora tribe he had four
sons, viz. Mor, Vera, Sand, and Hamir; and by another
and by another queen, whose
birth-place was Canouj, four more, viz. Oonur, Munai, Jeya, and
Phool.
HUGE!
JAM OONUR succeeded Lakha the Proud, and, as has been said, was
the first Summa who assumed the name of Jam. It has been men-
tioned that Oonur was the son of Lakha by a princess of Canouj; and
we can only account for his superseding his elder brothers, on the
ground of her superior rank. Be this as it may, his assumption of the
gadi of the Summas was fatal, and affords another instance of the
mischievous effects of polygamy. Oonur, with his four elder brothers,
was on a visit to Saerogur❜h (now Lukput*), in the canton of Wagum,
ruled
* Doubtless so called after Lakho Ghoraro. Besides Lukput, there are many other towns in
Sinde, as Halla, &c., attesting the Summa sway.
1
..
|
X
}
70
SETTLEMENT OF THE SUMMAS IN SINDE.
473
ruled by the Chaora chieftain, brother to the elder queen of Sami-
nagara. While here, he had private intelligence of the death of Rao
Lakha, and giving them the slip, returned to the capital and received
the royal unction. How long after this is uncertain; but his half-
brothers, thus robbed of the right of primogeniture, conspired against
him (his own brother, Munai, joining the confederacy) and slew him,
during a festival, at Dhari-doond:--as Munai committed the act of
assassination (kair), he henceforth bore the name of Kair-Munai.
The wife of Oonur, called "a daughter of the king," then pregnant,
fled to her father for refuge; and he sent an army, which expelled
Munai and his fratricidal brethren from Sinde, where they had
remained twelve years after the murder. Kair-Munai, his brethren
and retainers, fled to Cutch, attacked the Cat'hís, whom they expelled
from Cat'h-kote, near to which Munai built a town, calling it Kaira.
His elder brother, Mor, obtained Kunter-kote, and the others wrested
lands from the Babrias, the Jaitwas, and other tribes.
Such was the first settlement of the Summa race of Sinde, in the
province of Cutch, then parcelled out amongst numerous tribes, in
which, from the delta of the Indus to the gulf of Cambay, that of
Chaora was pre-eminent; and whence, we may repeat, the countries
within these limits derived the name of Chaorashtra, or Saurashtra,
which, though restricted by the Hindu geographer to the peninsula,
was by the Greek and Roman, under the denomination Syrastrene,
judiciously made to comprehend the enlarged limits just mentioned.
It was not, however, till seven generations had passed away, that the
ancient epithet of Summa was changed for that of Jhareja, when
another colony from Saminagara almost obliterated the traces of this
first conquest, which took place about A.D. 1075.
3 P
The
I
474
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
เ
5
The descendants of Lakha the Proud, through Tumacha, the pos-
thumous son of Jam Oonur, multiplied in Saminagara, until the time
of Halla-Summa, the seventh from Jam Oonur, when an event
occurred which at once caused a change in the patronymic, and
originated the custom of infanticide amongst the Jharejas. It was with
Halla (though others say with his brother, Vera) that the designation
of Jhareja was introduced, proceeding from a trivial incident, which
often suffices to give a name to a new dynasty amongst the Rajpoots.
This prince had seven sons, six of whom died, one after another, from
some epidemic disorder; the seventh was saved by the incantation of
an ascetic. It is very common, in extreme illness, throughout these
countries, to have recourse to the ceremony of jhârná; when the
person (generally a Jogi recluse) who possesses the charm, waves his
jhar, or brush of peacock-feathers, over the sick, as he recites a formula
of prayer for his recovery. The son of the Summa chief, thus restored,
ever after bore the name of Jhareja, which descended to his progeny,
now a numerous tribe. The daughter of Halla* was given in marriage
to a neighbouring prince, Oomur, lord of the Soomra tribe, whose
residence was Mohbut-kote, afterwards named after him, Oomur-kote;*
but a dispute having arisen, apparently during the nuptial festivities,
the Soomra placed the Sinde prince in durance within his castle. So
soon as the tidings of this disgraceful act reached Saminagara, the
Summas assembled all their kin, and advanced to procure his libera-
tion. The Soomras were not unprepared, and fifty thousand men of
both tribes encountered in deadly strife under the walls of Mohbut-
kote. The Summas conquered, though with the loss of ten thousand
20
men,
* There is a town of Halla, north of Hydrabad, doubtless named after this prince; and for the
name, position of Oomur-kote, and origin of the Soomra race, I refer the reader to the map and
Annals of Rajasthan.
}
+
1.
ORIGIN OF INFANTICIDE.
475
men, amongst whom was their prince; and the Soomras lost their
capital, and seven thousand seven hundred of their tribe. On this
catastrophe, which turned festivity into mourning, the bride joined
the suttee victims of the Soomras, who, as they ascended the pyre,
imprecated this anathema: "that wherever a Jhareja's daughter is
espoused, she may prove barren and unhealthy;" since which occur-
rence, no one is ambitious to accept the coco-nut of this tribe. Such
is the origin of the unnatural custom of infanticide practised to this
day by the Jharejas, as taken from their own chronicles; yet to which
not even the philanthropic Walker, who so earnestly laboured to
extinguish the custom (and who erroneously believed he had been
the saviour of the fair of Cutch), has alluded, though it is amply
sufficient to account for its continuance through six centuries. Whether
this explanation of its origin be genuine or not, it is now idle to
inquire; and in defiance of such authority, I still incline to an opinion
I have elsewhere expressed, that it was the conversion of the Summa
race to Islâm, several generations prior to the assigned cause, and
which excluded them from intermarriage with the pure Rajpoot,
that originated the custom; and while this cause continues to ope-
rate, in conjunction with a belief in the suttee decree, it is vain to
expect more than a mitigation of the barbarity. I was told, on good
authority, that no relaxation had taken place, though more pains were
taken to conceal the perpetration. But it is asserted, and may be
credited, that not a few of the male offspring suffer the same fate as
the female, having "a little milk" (in which opium is infused) admi-
nistered to them upon their birth. We shall the more readily accord
belief to this, by comparing the numbers of the Jharejas with the
Rahtores, who cotemporaneously colonized Cutch and Marwar; for
while
3 P2
1
!
}
+
476.
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
while the census of the Jharejas presents an aggregate of only twelve
thousand of the tribe fit to bear arms, the Rahtores can now, and did
a century ago, bring fifty thousand into the field to defend their prince
and country against the tyrant Arungzeb-"all sons of one father” (éke
bấp cá bítá), to use their own impressive phraseology. Moreover, the
Jharejas, in their remote and almost insular position, have been exempt
from the scourge of war, which has perpetually thinned the ranks of
the Rahtores, though the former plead, and justly, the depopulating
influence of earthquakes and famine.
LAKHA, the first JHAREJA, succeeded Halla, who had no offspring.
Lakha and Lakhyar were the sons of Vera, the younger brother of
Halla; and it was the preservation of one or both of them from the
epidemic that originated the new name of the tribe. It
may likewise
be assumed that it was Vera's, not Halla's, daughter who entailed the
curse, which first fell on Lakha's own family. There were seven Jhareja
daughters, says the chronicle, in the family of Lakha, who became the
victims of this imprecation; but so unhallowed was the act deemed by
the family priest, a Brahmin of the Sarsoti sect, that when he was
commanded to sacrifice them, he not only refused obedience, but
disdained to hold the office of Gúrú-in the words of the chronicle:
"When the Sarsot father relinquished this duty, an Oudaieh Brahmin
succeeded to his office, and executed the command; he burned the
seven girls, and the issue of this Brahmin has ever since been the Râj-
Gúrú of the Jharejas." It would have been well had the whole race
remained Mooslem, nor attempted to regain a place within the
pale of Hinduism; now, they are neither one nor the other. Perhaps,
in this condition, they present better subjects for an experiment of
conversion to Christianity than any other class or race (save the
Malabar
F
作
​**
RAO RAEDHUN.
Malabar Helots) in India, and humanity would rejoice at any successful
attempt to wean them from this savage trait in their manners.
RAEDHUN succeeded Lakha, and may be styled the founder of the
Jhareja state in Cutch; for although the regicide colonists had already
planted establishments, they were diminished and superseded by the
sons of Jam Oonur, who drove them from Kaira, in prosecution of his
revenge on the murderers of his father; so that, it is asserted, the
immediate descendants of Kair-Munai mixed with the debased classes
of Mérs and Meyanas, with which they were in time incorporated and
lost. The descendants of Mor, however, who conquered Kunter-kote,
held it for five generations, when his line perished in the person of the
famous Lakha-Phoolaní, who is mentioned in the annals of every
state of that period: thus Mor had Sarj, he Phool, he Lakha, with
the surname Phoolaní, who was celebrated for his raids from the Sutlej
to the ocean, when the Rahtores first established themselves in the
Marust'hali, or Indian desert; and who, as recorded in the annals of
Marwar,* was slain by Sehoji, in revenge for the death of his brother,
Saitaram. This event, according to the Rahtore chronicle, immediately
followed the Mooslem conquest of India, by Shabudin, in A.D. 1193;
and as Raedhun was eight generations from Jam Oonur, whose period,
from the synchronism in the Jaitwa annals, was A.D. 1053, we may
safely assume the date of the final conquest and settlement in Cutch
by the Jharejas to have been cotemporaneous with the Mooslem
conquest of Northern India, viz. A.D. 1193.
Raedhun conducted a fresh colony from the banks of the Indus to
the borders of the great Rin, where he fixed it first at Churrie, but
soon again moved to Vend, or Oond, near to Butchâo. The four sons
of
477
* See Annals of Rajasthan, vol. ii. p. 13.
478
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
of Raedhun accompanied him from Saminagara; but the chronicle says
he had a "fifth son, "* named Poelo, by a handmaid; and that he had
two sons, Zudub and Cootub, who remained in Sinde. No cause
is assigned for the migration of Raedhun; neither is it mentioned
whether these sons with Mooslem names held any authority in Sinde
when their father abandoned it. The probability is, that Raedhun
was driven thence. He had four sons-
1. Dedoh. Obtained Kunter-kote.
2. Gajun.
Defeated the Jaitwas, and his son, Halla, gave the tract
he conquered the name of Hallar, founding Noanuggur,
and retaining the title of Jam.
3. Ot'ho. From whom is descended the reigning family of Bhooj.
4. Hot'hi. (Had twelve villages in Burdah; his descendants are styled
4. Hot'hi. Hot'hi.
It is evident, from the third son, Ot'ho, succeeding to his father's
allotment, that the rule of succession in the family was not exactly
fixed, and that it was a mere scramble for whatever they could
conquer and maintain. This it will be well to bear in mind, when
we come to consider the existing political government of the Jha-
rejas; nor, in doing so, must we forget the more ancient colonists
from the time of Lakha the Proud, who, in all probability, but for
these fresh colonies, would have shrunk into utter insignificance. Prior,
however, to Choorchund, and the proselytism of the Summas to Islâm,
there had been irruptions into Cutch, and the name of the tract termed
Ubrassie bears testimony to the chronicle, which states it to be called
after Ubra, son of the first Khengar.
There is nothing worth extracting from the chronicle until the time
of
*
Among the Rajpoots, the term of "fifth son" is used for one not born in wedlock.
:
T
RAO KHENGAR.·
479
of Hamir (the seventh in descent from Ot'ho), who was slain by the
elder branch of his family, the Jam of Hallar, near the village of Tehra ;
but the motive for this assassination (to obtain the estates of Hamir)
went unrewarded, for his own wife, of the Chaora tribe, and sister to the
mother of Hamir's young offspring, determined to save them, and sent
them to her brother, Kukul Chaora, who so faithfully fulfilled the trust,
as to suffer his own son to be put to death rather than betray their
concealment to the Jam. "Since that day," adds the chronicle, “the
chieftains of Kukul have protection against being killed by the
sword,”—rather a doubtful compensation for such a service. The
young princes fled eastward from this concealment, and encountered
Manik-Mér, one versed in the decrees of fate. Like all founders of
royal lines, Khengar, the eldest of the brothers, bore the impress of sove-
reignty on his foot, which being espied by the astrologer as they were
sleeping in a temple, he foretold his elevation, and bid him proceed in
full confidence to Ahmedabad. As they sallied forth with renovated
hope, he found a black horse in his path, an omen so propitious that
they pressed on. The king was out hunting, and Khengar, joining in
the chase, slew an enormous lion. With this chance introduction and
his story, he was taken into favour, received the title of Rao, and a
royal grant of Cutch and Morbee. By the aid of the royal forces, Jam
Rawul was driven from his usurped power, and obliged to seek refuge in
Hallar. Thus Rao Khengar, Hamiraní (son of Hamir), took possession
in S. 1593 (A.D. 1537), and founded the city of Bhooj on Friday, the
fifth of the month Megsir, in S. 1605, or A.D. 1549. Manik-Mér was
not forgotten; he had the town and district of Veera (now Anjar)
settled on him and his issue ; but at present the English are the lords
of Anjar. It must also be stated, that previous to the assassination of
Hamir,
480
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
#
4
Hamir, he had bestowed several allotments on his kindred and minor
children, whose descendants are still the potawuts or chieftains of
Cutch; as Roha, Veejam, Maotaira, Nullia, Arrysirr, &c. &c.
Fourteen generations have elapsed from Rao Khengar, the founder
of Bhooj, to the present minor incumbent; and their names, with the
day of mounting the throne, and that of their descent into the tomb,
are minutely recorded in the chronicle; but these would little interest
the reader. The changes are rung on successive names, which stamp
the different clans originating from them, forming the bhyâd, or
frérage, of the Jharejas. But, however important it may be to those
whose duty it is to be conversant with the political and family
distinctions of these tribes and all their affiliations, the reader of the
West would feel no interest in the detailed pedigrees of the Hamiranís,
Khengaranís, Bharanís, Tumacheanís, Noghanís, Hallanís, Raedhunanís,
Karanís, Ghoranís, &c., &c.; with their duplicate and triplicate epithets,
to distinguish families descended from princes of the same name —as
Khengar-Hamiraní, Khengar-Tumacheaní, Khengar-Noghaní; extend-
ing, perhaps, to half-a-dozen more patronymics in the collateral
branches of the families descended from the different princes bearing
the name of Khengar, and so on of the rest. All this is treasured up
by the Jhareja genealogists; and, idle as it may at first sight appear,
the utility of these pedigrees, in all that regards disputed successions,
is incontrovertible.
It would have been an easy matter to amplify on this subject
without going beyond the original chronicle; but my sole object is to
mark out, as it were, a genealogical chart of the existing family, and
to explain the peculiarities in the present form of government, from
the many singular changes in the habits, positions, and religion of the
jharejas.
F
EPOCHS OF THE SINDE-SUMMA RACE.
481
Jharejas. Before I proceed to this part of my task, I will cast a
retrospective glance at the prominent epochs of this race, and state two
opinions, the result of much reflection on the subject.
Of the supreme dominion of the Yadu race in India, which was
broken up at a period of about twelve hundred years before Christ,
and their consequent dispersion, authority, analogous to history, in
their chronicles, sacred and profane, their mahatmas, or rituals of holy
places, traditions, inscriptions, &c. furnish superabundant evidence.
From these sources we learn, that one of their tribes migrated to
Western Asia, and established itself in Zabulist'han; that another went
to Sinde, and founded Saminagara, capital of the kingdom of Samba,
even when Alexander sailed down the Indus; that this patronymic of
Samba, or Sam, was preserved to later times, when they changed their
creed, and came under the dominion, moral and political, of the
Mooslems, in whose history they are styled the Sinde-Summa dynasty,
which name they retained until driven from Sinde, when the new
patronymic of Jhareja threw a veil over the past. Thus we have the
following epochs in the Sinde-Summa chronology. First, the esta-
blishment of Samba in Sinde, 1100 to 1200 B.C.; second, the existence
of the race in the same position in the time of Alexander, 320 B.C.
From this period to Choorchund, in A.D. 904, we have names but no
dates. It was with his son, named Sam-Yadu, that the ancient name
was revived, whose offspring, as has been related, preserved the
distinctive epithet of the Summa princes of Saminagara, some of
whom, if not all, changed their creed. At this point we pause. The
author of the Periplus informs us that, in the second century, a
Parthian or Indo-Scythic colony took possession of lower Sinde, whose
king made Minagara (which is merely Saminagara deprived of its
3 Q
initial
Fi
182
initial syllable) his capital. The question then presents itself: did this
new race destroy or drive out the descendants of Samba; or is this
race, called by Arrian Indo-Scythic, the ancestry of Choorchund and
the present Jharejas, who, as they found themselves associated with a
more exclusive system of religion and manners than they had been
accustomed to in higher Asia, engrafted the annals of the race they
supplanted, as an introduction to their own genealogies? There are
traditions which savour of this, one of which, held by the Jams of
Nuggur, runs as follows: "That their ancestor, Jusodur Morani,
quitted Mooltân and the Punjâb, and came to Sinde." If the Summas
are not of the Yuechi race, which conquered Sinde in the second
century, then they were driven out by them; and as, in the first
irruption of Islâm on the Indus, in the first century of the Hegira and
eighth of Vicrama, we find the family of Dahir* on the throne of
Upper Sinde, which race, according to Colonel Pottinger, was suc-
ceeded by the Tak or Takshac (one of the most celebrated of the
Getic tribes), we are entitled to conclude that the Summa-Yadus were
either lost in, or incorporated with, or became subservient to, the
multitude of these new tribes and races from Western Asia. Prior to
Choorchund, in A.D. 904, there are the names of thirty-six princes,—
amply sufficient to connect him with the Indo-Scythic conquest of
Sinde in the second century of Vicrama; and, indeed, as they furnish
no more links to connect him with Samba, their founder, it might be
assumed they had no other. These names are for the most part not
uncommon to the Rajpoot, though several belong not to the Hindu
within the Indus, but savour strongly of the Scythic and Hunnish
breeds, which swarmed in these regions in the second and sixth centu-
ries:
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
* It is a curious and even valuable fact, that Dahir "Díspati," or king Dahir of Sinde, assisted
in the defence of Cheetore, on the first attack of Islâm. See Annals of Rajasthan, vol. i. p. 231.
24
-
}
KHENGAR, THE FIRST RAO.
483
ries: as, Osnica, Wisoobara, Ungud, Doorguc, Kayea, and even the
celebrated and favourite family name Khengar. Whatever be the ori-
gin, the family was fixed in Saminagara many generations antecedent
to Choorchund, a name familiar to his neighbours; and from whom,
in A.D. 904, down to the present time, being certain of our thread, we
need no longer attempt to follow it in the labyrinths of unprofitable
speculation. With Sam-Yadu, the son of Choorchund, the name and
dynasty of Summa was firmly established in Sinde; with Jam Oonur,
still sovereign of that region, in A.D. 1053, is connected their first-
recorded intercourse with Saurashtra; and with Raedhun, in A.D. 1193,
the migration, settlement, and gradual conquest of Cutch, which, in
A.D. 1537, assumed a fixed form of government under its first Rao,
Khengar, being the fifth who held this name in the genealogies. With
this disentanglement of a web, extending over a period of nearly a
thousand years, I shall rest content, having wrested from Time some
facts tending to history, if the controversialist will not admit them
to be strictly historical.
Up to this period, every Jhareja claimed equality, and acknowledged
no permanent authority in their bhyád, or frèrage, until Khengar,
being invested with the title of sovereign, and supported by the power
of the kings of Ahmedabad, assumed, or had granted to him, that
supremacy which was necessary to cement their disjointed acquisitions,
and constitute a state. Twelve princes have succeeded, to each of
whose offspring allotments were made; and these, with the older
branches prior to Khengar, compose this singular confraternity, with
a slight account of which, differing as it does from the feudal institu-
tions of the more eastern Rajpoot states, I shall conclude my sketch
of Cutch and the Jharejas.
3 Q 2
484
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
-
CHAPTER XXIII.
Statistics and geography of Cutch.-Its political constitution.-The Bhydd, or Frèrage.-Authority
of the Rao.-Tenure of estates.-Case of disputed succession.-Bhatna, or sub-infeudation, carried
to a destructive extent.-Cause of the differences between the political customs of the Western
Rajpoot States and Cutch.-Consequences of contact with the British Government.-The British
invited as mediators between the Rao and the Bhydd.-A British subsidiary force introduced.-
All within the grasp of British authority.-Mandavie.-On board the Pattamar.-Cross the Gulf
—Appearance of a whale.-Characters of the nakhoda and crew of the Pattamar.-Arrival at
Bombay.-Detention there.—Its alleviating results.-Conclusion.
Or the statistics of Cutch and its geography, political and even
physical, there is sufficient before the public; I will merely, therefore,
so far touch on the former as is essential to the few remarks I have to
make on the internal policy of the Jharejas, and its variation from that
of the other Rajpoot states. For this information I must again express
my obligations to the intelligent Ruttunji, the most enlightened
member of the Regency, from whose oral replies to a long list of
questions, which I noted down in his presence, the following details
are derived.
The Jhareja dominions extend over a tract of about one hundred
and eighty miles in length, and sixty in breadth; the land is generally
poor, indifferently cultivated, and thinly peopled; so much so, that,
although it contains an area of upwards of ten thousand square
miles, the number of inhabitants is only half-a-million, one-twentieth
part of which is confined within the capital, Bhooj, and another
twentieth within the sea-port of Mandavie. Except these two places,
there is none which merits the name of city, though there are a few
towns, as Anjar, Lukput, Moondia, &c., on the coast, which derive
importance
1
POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF CUTCH.
485
importance from their position. Of this population, the number of the
dominant race, the Jhareja, fit to bear arms, is estimated at only
twelve thousand; the remainder are Mooslem and Hindu, of all sects
and classes. The entire revenue of the state, feudal and fiscal,
amounts to fifty lakhs of korees, or about sixteen lakhs of rupees. Of
this, three-fifths appertain to the crown, the remaining two-fifths to
the aristocracy. The feudal chiefs of note are about fifty, though,
taking into account the smaller sub-infeudations and single villages,
there may be two hundred.* But here, in Cutch, as in the more
settled Rajpoot governments, there is a select body of the highest
rank holding greater appanages; and as Méwar has its " sixteen,"
Ambér its " twelve," and Jodpoor its "eight," so Cutch has its "thir-
teen” chief nobles, the principal of whom are the descendants of chief-
tains established prior to Khengar, in whose line, as already stated,
these incongruous elements first subsided into something like
govern-
ment. Previously, each chief exercised unlimited power within the
lands which he or his ancestors obtained by casual conquest; and
when the recognition of Khengar took place, in A.D. 1537, these
great nobles retained all their ancient self-constituted privileges,
paying to the head of the state no more service or homage than was
essential to the integrity of the society. These are strictly the
allodial vassalage of Cutch, and as they not only constitute a material
element of its polity, but serve as models of imitation to all those
branches of the royal family which obtained appanages subsequent to
Khengar, the sovereign is invested with as little real authority as
ever belonged to the chief of any state: the power being so nicely
balanced
* Mr. Elphinstone, in his Report, states the latter number; but my inquiries limited the number
possessing real consequence to fifty.
486
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
balanced between the monarch and the aristocracy, that the least
misconduct on either side must precipitate great changes. Whether,
when the disjointed Jhareja aristocracy consented to receive Rao
Khengar as their sovereign, they defined the extent of his authority
and their own future privileges, I could not discover; but there was
one stipulation made, and that material to the maintenance of their
prerogative, namely, that no point of consequence, affecting the general
weal, should be agitated without the advice of the assembled bhyâd, or
band of brothers, the emphatic appellation of the nobles of Cutch.
This council of state still exists, and includes every chieftain of note.
The Rao retains the right of calling out the kher, or levy en masse of
all the vassal Jharejas; but there is a mark of independence attached
to their obedience to supreme authority even in this point, a
pecuniary sacrifice being exacted from the crown in return for this
attendance, though on so moderate a scale, as to leave it a matter of
doubt whether the right to summon, or power to disobey, be the
stronger.
The smallness of this allowance, viz. one koree for a cavalier, and
the same between two foot soldiers, indicates a sort of mutual compro-
mise; for while it implies an acknowledgment on the part of the chief
that this service is not compulsory (though, at the same time, it
scarcely suffices to purchase rations), the tax is too slight to place the
crown or the public weal in jeopardy.
On the demise of any of the vassal Jharejas, a sword and turban are
sent by the Rao to the heir of the deceased; but he cannot influence
the succession, nor does this imitation of investiture produce the
incident of nuzzerana, or relief,' which marks the original emanation of
the grant, and which in Méwar is fixed at one year's revenue of the
C
estate.
3
487
estate. In Cutch it is considered a mere acknowledgment of the
succession, for which not even homage is paid. This is reserved only
for the accession of the Raos, their marriage, or the birth of a prince;
on which occasions every Jhareja attends at court, and makes his
homage and nuzzerana.
The Jhareja princes, in making puttas, or grants, appear never to
have had an idea of claiming any reversionary interest: there are no
distinctions, as in Méwar, of "Kala-puttas," or "Chur-ootar" estates,
that is, those for life, or resumable at pleasure, of which there was
there a large class. Here, to use Ruttunji's own words, "it is for ever,
even if to a sweeper," with power to do with it as he pleases: in short,
the possession is as much freehold as any estate in England.
The sole instance in which the sovereign has any title to intermeddle
with the lands or privileges of the aristocracy, is the right of decision
in disputed cases of sub-infeudations; a right voluntarily acknowledged,
though chiefly confined to those estates which emanated from the
crown since Khengar was received as their head. But as no act of the
Rao is independent of the great council of chiefs, so these appeals are,
after all, but appeals to themselves, though individually yielded with
reluctance. A case of disputed succession is now on the tapis, where
the prince, or rather the council of regency governing in his mino-
rity, is opposed to the general council of chiefs. A petty chieftain,
one of the older or allodial stock of the Jharejas, died, leaving no
offspring or near kindred to inherit, but one illegitimate son by a
woman of the Bhattia tribe. In this emergency, both parties appear
to have lost sight of principles, the crown, in setting up, as heir-
general, the novel claim to escheats of what it never granted; while the
chiefs, in order to repudiate so unlawful a precedent, desire to confirm
the
AUTHORITY OF THE RAO.
1
488
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
the spurious issue in all the privileges of the bhyâd. The right course
would be a compromise; i. e. to let the general council of chiefs adopt
the nearest (no matter how remote) of the kin of the deceased, and
for the crown to sanction the adoption. But it is evident that such
compromise is not desired by one party; and though on abstract
principles this party may be right, and might defend itself by appealing
to the customs of other Rajpoot states, yet, as there is little or no
analogy existing between these and the Jharejas, the argument is
insufficient for such deviation from usage: at all events, the point
ought to be adjusted upon Jhareja principles, and independent of
British authority, further than as umpires.
The system of bhatna, or sub-infeudation, carried to the extent it is
in Cutch, is a principle of destruction; for, according to the laws of
Menu, where all the sons are co-heirs (though a kind of majorat is
reserved for the eldest), as each must have his bhat, or portion, the
rules of arithmetic would settle the point where all Jhareja subdivi-
sion should cease, when infinitely small quantities, such as, to use
their own metaphor, "might be borne away on the point of their
lance,” would remain. A great moral crime is the sole corrective of
this political error; and it is to prevent the destruction of families
by following the supreme law of sub-infeudation, that the first law of
nature and of God is violated, infanticide not being confined to female
victims.* Were the British Government to negociate a statute of
limitation, demonstrating how the general welfare is endangered by
this ad infinitum division, and to effect by compromise a system of
escheats, partly to the crown, partly to the bhyâd, the chain which
holds
* Mr. Elphinstone, in his Report on Cutch, from which I extracted several notes, confirms this;
adding that it accounts for the number of single heirs male in families
PECULIAR CONSTITUTION OF CUTCH.
489
holds together this anomalous society would be strengthened, and
such horrors avoided.
Thus we have briefly shown the singular picture of a prince, without
any civil jurisdiction or control beyond his own personal domain,
and exercising the smallest possible quantity of political power to keep
the frame of society together; dispensing neither rewards nor punish-
ments; in short, an armed federation, or bhyad, of members of one
great family, kept together by a sense of mutual danger and benefit:
such was the constitution prior to Khengar, and, with the addition of
this prominent feature, such did it until lately remain.
It is to the difference in the mode of colonization between the
Western Rajpoot states and Cutch, that we must refer the different
usages in their governments, and the policy which has preserved to this
singular aristocracy all their ancient independent privileges. It was not
until I paid this visit to Cutch, waded through its chronicles, and con-
versed with its wise men, that I could comprehend the existence of
such a society; for while at a distance, on being made acquainted with
some of its enactments, especially in respect to escheats, lapses, &c.,
I was persuaded that no government could go on where the aristo-
cracy was independent of the crown. My reasoning was right, both
abstractedly and from analogy; for such a government never could
have survived a century, had it been subjected to the vicissitudes of
Rajpootana. But the land of the Jharejas, being nearly insulated by
the sea on one side, and the Grand Rin on the other, had little to dread
from its Hindu neighbours; while, by a piece of admirable policy, that
of undertaking to convey all Mahomedan pilgrims gratis to Mecca,
they conciliated every Mahomedan power, and were never visited in
wrath by the kings.
3 R
And
490
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
3
And thus, in all probability, the feudal system of the Jharejas might
have held their bhyad together for some centuries longer, had it not
been destined that they should have, as neighbours, a state of high
civilization, ambition, and ever-progressing power: I mean, of course,
the British. The Mahratta wars placed the Guicowar court of Baroda
under our influence, which soon entailed an interference with his
feudatories in the Saurashtra peninsula; thence, though a gulf lay
between us and Cutch, one step led inevitably to another, until we
were brought into collision even with the remote people of Sinde.
In spite of the absence of those bonds of unity, and those symbolic
evidences of supremacy, analogous to the incidents of European feudal
polity, between the raos and the aristocracy of Cutch, there existed a
division of the country which, with proper management, might have
broken up the power of the aristocracy, and left the authority in the
hands of its princes. The crown domain surpassed that of the whole
body, and it engrossed the commercial revenues of several cities and
towns. With the means this afforded, it could always command the ser-
vices of a portion of the feudatories; for there are, and ever have been,
adverse parties and rival principles at every court; and I was informed
of instances wherein the entire bhyâd united to punish acts committed
by one of their own body, which were held derogatory to their prince.
With such influence, it was not difficult to call out the khér, or entire
feudal array; and when the country was menaced by foreign invasion,
the Jharejas have stood their ground against aggression. But the
fashion, of late years, of introducing bands of Arabs, Sindies, or
Rohillas amongst the retainers of these princes, has often produced
great jealousy and heart-burnings in their nobles, whilst these mercena-
ries were the cause of no small embarrassment to their employers. They
were
Į
ITS SUBJECTION TO BRITISH INFLUENCE.
491
were always ready to do their masters' bidding; but that mutual for-
bearance, that kind of politic balance, when there was no foreign
interference, was lost. The fate of the last Rao, Bharmul, illustrates
these deviations from ancient usage. His naturally intemperate dis-
position was aggravated by a love of strong drink; and, with these
hireling foreigners at his command, he set at nought the ancient
limitations of his power, for which he substituted his own will. But
he had to deal with those who well knew their rights, and, rather than
surrender them, they invited the British as mediators, which inter-
ference ended in an intimate alliance, and was followed by its inva-
riable concomitant, a BRITISH SUBSIDIARY FORCE! Rao Bharmul's
intemperance increased to a state of madness, and he was deposed,
confined, and his son Rao Desil put upon the gadi. Being an infant,
a council of regency was formed, composed of some of the principal
Jhareja chiefs, and the old civil officers, one of whom, my informant,
Ruttunji, is entirely devoted to English interests. Moreover, the
British Resident is considered as the head of the regency. As far as
I could learn or observe, matters seemed to go on very smoothly ;
tranquillity was universal, and every one enjoyed the fruits of his
industry, or his patrimony; nor is there any likelihood of this state
of things being disturbed, so long as Rao Desil is a minor. The future
will depend on his personal disposition, and the use that is made of
the interim. The chiefs, while they preferred surrendering their
independence to a foreign power, to seeing it wrested from them by
their sovereign, have secured, by the guarantee of that power, the
integrity of their possessions; and the little obedience they formerly
acknowledged is now virtually annulled, though the mediator will be
perpetually tormented by appeals from each, and most probably hated
by both parties.
3 R2
Such
492
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
,
.
►
Such are the mirabilia and memorabilia of the ancient Syrastrene; a
region, I repeat, superior to any in India for the diversity of tribes
which have inhabited it, and for the architectural remains of past days
which it still exhibits. All is now within the powerful grasp of
British authority: the sovereign Guicowar, the lord of Anhulwarra,
and his feudatories, Gohil, Chaora, the Cat'hi rover, the pirates of the
Land's-end, and the Jhareja descendants of the Summas and Yadus,
all have broken the charm of feudal confederacy which linked them
to their own princes, and voluntarily submitted to the yoke of the
foreigner. The inspired "preacher" of the Jews, and the last great
bard of the Rajpoots, have, almost in the same words, proclaimed
the dangers of a minority: "Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a
child!"* to which Chund adds, "and when women rule:" a position
the consequences of which to the Rajpoot present a far greater subject
of alarm, than the sequel to the stanza of the preacher, "and when thy
princes eat in the morning." This would be a sign of regeneration
devoutly to be wished with the Rajpoot, whose love of opiates and
strong-drink leaves no desire to break his fast until the sun is high in
his career. But neither the Jewish nor the Rajpoot bard was ever in
a condition to judge of the superadded danger of that political monster,
called "SUBSIDIARY ALLIANCE." It is hardly to be expected, that
the Jharejas will be exempted from the invariable and inevitable
sequence of such unions, which have established, as an axiom, the
ultimate destruction of every semi-barbarous state, when thus con-
nected with one of high civilization; and I may be permitted to say,
that, however pure our intentions, yet with a British resident as chief
of the regency; with the creature of our creation, Ruttunji, (worthy
though
* Ecclesiastes, x. 16.
r
:
CONSEQUENCES OF OUR INFLUENCE.
493
though he be) as the active agent of our influence; with chiefs who,
having sinned beyond forgiveness in laying the Jhareja sceptre at our
feet, now look to us alone for protection; it would be marvellous if
this state should be the exception to the rule which has marked the
past, and will mark the future, until, as the late Nestor of Rajpootana,
Zalim Singh, foretold," there will be but one emblem of power (ékí
sicca) throughout India:" a prediction, the verification of which seems
rapidly approximating. He well knew the short-sightedness of his
countrymen, and that, to get rid of the collar when it pressed at the
time, they would slip their necks into a yoke from which there was
no extrication.
The baneful uml-pání (opium) has too much benumbed the pro-
phetic faculties of the Bhât, Charun Bardai, to point out these dangers
to his béndâ chief, with whom, to use his own poetic phraseology,
"as he sips his imrita," his ambrosial draught, he bids the future take
care of itself; and thus, left without a monitor, the Jhareja bhyâd has
fraternized with a race, from whose embrace, hitherto, there has
been no escape. The time cannot be remote, when the usual cata-
logue of British ministerialists, judges, collectors, adawlets, &c. will
spread over the whole of Syrastrene; when some future D'Anville or
Rennell may settle the yet unsettled point,* out of which arm of the
Delta the Macedonian fleet sailed for Babylon; or some modern
Lycurgus may solve the question, which is the most difficult task-to
civilize the Jhareja; or put the harness of control on the Gorkhur, the
wild-ass of the Rin ?-to teach the former the inhumanity of infanticide,
the
* Lieut. Pottinger, from minute and accurate survey, agrees with Dr. Vincent's theoretic deduc-
tions, preferring the eastern arm of the Delta; but the entire Potallina has undergone so much
physical metamorphosis, that we find a difficulty in adopting any opinion, though the arguments of
Lieut. P. are decidedly the most convincing.
494
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
the evils of polygamy, and the destructive policy of a too extended
sub-infeudation? By the varied tribes of the Saurashtra peninsula,
the transfer of mere feudal or tributary subjection from the Guicowar
to our power would be received with satisfaction, for they have
hitherto only known us as mediators for their good; and, greatly as I
am averse to see a more extensive foreign influence or authority per-
vade these remains of such singular civilization in Rajpootana, yet, in
the present moral and political condition of Cutch, any system would
be better than that which violates the first principle of our nature, and
places humanity below the brute creation.
MANDAVIE. JANUARY 7th.-On board my pattamar. I retraced my
steps in the same expeditious manner from the capital of the Jharejas,
and reached "the mart" this morning. The wind being right in my
teeth, I was reluctantly forced to resign my ulterior object, the embou-
chure of the Indus, and steer my bark over the ocean, of which I had
to traverse five hundred miles to reach Bombay. The sails were
unfurled, and, bidding adieu to my Mandavie friends, with a fine
breeze we stood across the gulf, and, clearing the Finisterre of the
Hindu, directed our course for Deobunder, the ancient capital of the
Chaoras, where I had determined to land, in order to hunt for in-
scriptions relative to this race, the founders of Anhulwarra. But even
to attain this was not my destiny, the determination being overruled
by my nakhoda, who said I should never reach Bombay by the 14th if
I loitered by the way, or lost any part of so fair a wind. I had only
to obey, and the prow of my pattamar was turned from the land, or, as
Ibrahim said, we were now to steer lal instead of lîlâ, 'red' in lieu of
'blue.' Unused to such nautical phraseology, I ascended the poop of
my vessel to have a personal explanation in front of Ibrahim's binnacle.
The
*
i
**
ON BOARD THE PATTAMAR.
The mystery was soon solved, when I perceived that the subdivisions
of his compass, instead of having each point lettered, had them
coloured blue, red, green, yellow, &c., symbols more easily retained,
where the march of intellect had not yet penetrated. But Ibrahim,
though not lettered, was not uninformed; his wisdom was acquired in
the best school, that of experience; and he could not only steer his
bark without the use of letters, but call in the aid of the stars as his
guide.
495
We pursued our course with a moderate breeze and an unclouded
sky, making good progress until the shades of darkness began to close
around us, when the wind rather lulled. The night was serene and
beautiful: "Orion with all his bands" rode triumphant over our heads,
and the deep silence was undisturbed, save by the gentle ripple of my
bark as she glided slowly through the water. It was a night for medi-
tation, and I gave myself up to "the sweet influences" of the past
and the future.
. Sleep, that knits up the ravell'd sleeve of care,
The death of each day's life,"
had sealed the eyes of all about us, save Ibrahim, the nakhoda, and
another of the crew, having a like patriarchal appellation, Ayoub, or
Job. As we surveyed the heavenly host, I was much gratified to find
Ibrahim familiar with the names of the principal groups: the Hyades
he styled Araní, meaning, in Hinduví, the 'buffalo;' but as this animal
is unknown to Arabia, the idea could not but suggest itself, that even
for the name of the brilliant Aldebaran, the eye of the bull,' the
Arabian is indebted to the Hindu astronomer, as well as for his
algebra.
The
496
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
The succeeding day continued fair, with the same moderate breeze.
As we were enjoying its freshness, about noon, no land in sight, a
huge whale arose within musket-shot of the pattamar, followed by a
shoal of porpoises extending many hundred yards. For at least an
hour he retained his relative position, swimming in a parallel line,
without heading us a yard, occasionally diving and rising, while his
minor subjects were playing all sorts of gambols around him, leaping
and splashing, as if it were a holiday. The Gangetic servants in my
train, both Sipahis and domestics, were struck dumb with astonish-
ment; the porpoise they had almost all seen in the Ganges, but even
the name of this giant of the deep they had never heard. I could not
resist the inclination to take a shot, either at the whale or lesser fry,
and called for my gun; but yielded to Ibrahim's entreaties, not to
follow the childish impulse: he used precisely the same language
of dissuasion as the faithful Bedouin, Ayd, guide of the lamented
Burckhardt, when he desired to shoot at a porpoise in the gulf of
Akaba, "that it was unlawful to kill them, as they were the friends
of man, and never hurt any body."
I have mentioned the patriarchal names of two of my crew, Ibra-
him, “the lord of the boat" (não khoda), and Ayoub; there was also
an Ishmael. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the crew were entirely
Mooslem. Ayoub was a garrulous, facetious sort of fellow, and though
the types of wisdom had begun to diversify the honours of his beard, he
preferred giving scope to his humours, to assuming a virtue he did
not possess: he had a jest for every body and every thing, and
generally required to be told twice what the nakhoda required of
him. Moreover, in spite of the commands of the prophet, and though
TIT
little
ONE OF THE CREW.
497
little better than a fresh-water sailor, he had acquired a taste for the
"waters of life," regarding which he introduced his first knowledge
with considerable naïveté and tact. While conversing with the na-
khoda, Ayoub contrived every now and then to put in a word, and
seizing his opportunity, he with great gravity observed, that he had
heard wonderful stories regarding the Valaiti-d'hood, or milk of
Europe,' as a kind of axir, or balm against all ills of mind or body;
"did I know what it was ?" and, as a smile of penetration passed
over my face, “had I any of it?" quickly followed. I told him I not
only knew and possessed it, but, to satisfy his inquisitiveness, would
give him some; though he must first tell me how he became
acquainted with the virtues of a thing which it was forbidden him to
touch. He replied, that, having conveyed the baggage of an officer
from Bombay to Poorbunder, and landed it during a heavy fall of
rain, the officer gave him and his comrades a glass each of an arac, or
essence, which he called by the name Ayoub used, when he pro-
pounded the question. I had forgotten him and this conversation,
and was seated in my cabin reading by candle-light, when a voice
called out for admittance: it was Ayoub, with his cupra, or coco-nut
cup, come to claim the performance of my promise. I called a
domestic to bring me the bottle, and had actually tilted it towards
the cupra, when it struck me I was doing a very foolish thing, and
might incapacitate our second in command, at this the first half of
our voyage. The soldier, about to suffer death, could hardly have
looked more stupified with surprise, when the word "recover arms,"
instead of "fire," was given, than Job, when I restored to the perpen-
dicular attitude the bottle of elixir. He looked unutterable things;
3 s
not
•
498
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
66
66
".
re
not a word did he speak, but, with the still outstretched arm grasping
the cup, he kept his eyes fixed on me for an explanation of the act.
Suppose, Ayoub," said I, "this should make you tipsy, and a storm
should arise ?” “Saheb !" was all the reply, but no change of attitude.
Supposing, Ayoub, I promised to give you a whole bottle on our
arrival in the harbour of Bombay, would you not relinquish your
cupful for to-night ?" The hand and cup were withdrawn, and though
the expression still was in correspondence with the old adage, of “a
bird in the hand," &c., his features relaxed into a smile, and he
brought himself to say, he thought I was right.
Nothing occurred in our smooth navigation during the five days of
lovely weather, as we approached that magnificent scene, the entrance
to Bombay, possessing, in every diversity and the grandest forms, all
the accessories, mountain, wood, islands, and water.* But it was
the 14th, the day previous to that fixed for the sailing of the Sarah
to England; and the fore-topsails unfurled of two large ships withdrew
my speculations from every other object. I pencilled a note and sent it
by a small craft on board one of these, to know if either were my own
ship, while I hastened to land my Sipahis and attendants, that I might
be ready for the result. A few minutes ended my fears; though both
were precursors of the Sarah for England. Making a present to my
crew, and not forgetting the bottle of Valaith-d'hood, alias brandy, for
Job, I landed my cargo of mutilated divinities, inscriptions, arms,
manuscripts, to the number of forty boxes, on the beach, and soon
had them sheltered under tents, which the kindness of friends had
prepared for me. And here I was detained nearly three weeks before
?
!
my
* Once more I refer the reader, for an adequate representation, to Capt. Grindlay's work,
Scenery of Western India.”
サ
​}
DELAY AND ITS RESULTS.
499
my ship sailed, each day adding to my mortification at the non-
accomplishment of my long-indulged scheme, for which half the time
would have sufficed. But as there are few evils without some coun-
terbalancing good, so, on the present occasion, my detention was
productive of results far more important and gratifying than could,
under any circumstances, have crowned my expectations from visiting
the Indus. A few days before we sailed, I had a conversation with
General Sir Charles Colville, then commander-in-chief, on the subject
of my tour; on the beauties of Aboo, the ruins of Palit'hana, Somnath,
Anhulwarra, Chandravati; and, at his request, drew up a detailed
account of my route, inviting his attention to collateral objects,
which I transmitted during the ship's delay at Cochin. His Excel-
lency, taking this as his guide, soon after followed in my steps,
visiting all these places of celebrity, the most of them known only
to myself. Happily for me, and for architectural science, as well
as for the lovers of the things of old, Colonel Hunter Blair was on
his Excellency's staff, and to Mrs. Hunter Blair's enthusiastic taste
for the arts, and the surpassing elegance of her pencil, the world
stands indebted for the illustrations of the noblest specimens which
the Hindu silpi has achieved: thus rescued from the oblivion in which
they had lain for ages, and the destruction which soon followed.
But we must not again mount the cheval de bataille: "Othello's occu-
pation's gone," and henceforward I must look on the past as a
dream, to which the present monotonies of life add the semblance
of reality.
Here ends my story, or, in the concluding phraseology of the
complete Hindí letter-writer, "what more need I say?" save that,
3 s 2
as
500
TRAVELS IN WESTERN INDIA.
as we continued our voyage, I kept my eyes upon the land, indulging
my fancy in speculations on the future, of my return to my Rajpoots,
as well as many a scheme for their welfare; and at length, when we
ranged the last promontory of India, and, running through the gulf
of Manar, dipped the pole-star in the wave, I parted with him as the
last tie that bound me to the land where I had passed my best days,
and had been the instrument of good to thousands. But as all my
readers are not star-gazers, I should explain my attachment to that
particular star, emblematic of constancy with the poets of the east as
of the west. My principal walk at Oodipoor was on the terrace-roof
of my palazzo, and there I often dined and slept, in those hot days
when it was impossible to take exercise out of doors. The brilliancy
in that country of the deep cerulean, spangled with its golden orbs, is
indescribable, and with such a canopy over-head, I had almost become
a Sabæan. A line drawn longitudinally across this terrace-roof, my
quarter-deck, and prolonged through space, would have terminated
at the polar-star, which hung over the gate of the city called the
Dehli Durwaza; for years, therefore, this guided my steps in my
nocturnal peregrinations, or received my salaam, when I took a
lunar, or noted an eclipse of some one of Jupiter's moons. What-
ever recalled these scenes in "the happy valley" and the small
world around, which to me at least brought no satiety of interest,
was a cherished object, and what object could more forcibly pour-
tray the past than "the star of the north," whose gradual depar-
ture I traced, as we ran down the latitude! When it was lost
to me in the wave, I felt as though I had parted from a friend,
and as we sailed through the North Atlantic Sea, I hailed his re-
appearance
CONCLUSION.
appearance with delight. It but little concerns the reader, that I
stopped at St. Helena, and concluded my pilgrimage at the tomb of
“The greatest, not the worst of men,”
the operations of whose gigantic mind I have since traced through
many a land.
"Ill-weaved Ambition, how much art thou shrunk !
When that this body did contain a spirit,
A kingdom for it was too small a bound;
But now, two paces of the vilest earth
Is room enough !"
October 28th, 1835.
501
i
APPENDIX.
No. I. (p. 90).
Inscription on the Shrine of Kunkul-éswar,* at Oreessa, now called Oreah.
S. 1265. Bysak sood Poonum, Tuesday. Of Chaluc race, Purrum Bhuttarik Mahárájá
Dheráj, Sremad Bheemdeo, in his paramount (Beejy Raj) reign and lifetime, and Srí
Kurrun, minister, of all the princes of his time the mightiest, and while the umbrella of
Dháráburz Deo alone was spread over the land of Chandraoti Nuggri, Mandalakéswar, the
fortune of the land. At this time, Preladun Deo, the prince, exercised the duties of
government, and at this time the brave Kedaréswar repaired the temple of Kunkuléswar.
The inscription written by the Pundit Lukmi Dhar.
No. II. (p. 88.)
[A copy of this inscription, notwithstanding diligent search, cannot be found amongst
the Author's papers.]
No. III. (p. 186.)
Inscription concerning Komár-pál Solankhi, in Brimha's Temple, in Cheetore,
called Lakhun's Mundur.
To him who takes delight in the abode of waters, from whose braided locks ambrosial
drops continually descend, even this Mahadéva, may he protect thee!
He
* Kunkul-éswar Mahadeo's shrine and fountain are at Bhadrinath. Those who bathe in this
fountain have no second birth, kun-kul-kul, meaning tainted with errors and follies,' and
kun, removing.'
(
504
APPENDIX.
He of the Chaluc tribe, having innumerable gems of ancestry, flowing from a sea of
splendour, was Moolraj, sovereign of the earth. What did he resemble, whose renown
was bright as a fair sparkling gem, diffusing happiness and ease amongst the sons of the
earth? Many mighty princes there were of his line, but none before had made the
Great Sacrifice.
Generations after him, in the lapse of years, was Sid-raj, a name known to the world,
whose frame was encased in the rubies of victory, and whose deeds were sounded over
the curtain of the earth, and, by the fire of his own frame and fortune, heaped up uncon-
sumable wealth.
After him was Komár-pál Deo. What was he like, who, by the strength of his
invincible mind, crushed all his foes; whose commands the other sovereigns of the earth
placed on their foreheads; who compelled the Lord of Sacambhari to bow at his feet;
who in person carried his arms to Sewaluc, making the mountain lords bow before him,
even in the city of Salpoora?
On the mountain Chutturkote, --- ar, the Lord of Men, in sport placed this [writing]
amidst the Abode of the Gods, even on its pinnacle placed it. Why? That it might
be beyond the reach of the hands of fools.
As does the Lord who rules the Night (Nissanath), looking on the faces of the fair
Kamunis below, feel envious of their fairness, and ashamed of the dark spots in his own;
even so does Chutturkote blush at seeing this (prasishta) on her pinnacle. S. 1207.
(A.D. 1141.) [Month and day broken off.]*
No. IV. (p. 186.)
[A copy of this Inscription cannot be found.]
No. V. (pp. 336 and 352.)
Translation of an Inscription on a Slab found at the entrance of the Mundur of
Bhadri-Koli, in Deo-Puttun, but originally belonging to Somnath.
Salutation to Him, from whose lock the Ganges flows; on whose thigh Parbutty
reclines! Salutation to Vizeem Raj, the child of Parbutty! Salutation to Saruswuttee
[This inscription is given in the Appendix to vol. i. of the Annals of Rajasthan.]
and
2
505
and make my tongue his abode! By him, whom the sun and moon adore-by all may
I be protected! [Remaining slocas omitted.]
Bháo Brisputée (Vrishpati), a Bramin of Kinoj (Canouj), left Benares on pilgrimage;
he reached Awanti and Dharanuggur, then ruled by Jey Sing Deo. The Pramar prince
and all his family elected him their Gooroo, and the prince called him brother.
Sid Rae Jey Sing was universal Lord when he went to heaven; Kunwar [Komar]
Pál succeeded to his throne; Bháo Brisputee became the chief of his advisers. Kunwar
[Komar] Pál was the Calp Vrich of the three worlds. He gave his seal, his wealth,
and all under the command of Brisputee, and said, "Go and repair the fallen (teerun)
temples of Deo-Puttun."* Bháo Brisputee made them resemble Kylas. He invited the
Lord of the World to see his work. When he saw, he dwelt on the praise of the
Gooroo, as he said, "My heart is rejoiced; to you and your sons I give the chief
place in my kingdom."
Chundrama erected the first temple of gold; then Rawun of silver. After, Krishna
Bheemdeo rebuilt it, and studded it with jewels; and then Kunwar [Komar] Pál made
it once more resemble Meru. The Lord of Goorjen Mundali bestowed lands and wealth
on Brimhpoora (the abode of Bramins). He raised fortifications from the south, the
abode of Somnath, to the north, including Brimhpoora. The abodes of Sid-éswar,
Bheem-éswar, were all repaired, and golden pinnacles raised on all. Wells and fountains,
halls for travellers, reservoirs and silver conduits, through the temple of the god, for the
water, with a throne for the god The temple of Pâp Mochun-éswar, erected by
Rookmaun, and thrown down, was rebuilt. Balabhi Samvat, 850.+
APPENDIX.
No. VI. (p. 337.)
Inscription on a Gateway at Deva-puttun.
S. 1442. Assar-bood 8, Sanewar. After salutations to Saruswuttee. Of Yadu house
was the Chetore Raja Bheem, his wife Manikdevi, his daughter Yamuni Bae; she was
married to the chief of Rushtore, Bunee Brimohjee. They came to Prulias, and made
gifts and charities, the virtues attending which still benefit the people (as in tanks, &c.)
(On
* In the Charitra, it is said that the golden kullus was made by Vrishpati.
+ B. S. 850+375=V. S. 1225, A.D. 1169, the year of the accession of Bhím Deo, of Puttun,
next but one in succession to Komar-pál,
3 T
I
506
APPENDIX.
(On the same stone.)
S. 1273. Sambut Bikram Bysak bood Chouth. In Deo Puttun Raj Mooldeo. After
whom Hamir, who repaired the temples and the munduff of Somnath.
No. VII. (p. 351.)
No. 1.—Inscription found at Billawul, originally taken from the Temple at Somnath.
Adoration to the Lord of all, to the Light of the Universe !* Adoration to the form
indescribable! to Him, at whose footsteps all kneel!
In the year of Mohummud 662, and in that of Bikram [Vicrama] 1320, and in that of
Srimad Balabhi 945, and in the Seehoh [Siva-Singa] Sambut 151 (=A.D. 1264),† Assar
bood, 13th, Sunday (Rubwar). Srimad Anhul (poor) Pât [either scarlet,' or mistaken
for Patun], obeyed by numerous princes; Purn-éswar Bhuttarik, on whom the favour of
the Lord of Oomia, of exalted fortune, fearing none, a thorn to his foe. Sri Chaluk
Chakravarti Mahraja Dheraj Sremad Urgoon Deva, universally victorious! His minister,
Sri Mal Deva, and the different officers of government, the five kulas, with Hoormuz
of Belacool (Billawul), in the reign of Amira Rookn-oo-deen, walking in the path of
virtue, and at the same time the Khoja Ibrahim, of Hormuz, son of the Admiral (Nakhoda)
Noor-oo-deen Feeroz, with the Chaora Palook-deva, and Ranik Srí Soméswar Deva, and
the Chaora Ramdeva, and the Chaora Bheemsing, and all the Chaora chiefs and other
tribes assembled. Nansi Raja, Chaora, inhabiting Deo-Puttun, assembling the mahajuns
(merchants), established and settled the offerings to the temples, and their repairs; that
the flowers, oil, and water should be regularly supplied to Ruttun-éswar, Choul-éswar, §
and the temple of Poolinda Dévi, and various others, erected a koti (wall) around
the temple at Somnath, with a gateway to the north. The Chaora son of Modula,
Keelhandeo, with the son of Sohun, Loonsi, with the two baniahs (merchants), Balji and
Kurrun, bestowed the profits of the weekly market on the temples. While the sun and
+
+ Mahadeo's great temple at Somnat❜h.
|| The goddess of the Bheels.
moon
* This at once shews Somnat'h to be the Sun, or Lord of the Moon; in short, the Sun-God,
Balnat'h, whose type was the phallus, or fructifier.
+ V.S. 1320-945-375 of Vicrama (A. D. 319), for the commencement of the Balabhi era;
and 1320—151=1169 of Vicrama (A.D. 1113), for that of the Siva-Singa era, established by the
Gohils of Deo.
§ The tutelary divinity of the Chaluc race.
APPENDIX.
507
moon endure, let it not be received! Feeroz is commanded to see this obeyed. Let the
proper offerings on festivals be continued, and let the surplus offerings be placed in the
treasury for the repairs of the st'han of faith. The Chaoras and the Nakhoda Noor-o0-
deen are commanded to see these orders executed on all the population of merchants,
Moosulmans, &c. Heaven will be the portion of him who obeys, and hell of him who
breaks through these commands.*
No. 2.—Another Inscription found in Billawul, but carried from Patun.
Srimad Balabhi, 927. Phalgoon sood Beej Boodwár. Ad Srí, Deo-puttun, Mool Jog
Gohil, and others, erected the temple to Gordhan Nath.
No. VIII. (p. 357.)
Inscription at Choorwar, from Sooraj Mudu Gate, Koraussi.
(After invocation to the Sun, to remove from the world all troubles of the mind).
Thou, the Lord of a thousand rays, the remover of darkness, the Light of the Earth and
Hills, causing the lotus to expand, to Thee, O Sun, I bow! Sprung of this Sun were
princes, whose horse's hoof covered the proud with darkness. Of this was one of Bramin
race, who attained sovereign power. Learned, brave, the thirty-six tribes of princes
obeyed him. His residence was at the foot of Rabarri Achil (Aboo), in the mandala
of Maroosthullee. After many generations of his race was the Lord of the Earth,
Loonung; with a large army, and with the force of his arms and navy, he gained
Saurashtra. His son was Bheem Sing, a mighty warrior. Lawin Pal was his son, who
plundered his neighbours. His son, a mighty warrior, proud, and by the force of his own
arms, fierce as the Sun; and splendid in renown was Bhomi Pal, and from him and his
son, Lakshman Sing. From Panihul he came to Joonagurh; he was the Indra of this
Indrapoora. His nephew was Raj-Sing; he cemented the nine regions into one king-
dom. His son, Khem Raj, the Prince of Princes. His son was Som-Brimha, from
whom Ben Guj, a mighty warrior.
In Saurashtra are sacred places removing sins-was Srimad Khengâr.
Srí
* [A copy of this inscription (with a few trifling variations), accompanied with explanatory
notes by the Author, is given in the Appendix to Vol. I. of the Annals of Rajasthan.]
3 T 2
508
APPENDIX.
Srí Mohummud Brehunmud Padshah, even to Girnar, made his An and Deen respected
by all but Khengâr, and his brother Bhimdeo, whose sister Rutnadévi was married to
Raj Sing; whose son was Muldeo, who founded Koraussi. His son
His son was Mooraj, like a
mad elephant. His son
His son was Seoraj, and his Maldeo. The Sun had foreknown his
descendant would here found a temple to him; Maldeo erected it. His wife, Bunladevi,
was faithful as Síta, of Pramar Cula. The fire sacrifice was prepared, and the Sun
enshrined.
(Then follow several names of nephews and nieces, amongst them Moolraj Bhagaila.)
S. 1445. Phalgoon-bood 5, Somwár.
No. IX. (p. 373.)
[This inscription is likewise wanting.]
No. X. (p. 374.)
Translation of an Inscription (on a small slab) at the Rewati-coonda,
at Damadra-coondra.
Salutation to Ganésa; salutation to him, whom the chief of ascetics (Jogiswara)
and sages (mooni) adore, in the hope of a glance from his eye: he, who plundered
the churns of the Gopis,* whose hands were pinioned to the damuni † by Yasooda,‡
even Vishnu Damadra, was here enshrined, he who created mankind!
Of yore, was Mandalica, the Lord of Men, of Yadu race. To his foe he was the
moodgil § of the Athlete; blessed by Lacshmi, he was obeyed by the lords of the land.
Descended from him was Mahé-pâla, from whom sprung the lord of the land, Khéngâr.||
What did he resemble? an elephant, carrying destruction to his foe. He erected the
abode (sthan) of Someswara, ¶ and to the Bramins he daily distributed silver gifts.
He had a son, like Nanda, of antient times, named Jey Sing Deo. What did he
resemble ?
Gopis, the shepherdesses of the pastoral Vroja, the birth-place of Crishna, or Kanyâ.
† Damuni, the churning-rod.
Yasooda, mother of Kanyâ.
§ Large blocks of wood, with handles, used by the Calisthenic professors.
|| Khengâr is the name of the prince who erected the palace of which a view is given.
¶ Soméswar, or Somnât'h, Lord of the Moon,' a title of Siva; also applied to Suryâ,
the Sun-God.
T
JE
APPENDIX.
From him was Vicrama
resemble? he, who fostered the four castes, and aterums?
Sing; over the elephant-formed foe invariably victorious. Who was like unto him?
Mighty heads, wearing crowns, have existed; many sons born of womankind, but none
like him, the first amongst leaders (samant). From him was Mandalíca,* from whom
was Mélagâ, of exalted fortune, a sanctuary to the terrified. His son was Jey Sing, in
whose reign was Abhye Sing, of Yadu race, the foremost of his warriors, who at the
t'halaiti† of Jinjirkote slew the Javant foe, and walked in the path of virtue. §
Samvat|| RAM, TOORUNG, SAGUR, MAHI, in the month of Vysak (soodi) 5th,
Brigúbasri, or Saturday, this spot was purified and consecrated, the edifices repaired, and
this recording stone erected.
509
No. XI. (p. 390.)
No. 1.-Inscription in the Temple of Chandra Pribhu, erected by the brothers,
Tejpál and Busunt Pál.
Of Yadu race, like the ocean in purity, was the Indu Neméswara, ascending in the
prints of whose lotus-footsteps unto the lofty Ujayanti,** multitudes of the Yadu race,
generation after generation, touched with their foreheads the feet of Nemnat'h.††
In
* Mandalica, though a proper name, is also titular, viz. Lord of the Region;' this
and Khéngâr are the two names best preserved by tradition, and to one or other many
things at Joonargurh-Gírnar are attributed.
† Thálaiti, or tulaítí, is the term applied to the town at the foot of every hill-fortress; but
I know no castle of this name, though Abulfazil mentions Jhanjír as a seaport in the eighth
division of Saurashtra.
The Javan, or Yavan, is applied by the Hindu both to Greek and Islamite.
$ "The path of virtue" of the Rajpoot is the same as the Roman, viz. manhood, and this
metaphorical expression, as regards Abhye Sing, or, the fearless lion,' means, that he fell in
battle.
C
Here is another of these cryptographic dates, explained in the Annals of Rajasthan,
which without the key would be unknown, and thus all such inscriptions would become
useless. The date is explained in the text.-S. 1473.
¶ The Yadu is one of the chief of the races of Indu, or Chandra, 'the moon.' Neméswar
probably means the founder of this race; from Nema, 'foundation,' and éswara, ‘lord.'
** Ujayanti, or Ujanti, one of the names of Girnar, explained p. 368.
†† This shows, beyond a doubt, that the Yadu races followed the faith of Budha, or Jaina;
in fact, Nemnat'h, or, familiarly, Nemí (from his dark colour called Arishta Nemi), was of Yadu
race, not only the cotemporary, but the very near kinsman of Crishna, being the sons of
Basdeo and Samádru, the elder and younger of ten brothers.
!
510
APPENDIX.
In the Vicrama Samvat 1204,* on Wednesday (Budhwar),† the sixth of the month of
Phalgoon, Srí Chandra Pribhu was enshrined during the sway of Srí Râj Thakoor
Samanta Bhoj, his son, Asser Raj, and his wife, Srí Komar-deví, from whom was born
Srí Looní Ram.
Of Srímâl tribe were the brothers Tejpál and Busunt Pál, with Lilítá-deví,§ and son.
No. 2.—Second Inscription on the same stone as the foregoing, from the
Temple of Chandra Pribhu.
This place of devotion (teertha) of Neméswara, in Revachíl,|| ornamented with various
minerals,¶ brought from the distant shores of ocean by merchants of wealth, S. 1227,
Sri Sutroonjâ and Ujayantí, grand objects of worship, and frequented by hosts of
pilgrims. This abode of the gods was repaired and embellished by the Chalúca warrior,
Mahraja Raj Srí *
*
*
*
*
[Cætera desunt.]
No. 3.-Inscription in the Temple of Malináťh.
S. 1234.++ On the sixth of the month of Pos, on Srí Girnar the Gooroo, of places of
religious resort, the merchants, Tejpâl and Busunt Pâl, with their father, Rajpâl, in
the reign of Srí Komár-pâl, of Srí-Patun, erected on Ujayanti-Gir the gem amongst
teert hás, this similitude of Meru-mandala, together with the shrines of Srí Mulináth,
Sri Chandra Pribhu, and Adéswara.
No.
* I have little doubt that the zero in this date, S. 1204, is erroneous, and that it should
be S. 1234, which corresponds with the date on a succeeding inscription.
+ Budhwar, or Wednesday, sacred to Budha, and named after him, is a day propitious to
any new undertaking.
+ Phalgoon is one of the chief months of spring, or Vasant.
§ Lilítá-deví was either the wife or daughter of one of these munificent merchants, or perhaps
their mother.
Revachil is the antient designation of this important range in the geography of Saurashtra.
¶ The chief mineral used in decorating this shrine has all the appearance of that marble called
jaune antique, and may have been brought by these "merchants of wealth" from Myas Hormus,
or some other port of the Red Sea, from the quarries afterwards so much resorted to by the
Romans.
** The Chaluca prince, who repaired this shrine, must have been a subordinate branch of
the then reigning family of Anhulwarra. It is a fresh proof that the worship of the Jain or
Budha faith was common to the Rajpoot princes at this period.
++ S. 1234, or A.D. 1178. This date corrects the other, in the first inscription, which should
be S. 1234, instead of S. 1204.
APPENDIX.
No. XII. (p. 394.)
Inscriptions at Girnar.
+
+
No. 1.—On the great Nemnath, on a column of the Munduff.
S. 1333. Bysak sood, 14. Somewar-Srí Jin Siroboda Sooree, by his order from Ooja
Sroor, the Srawuk Gooroos, and his son, Beer Pál, and Heera Lakhu, on the great teerut
of Ujayantí, repaired the temple of Neméswara; for which purpose he bestowed 200
mohrs from himself, and lent 2,000 mohrs, to be repaid with interest.
511
No. 2.-Inscription in the Temple erected by Raja Sumpriti.
. S. 1215,* on the 8th of the month of Cheyt, Sunday, on the teertha (place of
pilgrimage) Ujayanti-gír, this devacúlí (cells around the temple) was erected by Sacti
Raja Comali Sindhérana, † in Saca Salivàhana
By Suryavansí, Jusohir and
Thakoor Sodeva the gate of entrance was constructed. By Thakoor Bharat, and others,
a tanka was excavated.
-
No. 3.-At the Gate of Khengár's Palace.
(After praise of Girnar.) Of Yadu race was Srí Mandalica, § the Lord of Men,
who enlarged the temple of Nemnáť'h. From him was Nogan; over the nine divisions
(No-Khanda) his sway extended; he was munificent and bountiful. From him was
Mahindra, fosterer of the land (Mahipala). In Pruhus-Puttun he repaired the temple
of Somnath. From him was Khengar,** who plundered the fruit-tree of his foe. His
son
* A.D. 1159, Komar-pál was at this time supreme monarch of Western India.
† This epithet would almost warrant the idea that this royal pilgrim, who constructed the
devacúlí, or lateral cells, which were for places of rest, was a Rajpoot prince of Sinde. The
Soda princes had regained much of their importance at this time; they also held the title
of Rana.
I have often had occasion to notice, that the word tank, or reservoir, is of pure Hindu
origin.
§ The name of Mandalica was titular in this family, of whom there were four, and as he
was four generations anterior to Khengar, the cotemporary of Sidraj, of Puttun, who ruled from
S. 1150 to S. 1200, his era is easily calculated, as is that of the last of his name, subjugated
by Mohamed Begra.
|| The No-Khanda, or nine divisions, into which the peninsula was divided.
¶ Mahindra, who repaired the shrine of Somnat'h, probably acted with the famed Sidraj
in this work of piety, as lord paramount.
** Khengar, the most celebrated man of the Yadu line in Saurashtra, was the personal
opponent and rival of the celebrated Sidraj, for the hand of the Deora princess.
512
APPENDIX.
son was Jey Sing-deva. His son was Mokul. His son was Molug, from whom was
Mahípâla. He had Mandalica,* lord of the region (mandala) of Saurashtra, magnificent
as Bhoj.
(The inscription concludes with the praise of Mandalica, addressing the pilgrims and
mendicant races in a bold metaphorical strain: "Why want, when the Calpa-vricsha,
or ever-fructifying Mandalica, is here? go to him, whom may happiness attend!")
No. 4.-From the Shrine of Parswa, erected by the brothers Tej-Pál
and Busunt-Pál.
S. 1287, Phalgoon bodí teej, Rubiwâr (or Sunday, the third of the spring month,
Phalgoon, A.D. 1231), the exalted of Chaluc race, in Anhulpoor-Patun, Comala-Raj-
hansa-Srimant-Rajavalí Mahárájá dheráj Srí - - [here the most important part, the
name of this paramount sovereign, (Rajával), has been obliterated; it recommences
thus:] Ministers of Vira-dhuwal,† Samanta Sing, who was Lord of Guzerat, and Preladun,
his son. ‡
+
No. XIII.
Inscription on Mount Taringi.
[Note by the Author.-An inscription given me by a Yuti from this mount, sacred to Adnat'h
and Aj'itnat'h, offered fresh subject for astonishment at the boundless wealth of the brothers
Busunt Pál and Tej Pál, the work of whose hands on Aboo are described, and on Mount
Girnar.]
Svat Srí. To the Omniscient! To the Almighty! S. 1284 (A.D, 1228), Phalgoon
sood 2d, Sunday. The dweller in Anhulpoor, of Poorwur tribe, the son of Chand, Asso,
his son Akhé Raj, and his wife Nokumar, was born Lunsár; his wife, Maldevi, and
son, Buspál, on the mountain Taringi, erected the temples to Aj'itnat'h and Adnať'h, the
first and second Teert'hancars.
No.
* Mandalica is here distinctly stated to be lord of Saurashtra, the enfeebled state of Anhul-
warra having permitted their shaking off their subordinate character, established by Sidraj.
+"The banner of manhood."
The inscription from Kunkul-éswar (No. 1) helps out this, and shews that Preladun,
then having the epithet Deva, or 'god-like,' attached, was the son regent of Dháráburz-deva,
"whose umbrella alone was spread over Chandrâvatí-Nuggrí, the lord of the surrounding
regions (Mandalácâ-éswara)." This, I repeat, is the glorious opponent of Kootub-oo-deen,
the viceroy and successor of Shab-oo-deen, the conqueror of India.
APPENDIX.
No. XIV.
Inscription on a Pillar at Puttun-Somnath.
513
[This inscription was copied, at the Author's request, by Pooranee Ramdut Krishna Dutt, of
Puttun, and translated by Mr. Wathen, of Bombay, with the assistance of a learned Jain priest.]
I adore that Eternal Being, who is the source of the twenty-five principles !
The pulses of the five principles, Æther, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth, are the Sun
and Moon; whoever contemplating these obtains abstraction, and thus discovers that
which is perfection, such a one becomes concentrated in the Universal Spirit!
Praise be to Siva! The destroyers of the Daityas (demons), Lacshmi, Narayana,
these are renowned throughout the Universe; they are deserving of worship!
This temple of Sri Somanat'ha is beautiful as a Rutnacanti (sparkling gem), and in
magnificence brilliant as the splendour of the Sun and Moon. This Deity (Somanat'ha),
consisting of an assemblage of virtues, containing in himself all descriptions of treasure,
this God destroys and removes all kinds of pain and distress. Almighty Being! thou
art victory! thou reignest on the shores of the ocean!
The Bramin Sompara is perfect, and well acquainted with the rights of sacrifice,
and the rules of meditation, worship, and the ceremonies of making offerings.
There was a Prince of the Sandila race, and Raja Vera's family, who caused a great
sacrifice to be performed. This Raja, Sovereign of Anhalapura Patana, such Mula Raja
was as a Protector to the World. He caused the Ganga-ghata to be built on the river;
many were the pious acts done by him. Mula Raja caused to be formed reservoirs of
water, wells, tanks, temples, religious places, schools, and dharmasalas (caravanserays);
hence these became as ensigns, displaying his good name; towns, villages, and hamlets
were established by him, and governed happily. He became as a Chudamani gem
(unexampled) in this universe; how can I describe his mighty feats? He conquered
the whole world by his own power alone, and then protected his conquest. The son of
Mula Raja, named Sri Madhu, then completed the subjection of this earth. He caused
his kingdom to become populous, and well cultivated; he enjoyed his government,
without fear (of his enemies). The son of this Prince was Dulabha Raja, who, as Siva
reduced Camadeva to ashes, so did he also destroy the power of inimical kings. His
younger brother was Vicrama Raja, in strength resembling a lion. Having assembled a
3 U
numerous
514
APPENDIX.
.
numerous army, he took possession of the throne, having subjected the Fairy Devangni ;
hence his fame became spread throughout the three worlds. This Prince, of high descent,
governing with all the virtues required in a good King, rendered his people most happy.
Having made his own the Goddess of Victory, she became his standard-bearer. Of this
Purmar race, of Sri Vicrama's family, Sri Cumarapala Raja arose, a mighty Hero. He
was a most renowned Warrior; he was a King, terrific and formidable as the waves
of the ocean. The descent of Sri Cumarapala is now to be described:
The Chaluc race is most famous; in it have arisen Rajas generation after generation,
forming a lofty tree of virtue; Rajas, who caused the forms of religion and the ways
of justice to be observed; like Indra, inasmuch as they showered favours on their people
as clouds by rain fertilize the earth. Of this family arose a king of high renown, a
great hero, named Gulla Raja, who caused to be built the hall of the Temple of
Someshvara, and a famous sacrifice, called Méghadwanni, was performed by his orders.
His son was Lalackhia, whose son was Bhabhackhia; he was a great warrior. Bhima Raja
was his friend; this Prince Lala, when seated on his throne, resembled the full moon
in splendour. Whose son, Jayasinvha, having reigned with fame on this Earth, ascended
to the realms of bliss; his son, Rajsinvah, caused Sanvat Cumarapala to be placed on the
throne, but he himself conducted the affairs of th tate. The son of Cumarapala was Sri
Rohini, a Great Sovereign, endued with all virtues, splendid as the sun. He became
as Sridhar, bright as the moon. The Protector of the World, the mighty, the renowned,
Raja Sri Bhima Bhupati, paid much attention and respect to the merchants.
Description of Sridhara Raja.
In the generations of the Chaluc family appeared this Prince, as a gem brilliant like the
Moon, possessor of every valuable quality, famous as Sri Rama, beautiful as Camadeva ;
such was Sridhara Raja. In him was centered every virtue; by him was adoration shewn
to the Deities, respect to the priests: a Prince perfect in truth. As Iswara, superior
to all the Deities of Vaicuntha, so was he to the Lords of this Earth, exalted as Indra.
As the Cow Camadhenu, granting the desires of all, thus liberal was he, exceedingly
compassionate, and possessed of great humility. Again, superior to other Rajas as a
Rajahansa to other birds, his fame and splendour pervade this Globe as the rays of the
Moon.
In Praise of Sri Somnat'ha.
Who can wash away sins as the waters of a torrent? Who can render his worshippers
prosperous and successful? Such a Deity is Sri Somnat❜ha.
This
·
515
APPENDIX.
This Temple is an unique place, in the three worlds; a fit spot for devotion;
whoever has had an auspicious birth, such person meditates on this God; the virtues
of this Deity are universally known, he is pure and undefiled! Such is that Siva,
from hearing whose praise the mind becomes pure! He will bestow on his worshippers
all good things, and will grant them entrance into Paradise. Resembling a gem, his
place is central; he of his goodness will pardon the sins of those born in this Cali age.
His majesty and might are as his virtues, spread throughout the world. May he
always be predominant! Serpents are his ornaments! He is the Lord of the Universe!
he is the sole asylum of mercy in the three worlds!
Description of Patana.
This is a city, called Devaca Pattana, possessing, by favour of Siva, lofty mansions
magnificent temples, numerous gardens, and delightful groves.
Description of Sridhara.
As the sea by its waves can remove mountains of sin, so Sridhara by his army
governs Somnatha Puri. There is in this city a beautiful Temple of Sri-Crishna; there
is also a Minister of great prudence, who expels the evil-doers and vicious. This
Sridhara having had several invocations recited, and sacrifices performed, has erected
Temples for the sake of religion, and has enriched them with gardens, groves, and
bowers. These Temples resemble the pinnacles of the Golden Méru in splendour and
brilliancy; of these, that of Somnat'ha is most wonderful; there are cupolas of various
forms, with a variety of flags, so that the place resembles the holy mountain.
Description of the High-Priest of the Temple.
The Priest is the most excellent of mankind, the abode of virtue, the compassionate
Maheshvara. A constant worshipper of Shiva; one who possesses all the most estimable
qualities of a priest, an unwearied performer of sacred rites and sacrifices. His mind
is most pure, always engaged in the worship of Hari; he also pays adoration to Vishnu.
Whose devotion is such as to secure to him the possession of whatever he may desire,
which will ensure him the happiness of the immortals, as well as the blessings of this
life and the comforts desired by mankind; which will obtain for him whatever object he
may have fixed his inclination on, which is auspicious, which grants him all kind of
bliss. By the virtues of this Sri Somnatha, good fortune is procured for men; he is
Lord of the Moon! Sridhara Maharaja shines forth pre-eminent in his race; by this
3U 2
Prince
516
APPENDIX.
Prince is great respect shewn to the Brahmins of this Deity. The King pays devoted
regard to this Temple of Sri Somnat'ha; he bows to the renown of Siva. This Temple
is the abode of saints; it is inhabited by Lacshmi; by worshipping this Siva's feet,
all sin is removed. By sight of this Temple even the stain of evil deeds becomes
effaced; pain and disease also disappear.
In Samvat of Sri Vicramaditya Raja 1272 (A.D. 1215), Vaisachha-vadu 4th (being
Friday), this image was installed.
No. XV.
Inscriptions at Joonagur, taken from Buildings on the Sacred Mountain
Girinala (Girnar).*
[Translated by Mr. Wathen, of Bombay.]
No. 1.-(After invocation to Ganesa.) It is proper for me to describe the sacred
mountain Girnala. In that Revtachala,† the Lord of mountains, devotees, ascetics,
and holy men are engaged in the constant performance of the sacred rites of penance
and devotion. On that holy Girnala exists a celebrated sacred spot, around which are
thick forests, interspersed with various elegant temples, reservoirs of water, and many
religious edifices, by which the mountain is ornamented and adorned. Wandering
through these solitary regions, casting aside pride, covetousness, overcoming the passions,
holy men worship the Almighty. Here, blessed with frequent visions, the virtuous
finally attain (as the reward of their pains) happiness, prosperity, and wealth; their
minds being intensely engaged in contemplation of the divine essence.
In very antient times, on this Girnala, famous sacrifices and magnificent festivals
were celebrated by the illustrious Harivansa. Subsequently, many princes of the Yadu
family secured to themselves mansions of bliss in Paradise by their munificent acts of
piety on this mountain. Many generations having passed, there arose from the Yadu
line a Raja, whose name was Mandalika, whose priest Hémacharya installed in a temple
on this height the image of Srí Némnat'ha. Now will the virtues of this Raja be
described; he was a great, valiant, and renowned heroic Prince, a protector of his
subjects. His son was called Mahipala; in good qualities as God on earth, in generosity
* [In dates and topics these inscriptions coincide with some of the preceding.]
+ One of the many names of the mountain.
as
APPENDIX.
517
as the Calpavricsha. Then ruled Khéngara Raja; his reign was prosperous. Jayasinha
Raja succeeded him; he was as a frontal ornament among princes, beautiful as the
Rajhansa. Raja Mahipala then arose, as a protector to this earth, a destroyer of the
unjust. His son, Mandalica, governed the country extending to the shores of the *Sindhu
flood; his fame was spread abroad, he reigned virtuously; he was merciful and just,
a protector of the weak and poor; thus did he rule the delightful territory of Soretha
for successive years.
Great and distinguished rajas paid obedience to this Mandalica,
and the pride and arrogance of vicious princes he reduced and annihilated; long did
this wise and virtuous prince reign.
Here is also a town, the abode of every blessing, the very form of prosperity; in it
are many inhabitants, allured from all parts by its excellent government. Here reside
many rajas wearing crowns, with their families; here are wells, reservoirs of water,
various mansions, temples of the deities; for by the constant sight of this Revtachala
the wealth of its inhabitants is greatly increased.
In latter times there appeared rajas of the Yadu race, who bowed their heads in
adoration to the holy Jina, who thence enjoyed prosperity, and governed their people
equitably.
In the year of Vicramaditya 1204 (A.D. 1148), Cartica Shuda 6th (of the light half
of the moon of Cartica), Chandra Prasada became sovereign; then Samvatta Bhoja ;
Asha-raj Nanda, and Sri Kumara Devi; their son, Sri Lunirama; Sri Mala Kula; Sri
Tejpála, who was succeeded by his elder brother's son, Vastupala; then reigned Sri
Lalita Raja, who carries on an extensive commerce in S. 1277 (A.D. 1221). This Raja
performed at Sitranji, Girnala, and other holy places, pilgrimages and festivals; he also
erected a magnificent temple, dedicated to the Superior Devatas. Of the Chaluc tribe
was Maharaja Lalita.
No. 2.-In praise of the Goddess Amba.
The destroyer of doubts and fears, the donor of all human desires and wishes; she
who causes to be completed the designs of the devout; such Goddess Sri Mata Ambica
is the sole power whereby the prayers of mankind are fulfilled. Be praise and glory
unto her!
No. 3.—In 1339 (A.D. 1283), Jeshta Shuda 10th, being Thursday, the old ruined
temples being removed from their sites on the mountain of Revtachala, new ones were erected.
No.
* The river Indus.
518
APPENDIX.
No. 4.-In 1333 (A.D. 1277), Vysack 4th, Monday, Sri-Jana Prabodha Acharya,
being High-Priest at Ujain, by his directions the Sravaca Gunnesh, his son, Virapala,
of the Srimali caste, Saha Hira Lack'ha expended 200 mohurs on Revtachala for the
sake of installing Sri Nemnat'ha in a temple, and distributed 2,000 mohurs daily for
the worship of that deity.
was
No. 5.-By orders of Sri Pandita Devsena Sunga, in S. 1215 (A.D. 1159), Chytra
shuda 8th, Sunday, the antient temples of the Devatas were removed, and new erected.
No. 6.-In Samvatsira Sindhiran reigned a raja named Shalivahana; his son
Suvara Thakoor; also Pati Shalivahana, his son Ruchyaparwa. These princes caused great
sacrifices to be performed, and the reservoir called Bhimacunda to be made. Vastupala
Tejpála caused the image of Sri Ambica to be placed on Girnala, and the well called
Ruscumpica he caused to be formed.
No. 7.-In Samvata 1234 (A.D. 1178), Posh vuda 6th, Thursday, Saha Vastupala
Tejpála caused to be built on Girnala a vast temple, in which was placed Sri Malinat'ha.
At this period Cumarapala Raja* reigned at Patana, as a frontal ornament amongst
princes.
* This would appear to antedate the reign of Komár-pal (whose accession is fixed S. 1189)
by eleven years.
THE EN D.
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